Shrimp Remoulade Stacks

In addition to having many many many cookbooks I have a pantry to match.  It is a whole room.  It is full of all kinds of kitchen appliances.  Some of these I have never even used.  Some are the as seen on TV ones (which only work for the folks on TV by the way).  One gadget that has been on the shelf for a while is called Stacks-thekit.  The box contains 6 metal shapes, 2 squares, 2 triangles and 2 circles in which to stack food along with a matching plunger to push the food down so it can look all fancy and composed on your plate.  It just looked like so much fun, the possibilities for its use ran through my mind and yet I have never used it. 

Well this past weekend I was browsing through one of my cookbooks and came across a recipe for a stacked crab louis.  I decided to make it as a stacked shrimp remoulade, replacing the crab with shrimp and the louis sauce with remoulade sauce. Of course you do not need the stacks kit to make this.  You could save up some empty tuna cans and use those to stack the food in.  Save the lids but watch the edges.  You need something to compress the food so it stays tight as you lift the can off the food. 

I served this to my family as an appetizer.  They thought we were being so fancy!  I made 2 circles and 2 triangles.  I think the next time I make this I will make more of each stacking ingredient so the layers are more apparent but everyone loved the dish.

 

 

Shrimp Remoulade Stacks

Remoulade Sauce:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Tabasco
1 diced green onion (white and green)
1 stack celery, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  Chill.

For the shrimp:

8 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined
seasoned salt

Sprinkle shrimp lightly with the seasoned salt.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Toss the shrimp in the skillet and stir fry until just cooked through.  Transfer to a bowl and chill.

For the stacks:

1 cup finely shredded lettuce
1 cup diced tomato
1 hard boiled egg, diced
1 cup diced avocado
Chilled shrimp, reserve 4 for garnish, chop the rest
balsamic glaze

Mix the shredded lettuce with a tablespoons of the remoulade sauce.  Divide the lettuce among 4 stack moulds or empty tuna cans that are placed directly on the serving plates. Divide the tomatoes evenly over the lettuce.  Follow this with the egg then the avocado and finally the chopped shrimp.  Tamp down the moulds to lightly compress everything so it will hold together.  Hold the lid in place while removing the mould. 

Drizzle the remoulade sauce over top.  Garnish each serving with a few drops of balsamic glaze. 

Enjoy! 

Shrimp Stuffed Salmon with Beurre Blanc Sauce

Anyone who knows me also knows that I have way too many cookbooks.  They number in the thousands I am sure.  Everytime I buy one I tell myself this is it.  This is the last one I need (like I NEED any of them).   Of course that is never the case.  I do love my books though.  One of my favorite pasttimes is to sit and read my cookbooks.  Like a novel.  Page by page.  Although I do like pictures as much as anyone my favorite part is when the author heads up the recipes with personal comments.

One would think that with all these books to inspire me I would be cooking up a storm and posting more to my blog.  And I am going to try to do just that.  I recently found myself at the library used book store with my daughters looking for some books for them to read during the summer.  Of course I had to take a peek at the cookbook section.....they are only a $1....and I found a brand new copy of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant Cookbook.  For a dollar.  Ok, this is the last book I need. 

I decided that I was going to make something from it right away.  So this recipe is inspired by one of theirs.  In their recipe they use crab and shrimp to stuff the salmon.  I used just shrimp and used less filling and made less sauce than called for and my portions were still very generous.  This dinner is really good.  My husband said this tastes like something you would get in a restaurant. 

Shrimp Stuffed Salmon with Beurre Blanc Sauce

1 recipe beurre blanc sauce (below)
4 (6 ounce) center cut salmon fillets
6 ounces shrimp, peeled and diced
2 ounces brie cheese, diced (can leave rind on)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 clove garlic, crushed
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Prepare the beurre blanc sause and keep warm in a double boiler.

Preheat oven to 400.  Blend together all the ingredients except the salmon and the sauce.  Cut each salmon fillet lenthwise down the center halfway through the fillet and then cut into the fillet to open it up on each side.  Divide the stuffing evenly among the fillets and press into the pockets.  Bring the sides back up over the filling leaving some filling exposed on top.  Bake the fillets for 10 to 12 minutes until done.  Transfer to plates and spoon the sauce over top. 

