Rum Poached Scallops with a Roasted Pepper - Pineapple Pesto

There was one serious problem with this dish...  


I made these as appetizers, only two for each of us.  We wanted a dozen.


The inspiration for these came from One of my favorite bloggers, Penny from LAKE LURE COTTAGE!  Penny is an extraordinary cook.  Hardly a Penny come lately to the foodie fads that brought many of us to blogdom.  Penny has been cranking out top quality gourmet items for decades.  Some day when I grow up, I want to be half the cook she is. She did a column on AN ELEGANT APPETIZER.  Her Champagne Poached Scallops with Red Pepper Pesto sounded wonderful.  But, of course I did't have all the correct ingredients, so I doctored her recipe up just a bit...


First, no champagne.  While Jackie and I both have been known to occasionally have an adult beverage (on rare occasions), we are not fans of the bubbly.  Too sweet and honestly gives us a headache.  But I did have a little RUM (go take a look at my sister site, A Kansas Foodie in the Virgin Islands.  Today's post gives a very detailed explanation for why I am cooking with so much RUM!  I also had a fresh pineapple.  Pineapple adds such a wonderful flavor to almost anything.  Certainly a little pineapple in the pesto will make this more fun...


So, here's what I did to Penny's Elegant Appetizer...


I actually had a little left over bread that we had saved from eating out the night before.  Just the right size, a sweet baguette, ready to be sliced and toasted (with a little garlic infused EVOO).


To make the pesto, I roasted 1/2 a red pepper...

Roasting a pepper is easy, and adds an extra layer of sweetness to your pepper.  It draws out the natural sugars in the pepper and makes a normally bland pepper (the bell) a much more full of flavor ingredient.  It is easiest to grill them, but without a grill, I just used the stove top method in a dry skillet.  Just keep rotating and you get this look...


Put the hot pepper into a plastic ziplock bag and allow the pepper to cool.  The skin will peal easily, leaving just the meat of the pepper and none of the charred skin.


I had bought a fresh pineapple (one of my very favorite fruits).  I took an equal amount of pineapple to the pepper, added a couple cloves of garlic, and a small amount of fresh ginger.  Put all this into a mini chopper (one of the few items I brought from home), and bingo bango bongo... PRESTO, I had Pesto.


This pesto was really good.  I added a carefully measured 3/4 of a dollop to the toasted sliced baguette.


I had about half a cup left of the pesto, so I tested the "everything tastes good on a Ritz" theory and sure enough... This tasted great on a Ritz.


While all of this was going on, I also worked on the scallops... I chose 4 from my big bag of frozen sea scallops (20 pounds) I had bought a few weeks ago.

1/4 cup CRUZAN Pineapple Rum, the juice of half a lime
and my now famous Lime Zest Sea salt (2/3 rds zest to 1/3 rd salt)


I gently poached the scallops in the simmering rum.  About 6 minutes per side, until they are no longer translucent.  I removed the scallops, and turned up the heat on the rum/lime juice mix.  I reduced the sauce by more than half, and brushed that sauce on the top of the scallops...





Toasted baguette slices...


Topped by the pesto...


Topped by the scallops...


Topped by a sprinkling of grated Asiago cheese


Topped by a sprinkling of Lime Zest salt


Followed by listening to your wife bitch for HOURS because she only got two (they were only supposed to be appetizers).  These really were among the best things I have made since becoming island bound.  I could well imagine these with shrimp in place of the scallops, or how about toasting a little crab meat on the baguette, and then topping with the pesto.  this is a terrific combination and a perfect appetizer.


...

Caribbean Baked Pasta Chicken - or what to do with one of those rotisserie chickens

I was inspired to make this recipe from a post by Jenn of SLIM SHOPPIN'!  Jenn's blog is great fun to read.  Anyone with as big an ass as mine, needs to read over her calorie conscious meals and follow more of her advice.  Boldly putting it out there to the world her struggles with weight and choices, it is worth your time to get to know Jenn. 


A few days ago, Jenn published her take on an ITALIAN CHICKEN PASTA BAKE.  Her dish was inspired by Giada from the food Network.  Mine was inspired by Jenn, plus the half of the rotisserie chicken i had sitting in my fridge.  One of the frustrating aspects of grocery shopping is the siren call of the $5.99 fully cooked chicken, complete with very tasty seasonings and cooked to perfection.  The frustrating part is that this bargain is located right next to the raw chickens that price in at $9.99 or more.  Much as i would like to roast a chicken, the cheap skate in me can not justify paying more for less.


