Shrimp and Corn Bisque

2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 tbs butter
2 tbs all-purpose flour
3 cups fish stock (I also use chicken or veggie stock.)
1 cup milk
1 cup shelled cooked small shrimp (deveined)
1 1/2 cups whole corn kernels
1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill or thyme
1/2 cup light cream

Heat olive-oil in large heavy-bottom pan. add the onion and cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes until soft.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring. Stir in the stock and milk, bring to a boil, and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently.

Cut each shrimp into half for easy blending. Add to the onion with corn kernels and dill or thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir the sauce mixture into the shrimp and corn mixture. Remove 3 cups of the soup and puree in a blender or food processor. Return it to the rest of the soup in the pan and stir well. Season with salt and a touch of pepper to taste.

Add the cream and stir to blend. Heat the soup almost to boiling point, stirring frequently.

Optional: Add some hot-sauce to each plate for those who like it. It gives the soup a great kick.

Roasted Salmon on Puff Pastry

I typically target weeknight meals that can be completed in about 30 minutes but now I have a recipe for a delicious and elegant dinner that can be made in 15 minutes or less. Yeah, I said f-i-f-t-e-e-n minutes.

Roasted Salmon on Puff Pastry

4 4-oz salmon steaks

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 large heirloom tomato, sliced

Artichoke Antipasto from Trader Joe's (can be replaced with basil pesto)

fresh lemon juice (optional)

Heat oven to 425F. 

Cut the puff pastry in 4 pieces and place on a cookie sheet. (If you use aluminum lined sheet, don't forget to spray with oil.)

Line a backing dish with aluminum foil. Place the salmon steaks in the dish, salt them if you like, and sprinkle the almond slices on top. 

Place the puff pastry and the salmon in the oven and bake both for 10 minutes.

When done, place one piece of puff pastry on a place, top with 2 tablespoons of Artichoke Antipasto (or 1 tablespoon basil pesto), then place a few slices of tomato, and finally top with the salmon steak. Squirt with a  bit of fresh lemon juice if you are into that kind of thing!

Note: I do hate the scaly, slimy fish skin. The best way to remove it is to cook the fish and when done just peal the skin off. Much easier than trying to cut it off the raw fish. Also, next time I make this, I am going to bake the puff pastry and the fish in the same cookie sheet.

Shrimp and Corn Pancakes with Tomato Salsa

I've made the shrimp and the pancakes separately two nights in a row and realized that together they would go wonderfully, almost like a different spin on the traditional Southern comfort food "Shrimp and Grits". This is also ideal for a week night dinner since the entire dinner takes about 30 minutes to make or less.

Roasted Shrimp

1 lb cleaned and deveined raw large shrimp

1 tbs fennel seed

1/2 tbs cracked black pepper

1/2 tbs smoked paprika

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1-2 tbs olive oil

Heat the oven to 450F. In a pan heated at medium-high, toast the fennel seed and cracked black pepper for about 2-3 minutes until the seeds are golden brown and release the aroma. Transfer the seeds and black pepper to a mortar and pestle and grind until the seeds are cracked and somewhat powdered. Add the salt, garlic powder and paprika and mix.

Pour the olive oil into a pyrax dish or a cookie sheet. Dump the shrimp in and sprinkle with fennel seasoning from above. Massage the shrimp around to coat evenly (oil will get mixed in too) and put in the oven for about 5-6 minutes. Do not over cook or your shrimp will be gummy.

Note: I used only 2-3 turns of a black pepper since I wanted my kid to eat this too (and he loved it!)

Corn Pancakes

3/4 cup self-rising flour

3/4 cup corn meal or polenta

1 cup milk

about 10 oz of corn

olive oil or oil spray for frying

Mix all of the ingredients above and cook up pancakes as you typically would. I used a frying pan since I don't have a griddle and did it over medium heat with canola oil spray. For me it was about 2-3 minutes per side of the pancake to get the nice golden brown color.

Note: I used a following recipe to make the self-rising flour: 1 cup flour + 1/4 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt. I am not sure it's the best one but I'll have to experiment with this a bit more. Other recipes suggest more baking powder and salt per cup of flour.

Tomato Salsa

2 large ripe tomatoes (diced)

1 small cucumber (diced)

1 half bell pepper of any color (diced)

a handful of basil leaves (diced)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

salt

~1 tbs olive oil

~1 tbs red wine vinegar

optional: 1/2 cup edamame

Combine all ingredients and put salsa in the fridge to cool until you are ready to serve dinner.

Blueberry Grunt

Got it from Huffington Post and plant to try:

• 1 quart of blueberries (4 cups), frozen or fresh
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, cold
• approximately 1 cup milk
• you will need a Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid

In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, bring the the blueberries, water and 1/2 cup sugar to a gentle boil and continue cooking until there is plenty of juice (several minutes).
As the blueberries are cooking, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together into a medium sized bowl. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter with two knives or a pastry cutter (until it resembles peas). Then add sufficient milk to make a soft dough – I find I usually need about 1 cup of milk. The dough should hold together but still be wet looking – softer than play dough.
Once the blueberries have become nice and juicy (and cooked down slightly), drop the dough by tablespoonfuls over the berries. Cover closely and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat. Do not lift the lid during the cooking time. After 15 minutes the dumplings should be poofed up and cooked through. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Potato and Cabbage

Colcannon 

• 2 pounds baking potatoes
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 pound green cabbage, coared and coarsely chopped
• Peel potatoes and cut into 2-inch pieces. Simmer potatoes in salted water to cover until tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring remaining cup milk, water, butter, remaining 2 Tablespoons oil, cabbage, 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoons pepper to a simmer in a 3-quart saucepan and simmer, covered, until cabbage is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain potatoes well, then add to cabbage mixture and mash with a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper.

(got it on huffingtonpost.com)

NO-WAY-THESE-CAN-BE-GOOD-FOR-ME CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

INGREDIENTS
(Yeld 5 dozen truffles)

• 3 cups chickpeas, cooked and cooled
• 250g dried figs, chopped
• ½ cup extra dark cocoa powder
• ¼ cup pasteurized egg whites
• few drops pure almond extract
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ¼ cup pistachio, chopped
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup hemp hearts

Coating ideas

• Cocoa Powder
• Hemp hearts
• Unsweetened shredded coconut
• Flaxseed meal

DIRECTIONS

1. In a food processor, process the chickpeas and dried figs until they’re completely incorporated and become nice and smooth and creamy in consistency.
2. Transfer that mixture to a standing mixer with the paddle attachment.
3. Add the cocoa powder, egg whites almond extract and mix on medium speed until well incorporated. At this point, the mixture should have the consistency of a thick cookie batter. If you find the mixture to be a tad too dry, you can always add a little bit more egg whites, until you get the desired consistency.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until incorporated, no more.
5. Put this in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
6. Once the dough has chilled, shape it into ¾-inch balls – that’s about a teaspoon per ball.
7. Roll the balls into coating of your choice, place in airtight container and refrigerate.
8. This makes about 5 dozen truffles and they will keep for about a week in the refrigerator (although I really wouldn’t worry about that!).
9. You can also freeze them, to try and prevent yourself from eating them all at once, but know that after only about a minute or two at room temperature, they’re good to go and as good, if not better, as fresh!

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

(from realmomkitchen.com)

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate (I used a 14.5 oz box of Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Rigate)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally (I used some leftover cooked chicken)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used 8 oz of button mushrooms)
• 1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces) (I used an italian blend that had provolone in it)
  
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes).  Use a little extra olive oil if needed.(Since I used left over chicken, I just cooked the mushrooms in the olive oil)
3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.  If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top.
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.