Monthly Archives: February 2011

by sugarbaker | February 28, 2011

Mussels steam in white winewith crispy bacon topping

French Bistro style.

INGREDIENTS
3 lbs live mussels
3 T unsalted butter
2 1/2 cup white wine (crisp decent wine)
2 chopped leeks (white part)
4 chopped garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
chopped parsley
pinch of thyme
2-4 peppercorns
4 strips of bacon (optional)
cilantro for garnish
slice lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS:
Scrub mussels and rinse well. Make sure there is no sand.
Heat butter in a large skillet or wok at a high temperature. Add chop leeks, garlic, add white wine (more if needed) bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat add clean mussels (do not brown garlic). Cover with a lid. Stir once or twice to mix the bottom and top mussels, add chopped parsley.
Cook mussels for about 5-8 minutes or until all mussels have open. Throw any unopened mussels. Bad mussels will not open.
Cook bacon and crumble on top of mussels, add a bit more fresh chopped parsley..
Garnish with cilantro and lemon (optional).

Enjoy with a dish of pasta or rice with mushrooms and some toasted slices of a baguette or sourdough bread.

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Filed under Bacon, Seafood

Tagged as Easy mussel recipe cooked in wine, garlic, Love my mussel recipe, mussels cooked in garlic and wine recipe, mussels cooked in lemon, Mussels cooked in lemon recipe, Mussels cooked in white wine recipe, Mussels with bacon bits recipe, wine recipe

by sugarbaker | February 26, 2011

Spicy Tortilla Soup with confetti chip strips

Ingredients:
oil for stir frying vegetables
1 small onion chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
3 cloves of finely chopped Garlic
2 chopped jalapeno seeded
2 diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
5 cups chicken broth
2 large avocados sliced
sea salt (to your liking)
fresh ground pepper (to your liking)
1/2 cup can black beans (optional)
cilantro and lime slices for garnish (optional)

Add oil to pan at a medium temperature start adding chopped onions, garlic, bell pepper, tomatoes and jalapeno, stir frequently. Stir fry about 3 minutes.
Add chicken broth, chili powder, and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium, adding cooked chicken, black beans, pepper and sea salt. Simmer 5 minutes.

Garnish with fresh sliced avocados, cilantro, tortilla corn strips or chips.
Be creative by adding shredded cheese, bacon crumble, chives or a dollop of creme fraiche.

Serve with toasted slice baguette

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Filed under Bacon, Chicken, International Dishes and desserts, Soup

Tagged as Cino de Mayo Tortilla soup recipe, Mexican tortilla soup recipe, Spicy Tortilla Soup with confetti chip strips recipe, Tortilla soup recipe, Tortilla soup recipe very festive

by sugarbaker | February 26, 2011

Bleu Cheese and Iceberg Lettuce Salad with Bacon

Ingredients: Lettuce Wedges
I large iceberg
8 strips of bacon
1 leek chopped
1 large
tomato sliced 8 sliced wedges
cilantro for garnish (optional)

Ingredients Bleu Cheese Dressing

6 ounces of crumbled bleu cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons leeks
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
1 cap full of vinegar (vinegar bottle cap)

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Filed under Bacon, Salad

by sugarbaker | February 26, 2011

Spicy Grill Shrimp

INGREDIENTS
Shrimp
2 lbs medium size shrimp
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
a couple of dashes dry chili flakes
fresh ground pepper
dash dried parsley
dash of sea salt

For the shrimp

Prepare a large pot with boiling water.
Steam the shrimp for about 4 minutes until starting to turn pink.
At this point mix all the powder ingredients in a large bowl, shrimp will be toss into the mix dry ingredients.
As soon as the shrimp turns a light pink, remove and set on top of a hot grill.
You can also grill the shrimp outdoor.
Place the shrimp on top of foil than grill for about 5 minutes. The shrimp will be tender.

Toss the shrimp in the bowl with all the dry ingredients.

Remove shrimp to a platter add cilantro as a garnish.

Do not over cook shrimp or it will be rubbery and dry.

