Chicken with tomato sauce

Grilled Mahi-mahi

Stuffed Pork Chops

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Salt
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese
1 small onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, optional
1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil, plus some for drizzling
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 small McIntosh apple, chopped
2 ribs celery from the heart, finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly chopped sage leaves, or 1 teaspoon ground dried sage
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
2 store bought corn muffins
8 thin boneless center cut pork loin chops
2 pounds sugar snap peas
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
Cover potatoes with water and season with salt. Cover pan to bring potatoes to a quick boil. Boil potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and return them to the hot pot to dry. Set aside. Heat milk, cream cheese and onion over medium low heat until cream cheese melts into milk and mixture bubbles. Pour hot milk and cream cheese into the potatoes and mash to desired consistency. Add a little extra milk for softer potatoes. Season with salt, to your taste, and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with chopped chives.
Preheat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and bacon to the skillet and cook 2 minutes. Add apple, celery and onion and season the mixture with herbs, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Cook vegetables 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Crumble the corn muffins into the pan and combine stuffing.
Preheat a large skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. Drizzle chops with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook chops 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Do not over cook. The chops should be firm but still giving off juices.
In a medium saucepan, place snap peas and broth and 1 tablespoon butter over medium high heat. When the liquid boils, cover the pan and reduce heat to low. Simmer snap peas 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still green. Remove pan from heat and season snap peas with salt, to taste.
To assemble stuffed chops, set a thin chop on dinner plate or serving plate. Mound the pork chop with stuffing, allowing some to spill onto the plate, then top with a second chop. Repeat with 3 remaining servings. Pass potatoes and snap peas to complete the meal.

Reference: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray

Emma's Beef Adobo

Trivia: Adobo is one of the famous meal in the Philippines. It can be a chicken, pork or milk fish. Here I used chuck roast instead.

Ingredients:

Chuck Roast

Potato cut into cubes

Vinegar

Soy Souce

Garlic

Onion

Worcestershire Sauce

Olive Oil

Chardonnay Wine

Beef Stock

Procedure:

1. Marinate chuck roast with Beef Stock & Chardonnay Wine

2. Fry the potato

3. Saute chuck roast with garlic and onion, put soy sauce, vinegar and worcestershire sauce and black pepper.

Lastly, serve with love

Orange Garlic Shrimp

Indian Spiced Salmon

Grilled Hawaiian Tilapia

Australian Meat Pie

Trivia:
" An Australian or New Zealand meat pie is a hand-sized meat pie containing largely diced or minced meat and gravy, sometimes with onion, mushrooms, or cheese and often consumed as a takeaway food snack. The pie itself is similar to the United Kingdom's steak pie. Australians consume an average of 12 meat pies each per year. The meat pie is heavily associated with Australian Rules Football as one of the most popular consumed food items whilst watching a game." Wiki


3 pounds beef chuck, diced 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon celery seed
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 cups beef or chicken stock
4 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, beaten, to glaze crust
Black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Dredge beef in flour and sear in oil in a hot pan. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 4 more minutes. Add the spices, Worcestershire and soy sauce and cook until the liquid is almost dissolved. Add the stock and cook until the meat is coated in thick gravy. Transfer to a container and cool.

Roll 2 sheets of pastry to 1/2-inch thickness. Line 8-inch tart molds with the rolled pastry. Line the pastry with tin foil and prebake for about 8 minutes. Let cool.

Roll out the remaining pastry sheets and cut lids for the pies. Fill baked shells with the meat mixture and cover with the cut pastry lids. Attach lids with egg wash. Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with black pepper.

Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

Reference: http://www.foodnetwork.com

Fricassée de Mer et sa Julienne de légumes

Ingredients

- 8 fresh fleshy scallops
- 250 gr [1/2 lb] salmon fillets
- 250 gr [1/2 lb] doversole fillets
- 25 cl [9 fl oz] sour cream
- 30 cl [10 fl oz] dry white wine
- 2 carrotts + 1 leak
- 2 shallots
- 40 gr [1.5 oz] butter
- 4 Tbspoons olive olive
- Salt & pepper

Directions:
1- Cut the fish fillets into strips (you need a very sharp knife) ; cut the scallops thickwise (so that you obtain 2 disks from one).
2- In a frying pan, melt half of the butter with 2 Tspoons of olive oil ; over a medium-high flame, brown the fish and scallops for 5 minutes with salt & pepper ; keep aside.
3- Peel and mince the shallots ; peel the carrots ; prepare the leak (take outside leaves off and wash). Cut the leak into very small and thin sticks ; grate the carrotts not too thinly.
4- In the frying pan, melt the second half of the butter with the 2 left Tspoons of olive oil and brown the shallots for 3 minutes ; add the vegetables, brown for 3 more minutes, then add the wine and let simmer for 15 minutes (cover with a lid).
5- Add the cream which you will mix carefully with a wooden spoon ; let simmer for 5 minutes turning from time to time, then add the fish and scallops (do not mix) cover again and let simmer for 5 more minutes.
6- Adjust seasonning and serve right away.

Reference: http://www.ffcook.com/pages/rfricmer.htm

Tex-Mex Lasagna

Thanks to Tifanny for this recipe. It is uniquely Mexican.

Trivia: "Tex-Mex "Lasagna" (also known as "Mexican Casserole" or "Mexican Lasagna") is called such because like the Italian lasagna we know and love, the Tex-Mex version is a baked casserole dish comprised of layers. Only in true Tex-Mex fashion, we are using corn tortillas in place of lasagna noodles, salsa instead of sauce, beans in place of béchamel, and mild cheddar and jack instead of ricotta and Parmesan." http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tex-mex_lasagna/

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. very lean ground beef or turkey
1 (4oz.) can diced green chilies
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (diced tomatoes w/ jalapeños)
1 (8 oz.) can corn
1 packet taco seasoning mix
16 oz. nonfat cottage cheese
2 eggs
3-4 cups Jack cheese (Pepper jack cheese 2-2 ½ cups)
10-12 corn tortillas, torn into strips

Procedure:

Brown meat in a skillet. Add the chilies, tomato sauce, tomatoes, corn and seasoning mix. Simmer for 20 mins. In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese and eggs. Set aside.
Spray a 9 x 12 inch pan (preferably glass) or a large casserole dish with nonstick spray. Layer half the meat mixture, half tortillas, half the cottage cheese mixture and half the jack cheese. Repeat layers. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Reference: TYP

Chicken Marsala

Trivia: "Marsala wine sauce has its own distinctive complex aroma that tantalises the taste buds and sends the olfactory senses into a spin. Chicken marsala is a famous Italian recipe. The key ingredient which gives chicken marsala its distinctive sweet flavour and aroma is Marsala wine. " http://www.chickenmarsala.net/


This recipe was provided by my sister-in-law Mary. This is superb.
4 BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS
1 STICK BUTTER
1 CUP FLOUR
1 TSP SALT
1/2 TSP PEPPER
1 CUP MILK
3/4 CUP MARSALA WINE
1 CUP SLICED MUSHROOMS

In large saute or fry pan, melt butter. While butter is melting, combine flour, salt and pepper in small bowl. Dip each piece of chicken in milk; shake off excess. Dredge chicken in flour mixture and add to fry pan.

Saute chicken in butter over medium to medium high heat until browned and cooked through, turning often being careful so as not to break off any of the flour coating.. Add more butter as needed.
Remove chicken from pan and place on platter. Keep chicken warm while making sauce.

Turn heat to medium high and add the mushrooms, saute until cooked. With mushrooms still in the pan, deglaze with the wine, stirring to get all of the brown bits off the bottom of pan. Turn heat to medium low and continue to cook sauce, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened slightly. (Taste sauce often and add more wine or butter as necessary. If sauce doesn't thicken properly, add a little bit of flour and continue to stir.)
When sauce is ready, add chicken back to the pan and turn to coat.

Remove chicken to seving platter and top with remaining sauce.

