Smoked Salmon Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers–My Spicy Crave

Once in a while–quite often I might add–I get a taste for something spicy, and what better way to satisfy my spicy crave with none other than some nice stuffed jalapeno peppers. I always have smoked salmon hanging out in the fridge and of course there’s cream cheese sitting as its neighbor, so why not add those two together to create a lovely stuffed pepper. I made Jalapeno Poppers sometime ago, and the recipe for cutting the jalapeno and making the batter is the same here. The only difference this time around is that I didn’t do a double dredge in the flour.

Fried till nice and golden — Oh, que es tan bueno!

The dollop of sour cream nicely balanced the heat from the peppers

So I began by spitting the pepper length-wise, then making another cut across the top (forming a ‘T’),  scoop out the seeds and veins. Leave some of those seeds in if you really want some heat…the more the merrier. I stuffed them with a nice mixture of sautéed (minced) onion & garlic, smoked red bell peppers (who says you can’t stuff peppers with more peppers?), Jack cheese, cream cheese, mushrooms, and smoked salmon. Oh what joy!

A few of my favorite things

I had a little of the mixture left over, so I stuffed a small yellow bell pepper…that one has a pleasant mildness. The Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers were then dipped in the batter and fried in 350 F oil until nice and golden. As for the stuffed yellow bell pepper–it was baked at 350 for about 15 minutes

And my crave for spiciness was quite put at bay…for now that is

The yellow bell pepper had a wonderfully mild taste in contrast to the jalapeno peppers. It was quite welcoming after contending with the heat

Rounded the meal off with some quick Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas. More jalapenos  please!

Me encanta picante

And That’s My Crave For Spicy Thangs

Shrimp & Crab Stuffed Mushrooms With Cous Cous And Creamed Swiss Chard

By now you should know that I love seafood, and I love ‘stuffing’ things, especially mushrooms. So once again, stuffed mushrooms is on the menu in Rubyzkitchen. Food for me… is all about love, tasting, savoring, sampling, and cooking! So Let’s get started. This wasn’t a planned recipe, just me getting into the kitchen and working with what I had.

The texture of cous cous perfectly compliments this dish

With a little crabmeat garnish. Creamed rainbow swiss chard has such a delicate, yet pronounced flavor

Add some shrimp and we have a party

Shrimp and Crab stuffed mushrooms

Sauteed shrimp

Cast and crew

Seasoned the shrimp with fresh cracked black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little garlic blend sea salt

The pan contains chopped red bell pepper, shallots and garlic–sauteed until fragrant in a few Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

The seasoned shrimp was then added to the pan

Done!

We’ll give a little rough chop to a few of the shrimp

And a chop the cooked crab as well. The crab was baked in the oven for about 10 minutes–ready to stuff into those mushroom caps

Oiled the mushroom caps with a little olive oil, stuffed them with the crab, topped with parsley and Parmesan cheese. Went into a 350 oven and baked for about 15 minutes

Out of the oven

Ahhhh…the aroma was wonderful

Up close and personal

Our nice bundles of Swiss chard all ready to be cleaned. I’m looking forward to growing this in my garden this year

Swiss chard cleaned and chopped. Give it a little wilt with chopped shallots and garlic in olive oil

Add the heave cream. You can go liter if you wish, but I love the richness of the heavy cream

Arrange the creamed swiss chard around the cous cous (cooked per package instructions), with the stuffed shoom in the center, and a little extra crabmeat to garnish along with fresh parsley

Or just serve up a platter of shrimp along with one of those stuffed shooms…I’ll settle for that

Rock Cornish Game Hens With Wild Rice

Today was “game” day, so I decided to grab a few of small “game” birds and give them a roast. Game hens are tasty and cooking time is relatively short. Just add your favorite rice and/or other food amenities for a delicious dinner. I used a short-cut for the rice with a wild rice mixture to further cut the time in the kitchen down. 

 

“Game” day Game Hens

The rice mixture was Rice-A- Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice…pretty good for  quick meal. Generally I’ll forego the box and make it myself, however time was not on my side. I did, however, saute onions, red and yellow bell peppers, and garlic, then added the rice portion of the mix, and sautéed until the rice was opaque, added 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth and the wild rice portion of the mix, brought it to a boil, reduced the heat and simmered. I added 3 large stuffing mushrooms (sliced) at the end. The heat from the rice mixture perfectly steamed them

Those birds basking in the sun. Oiled and seasoned with the usual suspects of garlic and onion powder, fresh cracked black pepper, sea salt, poultry seasoning, and Kirklands Rustic Tuscan Seasoning

Stuffed each with a few crushed garlic cloves and white pearl onions. Tied those legs together and tucked the wings

Gave them a little sear in canola oil in a cast iron skillet

Added a little chopped fresh rosemary, stuck a sprig in the cavity as well, and onto the grate of the roasting pan. Roasted uncovered in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 80 minutes. If uncertain as to the doneness, check with an instant-read thermometer. A reading from 170-180 F is desirable.

