Sherry – Page 34 – Rosemary and the Goat

Grilled Shishito Peppers with Garlic Aioli

These are very tasty little peppers.

Several years ago we stopped in Vigo, Spain on a cruise. It was a very rainy day. How do I remember that? Well, I write down everything from trips we have taken, especially the food and restaurants. So, when we had the day to kill in Vigo, we walked, with our umbrellas and ponchos up and down the streets where all the restaurants and food vendors were located. I remember stopping at this particular place and we ordered frites and these fried green peppers. I never found out what peppers they were but I’m sure it was these shishito peppers. (Found out they are Padron peppers). The Shishito pepper is a Japanese pepper and a close relation to padrone.

Right before the 4th of July I saw were our “Veggie Lady” had some of these peppers, so I scooted up there to buy a bunch to do for the 4th. What would the 4th of July be without something hot and spicy. The Veggie Lady sold these for $12.00 a pound then I found at Whole Foods for $3.99 a pound. (So, I know where I will be buying these from now on.)

August 2, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts/ Morning Foods/ Pies/Tarts

Very Berry Breakfast Pudding

Very Berry Breakfast…..

Could there be anything better than a bread pudding for breakfast? This isn’t called a bread pudding probably because who would eat bread pudding for breakfast? Call it Very Berry Breakfast Pudding and it has one drooling over the name alone and you don’t have to wait for dessert to eat it.

The making of bread pudding can be traced back to the 11 and 12th centuries and is popular in many countries with each one having their own twist to the recipe. I’m sure bread pudding came about when there was leftover stale bread in the house and not wanting to waste anything the homemaker added this and that to it and came up with a scrumptious dessert; in this case a breakfast treat.

There are two kinds of websites I like to look to for recipes, Bed and Breakfast sites and Winery sites; I have found delicious recipes from both sites; and this “pudding” will be a welcome breakfast treat any time.

July 27, 2015 By Sherry

Entree/ Fish/Seafood

Grilled Salmon Tacos with Schirarch Cream

Believe it or not this recipe started out to be Cherry Kuchen Bars for Valentines Day.

Have you ever been in a maze and wondered if you would ever get out? I’ve always wanted to try to walk through a maze but it would be my luck I would get lost and as short as I am would not be able to jump up so someone would see me. Laying down a trail of popcorn would be an option to help find my way out but then I’ve got this thing about popcorn and might not actually drop any on the ground to mark my path; I might be lost but at least I would not be hungry.

Sometimes I feel like I’m in a maze when I look around on the internet. An example would be how I found this recipe. I started out reading a foodblogging site on different ways to make your blog better. From that site, I clicked on a link, was taken to another link, I looked around there, found a lemon bar recipe which had my mouth-watering. Then I wanted to see where she got the recipe so I clicked on her link which took me to Dear Crissy’s website where she posted her version of Cherry Kuchen bars which is a recipe her mom clipped from Better Homes and Gardens Xmas issue. Whewwww….. I’m tired just thinking of all that clicking and my fingers are beginning to get sore.

Lucky for me I had the “back” button on the computer so I could work my way back through the maze of sites to the original post I was looking at. I’ve learned if I get to a site I like, I’d better bookmark it because I’m probably not going to find it again. But, guess what happened, on my way “backing” out of the maze I had gotten myself in, I came back to one of the original sites WillowBird Baking and her Salmon Tacos popped up. Now, they sounded a lot more interesting than a cherry bar.

July 22, 2015 By Sherry

Salads

Grilled Corn and Edamame Salad

Beautiful summer salad.

I think my favorite vegetables of the summer are corn and tomatoes. There is nothing better than a hot buttered, salt and peppered ear of corn in my opinion; and when you grill it and have those nice little black marks on it, it’s even better.

Take a little corn, add some steamed edamame and whatever ingredients you want and this salad will have you going back for seconds. Edamame is a soybean is low in calories and fat, high in fiber and protein and in just a little over a cup of edamame in the pods you get as much iron as in four slices of whole wheat bread. Here is some information I found on WebMD about soy.

So, what are you doing this summer? Do you have any new recipes you have tried for get togethers? If you have any favorite summer recipes, savory or sweet, leave a comment in the comment section to share.

