Tequila Lime Shrimp Recipe

In my younger years, a bottle of tequila might not hang around my kitchen for very long. But I've had this bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold sitting my my cupboard for a couple years now (longer?) and I figured it was time to do something with it. I couldn't really picture me and the wife lining up the shot glasses, what with the kids needing to be fed and all, so I inebriated some shrimp instead.

Chicken Soup with Dumplings

My mom used to make this soup - it is very easy, and delicious...my kids even love it.    I usually start by making a roasted chicken dinner one night for dinner (I am sure Tin Pig has a roasted chicken recipe here somewhere), and then making a stock with the leftover carcass.   Just put the leftover chicken carcass in a large stock pot, cover with water, and boil, slightly covered, for approx 2 hours. I then let it cool, and refrigerate.   The next day, you can skim off any fat solids, remove the chicken bones, and leave any of the meat in the stock.    This is the base for the soup.  It makes approx 3 quarts.

Soup:

3 quarts (give or take) Chicken Stock with chicken pieces (see above for recipe)

1 cup Chopped carrots

1+1/2 tsp salt

Fresh Parsley

Dumplings:

1 cup unbleached flour

1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup milk

Mix Soup ingredients above, and bring to medium-low boil.    In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt together.   Add butter, and mix it in with a fork.   Add milk all at once, and stir quickly, and as little as possible, until everything is moistened.   Drop rounded spoonfuls of dumpling dough onto the boiling soup.   Let simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, then cover, and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Enjoy.

Lamb Chops with Mint & Red Onion Sauce

The mint is growing nicely in the box that rests on my deck rail. I've wanted a proper garden for some time now but there's simply too many trees surrounding my property to make it work. So I settle for a few herbs in flower boxes. The mint came in handy the day I spied some lamb chops under the cellophane at my local A&P. I can't always make it to the town butcher, and these looked fresh, so I figured I'd give them a try.

Jicama Slaw

The last time I wanted to make a Jicama Slaw, my grocery let me down and I ended up with a Mango Cabbage Slaw instead. It was good, but it wasn't what I was after. Well, it's a year later and I finally spotted some Jicama in the produce aisle.

Soy Marinated Chicken

I mentioned in an earlier post the Japanese style chicken wings I'd been having for lunch last summer. They're served out of a tiny store-front on west 19th street and if you're in the neighborhood, I highly recommend giving them a try. Back in August I tried out a sweet-soy glaze for some scallops and this weekend I marinated some chicken in a similar brew and was very happy with the results.

They're not quite what you'll get on 19th street, but still pretty good.

Crab Cakes Recipe

My older son has turned into a fairly adventurous eater. That is, at least he's willing to try new things even if the result is a resounding "bleccchh!" and a rush to get a glass of water. When we do find something he likes I try to work it into the regular rounds of home cooking and have had Crab Cakes on the list things to try at home for some time.

So these were my first attempt and I basically winged it. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out and the fact that there was just one of the nine crab cakes left makes me think the boy was pretty happy, too.

Veal Scallopini Recipe

There was a time in my career when my career didn't take up nearly as much time as it does now.

In those days, the booming internet economy allowed me to work from home as an independent contractor, which in turn gave me all sorts of freedoms with my schedule. I would shop daily for the food I wanted to cook that night - bread from the bakery, meat from the butcher, and produce from the green grocer. It was nice.

Those days also allowed me to develop a Columbo addiction. AMC used to show 1-2 episodes a day, and I would plan my work-load around the TV schedule. For those of you who are fans, you may recall one episode where the murderer is a restuarant owner. At the end, when the jig is up (as it always is), Columbo reveals his logic - and thus the culprit's downfall - as he prepares a veal scallopini dish for him. He alternates between explaining the recipe and the clues he uncovered, while the murderer marvels at both his detective and culinary work.

Those were the days.

So I don't quite remember how Columbo prepared that veal, and I'm not much of a slueth, but here's my take on Veal Scallopini.

Chicken Piccata Recipe

Chicken Piccata was always one of my mom's favorite dishes. I remember her ordering it regularly when we were kids and went to Lamanda's Restaurant (the place also had great clams oreganato - I wonder if it's still there...). So when her birthday rolled around this year, I decided to bring back this classic. It's a simple dish that comes together quickly and easily. It might be making regular appearances around our house from now on.

Lasagna Recipe

Lasagna really does require a lot of effort, which is probably why I don't make it that often. But The Drummer Boy was coming over with his family for dinner and he wasn't shy about submitting a menu request. Okay, so what if I asked him what he wanted? Couldn't he have made it easy on me and said "cheeseburgers" ?

Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

I've only made these twice, but each time they were well received. I'd be interested to hear how other folks prepare stuffed mushrooms. It seems to me there are lots of options here. Anyway, here's how I do it.