Cuisinart Griddler

I have been wanting a griddle for ever, but haven't bought one because of a lack of cupboard space. After spending the weekend in Newport, Rhode Island for Megan and Alex's wedding and eating the two best paninis ever. I decided I must also get a panini press. I was happy as a clam, the yummy fried kind, to find the Cuisinart Griddler. This little wonder works as a contact grill, panini press, and opens to a flat griddle large enough to make about 6 small pancakes. I am not sure how I lived with out it! They retail for about $150 but Costco has it for $99. With all those functions I can definitely justify the space in my tiny cupboards!

Spicy Shrimp Rolls

Megan usually rounds up the Self Magazine recipes for us, but she was a little busy getting married. :)
So when this spicy little number showed up in my in box, I had to share. I think this would be a fun hors d'oeuvres to serve before you went out for drinks with friends. I would also have some edamame and maybe potstickers for a mini feast. (We had quite the mini hors d'oeuvres feast at Megan and Alex's wedding!)

1 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp minced ginger
1/3 cup rice wine or sake
1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Juice from 6 limes (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda Granulated
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 heads Boston, or butterhead, lettuce
2 cups fresh basil leaves
3 medium carrots, peeled and finely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/3 lb rice stick noodles, softened in boiling water and drained thoroughly.  In a bowl, toss shrimp with ginger, wine and oil. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes. Mix lime juice, sugar, Splenda, soy sauce, garlic and pepper flakes in a bowl; set aside. Core lettuce and separate leaves; rinse and dry them. Cook shrimp with its marinade in a medium pan or wok over medium-high heat, turning shrimp until opaque, 2 or 3 minutes.

Place 3 shrimp inside each lettuce leaf along with 2 or 3 basil leaves, 1 tbsp carrots and a small handful of noodles and roll up. Divide dressing among 4 small dishes for dipping.

Lobster Bake

Matt and I are in Newport, Rhode Island for our friend's Megan and Alex's wedding. We are staying in a lovely bed and breakfast, enjoying great company and best of all going to a lobster bake! (just kidding Meg, the best part is you and Alex making it official!) Me being the foodie that I am had to read all about lobster bakes the second we got our invitation in the mail. Megan being an author on this blog, also loves food, so I know this is going to be good! I did find a recipe from my celebrity food crush, Michael Chiarello, to create your own lobster bake if you are so inclined!

15 pounds of seaweed (your fish person can get you some)
16 (1 1/2 pound) lobsters*
16 ears corn, shucked
5 pounds red potatoes, parboiled halfway in salted water
10 pounds large clams
1 (750 ml) bottle white wine
2 yards wet burlap

Special equipment: #3 galvanized washtub (easy to find at a local hardware store)

Start the fire 1 hour in advance, making sure the coals are white hot before you begin cooking.

Spread 1/2 of the seaweed on the bottom of the tub to protect the lobsters from burning. Place lobsters on top of seaweed. Place the corn on top of the lobster, and the potatoes on top of the corn. Arrange the raw clams on top of the vegetables and top with the remaining seaweed. Pour the wine into the tub. Place the wet burlap over the food and tuck the edges into the tub to retain the steam inside.

Place the tub on top of the coals. Every 15 minutes, moisten the burlap with water. Cook for about 45 minutes.

Serve the lobster bake strewn out on newspapers, with melted butter, piles of coarse sea salt, and favorite spices as condiments.

Lobster Rolls

Matt and I are leaving tomorrow for a wedding in Rhode Island. We have never been to Rhode Island before, I know that JFK and Jackie Kennedy were married there and that they have lobster rolls! We are really excited for our trip and I am definitely in search of lobster. Here is a recipe I found to make them if you want to try it at home!

Lobster Salad:
1/2 pound fully cooked lobster meat or 1 (2 1/2 pound) live lobster
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup bottled mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon fresh tarragon
2 small scallions, thinly sliced
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 to 3 New England-style hot dog buns
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Pickles and potato chips as accompaniment

Prepare the lobster salad.
If using live lobsters, steam or boil them. Let cool at room temperature. Use a cleaver to crack and remove the meat from the claws, knuckles and tails. Remove the cartilage from the claws and the intestines from the tails of the cooked meat. Cut the meat into 1/2-inch dice. You may pick all the meat from the carcass and add it to the meat or freeze the carcass for soup or broth.
Place the cucumber in a colander for at least 5 minutes to drain the excess liquid. Combine the lobster, cucumber mayonnaise, and tarragon. Add the scallions. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat a large heavy skillet (12 to 14-inches) over medium-low heat (a black cast-iron pan is perfect). Lightly butter both sides of each bun. Place them in the pan and cook for about 2 minutes until golden brown. Turn the buns over and toast the other side. Or toast the buns under a broiler instead. When the buns are ready, stuff them with the chilled lobster salad.

