Shrimp Burger Bites

I made these Shrimp Burger Bites for Fish Friday Foodies, however it's now Saturday and I'm a day late.

But...

I'm not a dollar short on these little bites of greatness.

Heather is our hostess this month and she set the theme for this month doing burgers using seafood.  She also said we could do sliders as well.

I made some Shrimp Burger Bites and wrapped them in some Napa Cabbage for my recipe.  I like my appetizer type foods, what can I say? 

They were so good, I'm going to serve them at Tapas as well. 

 Cause I made a lot.  And I do like to share.

Recipe: Shrimp Burger Bites
1 lb. Shrimp, minced
1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 egg
3 tablespoons Minced Garlic Chives
1 tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil
1 tablespoon Sweet Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoons EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Mince the shrimp, using either a sharp knife or a food processor, taking care to not let them process too much.  You do want little pieces of shrimp in the burger.

Mix all the ingredients together except for the EVOO and let sit for an hour or so to let the Panko absorb the liquid from the shrimp and other ingredients. 

Make into balls, using an ice cream scoop, flatten a little and saute in 1 tablespoon of EVOO until browned and cooked through on each side. 
Serve with a dab of Limey Sauce on a piece of Napa Cabbage.   

Limey Sauce

1/2 cup Mayonnaise (I like Dukes brand)
2 tablespoons Lime Juice
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek  (more if you like it spicy)

And there you have it.

An InLinkz Link-up

Over the Top Loaded Potato Bowl

I was searching my brain for a side to go with the Chicken Fricassee I was making for dinner and nothing was jumping out and saying "pick me, pick me". 

And then it came to me.   This Over the Top Loaded Potato Bowl.   My inspiration was a dish a local restaurant serves.

I've made rice and noodles as a side with the Chicken Fricassee and they're good but I wanted something more.  

I'm also trying to use up some stuff that's in the pantry and freezer as well.   The bacon was in the freezer, so it was fair game.

 

I had all the ingredients, woo hoo!!! 

So I proceeded to make my version of the dish that the restaurant serves, which entailed more cheese and more bacon and OMG was it good.

Which is why I'm calling it Over the Top Loaded Potato Bowl.

Recipe:  Over the Top Loaded Potato Bowl -

1-2 small Red Potatoes per person, steamed - I cook them in the Microwave
2-4 slices cooked bacon, diced
2-3 ounces Shredded Cheddar or Colby Jack Cheese  (use more if you like, I did)
Salt and Pepper to taste (I did two grinds each of salt and pepper)

Cut the potatoes into a large dice- in other words, quarter them, then cut them again in half.

Spray a small bowl with cooking spray, then layer the potatoes in the dish.  Sprinkle them with the chopped bacon,

and top them with the shredded cheese.

Place in the microwave for 3 minutes at 50% power or until the cheese is melted and draping itself seductively over the potatoes and bacon.
Serve.

So simple and so good.  

I did serve it alongside some Chicken Fricassee.
I love Chicken Fricassee, it's so easy to make, and I should make it more often, not only does it taste good, but you can sneak in some veggies along the way.

 

Chutney Wings and my 700th post

I made some Chutney Wings alongside the Asian Wings the other day and I'm almost embarrassed to say how easy they were to make. 

But then again, easy is good, especially when they come out as tasty as these were.

This also happens to be my 700th post, and I can't believe I've had that much to say about, not only food, but cookbooks and hints and tips for the kitchen.

These wings however are the star today.

 And they deserve to be.   

Sweet, succulent, a touch spicy, and ummm, they disappeared rapidly from the plate.

So here goes.

Recipe:  Chutney Wings   Serves 2-4 people

2 lbs. Chicken wings, flats and drums, cooked in a little chicken stock

Sauce:
1 jar Major Grey's Hot Mango Chutney
1 tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil
1 tablespoon Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

Cook the wings with a little chicken stock or add a bouillion cube to 6 cups of water and simmer the wings in the stock for about 20 minutes or until the chicken wings are cooked through.

Mix together the Chutney, Sesame Seed oil and the Rice Wine Vinegar, set aside.  

Take the wings out of the broth, drain and place on parchment covered rimmed baking sheet. Put under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to crisp up the skin, just a teensy bit. 

Brush the wings on one side with the sauce, broil just until they start to color, about 5 minutes. 

Take out, turn the wings over, brush with some more sauce, place back into the oven and let them bake for another 5 minutes or so. 
Turn over again, brush with more sauce, broil a little more, another 5 minutes or until they start to color up some more.  Turn them for the last time, brush on or pour on any remaining sauce, and broil for an additional 2-4 minutes, being careful not to let them burn.

Serve while hot

Asian Wings

You might have heard that I love wings, in fact I don't know that I've ever met a wing that I didn't want to get to know, just a little better.

