Shrimp Pasta Alfredo

Food adventure time again! Tonight's dinner is gonna be good. Got 2 kinds of pasta from Publix,it was a bogo. We got some tortellini and some ravioli. They are very similar and it will be dynamite.
 Things we need for my Shrimp Pasta Alfredo

a pound and a half of uncooked shrimp
8 oz pack of mushrooms
8 oz bag of baby spinach
2 Jars of Newman's Own Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
6 cloves of garlic.
2 8 oz bags of tortellini and/or ravioli

I like this dish because it's so easy. I just worked a 12 hour day and have no problem using alfredo sauce from a jar. It's a nice short cut, and I step on it so much you won't recognize it when I'm done. After boiling my pasta, I put all my ingredients in my biggest cooking pot and stir things up real good. Place into the glass pan for baking and let the oven do all the work. I did it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Now that it's out, we let it cool 10 minutes so you don't burn your mouth. It looks and smells wonderful. Time to eat!

Tony's Rating : 4.0

Yummy! And, I really didn't have to do a darn thing but turn the oven on. The mushrooms and spinach compliment the cream sauce and give the pasta a rich texture. A little salty, glad I don't ever add salt to anything. Shrimp is naturally salty, so is the Alfredo sauce.

Sandys Rating : 4.0

The shrimp was perfectly cooked, and I love the earthy flavors of the spinach and mushrooms combined with creamy alfredo sauce.

Until next time foodies. All men must dine! ~Tony

Pork Steaks with Lemon Grass

Hello, foodies!  This week's food adventure comes from a cheap little Thai food cookbook I bought years ago.  I modified this recipe to what is available and to my tastes a bit, so read the notes before you go shopping.

Ingredients:
2 lemon grass stalks, outer leaves removed
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. lime juice
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. coconut milk
4 pork steaks
lime wedges, to garnish

1.  Finely chop the lemon grass in place in a bowl with the garlic, pepper, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, oil, lime juice, spring onions, and coconut milk.  Mix well to combine.

2.  Place the pork steaks in a large, shallow, non-metallic dish.  Pour over the marinade and turn the steaks until coated.  Cover the dish with clingfilm and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

3.  Preheat the grill to medium.  Cook the pork steaks under the hot grill for 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.  Garnish with lime wedges and serve immediately.

Notes:

*  I have never found fresh lemon grass anywhere.  I substitute with the pre-chopped stuff in a tube and have no real idea how much two stalks would be.  I equate it to a tablespoon and match the measurements on the package.

*  Thai fish sauce is an acquired taste, one that I really never acquired.  However, the first time I tried to make a recipe from this book and it called for it, I ran out to buy it.  It has lasted years.  I do not use the two tablespoons it calls for, but rather added extra soy sauce and threw in a 1/2 teaspoon of the fish sauce for a little more authentic flavor.  I don't even pour it in the measuring spoon over the pot for fear of spilling the excess in my dish.  When I run out of it, I will just substitute soy sauce instead.

*  I substitute creamed coconut, re-hydrated, in this dish and use twice the amount.  It didn't make sense to me to buy a 12 oz. can of coconut milk to only use two tablespoons when I had creamed coconut at home already.

*  The secret ingredient:  1 raw egg.  When I cook anything with an Asian flavor and have to marinade it, I always add an egg.  It helps the meat absorb the flavors better.

*  Not sure what it is with this cookbook that thinks all meat is cooked in 5-10 minutes.  It took 20 minutes on the grill, and could've maybe cooked another 5 minutes without drying it out.

*  Sesame oil is a bit expensive, but it adds so much flavor that once you've used it, you can't go without it.

*  We paired this with coconut rice, green beans from the garden, and a nice riesling.

Ratings:

Sandy:  I have been a bit under the weather this weekend, and, as such, have not had much of an appetite.  I did eat two bites of my pork chop, and it was tender, juicy, and well-flavored.  However, it will now be Monday's lunch.

Tony:  4 stars.

It was grilled to perfection.  The marinade really saturated the meat and kept it tender.  The green onions made it snap.  And, the lemongrass, garlic and coconut flavors really came out in the meat.  My only regret is we waited so long to eat, but I will have a fabulous lunch on Monday.

Cost:
pork chops - on sale for a little over $4
green onions - 69 cents a bunch
Soy sauce - about $2

Everything else was stocked in our kitchen, and, as it is just Tony and I, I only used two of the four pork chops.

Until next time...
Sandy

Mussels Catalan

Happy Mother's Day! And, there's no better way to celebrate it than having over Grace Jackson and her hubby, Jerry, for dinner and drinks. We did a tapas style dinner and, oh my goodness, we grazed for hours. Good times. For the coup de grace, I made Mussels Catalan.

