By Ajeet Khurana
There really is no getting away from artificial flavoring. The last I heard, they were using artificial colors to turn processed ham pink. Being in the pink of health acquired a new meaning with that revelation. Should we really steer clear of artificial foods and flavors in all their forms? For years we have been hearing complaints about the deteriorating quality of the food we eat. Most often, this deterioration has been attributed to their chemical content. This raises one question: is it possible to live life in a completely organic way?
A few years ago it may not have been possible to go completely organic. However, these days we have access to stores that specialize in organic food. We do not need to keep on slowly poisoning ourselves. An organic diet is far more nutritious than the diets that we have been depending upon for decades now. One of the factors that add to the nutrient value of organic foods is the fact that these are completely natural. Organic foods represent a return to Mother Nature and a repudiation of the hundreds of chemicals that have been poisoning our foods since the start of the factory system.
The proponents of organic food claim that nothing could taste more delicious. Moreover, the fact that organic food is completely free of chemicals suggests that it is healthier. Cattle that are raised in the organic way are less likely to have been fed all sorts of chemicals. Hence, one can assume that dairy products made from their milk will be significantly healthier. It is stated that vegetables and fruits that are grown on organic farms are healthier as they contain far more nutrients than are contained in veggies that are intensively farmed.
There are many benefits to going the organic way. Organic farming is far less harmful to our environment. In this day and age, when the environment is under grave threats from all quarters, even a small step towards incorporating its well-being into our lifestyle should be appreciated. As a result of its non-reliance on chemical fertilizers, the farm hands on organic farms are less likely to suffer health problems. The respiratory diseases that strike workers on the conventional farms are quite rare among those on organic ones.
However, are we really ready to go natural in a big way? Organic food usually costs significantly more than the food grown on conventional farms. Are we willing to add to our expenses by going completely organic? Now, that is the question we should be asking ourselves.
About The Author
Organic Food is the way to go. Learn about Organic Gardening and Organic Tea.
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July 24th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Jeremy Sherk
As a bartender, it”s essential to serve drinks in the correct glassware. The whole essence and experience of a drink is in the quality and style of the glass it”s served in.
Would a nice cognac really be the same in a highball glass as opposed to a snifter? Would a glass of wine really be the same in a rocks glass? Would that sexy cocktail really be the same in a pint glass as opposed to a frosty, chilled cocktail glass?
Glassware isn”t just designed for the look and feel of a drink either. There”s often a beneficial purpose behind the design. For example, the slim, tapered neck of a champagne flute is designed to prevent the
bubbles in the champagne from escaping. Also, the wider bowl of a red wine glass is designed to let the wine breathe.
Now I”m not going to list every shape and style of glassware in the universe. I”m going to focus on basic, ESSENTIAL glassware you”ll be expected to use and be familiar with as a bartender. I want to help you succeed, not intimidate you with dozens of different glasses out there.
Remember also that good-quality, sparkling clean glassware make a huge difference to the customer. Drinking is a ritual and all aspects of the ritual should be perfect, so glassware is something you should take very seriously as a bartender.
Ready? Let”s go. Shot Glass, 1 – 2 oz. You”ll have more of these break on any given night than any other glass. The kind of people pounding shots back will naturally slam them down on the bar, which often chips and even shatters them.
The most common are 1 oz. or 2 oz. shot glasses. Shot glasses are used for any shot or shooter. From a flaming shot of Bacardi 151 to a layered B-52 shooter. Used as a measuring tool as well, shot glasses are a must have in every bar.
Shooters with juice in them, like a Broken Down Golf Cart, should go into a 2 oz. shot glass so that the customer gets their 1 oz. of booze in the shot.
Rocks Glass (Old Fashioned), 4 – 9 oz. Known as a rocks glass because it”s used to serve many drinks with ice in them. The rocks glass is used for serving any built, single cocktail on-the-rocks.
When you”d use this glass: if a customer asks for their drink “short,” for a “scotch on the rocks,” for a “vodka martini on the rocks,” for a Black Russian, for a Gin & Tonic etc.
Highball Glass, 8 – 12 oz. A “highball” is any drink that mixes alcohol and a mixer. i.e. vodka cranberry, rum & coke, gin & tonic, whiskey seven, etc. Thus, the highball glass was developed to accommodate these types of drinks.
While “highballs” can just as easily be mixed into a rocks glass, it all depends on what the policy is where you work, as well as the volume of the glass. I will use highballs for ”doubles” and rocks glasses for
”singles”.
I”d rather give the customer a little less mixer on the ”single” which is why I use a rocks glass in that situation. Highballs are by far your most versatile piece of glassware.
Cocktail/Martini Glass, 4 – 6 oz. This glass has true presence. You can take a simple cocktail, like a screwdriver, and shake it with ice, pour it into a frosty cocktail glass, add a nice garnish and voila! You”ve got a very sexy cocktail!
