Candied Smoked Salmon with Lemon Ricotta Spread on Crostini [Rhonda]

After being AWOL from our family food blog for quite some time--moving to Chicago, settling in, renovating, learning to cook all over again with an electric cooktop--I'm happily back into new food adventures.

This is an appetizer we served over the holidays. It starts with some kind of bread--crostini, brioche toasts, water crackers--gets a dollop of lemon ricotta spread and, in this case, a topping of candied salmon for seafood lovers or pomegranate seeds with herbs for a light alternative.

In the spirit of trying new things, the Canadian candied smoked salmon was a home run. I'm hoping it's not just a seasonal offering from the True North Salmon Company...it was as if brown sugar and applewood smoke had done a happy dance over tender strips of Atlantic salmon. Entire packs of it can disappear while these apps are being assembled.

Lemon Ricotta Spread

2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
salt and white ground pepper

Mix ingredients together, adjust seasonings to taste, spread on crostini and serve.

Honey Habanero Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Wings [Zack]

I love making chicken wings.  They're great for any occasion that doesn't involve white clothing (sorry P Diddy).  The most popular recipe on this website is Honey Garlic Sriracha Glazed Wings, so I figured I'd post another favorite wing recipe of mine.  

You start by making a thick, spicy, and salty-sweet teriyaki sauce, and then pour it over roasted chicken wings.  Reduce the sauce to a glaze glaze under the broiler or in a pan, and they're ready to be consumed!

Process:

Lightly salt and pepper chicken wings.  Rub them with a small amount of canola oil and place in an oven at 375F / 180 C.  Cook until almost finished (about 25 minutes based on how close the wings are together), then turn on the broiler to crisp the skin.  Turn the wings over to get both sides golden brown.

While the wings are roasting, de-seed the habanero, and dice it.  Mince garlic and ginger as well.  Saute them all in a sauce pot over medium heat in 1T of sesame oil until fragrant.  Make sure to turn on your fan or the habanero will pepper-spray your house.

Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey and reduce.  This should take about 10 minutes.  The sauce should be the consistency of warm honey when it's finished.  Take off the stove and let it rest.

Toss the roasted wings in the teriyaki sauce and throw them back under the broiler.  You want the glaze to caramelize but not burn!  If you have not reduced your teriyaki sauce and it's too watery, you can transfer the wings to a pan and the sauce will thicken up more quickly.  This happened to me.

Serve with lots of napkins and enjoy!

Ingredients:
20 chicken wings 1T sesame oil
2 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger, diced
1 habanero, de-seeded (to taste)
1 cup soy sauce
1T rice wine vinegar
2/3 cup honey (to taste)

Song:  Erykah Badu - Hotline Bling

Friends of MT: Tincho’s Classic Caramelised Garlic Bruschetta with Roquefort [Tincho]

Intro by Zack:  Tincho does a great job explaining how we met in his post.  We became running buddies at work and our friendship took off from there.  His excitement for life is apparent in his post below.  He gave me a jar of this awesome caramelized garlic.  I couldn't contain myself and would sneak over to the fridge to eat these straight out of the jar!


Degree of difficulty: Easy

Time: 40 minutes to prepare the garlic, 10 minutes for the bruschetta

Serves: ~10 as an appetizer

I realised that I need to start my recipe with an Introduction. I’m afraid I don't have a funny one like the Bang Bang Shrimps (my introduction to this blog) but I will try something to capture the attention of the Koulermos family.

I met Zack thanks to our Johnson & Johnson Running Team in Brussels and I suddenly realised how enthusiastic he is with…. well, everything haha. We shared trainings, races (where I also met Lauren - another super enthusiastic person), beer tasting, photography, cycling and yes, cooking. I must admit that I was more on the ‘learner’  zone while Zack looked like a pro in most of the areas. I can still kick his ass drinking beer and doing long races like a marathon :)

Anyway, during the discussion of what to cook for his farewell, he mentioned the famous Bang Bang Shrimps, and the blog. I was like WTF are the Bang Bang but after tasting them, I can say that I agree with Justin (or whoever he is) that they are as good as sex. I even did it for Christmas and they were a unique success.