Original recipe at Cooks.com

Shish Kabobs

Ingredients -

1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 lbs button mushrooms
1 red onion
1 zucchini
3 chopped cloves garlic
¼ cup sherry vinegar
1 cup dry sherry
2 chopped shallots
⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon green peppercorns
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Cut the red onion into wedges and the zucchini into ¼ inch thick slices.

Cut the bell peppers into 1 inch squares.

Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems.

Soak 12 bamboo skewers in cold water for half an hour, and then thread the prepared vegetables on to them, in alternating colors.

Mix the garlic, sherry, and shallots in a pan over a high heat and reduce this mixture until you are left with about a tablespoon of sherry.

Pour this into a bowl and add the peppercorns and sherry vinegar.

Whisk in the olive oil, and then add the thyme, salt and black pepper.

Pour this marinade over the vegetable kabobs and let them marinate for an hour.

Cook the kabobs over a hot grill, brushing them a few times with the leftover marinade.

Let them cook for about 7 minutes or until tender.

Drizzle the remaining marinade over the kabobs before serving.




Reference: http://www.grilledvegetablerecipe.com

Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp

"The cuisine of South Vietnam has historically been influenced by the influx of southern Chinese immigrants, French colonists and other nationalities. Southerners prefer sweet flavors in many dishes." Wiki

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 shallot (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
1 small chili (chopped)
1 pound shrimp (peeled and deviened)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)

Directions:
1. Heat the sugar and water in a pan on medium-high heat until it caramelized and turns a dark brown.
2. Add the water and heat until the caramel dissolves.
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a pan.
5. Add the shallot, garlic, ginger and chili and saute for 3-5 minutes.
6. Add the shrimp, 2 tablespoons of the caramel sauce, fish sauce and pepper and simmer until the shrimp is pink all over, about 2-4 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil and cilantro.

Reference:
http://closetcooking.blogspot.com

Norwegian Meatballs - Kjottkaker

Side story: I was really tired and woke up late on Saturday but because of my dedication to this exploration I still make the best meatballs ever. Thanks to my hubby who went out to buy the ingredients needed.


Norwegian Meatballs - Kjottkaker

Trivia:"Kjøttkaker - meatballs: the Norwegian variety is simpler than the Swedish, and served in a brown sauce (sauce espagnol) rather than a cream-sauce. Potatoes, stewed peas or cabbage and carrots are served on the side. Many like to use a jam of lingonberries as a relish. " wikipedia

Meatballs:
4 slices white bread
3/4 cup hot skim milk
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Gravy:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons beef bouillon base
2 1/2 cups boiling water
In a large bowl, soak bread in hot milk until absorbed. Add all remaining meatball ingredients; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls.
Brown meatballs in a large nonstick skillet; add a little oil if necessary to keep from sticking. Drain; place meatballs in large casserole dish.
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
To make gravy, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in flour. Mix bouillon into boiling water; add to flour mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Pour over meatballs.
Bake for 30 minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice or noodles.

Lastlt Serve with enthusiasm

Ref: international food

Italian Sausage and Tomato Soup

This soup is really spicy. My husband and I had a challenging dinner because of this.

"There are commonly three varieties sold as "Italian Sausage" in the US. They are labeled hot, mild and sweet. The varieties contain varying spice blends. Basil is added to the mild blend to produce the sweet variety." Wiki

Ingredients
4 slices bacon, diced
2 pounds Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
2 cups finely chopped red onions
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 bay leaves
8 cups chopped, seeded tomatoes
6 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Crusty bread, for serving

Directions
1. Cook the bacon in a medium pot over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the sausage and cook with the bacon until browned, about 5 minutes more. Add the onions and Essence and cook, stirring often, until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the crushed red pepper and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes, and chicken stock and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Stir in the cilantro, ladle into warm soup bowls, and serve with crusty bread.

Reference: Foodnetwork

Stuffed Mushroom

I'm so proud of myself because I did it right. This side dish is really, really great! I love it.


Trivia:"Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty Italian cheese, suitable primarily for grating, made out of sheep milk (the Italian word pecora, from which the name derives, means sheep). Pecorino Romano was a staple in the diet for the legionaries of ancient Rome. Today, it is still made according to the original recipe and is one of Italy's oldest cheeses." wiki.

