bay scallop poached in butter with Collard and carrots.

I have not post in my cooking blog for a while but the spring and the coming of nice weather seem to inspire me every year.
There was a sale on the small scallops at Bilo so I had to buy 2 packs. I will love to use  fresh scallops but for now these frozen scallops will have to do . they are delicious too.

Ingredients

about 12 scallops
2 carrots finely sliced
1 small bunch of collard chopped and blanched for a few minutes
a few mushrooms sliced.
1 clove of garlic chopped
1 green onion finally chopped
!/4 cup of chopped parsley
1/2 glass of white wine
2 tbs butter

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Preparation

cook the vegetables for about 5 minutes
add the wine

Add the scallops and poach for about 6 minutes
Served my scallops with some rice you could use couscous too

A table . Bon appetit


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Notes:  do not cook the scallops too long they will be tough

I have made this recipe before with Leeks instead of collards ( the leeks do not need to be blanched)
I usually use the vegetables I have on my hands.

The recipe is for only one person but the number of portions may be increased very easily.


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shrimp gumbo

Yesterday, on Facebook, a friend send me a link on a group of people who live in the Ozark and whose descendants where French and talked Paw Paw French. the very sad thing was that this version of French was disappearing from the isolated old mine region. a thousand people used to speak Pawpaw French . One of the reason why they lost their language was because they were punish as children when they speak it in school . how sad. well  all this made me think of  my French heritage  through New Orleans and since I had a few shrimp in my freezer I decided to cook a shrimp Gumbo.
Now I had a few nasty gumbos before, just stew vegetables throw together without must taste to it.
well this is not it. this is the real delicious thing. It is all in the roux. what is a roux? it is simply butter or oil and  flour you cook together, just the same basic mix for white sauce and béchamel. but for a gumbo you cook the roux to a blonde or dark point and that is what is going to give your Gumbo a most delicious nutty taste.

here is a gumbo that is so delicious you will cook it over and over again and every body will love you for it

That recipe is for 2 persons only but very easily to increase for a big group..

Ingredients

For the roux

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour


1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup celery
1 cup tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
1 branch of thyme
1 bay leave
cayenne pepper ( as much as you want)
1 tbs file powder
1 tbs file powder.

1 lb of shrimp


instructions

The roux is really important in this recipe
In a sauce pan melt the butter
when the butter is melted
add the flour.
we are making a blond roux or dark roux .
we  cook the roux on medium heat till it get a very nice light brown color
this is very important the mix of flour and butter get a very nice nutty taste that give the combo a delicious taste.
it takes about 45 minutes or more to make the roux.
Cook and mix ounce and a while. and make sure you do not burn your roux.
while your roux is cooking clean and prepare your vegetables.

when the roux is ready add it to a hot pan
sauté the pepper, the tomatoes, and the celery with the roux for about 10 minutes.

 Add  the chicken stock ,the shrimp, the tomatoes, the bay leave, the Cayenne and the file 
cook for another 15 minutes till the shrimp are cooked.

the shrimp gumbo is very good served on rice.

That pic is horrible I will replace it next time I make this dish

A table, miam miam, bon appetite


Note

The" file" can be added to the gumbo or serve on the side.
"File " is mainly dried ground Sassafras . it could be omitted but it really give the Gumbo its distinct taste.
"File" can be found in the spice isle in almost every market.


"File" is mainly dried Sassafras and it give the gumbo its distinct taste.

shrimp angel hair and goat cheese

I was in" piggly wiggly" and I saw these beautiful fresh shrimp, caught by a SC fisherman in a SC creek. I did not have shrimp for a while and when I did they were frozen shrimp.  I could not resist these fresh shrimp even they were a little pricey. When I got home I cleaned them immediately and made a stock with the shell. In the evening I made some" shrimp, angel hair and goat cheese ". here is the recipe

 
Ingredients

 shrimp about 12 or a little more if they are smaller
1 leak
1 tomato
1 orange pepper ( or any color pepper you like)
a few mushrooms
a few florets of broccoli
A few branches parsley
1 clove of garlic
 Angel hair (for 2 persons)
salt pepper and a few flakes of red pepper
1 tbs of olive oil
about 1/3 cup of goat cheese


mise en place

Peal  the shrimp and deveined them keep the peels to make fish stock ( I had done that earlier)
take the seeds out of the tomato
clean the leaks, rinse thoroughly, they are sometimes very sandy .
clean the pepper
Blanch the broccoli and drain
chop all the vegetables .
You need about 1/4 or 1/2 cup of each vegetable
clean the garlic and chop

