summer of the beer: tangerine

So may favorite new person at Whole Foods (we are going to call him Beer Guy because I totes forgot his name...sorry Beer Guy) recommended this tasty concoction to me during my last trip.  I really enjoyed the OBP and thought I'd try another citrus beer.  This one did not disappoint.

It is not as smooth as the OBP, but it has a nice, crisp citrus taste all the same.  It gives you a true tangerine flavor and apparently Mr. Mc and I liked it, because we drank it all.

three-cheese shrimp quesadillas

I was thinking shrimp tacos, but somehow got shrimp quesadillas...

I just wanted something with a crunch.  Well, that and I left the tortillas in the fridge too long and they were not the greatest to eat plain.  So I thought, hey, why not grill them up and make something tasty out of it?  Three-cheese shrimp quesadillas were born.

I knew I was on to something when Mr. Mc couldn't shut up about them.

Listo of ingredientos:

I know that's not Spanish, but I used up all my Spanish in the last post...

4 Medium size tortillas.  This is for 2...

1/2 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 a white onion, sliced

1 TBSP olive oil

Frontega Key Lime Cilantro Taco Skillet Sauce, 1 package.  Now, I really love this sauce, but you can use any kind of fajita or taco seasoning.  It will just give it a different taste.  This, however, is amazing.

About 3 TBSP of Goat Cheese.  You want the kind you can spread, not the crumbled.

About 1/3 cup Mozzarella, shredded

1 ounce of Feta.  Crumbled is fine here.

2-3 TBSP Butter for the pan, you could use cooking spray too.

How to make this:

1.  Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and add onion.  Cook until translucent, about 2 minutes or so.

2.  Add shrimp and cook until opaque.  The time will vary depending on the size of the shrimp.

3.  Add the skillet sauce and heat through.  Set aside.

4.  Prepare the cheese by chopping up the feta and shredding the mozzarella.

5.  Spread goat cheese on both sides of the tortillas.

6.  Remove the shrimp from the pan and chop up into bite-sized pieces.

7.  Spoon the shrimp mixture on to the tortillas.

8.  Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella and feta per quesadilla.

9.  Place remaining tortilla on top of the other and set aside.  Melt butter over medium-high heat in a non-stick pan and place quesadilla in.  Move the quesadilla around a couple times and carefully flip to coat both sides with the melted butter.

10.  Check after 2-3 minutes to make sure the side is browned.  If so, flip over carefully to cook the other side an additional 2-3 minutes.

11.  After both sides are browned, remove from pan and transfer to a cutting board.  Let sit 1-2 minutes before cutting.  This will give the cheese a little time to congeal and not leak out everywhere when you cut the quesadilla.

12.  Cut the quesadilla into 6 pieces.  Serve with quacamole and the extra taco skillet sauce you made the shrimp with.  Enjoy!

guacamole

We eat a lot of guacamole.  It is seriously one of my all time favorite foods.  I stumbled across the key ingredient last year and by special request, have decided to share it with you.  Becky.

The key is one simple thing.  Ortega guacamole mix.  Ah-maz-ing...

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Aqui están los ingredientes:

1 packet of Ortega Guacamole Mix.  The only place I know that carries this is Super Target...

2 ripe avocados

1 ripe tomato

1/2 an onion

How to make this:

The smart ass in me wants to say chop up the shit and mix it together, but the good blogger in me decided to show you how it's done...

1.  Peel the avocado and remove the seed.  This is easiest done with a large chef's knife.  After you half the avocado, you lightly put the knife into the seed and twist.  The seed will stay on the knife and come cleanly from the avocado.

2.  Empty the contents of the avocados into a small bowl.  It is best to use a spoon.  It really allows you to get the entire thing out easily.

3.  Mash up the avocado using the spoon or a fork, whichever you prefer, and add the seasoning packet.  Mix together.

4.  Dice up tomatoes and onions.  Add to the avocado mixture and stir together.

5.  Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips, or make them yourself like I do.  That is another very easy thing to do and I'll be sure to post them next time I make them too.  Feliz comiendo!

so apparently i'm a slacker and a liar...

I am taking a break from my reading to do some posting...I know it's been a while.  I'm sorry...

i promise...

...to blog tonight.

I know I've been slacking, but I have a ton of photos and several recipes to post.  I just got really lazy over the holiday weekend...

Stay tuned!

summer of the beer: orange blossom pilsner

I have never been much of a beer drinker, but Mr. Mc and I went out a couple months ago and he ordered a flavored beer.  I was thinking blueberry beer?  That's just freaking weird, but you know what?  It's not.  It's just good.  And thus started the summer of the beer.

Since that night we have been searching out different types of beer and finding some instant favorites.  I have decided to feature some of these and maybe you will find a new favorite too.