“We’re done!” Cried the birds

Juicy, succulent, and delicious

Placed on the bed of rice–garnished with scallions, parsley, and tomatoes. I just love tomatoes and rice, as you can also see from the photo below

A little shrimp and asparagus deal from last weeks lunch menu….OK, back to those game hens

Not bad for a meal that didn’t keep me in the kitchen for too long. My sons came along and confiscated all of those little drum-sticks soon after this photo was taken

Lobster With Sauce Meunier And Breaded Pork Chops

It’s been a while since I’ve cooked pork chops. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I cooked them, but its nice to visit the “other white meat” from time to time. Usually I’ll cook a nice blade chop, either braising in port or  a red wine sauce. This time around I just couldn’t pass up some nice thick boneless chops. My first thought was just to oven bake them, but with this thickness, I figured broiling was the way to go, and that-a-way I went!

With roasted garlic-herb mashed potatoes

The lobster was served with a meunière sauce, which is simply a brown butter sauce with fresh parsley and fresh lemon juice. Melt the butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook until it turns golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes, Beat in the lemon juice and parsley–simple

I began with a nice season with a little Himalayan pink salt, fresh cracked black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, Weber Chicago steak seasoning (goes on more than just steak), and just a hint of dry thyme…wee bit, Panko bread crumbs, finely grated Parmesan cheese

The seasonings and bread crumbs produced a nice crust

My close up Mr. Demille. My intentions were to make a nice port wine sauce, but I was missing one key ingredient–port! So I went to plan “B” which was to do a Maître d’Hôtel Butter (basically the same as the meunière), however when I saw Hubby spooning the meunière sauce over his chops, I thought…hmmm…that looks interesting, so I followed suit. Worked out fine. So those other sauces will have to wait till my next go-round

There was a side serving of mixed vegetables–steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and squash. We must eat our veggies

And that my friends was Thursday evening dinner

Broiled Lamb Loin Chops With Orzo Pilaf & Stuffed Mushrooms

I have a wonderful recipe for Crown Rack of Lamb. I want to put a nice herb crust on it and serve with a pecan stuffing of some sort in the center. Even plan on putting those little ‘crown’ hats on the bone tips. However, I have not as yet come across nice size racks that will suffice…only those that will vanquish with one bite. And for my family of men-folk, that just won’t do. I don’t even think they will consider those appetizers  :/    In any event, my best choice were some nice thick short loin chops for this recipe. But, you can bet your bottom-dollar that when I find a nice big meaty rack (a few), I’ll waste no time in getting into the kitchen. It’s in the plans!

 

Served with one of those lovely Seafood Crepes with Creamy Clam Sauce (from the previous post) made for a nice Surf-N-Turf

Of course steamed asparagus was a nice green accompaniment

To make this simple quick orzo pilaf, I began by sauteing chopped onion, roasted red bell pepper, and  chopped marinated artichokes in a few Tbsp of olive oil until the onions were translucent; then added chopped garlic

Added a cup or orzo, and sautéed that with until it was lightly browned

Added 2 cups of water (vegetable  or chicken broth will work fine also…even better),

Mixed well, added zucchini,  salt and pepper, brought to a boil, turned down to a simmer, covered and patiently waited

Yes, this should do it for my hungry bunch. <<Note to self–two packages next time around>> I have a pre-teen son and a teen son with growing appetites. And let us not forget Papa! I love feeding my men-folk however  :-)

The chops were marinated overnight in olive oil, fresh chopped rosemary, fresh chopped parsley, salt, cracked black pepper, just a touch of dried thyme, savory, and basil–just a touch

Had to get a closeup shot. On the rack ready for the broiler. Broiled on high, 4 inches below the flame for about 10 -15 minutes. I flipped them half way through. My goal was a nice medium rare,  and that was achieved. Is  there any other way to eat them?

Trimmed the asparagus, and simply steamed it. Oh how I luvagus asparagus

A little fresh rosemary garnish and dinner is served

Broiled Lamb Loin Chops With Orzo Pilaf

What to do with some of that Pilaf?? Stuff it in some mushrooms!!

