Creamy Saffron Pasta with Shrimp & Crab

Here's another recipe I found while on my diet last week :)

I found this recipe online from Rachel Ray and looked pretty easy. And I've been meaning to find recipes to use up some of the saffron I bought when I made Sea Scallops with Saffron Aoli for our anniversary dinner last September. Remember the cashier who said she hoped the dish turns out good because saffron is pretty expensive? Well, I'm glad to find this recipe to use saffron again, because it is expensive.

I pretty much had all the ingredients it called for. Except Farfalle pasta. But I had other kinds of pasta, like Penne, so its what I used. This dish came out quite good. I expected this dish to be rich, but it was unexpectedly light with a hint of lemon. I'll probably be making this again to use up all the saffron.

1 lb. pasta, cooked to al dente

salt

1 cup heavy cream

1 3-inch piece lemon peel

1/4 tsp. saffron

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6-8 ounces lump crab meat

16-20 shrimps, deveined and tails removed

pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

2 pinches cayenne pepper

1 tsp. turmeric

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

1) In a saucepan, bring cream, lemon peel and saffron to a low boil over medium-low heat. Turn off the heat and let saffron steep for 10 minutes.

2) In a large skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add crab and shrimp; season with salt and pepper. Cook until shrimps are pink and firm, about 3-4 minutes. Slowly stir in wine.

3) Remove lemon peel from cream mixture and pour over seafood. Stir in cayenne pepper and turmeric. Add pasta and toss. Remove from heat and sprinkle fresh parsley on top.

Cookie Dough Truffles

What a way to celebrate after getting off a diet! For my next indulgent recipe, post-diet, I decided to finally make this recipe for Cookie Dough Truffles that I had been saving up from Annie's Eats.

I absolutely love, love, L-O-V-E, love eating raw cookie dough. I used to buy huge tubs of cookie dough from Costco and almost half of it would be eaten raw. When I used to live at home, I would try to beat my sister to the cookie dough whenever my parents bought some, because she, too, loved eating raw cookie dough. When co-workers bring in their kids' cookie dough fundraiser, I have to sometimes show my support and buy at least a tub. Half of that is also eaten raw. I guess not a lot of people share in my love for it. Being in the field of food safety that I'm in, I shouldn't be liking it much either because of the raw eggs. Luckily (*knock on wood*), I haven't been sick with salmonella yet.

One of my co-workers, Jenny, and I got to talking about our love for eating raw cookie dough and I had been telling her about this recipe that I wanted to try out. But not until after the diet. So guess what........the diet is over! This is a rich, chocolatey goodness that any cookie dough lover would love. My daughter even said "mmm, this is so good." And this cookie dough does not have raw eggs.

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips, plus more for garnish

1 1/2 lb. semi sweet chocolate (chips)

1) Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour, condensed milk, and vanilla until well incorporated and smooth. Stir in mini chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up enough to form balls.

2) Shape the firm cookie dough mixture into 1-1 1/2 inch balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Cover loosely and transfer pan to freezer and chill for 1-2 hours.

3) When ready to dip the truffles, melt chocolate (chips) in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water (or double boiler). Dip frozen cookie dough balls and coat with the melted chocolate, gently shaking off any excess. Transfer back to the wax-paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and refrigerate to let the chocolate set. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Makes approximately 4 dozen truffles.

Guava Pound Cake

I've been on a hiatus for about a week because I went back on my Fat Flush Diet. Ick! All the holiday eating from Thanksgiving to New Years has caused me to put on some extra bloat. lol. So I decided to cleanse myself and lose some of what had I gained. Off I went to eat bland food again. Luckily, I was able to lose most of the weight. But, boy, did I miss eating food with flavor.

While on the diet, I practically tortured myself by looking up new, yummy recipes to make as soon as I got off the diet. I found a few recipes that caught my eye, including this Guava Pound Cake recipe from What's Cookin, Chicago?

Every time I opened my refrigerator, the jar of Guava Jelly I made a couple of months ago is sitting in there, staring at me to be used. I can only eat toast and jelly for so long. What else can I use it for? Well, apparently for this great pound cake recipe! I decided to make it tonight, my last night of the diet, because we'll be vising my mother-in-law tomorrow morning and I thought it would be great to bring some to her. She loves anything "guava." The cake came out super-duper moist, almost like it wasn't baked through. So I don't know how people will like a very moist cake. But the flavor was awesome. Tastes just like the islands of Hawaii.