Beurre Blanc Sauce

2 ounces white wine vinegar
4 ounces white wine
1 small shallot, diced
pinch of black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 ounces cold butter cut into 6 pieces

In a small sauce pan bring the vinegar, wine, shallot and pepper to a boil.  Reduce until the liquid is almost all evaporated.  Adde the cream and continue to cook until the cream is thick and reduced by almost half.  Strain the sauce pressing on solids then return to the saucepan.  Bring back to a simme and then remove thepan from the heat.  Add the butter one piece at a time.  Swirl the pan with each addition until the butter is completely melted.  Keep the sauce warm over a double boiler placed over very low heat.

The 2012 Great American Pie Festival®

Forget the theme parks!  If you were in the Orlando area this past weekend the place to be was the
2012 Great American Pie Festival at Lakeside Park in Celebration, FL.  This event has so much going on.  It is a fantastic event for the entire family.

We started out in the kids area.  While admission to the event is free there are some activities that charge a nominal fee.  In the kids area it was $5 for unlimited access to the inflatables.  For another $5 the kids got to do all kinds of pie related activities.  They got to make a small pie which is nicely packaged up so they can take it home and bake it.  They got to decorate a baked pie crust with frosting and sprinkles and take that home as well.  There was a station where the kids could decorate a plate using Smuckers toppings and yet another where the kids decorated chefs hats.  There are pie eating contests periodically throughout the day for both kids and adults.

At the central stage there was constant entertainment of some kind including musicians, magicians, comedians among other things.  Making the rounds throughout the festival you even get characters! Those that I saw were the Pillsbury doughboy, a California raisin and cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee.

There are the usual purveyors of food and crafts but the highlight of the festival is the Never Ending Pie Buffet!  For just $10 per adult and $5 per child you enter the area and sample as many pies as you want.

The wrist band allows you in and out of the buffet so you can pace yourself.  We went early on, ate some pie, walked it off and then went back and ate more pie! 

If you did not make it this year be sure to watch for the dates for next years festival at this website:  http://www.piecouncil.org.  We have not missed it for the past four years and plan to be back for more pie next year.  See you there!

Breakfast Souffles

This morning I had my neighbor over for coffee and breakfast after we dropped the kids off at school.  It gave us a chance to relax and catch up on everything that is going on. 

For breakfast I made individual Breakfast Souffles.  Served with freshly baked blueberry muffins (recipe to come soon) and strawberries, it was perfect.  The souffle recipe was adapted from Southern Living.

Breakfast Souffles

Ingredients:

3 bacon slices
1 medium onion, diced
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 12 oz can crescent roll dough (I used Pillsbury)
1 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar)

Special equipment:  6 mini quiche dishes
Instructions for Breakfast Souffles:

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet until crisp.  Remove to paper towels to drain.  Leave the drippings in the skillet.  Saute the onions in the bacon drippings until tender and translucent.  Crumble the bacon.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, salt, nutmeg and pepper.

Set quiche dishes on a cookie sheet and coat them with cooking spray.   Unroll crescent rolls and press seams together and roll to about a 12 x 14 rectangle.  Cut into 6 equal rectangles.  Press 1 rectangle in each dish coming up the sides and letting the corners of dough extend over the edges.  You will not cover the whole inside and up the sides of the dish and that is ok.

Divide the bacon, onions and cheese among the dishes.  Divide the egg mixture equally among the dishes.  Gently fold the dough points inward over the filling.

Bake at 375 on the bottom shelf for 25 minutes until puffed and the crust is golden brown. 

Enjoy!

Great American Pie Festival Winner

The winner of the tickets to the Never Ending Pie Buffet at this years Great American Pie Festival is Rose!

Congratulations!

Remember, this event is going to be held in Celebration, Florida on April 28th and 29th. It is a lot of fun for the whole family.

You can find more information regarding the festival at:

http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/GreatAmericanPieFestival/

For some great pie recipes check out the ones posted on their site here:

http://www.piecouncil.org/Recipes/

Thank you to all and tune in early next week for some yummy new recipes.

Great American Pie Festival and Giveaway

I hope you all have enjoyed the pie posts from this past week. I know I enjoyed eating them! As I mentioned earlier the Great American Pie Festival is scheduled for the weekend of April 28th and 29th and will be held in Celebration, FL.

More information regarding the festival can be found here: http://www.piecouncil.org/

In the meantime I have been given the opportunity to giveaway a family 4 pack of tickets to the never ending pie buffet! If you will be in the Orlando area during the Great American Pie Festival and would like to win these here's what to do:

Please place a comment on this post telling me what your favorite pie is. One comment per entrant please. Contest ends Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at midnight Eastern Standard Time. The winner will be picked by random number generator and will be notified by email.

