I just got back from a 10 day Baltic cruise on the Star Princess, and while I am not coming with photos of the food (my husband hates "pretentious" food, so we mainly stuck to the 24 hour buffet, and it's not really pretty looking), I do come bearing recipes that I got from one of the executive chefs. I went to a cooking demonstration that he gave on Sunday, which was followed by a tour of the galley.

So: 3 Italian recipes (all of which are pretty easy), and a dessert.

I'll put them behind the cut.

( Pasta, Shrimp, and Black Forest Cake )

I came up with the recipe the other day. It's based on the Oven Baked Shrimp Risotto recipe on the Knorr website, but I changed a lot in regards to ingredients, prep and presentation. No pictures (sorry, I tried, but they were really blurry and murky) but the recipe is below (under cut)




It was (and is!) delicious. It reheats very well and travels for lunches. Even my kids (one of whom refuses to eat anything with "visible" onions) loved it. They tried to pick out all the shrimp and eat them!

I was going too make a butter rum sauce.. I am assuming I use dark rum, but can you use light?

Thanks in advance.

for those who inquired...

i tried a few scoops of the pomegranate chip haagen dazs and it is AMAZING. i am so glad that i didn't eat it straight out of the container like i normally do with ice cream because i would be sick to my tummy by now..that is HOW GOOD IT IS!
and i think the chardonnay i bought (it's my old standby...an easten australian winery) goes well with it...although i bet the merlot from alexander valley my mom and i had when she was out here last summer would too....

i'm sure the ice cream won't last long in this house...nor the wine. but we're big eaters drinkers....

Yes, in fact, I do have my 'nightcap' at 8 in the morning! It comes with working 3rd shift in the bakery. Anyway, as lovely as the weather has been lately, I thought a pipe and a drink would be the perfect pair before bed the other day. While one might argue the former, this espresso martini is absolutely delicious at any time of day! I would even suggest it as a coffeeholic's alternative to the brunch classics of a Mimosa or Bloody Mary.



Espresso Martini
(courtesy of diffordsguide to Cocktails)

2 oz vodka
2 oz espresso (chilled)
1/2 oz coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
1/4 oz simple syrup

Shake over ice. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a few whole coffee beans.

This is perfectly sized for my modest 7 oz martini glasses. If yours are particularly large and you like a full glass, you may want to bump your proportions up by 50% (3 oz, 3 oz, 3/4 oz, and 3/8 oz respectively). Also, I do not actually (as of yet) have an espresso machine, however I do keep a pitcher of cold brew coffee in the fridge (a la a New York Times recipe...perhaps to be posted later). The flavor of your coffee of choice really comes through (the Kahlua is just a supporting character) so be sure to pick a brew that you find tasty! I don't think Folgers can do this drink justice!

It's blueberry season here in the forests of Bohemia. The wild berries here are not the big blue dusty-looking American berries - although the shops sell those as "Canadian blueberries", at obscene prices. They're actually bilberries, and they're much smaller and almost black in colour. You can pick them yourself if you have sharp eyes and unprotesting back muscles, or you can be lazy and buy them by the pint.

This recipe is not the standard online streusel-topped pie, but an adaptation of a Joy of Cooking recipe that uses cherries. I think blueberries have an affinity for fermented milk products - blueberry buttermilk pancakes, blueberry yogurt smoothies.

First, the pie crust. I always make mine from scratch because you cannot get good ready-made ones here, and anyway I love making pastry.

( Pate Brisee from Joy of Cooking )

Preheat the oven to 150 C, and wash and pick over four cups of blueberries. Break 3 large eggs into a bowl, and whisk with 3/4 cup of sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup of light brown muscovado sugar.

Roll the pastry out (it really helps if you let the pastry come to room temperature first) and line a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Pour the blueberries into the pan, and pour the custard over them. Bake for 90 minutes and allow to cool before slicing. It would probably be excellent with ice-cream, but we've just been eating it on its own.

( Oh my, blueberry pie! )

I'd have taken a picture, but after one broken glass and some other mishaps, I didn't want to bother trying something else that could have me knocking over a lovely martini glass, and just threw it in a half-pint beer glass!

Makes 1 drink

2 medium-to-slightly-large sized fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp superfine sugar
2 jiggers of Hendricks gin (no other)
1/2 jigger Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
1/2 jigger food-quality rosewater
Fresh basil leaf rolled up and pierced with a cocktail pick for garnish, OR
one perfect red rose petal for garnish
Ice, if you don't keep your gin in the freezer and your vermouth in the fridge


Muddle basil leaves (except the one for garnish, if using) with sugar in the bottom of a cocktail strainer. Add all other ingredients except for garnish, with ice if using. Shake. Strain into a martini glass and serve with garnish. The basil and rose should be noticeable but not overpowering. The colour should be a pretty pale green.

I'm going to serve this with some naan and chutneys as a started for the Indian dinner for my father on Saturday, and I hope he likes it! I think it's delicate enough and not overly sweet, so he should like it ok. If not, I'll make him a regular martini!

