HERB SHRIMP PASTA IN A FOIL PACKAGE!!!

Hi guyssssss let's just pretend like this isn't my first blog post in two years ok? Alright Thanks

Sooooo the other day I was talking to  my cousin and talking about my favorite pasta recipe and she asked me to send her the recipe. As I was typing up the recipe I got really hungry and decided to actually make the dish, as I was about to make it, I said you know what? Let me make a blog post on it... and just like that I returned from bloggers abyss. and I think I am here to stay :D 

This herbed pasta is hands down one of my favorite dishes ever. it's quick and easy, and even though I used shrimp here, it can be made with any kind of meat or faux meat. Most importantly, it's a one pot meal (or one foil-packaged meal). It's great for a large group of people as well.. it's perfect for a weeknight, but elegant enough for a dinner party. I could go on and on, but let's get to the recipe. 

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup of olive oil OR Herb Butter (I use Kerrygold Garlic Herb Butter; you can make yours )
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced  ( you could use less, I love garlic)
• 1 can (14 1/2 Oz.) of Italian herbed Diced Tomatoes (I use Muir Glen Organic)
• 1/4 cup Dry White Wine ( i used Viognier  but you can use Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc OR you can substitute a 1/4 cup of Chicken Broth)
• Jumbo Or Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
• Red Pepper Flakes (Optional) 
• Fresh Parsley and Basil (PLEASE DO NOT USE DRIED) 
• Oregano, Thyme and Basil (Fresh or Dried; I used fresh) (Optional) 
• Pasta ( I used linguini, but could use any other thick bodied pasta) 
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Foil Paper

Instructions

Items you'll need

SECRET INGREDIENTS!I honestly believe these two items make the dish standout. Any brand of can diced tomatoes will work. I used italian seasoned diced tomatoes. you can use plain if you want,  but I think the dish tastes better with the seasoned variety.  

Melt about 3-4tbs of butter or about 1/4 cup of Olive Oil)

As butter melts, add the minced garlic and allow all that awesome buttery garlicky goodness to cook for about a minute

Then add the entire can of tomatoes

Stir

Stir and then add 1/4 cup of wine or chicken stock (if using wine, it's advisable to use a wine you would drink, so as not to waste the rest of the bottle. I used Viognier, but you can always use Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay). Your kitchen is about to smell heavenly like the Food Network Test Kitchen.

To infuse the sauce with more flavor, I added a bunch of fresh herbs (oregano, basil and thyme) .. Cook this for about 10 mins or so (or until all of the liquid has dried up). You can use dried herbs as well.. but know that the flavors wont be as subtle as fresh herbs and obviously you can't take out the dried herbs.

Boil the pasta for a little less than half the recommended time (5mins if the box says 11mins).

After the liquid dries up I take out the herbs

You should be left with this

Then add the shrimp.

Add the Red Pepper Flakes. (You can skip this step if you do not like spicy food. I love INSANE amount of pepper, so for me the hotter the better. I mean a life without spicy food is not worth living. Anyway, I went HAM on the pepper.

Wait for the shrimp to release some moisture, then add salt and pepper to taste (NOTE: If you are using herbed butter, you may not need to add salt, as the butter is already is already salty)

Add the half-cooked pasta to sauce 

Toss together and taste. You may need to add more seasoning depending on how much residual pasta water enters the dish 

Add FRESH minced parsley/basil, drizzle some olive oil (or add some more butter) and toss together. Make sure everything is nicely coated 

Make your foil package ( I mean I gues you could use a foil pan, but who wants to wash an extra thing. if you do use a pan, make sure it's tightly sealed. 

Throw the contents of the entire pan into your foil contraption. make sure you pour in all of the juices

Seal tightly 

Throw it in a 350 degree oven for about 15mins.

AND FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER..........

VOILA..

I don't know what it is about this dish, but it always comes out great. The foil really does help seal in the juices and flavor and it's great for people like me who hate doing dishes. That's one less thing to wash. 

Open foil package right before serving. Serve warm. it goes great with your leftover bottle of wine. Enjoy :) 

*** Oh and as a sidenote.. if I ever compete on the amateur version of "Beat Bobby Flay", this is the dish I am making.. Well, either this or Boli (Roasted Plantain) and Fish.

Apiti - Steamed Plantain Pudding

I know I haven't blogged in a long time... that's because I haven't really cooked anything. It's a very weird period in my life right now, but in due time everything will be fine :) . 

