Tapas

Joe and I alternate years for planning Valentine's Day and Anniversary.  I don't believe that these things should fall on the man alone... mostly because I enjoy planning this stuff.  Last year, Joe made an beautiful meal.  2012 was "my year" to plan V-day dinner (and eventually the anniversary).  I made a variety of tapas which was a LOT of work.  I tried to keep it (somewhat) healthy which was a challenge.  I perused pinterest and one of my favorite online resources for lots of healthy recipe ideas.  

The result was the following:

Beef Carpaccio

Pretzel Bites

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Asparagus and Shrimp Wrapped in Prosciutto with Horseradish Dipping Sauce

Baked Empanadas

Baked Lump Crab Cakes

Vietnamese Cinnamon Creme Brulee

I need to give an additional shoutout to skinny taste for a few more of our favorite recipes that are in regular rotation at the house:

Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken

Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting

Chipotle Burrito bowls (recipes links to other Chipotle remakes... delicious)

Almost-a-Mother's Day

I had a fantastic Mother-To-Be day thanks to a great husband and family. Joe made me his breakfast specialty (for special occasions only) Banana Crepes. He makes these for me on Christmas morning, my birthday, etc. They are amazing. Then he proceeded to clean my car inside and out. He also got me some beautiful Lilies that are still going strong almost 2 weeks later! Thank you, Joe, for making my first Mother's Day memorable!

I hosted my family for a Mother's Day lunch and then headed to my in-laws to celebrate Mother's Day and my Mother-in-law's Birthday that fell on the same day this year. It was a very busy day but a lot of fun!

Thanksgiving Recipe

I was in charge of making a Thanksgiving dessert for the celebration at my parent's house. It was our THIRD T-day meal and I thought I could use a reprieve from pumpkin pie (especially considering I don't even like pie... unamerican... I know... I know!). I made a Pumpkin Creme Brulee instead. I had purchased some Ikea ramekins more than a year ago and I have been itching to use them. It also gave me a good excuse to buy a fun kitchen torch! The recipe was much easier than it sounds and the best part is that it can be made in advance.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee (www.foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 4 teaspoons
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Arrange 8 (1/2-cup) ramekins or custard cups in a large metal baking pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Bring to a bare simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy and lemon-colored. Slowly add 3/4 cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot cream, and whisk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin, and whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Divide among the prepared custard cups.

Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the custards are just set in the center but not stiff, 45 minutes to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle each custard with 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining sugar. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar. (Alternately, preheat the broiler, and broil until the sugar melts and caramelizes, watching closely to avoid burning and rotating the cups, about 1 to 2 minutes.) Place on small dessert plates and serve.

Great Summer Meal

It sounds fancy (I don't claim to know what "Coulis" is) but it is quite easy to make with very simple ingredients.Sea Scallops with Corn Coulis and Tomatoes (adapted from www.epicurious.com)

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup corn (from 2 large ears)
• pinch of cayenne pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (divided)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 lb plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
• 1 lb large sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary (also good with a scallop & shrimp combination)
  

Cook shallot and garlic in 2 teaspoons oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add corn, 1 T. basil, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender and beginning to lightly brown on edges, about 4 minutes. Add milk and scrape up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then remove from heat.

Toss tomatoes with remaining 1 T. of basil and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.

Pat scallops dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté half of scallops, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Sauté remaining scallops in same manner.

Reheat coulis over low heat, covered, then spoon 2 tablespoons onto center of each of 6 plates. Arrange 5 scallops per plate in a circle on coulis, then spoon tomatoes into center.

Cioppino!

I am in no way a foodie or a food blogger but I do love to cook and figure I should share a few success stories. When we were in Monterrey, CA we ate some delicious food. One of our favorite was Cioppino. It is a seafood stew. I decided to step out of the box and the grocery store and buy crazy things like mussels and crab. We were not disappointed in the results!

Cioppino (adapted from epicurious.com)

4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes (less if you don't like much spice)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28- to 32-ounces) can whole plum tomatoes, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
1 cup seafood stock

1 cup chicken stock
1 (1-pound) king crab leg, thawed if frozen
18 small (2-inch) mussels (1 1/2 pound)

1 pound large shrimp (16 to 20), shelled and deveined
3/4 pound sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Garnish: shredded fresh basil leaves and small whole leaves
Accompaniment: focaccia or sourdough bread

Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice and stock and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
While stew is simmering, hack crab leg through shell into 2- to 3-inch pieces with a large heavy knife. Add crab pieces and mussels to stew and simmer, covered, until mussels just open, 5 to 10 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes and transferring opened clams to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon. (Discard any unopened mussels after 10 minutes.) Lightly season shrimp and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.

Serve cioppino immediately in large soup bowls