My Budget Valentine

What are you doing this Valentines Day? Are you heading out to your favorite restaurant? Are you leaving the planning to your valentine? Are you doing it yourself?

I hope at least some of you will be making meals at home. There’s something simply wonderful that happens when you show your love by preparing a meal. I mean, think about it. When you’ve received or given gifts that were more than just expensive. Gifts that let you know someone thought and planned to get this thing for you because they knew how much it would mean to you. Gifts that might’ve been inexpensive, but so full of thought and love they’re worth millions in your eyes.

That’s what preparing a meal for someone does. It tells the recipient they’re special to you and you wanted to do something special for them. Ironically, as the ‘giver’, you somehow get to enjoy their delight. Not to mention the satisfaction you experience when you look at the beautiful meal you created.

I want to help you with this. I want to help those of you who may not be full-time kitchen residents come up with a meal that  looks impressive without being too time-consuming, but that doesn’t break the bank. We are in a recession, after all.

To that end, I’m bringing you several items that are interchangeable and will create a 3-course meal for $25 or less. Simply click and follow the links to get to the recipes. I will continue to update this post until I’ve provided you with all the recipes you will need.

Take a look and get that stove going. I will come back to post suggested menus, but I wanted to make sure to get your creative juices going.

1st Course / Appetizers / Soup / Salads
Blue Pears
Avocado Salad with Caramelized Onion Dressing

2nd Course / Entrees
Bacon & Avocado Chicken Roll
Chicken Cordon Puff
Grilled Lamb Chops
Lechon Asado
Espelette Pepper Steaks
Shrimp al Ajillo
Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Cream

3rd Course / Dessert
Flan de Queso
Nutella Marble Cake
Poached Pears in Chocolate Sauce
Puffy Chocolate Purses
Easy Molten Cake

Other / Sides / Veggies
Bacon Asparagus Roll
Mashed Potatoes & Brown Butter Sauce
Onion Potato Casserole
Rice-Your-Roni

Top Chef It Yourself – Round 2

The introductory round was such fun, we’re doing it again. What can you come up with using these ingredients?

Couscous

and… GINJAH! (can you tell I was using my Top Chef Chairman pizzaz with that one?)

Here’s the deal, 

• You must be a foodie blogger to participate
• It is a monthly challenge–one entry per month
• Submit a dish incorporating 3 pre-set ingredients–doesn’t matter if  you follow, tweak or create your own recipe. You aren’t restricted to these ingredients, add at will
• All recipes must be submitted by the 20th of the month
• One recipe will be voted as the TCIY Recipe of the Month
• Winning recipe will be announced and featured on the 25th of the month  on this blog
• Blogger with the winning entry will receive a special widget to display on their site
• Winning blogger will choose 3 other entries they liked and will link them on their winning post

Who’s in?

Chicken Enchilada Dip: Touchdown!

A coworker found a recipe for this dip and shared it with me. I knew it was just the thing to bring with me to yesterday’s Superbowl Party at D&R’s home.

The original recipe suggested using pre-seasoned chicken fajitas, I chose to cook my own chicken. This recipe will work with any cooked chicken, if you’re short for time, use a rotisserie chicken from your local grocer. I made some other modifications to the recipe, it was a hit!

Chicken Enchilada Dip

4 cps chicken meat, cooked and cubed
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cp mayonnaise
2/3 cp sour cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
2/3 cp sharp cheddar, shredded
2/3 cp Monterrey Jack, shredded
2 fresh serrano peppers, finely diced
10 canned chilies (like serrano or jalapeño), diced
2 tbsp juice from the chili can

Note: You should adjust the amount of peppers you use to your taste. The measurements I submit here made for a dip that was delicious with only a hint of heat. I used fresh and canned chilies because the original recipe called for some of the juice to be added. I think the recipe would be fine without it.

Set aside enough of the cheese to sprinkle over the top when baking, I reserved about 1/4 cp total for topping. Preheat oven to 350°.

In your mixer, combine the cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, garlic, chili juice and cheeses, mix until smooth. Then add the chicken, peppers and mix thoroughly. Transfer the dip to a baking dish, whatever you want to use to serve it and top it with the reserved cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes, just long enough to heat it through, then turn on the broiler and remove it from the oven once the cheese is golden brown.