The first one is Orange Blossom Pilsner.  It is truly fantastic.  It is a nice smooth beer, with just a hint of citrus and sweetness to it.  I like mine in a frosty mug, but I pretty much like all my beer in a frosty mug.  Next time you're out, and feeling adventurous, give it a try.  It might surprise you, it sure surprised me!

macadamia crusted mahi mahi

I am not a huge fish person, especially since I eat vegetarian 95% of the time, but I felt up for an adventure while I was at Whole Foods this week.  I have never tried Mahi Mahi and the guy at the counter swore I would like it.  I have to say, he was right.  It is a really nice, mild fish and this was extra fresh, not at all fishy...

I made a decision this week to try and make a few more low-cal meals.  Mr. Mc is on a diet and I could lose a few as well.  I found this recipe on www.weightwatchers.com and though it might be good.  I'm so glad I did.

And now for your viewing pleasure, the ingredients:

1 pound of Mahi Mahi.

3 TBSP Macadamia Nuts

1/4 cup of Panko Breadcrumbs

3 TBSP Cilantro

1 Egg White

Salt & Pepper, to taste

How to make this:

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray and place in the oven to heat up.

2.  Clean up the Mahi Mahi if you didn't buy individual pieces.  I bought a whole, fresh piece of fish.  If you do this, you need to clean out the blood line as it can be bitter.  No, I did not know this prior to buying the Mahi Mahi, I learned it on You Tube.

3.  Put the macadamia nuts, bread crumbs and cilantro into a food processor, like so...

4.  Turn the food processor on for about 10-15 seconds until the mixture is chopped and looks like this.

5.  After the breading is done, pour it into a bowl.  Separate out the egg white into a separate bowl.  Set up a breading station and sprinkle your fish with salt.

6.  Dip the fish into the egg white, taking care to thoroughly coat it.

7.  Then dip the fish into the nut/breadcrumb mixture.

When you are done it will look like this...

8.  When both pieces are done, remove pan from oven and place fish into pan.

9.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the fish is white and somewhat firm.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

strawberry basil lemonade

So I saw this recipe on www.chow.com and thought it looked amazing. I followed the instructions to perfection...it was freaking terrible. Sorry, Chow, but I don't know who tested this recipe. Either they don't understand that lemonade is supposed to be sweet or they have the most out of whack taste buds ever...

Anyway, after much trial and error, and making another batch of the strawberry simple syrup to combat the exorbitant amount of lemon juice specified, I figured out how to make this amazing.

On a side note, I also made this diet. I used a zero calorie sweetener that I found at Whole Foods and it tastes exactly like sugar but is completely natural. It cooked like sugar as well. Very excited to find this product. Now if I could just remember what it was called...

Ingredients, yo.

1 pound of strawberries, fresh or frozen.

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar or zero calorie sweetener that measures like sugar.

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

3/4 cup - 1 cup lemon juice. Now, the original recipe called for 2 cups. So, I am voting to start with 3/4 cup and increase from there. Save yourself the trouble of making more of the simple syrup.

8 cups cold water

Fresh strawberries and more basil leaves for garnish.

How to make this...

1. Add 1 pound strawberries, 1 cup water and 1 1/2 cups sugar to a stock pot over medium/high heat. Stir until combined and bring to a boil.

2. After strawberry mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Remove pot from heat and add basil. Stir to combine.

4. Let strawberry/basil mixture cool completely for 45 minutes. Will look like this when done...

5. Strain solids from liquid through a mesh strainer into a bowl to remove all the chunks. You will have a bowl full of sweet strawberry liquid. This is a strawberry flavored simple syrup. A simple syrup is merely sugar and water brought to a boil and reduced. That being said, you could make this with any fruit.

6. Pour 8 cups cold water into a pitcher or punch bowl and add the strawberry liquid. Stir to combine.

7. Now, add the lemon juice a little at a time, stirring and tasting as you go. Add until it tastes good to you. I like my lemonade slightly tart, but sweet. Not like I just sucked on a lemon that kind of tasted like strawberries...Stir all together and enjoy!

Ok, so I don't have any pics of the final few steps because I was cursing the recipe and making more simple syrup and by the time I finished putting this together I was over it and just wanted a glass of Berry Sangria Spritzer. Maybe next time...

This is really nice and refreshing on a hot summer day. It would be a great punch or, as my Aunt Janis said, poured into popsicle molds and frozen into fun pops. I think I'll do that next...

rock shrimp mac & cheese

There is nothing healthy or low calorie about this, but it is beyond tasty, no joke.  I can only make this so often because I seriously feel my arteries clogging as I eat it.  However, my dear friend Shannon is about to have a baby and asked me to post this recipe, so I made it again, just for her...

This recipe is more of an intermediate to expert level.  It could be made easier if you do the steps one at a time.  I like to do it all at once.  Don't ask me why, I guess I like the challenge?

Anyway, here is the ingredient list (sorry there is no pic, I got excited):

1 pound of Rock Shrimp.  You can use lobster too.  I like rock shrimp because they taste lobstery but don't cost me last week's paycheck...

