Monthly Archives: March 2010

Deviled Eggs with Shrimp

Posted on March 31, 2010 | 2 Comments

Easter is just days away and recipes for lamb, tender asparagus, and, of course, eggs, have swamped my inbox.  Consequently, I’ve had deviled eggs on the mind and couldn’t resist whipping up a batch this week.  Normally reserved for picnic fare, I’ve noticed that deviled eggs have become a little more glamorous these days. 

It seems the traditional deviled egg made with mayonnaise and mustard and sprinkled with earthy paprika is somewhat passé.  Nowadays, deviled eggs strut their stuff with ingredients such as smoked salmon and crab and toppings of caviar and salmon roe.  And while I certainly appreciate the culinary advancement of the humble egg, I’m not sure I’m ready to abandon the original comfort food favorite.

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The Linnda Durré Show

Posted on March 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

For anyone interested, I’ll be interviewed on The Linnda Durré Show tomorrow (Monday, 3/29)  at noon.  If you live in Central Florida, listen to the show on WEUS 810 AM radio at noon (EST).  If you live outside of Central Florida, tune in at www.810weus.com. 

It will be a fun hour devoted to my favorite topic: food!  I hope it makes you hungry.

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Shrimp Ceviche

Posted on March 23, 2010 | 2 Comments

I’m dedicating this post to my friend Marcelo.  Marcelo and I became friends when I lived in Manta, Ecuador in 2003.  Originally from Manta (a seaside town in Ecuador), Marcelo is a wonderful guy with a winning smile and a mischievous personality.  During the year that I lived in Ecuador, Marcelo and I shared many adventures together.  One of my favorite memories of Marcelo was when he took a group of us spear-fishing.  I never got in the water, but Marcelo bravely jumped in and actually landed us lunch.  I’ll never forget him cutting up the fish, squeezing lime over the pieces, and preparing a simple ceviche, right there on the boat.

Ceviche (also spelled seviche and cebiche) is a popular dish in Latin America made by marinating fish or shellfish in citrus juice (or another acidic liquid).  The acid in the citrus literally cooks the fish and the result is a flavorful and refreshing dish.  Ceviches were my favorite food to eat in Ecuador.  My favorite restaurant during the year I lived there was on a popular boardwalk overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  You could get an ice-cold beer, a basket of chifles (fried plantain chips), and a delicious ceviche for just a couple of dollars.  As you watched the people walk by and the waves come in, it was easy to contemplate the idea of never leaving. Continue reading →

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Red Bean Ice Cream

Posted on March 17, 2010 | 2 Comments

I vividly remember the first time I tasted red bean ice cream.  My now husband and I were sitting at a sushi bar having just eaten far too much sushi when he suggested we get red bean ice cream to end the evening.  I had never heard of red bean ice cream and was a little wary of it.  I mean, can you blame me?  Ice cream with beans in it doesn’t just scream delicious to me.  But as my husband went on and on about how much he loved it, I decided to give it a try. 

If you’ve never tried red bean ice cream before, the taste is unusual.   When I first tried it, I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not, but found myself going back again and again for one last bite.  Even after scraping up the last bit of ice cream, I was still on the fence and it was only later, when I found myself wishing for another bowl,  that I decided that I actually liked ice cream with beans in it. 

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Less Paper = More Trees and Happier Cooks

Posted on March 17, 2010 | 4 Comments

A savvy reader suggested that I offer a printer-friendly option for the recipes featured in Minced.  Genius, right?  And somehow, my very un-savvy self was able to figure out how to do it.

I’ll work on updating the past year of recipes, but from now on each post will feature a link to a PDF version of the recipe that will be printer-friendly. Today’s post on Red Bean Ice Cream is the first post to include this new feature.  Please let me know how you like it and as always, thanks for reading Minced.

Happy eating!
Nikki

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Lamb Ragu

Posted on March 11, 2010 | 5 Comments

 

 

As promised, here is the lamb ragu recipe for the homemade tagliatelle that I wrote about earlier this week.  Hopefully you’ve made your pasta and you’ve just been tapping your fingers as you’ve waited on me to give you the recipe for the sauce.  Well, wait no longer…

Traditionally, ground beef or pork is the meat in a ragu or Bolognese sauce.  However, I just couldn’t resist substituting ground lamb.  For those who read Minced regularly, you’ve heard me lust after lamb before.  For those who don’t know about my lamb obsession, it’s one of my favorite meats.  In this ragu, it provides depth and an earthiness that frankly makes me want to swoon.  It is very, very good.

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Homemade Tagliatelle

Posted on March 9, 2010 | 1 Comment

Two years ago, my husband and I decided that we would give homemade pasta as a Christmas gift.  I had learned how to make pasta a couple of months earlier and was excited to put my new skills to work.  We planned to make the pasta, let it dry, and then pack it in bags to give to our friends and family.  We thought it was a fabulous gift idea.

And it was.  Except for the fact that we were planning on giving homemade pasta to about 15 different people which equals an awful lot of homemade pasta.  We had planned to tackle the pasta making on a single Saturday.  It took two Saturdays and a Sunday.  I had thought the pasta would dry prettily in the kitchen.  It did dry in the kitchen, and the guest bedroom, and on the living room shelves, and anywhere else that we could drape a towel and lay it out to dry. 

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Salmon, Orange, and Spinach Salad

Posted on March 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

I am typically not a fan of eating a salad as my main entrée.  Quite honestly, I’ve had a lot of bad ones.  It usually plays out something like this:  I somehow manage to subdue my gluttonous urges and opt for a salad over a deliciously large cheeseburger with greasy french fries.   I proudly pat myself on the back for being such a healthy person and shortly thereafter, a sad-looking plate of droopy lettuce, too much dressing, and a cold rubbery meat is placed in front of me.  Frankly this is often times too much to bear as I think  about that juicy cheeseburger and those golden fries that would have totally been worth the extra 6 miles in the gym. 

So it was with great purpose that I set out to use up some leftover salmon by making a dinner salad.  I looked for the freshest spinach in the grocery store, toasted almonds, carefully cut oranges, and even made salad dressing to make sure that my entrée salad was far from disappointing. 

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