The last time I made this was roughly four years ago, but it's an old favorite of mine, so while at the store I picked up some stew-cut beef and a coraff of burgundy wine and made some for dinner. It didn't come out quite like I remember it, but fortunately, there's plenty of beef and burgundy left to practice. If I can, I'll take pictures of the next attempt, but I wonder if anyone here has any suggestions/additions/subtractions to my recipe(  after the cut? )

Starting with homemade french bread:

( Read more... )

( poached figs with cranberries, raisins and walnuts )

PS: apologies for the blank photo in the previous post - wasn't sure what had happened so I deleted it and I'll try reposting again later. :)

a few years ago, my work friends and i would have lunch at "the country club" (actually it is open to the public but that's what it's called) and in the summer we'd drink watermelon lemonade spiked with vodka. i've been wanting to recreate this, and see many different variations but have no idea what is a good one....

does anyone have a recipe for watermelon lemonade that they like and care to share?

thanks!

Hi fellow pornistas:
I just dashed home from work for a quick lunch, and I couldn't help but notice that my lunchtime fare consisted of some simple, yet delicious, Southern summertime comfort foods. I had a homemade pimiento cheese sandwich, homemade banana pudding (well, as "homemade" as banana pudding can be, given its three-ingredient makeup), and a tall glass of strong iced tea made with plenty of sugar. Now I'm not usually a huge fan of pimiento cheese, but this batch was given to us by a neighbor who substituted homemade mayonnaise (made in an old-fashion handcrank mixer using the two classic ingredients: eggs and oil. Oh, and a squeeze of lemon). This substitution really toned down the sometimes-harsh cheese taste that seems to be a recurring feature of pimiento cheese. And even though I usually like food with a little "bite," I much prefer this milder version.

Were it later in the afternoon (read: after work), I'd have also substituted a personal favorite cocktail for my lunchtime iced tea: summer beer. Here's the recipe:

1 12-oz. container of frozen pink lemonade
1 12-oz. beer (doesn't matter what brand)
12 oz. vodka (doesn't matter what brand, though for this drink the cheaper the better)
12 oz. (give or take) water -- OPTIONAL

In a pitcher, mix together the pink lemonade and beer, fill the lemonade container with vodka and add to the pitcher. You can also fill the container with as much (or little) water as you prefer, depending on how strong you like your cocktails. Serve over ice in a large glass or plastic tumbler. Imbibe. Repeat as necessary.

I have a recipe for a Mojitos cake that I'm modifying... but as a person who doesn't drink alcohol - I need your help.

There are 2 ways that I can do this: glazed cake or a frosted cake.  The original recipe is for a glazed cake - but I'm a cake decorator and I want to try and have it available as a decorated cake as well. 

Glazed cake is basically a rum cake with a lime/mint glaze.

For a decorated cake I'm looking at a rum cake filled with key lime curd and iced in a mint buttercream.

But how strong are the mint and lime flavors, which is stronger?  Is a really sweet buttercream going to be a problem/conflict or should I do a SMBC. If I do an SMBC would the butter flavor be a problem?

I have an order for a cake on Thursday and I really want to do a decorated cake to raise my exposure, so any help I can get would be fabulous.

Rachel

I posted a cheeseball recipe on my journal. No clue where it came from, but my mother used to make it all the time and it's delicious and moist!

I will try to get pictures the next time I make it.

Dear Beerlovers,

I was unaware until a few hours ago just how many different Belgian beers are imported into the US. I found my beloved Westmalle as well as most of the other trappists (still no Westvleteren, sadness). At the liquor store I went to also had numerous small single bottles that you could purchase to try at least 30 Belgian beers. For those of you who would like to experiment and taste some of the Best Beers in the World, I recommend finding a nicely stocked liquor store.

Now I'm happy and back on track to making at least a notable dent in the Belgian beer scene.

Cheers!

Edit: I just found out that Westvleteren is not sold outside of the country, so my only hope is ebay! Ah well, I also wanted to pass on a website that was very helpful: ratebeer.com

Today my husband and I had a delicious meal of Grilled pork tenderloin, simple salad, olive tapenade with crispy toasts and a cocktail.

Heyy.
This is my first time posting here, I joined maybe a week ago, so I hope my question's ok here.
Me cooking, is a big joke in my family. I can do it, but it's only been recently, and its still pretty rare.
My family likes telling people "she doesn't even know how to boil water!" So I decided I'm going to surprise everyone and make dinner on mother's day.

I just don't know what to make, and I was wondering if you could post links, or recipes for pretty easy, but fancy-ish dishes I can make. I already decided on Bellinis for drinks, but I have no idea what dishes go together, or how many different dishes I need to make.
Oh, and a question about the bellinis...I don't know anything about wine, is Prosecco easy to find and not too expensive? or can I use any type of wine?

and a small contribution to the community since its all I have.
Really easy recipe, don't know if its been posted before or not.
I got it from a vietnamese exchange student.

( Avocado smoothie-thing )