Just switched over to Facebook Comments

Posted on October 28, 2011 by

I was browsing some other food blogs and ran across one that was using Facebook comments instead of the WordPress comment system. It looked nicer and seemed more useful so after a little experimenting we’re now on Facebook for our comments.

Posted in Musings |

Moroccan Lemon & Olive Chicken

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

Still on a Moroccan kick, even picked up a new cookbook. Last night’s dinner was one I’ve seen a lot of recipes for, but wasn’t sure how it would come out. My version doesn’t use preserved lemons and I didn’t bother with any salt, so this won’t taste like the original — go ahead and add the salt or use preserved lemons if you have ’em!

Overall, I’d say that this had an interesting taste. The occasional bite of lemon from the slices of lemon rind take some getting used to. And the olives didn’t come through too well. Next time I’ll add the juice from another 1/4 of a lemon and add more olives (I’m not an olive fan, but they should be a major contributor to the taste.)

This one won’t be part of my regular rotation, but I’m sure I’ll cook it again when I need to change things up a bit.

Posted in Mediterranean, Recipes | Tagged , , , |

Getting too adventuresome….

Posted on October 22, 2011 by

Well the verdict is in.  Not every meal works out.  I tried a Moroccan chicken dish that had prunes, apricots, and a tamarind past substitute that had even more fruits.  Lets just say that it’s hard to judge what you’re trying to accomplish when you trying a cuisine that you’re not familiar with.  There was definitely a hint of something that I’d like, but a lot that just wasn’t working.

This one goes back to the drawing board or to the cutting room floor….

Posted in Musings |

Catalan Fish Stew

Posted on October 16, 2011 by

I had a Catalan Fish Stew at the Naked Fish a couple weeks ago and I happened to be with someone who was from that region of Spain.  From how he described the dish he remembered, they were serving a watered down version.

So I started looking around for a good recipe and my Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Mediterranean Cooking had a good looking recipe.  Of course it served 6-8, so the test was to see if I could get it down to a single serving size.  Naturally I failed!  By the time you add some fish, clams, mussels, shrimp….well lets just say it serves 1 with leftovers.

But I have to say it’s going to be hard to decide if I like this better than my Portuguese Fish Stew.  It is amazing how each culture has a take on this dish.  From the Gumbo’s I grew up with to New England Chowders to the Portuguese and Catalan Stews.  They’re all great and it’s one of the best things about the fall and winter — nice rich thick fish stews.

Here’s the link to my,almost, single serving version.

 

Posted in European, Recipes | Tagged , , , , |

Fish Tacos

Posted on October 16, 2011 by

Trying to catch up on testing new recipes so today I decided to do a lunch and a dinner.  For lunch it was Fish Tacos.  Lots of good recipes out there and one at allrecipes.com had great reviews for it’s white sauce.  So the sauce from one recipe and a simpler fish fry and it’s time for lunch.  I only cooked enough fish for three small cubes per taco (it was just a lunch after all!) and found that I wanted more fish!  The white sauce was indeed very good, but I overdid the lime so it was a little thin.  The recipe has both of these “lessons” fixed.

Posted in Mexican, Recipes | Tagged , , |

Seafood Paella

Posted on October 15, 2011 by

Finally have some time to try a new recipe. I love the look and taste of a seafood paella, but the question is does it scale down to a single serving meal? Well I went to the local fish market and they didn’t bat an eye when I ordered 4 mussels and 4 clams. I also got some extra and some fish for tomorrow’s meals!

This meal is a little more complicated, but from start to finish it still only took 45 minutes. I may adjust this a little to give it a little more kick. So a little more sausage should do the trick.

Here’s the link. Enjoy!

Posted in European, Recipes | Tagged , , , , |