So, Zack showed us (the A team of running that includes Noemi and Dominika - two ladies also eager to take most of life and who also did the Amsterdam Marathon with me) the blog and encourage us to participate…  and I thought about my Classic Garlic Bruschetta.

I love this appetizer since the Garlic can be stored in a jar in the fridge and use it to welcome guests anytime. And the combination of flavours gives a lot with such a little effort. I took this recipe from a magazine and I’ve been cooking it for the last 3 years.

So here we go… hope you enjoy it.

Caramelised Garlic

Ingredients:

1)    1kg of garlic cloves peeled off like Mama Tommy’s logo (this is the only challenge of the recipe - see below (*1) )

2)    250 gr. of black sugar. (I reinforced ‘black’ since it is not brown. This is the secret ingredient and I could not find it in Brussels so I was shipping it from Buenos Aires :))

3)    200 ml of balsamic

4)    200 ml of soy sauce

5)    Thyme - as much as you like

6)    Rosemary - as much as you like… again

7)    Olive oil - see quantity below

PS: I usually prepare less than 1kg of garlic since it could be too much but up to you

OK, hands on work. But referring to the challenge in (*1), your first question could be “how in earth am I going to peel such a quantity of garlic?”. First time I did it, I followed the traditional way of peeling the cloves one by one. It took me ages and it was not fun at all. But don't worry, there are solutions for everything. Thanks to sharing this recipe with other friends, one of them found an interesting technique of peeling them in seconds. Yes, it is not a typo, it is seconds. Even my Mom (an experienced cooker) did not believe me, but it amazingly works and adds some fun to the cooking and a lot of noise !! Be careful with your neighbors.

In a nutshell, you just need to put the garlic into two metal bowls and shake them hard. No, Justin, I am not taking about Bang Bang Shrimps or sex :)

Here you have a photo of my own peeling and a youtube video in case you are as skeptic as my mom.

And now? The easy part.

Once the noisy experience is completed, just put the peeled garlic in a pot with the rest of the ingredients and cook them at a low fire. Olive oil is just to make sure you cover the surface of the garlic. Thyme and Rosemary at your own taste. I use a lot since it does not harm.

Approximate time of cooking is 30 minutes.

Cook them until the garlic is tender (see pic). Let them cool down and save them in jars in the fridge as shown below.

Bruschettas

Ingredients:

1)    Bread for bruschetta (we call it ‘country bread’ in Argentina but I think Cottage Loaf is the same)

2)    Roquefort cheese

3)    Rucola

4)    One clove of uncooked garlic (not the same one as above)

5)    Olive Oil

6)    And the Caramelised Garlic, of course :)

First thing is to slice the bread, use the uncooked garlic to scrape it in the bread and pour a little bit of olive oil on it as well. Then cook it in a very hot oven to make them crispy.

While waiting the bread, start cutting the cheese in cubes. Do the same with the caramelised garlic. Wash and cut some rucola.

Once the bread is ready, add the rucola, the cheese and the caramelised garlic (in this order) as you can see below. Spread some of the liquid in the jar on top for more sweet flavour and Voilá!

Ps: Ok, not my best pic here I must admit. It is the second round. I was so excited serving this during Christmas that I forgot to make the official picture of the first round that was looking much better :)

Enjoy it and thanks to Zach for encouraging me to take pics while cooking and write this down. It was a lot of fun!

Suggested soundtrack: Blackbird Album - Fat Freddy’s Drop

Panko Crusted Shrimp with Honey Garlic Szechuan Glaze [Zack]

You can’t beat bang bang shrimp, but this recipe is close!  If you’re not in the mood for the savory/spicy mayonnaise flavor of bang bang, this sweet alternative is akin to the sauce for General Tso’s Chicken.  You’ll crisp up some shrimp with a combination of corn starch and panko.  Then you lightly toss the shrimp in a honey szechuan sauce.  Coat with sesame seeds and some cilantro, and wow your guests!  These would be a welcome addition to a salad, on top of rice, or on a party platter with tooth pics in them. 

