New adventures with help from the sea.

Hello fellow foodies and food lovers, I always say pay with your food get in the kitchen and try new things have fun.  Today's post is about doing just that trying something new!  Is there that one thing when ever you go out to a restaurant you order every time, because for what one reason or another you never make it at home ?  We all do so the other night when trying to decide what to make for dinner I thought why not try something I have never done yet love?  Crab cakes are something I love and always order when I go out.  Never tried making them at home not because crab cakes are hard to make, but because when you work with seafood you really want to ensure your working with the freshest product you can get.  That is hard when you live so far from the fresh saltiness of the sea.  Now that the freshness is just a call away I figured it was the perfect time to embark on and never tried adventure.

Crab cakes can take on many different flavors seems like almost every cuisine out there has their own variation on the good old cake.  Staying simple and close to the sea is the way I like in a crab cake, because the carb has such sweet soft delicate flavor.  No matter what flavors you like to use to enhance the crab I like a nice crispy texture on the outside and a moist soft texture on the inside and most important the flavor and texture of the crab.  You want to know and taste what you biting into! Below is a list of what i put in my first ever crab cake.

Crab cakes

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs ( I use Japanese bread crumbs )
1/4 green bell pepper small dice 
1/4 red bell pepper small dice
2 green onions thinly sliced 
parsley (as much as desired)
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce 
1 egg white 
2 tablespoons mayo 
1 tablespoon lemon juice 
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon old bay seasoning 
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1lb lump crab meat 

Mix everything together minus the crab to well combined then once you have everything mixed together gently fold in the crab.  Be careful you don't want to break up the crab to much it is called lump crab meat and you want those lumps of yumminess!  Form into patties I put them into the freezer before pan frying for I find they keep there form batter. Once the crab cakes the firmed up a bit pan fry and enjoy with a little tartar sauce and some nice asparagus.

Remember food is fun so play with your food and don't be afraid to try new things you may love them and if not you tried and had fun right? Until next time my fellow foodies and food lovers.

Lazy afternoon tag team dinner!!

Hello fellow foodies and food lovers, I hope you have been enjoying food summer and the endless adventures to be had when joining the two together!  Tonights adventure is a little bit different because I am not the soul mastermind behind the outcome of tonight's mouth watering meal.  That's right tonight I called on help from "THE GRILL MASTER" aka my husband.  Typically I am the cook of the house the kitchen is my area, however when we grill I leave the fire and flames to him. One of our favorite things to do on a lazy weekend day around the house, is fire up the grill cook something low and slow open a few beers and just hang out.  The guilty pleasure of tonight's low and slows was mouth watering fall off the bone ribs.  Ribs are are perfect choice for low and slow for two reasons. First being the obvious the are ribs meaning a lot of marbling aka fat, allowing to cook for a long time without drying out.  Second reason the ribs have a lot of connective tissue and cooking them slow allows time to break down those connective tissues.  End product is a tender fall off the bone rib.

Seasoning the ribs is a personal call wet? Dry? sweet? Smokey? All good all work me I like to do both a dry rub and a wet application.  I do the dry rub first the night before and let all the flavors marry on the ribs in the fridge over night. My wet application I cheat a little and use a store bought BBQ sauce towards the end to give almost a candy like coating..... Now more then low and slow I am not much of an expert on cooking ribs so this post is more about flavors and the side dish.

Dry Rub

Chili powder 
Cumin powder 
Garlic powder
Mustard powder
Salt & pepper
Brown sugar

Now we have the star of our show the ribs they are perfect and delicious, we just need something to go along side our ribs. A side that stands on it's own with strong flavors, yet does not over sing or shadow the star of the meal.  To me every perfect meal has one main star everything else is a supporting roll to help the star of the dish stand out.  I tend to stick with same over all feel and flavor without being the exact same flavors.

A roasted warm sweet potato salad played perfect with the ribs and still stands alone in flavor.  Also a super easy dish that you can make ahead of time and serve at room temp or hot.  Heat your oven to 400 degrees chop one sweet potato into bite size pieces along with one red bell pepper spread on a back sheet. Add half a red onion diced small toss everything with olive oil salt and pepper till potatoes are tender and golden about 40 minutes.  To make the dressing you need a container with a lid add apple cider vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper and shake to well combined. Toss all together and serve.  A good tip when ever you make something like a potato salad you always want to finish with something green and fresh such as basil or parsley. (Tip if you do not have any fresh herbs in your fridge a good replacement is Arugula because of it peppery pungent flavor.)