We are still waiting to start our outdoor kitchen. Like always I thought this was going to be a fast build. We met back in April and now having to wait on permit so looks like it is going to be August before we ever get started. I’m really excited over the equipment my husband picked out. Alfresco 42″ gas grill with infrared burner, a power burner we will set low for turkey frying and other things and a cool teppanyaki stainless grill top that goes over the power burner which will be great for cooking pancakes, quesadillas, or the chef from Alfresco told us he turns his into a French cooktop and puts several saucepans on the top to keep or warm. We’ve also decided to add a warming drawer which will be really nice for keeping his bbq warm.

July 17, 2015 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Shrimp Wontons

Crispy and good!

My sister and I have always thought our “The Best Egg Rolls” are the best ever and are even by far better than any we have had out in a Chinese restaurant. Now that I feel I have “mastered” egg rolls, I’ve been wanting to try a different recipe using wonton and since there were some shrimp in my freezer and most of the other ingredients I needed to do this little wonton “kiss”, thought I would give it a try.

We were away from our pool for a couple of weeks back in May and when we arrived home it was just begging us to jump in. We had been heating it for a couple of months so get a head start on the swimming, floating, hanging out in the pool time. I love trying out new appetizers for when we hang out in the pool, float on a noodle and have a glass of wine and some munchies. Now, if I could just invent a floating table that would hold drinks and some food.

While in Chicago recently we went to a Japanese Izakaya bar. A Izakaya bar is like a pub or tavern with low tables and lots of small plate options to share. The menu is normally on the table, wall or in our case table and on a blackboard that the waitress brought to the table for us to choose from. You typically get a clean wet towel to clean your hands and we removed our shoes before sitting down. It was so much fun. Oliver and Charlie (our Chicago grandsons’s almost 5 and 3) love this place because they can sit on the floor. I loved all the small plates of food we had from pig cheeks to sweet potato fries to dumplings and it got me thinking that I want to do more of this type of food. I will definitely be trying the pancakes and a couple of dishes we tried that night and when I do I will be sure to share them with you. So dinner that night got me to thinking about making something Asian.

July 12, 2015 By Sherry

Entree/ Pork

Pulled Pork Tacos

Another use for pulled pork from that summer bar-b-q.

Can you believe summer is here (and half over) and after all the nice spring weather and all that rain we had back in May, it is now hot as blazes here in Texas. We are into July and August is looking like a really hot month. We are building an outdoor kitchen (which has been a long process to even get started) and I know we are going to enjoy it; now I want some cooler weather so I even want to sit outside. With fans for the summer and heaters for the cooler months, we will be able to do even more cooking outdoors.

Who doesn’t love tacos? Fish tacos have become one of my favorites and I have a salmon belly taco recipe I’m wanting to try this summer using some salmon my husband caught in Alaska. This pulled pork taco is just another recipe to use up some leftover pulled pork you might have leftover from the 4th of July.

July 7, 2015 By Sherry

Salads

Watermelon Salad with Goat Cheese

It’s watermelon time again! and just in time for the 4th of July.

It’s that time of the year again and I’m hoping you’re taking advantage of all the different types of watermelon that are available. One memory I have of watermelons, when I was kid, was that my grandfather use to haul watermelons in a 18 wheeler; not sure where his driver took them to but just knew we would be eating some good watermelon.

Back in the 50’s and 60’s when we went to Florida every summer with our grandparents we either didn’t have Interstate highways or either he took the back roads. I’m sure the 50’s and early 60’s we had to take the rural roads to go from Missouri to Florida. Anyway, I guess my point is that driving through all the small towns along the way there were always farm stands and we always would stop at one the closer we got the Jacksonville Beach (our usual destination). My grandfather would have to taste anything he was going to buy, especially peaches and watermelon. I remember him “thumping” watermelons to test for ripeness; and back then I had no idea what all that thumping meant.

July 2, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts/ Ice Cream

Peach and Cherry Custard

I Scream, You Scream, We all SCREAM for Blue Bell!

Ok, Blue Bell, you’ve had months to get back on the shelves and we are all growing impatient. I wanted some ice cream last weekend to go with a dessert I was making for company and I was at a loss to know what brand to buy. I’ve bought Blue Bell since moving to Texas and as far as I’m concerned there is no others that compare. Maybe Hagen Daz but who wants to pay twice as much for a cup of ice cream.

