Seafood

Name: Blackened Cod Fish Tacos
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients: 2 ½ - 3 lbs. cod fish filet; ½ cup of butter – melted; 1 tbs. coarse salt; 1 tbs. black pepper; 1 tbs. garlic powder; 1 tbs. ground cumin; 1 ½ tsp. dried oregano; 1 tsp. Jamaican curry; 1 tsp. turmeric; 1 tbs. Chili powder; 1 tbs. ground coriander; Tacos – warmed; 1 – 2 vined ripe tomatoes – diced; 2 avocados – diced; 2 lemons – quartered; Fresh pineapple - chunks

Blackened Cod Fish Tacos

0 · May 16, 2018 · 11 Comments

This post has been sponsored by Einstök. All opinions expressed are my own. The following message is intended for persons 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.

We’re officially getting ready to welcome Summer and today we’re serving up Blackened Cod Fish Tacos alongside an ice-cold, refreshing glass of Einstök Icelandic White Ale.

I remember a conversation I had shortly after I first started reviewing wines here on Living the Gourmet, and it was with a friend of the family about a year or so after we rebuilt our dock, which had been destroyed in Hurricane Sandy. We were talking initially about the process of rebuilding from the storm, and all the ways in which our lives had changed, and from there we got to talking about my site, and about how I had started reviewing wines. While he seemed genuinely interested, I remember him quipping at one point that “Yeah, I’ve got to admit that a lifetime of good beers has spoiled me against even the finest of wines.”

That was precisely the line that went through my head when I received an email from the representative of Einstök, which is Iceland’s leading craft beer company.

Naturally, I’m passingly acquainted with the ‘big’ names in beer that everyone under the sun has tasted at some point in their life, but I wanted to do a little bit of a ‘test,’ and see whether or not a “Lifetime of good wines has spoiled me against even the best of beers.” Naturally, what better way to do that than with an Icelandic White Ale, and an Arctic Berry Ale?

For the sake of familiarity, I decided to do this review in almost precisely the same way as I review my wines, which through the lens of a seasonal pairing, and that’s where today’s recipe comes in – Blackened Cod Fish Tacos, which I would serve alongside the beers.

Now, for the beers themselves.

First up we have the Arctic Berry Ale, which features a dense golden coloration with a tall white head, and pleasant lacing. Off the top, berry aromatics are instant, as one might expect, tempered by just a hint of tartness. On tasting, crisp berry notes are immediate, carried on a pleasantly smooth body. The fruitiness of the berry profile intensifies on the palate, but without being excessive or artificial tasting. Overall, a very, very pleasant experience.

Given how fruit-forward and smooth this beer is, I would recommend it as a spring or summer beverage, something to relax and cool off with, a beer that’s delicious without being pretentious or inaccessible. Also, when drinking this, I thought immediately of summer favorites as a pairing, such as today’s Blackened Cod Fish Tacos, or maybe grilled burgers, or even as a side to feta-topped fruit salads. Again, I really just felt this was the kind of beer you want to keep in the cooler for a backyard bbq.

Up next we have the Icelandic White Ale. This ale features a light golden body topped by a copious white head. The aromatics are very muted, but when they do appear they range from fruity to citrusy, and are a fair bit sweet, featuring hints of syrup framed in vague notes of toasted orange peel. On the palate, the ale is quite smooth, the word ‘mellow’ comes to mind, with the aromatics largely carrying over to create an excellent year-round, versatile beer.

For pairing, think of this as a ‘go to’ or ‘anytime’ type beer that pairs excellently with roasts, steaks, hearty burgers, or, again, tacos. To reiterate, this is a year-round beer that will pair just as excellently with a balmy summer day and bbq as it will with a wintry night in over a roast.

Today however, we’ve decided to serve a couple of iced white ales alongside the Blackened Cod Fish Tacos I mentioned earlier, the recipe for which follows below.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Blackened Cod Fish Tacos

10 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

2 ½ - 3 lbs. cod fish filet
½ cup of butter – melted

For the Blackened Rub:

1 tbs. coarse salt
1 tbs. black pepper
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. ground cumin
1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. Jamaican curry
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tbs. Chili powder
1 tbs. ground coriander

Serve With:

Tacos – warmed
1 – 2 vined ripe tomatoes – diced
2 avocados – diced
2 lemons – quartered
Fresh pineapple - chunks

Instructions

In a medium sized bowl mix together, the seasonings for the rub.
Rub the cod fish with the melted butter. Coating both sides of the fish with the spice mixture.
Place the fish on waxed paper.
Drizzle each filet with about 2 tbs. of melted butter
Heat a large cast-iron frying pan.
Place 2 – 3 pieces of prepared fish in the hot pan and cook about 2 – 3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. The fish should flake easily when cooked.
Serve immediately and enjoy!!

https://livingthegourmet.com/2018/05/grilled-cod-fish-tacos-and-einstoks-arctic-ale.html

To answer the question I started out with, no, a lifetime of fine wines has assuredly ‘not’ spoiled me against a decent beer, as today’s offerings from Einstök proved beyond a doubt.

That said, I was very pleased with beers, and can wholeheartedly recommend them to my readers.

Enjoy!

Summer Shrimp Salad

0 · Jul 25, 2017 · 9 Comments

This Summer Shrimp Salad is a cool recipe for those hot summer nights that call for something refreshing!

Bear with me for a moment as I set this up. I’ve spoken of ‘perfection’ here a couple of times, but the most apt definition, I’ve learned through experience, is that “Perfection is what we make it,” and that, as Plato put so aptly, and I’ve used this quote here many times before, “The same wind blows, one man, is cold, the other hot.”

I experienced something quite like that just a few days ago. Picture an idyllic summer afternoon on the coast, the wind whispering through the surrounding trees, gulls are laughing as they ride the salty air, and I was the scene’s perfectly content audience with the light shrimp salad I had prepared for myself and my ‘crew.’ Honestly, nothing could have been more ‘summer’ for me in that moment, not having to fire up the oven or the grill, and just sitting out ‘amidst it all’ in the shade of my porch.

However, moments into our lunch, the aroma of roasting meat and oversweet barbecue sauce wafted through the hedges dividing my yard from a neighbor, who called over in the most jovial voice imaginable “Hey Cath, firing up my new barbecue! Who the hell’s better than me?”

Needless to say, from his perspective, no one was – it was simple perfection.

Oddly, this queued a flashback to an exchange I witnessed between one of my professors and a student. “The single greatest delusion of mankind is of his own limitlessness. For example, we speak in a language composed of a finite number of letters, letters which in turn comprise a finite number of words. Multiple the finite by the finite and the answer is, sadly, quite finite. In other words, yes, we can run out of things to say, to think, to be.”

One brave student promptly replied, “Then I will simply make new words and new letters. I am the extent of my imagination.”

The moral of the story is, plainly, that we are what we make of ourselves.

However, if your idea of ‘summer perfection’ includes that aforementioned light shrimp salad, either as a meal unto itself or a delicious side, then that’s precisely where today’s recipe comes in.

To start things off, you’ll need around a pound of cooked shrimp, and you’ll need to combine that in a large bowl with a dash of salt, some black pepper, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, some olive oil, fresh lemon juice, thinly sliced red onion, basil, quartered grape tomatoes, Asiago or Romano cheese, and – you knew this was coming – freshly chopped garlic.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Summer Shrimp Salad

15 minPrep Time

15 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

homemade flat breads or store bought

For the Shrimp Salad:

1 lb. of cooked shrimp
15.5 oz. can of small white beans – drained and rinsed
1 pint of grape tomatoes – quartered
1 small red onion – sliced thin
3 cloves of garlic – chopped fine
6 – 7 fresh basil leaves – chopped
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ - ½ cup of fresh grated Asiago cheese or Parmesan cheese
4 tbs. olive oil
Juice of 1 fresh lemon

Instructions

In a large bowl combine the shrimp, beans, tomatoes, sliced onion, basil leaves, seasonings, olive oil and fresh lemon juice, grated cheese and toss.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Serve with warmed flat breads if desired.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/07/summer-shrimp-salad.html

After mixing that all up, simply refrigerate until you’re ready to serve, and then who’s better than you?

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine

Soy Grilled Tuna Steaks

0 · Jul 18, 2017 · 5 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KickinItWithKikkoman #CollectiveBias

The best dishes sometimes call for the simplest recipe. These Grilled Tuna Steaks are no exception to that. With just a handful of ingredients and a minimal amount of time, you’ll have a delicious meal that can be enjoyed year round.

“We never live; we are always in the expectation of living,” as Voltaire observed as if to say “We live constantly looking towards an unrealized version of ourselves, or regretting that which we are not.”

Expectations, however, are a strange thing, being, in essence, a ‘guess’ (educated or otherwise) set against an entirely unknowable quantity – the future. Now, think of how often we hear of someone having ‘lost the expectation game,’ or how some product or person was ‘ultimately doomed by expectations that could never have been met.’ There is, of course, the opposite of this, of something or someone benefiting from a lack of expectations, and exceeding wildly because…well, because no one ‘expected’ success in the first place.

Entertaining guests, and seasonal gatherings, naturally, are not immune to this faux-psychic way in which we humans gauge the unknowable.

A lot of what I’ve been posting here recently centers around the ‘expectations’ of summer, be that your guests looking forward to the season’s grilled cuisine, or of that perennial fantasy of lounging about with precious ‘nothing to do’ on a humid summer afternoon. I, much like the chef who longs to dine easily, we had to take a break from ‘everything.’ To that effect, one of my ‘crew’ here had suggested taking a day and doing nothing out on the porch.

Naturally, I agreed. However, I would let that ‘low expectation’ of ‘a simple afternoon with coffee and tuna sandwiches’ be, and instead quietly exceed expectations, providing a delicious surprise in the process. Like Nero building his Domus Aurea with the intent of “Building a home worthy of a human being,” I fully intended on giving my crew “A day on the porch worthy of a Gourmet.” With that said, during my next supply run to Walmart, I picked up a few key items that I would need to do precisely that.

That, of course, is where today’s recipe comes in – Soy Grilled Tuna Steaks.

To start things off, we begin by preparing a quick marinade with the ingredients listed below and then adding in the tuna steaks. We then let the steaks marinade in the fridge for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.

