The fish lady is amazing, this weekend she had larger shrimp than usual, and some nice yellowtail, in addition to the sole I normally get. I made fried fish cakes out of them, good for sandwiches or alone or with a salad.
12 oz fresh fish and shrimp
2 eggs
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 large mushrooms, chopped
1/4 onion chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
This makes maybe 4-8 servings, you can make it ahead of time and keep it for a few days.
Mix the ingredients in a large bowl, form into patties and pan fry on medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side. For dinner last night, I simply pulled salad from a bag (also from the Brentwood Farmer's Market, the salad dudes, pea sprouts and arugula and spinach), added some tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and french dressing, and put a fish cake on top. Yummy.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Mousse pie #2 - Butternut squash, almond, chocolate
One medium butternut squash, roasted
1/2 cup half and half
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Pinch of salt
Mix ingredients well in a bowl. Pour into dish or pie crust. Top with sliced almonds. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350F.
1/2 cup half and half
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Pinch of salt
Mix ingredients well in a bowl. Pour into dish or pie crust. Top with sliced almonds. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350F.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Fritatti Di Gamberi Florentine (spinach mushroom shrimp cake)
Homestyle gourmet is simply adding special ingredients and techniques to normal dishes to make them something more. The major contributors to this trope are the Trader Joe's chicken broth, and the fish and produce from Brentwood Farmer's Market. Discovering the chicken broth allowed me to create much richer, better sauces, and the produce from the farmer's market is a new level of freshness as well as low cost.
My point is, if you do all your shopping at Ralph's, like I did until recently, it is just making it that much harder to make a special dish. You need to range out and get the good (not necessarily more expensive) stuff.
In particular for this dish, the sole/flounder and shrimp from the Brentwood fish lady are inexpensive and outstanding quality, and make this next dish excellent, at a reasonable cost.
Fritatti di gamberi florentine:
12 oz fresh fish and/or shrimp, cleaned and cut into small cubes
2 oz bread crumbs
2 oz dry grated cheese (parmesan)
2 oz fresh chopped spinach
4 oz fresh chopped mushrooms
1 oz fresh chopped Italian parsley
2 oz cream
2 oz olive oil
1 egg
2 cloves crushed garlic
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Heat olive oil in a pan to medium. Form mix into patties and cook for 4-5 minutes per side (deep golden brown). Serve on toast with mayo and spinach leaves, or just by itself with a salad or side dish...or...just by itself. Yum.
This is what I actually made, but they were a bit loose, maybe another egg would have bound the mixture into firmer patties. However, taste-wise it was just un REAL. Very yummy.
My point is, if you do all your shopping at Ralph's, like I did until recently, it is just making it that much harder to make a special dish. You need to range out and get the good (not necessarily more expensive) stuff.
In particular for this dish, the sole/flounder and shrimp from the Brentwood fish lady are inexpensive and outstanding quality, and make this next dish excellent, at a reasonable cost.
Fritatti di gamberi florentine:
12 oz fresh fish and/or shrimp, cleaned and cut into small cubes
2 oz bread crumbs
2 oz dry grated cheese (parmesan)
2 oz fresh chopped spinach
4 oz fresh chopped mushrooms
1 oz fresh chopped Italian parsley
2 oz cream
2 oz olive oil
1 egg
2 cloves crushed garlic
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Heat olive oil in a pan to medium. Form mix into patties and cook for 4-5 minutes per side (deep golden brown). Serve on toast with mayo and spinach leaves, or just by itself with a salad or side dish...or...just by itself. Yum.
This is what I actually made, but they were a bit loose, maybe another egg would have bound the mixture into firmer patties. However, taste-wise it was just un REAL. Very yummy.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Chocolate-pumpkin mousse pie
Being around the Thanksgiving season, there is a lot of winter squash around. I baked one and made it into a soup, and it was so good that my mind started dwelling on pumpkins. Eventually, out popped this.
Chocolate-pumpkin mousse pie
1 small pumpkin (1 lb or so)
8 oz chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
1 cup of milk
6 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cream
Bake the pumpkin in a 350F oven for an hour or two. Remove the skin and seeds. Make a thick roux with the butter and flour. Add milk to roux and boil, it will turn very thick. Turn off heat and mix in the chocolate chips. Combine pumpkin, eggs, and cream in blender, then mix well with the roux. Pour into a buttered dish or pie crust. Bake 35-40+ minutes at 350F.