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Filed under Seafood

Tagged as gtill shrimp, shrimp, Shrimp recipe, spicy grill shrimp

by sugarbaker | February 22, 2011

Crab with Chili, Garlic and Ginger Chinese style

Ingredients:

3 individual dungarees crabs

corn flour for dusting the crab

oil for frying

5 green onions cut into 1 inch length

sliced ginger according to taste

dried red chili (soaked in hot water than sliced)

5 cloves garlic diced

cilantro for garnish

Sauce Ingredients

3 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

pepper to taste

1/3 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoon corn starch

1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce

Clean crabs and flash stream for 4 minutes at a high temperature. When crabs starts to turn red, take crabs out of steamer and cut crabs into pieces.

Heat pan with oil. Dust crabs with corn flour and place in a hot skillet. (one crab at a time unless you have a big wok).

Once the crabs are cooked (red in color) remove any extra oil in pan. Stir fry ginger, green onions, diced garlic and cut chili (optional) with cooked crab..

Add the sauce to the pan with the mix ingredients and crab. Stir fry a minute or so.

Place crabs on a platter and garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy.

Recommended: Serve with rice and bok choy (side dishes).

Wash bok choy before stir frying. Bok choy is easy to make. Using a skillet, add a little canola oil and 2-3 large cloves of diced garlic over low to high heat. Do not burn garlic. Toss bok choy in skillet and add 1/4 cup chicken broth, cook until tender but not over cooked. Place on a platter and drizzle soy sauce over bok choy. Add salt if desire but the soy sauce is already salty and the chicken broth. Takes about 5 minutes to make. Best to make last.

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Filed under chinese, Seafood

Tagged as Amazing crab recipe Chinese style, Best and easy Chinese crab recipe, Chinese crab with ginger and green onions recipe, Crab with Chili, Easy Bok choy recipe, Easy Chinese crab recipe, Garlic and Ginger Chinese style

by sugarbaker | February 4, 2011

FA GAO Chinese New Year Prosperity Cake

Pink or red for “Luck”

Pink for Chinese New Year. These cakes, are used to encourage prosperity in the New Year, are often dyed bright colors.

The bigger the split on the cake the more prosperity.

A steam Chinese ” Fortune” cake. light brown is made with brown sugar and almond flavor extract.

The name of the cake is a pun, as “fa” means both “prosperity” or” becoming rich”. and “raised ( eavened)”, so “fa gao” means both “prosperity cake” and “raised cake”, the “fa” having both meanings. These cakes, when used to encourage prosperity in the New Year and offerings.

The cake is a “Fortune” cake during Chinese New Year. The cake is not very sweet and easy to make . A nice gift during Chinese New Year.
This cake is made with no butter, oil or eggs. Different flavors can be added sich as almond, lemon, vanilla, white sugar or brown sugar, and fruit food coloring.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice flour

2/3 all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 cup coconut (can) milk (optional) you can use just water if not using coconut milk than use 1 1/2 cups of (total amount of water)

1/2 cup water

Directions;

In a large streamer bring water to a boil
Mix all ingredients and stir well. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
Add more water if needed. (mixture should be a ribbon consistency). Pour mixture into your cup molds, I used small rice bowl add a large red or gold (for luck) muffin paper-cup(liners) in the bottom of the bowl.

Steam at high heat for about 25-35 minutes. With a covered lid.. do mot lift the lid to peek, or it will become flat and it will affect the shape of the cake. The cake will be a golden light brown.
When done, the dome of the cake should have a crack style(smile). The Gods smiles on you and it is a lucky cake.

Double the recipe for about 6 small cakes.

All my cakes had cracks, which means the gods smiles on my cakes!

Wishing propriety to all!

These small cakes are also used for offering at the temple or in the home. The cake is more of a symbolic and tradition item.

add a dot in the middle for luck.

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Filed under chinese, Holiday

Tagged as Chinese Good Luck cake, Chinese New Year cake 2012, Chinese New Year cake Fa Gao, Chinese Prosperity cake, Fa Gao, Fa Gao cake recipe, Fa Gao Chinese New Year steam lucky cakes recipe, Year of the Dragon Fa Gao Chinese cake

by sugarbaker | February 3, 2011

Red Velvet whoopie pies, great Valentine’s Day treats

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
red food coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Directions
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in food coloring.

Spoon batter in 1 or 2-inch diameter rounds, about 1/2-inch high on prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes for 1-inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2-inch cookies, or until tops are set. Cool completely on baking sheets on rack. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets.