Instructions

Saute the leak and the pepper till soft
add the tomato, broccoli,  the mushroom about 6 minutes do not over cook.
add the garlic and the parsley cook a few more minutes.
Add salt and pepper and a few flakes of red pepper
Cook the angel hair in a lot of salted boiling water . ( they cook very fast)
drain keeping a little liquid
mix the vegetables and the angel hair with a little cooking water.
mix in the goat cheese
salt and pepper as needed

Saute the shrimp in olive oil till opaque and cook.

add the shrimp on the top of the vegetables mixture
reheat if necessary

A coloful, light summer dish , easy to make
Miam miam, a table, bon Appetit

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Notes
make sure you do not over cook any of the ingredients.
the goat cheese make this meal for me, it tastes so good and make the dish so creamy. But if you really do not like goat cheese you could try cream cheese or mozzarella

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codfish cakes

 A few weeks ago I bought these delicious, individually frozen Codfish filets at Costco .

They are a little pricey but worth it. A while ago I posted a recipe for Provencal Cod which is delicious but today I was In the  mood for some thing lighter for the summer. I decided to make some Codfish cakes . I remember "Maman Jean " making some Codfish cakes with Bacalahau ( salt  Codfish ) I liked it.   . so here is my version with frozen Cod.

ingredients

4 nice portions of codfish about 2 lbs)
enough milk to cover Codfish.
1 shallot
1 bay leave
2 large potatoes
1 green  onion sliced
2 tbl fresh Tarragon (from my garden)
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 beaten eggs
3 dashes shiraca hot sauce or hot sauce  of your choice.
1/3 cup bread crumb
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup oil
salt and pepper

directions

Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water till soft.
steam dry so you do not have any liquid left in them.
drain and mash
keep on the side

Put the milk in a large pot
Add the chopped shallot
the bay leaf
the salt and pepper.
give the milk a quick boil, bring the heat down and let simmer the milk for about 10 minutes.
Cut the filets in chunks and add to the simmering milk on low heat.
cook about 10 minutes
let the fish get cold and shred in a bowl

while the fish is getting cold
 
in a large bowl mix the mash potatoes with
the beaten eggs , the green onion , the celery, the bread crumbs, the tarragon
add the hot sauce the salt and pepper.

when the fish is cold mix it with the mash potatoes mixture.

Shape 1/4 of the mixture in small cakes you could make them a little bigger but they fall apart easily.

Cook the cake on high heat in a mixture of 1/4 butter and 1/4 oil.( you may have to add a little more butter and oil.)

put them on absorbent paper and keep warm in the oven

Notes
serve immediately. a nice side dish is rice or couscous and a green  salad.

this recipe is for 4 persons too much just for me but it freeze very well.
and it is easy to divide the ingredients to make just enough cakes for 2 persons.

you can add too some red pepper chopped and" sauté"  it gives a nice color to the cake . I did not add any peppers this time I did not have any

you can use the same recipe for Salmon or any other fish you like

A table et bon Appetit.

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Cod a la Provencale.

 One of my grand mother, meme Dechamp, lived in Fecamp en Normandie et l'autre, Mamam Jean, lived in L'Estaque in the South of France.The two of them made salted Cod very often. they made it differently. Meme Dechamp made her Cod in cream sauce with steamed potatoes . Maman Jean cooked her Cod in tomatoes sauce.  I like these two different dishes made with salted Cod . In France, in that time, salted Cod was not very expensive and it was a popular dish . Now here in the USA salted Cod is very expensive. I will eventually get some salted Cod and make it in  cream sauce. But right now since I had some fresh Cod I decided to make it in Tomatoes sauce like Maman Jean made her salted Cod. It turned out different with fresh Cod but still very delicious. here is my recipe

Ingredients

2 large fillets cut in about 4 square pieces
2 tbl of olive oil
1 small onion
1/2 a red pepper
1 clove of garlic
1 can tomato sauce
black olives( a few)
parsley about 2 tbs
a few branches of Thyme
1 bay leave
a few pinches of cayenne pepper
1/2 a glass of white wine

Directions

Peel the onion chop very fine
clean the garlic and chop
chop the parsley
cut the pepper in small pieces.
Heat up the olive oil on medium heat.
salt and pepper the fish
Brown in the olive oil in 2 batches
when nicely brown put the fish on the side

brown the onion and the pepper, cook for about 10 minutes
deglaze with the white wine
add the fish back to the pan
add the tomato sauce and the olives
the parsley, the bay leave and the garlic and the cayenne pepper
Cook about 30 minutes till the fish is cook.