So there you go a fun relaxing food adventure! Remember cooking is about having fun and trying new things so take the over all methods and use your own flavors.  Until next time have fun and play with your food.

Summer favorites!!

Hello fellow foodies and food lovers,  Tonights adventure is all about the summer flavors that are just not the same without the heat of summer.  Nothing says summer like the time old everyone tested hotdog, something about a hotdog screams summer beer laughs and friends.  Loved as a kid and still enjoyed as an adult.  Yes we may stray away for the well known side of french fires and get a little more adventurous with toping, yet a hot dog is still comforting to most.

Okay lets be real a hotdog though yummy with the ability to bring us back to our childhood summers don't really scream "healthy"...... yet a few times a year I myself am not going to say no.  With that said I have a few tips I use to lighten up not just hotdog but the entire meal.  First of all the hotdog there are lots and lots of options out there, from the kinda of dog turkey, pork, beef, even chicken.  To things like organic all natural casings so you just have to pick the hotdog that fits your needs.  Second is the bread or the bun you use, of course you could cut out the bun all together yet I like the whole feel of picking up a hotdog and eating it so I use a whole what bun.  Next is what you serve along side your dog and this is where you can lighten things up the most.  Forget the fries and get something fresh and green in there!!!  Above we did a simple pan fried kale with salt and pepper, and to bulk it up and make it more filling we tossed in left overs of a roasted cherry tomato salad from the other night and a little bit of chicken stock.  Let it simmer for five to ten minutes with the top on and serve along side with your dog.

Remember play with your food and have fun! Enjoy all your favorite flavors of summer all while feeling good about it and trying new things.  Maybe even making new summer favorite flavors.  Happy cooking adventures until next time.

All about the pork!!

Hello fellow foodies and food lovers, todays post is about a little adventure I took last night.  One of my all time favorite things is pork pulled pork tender juicy and able to take on many different flavors. Including but not limited to mexican which we went with but BBQ you could even do an herb and garlic pulled pork, but back to our adventure I have tried pulled pork a few different times all times with okay results but each time learning little tricks to improve the over all results. We will get into spices and flavors a little later but right now lets focus on the method of cooking for there are many different thoughts and theories on what makes the "BEST" pulled pork.  No one method right or wrong it is all about what works for you.  Though in my opinion there is one way that far the way to go no mater what spices and flavors your going for, that is low and slow in a smoker but lets face it we don't all have smokers hanging out it the backyard though that is the dream there are plenty other way to get great tender fall apart pulled pork.

 First things first your cut of meat. What to use?  Now I am not pulled pork expert or meat expert for that matter but through a little trail and error I have found the cut of pork that I think works the best, that being the "BOSTON BUTT" aka pork shoulder.  Boston butt is yes a fatter more marbled cut of meat but in this cause it really aids in helping to ensure a tender yet juicy not dry outcome.  Secondly you want to think about your cooking vessel, again I prefer to use a butch oven with a tight fitting lid but there are other options such a crock pot, and of course a smoker.  However I find that a crock pot is a little to fussy and well like I said I don't have a smoker so I go with the old fashion dutch oven works for me every time.  ( A trick I use with the dutch oven is i foil wrap it before putting on the top insuring a tight seal.  You want all that heat and moisture to stay within the pork.)  Thirdly you want to think about the temperature you want to cook your meat at.  Low and slow is what I find works the best in keeping your pork mouth watering and juicy.  Really if all depends on your time table, and how much time you have to wait! I tend to cook mine at 325 degrees for two hours to about two hours and forty minutes. Really depends on you oven, when checking your meat for doneness you can gage it by testing the temperature or after awhile you start to get a feel for when it is ready.  You want to take a fork stick it into the thickest of your Boston butt and there should be no to very little give, in essence the meat should almost fall away from the fork.  That is how you know you set and ready to go, take out of the oven cool until is is cool enough to handle and with two forks pull apart.  The forth and last thing other then flavor which we will get to in just one moment is the amount of liquid you want to use.  This also depend on how big your piece of pork is, for a piece about 2.5lbs I use just shy of 1.5 cups as far as what to use that is up to you beer, water, stock, juice, and mixture that is all up to you and the flavors you are after so have fun with it. Just know your liquid should not come up more then a inch inch and a half your not pouching or boiling here. Here is what i used in my dry rub amounts are on a person to person preference.

