Tag: old bay

Fish Sandwich

 

Fish sandwich

Fish Sandwich

  • Servings: 2-4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Fish is one of those versatile ingredients that is so under utilized in my house and it shouldn’t be simply because it not only tastes good but is good for you and there are endless ways to prepare it.

This recipe is great for a quick and easy lunch and when complimented by a nice salad it hits all the right notes.

Cooks note: I use Basa (Vietnamese Catfish) because it is a firm white flesh fish that holds up well to various applications and is inexpensive but feel free to use whatever fish you like.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 4 Basa filets
  • 2 Eggs
  • sliced Tomatoes
  • Mayonnaise
  • 1 cup All Purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup Cornstarch
  • 3 teaspoons Old Bay® seasoning
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground Pepper
  • 4 soft Kaiser rolls
  • Canola Oil for frying

Putting it all together:

  1. In a non reactive bowl mix the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper and Old Bay®.
  2. In a separate bowl mix the eggs together.
  3. Heat 2 inches of oil in a large deep pan.
  4. Dredge the fish in the flour, egg and flour and cook in the oil until golden brown on both sides.
  5. Remove the fish to drain on a paper towel.
  6. Split the kaisers and lightly toast the inside.
  7. Spread mayonnaise on the bottom bun topped with a tomato slice and the fish.
  8. Enjoy.

There you have it another “Simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time…….

                            Bon Appetit 

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Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp Tacos

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: Easy
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My grandson loves Taco Tuesday at our house because he gets a chance to basically make his own dinner and with the invention of Old El Paso Taco Bowls™ he really looks forward to Tuesday nights.

Now for me I need to find an alternative to the ordinary usual type taco because I have to avoid red meat so this Tuesday I decided to go for Shrimp Tacos and since we have a place near home with really reasonably priced shrimp it was a no brainer. This decision also gave me the opportunity to experiment with my Actifry™ Hot Air Fryer and I have to say it performed as well as I expected.

Cooks note: When using the Actifry for things like shrimp or chicken nuggets remove the center spindle that way the shrimp etc will sit flat while cooking.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 1 bag 31-40 shell off, deveined Shrimp
  • Small head of iceberg Lettuce – shredded
  • Medium bag shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 1 medium Avocado – sliced
  • 3 Spring Onions – chopped
  • 1 Old El Paso™ Taco kit
  • 1 jar Old El Paso™ salsa
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 2 tablespoons Chipotle powder
  • 4 tablespoons Old Bay™ seasoning
  • Pickled Anaheim peppers
  • Sour cream for garnish

Putting it all together:

  1. Season the flour with the Old Bay and Chipotle powder and mix well.
  2. Dredge the shrimp in the flour making sure to shake off any excess and place half in the Actifry.
  3. Cook for 10 minutes turning half way. Repeat with the remaining shrimp
  4. Build your Taco and enjoy.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……….

                           Bon Appetit

Chicken and Shrimp Burritos

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Chicken and Shrimp Burritos

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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“Nouvelle Cuisine, roughly translated, means: I can’t believe I paid ninety-six dollars and I’m still hungry.”

Mike Kalin

When I picked my grandson up from school today he looked at me and said “Pops……. you know what day this is ? It’s Taco Tuesday!!” Now I love Mexican food….. Carne Asada, Pozole, Chicharone and Taquitos……… but lately I’ve kind of gone off Tacos and decided that I wanted something different—– enter Burritos.

There is something about the mix of meat and rice and seasonings that I find very alluring in a Burrito unfortunately the Mexican take out places we have in the area are so heavy handed with the hot sauce that you can’t taste anything else and so I made my own.

Due to having a bunch of starving kids running amok in the house I took the liberty of some short cuts that I don’t normally use because if I didn’t I surely would have lost my sanity.

Oh and my grandson still got his Tacos.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list: 

  • 1 package of large 10″ Tortillas 
  • 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken breast
  • 12 Shrimp – shelled and deveined
  • 5 teaspoons Vegetable oil
  • One package shredded Cheese
  • 1 8 ounce can Corn kernels
  • 1 10 ounce can Black Beans
  • 6 Spring Onions – white only, sliced
  • 1 18 ounce can Diced tomatoes
  • 3 cups Uncle Ben’s 5 minute Rice
  • 3 cups Water
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons granulated Garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons Smoked Paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 6-8 tablespoons Salsa Verde

Putting it all together:

  1. In a large pot bring the water, corn, black beans and tomatoes to a boil for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, onions and rice. Cover and remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
  2. In a large fry pan heat 3 tablespoons oil, add the diced chicken, season with the chili powder, salt, pepper and smoked paprika and saute for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  3. In the same pan heat the remaining oil, add the shrimp and season with the Old Bay. Saute until firm – about 3 minutes. Add to the chicken.
  4. To build the burrito: Heat a tortilla for approximately 20 seconds. Place some cheese in the center of the tortilla, top with the rice, chicken and shrimp mix, salsa and more cheese. Fold the east and west side flaps of the tortilla until they meet in the middle. Using your thumbs fold the bottom flap up and over and roll until you have made your round burrito.
  5. Enjoy.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……..

                          Bon Appetit

Surf and Turf burger

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Surf and Turf burger

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: easy
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Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.

Anthony Bourdain

It’s cold and snowy and blowing and depressing and I want it to end……… come on Mother Nature have a heart BRING ON THE SUMMER—– please??

Okay so my grovelling didn’t work and despite what some rodent proclaimed a few weeks back winter and all it’s icy snowy wonder is here to stay for a wee bit more but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream of warm weather, cold beer and BBQ right? 