Spread frosting on flat sides of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down. Makes 60 one-inch or 42 two-inch cookies.

Cream Cheese Frosting
In medium mixing bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter and half an 8-ounce package softened cream cheese until smooth. Mix in 2 cups powdered sugar. Use immediately.

To store Whoopie Pies: Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

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Filed under Cakes, Cookies, Dessert, Valentine's Day

Tagged as Best Red Velvet whoopie pie recipe, Love my Valentine whoopie pie recipe, Red Velvet whoopie pies recipe, Valentine Red Velvet recipe, Valentine's Day sweet treats whoopie pie recipe

by sugarbaker | February 2, 2011

Valentine’s Cannoli and a Pizzelle

A new take on the old fried cannoli. This recipe has no butter and is not fried. I used a Cuisinart press pizzelle machine to make the cannoli shells

Prepare Ingredients for the cannoli shells:

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup all-purpose Flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking Soda

1/2 cup milk or almond milk

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons Canola Oil

Turn on the press. When hot Spray the Pizzelle press with oil (lightly)

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients and set aside. Beat the eggs and sugar,oil and milk. Mix well. Combine the egg mixture and dry ingredients.

When the press is hot add a tablespoon of the mixture to each side of the press. The green light will turn on when done, wait about 1 minute more before opening for a golden brown cookie. While the pizzelle is still hot wrap it around a wooden spoon handle so that it will take the shape of a cannoli shell. Cool the shell completely. Fill the shell before serving so that the shell remain crispy. If the shell gets a little soft, just reheat in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes.

Mini Heart cookies recipe can be found in the ” Cookies ” Label

Filling:
1 lb fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 oz soft cream cheese
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon minced candied orange peel
1/2 teaspoon orange-flower water
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate mini chips
powder sugar for garnish

” Happy Valentine’s Day ” Enjoy!

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Filed under Cookies, Holiday, Italian, Valentine's Day

Tagged as A twist on the cannoli recipe, Cannoli hearts recipe, Cannoli Valentine's recipe, Cannoli with hearts recipe, easy cannoli recipe, Pizzelle cannoli recipe, Valentine's cannoli recipe made with apizzelle, Valentine's Day cannoli recipe, Valentine's dessert recipe

by sugarbaker | February 1, 2011

Seared Salmon with Soy Ginger glaze and bok choy

I love salmon and I eat it a few times a week. It is so rich in flavor and is loaded with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, it is especially delicious when brushed with ginger, soy and sprinkled with sesame seeds. A very easy glaze to make and so flavorful. You will make it over and over again.

2 (6-ounce) Salmon fillets (depends on how many persons)

Ingredients for the Glaze
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 scallion minced
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (depends on how many salmon fillets)

bok choy (cooked)
baby spinach or broccoli (cooked)
2 cloves of chopped garlic
chicken broth
2 tablespoon canola oil, do not use olive oil

Directions:
Combine oil, orange juice, soy sauce, honey and fresh ginger in a small bowl.
Pour over salmon and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour, turn over in 30 minutes to coat the other side.

Remove from marinade, reserving marinade. Pan cook salmon on a lightly oiled pan until done, about 5 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of the salmon.
Brush twice with marinade, once when you put it on the pan and one more time after turning. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Serve on a bed of cooked bok choy or a bed of fresh washed baby spinach. (pat dry spinach) The hot salmon will cook the spinach.

For bok choy:
When ready to serve, prepare bok choy or other vegetables.

Cooking bok choy in a pan add a tablespoon of canola oil and chopped garlic, (do not over cook the garlic) cook for about 3 minutes and add either a few tablespoons of chicken broth or water(cook addition 1 minute).
Add a pinch of salt. Place on the plate.

Layer veggies and top with cooked salmon. Pour a few spoons of sauce and sprinkle the sesame seeds, add a pinch of salt.
Garnish with parsley or cilantro.

Goes salmon well with my cilantro rice recipe as a side dish.

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Filed under Fish, salmon, Seafood

Tagged as Best and easy salmon ginger recipe, Ginger salmon recipe, Love my Salmon Ginger recipe, Salmon recipe, Seared Salmon recipe, Seared Salmon with -Soy Ginger Glaze and bok choy, Soy ginger salmon recipe.

Monthly Archives: February 2011

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