Brussels Sprouts – A Different Presentation

09 Thursday Jan 2025

Posted by Bob and Robin in Brussels Sprouts, Caesar Salad, What's For Dinner?

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brussels sprouts, Brussels Sprouts, Caesar, Caesar Salad, dinner, food, recipes, vegetarian

Now I know what you are thinking – at least some of you. Yuk! But know, there are several ways you can counteract the sulfur in them. This is but one way. The recipe for this comes from Jamie Oliver and is Brussels Sprouts Caesar – Style. It’s a salad and some of the sprouts are seared, which tends to reduce the offensive flavor and odor. The recipe has anchovies in it; please use them. Here we go.

Brussels Sprouts Caesar-Style

Source: Jamie Oliver
Prep: about 25 min Total: 25 min 9 January 2025

Ingredients:
50g (1 ¾ oz) Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
1 Lemon
3 T Greek-style yoghurt
1 sm handful soft herbs, such as basil, flat-leaf parsley, dill
½ t Worcestershire sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Anchovies in oil (optional)
500g (1.1 lbs) Brussels Sprouts
2 thick slices of Stale Bread
1 clove of Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
Finely grate most of the Parmesan into a blender with the zest of half the lemon. Squeeze in the juice of the whole lemon, then add the yoghurt, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the anchovies (if using). Blitz (pulse) until smooth, then pour into a large serving dish.

Trim and halve half of the sprouts through the root. Place in a large dry frying pan, cut-side down, and char until brown and blistered. Finely slice the remaining sprouts then pile on top of the sauce. Tip the charred Brussels over the top and put the empty pan back on the heat.

Slice the bread into 1cm chunks, tip into the pan and toast. Make a well in the center, peel and grate the garlic into the pan, and then drizzle with olive oil. Give the pan a shake.

Grate over the remaining Parmesan, shake the pan, add another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, then return to the heat, until the cheese is melted.

Tip the crunchy cheesy croutons onto the salad and then give everything a really good toss until it’s coated in the lovely dressing. Speed peel over shavings of Parmesan and serve.

A Night In Shangri-La

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Avocado, Beer and Food, Blueberries, East Indian Food, Ethnic Foods, Housemade Soup, Locavore, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Salads, Shangri-La Tea Room, Tea, Things To Do, Vegetarian Foods, What's For Dessert?, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancers, Shangri-La, tea, vegan, vegetarian

The Shangri-La Tea Room and Cafe, that is! Good music with the Fleet Street Klezmer Band and Dancing by the Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancers. And then, there is always the awesomely different food served up. Vegetarian at that. But delicious. Easily a 4-Star, if not higher, out of 5-Stars restaurant. Don’t wrinkle up your nose at the thought of a vegan dinner. This is really superior. We’ll be back! Enjoy these photos of the evening and Left-Click any of them to see enlarged. Cheers!

They do have other things besides tea. Yes, they have a fairly good selection of beer and wine.

But with close to 100 different teas to select from, you should find one you like.

And some of the teas you can steep right at your table. This is a Tea Flower.

A wonderful Coconut Soup to star thing off with. And housemade, as is most of their food, salad, sandwich, soup and dessert selections.

A wonderful Coconut Soup to start things off. And housemade, as is most of their salad, sandwich, soup and dessert selections.

How about this Mock Tuna sandwich? This is absolutely delicious and one reason I keep going back.

Or this Mock Tuna and Crackers appetizer.

Or maybe you would like this Veggie Burger made with goat cheese, mango and peach salsa, spring greens, walnuts and portobello mushrooms. This is almost better than the Mock Tuna.

How about the Veggie Burger Salad?

Then for4 dessert a delicious Blueberry Lemon Muffin Cookie.

Then for dessert a delicious Blueberry Lemon Muffin Cookie.

This Power Pudding is to die for!! It’s like eating a chocolate mousse mixed with nice, creamy butter.

After eating all of these goodies, one must have entertainment.

Body art on one of the dancers!

Fleetstreet Klezmer Band. Victoria Kostenko on tyhe violin. Schlomo Kostenko vocals and bass fiddle and Mathew Voorhees on the accordion.

Fleet Street Klezmer Band. Victoria Kostenko on the violin. Shlomo Kostenko vocals and bass fiddle and Mathew Voorhees on the accordion.

The Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancer performed.

The Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancers performed.

Some the excellent dancers.

Even the guys get to dance!!!

Stuffed Peppers for Maggie, Stuffed Squash and Stuffed Tomatoes for Robin

08 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Alley Gardens, Bread, Captain's Shack, Comfort Food, Dinner With Friends, Grilling, Heirloom Squash, Heirloom Tomatoes, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Sourdough Bread, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Zebra Tomatoes

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food, garden tomatoes, stuffed heirloom squash, stuffed tomatoes, vegetarian

Mac and Marnie gave us two huge heirloom squash. I picked some tomatoes from out alley garden and sweet peppers are always great with a good stuffing. What a great couple of days working in the kitchen and coming up with a different stuffing blend and a heirloom Green Zebra Tomato Verde for the stuffing. The photo here is the squash getting ready to be put into the oven. I used an instant read thermometer to check the cooking process and took it out at 175 degrees F. This was very good, even if I do say so myself. The stuffed peppers were for Maggie and Trish whereas the stuffed tomatoes were for Robin. Here are some more photos. Left-Click to see the photos enlarged and don’t forget to Vote above. Enjoy!

Stuffed Heirloom Squash Cheese Bites Green Salad with Pomegranate Juice Dressing Acme Bake Shop Sourdough bread and Zucchini Rounds

Stuffed Heirloom Squash
Cheese Bites
Green Salad and Fresh Garden Tomatoes with Pomegranate Juice Dressing
Acme Bake Shop Sourdough Bread
Zucchini Rounds

Stuffed Fresh Alley Garden Tomato
Grilled Herbal Heirloom Squash

Robin can not handle green peppers or almost any peppers so I made her a stuffed tomato.

Stuffed Yellow and Orange Sweet Peppers
Grilled Heirloom Squash

This I made for Maggie and Trish tonight. I hope they enjoy it.

Chicken Tagine and Mushrooms with Moroccan Green Olives Revisited

28 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Captain's Shack, Cooking Styles, Ethnic Foods, Food Photos, Herbs and Spices, Main Dish, Moroccan Food, Moroccan Spices, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Slow Cooking, Sourdough Bread, Special Dinners, Special Information, Spices of Morocco, Tagine, Tagine of Chicken, What's For Dinner?

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chicken tagine, cloves garlic, dinner, food, vegetarian

Yup! Here it is. We tweaked it a little. Added some carrots and green beans. But that is all. The recipe was adjusted a little too, from the original, but only a little more turmeric and ginger. See what you think.
To the left, is the plated tagine. As you can see, we served it on a bed of lemon infused rice. Probably not traditional, but it added another dimension. We really liked it this way. Overall – We would grade it probably a 4 out of 5. But I think with the additional turmeric, it will be better, possible that 5 out of 5 elusive rating. Also, there is a lot of garlic in here, but it seems to be hidden. Just some of our comments. Try it and see what you think and please let us know. Just remember if you use Spanish olives, rinse them well to remove the vinegar. The preserved lemon may also need to be rinsed. There is a lot of salt in both of these ingredients. Left-Click any of these photos to see enlarged. Cheers.

Chermoula – Marinade. See recipe below.

Ready for the oven.

Adding the mushrooms and the preserved lemon. See recipe below.

The completed chicken tagine.

Here is the adjusted recipe. Thank you Roni Spilios-Kinane for the recipe. Enjoy. This could be used as a basic taagine recipe. Try it, for instance, with lamb shanks.

Chicken Tagine with Mushrooms and Moroccan Green Olives

Source: Roni Spilios-Kinane, Morocco
Oven Temp: 325°F
Cooking Time: 2+ hour
Serves: 3
Note: It really is good! It is my Moroccan Mother-in-Law’s recipe..

Ingredients:
1 lemon cut into wedges
Kosher Salt
¾ c Olive Oil
1 T White Pepper
5 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 preserved lemon, sliced
1½ t ground Ginger
2 t Turmeric
2 T Parsley, chopped
2 T Cilantro, chopped
5 Chicken Thighs, or any chicken parts you want to use
3 med Red Onion
Moroccan Green Olives
Mushrooms

Directions:
First you make your chermoula (marinade) olive oil, salt, white pepper, garlic (to your liking) 3-5 cloves, cilantro, parsley, ground ginger, and turmeric. Mix that all together.

