Strange Canned Seafood

I'm working my way through the strange canned seafood my parents packed for me on my way back to America. The original list included:

• Smoked Oysters
• Crab
• Caviar
• Octopus.

I tried two recipes and knocked out two:

Roasted Chicken with Oyster and Wild Rice Stuffing
Ingredients:

• Chicken
• Stale bread
• 1 can smoked oysters
• onions
• celery
• basil and oregano (I had no sage)
• 1 cup wild rice
• 2 cups chicken stock

I'm secretly trying to achieve the amazing roast chicken texture that my sitemate gets every time. She's big on soaking the chicken in brine, which I did for about 2 hours. I softened the onions and celery, added cooked rice, and all the other ingredients.

Everything was great, though the chicken could have used some a flavor rub.

Pulpo a Fiera (Octopus Tapas)

I got the recipe off this blog. I was pleased, but I mostly attribute the recipe's success to the out-of-site good olive oil we have in Morocco.

• Can of Octopus
• Bay Leaf
• Onion
• Potato
• Paprika
• Olive oil
• Garlic

I boiled the octopus and set aside (though I couldn't figure out if that is required of canned octopus, I'm assuming not). Then in the same water, added onions and bay and boiled the potatoes. Dressed with olive oil mixed with garlic and paprika.



Bssahha!

Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

After my gin and tonic party last month, I had about a shot of New Amsterdam gin left in my pantry, and was absolutely determined to make something with the gin.  But I had never heard of any recipe using gin.  Rum, tequila, vodka; all of these I've cooked with, but never gin.  Even my cocktail book has no baking or cooking uses for gin.  But I am a determined girl, and I found something.

Yumsugar has a recipe for Gin and Tonic Cupcakes that I altered a bit for my own purposes (read: items available to me in the pantry), and have found an interesting little snack.

Here's what I came up with:

CUPCAKES
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tbsp sparkling water
lime zest
ICING
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 tbsp gin
2 tbsp powdered sugar
lime zest
lime slices dipped in sugar


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees farhenheit.


With a mixer, beat the egg whites with salt and lemon juice until risen like a soft merengue.

Beat in the sugar.  Fold in the flour.  Add sparkling water.

Bake 15-20 minutes.

Spoon cream cheese into a bowl, beat with gin and sugar and lime zest.

When cupcakes are cool, ice the tops and place a sugared lime slice on each.

Here is a link to some other suggestions for cooking with gin: (I can't vouch for any of them yet)
Chowhound

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

I've been thinking a lot about the Slow Food movement, and eating locally and eating seasonally.

This post is not about that.

We bought the blueberries out of season.  And they were good.  Very good.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 egg

1 slightly beaten egg white

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1/4 cup yogurt

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 pint blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Cream the sugar, oil, and zest.  Add the egg and egg white and mix.  Add the yogurt and cottage cheese and mix.  Add the vanilla and lemon juice and mix.
3. Slowly add the flour and baking powder, stirring until completely blended.
4. When the batter is smooth, add blueberries and fold gently.  Don't break up the berries.
5. If using paper muffin liners, place them in the muffin tin.  If not using liners, lightly spray the tin.  Fill the cups 3/4 full with the batter.  Place in the over and bake for 25 minutes, or until the center is set.

Good experiments (and bad)

So, to make up for the disappointing dinner disaster from last night, I hoped my lunch today would be better.  Let's start with last night.

Linguine and Clams with Tomato-Fennel Salad

I was really quite excited about it.  It sounded like an update on a recipe that my mom has cooked all my life, which is a linguine and clams with a lemon-garlic sauce.  On Saturday, she and I went to Soulard Market, and bought, among other things, fresh fennel.  Last night, home late from picking out fabric for a baby quilt for my cousin and critiquing my aunts new kitchen color scheme, I must have fallen back into my impatient cook mode, and that's probably why this meal didn't work so well.

• 2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes (about 4 large)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons (packed) chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
• 1/2 teaspoon (packed) grated orange peel

• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• 30 littleneck clams, scrubbed

• 12 ounces linguine

Combine tomatoes, chopped fennel, red onion, basil, olive oil and orange peel in medium bowl. Season salsa with salt and pepper.


Bring wine, fennel seeds, salt and garlic to boil in very large pot. Reduce heat, cover tightly and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Add clams. Increase heat to high, cover and cook until clams open, about 7 minutes (discard any clams that do not open.) Using slotted spoon, transfer clams to bowl. Strain clam cooking liquid through fine strainer; return to same pot. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1 2/3 cups, about 7 minutes. Add tomato salsa and bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, cook linguine in large pot with tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper; toss to blend. Add clams; stir over medium heat until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Just realized I skipped a step: simmering the salsa in the cooking liquid.  THAT would be why it had no flavor...  Le sigh.  That's what happens when you're impatient.

So for lunch today, I sauted some fresh veggies and dill, toasted my favorite nut bread, mixed some cream cheese and blue cheese, and ate those together.  Delicious, really.  Makes up in taste for last nights dulldullmeal.

It's all an experiment.