So, weekly I am buying a rotisserie chicken, and I am going to start a new series on what to do with your bird...


Today, I made a very tasty Mac and Cheese stuffed with Chicken!  And of course, I added a bit of Caribbean tastes.... Which I guess means at some point I added rum... 


but I am ahead of myself... Here's what I did...

1/2 a rotisserie fully cooked Chicken, diced
2 cups Large shells Pasta (cooked al dente) 
1/2 sweet Onion, minced
1 Roma Tomato, diced small
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cups Mozzarella cheese, divided

And to make it Caribbean...


1/4 Cup Pineapple rum
1/2 diced Mango (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup fresh diced Pineapple


Precook the shells for only 5 minutes in boiling water.  They are just barely done at this stage.  The baking process will finish cooking them.


While that is cooking, I start dicing... and dicing... and dicing.  the Mango, pineapple and chicken should all be diced to @ the same size.  The onion, tomato and garlic need to be diced smaller.


Combine everything except the cheese and shells into a sauté pan and sauté away!  Simmer until the the liquid from the rum is reduced.  About 15 minutes.  Add 1 cup of the cheese to the pan and mix.  Combine this mixture into a small casserole dish and top that with the remaining cheese.

And bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes!

Until you get that beautiful toasted cheese look!





And I added just a bit of the Lime Zest salt I have talked about recently...


This made an EXCELLENT lunch!  I had enough left over for a second lunch (today), and I also served a smaller serving for a side dish for dinner.  I LOVED this.  the sweetness of the pineapple and mango, combined with the cheese and chicken so well.  It was very pretty and filling!

Keep coming back, soon I will tell you about what I did to these Shrimp that I served with the Caribbean baked Pasta Chicken!...

Salmon Sauté with an Orange-Mango Rum Sauce and a Zesty Lime-Salt Garnish

Another Friday in Lent means that I am furthering the cause of Christ on Earth by serving a fish recipe to my practicing Catholic wife.  Early last week, my blog buddy Chris from DAD COOKS DINNER posted a recipe for a Salmon poached in a Tequila Orange Sauce (click HERE for that recipe).


Before I get to my interpretation of his recipe, a word about Mike...


Mike's posts are always drool worthy.  His photos and recipes really inspire.  But also, his commentary is always clear and instructive.  He is able to explain his choices and techniques in a way that all cooks will be able to learn from.  I "follow" over a hundred blogs.  There are three bloggers that I read who are ready for a cookbook deal right now (for whatever my opinion is worth).  Mike is one of them.  Take a moment, read over a few posts from DAD COOKS DINNER and you will be hooked on the quality of Mike's blog.


Easy to cook, and full of flavor on it's own, I love Salmon!  Mike's recipe calls not only for Tequila, but also a  chili powder rub.  I had neither in my pantry, so cooking as listed was not an option.  BUT, CRUZAN Mango rum is a wonderful cooking booze.  Adds the tropical Caribbean taste that I am having so much fun with lately.  And as to the chili rub... Well, much as i love a good hot spice, occasionally a sweet taste is good too.  besides, it is Lent, i am making this recipe for my wife's pleasure and she would enjoy this sweet fish without the added spice (but wait till Lent is over, there will come a day when there will be Hell to pay).


So, here's what I did...


2 nice sized pieces of Salmon (about 6 ounces each)


2 TBS Butter
2 TBS CRUZAN Mango Rum
Juice of 1/2 Orange
Juice of 1 Lime


Zest from 1 lime
1 teaspoon Sea Salt

  
I had such a good result last week when I poached the tilapia, I decided to poach the salmon in the sauce, instead of pouring the sauce on after the fish is cooked.  So, I melted the butter and added the rum and juices.  I cooked the salmon skin side up for 4 minutes, and then flipped skin side down for another 4 minutes.  The skin had just barely started to crisp up, and was very easy to peal off when I was ready to serve.


The Lime-salt zest is a Booby Flay trick... Just zest the Lime, add about half the amount of salt and it pretties up the dish, as well as a seasoning.


And talk about good!  I really liked the taste, and all the different flavorings.  The citrus added a punch to the fish that was unique and a delight.  HIGHLY recommend this dish!


Thanks Mike, this was a real winner!
...

CASATIELLO - Bread Baker's Apprentice #4

OK,  the challenge continues. I will be trying new island recipes, and new ingredients when possible, but also I plan to continue my progression as a learning cook. I promised myself on New Year's Eve that I would be trying to learn more as a bread baker, and if possible to cook through the"The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread" book. I brought three cookbooks with me to my island adventure. The "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" book was one. It is now week four of my island adventure, and here is week four of my bread baking experience.