Now, I do prefer Kikkoman® Traditionally Brewed Soy Sauce for that part of the recipe since aside from being a reliable quality soy sauce, it really helps bring out the umami taste, balancing and rounding out the other flavors that surround it.

From there we prep the grill, brushing the grate down with vegetable oil to ensure that the steaks don’t stick. Once that’s done it’s time to grill the steaks. Once the steaks are on the grill, you’re going to want to keep a close eye on them, since you’ll only be looking to grill for around three to five minutes on each side if you’re looking for rare steaks – longer only if you’re looking for more well-done steaks. The outside should be white and flaky, with those beautiful sear marks from the grate.

As the steaks come off the grill, dash them with a bit of olive oil, otherwise, they’ll begin drying up rather rapidly – like any meat. Unless you’re serving them straight away, you’ll also want to hit the tops with a little fresh lemon juice. After that, serve with some extra
Kikkoman’s® Traditionally Brewed Soy Sauce for dipping.

Soy Grilled Tuna Steaks

5 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 ½ lbs. fresh tuna steaks

For the Marinade:

¼ cup Kikkoman’s® Traditionally Brewed Soy Sauce
3 cloves garlic – grated
1-inch piece of fresh ginger – grated
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley – chopped
1 jalapeno - chopped
3 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tbs. sesame oil
1 tbs. olive oil
¼ cup orange juice
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt and black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and stir; add the tuna steaks and cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour or longer.
Prepare the barbecue. Brush the barbecue grill with vegetable oil so that the steaks do not stick to the grill.
Barbecue the steaks for 3-5 minutes or so on each side. The grilling time depends on how rare or well done you like the tuna.

Notes

Prep Time does not include Inactive Prep Time

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/07/soy-grilled-tuna-steaks.html

With that said, whether for a seaside dinner or a late lunch out on the porch, with these deceptively easy to prepare steaks, you’ll have a meal that’s certain to exceed your guests (or even your own) expectations.

Don’t forget to click Here for a Kikkoman coupon, for $.55 off any one Kikkoman® Sauce, or $1 off any two. Also be sure to check out the flavor hub for more delicious recipe inspiration! What will you make with Kikkoman’s® Traditionally Brewed Soy Sauce or Kikkoman® Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce? We would love to hear from you!

Be sure to follow Kikkoman® on:

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Enjoy with Love!

Spicy Shrimp Tacos

0 · Jan 9, 2017 · 9 Comments

This blog post has been compensated by Borden® Cheese. All opinions are mine alone. #BordenCheeseLove #CollectiveBias #Ad

Transform Taco night with Borden® Cheese melted over a fresh, zesty slaw and spicy shrimp!

Memories are a recurring theme here on Living the Gourmet. In part, this is because food, and the enjoyment thereof, is very often a key accentuation to the creation of memories. Holidays, important life milestones, birthdays, and even big games all have their menus. For that reason, when I prepare a recipe, I keep in mind that I am not merely preparing a dish, I am helping to prepare a memory.

Memories, however, are fickle things, being the fading, imperfect, and biased record of our lives. Think of it as an author writing the pages of a book, and then only keeping random fragments. A mundane day may stay with us throughout our life, while what we thought was a milestone may be kept in only the foggiest of detail. In other words, it isn’t always the ‘big’ events that turn into memories, and sometimes just the opposite.

So, yes, I’ll admit that I like to imagine that if a moment can be made special, it ought to be, simply because we don’t know if we’ll end up carrying that moment with us. For example, just last week, I was picking up a few my ‘gourmet essentials’ in one of my favorite Italian markets – Uncle Giuseppe’s. It was a weekday, and I had the rare pleasure of having a clear schedule for the night.

Can you see where this is going yet?

Of course, I decided on the spot to make the night special for both myself and the crew of Living the Gourmet, a classic family moment where love is always an ingredient. Now, if you’ve ever seen the movie Burnt, you might recall a pair of scenes where the kitchen crew unwinds around a table of ‘casual’ food. In other words, their idea of relaxing wasn’t necessarily the Michelin Star dishes they served to their patrons. Instead, they enjoyed fun comfort when relaxing amongst themselves. Life at Living the Gourmet isn’t so different.

In other words, a casual fun night deserves a similarly ‘fun’ meal, and that’s where today’s recipe comes in – Shrimp Tacos. For precisely this, I picked up a few bags of Borden® Cheese, both Borden® Cheese Sharp Cheddar Shreds and Borden® Cheese Mozzarella Shreds (to use another night). Now, while I picked mine up at Uncle Giuseppe’s, Borden® Cheese is available at a range of different retailers, so be sure to check out this store locator to find Borden® Cheese near you.

Now, before we begin, I am a firm believer that the ‘taco shell’ is perhaps the single most important ingredient in any type of taco. Not only is it the largest ‘portion’ of the taco, but it is also the first thing you bite into, making it the first flavor, texture, and aroma to greet you or your guests. Now, while there are certainly ‘good’ quality flat breads or shells available for purchase, making your own is always the best way to go, and I have my signature recipe for easy, reliably delicious flatbreads right here on Living the Gourmet.

After preparing the flatbreads, I put together a Mexican Barbeque Sauce, which is probably a lot easier to do than one might imagine. In a medium-sized sauce pan (preferably cast iron), combine the ingredients outlined below with a base comprised of one cup of vinegar, one cup of sugar, and four tablespoons of maple syrup. While that cooked down, I prepared a quick coleslaw with red and green cabbage. To season the coleslaw, I put together a fresh lime juice and honey dressing as shown below.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4

Spicy Shrimp Tacos

10 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

2 lbs. of shrimp
2 avocados - sliced
1 tomato – diced
4 limes - quartered
Olive oil – for dressing and frying
Butter – for the bbq sauce
Honey – for drizzling
Borden® Cheese Sharp Cheddar Shreds
Flat Breads

For the Mexican BBQ Sauce:

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of white vinegar
2 tbs. salt
2 tbs. black pepper
1 tbs. cayenne
2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 tbs. maple syrup

For the Coleslaw:

¼ head of red cabbage, sliced thin
¼ head of green cabbage, sliced thin
1 small onion, sliced thin

For the Coleslaw Dressing:

Juice and zest of 3 limes
¼ cup of olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
3 tbs. honey
1 small jalapeno – chopped with seeds
1 bunch of cilantro – chopped

Instructions

For the Mexican BBQ Sauce:

Combine all of the above ingredients in a medium sized sauce pan and simmer on a gentle heat for 15 – 20 minutes, until the sauce cooks down slightly and thickens.
Let cool before using.

For the Coleslaw and dressing:

Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and stir.
Combine all of the ingredients for the slaw in a bowl and toss.
Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss.

For the Shrimp:

Heat a large heavy frying pan with about 2 tbs. of olive oil over a high heat.
Add the shrimp, tossing them in the pan to obtain as much beautiful color on them as possible.
When the shrimp are opaque add about 3 – 4 tbs. of the Mexican BBQ sauce and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add 2 tbs. of butter to the shrimp and allow the butter to melt into the sauce.
Turn the heat off and get ready to build your taco.
Plate the flat-bread followed by the coleslaw, shrimp, diced tomato, avocado slices, shredded cheese and finally a squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of honey.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2017/01/spicy-shrimp-tacos.html

Calories

420 cal

Fat

24 g

Carbs

49 g

Protein

9 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Finally, after preparing the shrimp and coating them in the barbeque sauce, it was time for the fun part – assembling the tacos. To start, plate a flatbread, and then line the middle with the coleslaw. Then set the shrimp over the coleslaw, followed by diced tomatoes, sliced avocado, and then topped with a generous dusting of the Borden® Cheese Sharp Cheddar Shreds, and slight drizzle of honey.

Needless to say, the tacos provided a fun and festive way to spend a free evening with the family. What are some of your favorite meals for those kinds of moments? We would love to hear from you.

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Enjoy with Love!

Panko Crusted Fish with Ginger Rice Salad

0 · Dec 14, 2016 · 11 Comments

Ginger Rice Salad is served alongside Panko crusted flounder for an easy, warm meal perfect for keeping the winter blues at bay. Thanks to Success® Rice for sponsoring this post and helping me make memorable meals for my family always.

“The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful,” the lyrics run. Indeed, from the confines of my dusty, book-ridden home office, I’ve come to the conclusion that, but for the presence of the holidays, the wintry season would be nigh intolerable. Snow, for example, is a hazard-filled inconvenience, a headache of the first order. Yet, this ‘white sky-dust’ takes on a strangely fanciful, almost romantic quality against the backdrop of its accompanying seasonal holidays, with songs longing for it grace Christmas with its hazardous presence. You see, it’s been one of my ‘pet conspiracies’ that the Holiday Season falls within the ‘dead of winter’ so as to give us all something to ‘do’ as we take shelter from the icy wastelands that have become our outdoors.

Of course, being trapped inside by snow or icy wind conjures images of hot chocolate, warm cookies, and, of course, a familiar menu of comfort food. However, I am hardly one to allow cliché and calendar to dominate my flavor profile. Yes, the weather might be frightful, but I’m determined that my meals be delightful.

Perhaps it’s the influence of the ever-present sea-tinged air, or the constant nautical ambiance lying just beyond my office window, but one of my favorite ‘comfort’ meals in this sort of weather is a simple round of fried fish accompanied by whatever I happen to be craving as a side. This, of course, brings us to today’s recipe – Panko Friend Flounder and Cod paired with a Ginger Rice Salad.

To start things off, we prepare the rice. Now, on cold days when I’m trapped indoors, I’m looking for simplicity, convenience, and reliable quality. That said, this is one case where the “success is in the bag,” and we simply boil a pair of Success® White Rice bags stove-top. Since the bags are pre-measured colander-style and BPA-free, you can also choose to microwave the rice without sacrificing taste or quality. On that note, Success White and Brown rice will ‘wait for you,’ since they can be left in the hot water for up to thirty minutes after cooking with the heat off, meaning you can finish up other kitchen tasks without fear of overcooking. And yes, before you ask, Success Rice is both non-GMO and gluten free.

While the Success Rice is available in Whole Grain Brown, assorted aromatic varieties, and of course Thai Jasmine and Basmati, for this particular recipe I prefer simple white rice.

While the rice is cooking, we chop up the secondary ingredients for the rice salad and combine them in a large bowl as shown below. After that, we prepare a dressing with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, salt, and black pepper.