Ingredients
1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.
3. Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes.
4. Serve with pride.

reference:Foodnetwork

Hungarian Food for Hungry People

Our trip for this week is to eat something different. Food from Hungary seems interesting eventhough we don't like spicy food but we want to give it a try.


Trivia:
"Hungarian food is often spicy, as hot paprika is commonly used. Hungarian cuisine is the spiciest cuisine native to Europe. The combination of paprika, lard and red onions is typical of Hungarian cuisine, and the use of the thick sour cream called tejföl." (wikipedia.org)

5 tbsp. oil
2 lbs. white potatoes; peeled, boiled and sliced
1 1/2 tsp salt; divided
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp paprika
1 lb white fish fillets
1 tomato, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and onion; sliced
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
8 slices smoked bacon

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg Farenheit
2. Spread 2 tbsp oil in 2-quarter casserole dish, layer in potatoes.
3. Sprinkle with halp the salt and remaining oil

4. Mix flour, paprika and remaining salt in a bowl; dredge fish.
5. Layer fish over potatoes.
6. Layer tomato, bell peppers and onion on fish

7. Combine sour cream with milk; pour over casserole. Top with bacon
8. Cover and bake 1 hour. Uncover and bake for 10 more min or until bacon is crisp

Lastly, serve with excitement..

Phad Thai - for July 31st

Trivia: This dish is thought to have been brought by Vietnamese treaders to the ancient Thai capital of Ayuthaya. It was made popular as a national dish to support the campaign of reducing the rice consumption in Thailand. (wikipedia.org)

Ingredients

Dried Rice Noodles
Shrimp, chicken & Tofu
Fish sauce
Sugar
Finely chopped garlic
White vinegar
Paprika
Green onion
Oil
Egg
Bean sprout
Roasted Peanuts

1. Soak noodles in boiling water and drain
2. Mix sauce (sugar, vinegar, paprika and fish sauce) and set aside
3. Fry egg in a separate wok and set aside
4. Stir fry shrimp, chicken and tofu
5. Add noodles and sauce
6. Garnish with fried egg, bean sprout, green onion and peanuts.
7. Serve wth a smile in your face :-)

My First Experiment (Egg's Benedict)

This is my Egg's Benedict version. Normally, you should have Canadian bacon instead of thinly sliced ham.

My husband loves it and he requested me to prepare this again yesterday as our brunch. He said the Hollandaise sauce was perfectly done. Maybe he said it because he is my husband :-) hihihi.

Trivia: "Hollandaise is one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. It is so named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch sauce for the state visit to France of the King of the Netherlands." (wikipedia.org).

For those who want to try it here's the recipe.

Hollandaise sauce,
Egg Poached,
Eanglish Muffins,
Ham or Canadian Bacon,
Time and love

Sauce - Easy way
Buy Knorr Hollandaise sauce and follow the procedure on how to prepare it.

Sauce - Traditional way
Stir 2 egg yolks, slighly beaten and 3 table spoons lemon juice vigorously in 1-quart saucepan with wooden spoon. Add 1/4 cup margarine or butter. Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly until margarine melted. Add 1/4 cup butter or margarine, stirring vigorously until margarine is melted and sauce thickens.

Poached Eggs
Heat water (1 1/2 to 2 inches) boiling; reduce to simmer. Break each egg into measuring cup or saucer; holding cup or saucer close to water's surface, slip 1 egg at a time into water.

Preparation:
1. Cut English muffin into two and toast
2. Top each muffin with ham or Canadian bacon
3. Place poached egg and pour a spoonful of Hollandaise sauce.
4. Finally, serve with love

Reference: Betty Crocker's CookBook

Declaration of Kitchen Exploration Day

I work Monday to Friday and have every Wednesday for my MBA class. Sunday is my "thanksgiving" day.

Oops, you think I missed Saturday, right? Nope, I intentionally did it, because Saturday is my rest day and now I declare that Saturday is Kitchen Exploration Day!!!