This bread is loaded with a rich dry salami sausage, as well as stuffed with LOTS of Swiss Cheese!  Came out just a little salty, due to the salt cure on the salami.  Each slice of the bread tastes like a sandwich  by itself!

I have had some challenges with my bread lately.  I made some Moomie Buns and a pizza crust that just was not right.  With a bit of help from my friends, I decided that it was the batch of flour I was using.  It is very humod here in paradise, and I am afraid the flour got too dense.  I was using flour that came with the apartment.  It was a full bag, unopened.  I am cheap, and just did not want to replace it.  I am guessing that it has been here awhile. The flour is still usable, but I have sifted the flour first prior to measuring.  Made a big difference from just scooping from the bag.  In the future, no big box store for me for the flour.  Buy a  bag and use it the same or next day.  Dough freezes.  It will work better.  I have made moomie buns three times since arriving, so I always have an easy recipe to use up my fresh flour.

But I am digressing... Back to this wonderful bread ---

This is a rarity in the book.  A bread that does not have an overnight step in the baking.  You can finish this bread in only about 6 hours.

First, make a sponge -

• 1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
• 1 TBS instant yeast
• 1 cup Buttermilk Lukewarm, 90 degrees, no more than 100)

Stir together the dry ingredients.  Add the buttermilk slowly and whisk to a pancake like batter.  Cover the bowl and allow to ferment at room temps for 1 hour.  The goop will foam and bubble at the end of the hour.  shows the yeast is working.

While the sponge is fermenting, dice the salami into small cubes and gently sauté to crisp up the edges.

To Make the dough...

• 4 ounces dry cured salami
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 TBS granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 cup coarsely shredded Swiss Cheese

In a big bowl, mix the flour, salt and sugar together.  Add the eggs and the sponge from teh first step and mix until all the ingredients formed a coarse ball.  dribble in small amounts of milk to gather the stray bits of dough.

Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes to allow glutens to develop.

Start to add the butter a TBS at a time.  I kneaded the bread (remember, no kitchenaid) as I added butter.  It took a good 20 minutes to get a uniform feel of smooth and a bit tacky.  

When the dough gets smooth, I began to work in the meat and cheese.  I continued to knead till the meat/cheese was distributed evenly throughout the dough.

Cover the bowl and allow to ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough increases in size about 1 1/2 times.

At this stage, I divided the dough in half, and froze one of the portion to make later this week.  

You can bake the bread in a variety of vessels, even paper bags and tin cans.  I chose a small dome shaped pan.

I oiled the bread and placed int he bottom of the pan.  I again allowed a short rise of 60 -90 minutes so that the bread rose into the shape of the bowl.

Bake in a 350degree oven for about 40 to 50 minutes.  I used my remote thermometer prob to measure the cooking temps.  Internal temp of the bread reached a perfect 185 degrees and i pulled it from the oven.

Remove from teh bowl quickly and allow to cool...

I LOVED the bread.  It is very hearty and dense (remember, no overnight fermenting).  I put a bit of orange marmalade on a slice and it made a very filling complete breakfast.

Now, the bad news, with the price of the salami and cheese, this is easily the most expensive of the breads i have made so far.  If I find a great buy on the ingredients I would consider making this again.  But without a terrific sale, it is just not very practical.  This is a specialty bread.  Like i said, terrific with jelly, but does not make good sandwiches.  Just not practical for a couple only.  Possibly serve for a large dinner party, but not likely to make this again soon.

But, I did it.  And together with Mary of ONE PERFECT BITE and suggestions from you all, I think I was able to figure what my flour problem was.  I am only about 10% into the book, but i already feel myself growing as a cook.  More than just a collection of recipes, it is indeed a primer on learning to be a baker.  I am so loving this book, and incredible collection and certainly belongs on every cook's shelf.





The book is LARGE, lots of photos, and information.  Filled with dozens of recipes and easy to follow step by step directions.  And now Amazon is selling this for nearly half price (less than half if you want a used copy.  Folow the link  above and order TODAY!

Caribbean Pineapple Pork Empanadas ... And a bread question

I know, I know, I know... I made these Spanish/Portuguese influenced "hot pockets" meat stuffed bread just last week (click HERE)... Kind of.


