They’re the perfect shade of green. They’re creamy. Tasty. Healthy. Pretty. I just love ‘em! They don’t even need much of an introduction, if any at all. This is a simple little recipe you’re sure to love as much as I do.
Avocado with Caramelized Onion Vinaigrette
1 avocado (preferably Haas)
1 onion, sliced (a sweet variety would be perfect)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper, ground
Add the oil to a skillet and heat it over high temperature. Add the onions and stir until the onions begin to change color.
After they begin to brown, lower the temperature to medium and keep stirring every so often. It is best if you cook the onions at a lower temperature to avoid burning them. When they’re all evenly colored and wilted, turn off the heat and transfer the onions and oil to a small bowl.
While still warm, add vinegar and season with salt & pepper. Stir it very well. This can be made ahead, just make sure to take it out of the fridge at least an hour before serving.
To serve, peel the avocado and remove the pit. You can either slice it or chop it. If you decide to slice it like I have, place the peeled half on a cutting board and cut slices into it. Do not slice all the way to the top, this way you can spread out the slices to make it look pretty. Drop a dollop of the onion mixture over the avocados and drizzle a bit of the vinaigrette over the slices.
Delicious! Enjoy!
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
If you’re as addicted to cooking shows as I am, you’ve heard and seen this sauce. It is used to add another flavor profile, to make a dish look pretty when plated. It is called coulis and it is insanely easy to make, while packing an incredible punch.
A coulis is a thick, condensed sauce of French origin. Most often, you’ll hear about fruit coulis, but it can also be made with vegetables or herbs for savory recipes.
This recipe is for a strawberry coulis–remember you can substitute the strawberries with your preferred fruit and follow the same process. You can make this ahead of time, as it will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week. A fruit coulis goes quite well over ice cream, cakes, fruit.
Strawberry Coulis
2 cps frozen strawberries
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp orange liqueur
1/2 cp water
Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan, stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the temperature to medium and cook for about 15 minutes or until it begins to thicken or becomes syrupy.
Remove from heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Pour the strawberry syrup into the blender and puree for a few minutes. You can strain the syrup if you wish, but with strawberries, unless you have a very fine sieve, you will still have the seeds–even if very fine.
Try it with this easy chocolate dessert.
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
I came to chocolate love later in life, sometime around my mid-30’s. I just didn’t get it. Never really craved it. That’s all changed. I still don’t go running for the mountains when I have a craving, it’s not that serious. I do think a bite of rich dark chocolate is a religious experience.
I haven’t given you many dessert recipes, something my mom may excommunicate me for given that’s her bread and butter. So here I bring you 1 of 2 chocolatey things I tried. I assure you. You will enjoy it.
This can be made ahead and frozen until time for its debut. You want to bake the pastry while it is still cold, so freezer time will add to it’s beauty.
Go forth and chocolate!
Puffy Chocolate Purses
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
about 1 cp semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 egg, beaten
Unfold the pastry and cut it into 4 squares. Separate each square so the edges aren’t touching and brush the edges with beaten egg. Don’t use too much, just enough to moisten the edges.
Drop about 1/4 cp of chips in the center of each square.
Grab one corner at a time and pull up towards the center, pressing each corner to the next. Make sure you crimp along the sides to seal any openings.
Once you have crimped together all sides you’ll end up with a little excess dough at the top. I gave it a little twist and pushed back down onto the puff.
Place the finished puffs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly greased. Put them in the freezer until you’re ready to serve them.
Just before serving, preheat oven to 400. Brush the tops and sides of the pastry with egg and bake them for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. They’ll be puffy and beautiful and just dying with anticipation.
I served them with an awesome Strawberry Coulis. Yeah, baby.
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
What are you doing this Valentines Day? Are you heading out to your favorite restaurant? Are you leaving the planning to your valentine? Are you doing it yourself?
I hope at least some of you will be making meals at home. There’s something simply wonderful that happens when you show your love by preparing a meal. I mean, think about it. When you’ve received or given gifts that were more than just expensive. Gifts that let you know someone thought and planned to get this thing for you because they knew how much it would mean to you. Gifts that might’ve been inexpensive, but so full of thought and love they’re worth millions in your eyes.
That’s what preparing a meal for someone does. It tells the recipient they’re special to you and you wanted to do something special for them. Ironically, as the ‘giver’, you somehow get to enjoy their delight. Not to mention the satisfaction you experience when you look at the beautiful meal you created.
I want to help you with this. I want to help those of you who may not be full-time kitchen residents come up with a meal that looks impressive without being too time-consuming, but that doesn’t break the bank. We are in a recession, after all.
To that end, I’m bringing you several items that are interchangeable and will create a 3-course meal for $25 or less. Simply click and follow the links to get to the recipes. I will continue to update this post until I’ve provided you with all the recipes you will need.
Take a look and get that stove going. I will come back to post suggested menus, but I wanted to make sure to get your creative juices going.
