Oh Ohh..what a Salad Sunday! Seared Garlic Shrimp and Feta Cheese Salad with Sourcream and Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

Yes!

110 for 2010 number 104, check!

…uhmm….109 to go. Ha!

Definitely not the end of salad for me as I have officially announced to everyone in the household that from now on Sunday is Salad day!

Salad Sunday!
Not a Carbo High day!
Let’s be healthy
My belly is poking right out of my shirtie!

Yay! =D

Stop.

Let’s just go to the recipe shall we.

Seared Garlic Shrimp and Feta Cheese Salad with Sourcream and Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

• 300 grams Shrimp peeled and de-veined
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 4 handfuls of mixed greens - I used iceberg, romaine, red-tipped and leaf lettuce
• ½ cup feta cheese diced - I used Feta Cheese in Olive Oil but you can use regular ones anyway
• ¼ cup fava beans
• ¼ cup cooked corn kernels
• ¼ cup carrot shredded

Dressing:

• 5 tbsp sourcream
• 3 tbsp mayonaise
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and ground pepper to taste

Procedure:

Lay mixed greens in a flat platter. Arrange feta cheese, fava beans, corn and carrots over.

In a small bowl, combine sourcream, mayonaise, balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge.

In a bowl, toss shrimp with olive oil and garlic powder. Heat skillet over high heat, sear shrimp until cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side. Arrange shrimp over the greens and drizzle with the dressing.
We ate this with French bread with garlic butter served fresh from the oven! Yummylicious!

BTW, if you are in Davao City, SM supermarket has a fab fab salad section where you can buy and choose from their variety of mixed greens, beans, sliced fruits, tomatoes, and so much more plus dressing of your choice (they have 3 I think), all for Php159/kilo in a disposable plastic container. I bought everything there. I love SM!

Can I sing the SM jingle? Please. Yey!

…here at SM…here at SM.. We got it all for you! weee

Salad on Sundays!

So, what was your Sunday dinner?

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Daring Cooks' January 2010 Challenge: Satay!

Ehem...(clearing throat)

My last Daring Cooks' Challenge was July last year. (what a shame ssshhhh....)

Now to start the year, I want to be part of the Daring Kitchen's Daring Cooks' again. I haven't cooked/baked for quite sometime, well, you know, other than the usual dishes I make at home, but create something new, nada.

Satay? I have not tried this before. It's a Thai dish and I LOOOVVVEEED it!

Here it is: My take on Daring Cooks' January 2010 Challenge by the lovely Cuppy who chose a Thai-inspired recipe from the book -1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

Presenting, Satay Chicken!

Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Satay Marinade

• 
  1/2 small onion minced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 T ginger root grated
• 2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)----I used 5 calamansi/lemonsito
• 1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
• 1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric -----I don't have this, I used 1 tsp Achuete instead
• 2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls) 1/2 kilo/pound of meat cut in 1 inch strips ----I used chicken breast
• 1 tsp of salt ---not included in the original recipe, just added some, I feel like the soy didn't provide that much saltiness =) OK, fine I am a salt-y person! =)

The host of this challenge Cuppy of Cuppylicious suggested that if you want to make it more Thai, just add dragon chilli, extra tablespoon of ginger and 1 tbsp of fish sauce.

Directions:

1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the meat and blend until smooth.

In a bowl, cover meat with marinade. I marinated the chicken strips in 10 minutes ONLY- then roll the chicken strips one by one and secure it with a skewer cut into short lengths or toothpick, in this way, it gets to hold the marinade+bits inside which makes it super flavorful, not to mention, juicy, perfect!

Put the chicken back into bowl, cover and marinate in the fridge for 30minutes to 1 hour. In the original recipe, you have to marinate the chicken for 2-12 hours, but I chose not to since the chicken breast is tender enough, and I don't want to overcook the meat with the acid from the lemon juice (it'll get super dry when cooked), as with the flavor, it's as flavorful as you would want it to be! =) Now on with the sauce!

Peanut Sauce

• 3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
• 4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)---I used Ladies Choice Sweet crunchy peanut butter- one with bits of peanuts for texture
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)---I didn't add this one as the peanut butter is sweet already but if you are going to use the peanut butter for cooking (without sugar) then add this.
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
• 1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.

Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Stir often. When the peanut butter is melted, then it's done. Reheat if necessary.

Cooking Directions : 2 Methods

1. Pan fry on medium-high for 3minutes on each side until it turns golden brown. - I opted for this method.

Make sure that your oil is not so hot and take off the bits of spices outside the meat to prevent from burning since the spices tend to cook faster than the meat. Don't worry, you still have those bits inside the rolled chicken strips.

OR

1. Grill or Broil at 290C/550F--brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewer.

Serve with the peanut sauce and have fun eating!

My sous chef was contantly bugging me the whole time, could not even concentrate on what I was doing. But obviously he is my sous chef/taste tester so I couldn't get rid of him and his verdict? He said "Lamia ani Mommie oi!" which means "This is yummy Mommie!" =)weeee

Visit The Daring Kitchen for the original recipe posted by Cuppy- you could also use some extra dip recipes for this dish!