As you know, I am about quick, easy and good in the kitchen.  Well, this dish is all that. Things you are going to need need:
 1 stick of unsalted butter.
 1 cup of white wine
 6 cloves of garlic
 fresh parsley from the garden for some color.
 and a baguette for dipping
 2 pounds of live mussels.... and that's it. Super easy.

Get a big pot to melt your butter in and set to a medium high temperature. Once your butter is melted, drop your garlic in and roast it up nice, but don't burn it. Now, the hard part, these are live mussels, and I kind of feel bad for the little guys.  They were just sitting in the fridge, minding their own business, not bothering anyone, and here I come along to send them to the afterlife in a blaze of butter and garlic. Well you gotta eat. Top of the food chain, yo!



Okay, after that morality crisis has passed, add your white wine to the mussels and cook for 10 minutes, or until all the muscles have opened. Do not eat the unopened mussels!!  They will make you very sick.  Lucky for me, every mussel opened and was cooked to perfection. Time to eat!!

We have a special guests rating our feast tonight:
Jerry Jackson: I like everything about it. 5 Stars.

Grace Jackson : The muscles were tender and the sauce was light. Was not too salty and was seasoned perfectly.
Rating 5.0

The total cost of the muscles was about 12 bucks for everything. Cheap dinner and fun to share with friends and family. Thanks for "Gracing" us with your presence. Till next time guys, All men must dine! ~Tony

Stuffed Pork Chops

This week our food adventure takes us back to New Orleans via Paul Prudhomme for one of my favorites -- stuffed pork chops.  Nothing beats the sweet and spicy flavors of this dish.

Ingredients:

2 unpeeled medium apples, coarsely chopped             Seasoning Mix:
7 Tbsp. unsalted butter                                                 1 Tbsp. Salt
3 Tbsp light brown sugar                                              1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract                                                      1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg                                                 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
                                                                                      1/2 tsp. white pepper
***************                                                                1/2 tsp. dry mustard
                                                                                      1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
6 (1 1/4-inch-thick) pork chops                                      1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 lb. ground pork                                                        1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. chopped onions                                                      1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 c. chopped green bell peppers
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies and their juice
1 c. chicken or pork stock
1/2 c. very fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. finely chopped green onions

1.  Process the apples, 4 tablespoons of the butter, the sugar, vanilla and nutmeg in a food processor or blender until smooth, about 3-4 minutes.  Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl or cup, thoroughly mix the ingredients of the seasoning mix.  Set aside.

3.  Prepare pork chops by cutting a large pocket (to the bone) into the larger side of each chop to hold the stuffing.

4.  In a large skillet, brown the ground pork in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter of high heat, about 3 minutes.

5.  Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the seasoning mix.  Stir well.  Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan well.

6.  Stir in green chilies and continue cooking until mixture is well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom fo the pain as needed.

7.  Add the stock and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

8.  Stir in the bread crumbs and cook about 3 minutes.

9.  Add the apple mixture and the green onions.  Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly and scrapping the bottom of the pain as needed.

10.  Remove from heat.

11.  In a large skillet, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

12.  Sprinkle remaining seasoning mix (plus some extra if you want) into some flour on a plate.  Dip pork chops in the flour, inside and out, and fry in heated oil until done.

13.  Place pork chop on plate and scoop a heaping spoonful of stuffing into the middle.  Serve with desired side, and beverage of choice.  We chose a Barefoot Pinot Noir.

Notes:

*  The original recipe calls for you to stuff the pocket full of stuffing and bake at 400 degrees until meat is done (about 1 hour 10 minutes), adding excess stuffing, in a separate small pan, for the last 20 minutes.  We were hungry and wanted our food faster, so we altered the recipe.  I do think this resulted in a juicier pork chop, and it gave it a little bit of crunch it doesn't get in the oven.

* Publix sells pre-butterflied pork chops that are perfect for this dish.  They seem to go on sale pretty often, too.

*  We were unable to locate ground pork, so we substituted with mild Italian sausage.  I think it was a little better.

*  I forgot to pick up the green onions when we went shopping, so we used chives from our herb garden.

*  Seven tablespoons of butter is just one tablespoon shy of the whole stick.  That one tablespoon isn't saving me much in calories considering everything else in the dish, so, we threw it in, too.

*  We don't make 6 pork chops when we make this, but make the full recipe of stuffing.  It freezes well and makes it a lot easier the next time you want to make this dish.  It would probably be good in some chicken as well.

Rating:

Sandy's rating:  5 stars

The first time I read this recipe I crinkled my nose and wondered what idiot would eat apples, vanilla, and nutmeg with onions and garlic!  Then, I tried it.  This is one of my favorite dishes.  I love the sweet and spicy flavors.  It is satisfying food for the soul.  And, this time, we got to serve it with a side of mustard greens picked from our garden that morning.