This time I used left over Pork (instead of chicken) from yesterday's Caribbean Spiral cut PORK LOIN - Mango/Pineapple/Coconut Stuffing.  But this time I also made a more appropriate bread dough.  I used the recipe for the versatile MOOMIE BUNS that is sweeping the internet.  Here's a cut and pasting of the recipe from when i first discovered this gift from the god's...


� 1 c water 
� 2 tbsp butter or margarine 
� 1 egg 
� 3 1/4 c. flour 
� 1/4 c. sugar 
� 1 tsp salt 
� 3 tsp instant yeast 

� Place all ingredients in your bread machine. Select dough. Allow to run cycle. � Dump out onto lightly floured surface. Divide into 8 pieces. With each piece, slap into a bun shape. Usually 4 or 5 slaps will do it. Place on greased cookie sheets or your bun pans, cover; rise about 30 to 40 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes til golden. Cool on wire racks. 

The recipe above is the "classic" Moomie recipe (I believe, as it is the one I see reprinted most of the time). The site I found that might be the original Moomie site (clouded in mystery, it is rumored she raises goats, so I like this legend and chose not to delve deeper... But I am digressing again).

But, here in paradise, i have neither a bread machine, nor a mixer.  So I mixed by hand...

OK, not to spoil the ending, but these worked great, and I will get back to the recipe, but for all you real master bakers out there, I have a question...


I am near the equator... it is in the 80's when I bake.  It is very humid.  OK, do any of those factors affect the bread I am making from scratch?  Last couple of times I have made bread, the dough takes a LOT more water to get elastic, and even then it is still not what I am used to.  just not as smooth.  We have a nice comfortable cross breeze, so I don't turn on the air conditioner.  would it really be that simple to make the bread more like Kansas dough?  the dough is dry and crumbly when made to the recipe measurements.  I end up adding about 2-$ more water whenever I make bread, and even then it is still not as elastic.  What can/should I be doing???


OK, back to the empanadas...


These worked well with the pizza dough type bread I used last week, but even better with the Moomie buns recipe.  I made 12 smaller ones this time, each using 2 heaping TBS of stuffing.  Here's what I did to the stuffing...


1 pound of the Caribbean Spiral cut PORK LOIN - Mango/Pineapple/Coconut Stuffing, left over from yesterday.  I just diced it up, stuffing, meat and all...


BUT, if you read the post yesterday, i was not quite happy with the taste.  So, I added...


1 cup of minced pineapple
1/2 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
2 TBS Coconut Rum


And I simmered that together and allowed to reduce till all the liquid was reduced.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.  I divided the dough into 12 pieces (and allowed it to rise, as instructed.  Then, I formed each piece into an oval.

I did an egg wash on the edges, added the stuffing and sealed the edges, and washed the tops with an additional coating of egg wash.  They baked for 16 minutes, the last two I added a just a sprinkling of Asiago cheese.


And these worked GREAT!  A sweet meat stuffed bread, very convenient for Jackie to take for lunch.  this is what i had in mind when I made the original stuffed loin.  It does not always have to be spiced hot.  A nice change of pace.  The extra pineapple really sweetened the meat up well.

Empanadas...
A GREAT USE FOR LEFTOVERS!....

Caribbean Spiral cut PORK LOIN - Mango/Pineapple/Coconut Stuffing

One of my favorite bloggers, Chris from NIBBLE ME THIS, did a terrific post where he made his own stuffed Pork Loin.  he did a cheese and pesto stuffing and as always, his came out terrific... Click HERE to see what he did.


But, he also closed his post with a fun game/challenge...

Quick Game:
You have a butterflied pork tenderloin in front of you right now and I am going to grill it for you, you just have to pick the ingredients (like an omelet station). What do you want in yours?

Well, I happened to have just bought a HUGE pork loin.  I had it cut into 4 pieces, froze three and was ready to go with a hunk.  So, why not play along with Chris.  First, sadly, I have no grill.  Much as i love being in St Thomas, without a grill, it is not paradise to me.  And with 1500 plus miles distance between Chris and I, not likely that I can take him up on the offer to cook my loin, so I am going to be baking my loin.


Next, Chris does an excellent job of a straight cut, stuff and bind technique, i am more of a spiral cut man myself.  I like being able to have a bite of stuffing in every bite.


And now, to get to the pork loin station and decide on the stuffing...


I did  a little research, and found a mango pineapple stuffed loin on the food network website, so i worked from that and came up with this recipe...

