Month: September 2015

Zesty Potato Salad and Cebollitas Asadas (Grilled Green Onions)

Two for one day. Both recipes are great for a BBQ party. The salad you can make ahead. The green onions should be done a half hour or so before you want to BBQ them.

ZESTY POTATO SALAD www.cooks.com

4 cups cooked potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup Miracle Whip
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon horseradish* (optional)
dash of green Tabasco or red pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Simmer potatoes until fork tender. Remove skins, and cut into cubes. At this point I usually cover the warm potatoes with the cider vinegar and celery seed (that’s how my Mom did it…LOL)
In a bowl, combine celery, eggs, potatoes, onions, vinegar* (see above note) and seasonings. Toss lightly to combine.
In a separate small bowl, mix mustard, and salad dressing. Stir into potatoes.
Refrigerate before serving.
Variation: Add cooked and crumbled bacon bits to the salad dressing and proceed as above.

Cebollitas Asadas (Grilled Green Onions)

Cebollitas is Spanish for little onions. It’s a Latin staple when it comes to grilling. These onions when grilled become soft, fragrant, sweet, and caramelized with a salty and tangy flavor.
Ingredients:
20 spring onions or large scallions (about 4 bunches) washed and trimmed
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Salt
1 lime, juiced (optional)
Directions:
Preheat grill.
Place onions on a large sheet of foil with butter and soy sauce. Seal onions securely in the foil. To do this lay the onions in the middle of the foil sheet, and fold in each side of the foil. Do the same with the remaining two sides. Wrap the foil around the onions like a present.
Grill onions or scallions on a rack set 5 to 6 inches over grill, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from foil and place on the grill (across the rungs) and grill on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes on each side until softened and lightly charred.
This recipe can also be made in the broiler about 3 inches from heat for 10 to 12 minutes.
Broil open for 6 to 8 minutes more until a desired char is achieved.
Transfer onions or scallions to a platter and sprinkle with salt and garnish with lime juice (if using).
www.muybuenocookbook.com

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Cindy’s Pumpkin Pie

Just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving, Larry came across this recipe from allrecipes.com. He has been trying to perfect his pie crust recipes with some success. The problem here is finding the right flour, as whole wheat flower doesn’t taste that great, especially with pumpkin! Finding real pumpkin here in Mexico is a challenge except in late September or early October when we do have something called calabaza Halloween… He bought a smallish one and roasted it in the oven for about an hour at 325 and then scooped out the seeds, followed by the pulp. He put the pulp in the refrigerator overnight to allow it to cool. Instead of the separate spices you could use Pumpkin Pie Spice which is not always available here*

The secret to this recipe seems to be the vanilla ice cream… Thanks CindyAnn whoever you are!

Cindy’s Pumpkin Pie

  • 1 1/2 pints vanilla ice cream softened
  • 4 eggs (original recipe called for 3)
  • 1 3/4 cups pumpkin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon*
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
  • 2 – 9 inch pie shells (Larry used only 1 and filled it up)

Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Place the ice cream near the oven to soften.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin, sugar, salt, cinnamon. ginger and nutmeg OR pumpkin pie spice. Mix in the softened ice cream until smooth. Pour filling into the pie shell. (If you have two much filling, place the remainder in Pyrex cups and bake separately).

Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 175 degrees C and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes, or until filling is set.

Potatoes Cambray

Potatoes Chambray with Rosemary
This baked rosemary potato recipe is so quick and easy to put together. The flavor of the rosemary, combined with the olive oil and seasonings, make this a very tasty side dish.
1 1/2 kg young yellow potatoes, peeled ( 2-3 pounds)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 Tablespoons rosemary, fresh minced
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 pieces of garlic..why not?
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line an oven proof dish with aluminum foil.
Wash and peel the potatoes. For years now I hardly ever peel my potatoes…just wash. Dry them with a paper towel and place them into a mixing bowl.
Stir the olive oil together with the rosemary, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper and drizzle onto the potatoes. Toss to coat them as evenly as possible.
Place the potatoes into the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the potatoes over at 20 minutes so both sides of the potatoes brown.

Traditional Flemish Waterzooi

Dont you just love that word, waterzooi ? We came across this on our trip to Brugges in 2010 when we ate at De Halve Maan Brewery and again at a very nice little restaurant called  Vlaamsche Pot. Its traditionally a fish soup/stew.

IMG_0005abcdefghijSince I had some mussels and clams left over from a meal the day before, I sought out a recipe. Behold…Pinterest again. Their recipe called for several types of fish. I like fish but did not want to search out different fish, so I altered their recipe as I usually do to some extent. My version is below.

Flemish Waterzooi
Ingredients
• 10,5 oz. (300 g) potatoes, peeled
• 2 tbsp (30 g) butter
• 1 celery stalk, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely sliced
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 leek, finely sliced
• 7/8 cup (7 fl oz./200 ml) fish stock (I used chicken stock)
• 1 fish filet of your choice (I used tilapia) cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3,5 oz. (100 g) mussels, cleaned
• 1 egg yolk
• 2/5 cup (3,5 fl oz./100 ml) cream
• 3,5 oz. (100 gm ) peeled shrimp
• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
• Salt & freshly cracked pepper
Heat the butter in a frying pan. Add the celery, carrot and onion and cook the vegetables for 3-5 minutes, or until they are soft and glazed. Now add the leeks and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the stock to the vegetable mixture and allow it to infuse for 3 minutes.
Gently poach the fish fillets in the broth for 3-5 minutes. Add the mussels after 1 minute.
Remove the seafood from the pan once the mussels have opened and set aside. Strain the stock into a saucepan. Set the vegetables aside to use later.
Whisk the egg yolk with the cream in a bowl.
Put the stock back on the heat and, once it reaches boiling point, add the cream and egg mixture to thicken the stock and create a sauce. Now mix well with a whisk and make sure the sauce does not come to the boil again. Add the peeled shrimp and half the chives and stir.
Place the fish pieces and seafood in a serving bowl along with the vegetables and potatoes. Pour the sauce over it. Garnish with the remaining chives.

Serve with a crusty bread and cold beer…preferably Belgian.