 

a table

 Bon appetit

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shrimp" saute" in garlic white wine and.lemon

Here in SC we had the longest winter ever.
Now the spring is here. Beautiful weather in the 70 F . We enjoy this weather so much in SC they usually do not last long. Very soon the heat and humidity prevail and we have to turn the air conditioner on . Right now all the windows and doors are open .It feels so good.
This weather makes me crave for delicious light summer food.
They had a sale at the Pig for shrimp I decided to make
some shrimp in garlic and wine sauce.
It is really what most restaurants call " Shrimp Scampi" but if you know Italian you know that Scampi are big shrimp found in the Mediterranean ,so the name is a bit strange . I guess Scampi now stand for the garlic sauce.
well what ever the name, it will be delicious. I hope

Ingredients

 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil
salt pepper
Your favorite Italian dressing
about 3/4 lbs fettuccine
2 cloves garlic
1 lb large shrimps
 2 springs of parsley 2 springs of dill
1/4 cup of dried tomatoes
the zest from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 a glass of white wine.
a sprinkle of red pepper flakes


Directions

In a large pan of boiling water cook the fettuccine according to the directions

peel and devein the shrimp.
Marinate for a few hours in the Italian dressing
Clean and chop the garlic very fine
chop the tomatoes the parsley and the dill

In a medium pan heat the olive oil on medium heat.
brown the shrimp till they are pink about 5 minutes.
Brown them in batches do not crowd them

put on the side
In the same pan brown the garlic and the tomatoes
add the white wine
add the shrimps to the pan .
Add the parsley and the chives. and the lemon zest
keep warm.

When the pasta is done drain it( Keep some of the water to add to the sauce if needed)
Add the pasta to the shrimps.

.you could add a few red pepper flakes if you like it hot.
Add a slice of lemon and here you are. So fast and easy.
I make the same recipe without tomatoes but with cream and Parmesan cheese in the winter but this version is a lot better in warm weather.
you may want to use linguini instead of fettuccine actually I like it better but I used what I had in my pantry!
A table miam miam
bon appetite

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fish pie

When I was 18 I spend a whole year in England ! I was "au pair" in a small village called Luddesdown in Kent.  It was a very interesting and rewarding year spend with the most interesting and nicer people.
I was used to the delicious  food of  mamie( my step mother) and I thought at the time that the English food in general was rather nasty. I remember the peas enormous and bright green, and very  hard and in one restaurant the peas dyed my mash potatoes green Yuke.".  Happely things have change in England and the food in some restaurant is excellent!
I was lucky to be in a family were the mother was a good cook. I love the English "kidney pie" the Sunday lamb ( no mint sauce please) the bangers and mash and the Sunday roast beef with Yorkshire pudding.
I have made fish pie before but I was not very please with it . I made it with Tilapia and the filets were to small and not flaky enough.
two weeks ago I went to Cosco and find some frozen fillets of Cod perfect for me because they are individually wrap.
I decided to try my fish pie with the Cod it turned out just delicious. It  tasted . just like MRS Gilbert fish pie.


Fish pie

Ingredients

2 large Cod fillets
4 large potatoes
1/2 onions
parsley
milk ( enough to cover the fish)
5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper
about 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.

Preparations

mash potatoes

Peel the potatoes and make mash potatoes as you usually make.

The fish    ( sorry not a very good pic)

If using frozen fish thaw it completely
put the milk in a pan add salt pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
add the fillet to the milk and poach the fish in the milk.
the milk must slowly simmer
poach the fish about 5 to 10 minutes
when the fillets are ready drain the liquid and reserve for the white sauce.
hold the fillets on the side.

