Girls with "Mussels"

Spring break was really nice 'cause we got to spend quality time with Lexi...I always love to cook for her friends. This has always been the place the kids know there will always be a meal when they drop by...The Princess in the towel is my baby girl, and visiting is her very cute friend Jackie. I wanted to make something family style and Lexi loves when I make my Mussels in Broth. On the weekends, Costco carries the nicest Mussels around, & I don't mind buying the big bag because there will be about 15 to 20% waste, (damaged shells and dead guys!).

Since Mussels are now mostly farmed, they are usually free of the beard, (which is hard to pull off), and they are not sandy. While I am going through them I keep them on Ice and I keep the cleaned ones on ice. Discard any cracked shells and any dead ones...how do you know it's a dead one? If the shell is open, when you tap it with another Mussel and/or try to pinch it closed and it doesn't close right away...goodbye, good luck!

This is how we do it:

A big Crusty bread

1 LB Spaghetti

Cook pasta according to package

You can prepare the pasta about 20 minutes ahead of time and leave it at room temp.

1Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Large or 2 small Leeks finely sliced, (Cleaned of sand ), or you can use 1/2 cup minced Onion, or 2 or 3 chopped Shallots

3 Cloves Garlic sliced thin

2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock or Broth

1/2 Bottle Dry White Wine...I use Pinot Grigio

2 Tbl Unsalted Butter

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1 Bag Mussels

1/4 Chopped Parsley

Squeeze 1/2 lemon

Heat up the oil in a nice big pot.

Put in your Leeks (or Onions, or Shallots) and cook them till they are tender and just caramelizing.

Add the Garlic and cook till softened, DON'T LET IT BURN or you have to start over.

Add the Broth and the Wine and cook it down so it is reduced by Half.

Add your butter.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Let it reduce a little more about 5 minutes.

Add the Mussels and Cover.

Cook from 3 to 6 Minutes. Look to see that they are open and you are done....Take it off the heat.

***If you see any closed shells discard them, they are no good.

Pour the Pasta into a big platter with a lip or sides and immediately pour everything in the Mussel pot over the pasta.

This dis is best served hot.

Garnish with the Parsley and the squeeze of Lemon.

Serve with the big Crusty Bread for dipping. Just tear off pieces for everyone.

This is a great dish to entertain with...

It is not as hard as it seems, I promise....go for it!

In A Galaxy Far Far Away...Oh and there is food too!

Space Shuttle lift off!

Yummy Skewers!

In the first picture above, look at the car in front of the garage and have your eye follow up... you will see a short white line on a diagonal between the Palm trees...that is the lift off of the shuttle tonight. In person, it was much larger, you could see the engine flames and watch the SRBs, (Solid Rocket Boosters), (are you impressed yet?), separate! This is the 3rd shuttle we have seen from our house and trust me...it's AWESOME every time.

But I digress...let's talk about something here on earth! Do you like my marinated skewers? They are so pretty and taste delicious...an excellent hors d'oeuvre.

***a note about the cheese...I used Boconcini, these are little Mozzarella Balls...if you can't find them, cut up a large Mozzarella Ball into pieces the size of the grape tomatoes.

As far as amounts, I wing it... I make as many as I can get out of a package of the Tortellini.

****A trip to your local Italian market would be worth the trip on this one, and you might find alot of other great quality products while you are there! Be adventurous!

You will need:

2 Days Ahead

6" Skewers

64 oz = 8 cup container with a lid

1 Pint container of Grape Tomatoes

1 16oz container of Boconcini or 1 to 2 balls of Mozzarella cut up as noted

1 Package of best quality large Tri Color Tortellini

1 Nice big bunch of fresh Italian Basil or 2 Pre-packed fresh Basil

1 Bottle of Paul Newman's (May he rest in peace!) Olive Oil Vinaigrette

In the container put the Cheese, Tomatoes, and the entire bottle of dressing.

Put the lid on and give it a shake.

Put it in the fridge and over the next 2 days, every time you open the fridge give the whole thing a good shake and turn.

