Crab Bisque with a Kick

There was a while when I was mildly obsessed with crab bisque. After having a particularly good variety at a restaurant in OC maryland, I tried desperately to find some in a can or jar at the grocery store that would even come close. Sadly, it wasn't really in the cards. However, on a whim I decided to try my hand at whipping some up today. The result was GOOD.

Please pardon the incredibly loose directions. As this was completely an experiment with some soon to expire canned crab meat, and because I threw together ingredients as I went, I wasn't really preparing to blog about it. This could be difficult to replicate.

Ingredients:

• Some canned crab meat
• About 1/4 C light cream
• About 1/2 C skim milk
• 2 canned whole/peeled plum tomatoes and about 1/2 C of their juice
• 1/2 small white onion
• 3 T margarine
• Dashes of sea salt, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, paprika, dried parsley, and cayenne pepper (careful w/ the cayenne...if you don't like heat, leave it out)
• About 2 T old bay seasoning
• 1/2 T garlic paste
  

Directions:

1. Melt the butter with the onions and tomatoes (hand crush the tomatoes as you add them in)
2. Add and simmer the garlic for about 1 minute
3. Add the cream, milk, and tomato juice (from can) and allow to simmer for about 1-2 minutes
4. Test, then add in the spices
5. Add in crab meat, stir and allow to simmer for about 3-4 minutes....or until desired consistency is reached
6. Sprinkle with additional parsley and serve

Chicken Pot Pie Tarts

Since I had leftover filling chilling in the fridge, I decided to try out an idea. What's better than chicken pot pie? Mini chicken pot pies, of course! Only problem is I didn't have any mini phyllo cups. So, instead, a little improv. Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

• 1 defrosted pie crust
• Chicken pot pie filling (see previous recipes)
• Baking spray
• A few pinches of parsley
  

Materials:

• A medium/small rimmed cup
• Mini-muffin baking tray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Spray the baking pan
3. Spread out the pie crust onto a flat surface (like a cutting board)
4. Press the cup rim side down into the dough and twist to cut a small circle
5. Repeat this step until you have enough circles for each muffin spot on your tray
6. Carefully put the dough circles into the muffin spots
7. Spoon out a little bit of filling into each
8. Sprinkle some parsley on top
   
9. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown

They will be very cute. Eat them anyway.

Shrimp Cappellini in a White Wine Tomato Sauce

I was recently inspired by a friend who made a similar dish during a snowstorm. Now that another storm is brewing, I decided to try it out. Without a recipe, I just kind of experimented, but again...if you use classic ingredients, it was to be good.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of dry cappellini (angel hair pasta)
• About 8-10 thawed jumbo shrimp
• 1 can whole peeled plum tomatoes (you will only use a few, save the rest for some marinara later!)
• 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
• A few handfuls of chopped green onion
• 1/4 C or so of olive oil
• 2 T margarine
• 1-2 T garlic paste
• About 1/4 C dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
• A few pinches of dried basil and parsley
• 1/3-1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
• Sea salt, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, and rosemary to taste (i.e. however much you want)

Directions:

Pasta:

1. Cook the pasta about 6-7 minutes, then set aside; toss w/ about 2 T olive oil to prevent sticking

Sauce:

1. In a medium sized pot, melt the butter, add the olive oil and onions, and simmer for about 2 minutes
2. Add in the garlic and simmer for about 1 minute
3. Add in the wine and allow to simmer/reduce for about 2 minutes
4. Add in 2-3 plum tomatoes and about 1/2 C of the tomato juice from the can and simmer/stir for about 3 minutes
5. Add in shrimp and simmer for about 2 minutes
6. Add in basil, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper
7. Test sauce and decide if you want more olive oil, tomato juice, seasonings, etc.
8. Toss with pasta and serve!

Linguine con Vongole

This is a VERY loose interpretation of the steps I took to create this, but just test the sauce as you go and you'll be fine!
Ingredients:

• 1 lb dry linguine (I only used half, next time I'd make 3/4ths)
• 1 15 oz can of minced "fancy" clams in own juices
• 1/4 C dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
• 4 T olive oil
• 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
• 2 T garlic paste
• 2-3 anchovies (I did not use this since I didn't have any, but apparently it's better if you do)
• Parsley, thyme, ground black pepper, ground white pepper, sea salt, crushed red pepper, and parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:

Linguine:

1. Boil about 3/4ths of the package of linguine for about 6-7 minutes (it will be slightly undercooked because it will be cooked a bit more when added to the sauce)
2. Set aside until sauce is ready for it

Sauce:

1. Heat olive oil and garlic in a large sauce pan for about 1 minute
2. Add the anchovies, onions and some salt/pepper/parsley/crushed red peppers and stir until anchovies have dissolved into the oil
3. Add the white wine and allow to reduce for about 1 minute
4. Add the juice from the clams and let simmer for about 5 minutes
5. Add clams and any additional amounts of spices to taste, cook about 1 minute
6. Add the al dente linguine, cook another 1-2 minutes or until linguine is desired consistency
7. Consume.

Chicken to the Pot to the Pie Part 2

Basically the same recipe, only this time a bit bigger, lighter and with a few veggie additions.