Next, sauté the secondary ingredients in a large frying pan with a dash of olive oil and then add in the dressing, along with fresh lemon juice and zest as shown below.

After that it’s time for the fun part – the fish. Now, to start things off, you’re going to want to prepare your ‘station’ with three separate shallow bowls – one with two beaten eggs, another with panko, and another with flour, as outlined below. Once that’s prepared, heat a large cast iron pan with about a half an inch of oil.

Once the oil is ready, it’s time to fry like the pros. Yes, your hands will be coated in far more panko and egg than you could possibly manage onto any fillet, but fear no mess, it’s part of the process. See below for greater detail on how to do this.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Panko Crusted Fish with Ginger Rice Salad

10 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the Rice Salad:

2 bags Success® White Rice – cooked as directed
2 inch piece of fresh ginger – chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic – chopped
1 bunch of scallions (about 6) - chopped
1 Jalapeño – chopped with or without seeds
2 stalks celery – chopped
1 bunch of cilantro – chopped
Zest of ½ lemon
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 tbs. sesame oil
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tbs. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 tbs. olive oil – for sautéing

For the Flounder and Cod Fry:

1 lb. of fresh flounder filet
1 lb. of fresh cod filet

For the Coating:

1 ½ cups of flour – seasoned with a dash of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
2 eggs beaten with a splash of water
2 cups of plain or seasoned Panko
Canola oil for frying

Instructions

For the Rice Salad:

Prepare Success® White Rice as directed; let drain and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the chopped ginger, garlic, scallions, jalapeno, celery and cilantro.
In a small bowl combine the sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt and black pepper and stir.
Heat a large frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and add the chopped vegetables. Sauté for a minute.
Add the sesame oil mixture, lemon zest and juice and toss.
Remove from the heat, place in a bowl and serve.

For the Flounder and Cod Fry:

Set three shallow bowls one with the flour, one with the egg wash and finally one with the Panko.
Coat the fish first with the flour followed by the egg wash and finally dredged in the Panko.
Heat a heavy cast iron frying pan with about ¼ to ½ inch of oil.
Carefully place the fish in the frying pan. When one side is a beautiful golden carefully turn over and finish cooking on the other side. The flounder will cook faster than the cod fish since it is thinner.
The fish should be firm and flake when it is fully cooked.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/12/panko-crusted-fish-ginger-rice-salad.html

Calories

172 cal

Fat

1 g

Carbs

34 g

Protein

5 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

After the fish has been fried and the salad tossed, I’m set with one of my absolute favorite meals for a wintry dinner on the coast.

What are some of your go-to recipes for these frigid winter days? We would love to hear from you. Also, don’t forget that for more recipe ideas using Success Rice, and for special officers, join the Riceipe Club® here.

Enjoy with Love!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Success® Rice.

Fresh Garden Salad and Salmon with Garden Pesto

0 · Nov 9, 2016 · 7 Comments

Bumble Bee SuperFresh® Salmon with Garden Pesto is perfect when paired alongside a fresh garden salad and sweet potato wedges. It’s a light, satisfying meal perfect for any occasion.

Throughout the human existence, and across all cultures, food has been means of celebration, and often times the amount of food was directly proportionally to the size of the celebration. From the mythic feasting of Valhalla, to the ‘forbidden’ delicacy halls of the Ming Dynasty, to the ‘bread and circuses’ of Rome, indulging in food is perhaps the most universal way to celebrate an event.

Little has changed in our modern era. However, it is also true that certain meals themselves are simply meant to be ‘events,’ and sometimes not so much because of what they are composed of, but because of what their preparation entails. For example, growing up one of my fondest memories was of helping my mother prepare our traditional Italian Grain Cakes, which was a telltale mark of the season in my family – and always an all-day affair.

Similarly, there are meals that we consider ‘Sunday dinners,’ or ‘indulgences’ that we partake of sparingly, and sadly this is usually because it’s difficult to fit these items into our cramped schedules. Despite its myriad health benefits, the preparation of fresh fish is unfortunately often considered complex and time consuming.

However, the preparation of fish is fast becoming one of my go-to time savers during the busy week, and one of the ways I escape those dreaded ‘quick bite’ meals that we’re all well acquainted with. No, I’m not going to suggest searing tuna steaks as a Tuesday dinner, or prepping tilapia in olive oil and herbs as an easy Wednesday solution. Instead, Bumble Bee SuperFresh® provides a supremely simple, and delicious, alternative with none of the telltale mess and fuss of typical fresh fish preparation.

For example, just this past week, at the end of a particularly long day, I prepared myself a Bumble Bee SuperFresh® Salmon with Garden Pesto, a richly satisfying combination of basil, almonds, parmesan, and garlic. The fillets come individually wrapped in parchment, which eliminates any mess or ‘fishy’ smell, instead you just set them in the oven for twenty to twenty-five minutes, and they’re done. To serve alongside the salmon, I prepared Sweet Potato Wedges stovetop in a cast iron pan with sea salt and pepper, which I paired with a honey-cilantro dipping sauce prepared with fresh lime juice. After that, I put together a fresh garden salad with baby greens, radishes, grape tomatoes, and red onion, and topped it with a honey mustard and lemon vinaigrette.

Fresh Garden Salad with Honey Mustard Lemon Vinaigrette

Recipe Type: Salad

Author: Living the Gourmet

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Salad:
Fresh baby salad greens
Radishes – sliced thin
Small red onion – sliced thin
Kirby cucumber – sliced thin
Grape tomatoes
For the Vinaigrette:
2 tbs. your favorite mustard
3 tbs. honey
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ olive oil
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Dash of fresh grated nutmeg

Instructions

For the Salad:

Combine all of the salad greens in a medium sized bowl and toss.

For the Vinaigrette:

In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette and whisk.

Sweet Potato Wedges with Honey, Cilantro & Lime Dipping Sauce

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Author: Living the Gourmet

Prep time: 8 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 23 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Wedges:
3 large sweet potatoes – with skin – sliced into ¼ inch thick wedges
Canola oil – ¼ inch in a large skillet
Fresh ground sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
For the Honey, Cilantro and Lime Dipping Sauce:
3 – 4 tbs. honey
Juice of ½ lime
1 tbs. of fresh Cilantro – chopped
Small dash of fresh ground salt
Small dash of fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

Sweet Potato Wedges:

Heat a large heavy cast iron skillet with the canola oil.
Place the sweet potato wedges in the pan, Do Not Overcrowd the pan.
Cook for two to three minutes on one side, until a nice golden color appears, then turn over and finish cooking for another two to three minutes on the other side and a nice golden color appears.
Place the wedges on a plate prepared with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Season with fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

For the Honey, Cilantro and Lime Dipping Sauce:

In a small bowl combine the honey, lime juice, cilantro, salt, black pepper and stir.

No mess, no fuss, just a delicious fish dinner which fit seamlessly inside a busy weeknight.

What are some of your tips for saving time and fuss this holiday season? We would love to hear from you.

Be sure to check your store locator to find Bumble Bee SuperFresh® products at a store near you, or order via Amazon Fresh for convenient shopping right from home!

Enjoy with Love!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Flounder Fillets with Pesto

0 · Aug 9, 2016 · 8 Comments

This post was sponsored on behalf of Maison Louis Jadot Wines via One2One Network. All opinions stated are my own.

Light Flounder fillets are topped with a fresh garden pesto and seasoned breadcrumbs to accompany a crisp, summery glass of Louis Jadot Wines!

It’s a phrase used in wine culture that I’m not terribly fond of because of the rather ‘low’ connotation, and that is ‘Easy Drinking.’

However, for lack of a better term, it conveys it’s meaning rather succinctly. A wine that is ‘easy drinking’ is often a crowd pleaser, often rather inexpensive, usually neither too robust nor to thin, catching a delicious ‘balance,’ while at the same time being intensely easy to pair with crowd favorite foods. Think of wines that you could serve readily at a casual party.

In other words, these are “Vinos de Mesa,” or “Tables Wines.” Yes, words are like wine, and I’ll be honest, that’s a phrase I far prefer to that far more common aforementioned vintage. Point of note, “Table Wine” originally referred to the wines left out on tables at inns and taverns that thirsty patrons would sit down to.

To that point, I just interviewed Wes Narron, and I can’t help thinking that “Tables Wines” were more or less the unspoken subject of our conversation. Since in reviewing our back and forth I realize that most of the ‘summer wines’ we spoke about fit that description almost perfectly. That, in turn, made me realize that when we talk about ‘summer wine,’ or pairing drinks to the warm weather, that ‘easy drinking’ is precisely what is being spoken about.

Perhaps the most famous of “Table Wines” are those originating in Beaujolais – and there’s a reason. To start, those familiar with wines from Beaujolais probably often think right away of “Beaujolais Nouveau,” wines traditionally released on the third Thursday of November, without regard to the start of the harvest. This, of course, marks Beaujolais Nouveau Day, the origins of which date back to the simple wines produced by and for thirsty field hands at the end of each harvest. While such wines were originally only distributed locally, such ‘populist’ distribution eventually caught on, and became the festival we have today. By wine standards this is a rather recent development, since these harvests were an entirely local affair until WWII – the Beaujolais region itself only received its AOC (certification status) in the 1930s.

These simple wines became something of a vogue expression of the gamay varietal in the 70s and 80s, but many of those produced were, unfortunately, not the varietal’s ‘best’ expression, and the reputation of the grape, and the wines produced from it, suffered, albeit largely unfairly.

However, I tend to think that gamay is perhaps one the best kept secrets when it comes to truly delicious “Easy Drinking” – there’s that phrase again. For example, say you’re going on a classic picnic, and you’ve set up a hibachi to grill yourself either Cuban sandwiches or burgers. While it might not be the first varietal to come to mind a juicy, well selected gamay would serve absolutely excellently.

For precisely that, I would recommend Jadot Beaujolais-Villages. Today’s bottle is a 2014 Gamay, and features a distinct light red to purple coloration on pouring. On tilting the glass, the wine becomes almost translucent towards the edge, with a very pleasant royal purple towards the bottom. The wine introduces itself with a bouquet of lively but pleasant fruity aromas off the top of the glass, think sliced dark berries. This is perforated by very mild spice notes into the middle, which become more pronounced towards the bottom of the glass.

On sampling, it is largely quintessential gamay. Dark berries predominate throughout, with traces of black currents and dark herbs. Like the bouquet, these berry notes are grounded in a mild but very discernable peppery essence.