Pierogies from Pittsburgh

Well you can't go to Pittsburgh without having pierogies, I was told that in Pittsburgh they eat more than 11 times the pierogies of any other city in the nation. The Pittsburgh Pirates even hold a pierogi race during the bottom of the 5th inning at every Pirates home game. I like pierogies anyway but I usually just buy the box of frozen ones. The pierogies there are different and I was told that was due to the sour cream in the dough. Here is a recipe I found to make Pittsburgh style pierogies.

2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
butter and onions for sauteing
ingredients for filling of your choice (potato & cheese filling recipe below) In Pittsburgh they stuff them with everything!

Pierogie Dough
To prepare the pierogi dough, mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Add the 1/2 cup sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes). You can use a food processor with a dough hook for this, but be careful not to overbeat. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8" thick. Cut circles of dough (2" for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2" for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.

Boil the perogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.

Saute chopped onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy. Serve with a side of sour cream for a true Pittsburgh pierogi meal.

Pierogie Tips:

1. If you are having a hard time getting the edges to stick together, you may have too much flour in the dough. Add a little water to help get a good seal.
2. If you don't want to cook all of the pierogies right away, you can refrigerate them (uncooked) for several days or freeze them for up to several months.
3. You can fill pierogies with pretty much anything you want, though potato and cheese is the most common (recipe below). Sweet pierogies are often filled with a prune mixture.
   

Potato, Cheese and Onion Filling
Peel and boil 5 lbs of potatoes until soft. Red potatoes are especially good for this. While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop 1 large onion and saute in butter until soft and translucent. Mash the potatoes with the sauteed onions and 8oz of grated cheddar cheese, adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some fresh parsley, bacon bits, or other enhancements if you desire. Let the potato mixture cool and then form into 1" balls.

Famous in Pittsburgh: Italian Wedding Soup

Last week I was on a business trip to Pittsburgh and stayed the weekend to visit my friend Dani and her kids. Now before you think eww Pittsburgh, I have to say, Pittsburgh is actually a lovely city, the rivers and bridges are really pretty. The people are incredibly friendly and the city itself has interesting architecture and it is very clean. (There are other places I travel which I will not say such nice things about!) Whenever I travel somewhere I am always curious about the local foods. Before I left I was reading that Pittsburgh has a lot of multi-cultural foods because of all the immigrants who came to Pittsburgh to work in the steel industry. All over the city you can find foods like Pierogies, Chipped Ham and Fried Zucchini Strips. Pittsburgh is also famous for some common foods that were invented there, like Heinz Ketchup, Clark Bars, Klondike bars and even the Big Mac! The food that I was really amazed by is the Italian Wedding Soup, which is so popular you can even buy it at some McDonald's! Here is Giada de Laurentis recipe for Italian Wedding Soup.

Meatballs:
1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole would be a good substitution)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese, beef and pork. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet.

To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and curly endive and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the curly endive is tender, about 8 minutes. Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

Enchilada Stack

Matt and I went to grab some dinner at Desert Ridge a few weeks ago. Desert Ridge is a big shopping, movie and dining complex. It has a nice mix of chain and independent restaurants. We decided to eat at the Office, we thought it was the same as the Office in Cabo but it turns out to be the same as the Office in Prescott. Looking like a typical bar/restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised all the food was delicious. Matt ordered a chicken enchilada stack which I will try to recreate. (What I loved about the dish at the Office, was that each portion was individually served, in a small baking dish, if you wanted to do that simply divide the recipe into 6 portions)

1 lb. shredded chicken (I would get a rotisserie chicken)
1 jar (17.5 oz.) Red Enchilada Sauce
6 soft flour tortillas (10") or smaller if you want to make individuals
2 cups shredded cojita cheese
2 cans (4 oz. each) green chiles, drained
Chopped green onions
1/4 cup sour cream


Add 1/2 cup enchilada sauce to the shredded chicken. Spray baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray.

PLACE 1 tortilla on baking sheet. Top with 1/3 of chicken mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Top with 1 tortilla, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, 1 can chiles and 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with 1 tortilla, remaining meat mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining tortilla. Cover with foil.

BAKE at 400°F. for 40 min. or until hot. Uncover. Top with remaining enchilada sauce, cheese, sour cream and onions. Bake 5 min. Cut into wedges.