Pasta with Shrimp, Garlic, and Anchovies

On Saturday I made this pasta, mostly because it was really fast and I still had a few anchovies to use. I was seriously impressed by how delicious it was and how quickly it all came together. I could easily do this after work.

Again, you can't really taste the anchovies, they just add an underlying flavor. Of course, that could also be because I only used the few fillets I had leftover instead of a whole tin. Anchovy side note: it's safe to eat the tiny little bones, but I pulled out as many as I can anyway.

While this was cooking, it looked and smelled like something I could get at a restaurant. I was so proud.

PASTA WITH SHRIMP, GARLIC AND ANCHOVIES
from cooks.com
8 oz. spaghetti
1/2 lb. shrimp, cleaned
1/4 c. olive oil
4 lg. garlic cloves, minced
1 tin flat anchovy fillets, chopped
1 tsp. lemon juice
Chopped fresh parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese

Over low heat, cook garlic, shrimp and anchovies in oil. Add lemon juice and season with pepper.

Cook pasta as directed on package and drain. Return to pot, add oil mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle generously with parsley and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Iron Chef Blogger Challenge: Avocado!

For the challenge this week, I made guacamole. But, I neglected to take a picture of it. It was good though! It was green, and very smooth, because I made it in my trusty food processor. I don't like chunky guacamole so much.

It seemed to be a fairly big hit at the cookout we went to yesterday. At least it was until the sun turned it brownish.

I wanted to plant the avocado seeds to see what happened, but Travis vetoed it.

Sorry for the lackluster blog this week...

Guacamole
from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

2 medium very ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and cut up
1/2 small onion, cut up
1/2 of a 4 ounce can diced green chili peppers, or several drops bottled hot pepper sauce (I used Texas Pete)
1 tablespoon snipped cilantro or parsley (I left this out... my parsley has gone rogue again and I think cilantro tastes like soap.)
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a food processor bowl combine all ingredients. Cover and process or blend till mixture is smooth, scraping sides as necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 24 hours. Serve with chips. Makes 2 cups dip.

Mixed Berry Muffins

Last weekend I bought some fresh berries, with the intent of having berries for breakfast and being all healthy. But then I decided it would be much more fun to make muffins. I used a mixture of blackberries and raspberries. They were very tasty! Some of them turned sort of blue at the top, but they still tasted fine. It wasn't their fault that they looked like smurfberry muffins or something. At any rate, I had delicious breakfast for the week, if not the most healthy ever.

Ingredients:

Mixed Berry Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups fresh berries , such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries or sliced strawberries, or a combination.

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Lightly butter twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups or place paper muffin cups in the muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine and make a well in the center. In another medium bowl, whisk the milk, oil and eggs. Mix well and pour into the well. Stir just until blended. Fold in the berries. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about three-fourths full.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and serve warm or cool on a wire rack.

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

This beef stew recipe is one of my favorites ever. I make it a lot, especially when it's chilly or gray outside. You can tell I like it a lot, because the page it's on in my copy of The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook is really stained. The recipe includes carrots and celery. However, I like my stew to be basically meat and potatoes, so I tend to omit those. I also cook the stew a bit longer than necessary so that everything is falling apart. It tastes wonderful and comforting, just like stew should. And, like most stews, it is even better reheated.

Ingredients:

2 lb stew beef
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cup water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash ground allspice or ground cloves
3 large carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, quartered
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

Iron Chef Blogger Challenge: Spinach!

This week's secret ingredient was spinach. There was also a rule that it could not be a salad. I was a bit sad about that, because I wanted to try making a warm bacon dressing like the one I had at Mt. Vernon. However, I discovered another equally delicious way to combine bacon and spinach. I made a quiche! I had never made a quiche before, but it really wasn't too hard. And, I think it came out beautifully. It probably helped that I was starving by the time it was done, but it was filling and very tasty. I would definitely recommend it.

I accidentally dropped the lid to my nutmeg in the egg mixture, but it still seems to have turned out okay. Also, if you don't have white pepper, black pepper is fine. I think it's a visual difference more than a taste difference.

The only other issue is that the original recipe calls for pre-baking the pie shell. I didn't, but it might help keep the crust from getting mushy. I thought it was just fine without (and I didn't have to deal with foil on the crust or anything).

Spinach Quiche (from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook)

1 pie crust
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 slices bacon, chopped
8 eggs
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Dash ground nutmeg
3 cups lightly packed chopped fresh spinach
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 325. Cook onion and bacon in a large skillet until onion is tender and bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towels.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly with a fork. Stir in sour cream, half and half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg (if desired). Stir in onion mixture, spinach, and both cheeses.

Pour egg mixture into pastry shell. Bake in 325 degree oven 45 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of foil to prevent over-browning. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Iron Chef Blogger Challenge: Anchovies!

The ingredient this week was anchovies! I was more excited than you might originally think. A few years ago I experimented with anchovies, in this recipe where you make a thin dressing and grill romaine lettuce a bit. It was really good.

I immediately thought I wanted to make my own Caesar salad dressing. While I was looking up that recipe, I found one for anchovy deviled eggs as well.

They were both really good. Anchovies, especially when minced, really aren't that strong and add a nice salty sort of meaty flavor. I would definitely recommend both recipes!

The Caesar salad recipe can be found here. I went with the option to substitute 1/4 cup mayonnaise for the coddled egg. I reduced the olive oil to somewhere between 4 and 5 tablespoons (at 4 I thought it was still a bit thick).

The anchovy deviled eggs recipe is here. I didn't use the caper garnish, and I didn't use the fresh parsley either. My parsley plant has gone rogue again, so I just used a little bit of dried.

And, here are some other Iron Chef Blogger updates:

Garlicky Baked Shrimp (This looks amazing and pretty easy; I am definitely going to try it.)
Eggplant and Anchovies (in the same meal, not the same dish)
Eggplant Lasagna

99 Things to Eat in LA - Bob's Coffee and Donuts

A couple of months ago, LA Weekly came out with a 99 Things to Eat in LA before you die list, compiled by Jonathan Gold (who is a Pulitzer prize winning food author - he wrote the book Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles). We also sort of similar food tastes. For example, he doesn't refuse to eat at Tito's Tacos, insisting that it isn't authentic (like so many LA "foodies", but I digress).

I am not planning to eat everything on the list, but I did take the interesting sounding ones off and make my own list. I'm a compulsive list-maker, it's what I do. God bless the 'Notes' section of my iPhone.

Anyway. One item was the plain donut from Bob's Coffee and Donuts. I have eaten here before, it's at the LA farmer's market. This place really is fantastic. It is simple and to the point. There is coffee, I guess probably a few other beverages, donuts, and some coffee cake. The coffee does not come in varieties (besides decaf), and the menu is not cluttered up with non-pastries. The coffee cake I had previously was really great. The donut I had today was probably better.

This stuff is also cheap as all get-out, I think the donut and coffee cost me maybe $1.50. Eat This, which is another book I'm rather fond of, raves about their apple fritters. Not really up my alley, but some day I plan to get one for Travis, who does love a good apple/pastry combo.