Process:

Defrost your shrimp – I am lazy and buy the de-veined and de-shelled shrimp.  Pour the water off of them and place them on a towel.

Crush your szechuan peppers.  

Mince the garlic.  Add 1T of sesame oil to a sauce pot over medium heat.  Saute the minced garlic in the oil and then add the ground szechuan pepper for 1 minute.  

Spoon honey into the pot, and add the fish sauce and soy sauce.  It should bubble as the water cooks out. 

In a bowl, combine about 50% corn starch and 50% panko.  The corn starch will create a crust and the panko will give the shrimp more texture.

Heat up a frying pan over medium heat and coat the bottom in a light layer of non-flavored oil.  Toss the shrimp in the corn starch and panko mixture.  The crusting will stick to the shrimp because they are a little bit damp.  Cook in the frying pan on both sides until light golden-brown and cooked through.

Check on your honey szechuan sauce.  After 10 minutes, it should stop bubbling so much and the viscosity should return back to the original honey thickness.  

Be careful not to cook the sauce too long, or else you’ll be left with a hard caramel.  If this happens, add a touch of water to return it back to the honey consistency.  Also note, as the sauce cools off, it will noticeably thicken.

Toss the shrimp lightly in the honey sauce.

  

Top with sesame seeds and cilantro and serve hot.

Ingredients (for about 30 medium shrimp):
4 heaping T of honey
2 cloves garlic
3 dried Szechuan peppers
1T sesame oil
1/4 tsp fish sauce
1T soy sauce

30 medium shrimp
panko and corn starch in equal quantities to coat the shrimp
vegetable or canola oil
sesame seeds
cilantro

Song:  Mar - Man x Woman

Homemade Sweet Sausage Flat bread Pizza [Zack]

One of my favorite pizzas is made by Delucia’s in Raritan NJ.  They make a nice dough, have a wood-burning oven, but what really sets their pizza apart is the fresh homemade sausage.  They season ground pork with some spices and then put the raw pork on top of the pizza.  Their oven cooks the sausage right on the pizza.  It’s way better than sliced formed sausage because the ground pork has nooks and crannies in order to increase browning.

I chose to add this sausage to a flatbread pizza.  I brushed the flatbread with olive oil and topped it with sausage, cooked spinach, red onions, and sea salt.

You can adapt this very basic sausage recipe however you choose.  You can:

• make it more spicy by adding hot pepper flakes
• omit the brown sugar for a savory sausage
• add any type of herbs (including fennel seeds)

Process:

Start by making your pizza dough.  Get a big bowl and combine the lukewarm water + the yeast packet + the honey.  Mix it all together and let it sit for 5 mins.  Gradually add in your flour, mixing constantly.  Once you can start kneading the dough, add only enough flour so the dough doesn’t stick to your hand.  Knead for 2 more mins until the dough is silky.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel.  Let the dough rise for an hour or so.   

In another bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the sausage and mix well. 

Pre-heat your oven well in advance to the maximum broil setting.  I like to use an overturned cast iron skillet on the middle rack of the oven instead of a pizza stone (thanks Kenji!). 

Roll out your pizza dough and add the toppings.   I like to brush the crust with olive oil.  Open the oven and carefully place the pizza on top of the cast iron skillet.  Cook the pizza until the crust browns nicely and the sausage has a few crisp edges. 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork

2T brown sugar

1tsp harissa powder (or ½ tsp paprika, ½ tsp pepper flakes)

1tsp onion powder

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp sea salt

Pizza dough:

Approx 3 ½ cups pastry or type 00 flour

1 envelope instant yeast

1T honey

2 tsp salt

1 ½ cup lukewarm water

Song:  Kavinsky - Nightcall

Kale for Breakfast or an Appetizer

Recently I saw a recipe of the Food Network using kale with squash so decided to try it.  Turns out it wasn't what I expected and we ended up with a HUGE bag of kale.  So off to the internet to search out other recipes.