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup guava paste (I used my guava jelly)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 cups all-purpose flour

6 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan or 2 loaf pans and set aside.

2) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add guava paste and sour cream and mix until well incorporated.

3) Sift baking soda and flour. Add flour mixture into cream mixture, alternating with eggs, beating each egg one at a time. Add vanilla.

4) Pour mixture into prepared pan(s) and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes until a toothpick test comes out clean.

Rachel Ray's Basil Chili & Garlic Chicken

I haven't been making anything new lately because, I'll be honest, I've been pretty lazy. I haven't been motivated to trying anything new and have just been repeating recipes like my Bolognese sauce or grilling meat. What a great way to start the new year, huh?

I came across this recipe from Rachel Ray on Yahoo and it looked really easy. We all know that a lot of her dishes are pretty easy and tasty, so I thought I'd give it a try to get me out of my rut. It was definitely easy and quite good. My daughter especially loved the noodles, because she LOVES any noodles. This will make be on my make again list.

1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 lb thin Asian rice noodles
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion, plus 1 cup finely chopped onion
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup fresh basil, torn

1) Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, combine water, fish sauce soy sauce, sugar and crushed red pepper. Stir to dissolve sugar and set aside.

3) Heat wok or large skillet to medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoon oil. Then add onions and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant and softened, but not browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside.

4) Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken and cook through until browned around the edges. Add prepared sauce and onion/garlic mixture and cook, tossing occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and almost half of the liquid has evaporated.

5) Remove from heat and toss in basil leaves until slightly wilted. Serve over cooked noodles.

Seafood Gratin

Happy 2011!!!

I haven't made anything new since Christmas mainly because we've been busy entertaining out-of-town guests. New Year's celebrations were pretty hectic as well. We spent the usual New Year's eve at my parents' place. I made my Lomi Lomi Salmon, Malasadas II, and Broccoli Cheddar soup. I made my Beef Caldereta for New Year's Day at my in-laws. We have quite a few leftover dishes, so I haven't been cooking. I've also been sick and exhausted since New Year's day, so I haven't been up to cooking.

I had saved this recipe from Annie's Eats in the hopes of making it for our New Year's eve celebration. I've had the seafood ingredients stored in the fridge for a few days now, so I figured I'd better make it now before they go bad. I guess this is my first new recipe for the New Year.

Making this dish required a lot of steps and the use of multiple pans. It also requires the use of leeks, which I've never worked with before. But I've learned that leeks come from the onion family. Because while cutting it, my eyes became teary as if I was cutting an onion. I hate cutting onions. However, with that said, this dish was well worth the agony of preparing because it came out delicious. But please excuse the above photo. I'm still learning all the tricks that my new camera can make. So I haven't mastered it yet. Anyway, I omitted the cooked lobster it called for because I didn't have any. But I added extra shrimp to substitute it. You can probably also add crab meat in this dish. I served this with a side of garlic bread.

1 cup clam juice

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup, plus 3 Tbsp. more, white wine

3 Tbsp. tomato puree

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

8-10 oz raw cod, cut into large chunks

10-16 oz cooked lobster meat, cut into large chunks (I omitted this and added more shrimp instead)

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature, divided

1 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cup thinly sliced leeks, white and green parts

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

1) In a large saucepan, combine clam juice, cream and 1/2 cup wine. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and add shrimp. Cook shrimp for 1-2 minutes and flip over the other side until they become pink and opaque. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl to cool. Cut shrimp in half if desired.

2) Add raw cod to the cream mixture and cook through, about 3-4 minutes. Remove cooked cod with a slotted spoon and place in the same bowl with shrimp.

3) Continue to cook sauce until it reduces to half, about 12 minutes. In the meantime, combine 1 Tbsp. of butter with flour in a small bowl and mash together with a fork. When sauce has reduced, whisk in flour mixture with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

4) Preheat oven to 375 deg F. In a medium saute pan, melt 3 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add leeks and carrots and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add remaining 3 Tbsp. wine and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 more minutes.

5) Add cream sauce and cooked vegetables to the bowl of seafood and mix well to combine. Place mixture in individual ramekins or in a casserole dish pan.