Allow it to cool before digging in. Serve with tortilla chips.

Vote for it here.

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris

24, 24, 24: An 8 + 8 + 8 interpretation

The contest:

Foodbuzz is a major site that caters specifically to food bloggers and the people who love to eat. 24, 24, 24 is one of the contests they sponsor and a medium to ignite foodie creativity to the umpteenth degree. This monthly contest showcases 24 unique meals organized by 24 of their featured bloggers and celebrated around the globe during a 24-hour period. Cool, eh?

I was invited to submit a meal idea. Still drunk with glee from my first Top 9 appearance (did I tell you I made it all the way to Top 2?!!! I did!), I am submitting an idea. This is the outline for, if you have ANY suggestions to improve it, please send it my way.

From the FBZ entry form:

The name of the proposal: 24, 24, 24: An 8 + 8 + 8 interpretation

Describe your proposal a little more. Please don’t forget to describe:
a) The food! Tell us the proposed menu, or type of cuisine.
b) The people. Tell us who you plan to share your meal with.
c) The location. Where are you having this meal?

24 = 8 Friends + 8 US regions + 8 Pairings. Hubby and I will turn our home into a travel car to take 6 of our gastronomically inclined friends on a culinary tour throughout the US highlighting foods by region of origin and pairing those dishes with US wines.

Describe how you plan to cover this meal. Tell us about:
a) The angle: what makes this meal unique?
b) The visual and written elements you plan to incorporate (pictures, recipes, video, music)

I’ve always been impressed by sommeliers, all that knowledge and the uncanny ability to tell you what to drink with what you’re eating. Personally, I have no clue as to what drink goes well with which dish, but I will be ignorant no longer!

The planning will begin by determining the ingredients that will represent the regions, then learning about how to pick complimentary wines for each choice. I will ask the guests to make the wine selections based on my newfound knowledge. Then, during the party, each of them will give the rest of the guests a description of the wine’s notes and how they compliment the meal, what should we be looking or tasting for. To make this even more interesting, the wines must be under $24/bottle (ideally well under $20, but that doesn’t quite tie into the 24 thing).

I will then share the recipes and pairing ’strategy’ with the Foodbuzz world, documenting the evening with photos.

What do you think? Would you like to come to dinner?

Curry. Curry.

I didn’t ‘discover’ Indian food until 10 years ago, give or take. I don’t know why that is. It was not mainstream in Panama, even though we have a huge Indian presence there. A friend invited me to lunch at a local restaurant a decade ago and I fell in love. It would be a few years before I tried my hand at recreating Indian dishes.

These days my pantry is always stocked with spices and sauces commonly used in this cuisine. I have to admit I have a soft spot for curries, but I do love it all. It is all so flavorful and delicate.

Anyway, here’s my rendition of a green curry. Hubby prefers to have a crust on his fish, so I fried the fillets and added shrimp to the curry sauce. I hope you’ll try it.

Shrimp & Fish in Coconut Green Curry

2 fish fillets (your favorite fish)
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cp panko crumbs
1 egg white
2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cp cilantro stems, diced
1/2 cp cilantro leaves, chopped
2 tbsp garlic, crushed
1 serrano pepper, finely diced
1/4 cp Thai basil, chopped
1 cp coconut milk
1 cp chicken broth
2-3 tbsps green curry paste
Oil for frying

.

Put the fish and shrimp in a bowl, add the salt and pepper make sure to disperse it well. Set aside.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high temperature, add the 2 tbsps of oil. Once the  oil is hot, add the onions and cook until they begin to turn clear. Add the garlic, serrano and cilantro stems. After a few minutes, add the cilantro leaves and basil.

Mix in the curry paste, coconut milk and broth, allow it to come to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, it will thicken slightly. Add the shrimp and keep stirring to coat them all. After 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and cover it with a tight-fitting lid. In the meantime, get started on the fish.

Heat up enough oil to fry the fish in another skillet. Beat the egg white in a bowl, dip the fillets in the egg. Then dredge them in the panko crumbs and slowly drop them into the heated oil. Fry them until both sides are golden brown. Set aside on paper towels to catch the excess oil.

Serve with jasmine rice. Place a fillet on the plate and top with the curry shrimp. Soooo good!

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris