Entree – Page 16 – Rosemary and the Goat

Cauliflower Onion Linguine

A very delicious pasta dish! So good, I’m making it again this week — tonight.

Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that I frequently pass up in the produce section. I don’t know why, but I have never been a huge cauliflower fan. I love it fried, but what isn’t good breaded and fried and dipped in a decadent sauce? I have used it in my Winter White Vegetable Soup and it’s fantastic, but even on a crudité platter, I will pass it up in favor of other vegetables.

When I saw this recipe in a recent Food Network magazine I knew I was going to have to give this vegetable another try. Pasta is good with practically any kind of sauce or with any type of vegetable mixed with it. I have even made a pumpkin pasta with a browned butter walnut sage sauce that is so delectable. With or without meat, pasta is a very satisfying entree. Sometimes on “girl’s night out” my husband will have me to just make him some plain pasta with either some pesto or nothing more than olive oil and a little Parmesan. He’s not that hard to please and he has been know to open a few boxes of mac and cheese for himself.

So, I say let’s give this vegetable another try you may just have a new favorite vegetable. Continue Reading…

November 4, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Pork

Smokin Succulent Grilled Pork Chops

“Call 911, something’s on fire”!

These were just as juicy as they look in the picture.

This is sooooo funny I just have to write about it. My husband got his new Kamodo Joe grill this summer and we have grilled just about everything you can imagine on it. Well, a couple of weeks ago he was getting the grill ready to first cook some sausage stuffed jalapeños for an appetizer and then to make these Smokin Succulent Grilled Pork Chops.

So, here’s what happened. He had dumped the bottom part of a bag of charcoal in the smoker and I think it was wet. The grill started putting off this huge plume of smoke and it kept going, and going, and going just like the Energizer Bunny. All of a sudden our neighbor from across the street rushes to our back yard with phone and fire extinguisher in hand and was ready to call the fire department. She thought our garage was on fire and she was over, as any good neighbor, would to fight the fire. We have been having a lot of fires the last few weeks here in Texas and I wasn’t looking to have one right in my back yard. We all had a good laugh and we sent her home with some of our smoking sausage stuffed jalapeños.

Turns out these pork chops were really good. Smoke and all and were delicious with our Sweet Corn Risotto with Blue Cheese and the Baby Carrots with Dried Apricots.

I don’t know about you but I am guilty of tearing recipes out of a magazine while waiting for either a doctor, dentist or even car repair. I try to be pretty sneaky about it; quietly tearing out the recipe so it doesn’t make a sound. Then I quickly fold it up and put it in my purse. Well, I would not have this recipe if I not seen the ad in a magazine.

This recipe is so easy, not many ingredients, and very deliciously tender.

October 5, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Side dish

Sweet Corn Risotto with Blue Cheese

Creamy, Cheesy, Corn Risotto and with Blue Cheese to boot.

Crisp corn, cream risotto, delizioso!

Fall is just screaming “lets start cooking”. And, what better way to meet a cool autumn night than with a big pot of risotto. (The cool autumn nights is about a month away for us here in Texas.)

I can’t believe that I have only posted one Risotto recipe before. I love making risotto and I think just the slow method of making it is what makes the dish so comforting. Making risotto is fairly easy but it not as quick as going out and throwing a steak on the grill, but oh so relaxing as you stand and slowly stir in your broth, wine and other ingredients. You don’t rush risotto and you don’t want to make it ahead and reheat it.

You definitely don’t want to have your husband/spouse stirring your risotto during a football game. The pot may get neglected and turn into mush. The word Risotto really refers to the method of cooking and not the dish — rice cooked with broth to a creamy consistency. Recipes will always call for arborio rice which is a short stubby grain. Risotto dishes always cook AT LEAST 20 and up to 30-35 minutes.

When our friends came over the night we made this I told my friend, “I didn’t tell you that I have never made any of these recipes and I was waiting for you to help me cook.” I was lucky that night because everything turned out great.

Learning to make a good risotto is like riding a bike; practice makes perfect. And you can put just about any ingredient into the finished risotto from meats, cheese, and cheeses. It’s a good way to use some of your leftovers in a new and creative way. After making this recipe, I’m yearning to try more risotto recipes during the fall and winter months.

September 27, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Fish/Seafood

Fish Tacos with Jalapeno Creme Fraiche

What’s in that taco?

40 years ago, even 20 years ago I would not have imagined I would be eating a taco with fish in it. After all, isn’t a taco suppose to be made of greasy flavored hamburger meat that drips down your elbow when you eat it and the shell cracks and spills it’s contents all over the place and you.

I remember when my husband was still in college. We were poor newly weds and we would go out to a taco trailer (and this was way before the ever popular food trucks that you see now) in Rolla, Missouri and buy ground beef tacos for 25¢ each. If I wanted to make tacos I had to buy tortillas in a can (Old El Paso brand) which were just flat corn tortillas. I had this little gizmo that folded the tortilla and I would put it in a pan filled with oil and fry up some shells. Crazy. Back then I could also buy, for $1, a pizza mix (50) and a lb. of hamburger meat (50). Now that was a cheap meal.

These days you can find just about anything in a taco shell from fajita meat, chicken, ground beef, pulled pork, pork belly (had these in Chicago), shrimp and fish. I had my first fish taco at Georges at the Cove in LaJolla, California, a few years ago and ever since then I have copied their recipe and served a creamy jalapeno creme fraiche sauce and mango salsa with my fish tacos. Of course I had to come up with my own recipe but that was easy.

August 4, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Fish/Seafood/ Salads

Grilled Seafood Salad

Shrimp and Salmon make the perfect combo in this salad.

I’m one of those people who can never make a decision on almost anything. I second guess everything I do wondering if there is a better way of doing it or, if I’m buying something then I’m thinking there may be something out there I haven’t seen that I will like better. So, I try not to shop. Not one of my favorite things to do — lucky for my husband.

Picking out shrimp is easy. Does one buy 30/40 count, 18/20 count, heads on/off, cooked/uncooked. Now that is easy compared to picking out salmon.

Should I buy farm raised salmon or wild Atlantic salmon. Do I want the whole side so I can make fresh salmon cakes from the left overs or do I want the tail piece which is one of my favorite pieces becauses it gets nice and crispy around the edges. Do I want salmon steaks or better yet do I want steelhead trout which is nice and red like salmon, cheaper by a couple of dollars a pound and has a milder taste than salmon. There’s always canned salmon and even that has options — pink or red.

There’s always smoked salmon which you don’t have to do anything to but open the package, put a little on a cracker with some onion, capers, and boiled egg — instant appetizer.

July 18, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Poultry

French Country Roasted Chicken

Magnifique!

We always love watching the Tour de France every year and after watching it just a few days I found myself laying around the pool day dreaming. I have the best day dreams and in this particular dream I was in France and I’m in a little convertible taking in beautiful panoramic views on roads clinging to the sides of cliffs. It’s so beautiful I can hardly breath. Of course there’s a picnic basket in back seat full of wines, pates, sausages, some smoked salmon, cheeses, fruits and some chocolate for dessert. (Hey, it’s my day dream so I can put whatever I want in that basket.) We (I guess I included my husband in this daydream) stopped at this quaint little restaurant and had the most delicious roasted chicken along with several glasses of their best wine.

Suddenly I wake up to this heavenly aroma waifing in my direction and realize that the passenger in my cute little car dream is smoking this delicious meal on his new Kamado smoker. And, he’s heading my direction with a glass of wine.

Oh, well. Goodbye France, see you in my dreams or maybe in person some day. I’m going to go create my own little bistro setting and enjoy a dinner that I did not have to cook and watch some more of the Tour de France.

July 10, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Fish/Seafood/ Salads

Avocado Shrimp Salad

Cool and easy for a hot summer day.

Our temperatures here in Texas get really close to 100° on most summer days, and I don’t like hot weather and can hardly wait each evening to get in the pool with a glass of wine and a noodle to float on, and that is the best part of the day.

To me, it’s a challenge to try and come up with recipes to cook in warmer months that don’t involve me standing in the kitchen all day over a hot stove (ha, not going to happen). Lucky me, my husband loves grilling and smoking things outside. So, come summer, he is stocking up on charcoal, and woods like apple, cherry, hickory, and alder. He does absolutely the best salmon I’ve ever had and his pulled pork is the best I’ve tasted here in Texas. So, I am not putting him to work for this dish — no smoking involved.

So, if you are looking for something lighter for a lunch, brunch or dinner, try this Avocado Shrimp Salad recipe. It’s quick and really easy, and maybe make some of my Thyme Onion and Chive Muffins to go with it.

April 11, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Pork

Pork Chops with Cabbage and Thyme

Baked in oven or crock pot, this is a favorite!

I’m one of those people who is happiest in the kitchen preparing food for someone to enjoy. I tend to like complicated recipes with lots of ingredients and a challenge to make and most of the time the recipes are successful. I’ve done so many sweet things lately you may think that I don’t have a recipe that doesn’t have “sugar” in it.

I love meat, I could never give up meat, could never come close to being a vegetarian even though I love vegetables. I love the thought of cooking something on a bone and then being able to pick up that bone and gnaw it clean — I do this when no one else is around. So what’s with all the boneless meat these days, boneless chops (this recipe), boneless chicken breast and thighs, no bones in the 7-bone pot roast any more and I could never figure out where those 7 bones were anyway. I’ve even seen boneless wings and I don’t even think those are wings.

There are so many working mothers/dads out there now, who has time to cook? Maybe on the weekends but then who wants to spend all weekend cooking. Years ago my sister and I use to make what we called Chops Casserole. It wasn’t really a casserole in the sense that it didn’t have some kind of canned creamed soup in it or loaded with cheese. I have revised that recipe and changed a few ingredients and gone is the word “casserole”. This dish could even be made in a slow cooker or crock pot and be ready to put on the table when you get to the end of your long day and you can sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy a nice home cooked meal.

