The Best Barbecue Sauce in the World...?

This isnt a meal in itself, i realise, it's a side dish, a condiment and also, a pretty awesome marinade! It's simple enough to make in a few minutes, and doesn't require any preparation, you can literally just decide to make it and have it ready in a few minutes.

You will need the following ingredients:

1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 large white onion
1 large clove of garlic (crushed)
1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of Paprika
1 tablespoon of Soft Dark Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon of Fennel Seeds
Salt & Pepper
Tomato Ketchup

Utensils needed:

Small saucepan
Wooden Spoon
Chopping Board
Sharp Knife
Jug Blender

Put your saucepan on a low heat with the olive oil. Finely chop the onion and add it to the pan with the crushed garlic. Add a good sized pinch of salt, and a big grind of pepper. Take the fennel seeds, and crush them with a rollnig pin until they're as finely powdered as you can get, and add it to the saucepan, along with the cayenne, paprika & sugar. Keep on the heat for a few minutes, mixing thoroughly, before finally adding the ketchup. Now, i used half a large squeezy bottle of ketchup to make mine, and really you can add as much as you like, just don't make it too thick, or too thin - you want it to have SOME consistency!

Finally, after it's been brought to a simmer, turn the pan off, empty the contents into a jug blender, and blitz it til its nicely smooth (should only take a minute) - simple, no? :)

I decided to treat myself and immediately made some salami & cheese mini toasties to go with it - OM NOM NOM! :D

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Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella

 

I hope everyone had a spectacular Turkey day. I was too busy eating so I unfortunately don't have any photos of the spread. *sadface* And I'm still recovering from my food coma. As for the actual turkey, I've never been too crazy about it the day of but I do love the leftovers. Aside from the always glorious post-Thanksgiving sandwich, the possibilities for the turkey are endless: soups, chilies, stir fries, casseroles, etc.

A paella is a little like a casserole in the sense that it is often served in the same vessel it's cooked in. I've adapted this paella recipe for leftover turkey but leftover roast chicken would work just as well. This recipe is made in a 6 quart Dutch oven because I don't have a paella pan nor do I have a open fire of orange branches and pine cones so I did the cooking in the oven.

Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella
1 cup chicken or turkey stock
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 pound seafood of choice or a mixture of shrimp, peeled and deveined, scallops, or squid
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
Olive oil
8 or 9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (2 generous tablespoons)
3 to 4 cups leftover turkey, coarsely shredded or chopped
8 ounces Spanish chorizo (can sub fresh chorizo or Portugese linguiça), sliced in half lengthwise then cut into 1/2 inch thick crescents on the bias
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups Valencia or Arborio rice or another short grain rice
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 dried bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper
1 dozen or so mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the turkey broth in a small saucepan or in the microwave until hot and steaming but not boiling. Add the crumbled saffron to bloom and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering but not smoking. Add the pepper strips, stirring occasionally, and cook about 3 to 4 minutes or until the skin starts to blister and turn spotty black. Transfer the pepper to a small plate and set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add 2 teaspoons of oil in the now empty Dutch oven and cook the chorizo until it starts to brown and fat begins to render, about 4 - 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook until the onions are soft, 3 - 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add the rice and stir until the Dutch oven contents are evenly mixed. Add the drained and chopped tomatoes, white wine, turkey stock and saffron mixture, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper and bring to boil stirring occasionally.

Cover the pot and transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid, about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the pot from the oven, mix in the cooked leftover shredded turkey and shrimp. Arrange the mussels hinged-side down into the rice, arrange the bell peppers in a pinwheel pattern. Cover and return the pot to the oven and cook until shrimp are opaque and mussels are opened, about 10 minutes.

Scatter the peas on top, cover, and let the paella stand for 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that haven't opened. Sprinkle with parsley and arrange lemon slices on top or serve them separately.

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New York Greaser

The name of this sandwich says it all! 
     While I was working in restaurants on the east coast, there always seemed to be a few cooks in the kitchen from New York City.  The NYC cooks always bragged up the food from back home.  Hey!  New York City food is worth bragging up! 
     Big Apple sub shops and Italian delicatessens always have local nicknamed food items on the menu.  Local customers would know what a "Greaser" is in some neighborhoods.  When a customer who was new to the area would ask "What is a Greaser?"  The deli cooks answer always started with these words; "You don't know what a Greaser is?"  Then the deli cook would shake his head in disbelief and disgust over the thought that anyone would not know what a Greaser is! 
     Traditionally, a greaser is made by dipping large pieces of bell pepper and onions with an Italian sausage in hot fryer oil repeatedly.  When the onions and peppers caramelize and the sausage is cooked brown, the cook would empty the fryer basket onto an Italian sub roll without shaking off the excess grease.  The "Greaser" nickname came from having enough grease dripping from the sandwich to slick down the customers hair.  Those greasy, slick, mens hair styles from the 1960's is what this sandwich was named after.  You didn't need hair styling grease if you were eating one of these sandwiches! 
     Cheese was the only option on a "Greaser" sandwich.  The only sliced cheeses in old New York Italian delis were provolone or mozzarella.  When a customer asked for American cheese, the deli cook would say "You actually eat that stuff?"  LOL 
     Recipe:  Bake a large sweet Italian sausage in a 400 degree oven till it is full cooked, plump and juicy. 
     Lay a few thin slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on an Italian sub roll that is split open.  Bake the roll till the bread is crusty and the cheese becomes soft. 
     Heat a generous amount of blended olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat.  Place large cut pieces of red and green bell pepper in the hot oil.  Add large cut onion pieces.  When the peppers are cooked half way, add the baked sausage.  Pan fry the sausage, peppers and onions till all the ingredients get brown highlights. 
     Use tongs or a fryer skimmer to remove the ingredients from the hot grease and place them directly on the melted mozzarella cheese on the toasted sub roll. 
     Place the sandwich on a plate and serve with some Italian Pickled Giardiniera.  (Store bought Italian giardiniera is fine for this recipe.)  Sprinkle a little bit of dried oregano over the sandwich. 
     Serving a New York Greaser Sandwich with French Fries just might be considered to be "grease overkill!"  Just forget about asking for French Fries in a NY Italian Deli.  The response that you will get from the deli clerk would be;  "French Fries?  This is an Italian deli!" 
     Obviously, this New York Greaser sandwich is not a sandwich that is meant to be eaten everyday.  A good "Greaser" sandwich does bring back memories of the good old days when food was fun!  Delicious!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna      

