For the Superbowl last weekend I made these pork dumplings. They are quite easy to put together and make a good party dish. I had to mess around with the dipping sauce a bit because the first attempt came out too vinegary. This is a good dish to make if you are having a few people over, it’s even better if they want to pitch in and help put the dumplings together! Enjoy!
Over the weekend I went back and made some improvements to the poached shrimp in Old Bay butter. In the end I completely changed the recipe and the results were even better than I expected. I used the same poaching method to cook the shrimp. However for the sauce I changed nearly everything. Instead of using Old Bay I switched to a Cajun seasoning, which kicks up the spice level. I also switched to a oil and butter base, which does a better job at coating the shrimp and is great for dipping bread. I also added in some chopped up hot banana peppers, an idea I came across when I ordered the Cajun shrimp appetizer at The Irish Rover Station House. Give this recipe a try, it’s quick and easy to make and is a real crowd pleaser, Enjoy!
Whenever I think of squid I think of the classic fried calamari at most Italian restaurants. The other day I saw a recipe for grilled squid in Cooking Light magazine and adapted it with what I had available. Instead of making the chili sauce I used a chili garlic sauce you can find in most grocery stores then added a few spices and other things to it. This dish is very simple to make. You throw the marinade together, put the squid in it and let it sit, then start up the grill and cook the squid for 2 minutes a side.
The squid came out with a great texture, not the rubbery overcooked texture you find out there. It cooks very quickly so the 2 mins a side will give the squid good grill marks and cook it perfectly. If you are looking for a new way to have squid or calamari give this a shot!
This post is short and sweet. My dad loves bacon, so for Father’s Day I made him candied bacon. The recipe is very simple and adds a nice sweet touch to salty flavor of the bacon. This works well as a side with breakfast or as a nice party appetizer. Enjoy!
So seafood took over this week on my blog and this is the last shellfish entry for this week I promise. Last weekend I picked up some incredible slab bacon form DiBruno Brothers in Philadelphia and wanted to work it into a dish. I chose scallops because they go so well with bacon. Instead of wrapping the scallops in bacon I slowly reduced the fat out of the bacon and used that to pan sear the scallops. Then made a maple bacon reduction to drizzle over the scallops. The dish turned out great. When cooking it just be sure to make sure you get the pan very hot before placing the scallops in the pan in order to get a good sear on them. Make these for your dad on Father’s Day he’ll enjoy them!
This week has unofficially turned into shellfish week. I was in the grocery store and saw littleneck clams for sale and figured I’d give them a go. This is my first time ever cooking littleneck clams. I was debating on whether to cook them on the grill but in the end I decided to steam them. I used beer, garlic, lemon, Old Bay, and parsley to make a broth then steamed the clams in this mixture. I was surprised at how easy the clams were to prepare. You just throw them into the pot then check to see when the shells have popped open. These clams would go great with a beer on a relaxing weekend. Enjoy!
Last night I decided to mess around and attempt to make one of my favorite appetizers, mussels marinara. Now I like my marinara sauce on the spicier side so I added jalapeno peppers to this batch. However if I were to make it again I would use Italian hot peppers instead of jalapenos. All in all the recipe was very simple to follow. Before cooking the mussels be sure to submerge them in ice water for a few minutes to get rid of any dead ones. After cooking them be sure to throw out any mussels that have not opened. You can serve this over pasta or use bread to dip into the sauce. Enjoy!
This is a very easy to make appetizer that is sure to impress. If the scallops you use are very large be sure to cut them in half so they all cook evenly. When picking scallops try to find dry packed, they cook better than wet packed scallops. Make sure to precook the bacon. by precooking the bacon you solve the problem of having either overcooked scallops and crispy bacon or perfectly cooked scallops and undercooked bacon. You can pair the bacon wrapped scallops with ginger BBQ sauce or a nice cocktail sauce. You will find the recipe’s for the scallops and the BBQ sauce below. Enjoy!
I wanted to make a new appetizer and saw this recipe on The Food Network. The onion stacks turned out alright I just do not think they are worth all the effort it takes to make this dish. You can find the recipe below. If you are a big garlic and onion lover you will enjoy this dish but again there is a lot of prep work and a lot of sitting time for this recipe. If you have the time try it out. Enjoy
Last weekend I made some deviled eggs for Easter. Instead of making classic deviled eggs I decided to put a twist on this traditional Easter dish. For the first set of deviled eggs I spiced them up with some Siracha hot sauce and garnished them with thinly sliced scallions. These eggs with an Asian twist are a good change up from the classic. The Siracha is not overpowering and gives the eggs a subtle heat. For the second set of deviled eggs I added an avocado into the mix. These eggs were a big hit and gave a nice change of color to the egg plate. You can find the recipes for both below. Enjoy!
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