Tony's rating:  4.5 stars

It would've been a lot better if I hadn't drowned the greens in habanero sauce and destroyed my tastebuds on the first bite.  But, besides that, it was the best it has ever been.  The stuffing was cooked to perfection and the pork chop was crispy and delicious.

Cost:

Pork chops:  $4.11
green bell pepper - 99 cents
onion - 69 cents
green chilies - $1.19
Italian sausage - $3.99
2 gala apples - $2.25
bread crumbs - about $1.50

Everything else was stocked in our kitchen already, making it a fairly cheap dish to make.  And, if you stash some of the stuffing, you have a quick and easy meal next time you need o really wow someone.

Enjoy!

Grits Parmesan

Hey guys! Food Adventure time! Thought I would try something a little bit different today. Something vegetarian would be nice. Something healthy would be good, too. Got to get in shape for summer. The two things I love are Italian food and southern food, so tonight's experiment is Grits Parmesan.

I made some grits earlier in the morning. I added a little bit of basil, garlic and Parmesan, let it cool to room temperature, and put them in the fridge until I was ready to make dinner.   Heat some oil in a skillet, cut the grits into 6 little biscuit shaped cakes, roll them in Italian bread crumbs, and put them in the hot oil. Cook until the edges are a crispy, golden brown. Flip once and do the same thing for the other side.

Now, my grits cakes are golden brown and cooked to perfection. Put a nice bed of fresh spinach on the plate for the grits cakes to rest in, and smother with the heated up a jar of some of our sweet, delicious, homemade marinara sauce. Yummy! Cover that with with a little grated cheese and presto! Dinner is done -- 22 minutes from start to finish. Helps to have the grits and marinara made ahead of time.

I served this with a Yellow Tail Shiraz, an ensalada de caprese in my homemade vinaigrette, and a fresh multi-grain baguette with olive oil for dipping. The most expensive item was the fresh mozzarella for the salad, and that was about 2 bucks on a BOGO. Total cost of the dinner was about 5 dollars since we had the majority of the ingredients.

Tony Rating; 3.75 stars.

 It was a good dish. I will make it again. Did not think it was all that when I ate it, but about a half our later I was craving more. Sneaky good, I think next time I will put more garlic and more cheese in it. I did not want to over-power it since it was the first time I ever made this dish. The cakes would also be good for etouffee and shrimp in grits. A cool, new way to serve an old southern classic.

Sandy's Rating:  4.0

This was a very good meal.  It could've used a little onion, a little more cheese, and maybe some bacon crumbles or pork cracklins in the grits, but the crunchy little cakes were delightful.  Tony topped them with our homemade marinara, and it was amazing.  (Can't wait to have pizza with it next week!)  I can envision a lot of ways to top them.

Until next time. All men must dine. ~Tony

Double-Cream Cheesecake

Tony's birthday was this past week, so I made him a double-cream cheesecake.  This, by the way, is the perfect desert to make if you need a quiet day around the house.  It takes a while to cook, and to cool, and that gives you a few hours of peace and quiet.

This recipe is from a book my grandmother gave Tony several years ago called A Passion for Baking, by Marcy Goldman.  The recipe in the book calls for a sour cherry glaze that I do not make.  I'm a bit of a purist in my cheesecake preferences.

You will need:

Graham Crust:
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon

 Cheesecake Batter:
2 lbs. cream cheese, softened               1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 c. sugar                                        1/4 tsp. pure almond extract

5 large eggs                                           1 (10 oz.) can Nestle double cream*
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract                      1/4 c. all purpose flour

*You can use Double Devon Cream found online, or use a blend of 3/4 cup sour cream with 3/4 cup whipped cream folded in.

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


2.  Toss graham crumbs, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan and press firmly into pan bottom.  Place on prepared baking sheet.



3.In a large mixing bowl, blend cream cheese and sugar until well blended.  Add eggs and next 5 ingredients and blend well, still on low speed, about 5 minutes until totally smooth.






4.  Pour into spring-form pan, drop on the counter lightly a few times so any air bubbles rise to the top, and place in oven.  Back until just set, about 60 - 75 minutes.





5.  Turn oven off, open oven door slightly and allow cheesecake to cool in the oven for an hour, gradually opening the door.  Then, moving the cheesecake to a wire rack on the counter to reach room temperature.



6.  Once the cheesecake has reached room temperature, refrigerate for 8 hours or, preferably, overnight.


Notes:

1.  Somewhere, last year, when making this cheesecake for the first time, I read that cheesecake blends better if you let all of the ingredients reach room temperature before you begin to blend them all together.  So I stuffed the eggs, cream cheese, lime, and butter in the microwave overnight.  Then, the first thing I made was the double cream substitute and sat it on the stove while the oven preheated.  The cats wouldn't have allowed the double cream to sit out untouched overnight.