On the morning you are going to serve, cook the Tortellinis according to the directions on the package.

Drain the Tortellini and rinse with cool water.

Drain again and put the Tortellini in the container with the Tomatoes and the Cheese. Shake and turn at least twice during the day.

Pick pieces of leaves off the Basil to put on the ends of the skewers as shown in the picture.

Follow my suggestion for skewering as shown in picture.

They are very filling...Enjoy!

Lamb-y-Kins!

I know it has been more than a week faithful readers...Mom had some health issues, but as usual she came through with flying colors and lookin' for a party! Mikee, Alexis, & I also had colds and we kept Mom on the other side of the house...luckily all the hand washing, Lysol and quarantining worked...we are back on track!
Before I start with the recipe for the most wonderful lamb chops...I want to tell you about meeting the Boar's Head Man at the market. His name is John Colucci (Nice Guy) and I asked him a few questions...We talked about storing cold cuts such as Boar's Head and he suggested taking the meat or cheese out of the store wrap and putting it in plastic wrap...tightly...it will last longer. I do this and it really works! Remember, Boar's Head products have little or no preservatives. He also told me about the new line of what they call "Old World" products... I tried the Goat Cheese and the Manchego Cheese from this line and they were wonderful.
I will always tell you about great products that I have used and/or tasted.
Okay...on to the Lamb chops
We are grillin'!
We get the Australian rack of Lamb at Costco. They usually have 8 ribs (chops) to a pack and are already Frenched, ( that is when the bones are cleaned all around and in between, this becomes your handle!).
Before cooking it is important to wrap the bones of the rack in foil so they don't burn. We will also be putting a coating or crust on the top of the fat back of the ribs. There are 2 phases to this recipe. It involves a little time, but it is so worth it!
Phase 1
***I am going to give you the coating ingredient amounts per rack, just double, triple , etc. according to how many racks you are doing.
The racks come vacuumed packed.
The next step do in the sink, there is alot of liquid in the package.
You need a very sharp knife, you are going to slice through the wrapping in the middle of the rack. So now you have about 4 rib racks. Get them out of the plastic and pat them very dry.
Salt and Pepper the racks all over.
For the Crust:
1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1 Tbl Grainy Dijon Mustard
1 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tsp Fresh Rosemary finely chopped
1 Clove Garlic grated
In a small bowl mix all above with a fork until it is all moistened like a paste (it will be on the dry side).
Spread this mixture on the fat back of the racks and press so it sticks.
Let the lamb rest like this on a tray to get the chill off.
****Remember cold meat toughens up on a grill, always bring meat to room temp first
Heat the grill 400 degrees and we will use indirect heat.
Place the racks standing up with the bones leaning on each other, you can use more foil to help with this.
Cook 40 minutes cover down...Don't touch.
Remove from grill.
Do not shut down the grill.
Phase 2
Put the racks on a tray remove foil.
Rest 10 minutes.
Now cut the racks into individual chops. Alot of the crust will come off when you cut, but it will have done it's job adding all that flavor, yum!
Just 1 minute per side.
Remove from the grill cause we are all starving and our mouths are watering!
Enjoy!

Salt 'n Peppa Salmon....Very Basic. Very Good.Very Healthy!

We are always marinating and coating cooked salmon with all kinds of things....well, I decided to go very basic with a really great piece of fish. The better your product the less you have to do to it...let it shine. In this case I used a half a side of Salmon, I picked it because it was the nicest piece of fish that day, even better than the Wild Salmon. What I look for in a fillet is color, glossiness, firmness, and that it does not smell strong. Let's put it this way if you smell a strong fishy odor and it doesn't smell fresh like the ocean, forget it...this goes for all fish. This piece did not have skin, if your piece does, don't worry...right after grilling it will peel right off.

***A note for Salmon skin lovers, the skin will get crispy on one side, when you peel it off, put it back on the grill soft side down, (the side that was against the fish), 'till the skin is crispy. Then you can crumble it and use it as a garnish. I did not oil this fish, Michael likes to use the High Heat Cooking Spray for Grilling. It makes all the difference and the fish doesn't stick. Mikee uses this product exclusively on the grill now.

