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Shrimp Scampi

August 9, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi is elegant, intensely flavored and surprisingly easy to make. It seems like a complicated dish because it’s usually something you would choose to order at a nice restaurant and not something you would think of to make at home. And the shrimp and pasta does not have to swim in butter like some places like to serve them. There wasn’t a lot of butter in this recipe to begin with but I cut it back even further and it is still delicious. I love Shrimp Scampi and serve it quite often, try it, I really think you’ll like it.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound angle hair pasta

3 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, finely diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

Pinch red pepper flakes, optional

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, juiced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

1/2 cup pasta water, reserved

Directions:

Cook angle hair pasta al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Saute the shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes until shallots are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, add them to pan and cook until they turn pink, 3 minutes. Remove shrimp from pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice to pan and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil and once butter has melted return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley, cooked pasta, grated cheese. Add reserved pasta water if needed. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Tyler Florence

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Posted in Main course, pasta, Seafood | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments »

Butter Chicken

August 6, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken

This is an absolutely delicious chicken dish; I just can’t stress that enough. Truly, this is one of my favorites. You can make it with or without the whipping cream or you can use half and half instead, I have made it either ways and it’s equally delicious. This dish is also great to make ahead of time, as a matter of fact, the flavors are more intense the following day. Try serving this with Jasmine Rice if you can find it at your local grocery store.  Also, I cut back on the amount of butter. Come to think of it, should we still call this Butter Chicken then?

Ingredients:

4 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

5 Garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground Coriander

1/4 teaspoon Cumin

1/4 teaspoon Cardamom

1 whole Lime, juiced

1 whole Onion, diced

2 tablespoon Butter

2 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 can (14.5 oz) Tomato Sauce

1 can (14.5 oz) Diced Tomatoes

a pinch of Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 cup Whipping Cream

1 bunch chopped Cilantro, to taste

Serve with Jasmine Rice

Directions:

Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces and place in a large zip lock bag or bowl. Add first 8 ingredients to the chicken and mix it up well. Marinate 12-24 hours in refrigerator.

Saute onion in butter and olive oil until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook 8-10 minutes over medium heat. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add whipping cream and cilantro just before serving over Jasmine Rice.

Source: The Pioneer Woman, originally posted on Tasty Kitchen by lillieknits

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Posted in Chicken, Comfort food, Main course | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

Mini Fruit Tarts

August 2, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Mini Fruit Tart

Mini Fruit Tart

These Mini Fruit Tarts are not completely homemade. As a matter of fact, they are a quick and easy dessert to put together when you don’t have the time to make a homemade tart shell. I found these handy-dandy, pre-made, ready-to-fill sweet tart shells at the store.  I was intrigued and thought they could come in handy should the occasion arise, and it did. When we had company visiting and I already had a lot on my plate, these little tarts saved me quite a bit of time. And I love fruit tarts! Now this filling is very different from the filling I used in my Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream. The two taste nothing alike. When you make this Mascapone filling, start with just 1 tablespoon of Amaretto and taste it since the Amaretto can sometimes get to be a little overpowering, and then add more according to your taste. I hope you enjoy this beautiful little summer dessert.

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoon sugar

8 oz. Mascarpone cheese (1 container)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoon Amaretto

fruit – Kiwi and Mandarin

package of ready-to-fill sweet tart shells

Apple jelly – for glaze

Directions:

In a mixing bowl add egg yolks and sugar and mix on high-speed until mixture is light yellow and creamy (about 4-5 minutes). Add Mascarpone cheese and mix well. Add vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of Amaretto. Taste the mixture and add more Amaretto according to taste.

Line up ready-to-fill tart shells on a baking sheet and fill with Mascapone cream mixture. Spread mixture evenly and place in refrigerator to let cream set up for 1 hour.

Drain liquid from the Mandarin’s and place them on a paper towel to soak up excess liquid. You do not want your fruit wet when you place them onto the filling. Peel and slice Kiwi fruit, if very moist pat dry with a paper towel. Take out filled tart shells from refrigerator and arrange fruit in a circle on top of cream filling. Place some Apple jelly in a microwave safe bowl and heat jelly in the microwave until melted and smooth. Heat in 10 second increments for approximately 1-2 minutes depending on how much you need. Once Apple jelly is melted, use as a glaze and brush onto the arranged fruit on the filled tart shells. It will give your tarts a beautiful shine. Enjoy.

