Tag: food recipes

Shrimp and Scallop Cakes

It’s still warm outside and these are perfect for a quick weeknight meal…

½ pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 large scallops, cleaned

Place the shrimp and scallops into a food processor and pulse about 10 times or till the seafood is finely chopped. Take out and transfer to a medium bowl. Keep aside.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
4 green onions, whites and greens separated and chopped
1 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground chipotle
1 teaspoon salt

Heat a medium skillet with olive oil. Add the pepper, the white part of the green onions and garlic. Saute on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cumin, chipotle and salt. Continue to sauté on medium heat for 10 minutes. Turn heat off and let cool completely.

1 large egg, beaten
½ cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup panko breadcrumbs, divided in half
1 teaspoon salt

Add the egg, cilantro, green parts of the green onions, salt and half cup of the panko breadcrumbs to the chopped seafood. Add the cooled pepper mixture. Mix well and place in the fridge for an hour.

Divide the mixture into 4 large cakes and dredge with the remaining ½ cup panko breadcrumbs.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

Heat the oil and butter in a non-stick pan and add the cakes. Cook on medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Serve with chili lime sauce.

Chili Lime Sauce

¼ cup mayonnaise
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients and serve with the cakes.

Brie and Fig Grilled Cheese served with Sweet Potato Fries

I made this dish after eating at Food restaurant in Summit, NJ. I took a friend out for lunch and ordered a brie and fig grilled cheese with sweet potato fries.

Before going there I spoke to the summit patch editor to see if she would be interested in a recipe replication with an article. She was fascinated and said yes.

As I looked through the menu, this particular dish stood out to me. I love sweet flavors mixed in with savory. I also love any kind of fries- especially sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are extremely healthy and I try to incorporate them into my diet as much as I can.

The original dish was good but a bit too rich for my taste. It was clearly cooked it butter and had too much fig jam in it. I started with whole wheat sour dough bread and added a fig compote instead. The fig compote is less sweet and a bit more savory. I also added peppery arugula to the mix.

Overall, I ended up with a delicious, healthy sandwich and fries. I of course made the sweet potato fries in the oven and added my favorite ingredient- smoked paprika.

Try the brie and fig grilled cheese with sweet potato fries for lunch next time…
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Strawberry and Mango Dessert Sauce

strawberry-and-mango-topping A friend came over for dinner a few nights ago. I had a day notice and it was through the week- I wanted to make an easy entree and something I can assemble ahead of time. I decided to make a baked pasta with red peppers and zucchini (recipe to follow) and garlic bread. What about dessert??? I had plenty of ice cream in the freezer and of course lots and lots of mangoes! In the fridge, I also had a pint of strawberries looking a little sorry and not so fresh. I decided to cook the strawberries down and add chunks of mangoes in the sauce. First of all, the topping color made me happy- such bright red and yellow- my favorite colors, they are all over my house! I served vanilla ice cream with a big dollop of the topping. It was delicious! Great to have over a pound cake or even angel food cake. It’s actually great just by itself with a little whipped cream on top! It would be great to have in the fridge in the summer months with abundant berries and mangoes. I am sure raspberries would taste delicious with mangoes as well.

1 pint fresh strawberries- washed and cut
½ cup fresh mango and pineapple juice (orange juice will do)
2 teaspoons turbinado sugar (use according to how sweet the strawberries are)
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

In a medium pan, add the strawberries and the juice. Bring to a boil and lower the heat and simmer the fruit for 30 to 40 minutes. Add sugar as needed. The strawberries will cook down and have jam like consistency. Take the off the heat and add the mangoes. Chill the fruit mixture and serve on top of ice cream.