Next time I might drop out some chocolate and add some sugar.
Chocolate-pumpkin mousse pie
1 small pumpkin (1 lb or so)
8 oz chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
1 cup of milk
6 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cream
Bake the pumpkin in a 350F oven for an hour or two. Remove the skin and seeds. Make a thick roux with the butter and flour. Add milk to roux and boil, it will turn very thick. Turn off heat and mix in the chocolate chips. Combine pumpkin, eggs, and cream in blender, then mix well with the roux. Pour into a buttered dish or pie crust. Bake 35-40+ minutes at 350F.
Next time I might drop out some chocolate and add some sugar.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Spinach soup with pistachio-shrimp dumplings
Spinach soup:
6-8 oz fresh spinach
2-4 cups chicken broth or water
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs cream (milk works too)
Salt, pepper
Heat the chicken broth separately. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan. Add the spinach and cook on high for 1 minute. Add the hot broth and turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly in a blender. Start the blender slowly, mine blew the lid off even with my hand over it, due to the heat. Add cream at the end or before serving.
Shrimp dumplings:
¼ cup raw pistachios
2 tbs flour
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs cream
1 cup chicken broth
1 clove garlic
¼ onion
2 eggs
8-10 oz shrimp and fish
Bread crumbs
Roast the pistachios in the olive oil over low heat for 5-10 minutes. Remove the pistachios and make a roux with the remaining oil and the flour (sauté the flour until it smells toasty). Add half the chicken broth to the roux until it bubbles, and remove heat. Combine remaining ingredients except for the roux and bread crumbs in a blender and blend well. Combine blender mix with the roux. Add bread crumbs if needed to get a thick paste. Drop spoonful sized dumplings into lightly boiling soup and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve with toasted baguette slices.
These dumplings are very soft, if you have any suggestions for a fish ball recipe with a firmer consistency, let me know!
6-8 oz fresh spinach
2-4 cups chicken broth or water
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs cream (milk works too)
Salt, pepper
Heat the chicken broth separately. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan. Add the spinach and cook on high for 1 minute. Add the hot broth and turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly in a blender. Start the blender slowly, mine blew the lid off even with my hand over it, due to the heat. Add cream at the end or before serving.
Shrimp dumplings:
¼ cup raw pistachios
2 tbs flour
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs cream
1 cup chicken broth
1 clove garlic
¼ onion
2 eggs
8-10 oz shrimp and fish
Bread crumbs
Roast the pistachios in the olive oil over low heat for 5-10 minutes. Remove the pistachios and make a roux with the remaining oil and the flour (sauté the flour until it smells toasty). Add half the chicken broth to the roux until it bubbles, and remove heat. Combine remaining ingredients except for the roux and bread crumbs in a blender and blend well. Combine blender mix with the roux. Add bread crumbs if needed to get a thick paste. Drop spoonful sized dumplings into lightly boiling soup and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve with toasted baguette slices.
These dumplings are very soft, if you have any suggestions for a fish ball recipe with a firmer consistency, let me know!
Cheese ravioli with sausage and spinach-pistachio pesto
Home style gourmet is about creating flavors at home that are a cut above the usual, by using local high quality ingredients. It's my own mish mash of homemade and store bought, trying to find a balance among flavor, ease of preparation, and cost. Point being, I don't make homemade ravioli, I bought Trader Joe's fresh jumbo cheese ravioli for $2.50 and called it even. I want to create some great flavors, but rolling my own dough just seems like too much work, as I am not experienced with it. I didn't press the olive oil either... ;)
I never measure anything, bad habit, this is my guess as to what I did.
Spinach-pistachio pesto
1/4 cup raw pistachios
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (more? I added as little as I could to get the blender going, but it was still a lot)
fresh spinach 4 oz
fresh basil 4 oz
1/4 cup grated parmesan (nice Argentinian reggiano knock off at Whole Foods, $6/lb or something, freshly grated)
garlic 2 cloves crushed
heavy pinch or two of salt and pepper
Roast the pistachios in a pan with the olive oil on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Let cool. Mix everything in a blender. This is a great base for other dishes, and it's great alone on toasted baguette slices. I find the spinach makes it last longer in the fridge, about a week, so you can make this ahead of time.