Key Lime Pie

Yesterday I made the best Key Lime Pie! It is the perfect blend of sweet and tart. Instead of the usual graham cracker crust I decided to make a pretzel crust. In my mind I just thought that the saltiness of the pretzels would blend well with the key lime pie (think margaritas) and it did. MMMM!!! There are some good picnic holidays coming up - Memorial Day, 4th of July.... Make this and you will be the hit of the party!



Key Lime Pie with Pretzel Crust

Ingredients for the Pretzel Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3 tbs sugar
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions for the Pretzel Crust:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine all the crust ingredients. Mix well and press into a deep dish pie plate. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until just starting to color.

Leave the oven on.

Ingredients for the Key Lime Pie:
2 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup key lime juice (I squeezed the limes with a garlic press. It worked well.)
1 tbs lime zest (zest limes before cutting and squeezing)

Instructions for the Key Lime Pie:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine all of the filling ingredients. Mix well. Pour into prepared crust. Bake for 15 minutes. You do not want it to color.

Cool to room temperature and then chill thoroughly - at least 3 hours - before serving.

Enjoy!

Tortilla Pie

To continue my week of pie posts I made another savory selection tonight: Tortilla Pie. I think it came out really good and so did the people I made it for. It will definitely be added to the dinner rotation.

Tortilla Pie
1 lb lean ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
¾ cup water
1 can pinto beans, undrained
¼ cup diced onion
1 diced plum tomato
2 cloves garlic,, minced
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 chipotle chili from a can of chipotle chilies in adobe, finely chopped
1 16 oz jar salsa
1 avocado
2 tsp lime juice
2-3 tbs chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
8 burrito grande size flour tortilla
12 ounces shredded Mexican blend or cheddar cheese
For garnish: sour cream, chopped cilantro, fresh chopped jalapenos and remaining salsa

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown beef and drain off fat. Add the taco seasoning and water. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

For the beans, saute the onion, tomato and garlic in a nonstick skillet for 2-3 minutes to soften. Add the beans with their liquid. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, pepper and the chipotle chili. Mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth but with some texture. Bring to a simmer. Cook until it is the constancy of peanut butter, about 10 minutes. (It may splatter, I cover it with a splatter screen). Set aside.

Mash the avocado with the lime juice, cilantro and salt to taste.

I cover the baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Place a tortilla on parchment. Cover with ½ of the beef mixture. Sprinkle the3 beef with some of the cheese. Top with a second tortilla. Spread 1/3 cup salsa over it. Top with another tortilla. Spread ½ of the bean mixture over top. Sprinkle the beans with some of the cheese. Top the beans with a tortilla. Spread all of the avocado mixture over the tortilla. Top the avocado mixture with another tortilla, then with remaining meat. Sprinkle meat with some cheese. Place another tortilla over top and spread with 1/3 cup salsa then another tortilla. Spread with the remaining bean mixture and sprinkle with some cheese. Top with the final tortilla. Spread the top with 1/3 cup salsa. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream, remaining salsa, chopped cilantro, chopped fresh jalapenos.

Shepherds Pie

To continue with this weeks pie theme I made shepherds pie for dinner tonight. I had to keep it mostly low carb but it still came out great with everybody having seconds and my 10 year old daughters asking me to make it again soon.

When they ask for it again you know it has to be good!






Preheat oven to 400.

For the "mashed potatoes":

1 head cauliflower
1 medium potato
2 tbs butter
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the cauliflower into florets. Place in a steamer. Peel and cube the potato. Add to the cauliflower. Steam the vegetables for 10 minutes. Drain well and then place in a food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the butter, cheese and egg. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the meat:

1 1/4 lb ground beef
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup red wine
1 tbs Worcesters sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs ketchup
1 tbs fresh chopped rosemary or 1 tsp dried, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbs butter cut in small pieces

Brown the meat and drain well. Return to the skillet and add the carrots, onion and celery. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the vegetables start to get tender. Add the remaining ingredients except cheese and butter. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until most of the moisture is absorbed and the vegetables are tender.

Pour into a deep dish pie plate or casserole. Top with the "mashed potatoes". Sprinkle the cheese on top of the casserole. Dot with the butter. Bake 25-30 minutes until hot. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Pie

The American Pie Council's 2012 Great American Pie Festival® sponsored by Crisco® will be held at Lakeside Park, Celebration, Florida Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29. It is an event that our family looks forward to every year. Features include a kids area that my daughters love! At various stations they get to decorate a pie crust, make a pie, play on inflatables and participate in a pie eating contest.