5 ounces unsalted butter

1 TBSP all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cup milk.  I use skim and it turns out fine.  It is the only low-cal thing about this...

12 ounces of cheese, shredded.  Now here is where you can get creative.  Use any kind of cheese you want.  This particular time I used equal parts Brie, Aged Cheddar and Gruyere.  I like a mild, creamy cheese, and then a little bite.  Fontina is great for this as well.  If you are on a budget, just use half sharp and half mild cheddar.  Why half and half?  Mild cheddar melts better and sharp tends to get oily.  Mixing both insures you have a nice, smooth cheese base.  This is what mine looked like...

1 box pasta.  I used shells in this batch, but last time I used Orecchiette.  Plain old macaroni works just as well.  Good rule of thumb, use something that has nooks and crannies for the cheese to accumulate in.  

How to make this:

1.  Butter poach the rock shrimp.  Ok, this sounds really fancy, but is super easy.  Poaching is just cooking something in liquid to preserve the flavor and texture of the food.  Melt 4 ounces of the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Once melted, add the rock shrimp.  Cook until white and tender, about 5-7 minutes.

2.  Remove from heat and remove the shrimp from the butter.  Keep both and set aside.

3.  Fill a large stock pot with water and salt generously.  Bring to a boil over high heat and add pasta.  Cook according to directions on the box.

4.  Melt 1 ounce of butter in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat.  Once melted, add 1 TBSP of all-purpose flour.  Whisk together and continue to whisk while cooking until it becomes a light brown and has a nutty smell.  This is making a roux.  A roux is a flour and fat mixture that is used as a thickening agent for a variety of sauces.  It will look like this...

5.  After your roux is complete, add the heavy cream slowly, whisking the entire time.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the milk slowly, whisking the entire time and bring back to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for 3 minutes.  Now, a word of advice.  WATCH THE MILK!  Milk is a tricky sucker and it will not boil, not boil, not boil and then WHAM! it's overflowing all over the place.  Don't let this happen to you...When it is all done, it will look like this...

  

6.  Take your shredded cheese and add it to the milk/cream mixture one handful at a time.  Whisk that into the sauce until it is melted completely before adding another handful.  

7.  When it is completely added you should have a nice, thick, creamy cheese sauce.  Your pasta should also be done.  Strain out the water and add the pasta to the cheese sauce.  Then add the Rock Shrimp you have already removed from the butter sauce and mix all together.  It will look like this...

8.  Now, you could eat creamy mac & cheese and leave it just like this, but I prefer mine baked.  You can do that one of two ways, individually in ramekins or in a casserole dish and serve it family style.  Either way, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray your dish/dishes with cooking spray.

9.  Add spoonfuls of the creamy mac & cheese mixture until the dish is full, if using a casserole, just pour it all in.

10.  Add 1 cup breadcrumbs, I like panko because they are large, but any will work,  to the leftover melted butter from poaching the shrimp. MIx it all together and spoon over mac & cheese mixture in the dish.  

11.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until breadcrumb topping is brown and the cheese is bubbling.  Remove from oven and let sit about 5 minutes before serving.

I like to sprinkle a little fresh ground pepper on the top.  

Enjoy the heart attack goodness!

caprese salad

This has to be one of my all time favorite meals, and one of the easiest too.  I love this salad for lunch but it also makes a fantastic first course or you can make a lot of this for a party.  It is always a hit.  After all, who doesn't like tomatoes with cheese and basil?

Ingredient List:

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, 1 large ball.  This is becoming much easier to find.  You can find it in the fancy cheese section of your grocery store.

Fresh Tomatoes, about 6-8 ounces worth.  I like the small hydroponic ones myself.  We had a problem getting good, ripe tomatoes this year and the hydroponic have been great.  Roma tomatoes or vine ripe would be best for this dish, but any tomato would work really.

Fresh Basil.  This is important.  It has to be fresh.  It's just not right to use dried.  If you are good with plants, you can grow it yourself.  It will grow like a weed, unless you are me, then it will sit on your window sill and die.

Good olive oil

Salt & Pepper, to taste

How to make this:

1.  Start by slicing up the mozzarella and the tomatoes into 1/4" slices.

2.  Chiffonade the basil.  Now I know some of you are like, Christina, WTF is a chiffonade?  Don't worry, I took pics...

Step 1:  Pick the leaves of the basil off the stems and stack like so...make sure your largest leaf is on the bottom.

Step 2:  Roll the stack up tightly until you get a solid roll like so...

Step 3:  Slice the roll until you get nice little strands of basil.  This is what it should look like...

3.  After you have done your slicing you should have 3 piles that look like this...

4.  Arrange artfully on a plate, alternating tomatoes with cheese.  I like to do a circle personally, but you can line them up or even mix them all together...Whatever floats your boat...After you have arranged them sprinkle with the chiffonade basil.  Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt & pepper to taste.  Your done!  See, nice, easy, healthy meal or very tasty appetizer...

Buon Appetito!