I’m always thinking of things to stuff those shrooms with.

I took some of the orzo pilaf, added in some cream cheese, fresh chopped parsley, and a small can of crabmeat

Stuffed it into some portobello mushroom caps

Topped with a mixture of  shredded Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheese and into the  350 oven for about 20 minutes or so

And out of the oven. Hey, remember that song? Kind of went like this–”And into the middle, and out of the middle, and walk two, three, four.”  Forgive me…I digress. Thoughts lingered back to my Angell elementary school dance club days under the tutelage of Mrs. Lenovitz. She taught us a bevy of ethnic dances…ahhh..childhood memories OK, back to the shrooms

Mushroom Madness

 

 

Seafood Crepes With Clam Cream Sauce

Once in a while I get a hankering for crepes, (did I say hankering?) but it’s usually with something sweet in mind. This time I thought I would combine my love of shrimp and scallops with crepes, and this is what I came up with. I really didn’t know how I wanted to put this together…I knew I wanted a cream sauce of some sort. It all worked out in the end–Shrimp and scallop crepes with a creamy  sauce containing clams and oyster mushrooms. The Crepe recipe I used was taken from my Julia Child (who else?) cookbook. This is the only one I use thus far when making crepes. They consistently turn out very tasty and lite. The recipe is at the end of pictorial journey.

 

These didn’t stay on the table for very long

Garnished with a few cubes of tomato and zucchini, sautéed baby red onion

The creamy clammy sauce was very tasty, and those clams were ever so tender

Some medium size shrimp–cleaned and deveined; bay scallops rinsed and dried. I cut off as much as those little adductor muscles (point of attachment to the shell) as I could, but they’re so small…really didn’t matter much

Whole baby clams (1 large can)–rinsed and ready for flavorful action

Sautéed the seasoned (Old Bay, pepper, parsley) shrimp in a little olive oil until…

…they were nice and pink. Just sitting there  on the kitchen table basking in the western sun

Scallops into the pan next. I seasoned with a dash of salt, pepper, Old Bay, and a tad of garlic powder

To begin the sauce, I sautéed scallions, shallots, and some chopped onion in two Tbsp butter until they softened a bit

Added chopped garlic and continued cooking until the garlic gave off its ‘garlicky’ fragrance

Added about one Tbsp flour, mixed until thickened

In goes the cream ( you can uses half and half or milk to lighten it up). One cup of cream, stirred until it was well blended, followed by one cup of milk to get the consistency I desired

After the sauce was nice and smooth at the desired consistency, the clams entered and enjoyed a gentle simmer

Stirred in some chopped zucchini and oyster mushrooms.  At this point I seasoned with salt and pepper, and added honey little by little to get the flavor I wanted. I didn’t want it to be overpoweringly sweet–but just a hint of sweetness. I used about 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp. Afterwards I added those sun-basking shrimp and the scallops

Spoon onto our crepes; roll or fold them over…

..and drizzle more sauce over top, with a little chop of fresh parsley

And we have a wonderful Seafood Crepe meal

My oh my oh my

For a simple dessert–add cream cheese on the crepe, give it a roll, serve with a brandy-strawberry cream sauce with a dollop of crème fraîche

Crepe recipe, courtesy of Julia Child:    

1 cup flour

2/3 cup milk

2/3 cup water

3 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp clear melted butter (spooned off from the milky residue)

Proceed:

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour to clear out any clumps, then slowly whisk in the milk and water to make a perfectly smooth blend. Whisk in the eggs, salt, and 3 Tbsp of the melted butter. Be sure to let the butter cool considerably so as not to ‘cook’ the eggs.  Most likely you’ll use all purpose flour. In which case allow the batter to rest for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.

When you’re ready to make those crepes, of course allow the batter to attain to room temperature. Heat your crepe pan (non-stick skillet) until drops of water ‘dance’ on it, then brush lightly with melted butter. Pour 1/4 cup  (I used my 1/4 measuring cup) into the center of the hot pan and tilt in all directions to spread it out into a nice thin circle. After 30 seconds or so, the bottom of the crepe should be very lightly browned. Simply lift and edge with your spatula (or fingers as I did–ouch, hot!) and give it a peek. At this point a gentle shake of the pan should cause the crepe to move around. Turn it over with your fingers or with the help of the spatula. If you’re in that confident daring mood, give the crepe a flip with a toss of the pan. Cook 15 to 20 seconds. Julia says this will be the ‘nonpublic’ side. Place on a platter. Add a tad more butter to the pan–I used about 1 tsp and gave the pan a swirl–add another 1/4 cup of batter and continue in this manner until you’ve used all the batter or made your desirable amount of crepes.