We're always looking for something different for breakfast on our days off, so thought we'd try this one.

Sauteed Kale with Toast & Eggs (for 2)

Remove stems from approximately 1 cup of kale.  Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil, add 1 clove of chopped garlic, 1 tbsp of bacon bits and kale.  Cook about 2 minutes.  We preferred it slightly crunchy rather than wilted.

Take 2 slices of a nice, crusty bread.  Spread with butter or a little olive oil and toast (or not).

Spoon kale mixture onto bread and top with fried or poached egg. 

Tom put the eggs into a ramekin and cooked in a pot of water. 

Top with shaved parmesan.

As an Appetizer -
Use the same basic recipe - leave off the egg and you have bruschetta!  Top with a dollop of goat cheese and you're ready to serve.

Sriracha Honey Garlic Glazed Chicken Wings [Zack]

Wings and sriracha.  Two of my favorite things to eat, combined into one dish?  Yessur.  This is what I'm bringing to the super bowl party tomorrow (the Europeans are watching it a day late).  Since these wings are done in the oven, you can make them if you don't want to grill outside and brave the polar vortex.  And I promise, you won't miss out on any flavor.

These wings are hot.  Not blow-your-face-off hot.  Just hot - the honey and butter take the edge off of the sriracha so you can enjoy the flavor of the sauce.

You can make these the day before the big game (or dinner) and then just pop them under the broiler to heat up the wings and caramelize the sugars in the glaze.

Process:

Pre-heat your oven to 350F / 175C.  Toss your chicken wings in the dry rub ingredients.

Put some canola oil on a baking sheet and mix the dry-rubbed chicken wings around in it.  Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

In a small sauce pot over medium-low heat, combine the 3T garlic butter and 2.5T honey until they both become liquid.

Add the 5T sriracha and 1tsp soy sauce and cook for about 10 minutes.  The sauce should thicken up a bit.

Take the wings out of the oven.  They should have developed some color, but not be browned.

Coat them in the sauce.  You can call it a day and put them in the fridge for another time.  Then, all you'll need to do is broil these badboys before serving.

Or, if you can't wait, crank your oven up to maximum broil and place the wings back in the oven.  Put them on the middle-high rack below the broiler.  Leave them under the heat until the sugar caramelizes (about 5 minutes).  Make sure to keep an eye on the wings and turn them over in the sauce to ensure even browning.

Serve hot!

Ingredients:
30 wings
dry rub:
1T harissa powder (or hot paprika if you can't find it)
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp cracked black pepper
1tsp salt

Sriracha Honey Garlic Glaze:
3 heaping T of garlic butter (or 3T of butter, 3 cloves garlic chopped.  mash to combine)
2.5T honey
5T sriracha (to taste)
1tsp soy sauce

Song:  Storm Queen - Look Right Through

Pear Compote with Brie in Phyllo Cups [Rhonda]

Tonight's New Year's Eve festivities will start with a glass of Veuve Clicquot and these easy-to-make pear and brie bites. This is the quick version. If you have the time, you can make your own phyllo shells. It's not difficult and they're a bit more dramatic in shape and lightness. Either way, this is a lovely opener.

Ingredients:

(Makes 30)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
1 1/4 lbs. firm but ripe pears, peeled cored and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon cognac
2 boxes (15 count) frozen mini phyllo dough shells, thawed
1/2 lb. brie, rind removed

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar and cinnamon, then add pears and mix well. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until pears are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in cognac. Remove from heat and let cool.

Heat oven to 350 F. Arrange phyllo shells on baking sheet. Slice brie into small pieces. Spoon pear mixture into phyllo shells then top each shell with a piece of brie.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes, or until the brie melts. Serve hot.