Chili Powder 
Garlic Powder 
Ground Cumin 
Salt & Pepper 
Brown Sugar 
Orange Zest

( The longer time your dry rub has to marinade on the pork before cooking the more flavor in the end will impart on your final product.)

To go along with our mouth watering pulled pork we did a super simple grilled corn and back bean salad with fresh lime juice.  Adding in a little red onion and green bell pepper for texture and freshness. You can serve this salad raw and cold or you can do what i did and lightly cooked and warmed everything up in a frying pan.  whatever you choose to serve a long side the main attraction or how you season it get out there save some money get your hands dirty and try your hand at making your very own pulled pork.  Until next time lay with your food try new things and get out there as the saying goes the world is your oyster or in this case your pulled pork.

Turning one meal into another totally different meal!! Part 2

Hello fellow foodies and food lovers, happy Monday as promised we turned Sunday nights dinners turf into todays breakfast/brunch!  A simple easy kinda tex-mex kinda BBQ steak and eggs.  This dish is so satisfying just the way it is yet you could really get creative and mix up your everyday steak and eggs.  As I always say play with your food and have fun, that is what cooking is all about.  Not every meal I post about will complex yet all of them yummy.  Sometimes you will even find that the simplest meals are the ones that are the best!

Sundays nights turf of our surf and turf along side a little creamy avocado really stepped this meal up and makes the taste buds sing.  It is true I typically like play with a lot of different textures all in one meal.  And in a less in your face way we did that, you get the creaminess of the avocado next to the softness of the eggs and char that grilling the steak before hand all worked together. No one texture "speaking to loud".  Now you may be asking why scrambled egg?? Anyway you like your eggs is fine go for it the only reason I picked scrambled is I am awful at flipping fried eggs and my husband was off at work. But pouched, fried, over easy, sunny side up or scrabbled all work great.  So there you have it our steak and eggs all because we pre-planed last nights dinner making this mornings meal quick easy and delicious full of many different ways to make a diner classic your own.

Until next time go on open up you minds and your fridge play with your food and have fun get creative, and remember not all our cooking adventures will be complex some may not even turn out but cooking is about way more then just the end product.  It is about trying new things and learning!

Turning one meal into another totally different meal! Part 1.

Hello fellow foodies and food lovers, tonight's adventure is about making one meal "tonight's dinner" in thought and perpetration for a whole other meal "tomorrows breakfast".  This post is all about getting creative making one great tasting meal you enjoy, yet in thinking about another meal all together!  Bringing leftovers to a whole other level.  Because come on leftovers can be boring. Option 1. you reheat and eat !!! BORING or you add a little this a little that and call is a new meal, yes different but sorry still boring. What if we made Sunday nights dinner all in thoughts for Monday mornings breakfast ? Now that is fun interesting and fun.  Sundays nights grilled surf and turf will turn into Monday mornings breakfast of steak and eggs.

So later we will get more into Mondays steak and eggs but to get to tomorrow we have to talk about Sundays dinner a delicious surf and turf, bringing together what I love about summer grilling up some yummy beef and what I love most about my new adventure in Quincy Mass being by fresh seafood or as I say treasures of the sea.  Surf and turf is a little of both worlds and can be done many different ways with many different price ranges.  If you ask me save your money for the treasures of the sea! Scallops, crab, lobster,fish or in this cause shrimp. Go for a cheaper "turf"( steak tips work great cook quickly and marinade great.)  How ever if you want to switch them and get a prime cut and go less on seafood that is totally up to you.  For our surf and turf we are marinading steak tips in a store bought BBQ sauce and a touch of apple cider vinegar.  With the shrimp I wanted to stay with the same BBQ flavors without going with the heaviness of a good yet thick sweet BBQ sauce shrimp being more delicate then steak tips.  To get the same flavors of summer BBQ's I simply did lots of black pepper salt and chili powder.  Shrimp don't need a lot of "marinade" time so I put on my dry spices about 30 minutes before going on the grill.  ( If you want to really get a head start that is fine by all means go for it. Being prepared is good I would just stay away from a lot of acid for acid works as a cooking agent, and with seafood being delicate you don't need the extra help form acid.)  