April 1, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Sandwiches

Asparagus Ham and Cheese Melt

Not your ordinary sandwich!

I do love some ordinary sandwiches like bologna sandwiches on white bread with mustard or sometimes mayonnaise with a handful of potato chips on top and then they get mashed together until the salty chips totally cover the bologna surface. I love braunschweiger sandwiches with mustard on white bread and I know those aren’t good for me.

Other than burgers, occasionally, I never really threw sandwiches on the table for my kids. Or, for dinner anyway. They definitely had their share of pbj, grilled cheese and egg sandwiches for lunch.

Sometimes you just want something quick, like a sandwich, to fill you up so you can get going with whatever project you were working on. I’m sure everyone has had their share of sandwiches on bread (white, wheat, nut berry etc.) or pita sandwiches or wrapped sandwiches in tortillas. When in dieting mode, I have even wrapped my filling up in lettuce leaves. So, who would have ever thought there could have been another way to prepare a sandwich.

March 21, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Fish/Seafood/ Side dish/ Vegetables

Crab, Corn and Bacon Maque Choux

The last of my summer corn and it tasted fresh out of the field.

After making my Corn and Crab Fritters back in the summer I decided to use some of my corn that I had frozen and add some crabmeat to a Corn Maque Choux recipe I have been wanting to try for a long time. Good decision.

Can’t say I ever had Maque Choux before but when a neighbor once showed me how she was cutting the corn off the cob, I knew that was what we always called “fried corn”. Our version didn’t have the onions or peppers — just good corn, and bacon drippings and you cooked it until it was creamy and thick.

Sometimes we get fresh crabmeat on sale and when that happens, I just have to buy some. I decided to add the crabmeat to this dish and I think it would make a wonderful accompaniment to a steak dinner — surf and turf.

January 12, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Entree/ Fish/Seafood

Bar-B-Q Shrimp

BBQ — Barbecue — Bar-B-Q Shrimp

However you choose to spell BBQ, it still is not going to describe this dish.

On our recent trip to new Orleans, my daughter, Alexis, and I took a cooking class at The New Orleans Cooking Experience. Chique Collier taught the class and I think this may be my favorite recipe I took away from the class. I can’t say enough about how great this Bar-B-Q Shrimp is and you are just going to have to trust me and try it.

When we first booked the class and I read the menu and discovered we were doing BBQ shrimp, I envisioned shrimp swimming in sweet thick, red sauce or skewered shrimp basted and cooked on the “barbie”. Not so. That would not have been what I would have wanted it anyway.

The shrimp in this recipe was marinated in oil, wine and lots of spices and finished at the end of the cooking process with some cream. The recipe called for heads on x-large shrimp which I can normally find in our stores, but I couldn’t find them over the Thanksgiving holiday this year.

Chique told us that typically BBQ shrimp recipes in Louisiana is made with lots of margarine and enough black pepper to completely cover the shrimp. This recipe is so much better than any recipe containing a pound of margarine and black pepper.

December 1, 2010 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Entree/ HotApp/ Pork

Pork in Whiskey Sauce Tapas

Who ever thought little plates of food could be soooo good!

We returned from our cruise and time in Spain a few weeks ago. A couple of days in Amsterdam, cruising for 8 days and 9 days in Spain and I only gained 2 pounds. Didn’t think I would ever be glad to say I gained weight, but after the way we ate and drank for 19 days, I’m surprised my husband could fit me through the door.

My last entry had pictures of many of the tapas we had while in Spain. We had a Pork in Whiskey Sauce at this one tapas bar in Seville and I have tried to recreate that recipe and I must say, it was almost exactly like the one we had there.

A little more about our trip. We had some great Indonesian food in Amsterdam and were able to visit Van Gogh and Reich museum. Ann Frank’s house was a very interesting tour and we toured Heinken Brewery — who doesn’t like beer (me). In Brugge we tried steamed mussels and frites, Belgium chocolates (DELICIOUS), Belgium waffles with chocolate and a cup of coffee that was half chocolate, 2 shots of espresso and topped with a creamy hot chocolate.

Our food on the ship was wonderful and I got a lot of great ideas for tapas and things I might want to try for dinner parties. Our port calls were Brugge, Cherborg (did Normandy tour there), Lisbon, Gibratar, Vigo and the cruise ended in Barcelona. Then it was time to hit all those tapas bars I had been reading about. We spent two days in Barcelona making the Mori and Picasso museums and Gaudi cathedral and lots of shopping and walking, walking, walking (guess that is why I only gained 2 pounds). We flew from Barcelona to Sevilla (my favorite of all our Spain cities). Very cool city with streets just wide enough for a taxi to race down causing people to jump up on the curb (no sidewalk to escape to, so watch out).

October 9, 2010 By Sherry

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