Kiwi Mini Fruit Tart

Source: adapted from Bell’ alimento

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Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments »

Chocolate Chip Blondies

July 30, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Blondies

Blondies

My first encounter with Blondies….ever, was one day recently when I came home from work and found my son Nicholas and his friend Jessica cleaning up the kitchen after having made a batch of Blondies. (Did you notice that I said; they cleaned up the kitchen 🙂 ) I gotta tell you, coming home after a long day at work to the scent of baked goods; I could get use to that. But seriously, the Blondies were absolutely fantastic and the kiddies did an excellent job. These Blondies turned out light and cakey with a wonderful brown sugar flavor. Blondies definitely have more fun!

Update: I was wondering if it’s really necessesary to have two whole sticks of butter in this recipe, it just seems like way too much butter for me. So I decided to try with just with one stick and the Blondies turned out fantastic. I have adjusted the recipe to just one stick of butter and now I can eat Blondies with less guilt.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper so it extends over the long edges of pan. Spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electrical mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar at medium speed until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. At low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until combined. Using a wooden spoon fold in white and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean; do not overbake. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Once cooled completely, lift up the parchment paper to remove the bars from pan. Cut into squares.

Source: adapted from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle

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Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments »

Excellent Meatballs

July 25, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Excellent Meatballs

Excellent Meatballs

I have been trying and trying for years to make a tender and tasty meatball but they always came out too firm. I want my meatballs to easily fall apart when you dig into it with a fork. So what was different this time you ask me ? Well, I think the most important part is that I got equal parts veal, pork and beef directly from the butcher instead of using one of those “meatball” ground meat packages from the grocery store that supposedly have equal parts of all three meats in it. Also, the meatballs get browned and then baked plus I like to let them simmer in the sauce for at least 1 hour. These meatballs are so tasty and Anne Burrell also mentions another really important point and that is to test taste (why didn’t I think of that) a mini meatball before cooking them all up. Adjust the salt if needed! Now finally I got myself a tender meatball that I’ll be confident in serving for my guests.

Ingredients:

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of crushed red pepper

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground veal

2 large eggs

1 cup grated Parmigiano

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup water

Directions:Coat a large pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for 5-7 minutes. The onions should be translucent but have no color. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley, bread crumbs and onions. Season well with salt. Mix using your hands squishing the mixture. Add water and do one final squish. The mixture should be quite wet. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger size patty and cooking it. The patty should taste really good.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Shape the meat into desired size. I prefer them slightly larger than a golf ball. Coat a large pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookies sheet and bake them in oven for 15 minutes or until cooked all the way through. If using right away, add meatballs to your favorite marinara sauce. If not, cool and freeze.

Source:  Anne Burrell

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Posted in Beef, Comfort food, Italien, Main course, Pork | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Best Marinara Sauce

July 23, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Best Marinara Sauce

Best Marinara Sauce

I love love love tomatoes and Marinara sauce. I would eat it 7 days a week if they let me. But they won’t let me. Actually, truth be told, I eat a tomato every day for lunch and my coworkers love to point it out to me and so I never hear the end of it. 🙂 But I can’t help myself, lunch just dosn’t seem right without my shiny little red friend. Sorry, got a little sidetracked there.

Now for the Marinara sauce. This is without a doubt the very best Marinara sauce that I have tried out so far. This has become a favorite in our house and I’m happy to report that even my son likes it (and that’s saying a lot because he is used to only the best from his grandmother who makes a mean pasta and meatball). If you have a food mill this is a breeze to make, if not, it’s a little more work but well worth the effort. This sauce freezes really well so I always make a big batch and keep it in the freezer for easy use. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 pound diced pancetta

2 large Spanish onions, diced

Kosher salt

4 large garlic cloves, minced

4 (28 ounce) cans Italian diced or plum San Marzano tomatoes

Directions:

Coat a large sauce pot with olive oil and add diced pancetta. Bring the pot to a medium-high heat and cook pancetta for 4 to 5 minutes. Add onion and season generously with salt, stir to coat with olive oil. Cook the onions for 6 to 7 minutes stirring frequently. The onions should become soft and translucent but have no color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring frequently.