1st Course / Appetizers / Soup / Salads
Blue Pears
Avocado with Caramelized Onion Vinaigrette
Spicy Garlic Avocado Soup
2nd Course / Entrees
Bacon & Avocado Chicken Roll
Chicken Cordon Puff
Grilled Lamb Chops
Lechon Asado
Espelette Pepper Steaks
Shrimp al Ajillo
Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Cream
3rd Course / Dessert
Flan de Queso
Nutella Marble Cake
Poached Pears in Chocolate Sauce
Puffy Chocolate Purses
Easy Molten Cake
Other / Sides / Veggies
Bacon Asparagus Roll
Mashed Potatoes & Brown Butter Sauce
Onion Potato Casserole
Rice-Your-Roni
A coworker found a recipe for this dip and shared it with me. I knew it was just the thing to bring with me to yesterday’s Superbowl Party at D&R’s home.
The original recipe suggested using pre-seasoned chicken fajitas, I chose to cook my own chicken. This recipe will work with any cooked chicken, if you’re short for time, use a rotisserie chicken from your local grocer. I made some other modifications to the recipe, it was a hit!
Chicken Enchilada Dip
4 cps chicken meat, cooked and cubed
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cp mayonnaise
2/3 cp sour cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
2/3 cp sharp cheddar, shredded
2/3 cp Monterrey Jack, shredded
2 fresh serrano peppers, finely diced
10 canned chilies (like serrano or jalapeño), diced
2 tbsp juice from the chili can
Note: You should adjust the amount of peppers you use to your taste. The measurements I submit here made for a dip that was delicious with only a hint of heat. I used fresh and canned chilies because the original recipe called for some of the juice to be added. I think the recipe would be fine without it.
Set aside enough of the cheese to sprinkle over the top when baking, I reserved about 1/4 cp total for topping. Preheat oven to 350°.
In your mixer, combine the cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, garlic, chili juice and cheeses, mix until smooth. Then add the chicken, peppers and mix thoroughly. Transfer the dip to a baking dish, whatever you want to use to serve it and top it with the reserved cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes, just long enough to heat it through, then turn on the broiler and remove it from the oven once the cheese is golden brown.
Allow it to cool before digging in. Serve with tortilla chips.
Vote for it here.
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
The contest:
Foodbuzz is a major site that caters specifically to food bloggers and the people who love to eat. 24, 24, 24 is one of the contests they sponsor and a medium to ignite foodie creativity to the umpteenth degree. This monthly contest showcases 24 unique meals organized by 24 of their featured bloggers and celebrated around the globe during a 24-hour period. Cool, eh?
I was invited to submit a meal idea. Still drunk with glee from my first Top 9 appearance (did I tell you I made it all the way to Top 2?!!! I did!), I am submitting an idea. This is the outline for, if you have ANY suggestions to improve it, please send it my way.
From the FBZ entry form:
The name of the proposal: 24, 24, 24: An 8 + 8 + 8 interpretation
Describe your proposal a little more. Please don’t forget to describe:
a) The food! Tell us the proposed menu, or type of cuisine.
b) The people. Tell us who you plan to share your meal with.
c) The location. Where are you having this meal?
24 = 8 Friends + 8 US regions + 8 Pairings. Hubby and I will turn our home into a travel car to take 6 of our gastronomically inclined friends on a culinary tour throughout the US highlighting foods by region of origin and pairing those dishes with US wines.
Describe how you plan to cover this meal. Tell us about:
a) The angle: what makes this meal unique?
b) The visual and written elements you plan to incorporate (pictures, recipes, video, music)
I’ve always been impressed by sommeliers, all that knowledge and the uncanny ability to tell you what to drink with what you’re eating. Personally, I have no clue as to what drink goes well with which dish, but I will be ignorant no longer!
The planning will begin by determining the ingredients that will represent the regions, then learning about how to pick complimentary wines for each choice. I will ask the guests to make the wine selections based on my newfound knowledge. Then, during the party, each of them will give the rest of the guests a description of the wine’s notes and how they compliment the meal, what should we be looking or tasting for. To make this even more interesting, the wines must be under $24/bottle (ideally well under $20, but that doesn’t quite tie into the 24 thing).
I will then share the recipes and pairing ‘strategy’ with the Foodbuzz world, documenting the evening with photos.
What do you think? Would you like to come to dinner?
I didn’t ‘discover’ Indian food until 10 years ago, give or take. I don’t know why that is. It was not mainstream in Panama, even though we have a huge Indian presence there. A friend invited me to lunch at a local restaurant a decade ago and I fell in love. It would be a few years before I tried my hand at recreating Indian dishes.
These days my pantry is always stocked with spices and sauces commonly used in this cuisine. I have to admit I have a soft spot for curries, but I do love it all. It is all so flavorful and delicate.
Anyway, here’s my rendition of a green curry. Hubby prefers to have a crust on his fish, so I fried the fillets and added shrimp to the curry sauce. I hope you’ll try it.
Shrimp & Fish in Coconut Green Curry
2 fish fillets (your favorite fish)
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cp panko crumbs
1 egg white
2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cp cilantro stems, diced
1/2 cp cilantro leaves, chopped
2 tbsp garlic, crushed
1 serrano pepper, finely diced
1/4 cp Thai basil, chopped
1 cp coconut milk
1 cp chicken broth
2-3 tbsps green curry paste
Oil for frying
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Put the fish and shrimp in a bowl, add the salt and pepper make sure to disperse it well. Set aside.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high temperature, add the 2 tbsps of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until they begin to turn clear. Add the garlic, serrano and cilantro stems. After a few minutes, add the cilantro leaves and basil.