So anyway, I've been missing my grandma a lot lately and craving everything she used to make for me as a kid. My grandma raised me and pretty much cooked all of my meals when I was growing up. One of my all time childhood favorites is called Apiti (sp?). She made it for me all the time, it literally is a piece of heaven.  It's pretty much steamed plantain pudding made from a mixture of very ripe plantains, cornmeal, onions, peppers and other spices. Unfortunately,  I never wrote down the recipe and my mom doesn't know how to make it either, so I decided to make it completely from memory.  To my delightful surprise, the apiti turned out almost exactly like my grandma's, I think the only thing that was missing was my grandma's love. Hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Enjoy :)

Ingredients

6 very ripe plantains (The skin should be black - but not moldy -and the flesh should be soft/mushy to  
the touch. You may need to keep it for a few more days after you buy it)
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal (I like the grainy texture of stone ground cornmeal)
1/2 red bell pepper
8 scotch bonnet pepper (use more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 medium red onion
1/4 cup of dried ground crayfish
1/4 cup of heated palm oil
2 bouillon cubes (I use African knorr cubes)
Dash of salt
Foil paper/mini foil trays

DIRECTIONS

Peel the plantain.

 In a large bowl, mash the plantain with a masher or a wooden spoon. It should be really easy to do because the plantain should be very soft and super mushy. ...dont use a blender/food processor for the plantain because it turns into a runny paste. you want a little bit of chunk in it.

Add the crushed bouillon cubes to the mashed plantain

Using a blender/food processor, grind bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, onion, crayfish.

Add blended mixture to the plantain and mash/stir

Add 3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal to the mixture and stir/mash

Heat  the palm oil on the stove for about 4mins. Pour the heated palm oil into the plantain mixture. As you pour, you should hear it sizzle. Add a dash of salt, stir it all together. 

Allow the mixture to rest for about 10-15 minutes. Then pour into individual foil pouches. You can also use mini foil trays. Fill the pouch about a 3rd of the way.  (instructions on how to make a foil pouch are at the bottom of the page). 

Seal the pouch and place in a pot filled a tenth filled with water.The water is the source of the steam.  I place a steam tray at the bottom of the pot to make sure water doesn't touch the foil pouches. 

Allow to steam for about 45minutes. Keep an eye on it, because you may need to add more water to the pot. 

You know it's done when the content of the pouch is firm to the touch. Remove from heat and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. unwrap the package and transfer the deliciousness :) to a plate/dish. 

I serve my apiti with a side of stewed fish, but it can also be eaten alone.  It can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Enjoy :) 

How to make Foil Pouches

1. Tear a piece of foil paper

2. Fold in half

3. Seal two of the open edges by folding. 

Fill pouch with mixture and seal 

Chicken-Dodo Stir Fry

Happy New Year EVERYONE!!!

So I've been experimenting a lot with food combinations... The other day I made colored pancakes.. well, I used the same recipe for red velvet pancakes, but as I was making it, I was like why stick to red, so I made purple (combination of blue and red colors), green and red velvet.. Was pretty yummy.. anyway, I digress...

I love stir fry and I love dodo (fried/baked plantain). So wanted to see what it would taste like if I combined both of 'em and that was how chicken-dodo stir fry was born.

I marinaded my chicken in homemade teriyaki marinade and cooked the chicken in the marinade, then added the plantain and the veggies and cooked everything together.

The recipe for my homemade Teriyaki marinade is below, but u can also use store bought teriyaki (use the kikkoman brand). But u still need to add ginger, garlic, brown sugar, thyme, black pepper and a little bit of soy sauce and sesame oil.

Ingredients For Teriyaki Marinade: 
2tbs Soy sauce
2tsp Sesame oil
3/4 cup Sake (Dry rice Wine)
1/4 cup Mirin (sweet sake)
piece of grated Ginger (you can replace with 2tbs ginger powder)
2 chopped Garlic cloves (you can also replace with 2tsp minced garlic or garlic powder)
3 tsp brown sugar
1tsp dried thyme
pinch of black pepper

Do not use any salt.. the sake and soy sauce have enough salt in 'em

mix all the ingredients together  in a bowl and add the chicken to it.

I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs, because the thighs have more flavor than chicken breast. but u can use chicken breast if you want to. cut the chicken into strips. I am very lazy so I just use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the chicken. steep the chicken into the marinade and allow to sit for about 20mins (or until you're done frying the plantain)

Ingredients for plantain portion:
1 ripe plantain
1 1/2 cup of oil to fry
pinch of salt

As the Chicken marinades, slice and cube the plantain. salt slightly and fry until golden brown. Alternatively, you can put the plantain in an oven. grease a grill pan and place cubed plantain evenly on the tray. Do not stack the plantains on top one another. set oven at 350 for about 15mins. and turn for another 10mins.. until golden brown.

