Calamari Steak

Posted on January 21, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was roaming around Whole Foods the other night looking for something to make for dinner and came across something I hadn’t seen before — Calamari Steak. I’ve had rings and thin calamari tubes, but this stuff was amazing. About 1/2″ thick and 1/2lb per steak. Had to give it a try.

Unfortunately neither of the guys at the seafood counter had any idea how to cook it so did a little research while waiting in line to check out. I found info that said season and pan sear for about 1 minute per side. That sounds easy enough. I just used for garlic salt and Florida Seasoning from Penzey’s for seasoning.

To pair with this, I also sauteed some kale and mushrooms in sesame oil.

When I was at Whole Foods I also came across some Manchego that was on sale. Love Manchego because I can actually eat it because it’s made with sheep’s milk vs. cow’s milk. Lactose intolerant folks can bear it!

So, with all said and done, enjoyed a great meal of calamari steak — which was a bit chewy, in a cool way, kale & mushrooms, manchego and olives. Not too shabby, at all.

Brussels Sprouts Test

Posted on November 25, 2013 by melsmosaic

One of my contributions to Thanksgiving dinner is a brussels sprouts dish. So when I was attending a party last night, I took that as a test-run for a recipe I’d been eyeing. I was from a recent issue of Bon Appetit — Grilled Brussels Sprouts with Chanterelles. It looked simple yet complex so it had to be made!

Ingredients are pretty basic (and I of course made some substitutions):

1½ pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved — they didn’t have any (whole ones) at the store so I grabbed the shaved ones at Trader Joe’s
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thick-cut bacon, sliced crosswise ¼” thick — went with prosciutto
12 ounces chanterelles or crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, halved or quartered if large — baby bellas at TJ’s, oh yeah
1 large shallot, chopped
4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
2 tablespoons dry Sherry — white wine because I had it
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

The recipe, as named, aims to have the brussels sprouts grilled but I didn’t have the option. So went with the alternative…5-8 minutes in a skillet over medium high heat. You take them out when done then cook the bacon (or prosciutto here) until crisp, then remove.

Throw the mushrooms in there, cook for a few minutes, the get the shallot and garlic going, t00.

Throw everything else in there, stir, salivate, taste, stir, taste some more to be sure everybody will be just as happy as you. Oh, then I guess share/serve. Great option for Turkey Day!

U.S. Open the Wine

Posted on June 19, 2013 by melsmosaic

The title just makes me think of Jeopardy! with the great ‘Before and After’ category. I can never get those right. But in this case, the scenario was nailed right on the head!

Last Sunday, golf! Annual U.S. Open on Father’s Day. If you can’t be at the event watching or playing (hit the course for 9 holes on Saturday), what better to do than watch at home while enjoying some good wine and food? Got together with my vino-loving friends to spend countless hours watching those little white balls fly through the air, go into the water, hit the high grass or sink into that hole.

The beverage menu for the day started with some nice Prosecco. After that, we opened my contribution to the day. It was from a winery I visited while in Sonoma last year. Small little place with huge flavor in what they produce — Scribe. We enjoyed the 2008 Syrah. And these guy put some tough-to-remove wax on the top of the bottles (1/4″ thick or so) — darn that was tough to open, but made the wine taste even better.

To pair with my wine I opted to bring non-normal snacks…not just some quick dips, etc. I was craving some asparagus so opted for Roasted Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus. Just lightly coat the asparagus with olive oil, wrap each piece with prosciutto then place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, remove quickly, turn, then continue roasting until crisp. Voila, delicious! Can serve hot or cold. Ok, remembered to take a picture when there was one left.

Then also made some Sauteed Mushrooms with Asian Flair and Persian Cucumbers. Just cut some mini Portobellos into cubes and tossed them with soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil. Put them in a pan on the stove and sauteed them for a bit and the sauce got a thick. Put some sesame seeds in there for flair. Good!!! Then took some of those little Persian Cukes and cut them into decent thickness slices and tossed with lemon juice and salt and served on the side.