However, since I’m not one for picnics (gasp), I opted for Jadot’s Macon-Villages Chardonnay, and paired that with fresh flounder fillets, which I topped with fresh garden pesto and a light sprinkling of seasoned breadcrumbs.

An unoaked chardonnay, the wine introduces itself with a nearly translucent golden stray yellow hue, which caught the sunlight quite nicely while I sipped it out on my porch. A classic summer joy. On sampling, the wine greets with a largely citrus bouquet, punctuated by white flowers. On the palate, the wine featured crisp green apple set over a very noticeable minerality, and left me with a very clean, fresh mouthful.

Flounder Fillets with Pesto

Author: Living the Gourmet

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

4 fresh Flounder fillets
1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons [url href=”https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/08/summer-pesto-fettuccine.html”]Summer Pesto[/url]
Romaine lettuce leaves, about 4 leaves per serving
1 avocado, sliced (for garnish)
Kalamata Olives, for garnish
Fresh lemon wedges, for garnish
Salt & pepper to tastes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a baking dish, place flounder fillets. Drizzle each with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 cup breadcrumbs between the four fillets. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Test the fish with a fork, if it flakes it is fully cooked. Remove and spread about 1 tablespoon of pesto over each fillet.
Prepare the plates with lettuce leaves and gently serve the flounder fillets on top. Garnish the plate with avocados, olives, lemon slices, salt and pepper.

Overall, I would recommend both wines to my readers, as I was very pleased with both. It is no wonder why, since it’s founding in 1859, that Jadot has earned itself a reputation as one of the most revered wine houses in Burgundy and has become the #1 brand of French wine in the United States. Find Louis Jadot at your nearest retailer here.

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Enjoy with Love!

Lemon Basil Shrimp Skewers featuring HelloFresh

0 · Jun 13, 2016 · 20 Comments

Thank you to HelloFresh for sponsoring this post!

Get your summer grilling started with these fresh Lemon Basil Shrimp Skewers full of freshness and flavor!

To quote the Good Doctor (Seuss), “How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” Time is a funny thing in the context of life. We are constantly planning and acting for tomorrow, while looking forward to, or dreading, the future. Yesterday is lamented or idealized, while our greatest victories always seem to be just around the corner. Pleasures, great and small, slip through our fingers before we’ve scarcely a chance to savor them, while agonies take the shape of tiny eternities.

To that effect, Benjamin Franklin remarked that “Lost time is never found again,” and thus we ought to make the most of each of life’s many chapters.

Oddly enough, running a food site with a slant towards entertaining always keeps ‘Time’ at the forefront – and not just because of scheduling. Instead, people are always, rightly, on the lookout for how to save time, whether planning parties or just trying to fit in weeknight dinners. How to streamline preparation, how to simplify recipes, and how to trim down shopping lists at times seems to be more the center of attention than even the food in question.

Needless to say, those very themes are more or less in perpetual focus here at Living the Gourmet, and I will admit that on a non-to-rare occasion we find ourselves struggling not only for time but also with fitting in proper meals when the days and nights are particularly busy. After all, time is an ever so elusive commodity.

That actually brings us not only to today’s recipe, but also to a recent find we made quite by chance.

To set the stage, imagine if for those busy weeknights that both the grocery shopping and recipe planning could be handled for you. What if even the preparation could be streamlined through simple instructions? Obviously, not only would you save time in kitchen, but also partially eliminate those pesky runs to grocery store. And not least of all you would be spared a good deal of frustration associated with trying to fit in meals that are both healthy and enjoyable. In other words, time saved.

That’s actually precisely what HelloFresh does by planning out healthy, delicious meals for you, and shipping not only the ingredients for those meals to your door, but also expertly composed instructions for putting those meals together.

Take for example today’s recipe – Lemon Basil Shrimp Skewers. All of the ingredients for today’s recipe came packed neatly in a plain brown and green box, and with precisely the allotted portions called for in instructions – orzo, shrimp, lemon, garlic, basil, Roma tomatoes, avocado, vinegar, and even the skewers themselves. As the name implies, all ingredients arrived crisp and fresh. Serving three to four, it was just enough for myself and my ‘crew.’ As promised in the recipe outline, the total time for this recipe was about twenty-five minutes.

We also received a menu for several other items, along with the groceries and instructions necessary to put those meals together, which we’ll be posting later on. In other words, most of week’s shopping and planning were handled entirely for us.

If you’re new in the kitchen, there’s no need to feel intimidated here, the recipe booklet describes the ‘level’ of each recipe, basically a difficulty rating, and instructs you where to start in addition to outlining the prep as simply as possible.

Needless to say, this is an absolute God send for busy weeks, where planning and shopping for meals would take maximal effort. However, I also think it’s great for those just starting out in the kitchen, who might be new to navigating recipes and shopping lists – a sort of crash course on the gourmet.

HelloFresh

Yields 4

Lemon Basil Shrimp Skewers featuring HelloFresh

PTH10MPrep Time

PTH25MCook Time

35 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

20 oz. shrimp
12 oz. orzo
8 wooden skewers
2 Roma tomatoes
4 Tablespoons white wine viegar
1 avocado
4 cloves garlic
1 oz. basil
2 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the broiler or grill to high. If you do not have either, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Soak the skewers in a shallow dish of water. Core, seed and dice the tomato. Mince of grate the garlic. Zest, then halve the lemon. Finely chop the basil leaves. Add the orzo to the boiling water and cook for 6-8 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
Place the tomatoes and white wine vinegar in a small bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss, then set aside to marinate.
Make the lemon-basil butter: Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small pot over medium heat. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in half the basil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
Drain the tomatoes. Halve, pit and cube the avocado. Once the orzo is ready, toss it into a large bowl with the tomatoes, half of the avocado, the remaining basil, a large drizzle of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice (to taste). Season with salt and butter.
Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, the lemon zest , garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Thread them on to the skewers and either broil on a baking sheet or grill for 3-4 minutes, flipping once, until cooked through.
Serve the shrimp skewers on a bed or orzo and avocado salad. Drizzle with the lemon-basil butter and enjoy.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/06/lemon-basil-shrimp-skewers-featuring-hellofresh.html

Calories

179 cal

Fat

14 g

Carbs

9 g

Protein

2 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

If saving time in the kitchen is what you’re looking for you, or you’re just getting acquainted with home cooking, HelloFresh is exactly what you need.

What are some of your best time saving tips? We would love to hear from you!

Wild Alaskan Pollock Burgers with Spicy Tzatziki

0 · Jun 9, 2016 · 28 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Swapyourburger #CollectiveBias

Mix up your summer menu with these Wild Alaskan Pollock Burgers alongside a spicy Tzatziki. Delicious served on a bun or wrap, we topped ours off BLT-style!

Living life on a river behind a fence of nautical wooden columns, it becomes easy to take certain things for granted. The salt in the air on windy days, the incessant cawing of gulls, the increasingly rare appearance of a pelican, or watching swans dive in pairs into the canals. I was thinking about that yesterday as I sat out on my porch, and I came to regret letting myself grow accustomed to my unintended dinner guests – hungry-eyed water fowl sitting like statues atop the piles, and tried to remember just how rare to experience that regularly.

Yet, there is something undeniably ‘summery’ about these things. Watching the neighbors clumsily play ‘seafarer’ as they ceaselessly fine-tune their vessels, ever-complaining about the maladies inflicted by what they will always describe as a ‘long winter,’ is a sure sign that the season has finally warmed. In fact, the warm weather here wouldn’t be complete without the gurgle of submerged motors, the stench of boat diesel mixed with low tide. All these things meld into the background, creating a quintessentially North Eastern coastal experience.

While I certainly have a repertoire of favored seafood to pair with this perpetual scene, whether elaborate feasts like last year’s New England clam bake, or a classic spicy fish sauce over linguine, there are times when something far simpler is called for. Grilling burgers is often the go-to for these sorts of summer days, and for good reason. However, while the classic burger is rarely if ever a ‘mistake,’ there are times when seafood is just a ‘better fit,’ either because of atmosphere, setting, or just your preference for the day. Health is a decent reason to try to fit in the occasional seafood item, since Omega-3s have been shown to improve heart health, mental health, vision, and memory, as well as fight diabetes according to the American Heart Association and The Mayo Clinic.

I was shopping the other day at Costco, picking up some summer essentials, and happened across Trident Seafoods® Alaskan Pollock Burgers 3 pound bag. Obviously, I had to try them, which brings us to today’s recipe – Pollock burgers paired with a spicy jalapeno tzatziki sauce. First things first, I prepared some of my signature homemade flatbreads. While they might look intimidating to prepare at first glance, once you’ve got the hang of it they become super-simple, and I can attest that no matter how many times I prepare them, they never fail to impress my guests – plus they taste worlds better than store bought.

After that, I quickly put together the sauce and then it was time for the burgers themselves, which couldn’t be simpler. After heating up my griddle, I grilled them a few minutes on each side while still frozen, and they were done.

Now, Pollock is actually the perfect fish for this recipe since it’s a bit like cod, being mild flavored and evenly textured, making it a great background for the spicy tzatziki. After assembling the wraps as shown below, it was time to enjoy a simple yet delicious river-side lunch. Since my daughter prefers her burgers, beef or fish, on a whole wheat bun, I also put one together on a roll – these burgers are just that versatile.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 3

Wild Alaskan Pollock Burgers with Spicy Tzatziki

10 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

3 Trident Seafoods® Wild Alaskan Pollock Burgers, frozen not thawed
Vine ripe tomatoes, sliced
Salad greens of your choice
Sliced pickles
Bacon, grilled
Onions
Your choice of rolls or flatbread

Spicy Tzatziki

16 oz. sour cream
1 grilled jalapeno, with or without seeds
2 cloves garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon, plus zest

Instructions

In lightly oiled pan, cook the burgers over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until golden.
In a food processor, blend all the ingredients for the Tzatziki, until smooth and creamy.
Assembly your burger on a roll or flatbread with your desired toppings.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/06/wild-alaskan-pollock-burgers-spicy-tzatziki.html

Calories

68 cal

Fat

7 g

Carbs

1 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

What are some of your favorite summer recipes? Or what are some of your most treasured summer memories? We would love to hear from you.

Dare To #Swapyourburger #Contest

Enjoy with Love!