These Asian Wings are one of the better ones.  Very simple to make and so darn luscious and moreish and good.

I do prepare my wings a little differently than a lot of people.

Sometimes I bake my wings before putting all kinds of goodness on top and sometimes I will cook them in a flavored broth to make a more complex flavor profile.

That's just what I did here.

Recipe:  Asian Wings   2 lbs. per 4 people

2-4 lbs. Wings, drums and flats  (if they come with tips, reserve those and make a good chicken stock from them)
Sufficient water to cover the wings, maybe 4 cups of water, depending on many wings you're making.
1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
1 tsp. Grated fresh Ginger
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1 tsp. 5 spice powder

Broiling Sauce
1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
1/2 cup Sweet Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp. 5 spice Powder
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup brown Sugar

Whisk the Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce, 5 spice powder and ginger into cool water, place the wings in and bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 minutes or so, just until the wings are cooked.  Then cook them an additional 10 minutes.  Take out of the water and drain.  Place in bowl.
 You can reserve the cooking liquid if you like for an Asian inspired Pho soup.


Mix the Broiling Sauce together and pour 1/2 of it over the wings that you just put in the bowl. Toss to cover all the wings with the sauce.

Put the wings on a greased or parchment covered rimmed baking sheet.

  Place in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, take out, turn wings over and let cook an additional ten minutes.  Baste the wings with the sauce, and broil for 5 minutes or until they start to brown up nicely.

Turn over, baste them again and broil an additional 5 minutes or so, or until they brown nicely.  You do need to keep a close eye on them so that they don't burn. 
Place in a nice serving dish, garnish with a little Sesame Seed sprinkled over top, and stand back.   They will be devoured. 
I also made some Chutney Wings that day.
I'll tell you all about them soon. 

Greek Salad

It's summer and time for salads.

At least in my house it is.

I get tired of the same old, same old , lettuce, tomato and ? salads.   I like to shake it up a little.
Or a lot.

I love a good Greek salad.

Lots and lots and lots of Feta Cheese, tomatoes, onions, cucumber, Kalamata Olives all on top of some Romaine lettuce.

Drizzled with a little fresh dressing made out of some Pomegranate Quince White Balsamic Vinegar, EVOO, chopped Kalamata Olives and some fresh chopped Oregano. 

Heaven to my mouth.

And waist friendly as well.

Recipe:  Greek Salad    Serves 6 people as a side dish.

1 head Romaine Lettuce, roughly cut
1 English Cucumber
1/2- 1 red Onion, thinly sliced
1 cup pitted Kalamata Olives + 6-8  olives
2- 3 red ripe Tomatoes
1/2 lb. Feta Cheese, either crumbled or whole, cut into chunks
1/2 cup Pomegranate Quince White Balsamic Vinegar (or other fruit infused vinegar)
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Get the best you can afford here. 
1 tsp. sugar
2-3 teaspoons fresh chopped oregano
or
1 tsp. dried Oregano
Salt   (the salt is optional )
Several grinds of fresh Black Pepper.

Thinly slice the red onion and soak in a little ice water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  This allows the red onion to let go of some of the harshness of the red onion flavor.  In other words, it tames it down a lot.
Take the romaine lettuce, wash it, cut the stem off of it, then the top part as well, discard. Those ends don't belong in this salad.   Cut the lettuce into one inch or so pieces, just like this.  Place into the bowl.
Cut the tomato into wedges and then halve the wedges.  You want some nice bite size pieces but not too large.  Place into the bowl.  
Wash and cut the Cucumber lengthwise, then lengthwise again, in effect quartering it.  Or just cut one inch slices, and then quarter them.  If using regular cucumbers, go ahead and peel them, or not.  Your choice.  Place those into the bowl on top of the tomatoes and lettuce.
Cut the Feta Cheese into chunks, or if using the crumbles, just place them in the bowl, on top of everything else.

Cut the Kalamata Olives in half lengthwise or do a rough chop. Take one quarter of those olives aside for a minute while you put the rest of the olives on top of everything else in the bowl.  Then take the remainder of the roughly chopped olives and do a fine mince on them.    Add them to some of the best fruit Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.   I like these from Smashing Olive.   Which reminds me, I'm getting low on some of my oils and vinegars. 

Add the soaked and drained red onion to the bowl. (I didn't forget about them, but they do need to soak for about 15 minutes or so)
Whisk together the EVOO, Vinegar and the oregano,  add the finely minced olives, and drizzle over the salad ingredients, toss to combine.  

Or just stand back and admire the beauty that you just created.

Serve.

This also goes great wrapped in a fresh piece of Naan or serve with some toasted Pita Bread.
I've also chopped the salad up the next day and added it to a sub sandwich.