If you want to make your own phyllo shells:

6 sheets phyllo dough, each trimmed to 12 by 16 inches and cut into 48 two-inch squares (stack the sheets and cut them all at once)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Mold 3 phyllo squares into the bottom of a miniature (1 inch) muffin tin. Place 3 more phyllo squares at a 45-degree angle on top and press gently into the muffin cups. Brush lightly with melted butter. Cook until lightly golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool. Place on a baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to use.

Suggested soundtrack: J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 Allegro. Any version. It's all good. (I'm listening to Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra)

Aged Pecorino with Walnuts and Truffle Honey [Zack]

Lauren and I spent a day cooking and taking food photographs with her sister Kaitlin (super cool sister) and Kaitlin's fiancee Ricky (super badass professional photographer). We started the day by going to the Cleveland West Side Market, then we moved on to an Asian supermarket. We spent 7 hours cooking, laughing, and taking photos. It was a total blast. While we were starting to get our ingredients and equipment organized, I whipped up a fast appetizer so people wouldn't get too hungry while we were cooking.

If you haven’t tried Pecorino cheese with honey and walnuts yet, you may be skeptical. This is a traditional Italian preparation that takes advantage of the salty-sweet flavor combination. You can pair Pecorino with a variety of sweet items: figs, pears, honey, jelly/compote, grapes, etc.

If you don’t like to cook, but you want to bring a fancy appetizer or cheese course to a dinner party, this is your ticket. Cut the cheese (heh), sprinkle walnuts over it, and drizzle honey on top. That’s it!

As you can imagine, since this is such a simple combination of items, the quality of the ingredients is key here. If you can, try to go to a nice cheese shop and ask someone about the different types of Pecorino. The more aged the cheese is, the stronger it will taste. I happened upon some truffle honey at the market, but you can use a nice quality regular honey as well. You’ll just miss the back end unmistakable funk of the truffles after you’ve taken a bite.

Process:

There's really not much to say here.  Slice the cheese in the way that you want to serve it.  You can make little squares so people can eat it with toothpics, or longer slices for small plate presentation.

Crumble some walnuts in your hands, and drizzle a good amount of honey on top.  I always end up adding more than I would have guessed because the honey is so darn good.

Ingredients:

Quality Pecorino cheese, aged to your taste (a proper cheese monger will let you try a few varieties)
Crushed walnuts
Truffle honey, or normal honey

Song to drizzle to:  Snoop Dogg - Beautiful

Grilled Watermelon and Shrimp [Rhonda]

More Louisville influence from Jack Fry's restaurant...

Like I mentioned in a previous post, our whole family was in Louisville, KY, as support crew for Matt's Ironman race last weekend. (He did extremely well, by the way, finishing in the top third of the participants. Whoomp! There it is!)

This grilled watermelon and shrimp recipe was inspired by an appetizer I had at Jack Fry's: crispy pork belly with watermelon, watermelon radish (tricky to find), ginger vinaigrette, cantaloupe coulis and sesame seeds, topped with fried leeks.

Food Network chef Cat Cora posted a recipe that I used as a base. This makes a refreshing dinner salad, or, as a small plate appetizer.

Degree of difficulty: moderate
Time: prep 40 minutes, grill time for shrimp and watermelon 10 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. large shrimp, defrosted if frozen, cleaned and deveined, tails left on

2 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 bell peppers...1 red, 1 orange, cored, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 sprigs cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil
2 limes, halved
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Salt and pepper

1 small seedless watermelon, halved, then sliced into 1/2 inch wedges, rind on
Unsweetened coconut, toasted for garnish
1 scallion, sliced for garnish
3 cilantro sprigs, chopped for garnish

Optional (but fab) salad addition:
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup jicama, diced
Arugula
Cilantro
Applewood smoked bacon
Ponzu sauce
Olive oil

A couple of tomatoes, a few chunks of crispy applewood smoked bacon, a handful of jicama, some arugula, and some fresh cilantro, chopped, will make a nice salad to slide under the shrimp and grilled watermelon. Toss these with a splash of ponzu sauce and olive oil.