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Medallions of Lotte Lautrec

This is a simple elegant recipe! 
     Lotte is also known as monkfish in English.  The sauce was named after the French Painter Toulouse Lautrec.  Monkfish is a deep water fish that has a lobster flavor and texture.  The Lautrec mint creme is perfect with monkfish! 
     Recipe:  Cut a monkfish filet into thick medallions and season them with sea salt and pepper.  Pan sear both sides of each medallion in butter and oil over medium heat till fully cooked.  Arrange the monkfish medallions on a plate. 
     Reduce a splash of white wine in a sauce pot over medium high heat till it is almost a syrup consistency.  Add a splash cream, sea salt, white pepper and fresh chopped mint leaves.  Reduce the sauce till it becomes a light sauce consistancy. 
     Spoon sauce around the monkfish medallions onto the plate. 
     Serve with brown rice, julienne buttermilk battered eggplant frites, pimiento and peas. 
     The eggplant sticks are simply dredged in flour, then dredged in buttermilk and finally dredged in curry powder seasoned flower and then fried in 360 degree oil. 
     The mint is far from overpowering and it is a very delicate flavor in the creme sauce.  The sauce caresses the monkfish flavors very nicely.  This is such a refreshingly simple entree.  Delicious!  Shawna

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Antipasti! Insalata di Bonito Carciofi with Caponata and Mozzarella Crostini

Spring and summer food the Italian way! 
      
     Insalata di Bonito Carciofi Recipe:  Mix a little bit of virgin olive oil, a few ripe olives that are cut in half, a few quartered artichoke hearts, a little bit of finely chopped garlic, sea salt, a pinch of black pepper and some flaked cooked bonito filet.  (Bonito is in the tuna family and it does have a slightly stronger flavor.  Simply boil or bake a piece of bonito filet.  Let the bonito cool.  Flake the bonito meat with a fork.)  Toss the ingredients together and chill in a refrigerator. 
     Caponata Recipe:  Saute these ingredients in virgin olive oil gently over medium low heat:  a few cloves of sliced garlic, a little bit of chopped onion and some chopped celery. 
     When the celery is cooked al dente, add some thin sliced eggplant.  (Leave the eggplant skin on.)
     Add sea salt and black pepper. 
     Add some peeled seeded plum tomato filets.  Add a little bit of tomato paste and a generous splash of balsamic vinegar.  Stir and gently reduce the caponata.  The caponata should be rich and dark colored with the thick sauce clinging to the vegetables.   Remove the caponata from the heat.  Place the caponata into a container and chill it in a refrigerator.  Chill the caponata for two hours before serving so that all the flavors meld.  (Don't let this caponata get too mushy by over cooking.  Only add a minimum amount of the liquids so the time spent simmering will not be long.) 
     Mozzarella Crostini Recipe:  Cut thin slices of Italian bread.  Brush both sides with olive oil and bake in a 350 degree oven till they are almost crispy.  Top each crostini slice with a fresh mozzarella slice and return them to the oven to soften the cheese.  (Do not brown the cheese!) 
     Assembly:  Place some mixed lettuce, sliced carrot and sliced onion on a serving platter.  Set the bonito carciofi mixture on top of the salad and sprinkle a little bit of coarse ground black pepper over the salad.  Set the crostini and caponata on the platter and sprinkle a little bit of oregano on the cheese. 
     This is such a satisfying, healthy and great tasting antipasti platter!  Putting the caponata or the  bonito carciofi on a slice of the cheese crostini while eating is such a nice combination.  I made the bread a couple days ago and it is perfect for making crostini.  I bought the mozzarella but I occasionally make fresh mozzarella cheese with fresh curds.  The coponata recipe is one of many regional Italian coponata styles.  Italian cooking is simplicity at its best.  Quality and technique are always important in perfection Italian cooking.  Exact proportions and distinct ingredients yield great flavors from a combination of just a few ingredients.  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna

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Spaghetti Aromatici

This is a nice light pasta that has a very nice mixture of herbs.  Pastas like Spaghetti Aromatici are usually served as the third or fifth course of an Italian seven course formal dinner.
     Recipe:  Boil spaghetti pasta till al dente.  While the pasta is cooking, make the aromatici sauce.
     Saute sliced garlic in virgin olive oil over medium heat till it turns to a golden color.  (Use enough olive oil to coat the noodles.  Olive oil is the sauce.)  Add sea salt and cracked black pepper.  Add a chopped fresh herb mix of oregano, sage, parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram and a larger proportion of chopped mint.  Toss herb oil sauce with the cooked pasta.  Garnish with a mint sprig.
     The aroma and taste of this pasta is so fragrant!  Mint is really the major portion of the herb mix.  This is an authentic regional Italian pasta that does not get the attention it deserves.  Simply wonderful!  Ciao Baby!  ... Shawna

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