6) In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter. Add panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley and mix well. Sprinkle on top of prepared gratin. Place gratin on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until it becomes bubbly and the topping turns golden brown. Serve hot with garlic bread.

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

The flavors of chocolate and peppermint seems to be an acquired taste. I happen to love the blending of chocolate and mint together. Its so festive. So when I came across this recipe from Beantown Baker, I decided to try this recipe out to serve as one of our desserts for our Christmas celebrations.

The cake came out so moist and delicious. And coupled with the minty fresh frosting made it a perfect combination. It wasn't that huge of a hit as the Red Velvet Cupcakes I made, but like I said, its an acquired taste. So those who liked chocolate peppermint loved them. Hubby and I did.

Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup brewed coffee, chilled
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vinegar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line muffin pans with muffin cups.

2) In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center and add eggs, coffee, milk, vegetable oil, and vinegar. Mix until smooth (batter will be thin). Evenly distribute batter in muffin cups. Bake for 22 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Completely cool before frosting.

Mint Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting

4 egg whites

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

2 tsp. peppermint extract

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Place egg whites and sugar in a double boiler pan and whisk until incorporated. Cook over simmering water, whisking constantly until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (approximately 160 deg F). Remove from heat.

2) Beat egg white mixture on high until it forms stiff peaks, about 8 minutes.

3) Turn mixture to medium-low and add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition.

4) Reduce speed to low and add peppermint extract and vanilla extract. Beat for 2 minutes.

(note: if the frosting is still runny or soupy by the end of the preparation, refrigerate frosting for 30 minutes to 1 hour to stiffen the frosting so that it is easily spreadable).

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 more days until Christmas! Yipee!!!

Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday. Spending time with family, gift-giving, eating, and being merry. That's what Christmas is all about. With our family, Christmas is a two-day affair. Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena, is the eve when we await the arrival of Christ. So its a huge celebration at my parents's house with lots of food and opening presents. Christmas day is spent at our house with my in-laws and we do it all over again with alot more food.

With that said, preparations have to start early. This year I decided to make a few desserts, one with this recipe from Beantown Baker for Red Velvet Cupcakes. I have another Red Velvet Cake recipe that I usually turn to, but realized, after trying other Red Velvet Cakes or cupcakes, that mine seemed a bit dry. I did make a batch of my original Red Velvet cake recipe to make Bon-Bons as well.

The first batch I made of this recipe today came out dry and somewhat chewy. So I trashed a whole batch. What a disaster. Luckily I had enough time and ingredients to make another batch. Then I realized that I had used regular all-purpose flour in the first batch instead of the cake flour it called for. So I made the 2nd batch correctly and it came out so perfect and so moist. I think I may have found a new red velvet cake recipe.

Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. (1 oz bottle) red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line muffin pans with muffin cups.

2) Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined.

3)Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Frost with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting (recipe below)


Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
4-6 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp. milk, depending on consistency

1) Cream the cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add butter and beat for 1-2 minutes, until well incorporated.

2) Add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.

3) Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat well. Continue adding powdered sugar and alternating with the milk until desired consistency.

Lomi Lomi Salmon

With the weather being so dark and gloomy lately, it sometimes makes me miss the islands. I once saw a Food Network chef make some Lomi Lomi Salmon one day, and it inspired me to try to make it too. I was at Costco the other day and found some salmon and thought now was the time to try to make this delicacy often found at all Hawaiian luaus and as a side dish to many Hawaiian meals.

"Lomi Lomi" means to massage. This is a 2-step recipe that requires you to massage fresh salmon with salt and marinate it overnight. But if you don't have the luxury of doing it overnight, you can probably use some smoked salmon. I used Hawaiian salt in this recipe, but you can probably use regular table salt, as Hawaiian salt is quite pungent. Otherwise this dish came out pretty good. And very salty. But that's how most Hawaiian dishes are like. This won hubby's approval.

1 lb. fresh salmon

1/4 - 1/2 cup Hawaiian salt (or sea salt)

6 tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Hawaiian salt to taste

1) Massage salt all over the salmon. Place on a flat tray, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

2) Rinse salmon and soak for at least an hour, changing the water several times.

3) Shred salmon with your hands. Add tomatoes, onions and more salt to taste. Massage ingredients with your hands until ingredients are broken up and thoroughly mixed. Chill before serving.