Appetizers

Apr

30

Guest Post – Shannon Muir from AmoXcalli Cooks Recipes out of Weeknights With Giada

Appetizers / breakfast / chicken / family recipes / Guest Posts / main dishes / photos  Posted by / 0 comments

My name’s Shannon Muir, and you can find me partnering with Gina Ruiz over on the book review site AmoXcalli; Gina of course also runs Dona Lupe’s Kitchen.  Recently one of the books I managed to get for review was Weeknights With Giada by cooking show host Giada De Laurentiis. Gina knew that I planned to try several recipes before writing my review, though AmoXcalli focuses more on readability and usability of a book versus the details of it – especially since that site primarily reviews fiction, but is open to any good books. In talking with Gina, it seemed like a good fit to document the details of the various recipes I tried and my thoughts about them specifically here at Dona Lupe’s Kitchen as  a guest blog.

WEEKNIGHTS WITH GIADA

Author: Giada De Laurentiis

Publisher: Random House

ISBN-10:  030745102X

ISBN-13: 978-0307451026

ASIN: B0070O8CKY

Bear in mind that I am a very novice cook compared to Gina’s wealth of experience and her great ability to cook by instinct – I had the opportunity to see this firsthand when she cooked for me while I had to be off my feet. I’ve told her I could use some cooking lessons from her.

So here’s my insight about the three dishes I personally tried from Weeknights with Giada:

1) CREPES WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND JAM

It’s actually of Giada’s “Breakfast for Dinner” portion of the book but due to my time constraints to try recipes I really did have this one for a breakfast meal. I’d never made crepes before, and her method of getting the batter ready really proved stress free and simple without a lot of utensils. The crepe fillings are peanut butter, fresh blueberries, and strawberry or raspberry jam. For some reason I could only find raspberry preserves, and decided to go with a reduced sugar version at that. Overall I don’t think that mattered much, because these tasted great though I couldn’t really eat more than four at a sitting… two is really what’s recommended but I had so many. This was my first time making crepes and I found it even more challenging than pancakes because of the thin nature of a crepe; out of the eight I tried to make, only seven came out solid, as the first one better resembled scrambled eggs and the second split in half. Given the insides I figured these would get gooey if I cut them and dusted any sugar before I took a picture, so I took a picture of the final results with the filled crepes still whole. I really enjoyed making these and would do it again.

 

Peanut Butter and Jam Crepes

These are my Peanut Butter and Jam (well Preserves in my case) Crepes before cutting them in half horizontally as recommended. I still need practice on rolling crepes.

 

 

2) SPICED PORK CHOPS WITH SWEET AND SOUR GLAZE

I’ll immediately fess up to a small alteration here. Giada recommends boneless pork chops, but I forgot to write boneless down and when I got to the market, the center cut was on sale – so this recipe was actually done with center cut. It didn’t affect the flavor, but it did mean cooking two sets of chops at a time and then starting the sauce when the second set of chops cooked. My fiance’ was over visiting for the day and we actually cooked these together. The rub for the chops finds its kick in crushed red pepper which I usually stay away from and the flavor did stay with me even after I finished eating the chop.  Initially the stove was a bit hot and we slightly burned the first two chops, but the second two turned out far better. The glaze that goes with these proved the highlight of the meal with the balsamic honey taste that dominates until that red pepper takes over. Also with the other two pork chops, it made a great marinade overnight for me to have tender leftovers for lunch the next day. Despite the red pepper, I would eat these again for sure.

Spiced Pork Chop

Here is a spiced pork chop with sweet and sour glaze... done with a center cut chop.

 

 

3) CRISPY CHICKEN WITH ROSEMARY-LEMON SALT

Essentially, these are fancy chicken nuggets (made by cutting chicken tenders in pieces) coated in cornmeal and herbs and then dipped in marinara sauce. I really liked them plain and thought they had good flavor just that way. Honestly, I found it hard to understand what the flavored salt brought to the dish because lemon zest and rosemary already were in it as part of the chicken coating. Also, personally, I’m trying to cut back on sodium so I was glad the ones I tried without it tasted good too. Probably eat my leftovers tomorrow without the salt. I’d definitely make the coated tenders again though.

Crispy Chicken with Rosemary-Lemon Salt and Marinara

Crispy chicken pieces dusted with rosemary-lemon salt surrounding marinara sauce for dip

 

See my review at AmoXcalli for my overall thoughts of the cookbook… and perhaps I’ll be back again with more behind the scenes from other cookbooks or getting some cooking lessons from Gina!

Sep

19

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

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Fried and stuffed squash blossoms

Squash blossom season comes and goes quickly in a delicate flutter of pale orange petals that flavor soups, quesadillas and budins.  It happens so fast that if it weren’t for the brilliant color, you’d probably not notice the season unless you were looking for it.