So, I have decided if I can’t have Blue Bell I will just make my own. I have many ice cream recipes on the blog that I love; and I like to come up with one or two more to try in the summer months when nothing else sounds better for dessert than a bowl, cup or cone of ice cream.

June 27, 2015 By Sherry

Bread/ Morning Foods/ Scones

Walnut Lavender Scones

The scent of the lavender will sweep you away.

You will not be raising your pinky while you are having tea with these scones.

A few years ago (many years ago in fact) at a tea conference I learned two things that stuck with me. One, you never split a scone and put your jam and Devonshire cream on it and put it sandwiched back together (you eat the halves separate); and two, when you drink tea you REALLY aren’t suppose to hold your pinky out. Of course, you can eat and drink however you want but I guess that is correct tea etiquette. Hey, when I drink my tea sometimes it is in a cup with no handle.

I wanted to bring back some lavender from our trip to France a couple of years ago but didn’t; so when I saw this dried culinary lavender in a spice shop in Austin, I just had to buy some. Then, it took me about a year to get around to trying my scone recipe using the lavender to make the most “scentful” walnut scones I have made. And, it didn’t hurt that I had some lavender growing right outside my back door to get in the picture. Picture perfect.

June 22, 2015 By Sherry

Appetizers/ ColdApp

Huancaina (Peruvian Spicy Cheese Sauce)

What better to go with a spicy cheese sauce than plantain chips.

I’m always on the look for new dips or sauces to make and this one is great. This recipe has been made twice in two weeks, once for lake trip and once when my son came for his 20th class reunion.

One of the most famous sauces in Peru is Huancaina (wan-kay-eena) served with cold sliced potatoes, raw vegetables or fried plantain chips. I vote for the plantain chips.

Several years ago we dined at a Peruvian restaurant in Washington, DC. Cute little place with all the pictures on the wall hanging crooked and there was actually a reason for that and it had something to do with feud with either Mexico or Spain but I don’t remember. Like I said it was years ago.

So, back to the restaurant. Back then we probably ordered something pretty safe and the waiter asked us several times if we had tried this or that and when we said no, he brought samples out for us to try; one being tongue. Instead of the usual oil with bread to dip it in or bread and butter we were served this pink (this recipe isn’t pink) butter type mixture with bread to spread it on. I never forgot what he told me was two of the ingredients — saltine crackers and milk.

June 17, 2015 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Pavlova with Fresh Fruit

A little tutu dessert for u.

Are you one of those people who always turns down dessert in a restaurant? Usually I am only because I’m too full to enjoy it. I will never give up desserts; I don’t make them all the time but when I do, I’m not only going to eat it, I’m going to enjoy it. Life is too short to say I’m NEVER going to eat certain things.

If you didn’t already know it, Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after a famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, and it is believed to have been created in her honor after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand back in the 20’s.

I like to make individual meringue shells and they look like puffy little tutus that are filled with whipped cream and fruit.

This is a perfect little dessert for any summer time gathering or do it just for yourself. My meringue shells were made the day before and were put them in an airtight container to stay crisp until the next day. I chose kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries to fill mine.

June 12, 2015 By Sherry

Entree/ Poultry

Peruvian Grilled Chicken

The best rotisserie chicken you will ever eat!

This is my second time making this recipe and couldn’t wait to try it out for Memorial Day and I loved it even more.

I’ve never been to Peru but I know if we were there we would be eating this Peruvian Pollo a la Brasa (blackened chicken) probably at some little cafe in the heart of the city. Maybe we will have to go there and try this dish first hand.

This recipe comes from Great Lakes Better Food website. I have no idea how I happened upon it; maybe when I was looking for chicken recipes to do in our new outdoor kitchen that is in the process of being built.

The spices in this recipe took a little tracking down; I found the Aji Amarillo paste at Whole Foods, the achiote seasoning at a small Mexican grocery (although I later found at our HEB) and the huacatay paste (black mint) on Amazon. (All of these can be bought on Amazon.) Believe me, this recipe is worth all that trouble. And besides, my husband did the hard work of cooking the chickens.

June 7, 2015 By Sherry

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