Experimentation

So tonight, I am doing something a little different for dinner and praying that it come out. I am making sesame crusted ahi tuna with mango, green onion, and avocado fried rice. I am using an Uncle Ben's product that the company was kind enough to send me a sample of, Whole Grain White Rice. I have cooked the rice according to the directions on the box, and let it cooled. I am getting ready to chop up some green onions, heat up a pan and throw in the rice and green onion until it is nice and fried, after that slightly cools I will add in the mango slices and avocado. That will be the base that I serve the tuna on top of. If all comes out great or even edible, I will post the recipe for your enjoyment. Wish me luck in my experimentation and as always, Happy Eating!

Orecchiette with Braised Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Italian Sausage

Last night for dinner I thought that we would try something new. That new thing was broccoli rabe and cooking with anchovies. I have never had the rabe before but figured that I would like it since  I love most leafy greens. This one did not disappoint. I have some issues with canned fish of any kind and I will sometimes use anchovy paste, but touching those little hairy things and watching them cook, I was not so sure about. I decided to give it a try and I reviewed a ton of recipes and came up with this delicious meal. I hope that you will go out of your comfort zone like I did to make this and give the recipe a try. Happy Eating!

Orecchiette with Braised Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Italian Sausage

1 bunch of Broccoli Rabe, stems trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 pound orecchiette pasta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound Sweet Italian-style sausage, casings removed (I prefer turkey or chicken sausage for this recipe)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, minced

3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry

a Pinch of dried crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the sausage, breaking it up into pieces with a spoon, until browned and juices form, about 12 minutes. Set aside in a large bowl and cook the orecchiette according to package directions. In the same pan that you cooked the sausage in add olive oil and heat to medium high. When the pan is hot add in garlic, onions, anchovies, and pepper flakes. Cook until the anchovies break up and the onion and garlic are soft, about 5 minutes. Rinse the Broccoli Rabe and add to the pan. Cook stirring frequently until the broccoli rabe is wilted and tender around 10 minutes, add to the sausage in the bowl. Drain the pasta and add to the bowl with the sausage and broccoli rabe, stir to mix and top with cheese.

National Grilled Cheese Month! Get Grilling Folks

Every year when April rolls around I forget that it is National Grilled Cheese Month. When I first heard about this, I thought someone was pulling an April fool's joke on me, now I am just happy that I remember before the month is gone and I get to play around and make some super awesome grilled cheese sandwiches. So here are some ideas for you to enjoy during National Grilled Cheese Month, of course knowing me most of them are internationally inspired, but oh well, Happy Eating!

Spanish Grilled Cheese

Grab a loaf peasant bread or even better grab a Barra Gallega, shred up some Manchego and Iberico cheeses, spread on some Spanish olive tapenade, add a slice of Jamon Serrano, Cantimpalo-Style Chorizo, or Bellota Iberico Salchichon Sausage, or even better one of all three and get grilling.(All of these items can be found at LaTienda) 


Irish Style Grilled Cheese

Grab a loaf of thick sliced potato bread, pile on some shredded Irish cheddar cheese, a slice of corned beef, a little mustard, and some onions and you are good to get grilling. Or keep it simple and use a Cahill cheddar (I love the Irish Whiskey, and the Ballintubber Cheese with Chives) on potato bread.


French Grilled Cheese

Roast up some squash, red onions, and zucchini sprinkled with herbs de Provence, grab a French baguette and get slicing, shred some Beaufort (if you can't find it you can use gruyere, munster, or Swiss cheese instead), pile it all on and get grilling. Or go traditional and whip up a Croque Monsieur just don't forget the béchamel sauce!


The Kali
Oh, yeah! I saved the best for last, this is THE grilled cheese when you aren't going the bread and cheese alone route! Bacon, avocado, tomato slices, and sharp cheddar cheese, piled onto sliced San Francisco sourdough bread. One bite of this one and you will be giving three cheers for National Grilled Cheese Month!


If this was not enough to get you grilling up some super grilled cheese and doing your part to enjoy and support National Grilled Cheese month well then I hope that the Grilled Cheese Academy  can get you looking at bread and cheese in a different way. Get grilling folks and celebrate a month that tickles your taste buds, but packs the pounds on. :)

Homemade Sushi

Well, I have figured out why I pay good money to have other people make me sushi, it is time consuming to make, and if you do not have all the right tools, it is messy too. I will say that Inari is fun and easy to make but when you get into everything else that goes into making rolls it is so much easier to just have someone else do it for you. Anyways,if you are in the mood to make some sushi here is my recipe for spicy crab and avocado Inari. Please note that a trip to a local Asian grocery store may be needed.

1 package of Inari Wrappers
1 package of crab sticks
sushi rice (recipe follows)
1 avocado, sliced
1 lemon, sliced into 8 segments with peel on
Sriracha hot sauce to taste
Wasabi and soy sauce (optional)

In a small bowl open crab sticks and mix meat with sriracha until you have reached the desired level of spiciness. Drain Inari packets. Open each packet after it has been drained, if you desire place a dollop of wasabi in the bottom of the packet and then fill with sushi rice. Leave a small amount of room at the top. Place about a tablespoon or two of spicy crab mixture on one side of the Inari, then drape an avocado slice over the top of the entire packet. Repeat until you use all of your packets. Serve with wasabi, soy sauce, and lemon slices.

Sushi Rice
Cook rice as you normally would, while rice is cook mix 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar with 2 tablespoons of sugar. When rice is done cooking blend with vinegar mixture, let rice cool to room temperature.

Quick, Easy, Healthy Side Dish

So over the weekend I had a great group of friends over to help get the house painted. To show my appreciation for all of their hard work I made dinner for everyone after we were done with the painting. One of the things that I made was a great healthy side dish that is really easy and quick to make. I hope that you give it a try.

Wild Rice Salad

1 package of Mahatma Long Grain and Wild Rice
1/4 cup of chopped green onions
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of toasted chopped walnuts or pine nuts
4 tablespoons of orange juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Let rice cool slightly and mix into the bowl with other ingredients. Serve warm or chilled.

OMG!

Can I just share that I am so busy right now that I have not been able to post at all. I have a ton of great new recipes that I am just dying to share, but I need to finish up with school before I will have the time to post again. I am two weeks away from my BA and I can't wait. I have been in school for years now and the idea that I am done (well if I can find a job) is so nice. I expect to have something to share this weekend, but for now I sign off hoping that you are eating great!