Shrimp Etoufee – Crawfish Etoufee With Pan Seared Catfish

“Good-bye Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh. Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the Bayou. My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh my oh. Son of a gun, we’ll have fun on the Bayou! “

Some of you may remember those song lyrics, and for some reason that tune was stuck in my head as I clamored for some Etoufee… specifically Shrimp Etoufee. Throw some catfish in there and I’m a happy girl, because I greatly enjoy Etoufee!

Serve over hot rice and we got a party going

And let us not forget that lovely catfish filet. Have to give it to Mini Mart–they have some really nice, fresh catfish

I tell you that’s some of the best catfish I’ve tasted besides it coming straight out of the water

Shrimp Etoufee with Catfish! Does it get any better?

Why yes it does, lets throw some crawfish  in the mix and…

…we’ ll serve up Crawfish Etoufee over that Pan Seared Catfish

And I’ll close this pictorial journey out with the last chorus of the song…its still playing in my head.

“Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and file’ gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou”

 

 

Shrimp With Spinach Cream Sauce

Years ago, I would often make a recipe with shrimp called Chinese Green Shrimp. I really can’t recall where I found the recipe. Vaguely, I think I got it from the news paper along with another recipe called Chinese Skillet Upside-down Pineapple cake. What I do recall is that both recipes were absolutely delicious. Ahhh those were the teen years–and I kept that recipe for quite some time. In any event, I’ve been wanting to make those ‘Green Shrimp” lately, and figured a nice creamy spinach sauce would suffice. This is not how the original recipe was made, but…it’ll do. After looking at this dish, my thinking is this–you must love the color green and absolutely love spinach, as the intense green color of the spinach may not seem appealing to you. However, the flavor was fantastic! For the record, green is my favorite color and I love spinach!! Very soon, I think I’ll try to recall how I made that Chinese Skillet Upside-down Cake also.

Served over linguine

Very tasty. Hubby agreed, although he did say it wasn’t the most appealing dish to his eye…that was expected

Lets make that Spinach Cream Sauce shall we…its pretty simple, and here’s what you will need:

1 package of linguine, cooked per orders

2 Tbsp (1/4) stick butter

1 large onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup Chicken Stock or Broth

1 pound of fresh spinach–washed and steamed. You can steam it in a regular steamer or in a large saucepan over medium/low heat using only the water clinging to the leaves, for about 5 minutes or until completely wilted.

Proceed:

Heat the butter in a large heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until the onion is becoming translucent  Next add in the garlic and continue to saute until fragrant–about 3 minutes more. Add the chicken stock and cream, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and simmer 5 minutes longer. Alternatively, you could just add the steamed spinach to the blender, then add this mixture to it…that’s how I went about it. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool a tad, and add the mixture to a blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend till smooth. Again, if necessary, adjust the salt and pepper. That’s all it is to it.

Our spinach is all nice and clean, just waiting to be steamed

Ahhh, there it is all nicely steamed. Don’t you just love the smell of spinach? All green and healthy for you…I could just eat it up right now, but…that would defeat my recipe lol

Sauteing the onion and garlic in the butter

Added in the chicken broth, now in goes the cream

Everybody into the blender! I had actually placed the steamed spinach in the blender after steaming. Oh look at that cream mixture drizzling in

For the shrimp:

1 lb large or jumbo shrimp–peeled, cleaned, and deveined.

1 onion

1 bell pepper  ( I used a mixture of red, orange, and yellow)

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp Old Bay

2 Tbsp paquillo peppers (optional)

Parmesan cheese, a little lemon zest, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like that spicy kick

3 Tbsp olive oil, and another 3 Tbsp olive oil

Pictorially, it went like this:

Oh my, I love shrimp! Peeled them, cleaned, and deveined with a little butterfly slit along the back

Chopped the veggies, and sliced those lovely piquillo peppers on the right

Into the saute pan with the olive oil (the first 3 Tbsp)–sautéed until just tender

Added in the garlic and continued to saute a few minutes more

Removed the veggies from the pan and set aside. Cook the shrimp in olive oil (the 2nd 3 Tbsp)

When the shrimp are just about done, those lovely sliced piquillo peppers were added, and mixed about

Add in the onions, peppers, and garlic

Added the spinach cream sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Now in my haste to get some plates on the table I added this in quickly. However, for presentations sake, my intentions were to keep the sauce separate, then place the pasta on the plate with a build of the shrimp and vegetable mixture, with a drizzle of sauce about, to present a nice colorful plate. Sigh…maybe next time. However, the flavor was very nice and it went down just the same  

A little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and dash of lemon zest, a few red pepper flakes was all that was needed…well…

… except for a fork…now we’re complete. Well actually a nice glass of  Beaujolais will seal this deal for a great wine pairing

Green Shrimp

Good goobody goop, a gobble of green goodness!