Pesto ravioli sauce:
4 oz pesto
8 oz chicken broth (TJs again for this ingredient, though I have been making my own with some success)
2 oz cream
Italian sausages
olive oil
Remove the skins from half the sausages and make them into small pieces. Sautee the pieces and the remaining links a bit of olive oil until brown. On low heat add the pesto and chicken broth and simmer for 10-20 minutes. You can reduce the sauce for a thicker consistency, or mix in some flour either while sauteeing or simmering. I prefer to add the cream after the heat is off, or at least not cook it too long.
Ravioli:
Open package, boil 10 minutes, drain. Serve with a sausage link and some sauce, garnish with a little chopped Italian parsley and grated parmesan cheese.
I never measure anything, bad habit, this is my guess as to what I did.
Spinach-pistachio pesto
1/4 cup raw pistachios
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (more? I added as little as I could to get the blender going, but it was still a lot)
fresh spinach 4 oz
fresh basil 4 oz
1/4 cup grated parmesan (nice Argentinian reggiano knock off at Whole Foods, $6/lb or something, freshly grated)
garlic 2 cloves crushed
heavy pinch or two of salt and pepper
Roast the pistachios in a pan with the olive oil on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Let cool. Mix everything in a blender. This is a great base for other dishes, and it's great alone on toasted baguette slices. I find the spinach makes it last longer in the fridge, about a week, so you can make this ahead of time.
Pesto ravioli sauce:
4 oz pesto
8 oz chicken broth (TJs again for this ingredient, though I have been making my own with some success)
2 oz cream
Italian sausages
olive oil
Remove the skins from half the sausages and make them into small pieces. Sautee the pieces and the remaining links a bit of olive oil until brown. On low heat add the pesto and chicken broth and simmer for 10-20 minutes. You can reduce the sauce for a thicker consistency, or mix in some flour either while sauteeing or simmering. I prefer to add the cream after the heat is off, or at least not cook it too long.
Ravioli:
Open package, boil 10 minutes, drain. Serve with a sausage link and some sauce, garnish with a little chopped Italian parsley and grated parmesan cheese.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Homestyle gourmet recipes: Afterparty Sausage Dog
I like to cook and my friends seem to like what I cook, so here are some recipes. I rarely measure anything so always use your head when following my lead.
First off, sausage dog. Nothing innately gourmet about this, but good ingredients will turn this into something special. I got the recipe from a guy with a cart outside Miyagi's nightclub at 2am.
2 Italian sausage
2 buns
onions
bell peppers
salt
pepper
mayo
mustard
I like the Van de Kamp's buns (Van Camp's? Van something). They are cheap and insubstantial, and yet they just seem to be the proper bun for the job. You could also go with a french roll. (Or is it French roll?)
Pork sausage is traditional, but it's just hard to beat the Trader Joe's chicken italian (Italian?) sausage and Sicilian chicken sausage, very fresh and yummy. But then there's the Polish deli down the street at 12th and Wilshire with ten kinds of keilbasa, that is the best possible sausage alternative.
Sautee some sliced onions and peppers in a little olive oil on high heat. A little char by the time they cook is tasty.
You can either bake the sausage or sautee it, then add the onions and peppers to the same pan to finish.
Spread some mayo and mustard, add salt and pepper, add the onions and peppers. Simple, yummy, but the high quality sausage and fresh sauteed onions and peppers make this fresh and satisfying.
First off, sausage dog. Nothing innately gourmet about this, but good ingredients will turn this into something special. I got the recipe from a guy with a cart outside Miyagi's nightclub at 2am.
2 Italian sausage
2 buns
onions
bell peppers
salt
pepper
mayo
mustard
I like the Van de Kamp's buns (Van Camp's? Van something). They are cheap and insubstantial, and yet they just seem to be the proper bun for the job. You could also go with a french roll. (Or is it French roll?)
Pork sausage is traditional, but it's just hard to beat the Trader Joe's chicken italian (Italian?) sausage and Sicilian chicken sausage, very fresh and yummy. But then there's the Polish deli down the street at 12th and Wilshire with ten kinds of keilbasa, that is the best possible sausage alternative.
Sautee some sliced onions and peppers in a little olive oil on high heat. A little char by the time they cook is tasty.
You can either bake the sausage or sautee it, then add the onions and peppers to the same pan to finish.
Spread some mayo and mustard, add salt and pepper, add the onions and peppers. Simple, yummy, but the high quality sausage and fresh sauteed onions and peppers make this fresh and satisfying.
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