Pass the tomatoes through a food mill or if you don’t have a food mill simply just pulse the tomatoes in a food processor to break them up and then press the tomatoes through a sieve. Make sure to press until you have a dry paste left in the sieve. This part can be a little bit of a workout. Make sure to scrape all the delicious pulp off the bottom of the sieve or the food mill. Add the tomatoes to the pot and rinse out 1 of the empty cans with water and add the water to the pot (about 2-3 cups). Season generously with salt (season in baby steps) and taste it to make sure it is seasoned enough. Let the sauce simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally and tasting frequently.

Serve sauce right away or cool down and then freeze.

Source: Anne Burrell

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Posted in Comfort food, Italien, Main course, pasta | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Korean Skewered Chicken

July 19, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Korean Skewered Chicken

Korean Skewered Chicken

I love to try new foods, new flavors. When I made this recipe it was my first encounter with the Asian Pear. The pear is absolutely delicious, so crispy, almost crunchy and sweet. Just thought I would share that with you, but this post is not about the Asian pear, it’s about these skewered chicken and they were very delicious indeed. The original recipe gives different basting instructions than what I ended up doing. The men in my life (husband and son) were hovering around the kitchen like a pack of wolves, which usually means that they’re hungry (I must admit that I was pretty hungry too), so I decided not to take the extra 10 minutes to make the basting. Instead I whipped up my own consisting of 2 tablespoons Thai style chili sauce and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and that is what I used to baste the chicken with instead, and it turned out fantastic! Did this recipe just become Thai chicken skewers instead of Korean chicken skewers? Ladies and Gents, don’t get all rowdy now but I think we just had an “A HA” moment here. Anyway, the original recipe suggest that you save the chicken marinade, strain it and simmer until it thickens and become saucy (about 5-10 minutes). Then use the sauce for the basting. Next time I make these chicken skewers, I will make the sauce the Korean way, hungry or not. I promise, maybe.

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into bite size pieces)

3 garlic cloves (grated)

1 inch ginger (grated)

1/2 small onion (grated)

1/2 Asian pear (grated)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 green onion (chopped)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

For basting:

2 tablespoon Thai style chili sauce

2 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a zip lock bag and marinate for 1 hour. If using wooden skewers, soak in water. Skewer the chicken on wet wooden skewers or on metal skewers and set aside. Mix 2 tablespoon Thai style chili sauce with 2 tablespoon soy sauce to make basting sauce. Grill chicken until cooked, about 5 minutes per side basting it with the marinade as you go. Enjoy

Source: adapted from Closet Cooking

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Posted in Asian, Chicken, Grilling, Main course | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

Blommekage – Plum Cake

July 16, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Blommekage

Blommekage

When I first saw this cake I knew I had to make it immediately. And this recipe didn’t lay around on the kitchen counter in my to-do pile for weeks and weeks on end, no sir, it moved right up to the top of the list. Besides, I had been eyeballing the most beautiful plums at the store. I love this cake, but, it did give me quite a bit of trouble. The first time I made it, I placed the plums at the bottom of the pan, as instructed. But when I removed the cake from the pan, some of the plums stayed at the bottom of the pan. Fiasco! But that only got me more determined to make this cake work for me. So I slept on it and decided to try it again. This time I started by placing dough in the bottom of the pan, then plums and topping it off with the remaining dough. It worked like a charm and I was very pleased with myself  🙂 The cottage cheese makes the cake itself moist and sweet which is a great contrast to the slightly tart plums. I know my pictures does not show it, but I also added a glaze to the top which turned out to be the icing on the cake (pun intended). I would recommend serving this the same day it’s baked when the cake is at its freshest.