Mix in the curry paste, coconut milk and broth, allow it to come to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, it will thicken slightly. Add the shrimp and keep stirring to coat them all. After 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and cover it with a tight-fitting lid. In the meantime, get started on the fish.
Heat up enough oil to fry the fish in another skillet. Beat the egg white in a bowl, dip the fillets in the egg. Then dredge them in the panko crumbs and slowly drop them into the heated oil. Fry them until both sides are golden brown. Set aside on paper towels to catch the excess oil.
Serve with jasmine rice. Place a fillet on the plate and top with the curry shrimp. Soooo good!
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
The introductory round was such fun, we’re doing it again. What can you come up with using these ingredients?
Couscous
Dates and…
GINJAH! (can you tell I was using my Top Chef Chairman pizzaz with that one?)
Here’s the deal,
- You must be a foodie blogger to participate
- It is a monthly challenge–one entry per month
- Submit a dish incorporating 3 pre-set ingredients–doesn’t matter if you follow, tweak or create your own recipe. You aren’t restricted to these ingredients, add at will
- All recipes must be submitted by the 20th of the month
- One recipe will be voted as the TCIY Recipe of the Month
- Winning recipe will be announced and featured on the 25th of the month on this blog
- Blogger with the winning entry will receive a special widget to display on their site
- Winning blogger will choose 3 other entries they liked and will link them on their winning post
Who’s in? I’ll tell you
Michelle at 5Forks
Jen at Braise, Boil, Bake
Arlene at Food of Love
Jenn at Sweet Water Cooks
Christine at Vancouver Food & Wine Review
Thas at Cooking with Thas
Casey at E-G-L in Bulgaria
And here they are, the entries for this month’s challenge.
Michelle, dazzled us and her daughter with a sweet recipe: Fruit and Nut Couscous. She also offers up some tips to make this a wallet-friendly snack.
Christine meant serious business when she put this meal together. Her Braised Lamb with Zalouk and Couscous looks divine. I guess that’s appropriate since this is a meal served at dinner parties in a ceremony style entrance that elicits ooohs and aaaahs from the guests.
As for me, dates and couscous were unfamiliar territory. This was the 3rd time I’d eaten couscous and knew I need to do something to help me through its texture. I came up with Couscous Fritters with Date and Ginger Sauce. Hubby and I loved it!
Casey came through with another dessert, this one inspired by Moroccan flavors. Her version of Date & Ginger Couscous Pudding sounds awesome and it doesn’t get in the way of her LCD diet.
Yes you do. Do you love salmon? Even if you do, I *know* you don’t love it like I do. No one does. I love it so much, I do a happy schmmy dance whenever I eat it. I have only 1 condition. Do NOT overcook my schmmy! There’ll be hell to pay.
Salmon is delicious. Salmon is beautiful; have you ever seen a more beautiful color? I think that raw salmon tastes like avocado. It is so rich and creamy all on its own. If you enjoy sushi, please promise me you’ll try some fresh salmon sashimi, that is, if you haven’t had it yet.
OK. Enough of my antics. So, I made some salmon yesterday. It was pan seared and served with a creamy avocado sauce. It was… happy schmmy dance-worthy. It was sooo good. Terribly simple. Incredibly fast. Wanna know what I did? Huh? Huh? Check it out.
Pan Seared Salmon and Avocado Cream
For the salmon:
2 salmon steaks or fillets (skin on)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Combine the oil, salt, pepper and garlic and make into a paste. Rub this paste over the salmon. Set it aside for 15-30 minutes.
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Heat up a medium-sized skillet and drizzle a bit of olive oil. When it’s hot, place the salmon pieces with the skin side down.
Since I was making steaks, I started with the sides then turned to the other side. It takes about 1 minute on each side to get that skin to crisp. Then it’s time to flip them.
These steaks were about 1-inch thick, maybe a tad bit more. I seared them for a total of 6 minutes or so. One minute on each skin side, close to 2 on the top and bottom sides.
They turned out perfectly. You’ll see.
For the Avocado Cream Sauce:
1 avocado (I used Haas)
1/2 sour cream
Sea salt
White pepper (black is fine, too)
Peel the avocado and put it in the blender/food processor with the sour cream. I ended up having to add 1 tbsp whole milk because there wasn’t enough content for the blender to effectively pick it up and make it creamy–sidenote: I *SO* need to get a food processor–If you’re using a food processor, the milk is probably not necessary.
Anyway, once it’s all nice and smooth, check the seasoning and adjust as necessary. Set aside.
To serve, place about 2 tbsps of the avocado cream on a plate, then lay a piece of salmon right next to it. Savor it!
See? Perfectly cooked.
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
Wednesday! And that means I have a new entry for the weekly photo challenge. This time I’ll tease you, but you’ll have to click here or on the picture below to see shot I selected for the week.
