Guvrmentcheese (no login) from IP address 66.177.89.59
I know you all got some foods ya really love and well I am a picky eater but thru the years I have learned to try new things. My cookin skills are kinda weak but I am lookin for new Ideas. Give me some recipes! Thanks...Guv
Are you a shrimp eater Guv?
I made Shrimp Scampi last night and it came out the best ever. I make it once every couple of months.
It's a little time consuming when you have to make the shrimp stock but the stock freezes really well and you can get three meals out of the shells from a pound or so of shrimp. Once you have stock in the house you can make the scampi in about 10 minutes. It looks complicated but it really isn't.
I'm kind of particular about ingredients. I like to use Vitarroz hot sauce because I find Tabasco way too bitter. A tiny bit of Tabasco can totally ruin the dish where the same amount of Vitarroz just gives it a great background flavor. You can leave it out altogether, but I think it adds that certain something that just really adds to the flavor.
**The pan you use to cook the shrimp should be all metal because it will go under the broiler for a few minutes at the end.**
PC and I are big eaters so when I make it for the two of us I usually use 1 & 1/4 or so of unpeeled shrimp. I like to use the 21-25 count size (that's how many you get per pound).
SHRIMP SCAMPI (serves two)
Shrimp stock:
shells from 1 1/4 lbs. raw shrimp
1/3 of a small onion with the skin still on
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. cooking Sherry (I use Holland House but there are a few good brands)
1/2 tsp. Vitarroz hot sauce
Place all above ingredients in a small sauce pan. Cover with just enough water to come 1/2" over the shells. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a slow simmer for half an hour.
Strain the stock and refrigerate until ready to use. Discard shells and onion.
SCAMPI:
3 Tbls. Olive Oil or enough to coat a medium sized skillet
2 to 3 garlic cloves - minced very fine (do not use powdered or granulated garlic)
2 to 3 Tbls. fresh chopped flat leaf parsley (do not use dried flakes)
Red Pepper flakes to taste (optional)
1 1/4 lbs. peeled de-veined shrimp
salt to taste
2 pinches of dried oregano (fresh is way too powerful for this)
2 Tbls. Cooking Sherry
Zest of half a lemon
1/3 cup shrimp stock
dash of Hot Sauce
4 tsps. Italian Seasoned bread crumbs (your favorite brand)
Preheat broiler.
Heat a medium sized metal skillet on stove over low heat. Add olive oil and garlic. Stir and keep it in motion. DO NOT LET THE GARLIC GET ANY COLOR.
When you can start smelling the garlic and the parsley has wilted, add the pepper flakes. Stir for a minute and add the shrimp.
Stir the shrimp around in the pan until they all look coated with the garlic and parsley. Raise the heat to medium high. Sprinkle with salt to taste. When the shrimp look half way cooked add the oregano, sherry, zest, stock, and hot sauce.
Stir and cook for until the liquid comes to a boil. Toss shrimp and turn off the heat.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top. Put under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes or until the bread crumbs brown. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn.
Serve with Italian or French bread and lemon wedges.
Ok this is what I made for dinner last night for me and Mrs Paddyc - Fish Tacos
When making the batter add in 1/2 cup of cold corona
And add in Peppadew peppers to the salsa with a little Tequila!
Ingredients
2 sea bream, sea bass or red mullet, weighing about 350g/12oz each, filleted
8 flour tortillas
225g/8oz iceberg lettuce, shredded finely
290ml/½ pint soured cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sunflower oil for deep-frying
For the batter:
225g/8oz plain flour
2 eggs
200ml/7fl oz water
For the salsa:
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
5 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped
3-4 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 lime, juice only
4tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Method
1. First make the salsa by mixing together all the ingredients with a pinch of salt. Set aside.
2. Cut the fish fillets crossways into strips 1cm/½in wide and season with plenty of salt and pepper.
3. For the batter, put the flour, eggs, water and a pinch of salt into a liquidiser and blend until smooth.
4. Pour the sunflower oil into a pan until it is about one-third full and heat to 190C/375F or until a small piece of white bread dropped into the oil browns and rises to the surface in 1 minute.
5. Warm the tortillas in a low oven or a microwave.
6. Dip the strips of fish into the batter and then drop them into the hot oil and fry for 4 minutes, until crisp and golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper.
7. To serve, put some lettuce down the centre of each tortilla, top with the fried fish, then spoon over some salsa and soured cream. Fold in the sides, roll up as tightly as you can and serve straight away with some cold Mexican beer.
Hey Sandi,
for extra crispy batter I batter the fish - then fry for around 3 mins - then batter them again while still hot and fry them again for about 5 mins.