Plum Cake Ingredients

Ingredients:

For Cake:

125 gram butter at room temperature (9 tablespoons)

225 gram sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)

4 eggs

200 gram cottage cheese (3/4 cup)

1 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

250 gram flour (2 1/4 cup)

2 teaspoon baking powder

4 plums

1-2 cinnamon Biscotti, crumbled

For Glaze:

100 gram powdered sugar (1 cup)

2 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon rum

1 teaspoon flour

Butter and sugar, crumbly

Plum Cake with sugar on top

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (347 degrees F)

Plums should be pretty firm, not too soft and juicy. Cut plums into half and twist in opposite directions to separate. Cut pit out with knife. Place plums on paper towel with cut side down to absorb excess juices.

Place Biscotti in zip lock bag, close tightly and pound to crumble. Coat inside of loaf pan (5 x 9 inch) with butter and sprinkle Biscotti crumbs inside pan to coat sides and bottom with crumbs, discard excess crumbs. Set aside.

Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with mixer until blended well and crumbly. Add eggs one at the time, mixing well after each egg. Add cottage cheese, lemon zest and mix to blend. Stir flour and baking powder together and fold dry ingredients into batter.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Add plum half’s onto the batter, cut side down. Pour the remaining batter on top of plums and spread batter evenly. Sprinkle top with sugar. Bake cake in the middle of preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes until golden brown. Let cake cool off completely before removing from pan. Once removed from pan, mix glaze and spread over top of cake. Enjoy.

Plum cake with cottage cheese

Plum Cake With Cottage Cheese

Source: adapted from Arla

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Posted in Danish, Dessert | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments »

Lou’s Baby Back Ribs

July 12, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Lou's Baby Back Ribs

For Mother’s Day we drove up to visit my In-Laws at their house where my Father-In-Law served the most delicious Baby Back Ribs. I asked him if he would share the recipe and he was more than happy to do just that. So for Father’s Day celebration my In-Laws came down here to visit and I decided to make Lou’s Baby Back Ribs and it turned into a fun family cooking affair. We had a great time cooking the ribs together and it turned out to be a weekend filled with lots of good food as well as good company. 

This is my Fathers-In-Law’s Baby Back Rib recipe. The ribs are full of flavor and baked tender in the oven for two plus hours. At the end, the ribs are placed under the broiler to give the outside a nice crisp.  There are no set ingredient amounts, simply just sprinkle on an amount to your liking. The ribs were served with; red and white rosemary roasted potatoes and a spinach salad with heirloom tomatoes, candied walnuts, dried cranberries with a raspberry dressing. Delicious dinner! 

Baby back ribs ingredients

Ingredients: 

Baby back pork ribs 

Molasses 

Salt 

Pepper 

McCormick pork rub 

Paprika 

Dry mustard 

Brown sugar 

BBQ sauce (your favorite brand) 

Ribs with all ingredients before baking

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Remove excess fat from ribs. Coat both sides of ribs with molasses and then sprinkle a good amount of salt, pepper, pork rub, paprika and mustard. Finally press on a generous amount of brown sugar. Place ribs on a large baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Cook in preheated oven for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drain off excess liquid, then apply BBQ sauce and place under broiler for 4-5 minutes keeping a close eye, careful not to burn. 

Source: my Father-In-Law Lou 

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Posted in Main course, Pork | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments »

Joe’s Teriyaki Shrimp

July 9, 2010 by mydanishkitchen

Joe's Teriyaki Shrimp

This recipe is my husband Joe’s concoction. His preferred medium to work with is metal but when he does work with food, it turns out great. His shrimps are absolutely delicious and so quick and easy to whip up. For this particular dish I prefer to use the store-bought minced garlic in the jar and dried Cilantro. These are great for grilling as well. Serve with Cocktail Sauce.

Joe's Teriyaki Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients: 

1 lb large or jumbo shrimp 

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce 

1/2 tsp mustard (Grey Poupon) 

1 tsp garlic 

1/2 tsp cilantro 

Directions: 

Peel deveined shrimp and place in a bowl or a zip lock bag. Add teriyaki sauce, mustard, garlic, cilantro and let marinade 10 minutes. Spray a large pan with cooking spray and preheat to medium-high heat. Place shrimp in a sieve to drain off liquid. Place shrimp in the preheated pan and cook for 3 minutes (1 1/2 minute on each side), do not over-cook. Serve with cocktail sauce.

Source: Joe Gentile at Gentile Forge

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Posted in Main course, Seafood | Tagged , | 4 Comments »

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