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs with Fresh Tzatziki Sauce

0 · Mar 31, 2016 · 20 Comments

A delicious Spring meal is brought together beautifully with sweet and savory notes from honeydew melon wrapped in ham to zesty grilled shrimp kabobs that perfectly mirror the delicate essence of Voveti Prosecco.

“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine so that I may wet my mind and say something clever,” as Aristophanes remarked. While that’s often my internal reaction at the outset of a dinner party, my preparation is often a much more calm and calculated ordeal. As Chef Trotter so eloquently phrased it “All four elements were happening in equal measure – the cuisine, the wine, the service, and the overall ambience. It taught me that dining could happen at a spiritual level.”

Now just past Easter, we are in that blessed ‘post-holiday’ season where old friends get together to exchange their war stories of the frenetic lead up to the big family gatherings. For me, especially, these post-holiday get-togethers are important since the holidays also happen to be my busiest time of the year for content production, and unwinding afterwards is simply a must. I hosted one such party just the other day, though it was intentionally more of a late lunch or early dinner, since I wanted to frame the entire affair in this beautiful clear spring daylight we’ve been having.

You see, having both a half of a grain cake left from Easter, as well as most of a carrot cake, both of which were homemade by my daughter, I realized that there was simply no way we were going to finish those on our own and I didn’t want them to go to waste. To that end, I called up a close friend of mine, and I invited her and her sister over for a spring-themed dinner party.

Now, while I did have an assortment of dinner leftovers from Easter, I simply couldn’t bring myself not to take advantage of the setting, and instead decided on putting together a sort of ‘casual-yet-chic affair,’ with just a hint of ‘Classical Modern’ vibe.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 6-8

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs with Fresh Tzatziki Sauce Mixed Greens Salad Honeydew Melon Wrapped in Ham with Feta

5 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

32oz. frozen raw shrimp - peeled
1 red bell pepper – sliced into wedges
1 green bell pepper – sliced into wedges
1 large sweet onion – sliced into thick slices
16 oz. grape tomatoes
3 large cloves of garlic - chopped
Kabob sticks - soaked in water for 30 minutes or so before using

For the Marinade:

3 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
Juice of 1 lemon

For Fresh Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cucumber – seeded
3 garlic cloves
16 oz. plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 tbs. fresh dill
3 tbs. fresh lemon juice
3 tbs. olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 anchovy

For the Rice:

2 cups of rice
Pinch of turmeric
Your choice of salad greens
1 red onion – sliced thin
1 cucumber – sliced
Grape tomatoes
Anchovies
Croutons

For the Dressing:

Drizzle of olive oil
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt - to taste
Pepper - taste
1 honeydew melon, or any melon of your choice
1/2 pound of ham – sliced thin
16 oz. of block feta cheese – sliced

Instructions

For Shrimp & Marinade:

Combine the red pepper wedges, green pepper wedges, onion slices, grape tomatoes, chopped garlic and peeled shrimp in a large bowl.
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl and pour over the shrimp and vegetables; cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or more before placing the shrimp and vegetables on the kabob sticks.
Refrigerate until ready to grill.
Grill the kabobs until the shrimp are pink and firm.

For Fresh Tzatziki Sauce:

Combine all of the above ingredients in a food processor and give a few good chops.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Rice:

Prepare the rice as directed with a pinch of turmeric in the water while cooking.
Place the salad greens in a plate; top with the tomatoes, cucumber, onions, anchovies and croutons; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Slice the melon and wrap with the ham. Place a slice of feta cheese and secure with a toothpick.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/03/grilled-shrimp-kabobs-fresh-tzatziki-sauce.html

Only one ingredient for the evening remained. The wine pairing. For starters, I knew I wanted both a prosecco, as well as a still red wine.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, prosecco to start and red to finish. Yes, under most circumstances. However, I instead paired the ham wrapped melon and anchovy salad with a good Malbec. Heresy, I know, but sometimes bending the rules can turn out just lovely. You’ll see.

From there, I paired the shrimp kebabs with one of my favorite proseccos – a bottle of VOVETI. It’s a craft prosecco, which is produced at only around 15,000 or so cases annually as a collaborative effort between the Collavini and Ferrer families, whose four generations of prosecco experience is immediately evident in what they produce. Simply put, I selected VOVETI because it’s a label that exudes the chic and modern atmosphere I was going for, while retaining the classic Italian qualities that define a good prosecco. Upscale and affordable, it’s perfect for impromptu gatherings such as these.

With the dinner made, and the pairing selected, it was time for the fun part.

The VOVETI introduced itself with a pleasantly well-defined yellow hue, with hints of translucent gold when the glass catches the daylight. On pouring, the prosecco features a mousse of effervescence, which subsides into fine and lasting bubbles. On the nose, wild flowers are prominent, alongside honeycomb laced in very vague citrus notes. On sampling, the effervescence is immediate, almost sharply so, and very pleasant, carrying yellow apple notes. These mature on the palate into white peach and assorted citrus fruits, with a prominent floral background throughout. Hints of melon or apricot linger on the palate for a very pleasant finish.

It goes without saying this made not only for an excellent pairing with my kebabs, but also helped accentuate the mood I was going for, making for an excellent spring gathering that I’m quite certain will be the first of many.

Enjoy with Love!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Oven Fried Calamari

0 · Mar 15, 2016 · 18 Comments

Fried Calamari is getting a healthier reboot. Bursting with flavor and crunch this oven fried version is even more delicious!

“I sit beside the fire and think
Of all that I have seen
Of meadow flowers and butterflies
In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
In autumns that there were
With morning mist and silver sun
And wind upon my hair

I sit beside the fire and think
Of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring
That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things
That I have never seen
In every wood in every spring
There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think
Of people long ago
And people that will see a world
That I shall never know

But all the while I sit and think
Of times there were before
I listen for returning feet
And voices at the door”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

There are very few things that bring the soul, the heart and the mind to a place that is warm and kind. Somehow though, the aroma and taste of the good meal and good music has the ability to do so.

Food is the thread to the memories that are made and the soul of the family and its traditions. The sounds of the laughter and talk that is both loud and beautiful. The music is the background with those that sing along.

Fried calamari was always a family favorite growing up. Though this version of the dish is baked, surprisingly it does not suffer a bit from a loss in flavor or texture.

I am very happy that this dish is still a family favorite and now I know that baking the calamari will keep this dish on the menu for a long, long time to come.

For the coating I made a mixture of potato flakes and seasoned breadcrumbs which adds a nice crunch to the texture.

To complete the dish, I quickly whipped up a simple tartar dipping sauce, though these calamari would pair wonderfully with a red sauce.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Oven Fried Calamari

15 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

35 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 lb. squid with tentacles
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup potato flakes
Your choice of oil, for drizzling

Simple Tartar Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup relish
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Sprinkle of black pepper

Instructions

Clean and drain the squid. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and whole milk together. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine potato flakes and breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dredge the squid in flour, egg wash and then potato flake/ breadcrumb mixture.
Lay out the calamari on the baking sheets. Drizzle a little bit of oil over the calamari and bake for 10 minutes then turn the calamari over and bake on the other side for an additional 10 minutes, or until crispy and golden.

Simple Tartar Sauce:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
Serve alongside calamari.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/03/oven-fried-calamari.html

Enjoy with love!

Goldfish Crackers Crusted Baked Fish and Chips

0 · Mar 8, 2016 · 7 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GoldfishMix #Walmart #CollectiveBias

Bring smiles and spread joy with this delicious Fish and Chips recipe featuring a childhood classic snack – Goldfish® crackers!

H.P. Lovecraft remarked in “The White Ship,” through the voice of Basil Elton that “Ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time.”

Like the ancient Greeks, born into their island realms, it is easy to become enthralled when looking out at the dark expanse of the sea, extending endless beyond one’s vision. The air carries the scent of the ocean, heralded by the call of the gulls and the rippling crash of the waves against sea-damp sand and weathered piers. Unchanged, one becomes small, achingly aware not just of the temporal nature of mortality, but of mortal futility. For the same earth we’ve yet to truly master is beholden to the deep, it’s realm of genesis, for it is the seas from which the mountains arise, and the seas to which they shall inevitably return in the numberless millennia yet to pass. As I was well reminded, even the river itself need merely swell to rise up and reclaim all that was once within its watery domain.

You see, if you’ve been following Living the Gourmet as of late, then you’re probably aware of the bout of wintry weather that we’ve had as of late, rife with winter flood, slush, and snow. You’re also likely aware that, for me, it could not have possibly come at a worse time – the construction of my new bulkheading, an outdoor project that positively disagrees with ice, snow, flooding, and blizzard winds. Since that post, however, I’m pleased to say that the job has been finished, and the joy currently being experienced by this coastal river dweller is something I can scarcely put to words.

To celebrate, I decided to do what we ‘urbanesque’ river bound denizens do best – to throw a nautical themed party. Even though we would still be trapped inside due to the cold, I just couldn’t resist. I invited my brothers, along with my nieces and nephews and their young families, and decided to put together a quintessential ‘city by the sea’ tablescape. However, I had to keep things just as appealing for my young nieces and nephews as for their parents.

To do that, I decided on a classic Fish-N-Chips dinner, but with a less than conventional twist. First, I decided to bake it. Second, rather than using a standard coating, I would instead batter them with a base consisting of Goldfish® crackers, which I picked up during a recent supply run to Walmart. I purchased the 30oz bulk cartons which are on rollback, to ensure I would have enough on hand both for cooking and for snacking. For this particular recipe I prefer the Flavor Blasted® XTra Cheddar crackers, which adds a nice layer of complexity while also giving the Fish-N-Chips a fun twist both the parents and their kids were sure to love. It’s a win-win.

This was a perfect recipe for the occasion not just because it’s both seasonal and regional, but because it also allows my nieces and nephews to get in on the kitchen action, which in all honesty is a must given the weather. Besides, it’s the little moments like these that really build memories. To start things off, I let them crack the eggs and crush a portion of the Goldfish® crackers as shown below. While they did that, I prepared the fish to be breaded.

Now, my son prefers cod while my daughter prefers flounder, so I’m using both today. However, you can get away with almost any sturdy white fish that will keep together nicely after being baked. While I battered the fish as shown below, my niece and nephew mixed the tartar sauce, which is a simple mix of mayo, relish, and lemon juice. After that’s done, I prepared the steak fries as outlined in the recipe, and then set them in the oven to bake along with the fish.