ขอให้เจริญอาหาร! Mangaon ta! =)

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Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Seared Scallops Laced with Veloute Sauce

Ai, it's been awhile...haven't posted for a very long time, but definitely still cooking good food..ok, maybe porn food but hey, life is short, eat chocolates (or strawberries with lots of whipped cream..=P

Do you love mushrooms? I do. I really really do..my Aunt Dang, mom's sister, taught me how to make a very simple recipe of sauteed mushrooms and fish (matambaka), and it's so good, that it has officially become of my comfort foods. The thing about comfort food is that they usually are easy to make..no-brainer.

But, this is not about my Aunt's famous mushroom dish....

it's about that firm meaty textured big brown mushroom, the elder brother of crimini......

Portobello!

And since I am allowed to splurge a little tiny bit on my food, (according to myself) I added scallops. Indulge..indulge..Life is wickedly short. =P

Roasted Portobello with Seared Scallops and Veloute Sauce

3 4-inch diameter Portobello Mushrooms

1 clove garlic grated

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

pepper

1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Veloute Sauce:

1.5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
½ c fish stock
salt and pepper

Pan-Seared Scallops

9 pieces Scallops
oil
salt and pepper

Green Peas cooked
Chives chopped

Directions:

Combine EVOO, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture over Portobello mushrooms and marinate for an hour. Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Place mushrooms stem side up in a roasting pan or oven-proof dish. Roast for 15 minutes, brushing it with its sauce once in a while. Top with grated parmigiano reggiano and roast for another 5 minutes until cheese melts.

Veloute Sauce:

While the mushrooms are roasting, proceed with making veloute sauce. I find making veloute sauce using the microwave easier since we have an electric stove top, which I find the amount of heat hard to control.

In a microwave-proof dish, melt butter over medium heat for 50 seconds. Stir in flour, mix thoroughly. Return to microwave and set to high heat for 1 minute. Whisk vigorously until well incorporated and form a thick paste. Add fish stock and whisk well, making sure it is free from lumps. Return to microwave and heat for 1.5 minutes on high setting. Add salt and pepper. Stir well and strain through a sieve. Set aside.

Pan-Seared Scallops:

Pat the scallops dry with paper towel. Heat oil over medium heat, once you see gentle wisps of smoke, season the scallops with salt and pepper and gently put them in the hot oil. Sear until you get that nice brown crust on both sides and don’t try to move them while doing so. Don’t crowd the pan or you will lower the temperature and steam them. (Ok, I must admit, I tried moving a few..hihihihi..OC me!)

Arrange the roasted Portobello mushrooms on a serving dish, top with pan-seared scallops and green peas, drizzle with veloute sauce and garnish with chopped chives. Done!

Bon appetit!

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Filet Mignon with Reduced Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

*Filet mignon is a French term which means exquisite or dainty fillet. It is a steak cut of beef taken from the tenderloin, or psoas major of the steer or heifer.

There's nothing dramatic in cooking filet mignon. This is a quick, easy and delicious main dish. I have read quiet a few recipes and food articles on how to cook a perfect steak using filet mignon and there is nothing more than seasoning it with salt and pepper enough to bring out the best of this exquisite and luxurious cut.

One key though is to wrap it with bacon to prevent the meat from drying out during the cooking process since it has little marbling (low levels of internal fat).

The meat preferably would be about an inch and a half or two thick and is always cooked in high heat whether you grill, roast, or pan-fry it.

The steak cut I used was thin and has not even reached 1 inch, around ¾ of an inch , so I didn’t put it in the oven for roasting. Talk about online shopping, this is what you get when you don’t hand-pick the meat. Lesson learned. However, I have tried making this with a 2-inch cut before and it was super!

It is best to buy a center-cut tenderloin and portion it to you desired thickness. A 2-inch thick filet mignon would be ideal.

Pan- Seared Filet Mignon with Reduced Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Side Dishes:

Baked Potatoes with Smoked Paprika Cheddar Cheese
Shiitake Mushrooms and Peas in Butter

2 pc -2-inch thick Filet mignon (room temperature)
1 tbsp. Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven 500F and oil a baking sheet.

Pat the steaks dry with paper towels.
Coat with olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
On moderately high heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil on a skillet. Brown the filets about 3 minutes on each side without moving it, creating a nice brown crust.
Transfer filets to a shallow baking pan and roast in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes (medium rare).
* proceed with making the sauce while the steak is roasting
Remove from the oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for 5mins.

Reduced Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

100 ml Balsamic Vinegar of good quality
1 tbsp cold butter

In a small saucepan, simmer the balsamic vinegar until reduced by 2/3. Stir in butter until completely melted. The sauce has a velvety smooth texture and coats the back of the spoon. Serve over filet mignon.

Bon Appetit!

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet_mignon

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