Ingredients for Stir-fry
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
a bunch of scallions (green onions/spring onions)
1/4lb of sugar snap peas
3 cloves of garlic
1tbs red pepper flakes

Directions

You can also add mushrooms or any of your favorite veggies.

Thinly slice the peppers long from top to bottom. Also slice onions and chop up the garlic. Cut the green portion of the scallions into two and thinly slice the white portion. just rinse the sugar snap peas.

slightly grease your pan and add the marinated chicken.. allow to cook for about 5mins until the chicken caramelizes. The brown sugar in the marinade will caramelize the chicken.

Cook for a few minutes, then add onion, garlic and the bottom white portion of the scallions. Allow to cook for a few minutes and then add plantain. Then add the other veggies stir and allow to cook for another 5mins

You may add some chopped basil at this point if you wish.

Chicken-dodo stir fry is ready to consume... Enjoy :)

Note: You can use the same recipe for stir-fry, just remove the plantain portion!

Coq Au Vin Blanc

Man, I haven't had alcohol in since August 2nd 2012!!! Yes, I remember the date, it's etched in my brain. I cannot wait to taste alcohol...Anyway, since I am not allowed to have alcohol for a while, I figured i might as well attempt to enjoy the flavor without the alcohol. (When you cook with wine/cognac, the alcohol evaporates leaving you with just the flavor). I decided to make Coq Au Vin which is pretty much just a fancy French term for chicken in wine sauce. It's a really delicious dish, it has mushrooms and bacon and pearl onions. This dish is traditionally made with red wine (burgundy), but I HATE red wine ughhh, It's gross and bitter. So if any recipe calls for red wine, I generally use white wine instead. Hence the 'Blanc' in the name of the dish.  Plus I also feel white wine gives any dish a lighter crisper taste. 

INGREDIENTS 

6 chicken thighs

1/2 pack of frozen baby (pearl) onions - (you can use fresh pearl onions, but i wont be caught dead trying to peel those little suckers, so I just use the prepackaged frozen ones)

1 medium onion

4 habanero pepper (I put habanero in EVERYTHING, I like spicy food) 

8 bacon strips

4 large carrots

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup mushrooms (I used crimini mushrooms) 
1/4 cup of cognac 

1 cup of your favorite white wine

1 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of bacon

1 stalk of fresh basil (optional)
1tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Put a splash of olive oil into the pot/pan. Then cut the bacon into little bits. Add the bacon to the pot and let cook for about 8mins until the bacon is crisp. The bacon will also produce it's own grease. 

As the bacon is cooking up... salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. When the bacon's done.. remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon leaving behind the fat/grease in the pot. Brown both sides of the chicken in the bacon grease. about 3mins on each side .

Remove the chicken and put it in the same dish as the chicken. Cut up carrots, I like cutting the carrots into big thick slices. Slice the Onions, mince the garlic and habanero pepper (if necessary). Add the onions and garlic to the pot and allow the onions to soften. Then add the carrots.

Pour in 1/4 cup of cognac to deglaze the pan and get all those delicious crusty parts into the sauce. Add 1 cup of wine and stir with a wooden spoon. Then add the chicken stock.

                         

Return the bacon and chicken back to the pot. Add a pinch of salt, a little bit of black pepper and 1tsp of thyme! Cover pot for about 45mins. 

I love basil in everything.. so to give it a hit of basil flavor, I just put a stalk of basil on top and allow it to cook with.

As the chicken cooks, in a different pan melt 1tbs of butter and add about 1/4 sliced onion to the pan. When soft, add sliced mushrooms to the pan and sauté.

After 45mins, remove the chicken and basil (if necesssary) from the pot and stir the sauce. if it's a little too watery, you can make a rue to thicken it . (just mix 3tbs of flour w/ 1tbs of butter) and add it to the sauce. Add in sautéed mushrooms and stir, but be careful not to break the mushrooms.  Also add the pearl onions into the pot.

Then return the chicken to the pot and allow to cook for another 10mins or so. 

Voila... Coq Au Vin Blanc is ready

Serve with whatever side dish you like. I served mine with creamy garlic mashed sweet potatoes. It was absolutely delicious :)