Preheat the grill.
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add the water and the sugar. Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Pour 1 cup of the syrup into a small bowl and set aside. To the remaining syrup, add the red and orange peppers, jalapenos, garlic and cilantro and simmer on medium heat for 35 to 45 minutes or until thickened and marmalade-like. (I added a splash of soy sauce and some lime juice to cut the intense sweetness.)

Toast the coconut for garnish. Once finished, it can sit for a bit while you do the rest.

Toss the shrimp in a bowl with half of the olive oil, juice of 1 lime, cayenne, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Let marinate 20 to 30 minutes. Place on the hot grill and grill each side until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

Prepare the watermelon for the grill. Place the watermelon on a plate and brush each side with the reserved sugar syrup and the remaining olive oil. (I used a sprinkle of salt instead of the simple syrup...) Place on the grill and cook on both sides, about 2 minutes.

If using the optional salad, arrange it on the plate first. Once the red and orange pepper marmalade is thickened, place watermelon on plate (I removed the rind and cut it into chunks) with shrimp on top. Squeeze the remaining lime over it and spoon on the marmalade. Garnish with coconut and scallions and serve.

Suggested soundtrack: "We Will Rock You" by Queen. Brilliant race, Matt. Way to crush 'em.

Shrimp and Grits Louisville-style [Rhonda]

With the whole family down in Louisville, KY, last weekend for Matt's Ironman, we got to sample some kicker cuisine in that hopping town. Jack Fry's, an iconic Louisville spot, had the most interesting appetizers I've come across in a long time. Three things on the menu caused me to fall silent, the restaurant chatter fading away, as I thought about these unlikely combinations: Shrimp and grits with country ham, red-eye gravy, shiitakes and tomatoes. Pork belly with watermelon, watermelon radish, cantaloupe coulis and fried leeks. And foie gras with country ham, johnny cake and elderberry and blackberry preserves.

It's worth a road trip from Columbus for that trifecta alone.

Nick, Haydee and I shared the shrimp and grits. It was utterly sumptuous. And super rich. I tried to recreate it here and came dangerously close. (Dangerous because this is a naughty dish.)

I subbed in a few chunks of crisped applewood bacon for the country ham. No red-eye gravy handy, but I really didn't miss it. Other than that, it's pretty much what we had.

Degree of difficulty: moderate
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

8 large shrimp, defrosted if frozen, cleaned and deveined, tail shell removed
6 oz. applewood smoked bacon
A small handful each of sliced shiitakes, green (or red) bell pepper cut into slivers, and fresh tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
Grits (I used Quaker quick grits...cooks in 5 minutes)
2 tablespoons or so of heavy cream and/or one tablespoon crème fraiche
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper


Dice the bacon into chunks and fry until fairly crisp. Drain bacon onto paper towels. In separate frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the veggies with the garlic.

Steam the shrimp OR sauté them in a touch of olive oil. While that's happening, make the grits, two servings-worth, according to package directions. Add the butter and a touch of heavy cream. I also put a tiny bit of crème fraiche in, and it was awesome. But, again, rich. You can cut back on these additions...just taste as you go. The grits at Jack Fry's were super creamy, almost like mashed potatoes with lots of butter.

Season the grits with salt and pepper to taste (I used a wonderful smoked sea salt). Put the grits in two large bowls, divide and scatter the shrimp, veggies and bacon artfully over the grits. Serve immediately.

Suggested soundtrack: OutKast's "The Way You Move" (is there a clean version?)

Blue Cheese and Mascarpone Spread on Chocolate Biscuits with Port Wine Reduction [Rhonda]

With a mix of unlikely flavors, my favorite chef--Josh Dalton--has created a fun appetizer for one of the best (and most imaginative!) restaurants in central Ohio...Veritas Tavern. He's up in Delaware OH doing stuff that would warrant recognition in, say, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, or Tribeca.