My hubby has made fish tacos...he used panko breadcrumbs for the breading...they make theeeeee crispiest crust and so delish!
Today I made spaghetti, which isn't that special...but a side dish we have discovered is broccolini sauteed with garlic and butter....my GAWD, I just crave this stuff! If you like greeeeeen veggies, you will love broccolini! It's a cross between broccoli and chinese chard...
Ill most definately have to check them recipes out, they sound good! Now granted by the time I cook them it might not be pretty! lol Yall are awesome...Guv
As I' m italian I' m going to write a recipe about a typical dish of my culture: Melanzane alla Parmigiana which is also my favourite dish (besides cakes and sweets)!
Ingredients for 4 people:
4 long-sized aubergines
600 gr peeled tomatoes
1 big mozzarella
1/2 onion, 1 carrot, olive oil, celery, basil, salt and greated parmesan cheese
First of all start by grilling the aubergines that you have previously sliced in slices about 1 cm thick. My grandma used to fry aubergines insted of grilling them; the original recipe in fact wants the aubergines to be fried in heated oil but I kind of customised it and made the recipe a little lighter
Now it' s time to prepare the tomato sauce. Smash tomatoes ans place them in a pan together with chopped onion, carrot, basil, salt, celery and olive oil on a medium-low heat. Add a little water when is needed till you got a soft sauce.
Put a little of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish, then put a layer of aubergines and cover them with sauce, greated Parmesan cheese and diced mozzarella. Repeat it again and gain till all the ingredients are over.
Bake in the oven to 180° for about 40 minutes.
Please don't forget to bring the largest quantity ever of bread to be served along with this dish!
I could go on for months only eating melanzane alla parmigiana...
Hi Dee
Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmigiana)
is one of my most favorite meals. Thanks for posting this. I love seeing authentic Italian recipes. The recipe I posted (Scampi) is something I made up, probably nothing like Scampi made in Italy!
Paddy -- It's Fish Tacos tomorrow. Since it's Ash Wednesday it's a no meat day in our house. Those will do nicely :).
I did the double dip thing and Holy Cow! Super crunchy and only twice the FAT!! lol. I won't be doing that trick again because I felt sooooo guilty after I devoured them.
I used corvina. It's a gorgeous thick white fish. I have no idea what it's called in English. I get it at the Spanish fish market by us.
The salsa was out of this world crazy good with the fish, lettuce, sour cream, and grated cheddar I added. I can't help it. I'm a dairy junkie.
I did an extra half hour on my exercise bike the next day.
Ha! Ha! Sandi....since I've been out here Californians eat fish tacos what...everyday....and I am not tired of them. I love them and they are great for you except for the deep fried tortillas....yum! Loved Dee from Italy's recipe...thatsa lotta food, eh? Man...you guys are making me hungry!....Jamie.
Jane....cabbage is the bomb! Yeah! Usually it's regular and purple cabbage thin sliced...makes ya want to go to Baja Cali doesn't it? Pacifico or Coronas with lime and fish tacos...man, you guys are KILLING me...Ha!...Jamie.
Hey Sandi - glad you enjoyed them, now you know why Scotland is the heart disease capital of the world!! We even have Chip shops who sell Crispy Battered MARS BARS here!!!!
....There's nothing like DOUBLE DIPPING...right?? LOL
Jamie, I ate my first ever Fish Taco in LA - a place not far from Paramount Studios - it was just like a wee shack at the side of the road and I remember that they stuffed the tacos with creamy cabbage - but the fish was still crunchy!
I still havent tried any of these yet but I hope I make to the grocery store tomorrow! I meant to go today but it just didnt happen. lol Dee you have really put me to a challenge because I have never had eggplant! I really am scared to try it but I gotta eat and I am so tired of the same ole crap! Take care...Guv
PaddyC....know you're in Scotland...but your neighbor is Ireland...St. Patrick's Day is upon us here in the States...whatcha folks do over yonder as far as vittles during this celebration...and just wanted to know what's the best beer there...Jamie.
Hey Jamie, while we don't quite celebrate to the same extent (In Scotland we save that for Burns Night - called after the great Scottish poet Robert Burns)
the whole of the UK does tend to drink a lot of Guiness around then in support of our Irish neighbours!!
But as far as food goes on Burns night - you really, really don't want ask too many questions about that!! - one word HAGGIS!!
Will you be celebrating St Pat's? and if so - SLAINTE!!
Paddyc...cabbage and green beer, yeah! Got a sprinkle of Irish in my ancestry. Haggis! Ever watch the Mike Myers movie "So I Married an Axe Murderer"? Ha! Ha! Never had it, but they say if you can put the ingredients behind you it's actually quite good. I'd give it a try! Glenfiddich (spelling?) is my favorite whiskey...what about beer? You have a favorite Scottish beer?...Jamie.