We have talked about our surf we have talked about our turf witch by reading the start of this post serves as the focal of two meals number two being Mondays breakfast of steak and eggs.  But weather or not you start a meal thinking and planning another you want your mean to be rounded and staffing to everyone eating.  My husband and the fact a did not want to dirty to many dishes are both inspirations to our side dish along side our BBQ surf and Turf.  We love veggies in our house and I am always thinking of new ways to make our every day veggie new and exciting, I was also thinking we need a starch to round out the meal. Yet I did not want to typical pasta salad or potato so I looked at what I had saw whole wheat orzo and sun-dried tomato goat cheese though way not mix everything together and that is how we got our side dish with no real name!

Surf and  turf all based on Mondays breakfast was a hit with many layers of flavoes and textures that really worked well together. Heat, sweet, tangy creamy and fresh. My one tip would be ( be careful of your chili powder for all chili powders and different in heat and can really pack a sometime unwanted punch.) Yes the turf was the center of the meal because it will serve as the base to breakfast yet the real show stopper I would have to say was our nameless side dish.

A pasta salad of sorts that came from the ingredients I had and wanted to use and my imagination,  that being said there is no recipe or amounts called for it is mostly measurements by feel and eye based on what you not only have but what your own likes are.  In case you want to try and get the results seen above here is a list of what I used.

Whole wheat orzo
Garlic
Mushrooms 
Summer squash 
Zucchini
Sun dried tomato goat cheese 
Parmesan cheese
Chicken stock 
Salt and pepper 

Cooking is often less about an amount and much more about methods and personal tastes the side dish to our surf and turf speaks to that.  Have fun play with your food and I hope you continue adventures in the kitchen until my next post.

My mom always taught me to be a good host!!!!

  Hello again readers, after some time away from my blog I have returned excited and eager to share with you my love and passion for food!! After all who does not love food? From the every night dinners with the better half to a simple easy spread for the in laws. I will be coving it all not only with meals and spreads I have made, but the food taste textures and experiences I have come across in my new adventure moving to Quincy Mass! I hope you ready to dive on in because I sure am.

Being that I myself am on a new adventure of moving to a new place I thought I would share with you in my first post back a little last minute spread I had to put on for my in laws who where coming to see our new place for the first time. Nerve racking yes I know but let me help you get rid of your nerves with something simple easy and that can really be ready in a matter of minutes. First things first weather you know how to confidently cook or not last to next to last minute things happen, and lets be real your not going to slave away all day in the kitchen on something A) you just learned about and B) something that is a quick in and out 30 min type get together!! But they asked for snacks ?? Okay not a big deal you have two options A) buy a bag of chips some dip and throw it in a bowl done, yet nothing to be proud of! B) this is where you rely on the nearest "whole foods" or market that has a good selection of pre made items. Or even a good selection of olives and cheese. This is also where you rely on presentation presentation presentation!!!!!

First lets talk about presentation and location of your spread and we will get into what to serve a little later on.  Just because your serving food does not mean you have to have it in the dinning room or at the kitchen table, you want your guest to be comfortable weather it is a long event or just passing through.  Creating a nice flow allows you guest to grab food sit down talk and enjoy.  Using your every day block cutting bored is a great way to serve and present "your snacks" creating a casual rustic feel.  Another great tip is not everything has to match mix things up!! Dishes, glasses have fun with it remember this is a last minute casual visit, no one is expecting five stars. You can remain a host that is proud of your home and yet not go over what is expected....... Remember your time matters so find a balance that works for you.  Bringing me to what I think is a perfect "snack" menu for something like this.

What you serve can depend on many different things and if you try in factor in all possible factors it can be overwhelming, to help with the menu I factor in 3 things. 1) who your serving. 2) how many your serving and last 3) what time of day your spread is being served. When being the host of a get together it is often hard to please everyone 100%, yet if you know who your serving that can help guide your menu.  Now if your hosting say a baby shower or bridal shower for a friend have options!! If you have options most of the time your good!! Something like seem above is also good if the number if people changes at last minute. Another good tip is you don't have to buy enough of each thing for everyone buy enough for a portion of the number of guest for if you have options your guest are most likely to sample not just go for one and only one thing.  Time of the event is also important not just in what your serving but the types of food your serving.  For a night or evening event that your not serving a full dinner for you want something filling but not to heavy. Cocktail Shrimp is a choose because the protein is filling without being heavy, focus on one main item "cocktail shrimp" and pair that with grapes crackers and cheeses and just to cut through everything some nice briny olives!! And you have the perfect spread that looks like you spent all afternoon.  Until the next post have fun play with your food and get creative!!