Place your cleaned (with lemon wedges and salt) chicken and let it absorb the chermoula as you massage it into and under the skin (some people use smin (ghee, clarified butter) I sometimes do)

Chop finely about 3 medium onions (or more if you have a lot of chicken pieces or a large chicken) let the onions sweat a bit and then add your chermoula drenched chicken and pour any remaining chermoula over the top. Place the tagine cover.

After about 30 minutes, add some preserved lemon slices and the mushrooms.
When you have about 10 minutes left to cook, add the green olives and let all the flavors incorporate.

You CAN!
a) remove the chicken from the tagine and place it in the oven to get crispy if you like!
b) and/or
c) stuff your chicken with a stuffing of chopped mushrooms, cilantro, parley and vermicelli! This is absolutely delicious!

Good Soup for Dinner

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Captain's Shack, Comfort Food, Food, Food Prep, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Rice, Soup, Squash, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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butternut squash soup, dinner, food, garlic clove, vegetarian

Last night Robin found this recipe for an awesome squash soup. Don’t stop reading! I am not particularly fond of squash either. But this is a really good soup. Easy to make and can be made ahead of time. I added the garlic clove to the recipe. We also added just a little rice that had been sauteed in the sage butter to the bottom of the bowl before ladling in the soup. A surprisingly good addition. Try this soup, you will probably like it. Cheers!

Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan and Fried Sage Leaves

Source: Epicurious Butternut Soup with Parmesan and Fried Sage Leaves
Note: Fried sage leaves make a crispy garnish. Try them also crumbled on mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables.

Ingredients:
3 T Butter
1 Onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove Garlic, chopped
1 T chopped Fresh Sage
1 – 2¾ lbs Butternut Squash, halved, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 5 cups)
5 cups canned low-salt Chicken broth (We used fresh made duck broth)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
24 fresh Sage Leaves

Directions:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add chopped garlic and chopped sage; stir 1 minute. Add squash and broth.
Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup in batches in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Mix in cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate.)
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sage leaves and sauté until brown and toasted, about 2 minutes. Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with fried sage leaves and serve with a good Pinot Noir like a 2008 Papapietro Perry Russian River Pinot Noir.

Marnie’s Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

27 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Captain's Shack, Food, Food Prep, Holiday Menu, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Marnie, Recipes, Soup, Special Dinners, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

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c coconut milk, c vegetable stock, dinner, food, root vegetable soup, vegetarian

For Christmas Dinner, Marnie made this great Roasted Root Vegetable Soup, pictured here. We just had to get the recipe. Try it. You’ll like it.

Marnie’s Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lg Sweet Potatos, peeled and chopped into 1″ dice
1 Parsnip, peeled and diced
1 Rutabaga, peeled and chopped into 1″ dice
2 Carrots, peeled and diced [one carrot]
1 Poblano chili, seeded and chopped into 1″ strips or 1 Onion, chopped into 1” dice
1 c Coconut Milk [13 oz can]
3 c Vegetable Stock [Better Than Broth concentrate]
1/8 t Cayenne pepper
1 T pure Maple Syrup
1 t fresh minced Thyme
1 T fresh minced Rosemary

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place a piece of tin foil on two cookie sheets and generously spray each with cooking spray.
3. On one cookie sheet, place the diced carrots, parsnips and poblano chile. On the other cookie sheet, place the sweet potato and rutabaga.
4. Place both cookie sheets in the oven and roast veggies until tender — about 35 – 50 minutes. The sheet with the carrots may be done first; be sure to check periodically.
5. When all veggies have finished roasting, remove from oven and reserve some chunks for serving, very carefully transfer to a high-speed blender. Add the coconut milk, stock, thyme, rosemary, maple syrup and cayenne pepper.
6. Place the top tight on the blender and process soup until very, very smooth and velvety. If you don’t have a good blender, try either an immersion blender or a food processor. If you have a Vita-Mix, use it for this recipe! When the soup is smooth, serve immediately or pour into a large pot with reserved chunks and re-heat on the stove briefly.