Once that was all done, it was time to enjoy the meal and celebrate the completion of my long awaited dock. Now, remember, while you’re doing all of the above it is simply a necessity to eat copious amounts of the Goldfish® crackers by the handful.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 6

Goldfish® Crackers Crusted Fish and Chips

10 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the Fish:

2 lbs. of flounder or cod filet
3 eggs - beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups Goldfish® crackers, crushed
Canola oil

For the Chips:

3 – 5 lbs. of potatoes, peeled and sliced into wedges
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tablespoons dried oregano
Oil for drizzling

For the Tartar Sauce:

1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of relish
1/2 tsp. sugar
3 tbs. lemon juice

Instructions

For the Fish:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place three shallow bowls; one with the flour, one with the egg and milk wash and one with the cornmeal and crushed Goldfish® crackers.
Dredge the fish filet first in the flour then in the egg wash and finally in the cornmeal and Goldfish® cracker mixture. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little oil of your choice.
Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. The fish should flake easily with a fork when cooked.

For the Chips:

Preheat Oven 400 degrees F.
Peel the potatoes and slice potatoes. Soak in a bowl of cold water to release the starch, drain and gently pat dry to remove moisture.
Toss the potato slices with cornmeal, cornstarch, salt, pepper, oregano and a little oil.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes and then remove from oven and turn the potatoes over to finish cooking for another 10-12 minutes or until golden.

For the Tartar Sauce:

Place the mayonnaise, relish, sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/03/goldfish-crackers-crusted-baked-fish-and-chips.html

Living the Gourmet: Goldfish Cracker Crusted Fish and Chips | #GoldFishMix #Walmart #ad

What are some of your favorite seasonal recipes? Or what are some of your creative uses for Goldfish® crackers? We would love to hear from you.

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

Pork Pot Stickers & A Chinese New Year Celebration

0 · Feb 5, 2016 · 6 Comments

This year we’re celebrating the Lunar New Year with a few of our favorite Asian-style cuisines! From pork pot stickers served with a spicy soy dipping sauce, steamed salmon and even fresh seaweed rolls, there is something for everyone to enjoy!

“The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide. This has been so since antiquity,” Luo Guanzhong remarked in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The quote, while certainly spoken in a much different context, that of an empire at war with itself, I can’t help viewing the words in a perhaps more metaphoric context – that of the cycle of renewal. Today, that cycle, especially as regards the human experience, is often referenced as a proverbial “pendulum” that invariably, and alternately, must swing in both directions.

This, of course, cuts directly to the Chinese New Year’s celebration coming up this February 8th. As with any New Year’s celebration, the hope for good fortune, a forward view to renewal, and reawakening is at the fore. From the time my son was in grade-school we’ve always celebrated Chinese New Year, and always with a selection of close childhood friends.

Being who and what I am, these gatherings always revolved around food, and copious amounts of decorating. However, as is often the case, childhood friends rarely last long into adulthood, and this year we decided to revive our New Year’s celebrations, albeit with a slew of new faces, and just a few new recipes for added measure.

For example, in years passed we used to steam whole snappers, and prepare them as the centerpiece of our tablescape. This year, however, we decided to go a bit more ‘gourmet,’ and just a tad bit more traditional, preparing salmon with fresh ginger, Kikkoman soy sauce, and diced spring onions. This would be the ‘center’ of the meal, and we would build around it.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Ginger Sesame Steamed Salmon Fresh Seaweed Rolls Pork Pot Stickers & Spicy Ginger Dipping Sauce

15 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

35 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 lb. fresh salmon
Juice of 1 orange
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili paste
Scallions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
A small handful of parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
5 sheets of nori
1 cup cooked glutinous rice (sticky rice)
1 avocado, thinly sliced into pencil-like strips
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pickled ginger
Sesame seeds for garnish

Pork Pot Stickers:

1 package wanton wrappers
1 lb. boneless pork loin, cubed
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
1/2 cup white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Spicy Ginger Dipping Sauce:

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Sprinkle of sesame seeds
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all ingredients but the salmon.
Place the salmon in a cast iron skillet, and pour the marinade over the fish.
Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Then cover the fish and turn the heat down low, gently simmering it until the salmon is cooked. It will have a pale orange color and it will flake when touched. Remove from heat and serve.
If you don't have a bamboo rolling mat, just use a sheet of aluminum foil for these rolls.
Lay out a sheet of nori and evenly spread a layer sticky rice. About 1/2 inch from the bottom of the wrap begin adding your filling in horizontal rows. I placed the cucumber slices first, followed by carrots, avocado and then the pickled ginger.
Gently begin wrapping each roll, carefully. As you roll, pull the mat or aluminum foil, up and out so it doesn't get caught in the roll.
Moisten the edge of the seaweed to seal the roll, then wrap the entire mat or aluminum foil around the roll and give it a firm but gentle squeeze. Leave each roll to set before slicing. So repeat this step until you have used up all your fillings.
Taking a sharp knife, lightly brush the edge with sesame oil, then slice each roll into bite size pieces.
Garnish with an additional sprinkle of sesame seeds and serve with green tea if desired.

Pork Pot Stickers:

In a large bowl, mix together cabbage, scallions, carrots, mushrooms and garlic.
In a small bowl combine ginger, soy sauce, chili paste, teriyaki and sesame oil. Toss that together with the chopped vegetables. Let sit for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
One the vegetables have absorbed the soy mixture, toss together with cubed pork.
To prepare pot stickers, lightly brush the edges of each wanton wrapper with water. Place a spoonful of pork mixture in the center of the wanton. Fold over diagonally and pinch the edges.
Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a cast iron skillet and carefully add your pot stickers. Fry just until the bottoms of each is golden in color. Once the pot stickers are fried, wipe out any excess oil with a paper towel. Place the post stickers back in the the skillet and add about 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan. Turn the heat on medium-low and cover. Steam the pot stickers until the water has evaporated from the pan. Transfer immediately to a serving platter.

Spicy Ginger Dipping Sauce:

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the spicy dipping sauce and serve alongside your pot stickers.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2016/02/pork-pot-stickers-a-chinese-new-year-celebration.html

Living the Gourmet: Pork Pot Stickers | #KikkomanCNY

However, what is a truly good meal without a presentation to match? To complete our New Year’s celebration, I decorated our dining room in clashing red and gold tones, Chinese lanterns, and decorative Asian dinnerware. The end result wasn’t just a delicious, and festive meal, but one that had the atmosphere to match.

What are some of your plans for Chinese New Year? What are some of your favorite traditions? We would love to hear from you.

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Bumble Bee SuperFresh Meals

0 · Oct 30, 2015 · 19 Comments

Napoleon once said that in victory you deserve champagne, but that in defeat you need it, a sentiment with which I could not possibly agree more.

Enjoyment, or as Nero called it ‘feeling human,’ is all too often reserved for special moments, or we allot ourselves specific time inside of our busy schedules for brief interludes of pleasantries. By doing so, one has essentially accepted that pain and drudgery are the norm, with enjoyment relegated to being that proverbial diamond stuck in the metaphoric ruff. After all, who among us isn’t more familiar with the coil lights of our offices than we are with watching the sunset? Or, perhaps more apropos to our subject, how many of us are still waiting for that ‘Special Moment’ to un-cellar that overpriced vintage that’s been on hand for too many years now? Or we’ll try that new posh restaurant ‘someday,’ a strangely elusive designation of time.

Yet, and perhaps far worse, at the end of a long day, it can be all too easy to give into the temptation of simply eating to survive, forgoing a proper meal either for lack of time or a lack of will to endure the effort, and so we submit to yet more drudgery – this time of the culinary variety. While it’s certainly an understandable temptation, it’s one that need not be abided.

Allow me to explain. Working at home means I’m always in the office, and so I’m all too familiar with the constant temptation of doing “Just one more thing” before finally calling it quits, and when I finally do I hardly feel like starting in the kitchen. It is for precisely such moments that I love having gourmet alternatives on hand that can ease the preparation with a delicious, healthy meal. That’s precisely where today’s recipes come in, either of which can be prepared in under twenty-five minutes – Tilapia with Wild Rice, and Salmon with Linguine and Fresh Spinach, using Bumble Bee SuperFresh®.

Now, I’m not typically one for frozen foods, so you can trust me when I say that both the Bumble Bee SuperFresh® salmon and tilapia are easily restaurant quality (yes, from a good restaurant), and are both naturally seasoned, without any ‘cheap’ breading or sauces. Since both the salmon and tilapia come wrapped in parchment paper, the typical mess and ‘fishy’ smell is entirely avoided, meaning it’s enough to prepare them directed.

For the wild rice, simply prepare a frying pan with butter and olive oil – preferably cast iron – and then add in the mushrooms, chopped apricots, and seasonings. You’ll want to sauté them just until a slight char appears, by which point your rice should be finished cooking, and you can combine them. Then, just prepare the dressing for the rice as directed below, and you’re finished.

For the linguine, again prepare a frying pan with butter and olive oil, and sauté some garlic until it is slightly golden, then add in your spinach, pepper, and salt. After the spinach has wilted down, you can add in the linguine, and you’re done

While I prefer to pair the linguine with the salmon, and the tilapia with the wild rice, either would pair excellently, as it’s really just a matter of taste. In either case, however, both meals can easily be prepared in under a half hour, meaning there’s never a reason not to enjoy a gourmet meal no matter how tight the schedule.

What are some of your tips for eating well despite a packed schedule? We would love to hear from you. Don’t for get to try out Bumble Bee SuperFresh meals for a quick and delicious dinner no matter what life throws your way.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 2

Tilapia with Apricots & Wild Rice Salmon with Linguine & Fresh Spinach

10 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 package Bumble Bee SuperFresh® Tilapia with Lemon, Pepper & Herbs
2 cups wild rice
3/4 cup dried apricots - chopped
1 quart button mushrooms – sliced
1 tbs. butter
2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black Pepper
Sliced lemon for garnish

Seasoned Honey Dressing:

Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp. honey
2 tbs. olive oil
Fresh ground salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 package Bumble Bee SuperFresh® Salmon with Garlicky Black Pepper and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 bunches of fresh baby spinach
3 - 4 large cloves of garlic – chopped
1 tbs. butter
2 tbs. olive oil
1 lb. of linguine
1/2 tsp. salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

Prepare the Tilapia as directed.
Cook the wild rice as directed and set aside.
Heat a large cast iron frying pan with the butter and olive oil. Add the sliced mushrooms and chopped apricots. Let the mushrooms and apricots sauté until a slight char appears.
Add the rice and toss.