When you unpack it, this appetizer is easy. Soften two cheeses, whip them together. Pour some port or red wine in a small saucepan, add a touch of brown sugar and cook it down to a syrup.

The chocolate biscuits? A UK staple, found in the international aisle at Meijer's and at World Market. So no whining about being hard to find!

Degree of difficulty: very easy (sorry Josh)
Time: 15 minutes, mostly to reduce the port
Serves: 12

Ingredients:
2 boxes McVitie's Digestive milk chocolate biscuits
8 ounce container mascarpone
4 ounce container blue cheese crumbles
half a bottle red wine or 2 cups port
1 tablespoon brown sugar if using red wine

Let the mascarpone and blue cheese come to room temp for a few minutes. Put in mixing bowl and whip until blended, a minute or so.

Pour the port in a small saucepan and, over medium heat, reduce by two-thirds. If using red wine, add the brown sugar, swirl and reduce. (This reduction will keep in the fridge for a few days if you want to plan ahead, as will the cheese mixture.)

Suggested soundtrack: "Blow the Whistle" by Too Short. Not for the lyrics. For the beat.

Tom Kha Goong (Thai Coconut Soup with Shrimp) [Rhonda]

Do not be afraid, all you fierce lovers of Thai food. While this fragrant, unbelievably delicious soup has a long list of unusual ingredients, it takes no real skill outside of crafting a shopping list. Galangal, a knobby cousin of ginger, may present your biggest challenge to find. I failed. So I subbed in some ginger and kept going.

If you're lucky enough to live close to an Asian market, shop there. We have CAM, Columbus Asian Market, where you can get a whole mess of birdseye chillies for a dollar or two, lemongrass, all kinds of exotic mushrooms and cheap limes. I got more gingerroot than I'll ever use for $1.83. And FYI, they have trays of peeled garlic for a couple bucks, in case you do lots of stir fry.

For this soup, if you don't like shrimp so much and prefer chicken, you can slice two boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips and cook them in the soup where it calls for shrimp. (It then becomes Tom Kha Gai Soup.)

We made the chicken version in my Cooking with Friends group a few months ago, oddly, as part of an Australian menu (lots of Asian influence in the northeastern part of the country near the Great Barrier Reef). It was one of the favorites of the day.

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken stock, preferrably homemade
2 stalks lemongrass, tender parts cut into thin diagonal slices
3 kaffir lime leaves (or more to taste), chopped into slivers
3 slices galangal, cut into thin matchsticks (you can use ginger if you're desperate, but galangal is more intense)
6 straw or button mushrooms, sliced
Salt to taste
1/4 cup lime juice
2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce
12 ounces large shrimp (frozen is fine)
2 cups coconut milk (I made do with a 13.5 ounce can...works just fine)
2 or more red birdseye chillies, split and seeded
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, more to garnish

Place the chicken stock in a large saucepan and add the lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, mushrooms and salt and bring slowly to a boil, then reduce heat.

Add the lime juice, fish sauce and shrimp and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes, taking care not to overcook the shrimp.

While stirring, add the coconut milk and chillies. Bring slowly back to a boil, continuing to stir. Don't cook it too quickly after adding the coconut milk or it will separate. Stir in cilantro.

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Suggested soundtrack: Rihanna's "Stay"

Fiery Sriracha Shrimp [Rhonda]

The flavors are vivid. The visual is pretty.
And the time it takes to execute is next to nothing.

Adjust the sriracha for the babies in your group...this ratio is potent and terrific.

Fiery Sriracha Shrimp
Degree of difficulty: super easy
Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons Sriracha
3 cloves minced garlic
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
OR 2 tablespoons cilantro without the mint and basil

Preparation: Melt butter in skillet. Add Sriracha.



Sauté minced garlic in it and toss in shrimp.
 
