We had a nice meal the other night. This was the first attempt at lobster and it was a complete success.  This was also my first attempt at potato pancakes.  I thought I knew what they were, but when I looked at the recipes online my eyes were opened.  Apparently you mix your mashed potatoes with egg and cheese, etc.  Some people top them with sour cream, onion, etc. They were a nice change of pace and I was happy to use the leftover mashed potatoes.

On our most recent trip to Bonaire, we ate at Cuba Compagnie, where they offer al fresco dining with a bar and dancing indoors. They have amazing service and great food. One of the treats on the menu is their “famous” garlic soup. We tried the soup and we were sold!  Being from the great state of Maryland, I wanted to duplicate this soup, but make it even more decadent by adding crab and Old Bay.  I have made my version of this soup several times since our last trip to Bonaire and it’s always a big hit.

Getting the garlic ready to roast.

Saute the roasted garlic then add some flour, let it cook on low for a bit. Then add chicken broth and sherry, let it simmer a while. When the soup is finished, add 1/2 pound lump crab meat, cream and Old Bay, let it simmer a couple more minutes to heat through. Serve with a little shake of Old Bay on top. If you want the full recipe, let me know.  

This is a strange looking picture. It is a clear glass bowl on top of my used cutting board.  This was the Crab Imperial before the crab was added. One-half pound crab, parsley, mayo, egg, chopped roasted red bell pepper, Old Bay, a little lemon juice. Mix it all together and pile it on top of the prepared lobster tails.

Preparing the lobster tails went fairly well for my first attempt. I got these beauties from Chicago Steak Company. They were the best I’ve ever had, but then again I have nothing to compare them with. Allow them to thaw. Using your kitchen shears cut down the middle of the shell. I watched YouTube for a tutorial. I recommend you do the same on your first try. This is not as neat and tidy as I expected. Remove the vein. Ease the meat out of the shell and set it on top of the shell. Bake for a bit, remove from oven, pile on the Crab Imperial and bake a little longer.

Then you present the lobster to your guest, for a visual, then remove the meat from the shell and place it on the plate and return the plate to your guest.  Serve both the soup and the lobster with lemon wedges and a can of Old Bay close at hand.

 

I just happened to have some very nice California Reserve filets from Flannery Beef on hand and a bottle of marsala on the counter and I set out on a quest to make a special meal. As it turns out, this meal is even more special than I had hoped, considering it took four pans (and five if you follow the instructions exactly). Clean up is a chore if you hand wash your pots and pans — but it was worth all the work. Rachael Ray’s recipe (and episode!) can be found here. 

Use Flannery Beef to help you and a loved one ring in 2017.

I know what you’re thinking: that’s a whole stick of butter! And I’m still two tablespoons short! I’m in too deep to leave the house now — maybe a friend can come to the rescue.  Now we know, this meal isn’t for the diet minded. But come on, it’s going to taste great.

Add Roasted Garlic, Butter, Cheese, Cream to mashed potatoes.

Cheesy Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes…Yum!

P.S. My friend came through with the emergency butter. Thank you!

Shallots galore in this meal. Sharpen your chopping knife!

That’s a lot of shallots!

Caramelized shallots. Low and slow!

This is an amazing green bean recipe.  Chopped Shallots, Butter, Chicken Stock… Grandma would approve!

Marsala sauce. Yum! Just read the recipe and trust the process. Keep the heat pretty low.

These beautiful filets. This is probably the most tender filet I’ve ever had anywhere. Six ounces is plenty. I recommend you try Flannery Beef’s filet for your special occasion.

Looking good!

Verdict:  Yum!  Everything was excellent!

I’ll make this again, but considering the amount of work and and the amount of butter used in this meal it will have to be a very special occasion. Thank you Rachael Ray for a fabulous meal.

 

It has been a mild autumn so far, but we’ve had a few rather cool days. I thought it was a nice time to make a pot of chili. I used organic ground pork from Mom’s Organic Market, one large onion, garlic, a jalapeño, a can of cannellini beans, a jar of crushed tomatoes, and McCormick chipotle chili powder. It was nice and spicy and turned out great. (P.S., I use organic products, including produce, whenever possible. I’m not going to keep saying it’s organic, but you can assume so. I’ll always say something about the meats I use.) 

I made the cornbread from a box of Jiffy — it’s an easy enough cheat. I followed the instructions, added a little sugar (we like it sweet in my part of the country) and I added a single serving can of corn, drained. I don’t bake and I’m not big on breads. Cornbread is great, but I’ve never made it before. It turned out just the way I was hoping! And I enjoyed the added surprise of the occasional bit of corn. My man kept asking if I was sure I made it. I guess it was unbelievably good, Umph!

I also made candied pecans for the arugula salad. I don’t really know how to do this, so I’ve created my own method. In this case, I put butter and brown sugar in a hot pan, let that melt a little and add the nuts. Sometimes it’s nice to use ground red pepper, ground black pepper and cinnamon.

Yum!

No, really, YUM!

The dressing for the arugula salad is lemon juice, honey, Trader Joe’s California Reserve Olive Oil, salt and pepper.  Whisk to emulsify.

 It might not look like much, but this salad delivers big in the flavor department.

Top the chili with a dollop of sour cream and a shake of chili powder, and voila!  This meal provides a big bang for the buck.

Enjoy!

I love cooking in the summer. Thanks to the variety of beautiful fresh produce, cooking and eating come naturally to me during that season. When the cool weather begins I have to think a little harder. I’ve been seeing pears every time I go to the grocery store the past few weeks and I started thinking of ways I’d like to use them. I’m not the most creative cook, so I looked to the internet for inspiration. I decided I’d like to make pears with blue cheese and walnuts.

I found a recipe from Ina Garten on Food Network called Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese. I like that she adds dried cranberries (but opted out this time). I also noticed that Ina peels the pears before roasting them. I’ll try this in the future, but for today I didn’t care about the texture. Her recipe also calls for port wine and apple cider, but I wanted to keep my pears simple.Overall, the recipe looks great, and I’ll definitely try her pears in the future — but I wanted to try my own ideas first.

Then I found Melissa Phy’s Baked Pears with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Honey.  I liked that she used thyme, so I added thyme to my recipe.

I used two very ripe bartlett pears, natural local honey and organic black walnuts from Mom’s Organic Market. I also used this fabulous Grand Noir blue cheese imported from Germany, voted Best of Class at the World Championship Cheese Contest 2016 – I found this one at Harris Teeter. See if you can find a small wedge and give it a try. I’m a big fan of Saint Agur blue and I like this as well — maybe a little better.

I cut the pears in half. Salt, pepper, thyme. P.S. ladies, if you’re expecting your man to come home any minute, don’t leave nuts in a cute little bowl. Mine ate half the nuts before I could stop him! No problem, everything worked out fine. I added the nuts and cooked the pears at 350 for 30 minutes. Just as they were starting to smell nice, the timer went off.

Looking good.  I topped with blue cheese and popped them back into the oven for 10 minutes.

Finally, I drizzled them with a little honey.

Verdict:  Underwhelming.  They were not as sweet as I would have liked.  Disliked the skin. I guess Ina knew what she was doing!

What I’d do next time:  Remove skin, add a little sugar and butter before baking.

Pro tip: The next day I had one for breakfast.  I added a little butter and sugar before I put it into the microwave and it turned out perfect!