2.  Mix everything thoroughly.  The crumbs for the crust, mix them until every little crumb is dark with moisture from the butter, or you will have dry clumps of graham cracker crumbs in your crust.

3.  Mix everything thoroughly.  It says to mix the cheesecake batter for 5 minutes.  I find it takes a little longer to get all of the lumps out of the mixture.  This is good, though.  You can justify eating it later by the workout you had to do to make it.

4.  I omit the almond extract.  I don't like it.  And, I substituted lime juice for lemon juice.

5.  I wrap the bottom of my inherited spring-form pan with aluminum foil.  I find some of the butter from the crust tries to leak out and the aluminum foil protects it from spilling into my oven.

6.  I struggle with some of the cooking terminology and really can't identify when a cake is "just set."  So, I watched for the edge of the cake to start browning.  It's a little harder as I didn't open the oven door, rather looking through the discolored oven window.  It seems to have worked to get the cheesecake to the right consistency without cracking.

7.  I did not take the spring-form pan off until it had been refrigerated.  I do not know if it makes a difference or not.

Ratings:

Sandy:  4.5 stars

The texture was perfectly creamy.  The crust was thick and buttery.  The only imperfection were a few air bubbles that rose to the top in cooking, making it look like fish eyes in the cake.  It was a real treat, and worth every minute of the hours of silence while it cools.

Tony: 5 stars

Light and fluffy, creamy and smooth. Melts in your mouth like butter, stays in your love handles like cement.The only thing better than chocolate is cheesecake. For my birthday, nothing makes me happier than a good cheesecake. Best ever hands down.


Cost:

I confess, I didn't keep the receipts from my grocery shopping and this is from memory.

Cream cheese - 4 blocks - $8, but it was on sale 2/$4
I made the whipping cream by buying heavy cream and whipping it up. - $2.50
Sour cream - $1
Graham cracker crumbs - $3
Eggs - $2 for a dozen
Butter, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour are all staples in our home.

Sandy

Hot Tamales!

 Happy Easter everybody! When I was a kid, we went to Grandma's house for Easter dinner and it wasn't ham. It was Hot Tamales. In honor of Grandma Joe I give you... Hot Tamales!

This dish is not to hard to make, but you really need a lot of time and patience.  Of which I have neither . But, anyway, crack another beer and we'll get through this. Here is a list of ingredients that we will need.

I like big butts

2 Bay leaves

2 Teaspoons of salt

1 chicken bouillon cube

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

2 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

5 lbs of pork shoulder or boston butt

1 pound bag of corn husks

Cutting the skin off the pig gave me a new found respect for anyone who has ever had to skin an animal.  It took me a good 10 minutes to clean the carcass. Poor little piggy. Once that's done, I put the pork and the spices in the crock pot on high for 5 hours. I like my meat done well.

                                                                                                                                                       Take the pork and put it in a bowl. Now drain the juice. You are going to need that for later.

you like a the juice?

Ok now to make the puree. You will need the following:

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

3 casabelle peppers 

4 ancho peppers.

3 pasilla peppers

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil and add ingredients. Lets boil for 15 minutes. Shut off heat and let cool. Strain the juice and put items in the blender and blend smooth until it looks like something from a horror movie.

Add a little of the broth we saved. 

stir vigorously

Mix in the puree, saving a couple of spoonfuls for the masa.

For the Masa, you're going to need a cup of lard, 2 cups of instant masa, 1 and 1/3 cup of broth we saved and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Mix by hand until fluffy and creamy enough to spread on your corn husks. These corn husks were very small. which made it a little difficult. Your corn husk has a smooth side and a rough side (don't we all). Put the masa on the smooth side like you're putting peanut butter on a piece of bread. When that's done, take a good pinch of your tamale meat and fill it in. Don't skimp on the meat.

Okay, now after about 60 of these I think we are ready to cook. We have this giant steamer (a tamalera we picked up at a local Spanish grocery) we filled the bottom with water and put a bowl at the bottom so the tamales don't get soggy. We steam for one hour and then its time to eat.

Tony's Rating: 3.0. 

The meat and everything was fine, but I had a problem with the tiny husks and some tamales did not get enough masa. Also, the masa got a little to much puree making the tamales a dark red, I prefer the yellow cornish looking tamales, But, the taste was good; it was the execution that was lacking.

Sandy's Rating: 3.5
The flavor was excellent, but some of the masa was a little dark.  Some of the husks were too small and that made for some less than pleasing appearing tamales, but not much you can do about it.

'Til next time, all men must dine! 

~Tony