Seasoned Honey Dressing:

Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and mix.
Pour the dressing over the rice and toss.
Prepare salmon as directed.
Prepare the linguine as directed. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large cast iron frying pan with the butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is fragrant and slightly golden.
Add the fresh spinach and toss until slightly wilted.
Add the linguine and toss. Drizzle with a little olive oil and more freshly ground black pepper.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/10/bumble-bee-superfresh-meals.html

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

New England Style Clambake & Nautica Voyage for Father’s Day

0 · Jun 17, 2015 · 19 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NauticaforDad #CollectiveBias

This Father’s Day, treat the anchor in your life to the Nautica Voyage Gift Set available at Macy’s.

In honor of my Dad, I have prepared a classic New England Clambake infused with a garlic compound butter, then steamed to perfection on the grill.

It’s funny how certain things can spark a memory, like an old, familiar tune that comes on the radio, or a certain smell. Suddenly, you are a child again, then your whole life flashes before your eyes bringing you back to this moment.

All those memories that stand out to us, are what makes us who we are today.

I lost my father when I was sixteen. More than just a dad, he was my best friend, someone I could always turn to, someone who set the standard high for me as to who I wanted to be when I grew up. Yet, in those sixteen years, my father gave me a lifetime of memories to cherish and look back on.

I see a lot of him in my son- a strong sense of character, determined and dedicated to his family and his work. I see him in my brothers, and each passing day, I see more of him in myself.

This Father’s Day I am celebrating Dad with my family and gifting my brothers with the Nautica Voyage Gift Set from Macy’s.

My dad was an avid fisherman. There wasn’t anything more he enjoyed than packing a sandwich, a thermos of coffee and passing the hours away on his boat. Being both my brothers share that same love of fishing, how befitting to set up a New England style clambake along with their gift sets.

When I went shopping through Macy’s trying to find the perfect Father’s Day gift, my attention was caught by the beautiful gift set display.

The Nautica Voyage comes complete with shower gel and aftershave balm, as well as a traveling bag and a grill set. It is quintessentially the perfect Father’s Day gift.

In honor of Dad, I prepared a clambake and spared no expense. This clambake is deceptively easy to prepare. To start, I steamed all the shellfish on the grill. Each infused with generous amounts of seasoning and a compound butter made up of fresh garden herbs. Once the fish was done, I grilled up some spicy sausage and served that alongside sweet corn.

The spread was perfect and exceeded even my own expectations. As the sun began to set, sinking slowly down behind the skyline, we set the table down with newspaper for a classic, New England rustic feel. The meal was served family-style, and kept in cast iron pans, as everyone helped themselves to the mariner’s spread.

It was a beautiful evening, and as the family gathered for an early Father’s Day celebration, we ended the night off with a toast to Daddy. I know he was with us and I am sure he enjoyed the meal, the company, and felt the love in all our hearts.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

New England Style Clambake

15 minPrep Time

25 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

Live Lobsters
Clams
Mussels
Scallops
Shrimp
Corn
Spicy Pork Sausage
Fresh lemons
Salt & Pepper
*The amounts of each depend on how many people will be attending the clam bake.

For the Garlic Butter:

1 lb. of butter – room temperature
3 cloves of garlic – chopped
1/2 cup of fresh Italian parsley – chopped
1/4 cup of fresh dill – chopped
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

For the Garlic Butter:

Combine all of the ingredients for the garlic butter and mix well and refrigerate.

Preparing the Clambake:

I used a charcoal grill for this meal. You will know the grill is ready once the coals have burnt down and are gray.
Split the lobsters in half lengthwise. Bring the knife down through the tail, making sure to cut just through the meat and to leave the shell connected. Lay the lobster open, leaving the two halves attached. Generously rub the Garlic Butter through the cavity and all over the tail. Wrap the lobsters in tin foil and place in a pan. Set aside.
Wrap the scallops and shrimp in individual baskets made up of tin foil. Add a tablespoon of the garlic butter. Fold and set aside as well.
Clean clams and mussels and toss together in an aluminum tin. Fill the tin 1/4 of the way with water. Add several pats of the garlic butter all around.
Transfer all of the fish to the grill. Cook the lobsters and shrimp until pink. Cook the scallops for about 10 minutes. Be sure not to overcook your scallops! You will know when the clams and mussels are done once all the shells are open.
In the meantime, grill up the sausage links and serve alongside boiled corn on the cob.
Serve all together and enjoy.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/06/new-england-style-clambake-nautica-voyage-for-fathers-day.html

Living the Gourmet: New England Clam Bake | Nautica Voyage #NauticaForDad

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo
—
Enter below for a chance to win a $4,000 Cruise Vacation Package! 5 Second Place Winners will win a Nautica Men’s Fragrance Gift Package. Must be 18+ to enter.
Nautica for Dad
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Asian Beer Batter Fish Egg Rolls & Chips

0 · May 25, 2015 · 14 Comments

For this month, the innovative minds behind the Creative Cooking Crew are whipping up their best representation of a classic summer dish- Fish & Chips.

I not only set out to develop a new flavor profile, but to completely reconstitute the traditional dish- ergo Asian Beer Batter Fish Egg Rolls & Chips.

To start, I marinated the fish in an Asian-style Beer Batter then cooked it halfway on a low simmer. Tossed with cooked-down veggies, I rolled the filling into an eggroll wrap and baked to a crispy perfection.

I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of this dish, and it was well received by my taste-testers 😉

Living the Gourmet

Asian Beer Batter Fish Eggrolls & Chips

10 minPrep Time

35 minCook Time

45 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

1 lb. flounder filet
10-12 Eggroll Wraps

Asian Style Beer Batter:

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon chili garlic paste ( I use Huy Fong Foods – the same brand that makes sriracha sauce)
1 clove garlic grated
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 cup beer
S&P to taste

Vegetable Stir Fry:

2 cloves grated garlic
1 cup button mushrooms, diced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 sticks carrots, sliced
2 cups chopped romaine or diced cabbage
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
3 tablespoons duck sauce
2 teaspoons chili garlic paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Crispy Chips:

5 medium potatoes – peeled and diced into 1/4 inch thick fries
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
S&P to taste
Oil for drizzling

Instructions

For Crispy Chips:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss all ingredients until the potato fries are well coated.
Spread out on baking sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy.

For Asian Beer Batter Fish Eggrolls:

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients for the Asian Style Beer Batter.
In a large bowl, pour the beer batter over the flounder. Cover and let marinade.
Meanwhile, in a medium pan heated with a drizzle of oil, cook down the garlic, mushrooms, onion, celery, carrots and romaine.
Whisk together soy sauce, teriyaki, duck sauce, chili paste and lemon juice. Toss in with the vegetables. Once the vegetables are completely cooked down, transfer to a glass bowl and set aside. In the same pan, add the fish with the marinade and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.
Slice the filet and add to the vegetables. Toss together.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
On a flat surface, place the egg rolls, diamond closest to you. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Roll the corner closest to you over the filling. Fold in the sides of the wonton and continue rolling the egg roll up until it is closed. Dab the fold with water to seal. Continue this process until you have used up all of the filling.
Place the egg rolls on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and let cook for about 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.
I served the egg rolls with additional duck sauce and the fries with ketchup. For an extra kick of heat, stir in 1/2 teaspoon chili paste into the duck sauce and ketchup!

Notes

Please keep in mind that cooking time may vary. I baked my egg rolls at 400 degrees F on the convection setting.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/05/asian-beer-batter-fish-egg-rolls-chips.html

Living the Gourmet: Asian Beer Batter Fish Eggrolls & Chips

Toodles,
Tammy<3

#WineWeek – Surf & Turf w/ Ribera Del Duero y Rueda Wine

0 · May 13, 2015 · 23 Comments

The shift to summer themes often focuses around the lighter fare, the transition from indoor entertaining to outdoor entertaining, and how to get the most out of both. However, one of the most important but also one of the most frequently overlooked aspects of elegant summer entertaining is the shift to seasonal wine pairings.

Just as there are separate dishes appropriate for separate occasions, and certain cuisines better suited for certain seasons, the same is true with vintages. In other words, one is best served by keeping the wintery dinner party bottles on a separate rack from your outdoor or warm weather bottles. Summer bottles often feature lighter, more ‘carefree’ profiles that make them ideal for summery seafood fare, or as a contrast to grilled dishes.

As was I gathering ideas and outlining specifics to demonstrate this point, the muses decided to make my task infinitely simpler than it perhaps should have been. Late last month, just a few days after we had planned the LTG Wine Week, Living the Gourmet was contacted by the representatives of Ribera y Rueda Wine asking if we would sample a pair of their bottles, and if we would consider sharing our thoughts in the context of a summer theme.

To put this in context, the Ribera and Rueda regions, only about an hour from Madrid, have a winemaking history dating back more than 2000+ years, laying the groundwork for what would become traditional Spanish winemaking, which in turn evolved into what we enjoy today. In other words, to find regions of Europe with a more ancient and elaborate winemaking history one would have to go back an additional several centuries to the Roman Republic, who brought industrialized winemaking to Spain, or several millennia earlier to Late-Neolithic Greece, from whose colonists and traders wine was introduced into Sicily and Italy.

Today, however, Ribera y Rueda wines are all about popping open a bottle for an outdoor soirée, a night on the couch or an unexpected food pairing. As the winemakers are fond of sayings, “Ribera y Rueda wines say Sí to it all!”

We received two bottles, a Rueda Verdejos, and a Ribera del Duero Tempranillos, both labelled with their respective Denominación de Origen, assuring their quality.

The Rueda Verdejos, a white grape varietal, is a crisp, refreshing wine, light on the palette with notes of scrub herbs and fruit carrying throughout against a backdrop of excellently balanced acidity. The winemakers suggest serving it with mussels, though I can easily see it serving perfectly alongside lightly prepared white fishes such as basa, preferably herbed.