The white sauce

chopped the onion and parsley very fine
brown in a pan in the butter till the onions are golden and translucent
 add the flour and stir till the flour is lightly golden  about 5 to 8 minutes
add the poaching liquid
continue mixing till the sauce is thick about 10 minutes ( add some more milk if needed)
flake the Cod in the white sauce'
add 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.



putting the dish together

put the fish in the bottom of a dish that goes in the oven
Spread the mash potatoes over the fish
you may add a little butter on the top
Put in the oven at 350 F
cook about 20 minutes


miam miam.. a table . Bon appetite

Notes
_I used 2% milk so I add a little heavy cream at the end
_I think leeks will be better than onions but I did not have any at that time.
_You call add a little of Parmigian on the top I don't .
_while doing some research on my fish pie I found a very strange pie recipe call " the stargazer pie"
I thought I will share with you

Appetizing is not it? but I assure you it has nothing to do with my fish pie!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargazy_pie

clam in wine sauce over angel hair pata

I love little clams cook in wine sauce. I was in Bilo and they had little clams on sale 2 for the price of one  I had to get them and try them for my my clam in wine sauce recipe. I have to say I will rather use fresh clams but for the price these were pretty good.I  made enough for one person but it will be easy to make the recipe for a few people.

Here is my recipe

ingredients
half of the pack of clams about a dozen ( or more if you wish.)
1/2 a shallot chopped
1 tbl of butter
parsley and oregano
garlic clove minced
white wine
heavy cream


.preparation
melt the butter in a large saute pan
add the shallot cook till tender
add the wine and the oregano and the garlic
Simmer for a few minutes
Add the clams cook till the clams open
serve with a wedge of lemon.

The clam in their sauce are delicious served on angel hair
I usually accompagne my meal with a nice green salad and a glass of chardonnet
A table bon appetit

Note: this meal is very nice for one person and it is easy to increase the portions for more.
It is nice to keep a few package of frozen clams it is a easy meal to make at the last minutes.
I have made this meal before with fresh clams. It is made the same way ,making sure to cook the clams till they are done but not to much or they will be tought. Naturaly it is always better to use fresh clams when possible but this is a nice and practical alternative.

Shrimp risotto

My sister Brigitte makes the best risotto. with her special advice I am now making a very good risotto. I particularly love shrimp risotto. people will make you believe that making risotto is so difficult and you have to be so careful when you make it. that is not so. Risotto is often made in France in restaurant and in household. but actually it is really a Italian dish . There are a few rices than can be used for risotto but the most popular in the USA is Arborio. I like all kind of risotto, and ounce you learn to make a basic risotto you can use your imagination. you can use different meats :pancetta,sausage. you can use vegetables: asparagus are delicious. you can use all kind of cheses I had a risotto in France with goat cheese it was delicious. One of my favorite risotto is shrimp risotto.  Here is the recipe. have fun.

Shrimp risotto

Ingredients
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 lb medium shrimp
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 a cup chopped onion or shallot
4 cups chicken stock or shrimp stock.
2 tablespoons butter
Parsley
1/4 cup white wine
grated parmesan

preparation
Peel and clean the shrimp.
chopped the onions.
chopped a few leaves of parsley
Put the stock in a saucepan and simmer slowy keeping hot for the rice.

Directions
Brown the onion in one tablespoon olive oil 
add the  the shrimp
saute  for about 10 min.
Keep on the side.

In another pan heat the 2 tablespoon butter when the butter is melted and very hot add the rest of the onion and the rice.
Add the  the wine and add a cup of the hot stock to the rice
Mix with a wooden spoon as you add the stock
ounce the rice has absorb the liquid add another 1/2 cup at a time
 let the liquid evaporates after  each time you add more stock and go on mixing ounce and a while
It should take about 25 minutes .

When the rice is cook add the cream to make it rich and creamy . Mix
Add the shrimp and rewarm every thing together
Add the grated cheese and a spring of parsley

A table. bon appetit

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Notes.
-You can froze the basic risotto. do not add the cream and the shrimp till you are ready to use the risotto
-The recipe is for 4 persons. if you just want enough for yourself make the full amount of basic risotto and freeze the rest. Cook as many shrimp you want  .Next week you may make some more shrimp risotto or another kind of risotto.
- You can  use shrimp stock instead of chicken stock. shrimp stock is the easier think to mak

Shrimp stock recipe

Keep your shrimp shells
Put them in a pan cover with water
add a small onion
!/2 a cup of carrots
1/2 cup of celery
1 bay leave
1 spring of time (or dry thyme)
salt and pepper.

Cook for about 1 hour and strain.
Use what you need and freeze the rest

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