***A note for you singles...this can also be made in a small portion just adjust your ingredients

Let's get cookin'...

1 Full or Half side of Salmon

***Salt and Pepper amounts are flexible as to you liking and size of fish

1 1/2 Tbls Kosher Salt (you need to use a nice size crystal for this)

1 Tbls Fresh Ground Pepper

Lemons for Garnish and juicing on you cooked fish

Heat up the grill to 400

Sprinkle the fish on both sides with the Salt, then the Pepper

Spray the fish on both sides

Cook on direct heat for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish and on how well your gang likes it....if you are not sure just stick a knife in the fish and gently check it.

Plate with Lemon wedge.

That's the whole deal...swear!

***I like to serve this with a mixture of Low Fat Sour Cream, Salt, Pepper, and Fresh Chopped Dill and you can throw some Capers on top! Yummy!

Two Very Easy Sides

Warm Caprese Salad on Garlic Toast....

Blue Cheese Wedge

My gang loves the well rounded meal (and a well rounded Mommy! LOL!). We try to have a protein, a starch, and something green.

I like to serve the Warm Caprese Salad on Garlic Toast with chicken or fish. And the Blue Cheese Wedge with a steakhouse dinner or Lamb Chops.

Let's talk about the Caprese first...Many of us have had the Mozzarella Tomato and Basil Salad when dining out...this is a variation. I like to get a really crusty bread, a round Italian country bread or Chibata. I roast the Tomatoes, but you can also use Sun Dried Tomatoes packed in oil.

Fresh Mozzarella is key for it's soft texture...it will be juicy, but it will be well worth it for the milky texture. Mozzarella comes in many different textures from very dry (such as pre-shredded) and very moist, freshly made...these all have different applications. You have and will see me use this cheese in different ways. The fresh Garlic cloves will be rubbed on the toasted bread and you can't duplicate the aroma!

Let's get Caprese!

Olive Oil Cooking Spray

Round Crusty Italian Bread sliced to your liking

Pealed Garlic Cloves, the amount depends on how many slices of bread you have

A nice Bunch of Basil sliced in to thin ribbons

2 to 3 Ripe Tomatoes Sliced Thin

Fresh Mozzarella, if you don't have access to fresh, a close second is the Sargento Fresh Mozzarella Ball or similar product thinly sliced and pulled apart into pieces

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pre-heat oven to 425

You can roast the Tomatoes ahead of time...Spray a foil lined baking sheet and lay out your tomato slices

Roast until they are caramelized about 15-20 minutes, remove, drain off any liquid, and cool on a plate or tray.

Line the baking sheet with a new piece of foil and spray

Pre-heat the oven to 425

Place the bread dry on the sheet and toast...KEEP an eye on it so it doesn't burn

Remove from oven leaving the bread on the baking sheet...Leave oven ON.

Cool a little so that you can touch it

Rub the fresh Garlic Clove on the Bread

Lay your slices of Tomato, Basil, pieces of Cheese, in that order

Sprinkle a little Salt and Pepper over top

Put back in oven just 'till Cheese starts to melt but keeps it's shape about 3-4 minutes

remove from oven and give a small drizzle of Olive Oil

Delicioso!

Traditional American Wedge of Lettuce

The wedge is really making a comeback! The chilled Iceberg Lettuce and creamy dressing just says Yum! Mikee like the whole Blue Cheese thing with his meat!

This is so easy it will make you cheer!

This will serve 4

1 Firm Heavy Iceberg Lettuce Cut into 4 Wedges and rinsed well...dry on a paper towel

1 Bottle Ken's Blue Cheese Dressing

1 Container of Blue Cheese Crumbles

Pour dressing on Wedge and as much or as little as you like.

Sprinkle Crumbles to taste.

What was that? 3 whole minutes?! It looks and tastes sumptuous.

The Wedge is great with any kind of dressings and toppings (Even low fat dressings).

Say hello to an old classic!