The Ribera del Duero Tempranillos is a robust, vaguely masculine wine, featuring a deep, ruby-crimson hue, and a warm aroma distantly reminiscent of an old world taverna. The wine greets the mouth with dry ripe fruit and spice herbs, which linger on the palette. Not surprisingly, the winemakers suggest serving the wine with barbeque, a suggestion I thoroughly agree with, though I could also envision the wine pairing excellently with lamb, red sauce, or a quality red meat.

In the context of summer entertaining, I found myself imagining the Rueja Verdejos as a ‘day wine,’ served with appetizers and conversation, and then opening the Ribera around sunset to serve alongside a summer fire, or with dinner.

While the wines understandably appear to serve contrasting functions at an event, I nevertheless wanted to create an atmosphere and menu for which I could serve them together, and in so doing to create a spread or tablescape of harmonized contrast. While I puzzled over how to achieve this at first, the solution, I realized, would be deceivingly simple despite resulting elaborate appearance.

I decided on a classic Mediterranean themed Surf-N-Turf spread, which would allow me to bend the menu such that it would slant towards both wines more or less equally. The surf aspect, and the appetizer, would complement the Rueja, while the turf would be enhanced by the presence of the Tempranillo.

To begin, the appetizers, ‘la tapas’ or perhaps ‘el preludio’ is more apropos in this case, consists of a sliced tomato salad with olive oil and basil, served alongside a loaf of Italian bread presented family style, while a side of Kalamata olives add a rustic undertone. Served with the Rueja, the spread serves as a prelude of the meal to come, while also setting the tone for the night, easing the spirit into the relaxed haze of a balmy summer evening with friends and family.

Living the Gourmet

Tomato & Basil Salad Mediterranean Wild Shrimp Mediterranean Beef Kabobs Baked Fresh Salmon

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Ingredients

2 beefsteak tomatoes - sliced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 – 4 tbs. olive oil
3 -4 tbs. fresh basil
2 cloves garlic – chopped
Kalamata olives
2 lbs. of wild raw shrimp in the shell

For the Marinade:

Juice of l lemon
2 cloves of garlic – chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of Italian parsley – chopped
4 tbs. olive oil
3 lbs. boneless shell steak – cubed
1 large sweet onion – sliced
2 bell peppers – sliced
Skewers – soaked in water for 10 – 15 minutes

For the Marinade:

3 – 4 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 tsp. capers – plus 1 tbs. caper juice
4 tbs. Italian parsley – chopped
2 lbs. of salmon filet

For the Marinade:

1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce
3 tbs. of soy sauce
1 tbs. of sesame oil
2 tbs. of olive oil
2 tbs. of rice wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 clove of garlic – finely chopped
2 inch piece of ginger – finely chopped
4 tbs. of Italian parsley – chopped
4 tbs. of fresh dill – chopped

Instructions

Layer the tomatoes in a shallow serving dish. Top the tomatoes with the fresh basil, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic, and olive oil. Finish the dish topped with the Kalamata olives.
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl; add the shrimp; cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Heat a grill or griddle. Place the shrimp on the griddle. Grill for about 2 – 3 minutes on each side; until the shells are hot pink and the shrimp is opaque.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl; add the cubed beef and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Prepare the skewers alternating with the beef, peppers and onions.
Heat a grill or griddle. Place the kabobs on the grill. When a nice char is achieved on one side turn over and finish cooking on the other side.
The total cooking time depends on how well done you like your beef.
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl; place the salmon filet in the bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Heat a large heavy frying pan and with a drizzle of olive oil and add the salmon; skin side down.
Cook half way through; about 5 -7 minutes and finish cooking in the oven at 350 degrees for another 5 – 7 minutes, for medium rare. Let the salmon rest for a few minutes before serving.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/05/wineweek-surf-turf-w-ribera-del-duero-y-rueda-wine.html

In the end, it was a perfect summer spread, combining the elegance of a dinner party with the relaxed atmosphere of a summer evening. The wines, both well paired and of high quality, play an important role in helping to achieve this, which is why seasonal pairings should never be overlooked.

To be perfectly honest, I would have expected nothing less from the Ribera and Rueda regions, whose bottles have become renowned over the past several decades. That said, there is no doubt that I can wholeheartedly recommend Ribera y Rueda, no matter the occasion. Visit Ribera y Rueda tumblr page to learn more about this beautiful wine.

Recipes developed by Catherine Pappas | Forward written by Michael Pappas
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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
This message is intended for persons 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.

Fresh Baked Salmon Filet

0 · Apr 23, 2015 · 17 Comments

Baked with a rub of fresh herbs and international spices, this salmon filet is a healthy, delicious addition to your spring menu.

I have always loved the color peach. It is not quite pink; yet not quite orange; it is the perfect combination of both. It is a fresh and blissful color that lends to good feeling and yet not quite overpowering as to overtake the entire mood. It is a versatile color and pairs well with almost any other color or shade and once again; it is subtle and does not overbear.

The description of this color describes the fish salmon completely. It is mild in flavor and pairs well with almost any preparation.

This is a version that I thought of last evening and was quite enjoyable. It left you feeling satisfied. If you are fortunate enough to have any leftover it will make a wonderful salad the next day.

Living the Gourmet

Yields 4-6

Fresh Baked Salmon Filet

5 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

2 lbs. salmon filet

For the Marinade:

2 cloves garlic - chopped
4 tbs. fresh parsley – chopped
4 tbs. fresh dill – chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. honey

Instructions

Preheat Oven 350 degrees.
Combine all of the above ingredients in a large bowl and mix; add the salmon; cover and refrigerate for at least on hour.
Place the salmon in a baking dish.
Bake 15 – 16 minutes or until salmon is cooked through.
Let the salmon sit for a minute or two before serving.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/04/fresh-baked-salmon-filet.html

Living the Gourmet: Fresh Baked Salmon Filet

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

Fish and Chips

0 · Mar 9, 2015 · 38 Comments

This quintessential classic dish gets a makeover with a crispy potato flake crust, a spicy fresh dipping sauce and Old Bay seasoned baked chips.

Saturday night is a night to relax and simply take a breath. It is a night to have a fun meal and then I usually watch something good on the television. I am a lover of the old classic movies so when something is on that is an “oldie but goodie” count me in!!

That reminds me of this meal. It certainly is an oldie but goodie!! I remember my Dad loving a place called Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips. I suppose I am dating myself a bit; but the fish and chips were delicious. I too got good reviews on this fish dish as well.

Yes, I did get to watch on old movie and use my pop-corn maker, and another Saturday night is in the books.

Living the Gourmet

Fish and Chips

10 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

Flounder Filet:

2 lbs. of flounder filet
2 cups flour plus
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups instant potato flakes
2 eggs - beaten
11/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
Canola oil for frying

Dipping Sauce:

1 cup ketchup
3 – 4 medium sized pickles (sweet or dill) I used dill
1 grilled jalapeño – with seeds
1/4 red onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Baked Potatoes Chips:

3-5 lbs. potatoes – peeled, sliced into 1/4'” chips
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Coarse sea salt

Instructions

Flounder Filet:

Set up 3 shallow bowls; place the flour in one bowl, the cornmeal and potato flakes plus the seasonings in another bowl and the eggs and milk in another bowl.
Dip the fish in the flour, then the egg and milk bath and finally dip the fish in the cornmeal and potato flakes mixture.
Heat a large cast iron frying pan with about 1/4 inch of oil and place the prepared fish in the pan; do not overcrowd the pan. When the fish is golden and slightly crispy on one side carefully turn the fish over and finish cooking on the other side. This process will take about three minutes on each side.
Place the fish on paper towels to absorb the oil.

Dipping Sauce:

Combine all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a food processor and chop until almost smooth.

Baked Potatoes Chips:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, soak the potatoes in water for 5 minutes.
Drain and pat dry.
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with cornstarch, cornmeal, Old Bay Seasoning and oil.
Spread out potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for about 10-15 minutes; then flip the potatoes and bake on the other side for another 10-15 minutes or until crispy and golden.

https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/03/fish-and-chips.html

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

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Asian Style Marinated Salmon Filet

0 · Feb 26, 2015 · 38 Comments

Buttery salmon marinated in a marmalade & Asian-style sauce will make this meal your weeknight go-to. It is so simple to prepare.

While shopping in the supermarket the other day, I saw fresh salmon filets were…you guesses it, on sale! I could not pass it up, and my reaction of course was, “Yes! There is tonight’s dinner!”

I thought this has not been on the menu in a very, very long time. I do believe we all need a bit of a treat now and then and this was the “now and then” moment!! I knew this was going to be fun. I have not made a fish dinner in some time and I was looking forward to it.

There are many things in this world that bring pleasure; though the joy of eating a meal together really has to be at the top of the list for making lasting memories. Of course this factor is ramped up if the meal happens to be one that is a favorite and this salmon dish happens to be my daughter’s favorite. The dish is really quite simple to prepare and cooks up quickly.

Living the Gourmet
Asian Style Marinated Salmon Filet
5 minPrep Time
30 minCook Time
35 minTotal Time

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Ingredients
1 – 2 lbs. of Salmon Filet with skin
For the Marinade:
3 tbs. teriyaki sauce
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. orange marmalade or apricot sauce
1/4 cup of Italian parsley – chopped
1 large clove of garlic – chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger – chopped
1 tbs. sesame oil
2 tbs. soy sauce
Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade. Place the salmon in the marinade and cover. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Preheat Oven 350 degrees.
Place the salmon in a cast iron pan; skin side down. Top with the marinade and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.
7.8.1.1
94
https://livingthegourmet.com/2015/02/asian-style-marinated-salmon-filet.html

Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo

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Oven Fried Fluke Fillet

0 · Jul 3, 2010 · 5 Comments

Inspired by: Family Circle Magazine

Ingredients:

Fresh Fluke Fillet
2 cups panko bread crumbs
4 tablespoons honey
Juice of ½ lemon or lime
2 eggs
2 tablespoons warm water
Tablespoon of Living the Gourmet Signature Spice Rub
Olive oil for drizzling

Preheat Oven 350 degrees:

In a bowl mix together the Living the Gourmet Signature Rub and the panko bread crumbs. In a separate bowl combine the honey, warm water, lemon juice and the eggs.

Dip the fish in the egg and honey mixture and then in the panko mixture. Place fish in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake the fish about 15 minutes or until the fish is golden.
I hope you will enjoy this fish recipe as much and my family did. It is a winner.

Enjoy with Love,

Catherine

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