So in honour of summer dreaming I decided to make Surf and Turf burgers for dinner tonight. Now absolutely everyone has “the best” burger recipe and I for one am not about to get into a war of words over who is right and who is not but suffice it to say the best burger (in my humble opinion) is one where the patty stands on it’s own based on a righteous flavour profile and is simply enhanced by whatever toppings you put on it.

With that in mind here is how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 2 Pounds ground Pork
  • 2 Pounds ground Beef
  • 12 peeled and deveined 26-30 Shrimp
  • 1 medium Onion – minced
  • 3 Eggs
  • 3 Garlic cloves – finely diced
  • 3 tablespoons Blackening Spice
  • 2 Tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 ounces Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Red Onion – sliced
  • 1 large Tomato – sliced
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • handful of Spinach
  • Soft Crusty rolls – split

Putting it all together:

  1. In a large non reactive bowl mix together the pork, beef, onion, garlic, Worcestershire, eggs and blackening spice. Cover and refrigerate for approximately 1 hour.
  2.  Using a standard ice cream scoop form 4 ounce patties.
  3. Grill or pan fry the burgers until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
  4. In  a medium saucepan melt the butter and add the garlic. While the garlic butter is heating dust the shrimp with the Old Bay and add to the garlic butter. Saute until the shrimp is pink, about 4 minutes.
  5. Build your burger and enjoy.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……….

                           Bon Appetit

 

Epic Oops

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  • Servings: “5”
  • Difficulty: “easy”
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I, like many other cooks, love to take a recipe and twist it to make it my own especially if it is something I have not tried before. Now most times this works beautifully and the recipe gets filed away for future dinners or for use by others however every once in a while one of these recipes falls into the category of “Oh lord!! What have I done?” This one my dear friends falls squarely into that category but at the same time it also offers up the challenge of getting it right.

Now I have always said that I am my own worst critic when it comes to the food that arrives from my kitchen to your table and this is one of those times despite the fact that my dinner guests loved the flavour profile and the idea of the dish. My disappointment comes from the fact that instead of being presented like a seafood type Cottage Pie it resembled more of a seafood “Swamp Pie” with the mashed potatoes slowly sinking into the horizon which then got me to thinking (after I finished berating myself) — “just what on earth went wrong?”

After carefully going over what I did (hey this could lead to a new profession….. “Forensic Foodologist”….LOL) I came to the conclusion that it was simply a matter of the broth/sauce being too thin and the mashed potatoes not thick enough and thankfully this type of mistake is easy to correct the next time around.

Here is how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 2 pounds peeled and diced potatoes
  • 5 Alaskan Pollock fillets – cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 package 51-60 shrimp – cleaned, peeled and tail off
  • 1/4 cup White wine
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh Dill
  • 2 cups frozen Mixed vegetables
  • 1 tablespoon granulated Garlic
  • 3 1/2 cups Chicken stock
  • 1 cup quartered small Cremini mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup milk

Putting it all together:

  1. Pre heat the oven to 375
  2. Bring the potatoes to boil in a large pot of salted water
  3. When tender, about 15 minutes, mash with butter, milk and granulated garlic
  4. Melt the butter in a large stock pot and add the onions
  5. Cook the onions for about 3 minutes
  6. Add the flour to the butter and onions and mix until there are no lumps
  7. Slowly pour in the chicken stock and mix until you get the consistency you want
  8. Add the mushrooms and mixed vegetable and cook for about five minutes
  9. Add the fish and shrimp and cook until the fish is firm and the shrimp is pink, about 10 minutes
  10. Pour into individual ramekins or an oven proof casserole dish, top with the mashed potatoes and bake for 15 – 20 minutes

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time………..

                                 Bon Appetit

 

 

 

Fish En Papillote

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I truly truly LOVE grilling season I mean what’s not to love? Meat, flame, warm temperatures and cold beer there really is only one thing better but this is a G rated blog so…… well never mind. Oh and I should point out that En Papillote is nothing more than a fancy cooking term for “In Paper”.

Like everyone else I struggle with what to put on the “barbie” as the Ausies would say. How many times can you do burgers and ribs and chicken and steak before you get tired of the same old same old—– Okay that was a silly question but you get the idea and if you’re like me BBQ’d veggies just don’t really do the trick —- well not always. So I made this particular dish the other day because I was in a mood for something different and I should kick myself for not remembering this technique earlier than now—— IT TURNED OUT AWESOME  and the real bonus is that it is so easy to do. Here’s how.

Ingredients:

– Fish fillets… whatever type you like. I use Tilapia

– Three lemon slices per filet

– Old Bay seasoning or whatever type of fish seasoning you like

– Spring onion

– Asparagus

– Chopped garlic to taste

– One sprig of Rosemary and Dill per filet (or more if you like)

– Parchment paper

Method:

– On a piece of parchment paper that is at least an inch and a half longer than the filet on BOTH ends lay down the lemon slices.

– Place the fish filet on the lemon.

– Sprinkle on whatever fish seasoning you happen to be using

– Lay the asparagus on top of the filet

– Sprinkle on the garlic

– Add the spring onion

– Top with the Rosemary and Dill

– Fold up the parchment like it was an envelope, place it on a cookie sheet and place it on a 350 degree BBQ for approx 20-25 minutes.

Serve with baby potatoes or rice or if you want to go whole hog (sorry couldn’t resist)  with the healthy eating thing then why not try it with herbed Quinoa.

The other really great thing about this dish is the clean up since to eat the fish you merely open the parchment paper and dig in and when you are finished your parchment paper plate simply goes in the garbage.

So there you have it a “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time—— BON APETITE