I have lobster frozen from my last Maine trip so I thought I'd try a Westinghouse family classic. Although I love this dish, I thought I'd try to lighten it up and found the recipe below on recipezaar - Recipe #9743. I served it over spaghetti and the first bite brought me back to big family dinners at the "big house" and cozy suppers at Aunt Linda's in New Hampshire.

2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (I used soymilk)
2 beaten egg yolks
8 ounces cubed, cooked lobsters
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
1 dash ground red pepper
2 English muffins, split and toasted
snipped fresh chives (optional)

In a medium saucepan, melt butter.
Stir in flour and salt.
Add the milk all at once.
Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Cook and stir 1 more minute.
Stir about half the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks.
Return all to saucepan.
Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
Stir in lobster, dry sherry, white or black pepper, and ground red pepper.
Heat through.
Serve over English muffin halves.
If desired, garnish with snipped chives.

Posted by Maggie at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ever since a recent supper club where Larisa made butternut squash soup, it's been on my mind. I made it on a lazy Sunday and it made for a nice, warming, and vibrant soup. Although Melik sneered at the big heavy hourglass figure squash, I think he enjoyed the finished product. I left out the potatoes but maybe I'll try it with next time to compare.

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Posted by Maggie at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a sweet potato in the fridge and I've never tried these... I'm going to try to remember to put these on parchment paper this time. My fries always stick to foil. Was good! Crispy, healthy, and so easy on parchment.

1 lb sweet potatoes
1 egg white
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Peel and cut potatoes into 1/4 inch x 1/2 inch strips.
In a bowl, combine egg white and seasonings; beat well.
Add potatoes; toss to coat.
Spray two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
Place potatoes in a single layer on the two baking sheets.
Bake, uncovered at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Posted by Maggie at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bread is on my mind lately and I have no idea why. Mom has promised to make a batch of homemade bread with me this weekend... perhaps even two - one mom wheat/nutty style and one sourdough. I have to remember to take notes and pay attention. Although I've watched mom make bread about a zillion times in these short 25 years, I have yet to be able to successfully duplicate her method. Updates on that to come...

I did, however, pick up a really good baguette from this Belgian Bakery/Restaurant I read about called Le Pain Quotidien. I cut it up and froze a lot of it, much to the chagrin of Melik. I've brought it out to have along with a meal on several occasions and upon our last meal Melik proclaimed "where is this bread coming from!! I search for it whenever I'm having breakfast on the weekend and I can't find it!" Moohahahaha, I shouldn't have let him in on my freezer trick...

Organic Mucho $$ Bread

Posted by Maggie at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm always trying new, exotic, and complicated recipes but I think I'm doing a disservice by leaving out the tried and true recipes I'll turn to for a quick fix. Thinking about the Greek lemon potatoes I used to have at Skaros Family Restaurant, I decided to make something similar to satisfy my craving. I didn't have a lot of time, however, so I decided to just cut up whatever vegetables I had lying in the fridge and throw them in some parchment paper along with some lemon juice, a few fresh thyme sprigs, and just a lite brush of olive oil. I closed the paper up by rolling the edges and threw it in the oven at 450 degrees for about 30 mins.

So Simple
So Fresh
So Elegantly Tasty

Posted by Maggie at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Another recipezaar recipe - Recipe #95843. I thought it was great but Melik wasn't a fan. He really loves asian marinated fish, so I think he just thinks anything different isn't quite as good...

16 ounces mahi mahi fillets
2 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/3 cup red shallots, sliced (I didn't have any shallots, so just used a little more onion)
1/4 cup yellow onions, diced
1/4 cup garlic, chopped
2/3 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar

Coat pan with cooking oil and pan fry Mahi Mahi fillets until golden brown.
To prepare sauce, saute garlic and shallots in pan.
Add onion, tomato paste and chopped tomatoes, fish sauce, vinegar or lemon juice and sugar.
Stir in chicken stock and simmer until sauce thickens.
Remove from heat and add basil.
To Serve, top Mahi Mahi fillets with generous helping of tomato basil sauce.
(Vegetarian option: Substitute Mahi Mahi fillets with deep fried tofu and use vegetable stock in the sauce.) You can also substitute any mild white flesh fish instead of Mahi if you can't get it in your area.
Garnish with a pretty whole basil leaf or bunch of leaves.

Posted by Maggie at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Wanted to make my own granola and I searched and found this one on recipezaar - Recipe #100464. It's pretty good- I added raisins and dried apple, used 1/2 splenda 1/2 brown sugar, and molasses. It didn't clump really, and I like that about granola. Perhaps it's that the wet mixture has water and not enough sugar?? Not sure. Although this is good, I might try something else next time to experiment.

4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup milled flax seeds
1/4 lb unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1/2 cup sesame seeds
5/8 cup slivered almonds
5/8 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar substitute (regular brown sugar can be used)
5/8 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sorghum (molases can be used but the sorghum produces a lighter flavor)
5/8 teaspoon salt
7/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
7/8 cup dried fruit (combination of raisins, blueberries, cranberries)

Prehat oven to 300 degrees.
In a large bowl combine oats, wheat germ, flax seed, coconut, sesame seeds and nuts, mixing well.
In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar substitute or brown sugar, water, oil, honey, sorghum, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.
Heat until thoroughly mixed; do not boil.
Pour the syrup over dry ingredients and stir until coated well.
Spread into five 13 x 9 inch jelly roll pans.
Bake 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
For a crunchier texture, bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
Cool mixture and add dried fruit.
Store in airtight container in a cool dry place.
Will keep up to 6 months; but it doens't make it that long in our house.

Posted by Maggie at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)