Just before they're done, add lemon zest and mint and basil and let them wilt.
Serve on a platter with toothpicks or thread onto decorative skewers.

Suggested soundtrack: Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30--Allegro ma non tanto

Clams with Chiles and Lemongrass [Rhonda]

Degree of difficulty: easy
Time: 15 minutes prep (easy), 3 minutes to steam the clams
Serves: 2 as an appetizer, 1 as an entree

Clipped from a magazine some time ago--Elle Decor? Martha Stewart Living?--this is such a clean, yet bracing and spicy way to serve littleneck clams. The hardest part is finding tender, fresh-caught clams--Whole Foods comes through regularly, as well as reputable fish markets. Paired with a chilled pinot grigio, some bread and a salad, it makes a late summer dinner on the terrace delightful.

Ingredients:
Coarse salt
1 dozen small clams (littlenecks are fabulous), rinsed well
1 stalk lemongrass, hard outer leaves removed and reserved, bottom four inches of stalks thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 or 2 small fresh green chiles (jalapeno, serrano or Thai chiles), thinly sliced crosswise
1 or 2 small fresh red chiles (Holland chiles or cherry peppers)
Juice of 1 lime, plus a few lime wedges
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
Several sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in a large bowl of cold water. Add clams. Let soak at room temperature 10 minutes. Drain. Scrub clams under cold running water. Transfer to a large bowl of fresh cold water. Repeat, scrubbing clams and rinsing. Drain.

Put reserved lemongrass leaves in a large pot with 1/2 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Add clams. Steam, covered, until clams open, three minutes or so. Drain and reserve clams in separate dish. Discard any unopened clams and the leaves.

To the pot add oil, sliced lemongrass, shallots, garlic and chiles. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until lemongrass and shallots turn golden, about a minute. Remove from heat. Add clams back to pot, gently stir to coat.

Stir together lime juice and fish sauce in small bowl, expanding the amounts if you need to, and pour over clams. Transfer clams to a large serving bowl, sprinkle with cilantro. Garnish with lime wedges.

Suggested soundtrack: Don Omar Tego Calderon "Bandolero"

Fig, Ricotta, and Honey Crostini [Zack]

When I don't want to have a heavy dinner, I skip out on meat.  I especially try to avoid red meat if I get home from work late and need to eat a later diner.  Nobody likes to wake up in the morning and feel heavy.

This recipe is very simple and has a few interesting flavors that meld together to produce a crunchy addition to any meal.  The sweet figs and honey balance out with the rich ricotta and savory, garlicy bread.

Try this one with a fresh summer salad!

Process:

(honey not pictured)

Slice your bread into 1/4 inch (or 1 cm) slices.  Heat your oven to 350F / 175C.

Lay the slices on a baking tray and lightly brush them with olive oil.

Pop the tray into the oven and bake for about 7 to 10 minutes, until it's brown and crispy.  Make sure to watch it - bread burns quickly!

While the bread is in the oven, mix your ricotta in a bowl with 3 of the sprigs of thyme leaves.  The leaves are easier to strip off of the stems if you run your fingers from the top and work down.  Add a pinch of salt and as much cracked black pepper as you like.

Slice your dried figs thinly.

When the bread comes out of the oven, let it cool until you can handle it, and then brush it with a peeled garlic clove.  The crunchy bread will grate the garlic and it will nicely fragrance the bread.

Spread the ricotta mixture over the bread, top with the slices of fig, and then drizzle honey on top.  Add the leaves from the last thyme sprig for some color.

Serve with something fresh - I chose a summer salad of radish, cilantro, avocado, and a lemon honey dressing.

Ingredients:
(makes about 8 large crostini, or 16 baguette-slice sized)

1 loaf of hearty wheat bread
1 250g container of ricotta cheese (~1 cup)
7 dried figs, sliced longways
1 garlic clove
1 to 2T of olive oil
2 T of honey for drizzling on top
4 sprigs of fresh thyme

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