Changes:
1.) Used less condensed cream of chicken soup
2.) Used more milk, no light cream
3.) Used more broth
4.) Used about 1/2 C or so of flour to help thicken
5.) Used about half as much butter and added no salt
6.) Added in some corn
7.) Added in some sweet potatoes (which really created an interesting twist of flavor)
8.) Used egg beaters on the crusts instead of regular egg

The result?


Yum.

Apple Walnut Turnovers

Since I had some extra dough left over from mini-pot pie madness, I decided to put it to good experimental use. What ensued became Apple Walnut Turnovers.

Ingredients:

• 6ish T margarine
• 4ish T ground cinnamon
• 3ish T white sugar (although brown would be neat...would need more though)
• Sprinkle of nutmeg
• Sprinkle of ground cloves
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• About 1/2 C toasted crushed walnuts w/ a few sprinkles of sugar and cinnamon of its own
• 1 medium apple (gala in this case) peeled and chopped
• 3 T apple butter (only the best variety, thanks, Deav fam)
  
• About 3/4ths a pie crust
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375
2. Put chopped walnuts in a small bowl, spray with a little pam or coat with some vegetable oil, then mix with some sugar and cinnamon
3. Toast walnutsMelt the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds
4. Mix in sugar/spices
5. Peel/chop apple, then mix into butter/sugar/spices mixture
6. Add walnuts to apple mixture
7. Blend about 1 T melted margarine and 1 tsp white sugar into pie crust dough, then split in half
8. Put a layer of pie crust in the bottom of a small baking pan
9. Beat 1 egg then brush some over bottom layer of pie crust
10. Spread apple butter
    
11. Add filling
12. Put top layer of pie crust on top, pinch together, then brush with remainder of beaten egg mixture
13. Bake on 375 for about 10-15 min or until golden brown

Recommendations for Future Self/Others:

• Mix in some caramel
• Don't toast the walnuts for very long!
• Make the dough yourself (a sweeter variety than what was used)
• A la mode is never a bad idea for desserts!
  

Chicken Pot Pow...in your face

Exactly one week ago, I went over to Mattelina's house for some homemade chicken pot pie and some other wonderfulness. It was delicious. I'd been meaning to make it for a long time, but, as usual, was scared that I'd F it up. After witnessing it being made, I felt more assured...and after having it at their house, I began slightly obsessed and have been thinking about trying it out ever since.

So, it took me just one week to cave. From there, I went from inspiration to creation. This recipe is a hybrid of many I have read, including Mattelina's. Also, I'd like to share a few mistakes for you to avoid, as these caused the making of this goodness to take hours rather than about 1 as it should (including cooking).

Avoid...

1. Not having all of the ingredients ready to go (thus not having to go to the grocery store mid-creation)
   
2. Deciding to toss in another ingredient that should've been made at the same time as most of the rest
3. Forgetting to defrost the frozen pie crusts
4. Thinking you know how to judge cutting a pie crust to make it fit
5. Etc.

Warning: Most of the ingredients/directions are approximations, but just add as much as you want and test it out as you go to perfect. Also, I made a pot pie that could probably serve about 3 people...pretty small just in case it didn't turn out how I wanted. This was an experiment gone right.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 T butter/margarine
• 1/2 small white onion, chopped
• 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium sized potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 5 carrot sticks, chopped (I got pre-cut sticks b/c it was cheap and I didn't need much!)
• About an oz or so of scallions, chopped
• SMALL bunch of broccoli, chopped (See! I put some in, Deavo!)
• As many small pulled pieces of chicken from a ready made rotisserie chicken as you want (leftovers are always good)
• 3/4ths a can condensed cream of chicken soup w/ herbs
• 1/2 can of chicken gravy (or just make it yourself...more time)
• 1/4th can of chicken broth (this was low sodium...probably a good call considering the salt already in the condensed soup and gravy)
• A splash of light cream
• About 1/3rd cup milk (skim in this case)
• 2 pie crusts (although making it yourself is GOOD)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Sea salt, ground black pepper, white pepper, parsley, and thyme to taste

Directions:

Bottom Crust:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450
2. Put bottom layer of pie crust in bottom of a baking or casserole pan
3. Beat the egg in a small bowl, then brush some over bottom pie crust
4. Bake at 450 for about 8 minutes

Filling:

1. Melt butter in bottom of pot
2. Chop all vegetables
3. Cook onions, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, and scallions in the butter with a few dashes of salt/pepper for about 4-5 minutes on medium heat
4. Add condensed soup, gravy, chicken broth, light cream, and milk and boil for another few minutes until potatoes are done and sauce is at desired consistency (if you want it thicker, add more condensed soup/gravy; thinner, add more broth/milk...you do want it a little on the thinner side because it'll cook more in the oven)
5. Toss in the broccoli (I like to do this later b/c I hate overcooked broccoli)
6. Sprinkle in a few pinches of thyme, ground black pepper/white pepper/salt to taste
7. When bottom pie layer is finished, add in the filling
8. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees
9. Cover with top layer of pie crust and try to pinch together pie seams
10. Brush top layer of pie crust with remainder of beaten egg
11. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown
12. Take pictures as it cools
13. Post on own blog
14. Tell me