2 pound Pork loin (spiral cut)


For the STUFFING


1/2 cup Mango, diced
1/2 cup Pineapple, diced
1/2 cup Mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup shredded Coconut
5 cloves Garlic, minced
2 TBS Cilantro, chopped
2 TBS Mango Rum


for the GLAZE -


2 TBS Honey
2 TBS Mango Rum

It's not as hard as it sounds, and you will get better with practice, but to spiral cut a loin, you just slice in about 1/2 inch around the base of the loin and continue to lay it out as you cut.  Ideally you will have a 1/2 inch thick, and about a foot of pork.  I have done posts on slicing a loin in the past... Click HERE to get to one showing more photos of how it works.


Layer the stuffing on top of the loin and carefully roll up.  I secured with skewers, you can use toothpicks or cooking bands (which I left at home... arrrgh).

Inevitably, it is impossible to not have some of the stuffing fall out as you roll up the loin.  I made the glaze, and added some of the bits and bobs that fell out, and topped the loin with the glaze.  It sure makes the top brown up pretty!


Slow cooked this in the oven at 250 degrees, til it reached an internal temp of 160 degrees (about 3 hours, but I really didn't time it, I did remember to bring my remote prob thermometer).





Allowed the meat to rest for about 10 minutes, while I warmed up a can of peas (don't you judge me), and doctored up a baked potato.


And the verdict... Surprisingly NOT sweet.  I really expected the mango and the pineapple to be a powerful taste.  It really wasn't.  The garlic was the majority flavor in the stuffing, and I believe I will leave it out next time.  I also plan to double the amount of pineapple.  And maybe add a bit of feta cheese... hmmm, guess it's a work in progress.


The taste was very good.  Just not exactly what I had expected.  This very much had a savory taste, and not a sweet taste.  Interesting was all I could think of with the first bite... GOOD EATS was what I was thinking after that.


So, Chris, how did I do with my Caribbean twist to your game???

Caribbean Pineapple Jerk MOINK BALLS - a Wing Question

Moink Balls... To a select few of us, the perfect food.  I have done my best to entice newbies to the MOINK fold, but to date, I have not seen any new takers. I have done a pretty comprehensive post with a history, link to the Creator, and baking instructions for those not willing to grill them (and I have a photo of my last grilling session.. seems like a lifetime ago).  Click HERE for my post on ... Cajun/New Orleans Super Bowl Party Snack Idea - What I am Taking.  In yesterday's post on Caribbean Pineapple Jerk Chicken Wings, I made a new sauce to use on wings that worked terrific... So of course, I was excited to see what the ultimate food would taste like with the ultimate Caribbean sauce!


And I was not disappointed...

BUT FIRST, I have a question...

Yesterday, there was an international mind meld happening when my favorite Singapore blogger, Ju from The Little Teochew blog did a post on an Asian style chicken wing with a post on Nam Yee (Red Fermented Beancurd) Chicken Wings.  Of course her photos (among the best on the web) and Nam Yee (Red Fermented Beancurd) Chicken Wings .  Of course her photos and descriptions made me want to try her version, but she also made an off hand remark that got me considering...

I would then freeze them for later use. They come in handy when you have unexpected guests or when you just want to get food out of the way on busy weekdays (I am sure many mommies know what I am talking about). 

So, it got me thinking... You have heard me bemoan the price of food here in paradise.  2 pounds of wings cost me $6.  TOTALLY worth it, but when you combine that withe the price of pineapples and jerk sauce, I could have gone out for happy hour and paid just a shade more for the original inspiration.  BUT, I found a bargain in the frozen food section... 10 pounds of wings for $8.  Now, 10 pounds is more than even I could eat in a sitting.  I would like to make and freeze my Caribbean wings.  But something does not sound right... I thaw the wings, sauce and cook them, then refreeze and thaw a second time.  Sounds... odd, maybe salmonella dangerous?  Someone smarter than me help me out please... Is it that simple?


OK... Back to Caribbean MOINK Balls...

1 package frozen meatballs
1 package bacon
the Caribbean Pineapple Jerk Sauce I made yesterday (Click HERE)

I marinaded the meatballs for 2 hours in the sauce prior to assembling for cooking.  Wrap 1/2 of a slice of bacon around one of the meatballs...

Skewer the bacon wrapped marinated balls and suspend the skewers between the sides of a baking dish...

I scooped the bottom of teh bowl and added what I could to the tops of the skewered bacon wrapped meatballs and baked at 350 for 35 minutes

I served these over rice, with a Pina Colada!


See my post at A Kansas Foodie in the Virgin Islands, for my Pina Colada recipe!



...