Yesterday I made walleye. I made it with this recipe that makes the fish taste sorta fried, but you spray it with Pam after breading it . It was yummy, and crunchy. I also made zucchini sticks with the recipe too. Everything was good. It better have been- hubby caught those walleye on a charter fishing trip on Lake Erie, so they cost enough,ha,ha. I dont' care, I was glad he enjoyed the fishing trip. I couldn't go because of my inner-ear thing (vertigo- I gets dizzy sometimes!). If you all are interested, I'll post the recipe for ya!
Heather (Heater)
Jamie, "Axe Murderer" is probably one of my favourite films of all time!! Mike Myers has got the Scots sussed in the film - especially Charlie's dad. One of the best quotes is:
"You know, Scotland has its own martial arts. Yeah, it's called **** You. It's mostly just head butting and then kicking people when they're on the ground."
I enjoy Glenfiddich - 18year old preferably - but if you like a relatively smooth malt whisky (Notice that Scottish whisky is never spelt with an E - its only Irish and American whiskies where you have E in the spelling) then try and get hold of a bottle of Balvennie 25yr old Malt!
My favourite Scottish beers are either Deuchars IPA or any 80 Shilling beer (it's a bit like a quality , hoppy version of Samuel Adams Scotch Ale)
Paddyc...wrote that info down...name of scotch and beers...I am a man on a mission to try it...thanks! Axe murderer is one of my faves too..."we've got a piper down"...Ha! Ha!
Here is the link for the recipe. I know, I know, it's from Family Circle magazine,ha,ha. I'm not even a parent- we had a free subscription in our office, so I would take them home and scan the recipes. They really do have some great recipes.
Try to buy the really small zucchini- they will get nice and crunchy on the outside and stay tender on the inside without all of the seeds that are in the bigger ones.
Heather (Heater)
P.S. This is a kind of time consuming recipe, not a "quickie", so make sure you have enough time for the prep. It wasn't like whipping up some Manwichs or something,ha,ha. I know guys like to have stuff ready quick.
Yesterday it was my bro' s birthday so I made my famous Tiramisł... it' s the best damn thing I' ve ever eat in all my entire life!
It was so good I even had it for breakfast this morning! :P
This is my favourite cake ever! You can be sure that once you ve tasted a REAL italian home made tiramisł life wont be the same anymore!
It s a typical italian cold dessert, I believe it s pretty famous all over the world, anyway this is how I usually make a great tiramisł:
Ingredients:
500 gr of mascarpone cheese (please don t use any other cheese, it has to be mascarpone!)
5 eggs
5 spoons of sugar
Coffee
Ladyfingers cookies (I use Pavesini ones, doon t know if they are available in US as well, they re just perfect to prepare this cake)
Cocoa powder
Prepare a strong espresso coffee (about 10 cups) and put it in a bowl to cool down. If you want you can put sugar in it, while I prefer not to do it cause I like to taste the bitter flavour of coffee.
Now divide yolks from eggs whites putting them in two different bowls.
Add just a little bit of salt to the egg whites and beat them till stiff then put them into fridge.
Beat the yolks together with sugar then add mascarpone working all together till it becomes a soft and smooth cream.
Now add the eggs whites to the cream using a spoon (you don t need whisk anymore from now on) and mix all together.
Soak the cookies in cold coffee and puy them down into a deep cake pan then cover them with a layer of cream. Put another layer of cookies and cream and so on til the ingredients are over. (I usually make 3 layers). On top put chocolate powder, if you want you can put chocolate between every layer as I love to do!
Now store into fridge for at least 6 hours, in my opinion the best thing is to make it the evening if you wanna eat it the next day.
During the summer I love to make it with fresh fruits without using coffee and chocolate. I put pieces of strawberries, pineapple, and kiwi between every layer and then wildberries and raspberries on top. Instead of soaking cookies into coffee I use juice from fresh strawberries.
This is the one and only real italian tiramisł recipe taken from my grandma cook book!
I agree with Izzy on the coffee! lol I dont drink coffee of any kind. Now with strawberries or pineapple, that does sound awesome! When I was a kid my grandma use to bring us pineapple puddin. In my recent cooking adventures I talked to my mom about it and she told me how to make it, I couldnt believe how simple it was to make.
1 box of saltine crackers (crushed)
1 box of vanilla puddin
1 can of pineapple
My grandma use to crush up all 4 rows of the crackers but I only use 2 rows to make it less dry. I also dont even make the puddin, I use 8 of those lil Jello puddin snack cup thingys. (lazy bachelor thing lol) Its cheap to make and gives me snacks for the week! Take care...Guv