Easy Like Thursday Evening Dinner

What do I cook when I really haven’t planned anything? Chicken! There’s always a few whole chickens, thighs, drums, and wings around. However, Mr. Hubbs had visited Mini Mart picked up a nice bag of quarters. So I thought I would some of them and braise the rest, and serve with plain white rice, and carrots. Simple, pretty quick, and uncomplicated. After all, I have to save the ‘kitchen business’ for Super Bowl Sunday in a few days!

A few fried green tomatoes completed it

Seasoned and searing

Give them a flip

Removed the chicken quarters from the pan, and sautéed onions, leeks, and red bell pepper until the onion was translucent–scrapping all the tasty morsels in the bottom of the pan

In goes that lovely garlic. Where would the world be without garlic I ask? Continue to saute until the garlic gives off its wonderful aroma

Returned the chicken quarters to the pan, added a few more onions on top along with some chopped fresh parsley.  Added one can of chicken broth, cover her up and simmer until the chicken is nice and tender

For the glazed carrots – I peeled and sliced 5 carrots and added them to the pan with 3 Tbsp butter, 1/3 cup of brown sugar and 1/3 cup of water. Simmer until the liquid is reduced and the carrots are tender. Very tasty!

The roasted chicken quarters were served with baked potatoes and mixed vegetables

And that was our simple Thursday Evening Dinner

Down Home Cookin’

What comprises a “down home” meal? Well I guess to different folks, it can be defined as different foods. Depends upon where you’re from or your relatives are from to a great extent. When I think of “down home” food and cooking, I think of the south– Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana  etc.  ”Comfort food” as it’s called, because it sticks to your ribs and leaves you full and satisfied. With that in mind, here are just a few dishes that Mr. Hubbs fondly considers his “down home” meal.

However it’s always nice to start off with a salad, whether it’s ‘down home’ or not

We can go Greek…or

Keep it simple with a little grilled romaine lettuce with a few accompaniments

A nice plate of lima beans, purple hull peas, and black eye pea mix simmered with that hock should do it

Braised beef short ribs served with angel hair pasta for another meat selection

Or will braised oxtails tickle your fancy?

For greenery, a nice bowl of mustard and turnip greens topped with home-made chow-chow relish

Or perhaps collard greens is our choice

A nice pot of green beans cooked in smoked turkey legs will suffice

We’ll be needing some cornbreeaaadddd. The dark veins you see is where I added just a little brown sugar before baking. Off to the right, there are some sweet potatoes and red yams cooling from their ‘stay’ in the oven to make  candied yams

Oh let us not forget the okra! Don’t cha love okra? Sure you do…you don’t have one of those okra problems do you?

Parsnips, apples, and celery in a nice cream sauce

Macaroni and cheese topped with chopped bacon and Parmesan

Fried green tomatoes, can’t leave those out

Now we can’t have a good down home meal without fried chicken can we? Let’s season it a bit

While we’re at it, let’s season the flour as well

Drop it into the hot oil and,

…there we have it. Some folks around here like hot sauce with it. I prefer honey

A nice mash of potatoes will go nicely with that fried chicken

Might as well fry up some catfish too

Add some of Ruby’s tartar sauce and its a go!

Oh that’s good catfish!

Goes mighty fine with a plate of spaghetti

Whenever I fry catfish or any other fish, 9 times out of 10, there will be fried oysters as well

Served with Ruby’s Tartar sauce also

Instead of fried chicken, how about beer-can chicken? Yes she’s propped up on 1/3 can of Budweiser that has garlic cloves, herbs, and spices in it

Or we can simply oven-roast that chicken-bird without the can

Did I hear someone talkin turkey? Turkey works!

But we must have dressing!

Now we can take it “wayyyy” down home if you like– “Chitlin Time”

There are some that do, some that don’t; some that will, some that won’t–told you we were going down south

Choose your heat

Add a little coleslaw

We’ll wrap it up with a few sweet potato pies

Well,  those are just a sample of some ‘down home’ dishes. Yours may comprise something totally different. Of course I don’t cook like this everyday, and as of late I try to eat a healthier diet, and cook that way for my family as well… but once in a while, we just have to go there.  :-)