My favorite is the Never Ending Pie Buffet where you can sample every kind of pie imaginable! Admission to the festival is free however tickets to the pie buffet are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and kids 5 and under.

In anticipation of this years festival I am going to be featuring pies on my blog over the next week. I plan to include sweet and savory pies - all family favorites. At the end of the week there will be a giveaway for a family 4 pack of tickets to the Never Ending Pie Buffet. So, if you are going to be in the Orlando area that weekend stay tuned....

Last week I made that really yummy crab bisque which used about 1/2 of a 2 lb butternut squash. Needing something to do with the rest is what prompted the first of my pie posts. So here it is:

Butternut Squash Pie (tastes just like pumpkin pie)

1 single pie crust, your favorite recipe or refrigerated
1 lb peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash (around 3 cups of 1/2 inch cubes)
2 tbsp butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt
Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in a casserole. Add squash to casserole and toss with the butter. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes until the squash is tender and starting to caramelize.





While the squash is baking prepare a crust for a single crust pie. Here my daughters are decorating it with little star cutouts from the scraps:



Chill the crust while making the filling. After the squash is cooked mash it and set it aside to cool. Beat together the sugar, eggs and vanilla until thick and pale yellow. Add the milk, spices, salt and mashed squash. Mix until blended.

Pour into crust and bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 350 and continue baking 25 - 30 minutes until set. Chill well before serving with whipped cream.

Crab Bisque

Laughing is the best medicine in life so I do hope my very good friend does not take offense to this post. She was so excited as she got this great deal at the farmers market - 3 spaghetti squash for $5. Knowing I love spaghetti squash one was for me! She brought it to me and low and behold - it was butternut squash - not spaghetti squash! What are we going to do with 3 butternut squashes! Well the first thing is to make this fabulous soup. My parents made this for me when I visited. It is very rich and very good. Try it.



Adapted from Feasting on Fish by Louise Pickford

Crab Bisque
2 tblsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 tsp grated ginger root
12 ounces butternut squash
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 ounces crab claw meat
3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon good medium sherry
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
fresh ground pepper
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a nonstick dutch oven. Add onion, celery and ginger. Saute 5 minutes. Peel and chop squash. Add to the pan and saute 5 minutes. Add wine and boil 3 minutes. Add crab, stock, sherry and ceyenne pepper. Cook 20 minutes. Puree soup in blender. Return to pan and heat. Add pepper to taste. Serve garnished generously with parmesan cheese.

Scallops Au Gratin and New Dishes

I love dishes and serveware. The housewares departments at the back of TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Ross - you name it - they draw me in. My car automatically makes a u-turn if I pass a sign that says Garage Sale! Most of the dishes I buy I keep but I also look for nice casseroles and serving dishes at garage sales that I can use when I bring someone dinner or send something into the kids school. It is so nice to bring the food on real dishes and I do not worry if I get them back. I usually have paid as much for them at a garage sale as I would for disposable aluminum pans.

So what does this have to do with today's post? A month or so ago my friend's neighborhood was having a progressive dinner but they were one couple short so we got invited. The theme was French. I was told to think seafood. I immediately thought coquilles saint jacques and remembered some dishes I saw at the dollar store in the mall that would be perfect! Keeping my fingers crossed I headed to the mall. They had 12 of the dishes left. Check them out:





I bought all 12 even though I only needed 10. You just never know...and what if one breaks? At a buck each it was all I could do. And the colors - Provence, France yellow and blue.

Then I get the call - someone else is doing seafood and scallops at that. I am now in charge of the main course. Okay - I made a cassoulet - my first. I had a beautiful casserole which I made it in. But still, I had these dishes. And I do not regret buying them because I really love them.

Tonight I made scallops au gratin for my family and used these dishes. One of the ingredients in this dish is a new product by Kraft called Fresh Takes. It is basically a divided pack with grated cheese on one side and seasoned breadcrumbs on the other. Between the sale price and coupons provided I was paying .25 a pack for them so I thought I might as well give them a try. I bought several of each flavor.





Scallops Au Gratin
4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Cloves Garlic
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons dry white wine
1 lb bay scallops
1 package Kraft Fresh Takes Cheddar Jack and Bacon Flavor

Heat oven to 400. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each of 4 au gratin dishes. Put one crushed clove of garlic into each dish. Put into the oven to melt butter. Once butter is melted add 1 tablespoon each wine and cream to each dish. Divide the scallops evenly among the dishes and stir to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle with the Fresh Takes crumbs and cheese. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes then turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes to crisp up the top.

Enjoy!