I get excited when I see those delicate orange flowers with the bright green stems.  My heart skips a beat and I literally skip to the flowers as soon as they appear in my local markets.  I make as many dishes as I can get through before the season ends but no matter what I make, the stuffed flowers always, always happen first.  They are my absolute favorite things to eat and that first return from a market with squash blossoms always means I’m going immediately to the kitchen to quickly stuff and fry them.

Sometimes I take the time to make a salsa to dip them in but that’s usually after that first day heady rush to make them.  I simply can’t wait or be bothered to make salsa.  I just want my stuffed flowers.  They are light, crispy, slightly salty and all kinds of delicious.  Can’t live without ‘em and once you try them, I don’t think you’ll be able to either.

Stuffed Squash Flowers

1 bunch – about a dozen squash flowers, stamens removed and stems trimmed
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of flour
1 tbsp. Knorr Suiza (optional)
Queso fresco
Olive oil for frying

Carefully wash the squash blossoms and gently pat dry.  Remove the stamens and trim the stems.  Set aside.
Cut the queso fresco into small cubes and set aside.
In a shallow bowl mix the flour with Knorr Suiza (or salt and pepper if you prefer) and set aside.
In another bowl beat an egg.
Heat oil in a skillet.

Assemble the flowers by carefully sliding in a piece of the queso and making sure the petals cover it.  Dredge in the flour mixture and lay them on a tray.
When the oil is hot enough (think about the temp for frying chicken), take one of the flour dredged flowers and dip it in the beaten egg and slide into the skillet.  Let brown on one side, about three minutes then turn over.  I use tongs to slide them in and turn them.  Remove from the pan when they are golden brown and put onto a plate lined with brown paper or paper towels to drain.

Serve immediately with either salsa, a little cream or just plain.  Delicious!

Jul

20

Chiles Rellenos de Atun – Tuna Stuffed Chiles

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It was a hot summer night and I didn’t feel like making a full dinner.  We just weren’t that hungry but something snacky sounded good.  I mentally started going through the recipe list that lives in my head for something cool, spicy, semi-healthy and fun.  Running through the list I wasn’t finding anything I was in the mood for then I remembered the big bag of chiles gueritos I had just bought at the market earlier in the day.  It got me remembering a trip to Mexico with my friend Elodia, her husband Frank, and the rest of her family.

We had been at her parent’s home in the Imperial Valley visiting and since it was so close to the border, we just headed in to a little seafood restaurant they knew and loved.  One of the things that was served as an appetizer were these amazing little stuffed chile gueritos.   The chiles were fried in butter, stuffed with breaded and very fresh shrimp and served with a little side dish of soy sauce.  They were delectable and stayed in my memory for a very long time.  The memory of good friends, good food, cold beer and Mexico is one of my favorites and I’ve since fiddled with and made those same stuffed chiles as well as many permutations of them.  They always turn out amazing and everyone is a fan so I started thinking about what I had in the house to stuff the chiles with.

Stepping into my still almost an obstacle  course kitchen in the fixer upper house we just bought, I started scanning my shelves.  First thing I saw was the 36 cans of albacore tuna that my roommate David brought home proudly on one of his bargain shopping trips.  Laughing, I grabbed a can and started assembling the rest of my ingredients:  butter, chiles, a yellow onion, two stalks of celery, a few key limes, two tomatoes, salt, pepper, soy sauce and a squeeze bottle of mayo and got to work. About 20 minutes later, I had a relatively healthy and satisfying snack that was beautiful and delicious.  I served my chiles on a bed of caramelized onions and tomatoes to give a little sweetness to the dish.  It’s the perfect thing for a hot summer night.  Just add cold beer or some icy Prosecco and you’re good to go.

Chiles Rellenos de Atun

10 chile gueritos

tablespoon butter

1 can albacore tuna, drained well

2 stalks of celery, minced

1/2 a medium tomato, finely minced

salt and pepper to taste

squeeze of lime or lemon

caramelized onions and tomatoes

Wash the chiles and pat dry.  In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter on a low flame and then add the whole chiles stems and all.  Let brown and blister, then turn making sure each chile gets well browned and blistered all the way around.  Remove from heat and cover with a damp cloth.  Let cool.

In a mixing bowl, add the drained albacore tuna, the tomatoes, celery, lime juice,salt and pepper.  Mix well, breaking the tuna up into very small flakes.  Let rest for five minutes covered.

Peel the cooled chiles, leaving the stems on.  Slit them down the middle lengthwise stopping just before the end.  You want a small pocket.  Carefully remove the seeds if you want to.  My family happens to like them in because the chiles are spicier with.  Up to you.  I tend to leave them in if my boys are visiting but for guests, I remove all the seeds.

Using a spoon stuff each chile just enough to let a small about of the tuna mixture pop out.  Garnish with a dab of mayonnaise and a slice of lime. Serve them on a bed of caramelized onions and tomato slices and a dipping bowl of soy sauce on the side.  The sweetness of the caramelized veggies will cool the heat just enough.