Any martini must go into this glass unless requested otherwise. Only shaken drinks will go into this glass as well, you”ll never build a cocktail into this glass, that would be very low-class.
Also, because of its ”V” shape, having ice in this glass is very awkward because it will keep hitting your teeth when trying to drink the concoction. Never add ice to a cocktail in this glass, unless a customer
requests it, which does happen occasionally.
Brandy Snifter. Despite the often large size of the brandy snifter, don”t pour more than a couple of ounces of brandy into one. The short stemmed bowl design is meant to be cupped to allow you to use your hand to warm the brandy.
Also, the size of the snifter will greatly influence the strength of the aroma, and unless you warm your brandy you will likely prefer to have a snifter smaller than 16 ounces.
Beer Mug/Glass. For some, there”s nothing better than a frothy, big headed mug of beer to satisfy one”s craving. Not every bar has mugs but your bar should have some type of glass designated for beer.
There are so many types and styles out there. In Belgium for example, each beer has it”s own signature glass! Generally beer glasses are very thick and sturdy compared to other glasses.
Now you”re a little more familiar with the necessary glassware that every bar should have.
About The Author
Jeremy Sherk, is an expert, world-class bartender, who has helped thousands of bartenders land their dream job and explode their level of cash tips.
Get your hands on his free e-course at www.SixFigureBartender.com
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July 23rd, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Shannon N Jefferson
A well balanced meal starts from low fat recipes. Those recipes are meant for people who control their meal in terms of fat .Low Fat is a full source of energy food. For a low fat balanced meal; here are 3 recipes for you.
Low Fat Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
2 Cups of sugar
1 cup of applesauce
8 oz of Healthy Choice Egg Product
2 teaspoon of vanilla
6 ripe bananas-mashed
4 cup of flour
2 teaspoon of baking soda
Low Fat Banana Bread instructions:
Mix up the sugar and applesauce then add egg product after that mix all well. Second step add bananas and vanilla and also mix well. Stiff flour with soda then adds little by little all blended in. Cook both loaves at about 320 degree for about 1 hour in the oven. Depending of the oven you have , it will take more time if you put both inside the same oven .
Serve: 2 people.
Low Fat Brownies Recipe
Ingredients:
2 Oz of baking chocolate
2 Teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1/ 4 of salt
3 large eggs lightly beaten
2 large eggs whites lightly beaten
3/ 4 maple syrup
1 cube of unsweetened applesauce
1/ 4 of canola oil
1 cup of cake flour sifted
3 /4 cocoa powder
6 Oz of extra bittersweet chocolate
Low Fat Brownies instructions:
Heat the oven up to 350-360 degrees. Place them in a 9 X 9 inch on a parchment paper in a baking pan grease a little. Melt the chocolate together with vanilla in a recipient place in boiling water. Put the mixture in a large bowl.
Mix the salt, sugar, eggs white and eggs until it look like smooth .stir in honey or syrup, canola oil and applesauce. Mix the flour with the cocoa powder over and with care, fold until the mixture is smooth. Gently combine the bittersweet chocolate.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and cook for about 45 minutes. Dust with confectioner sugar and let it cool on the rack
Serves: 10 people
Low Fat Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients:
1 box crushed graham crackers
1 package sugar free Jello lemon flavored gelatin
2/3 cup boiling water
1 cup 1% low fat cottage cheese
8 ounces light cream cheese
2 cups cool whip Lite thawed
1 cup reduced calorie cherry pie filling
Low Fat Lemon Cheesecake Instructions:
Take a 9 inch pie plate and spray it with a non stick cooking spray. Dust side with half box of graham cracker crumbs. Melt totally the gelatin in the boiling water; dispense into blender, add cream cheese and cottage cheese and cover.
Mix together at a medium speed, rubbing down sides occasionally about 3 minutes or until it is found smooth. Put it in a large bowl and mix in cool whip until found smooth. Transfer into the pie pan and spay the remaining crackers on the top. Let it chill for about 4 hours then top with the pie filling.
Serving Size: 4
About The Author
Shannon N. Jefferson gets her recipes from http://quickrecipesdy.info/” so be sure to stop by and check for new updates. She also loves to eat awesome restaurant recipes at: http://secretrecipesdy.info/
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July 23rd, 2007 | Uncategorized
By faye bautista
Enjoy the outdoors during the summer season. Picnics, barbeques, patio parties – all are great opportunities to enjoy good food and wine. Around this time of year, though it”s been warm down here for a good many months and will only get warmer, it is about time to lighten things up a little when it comes to wine.
With temperatures rising and grills firing up, people everywhere are raring to relax and enjoy the warm weather. The Little Penguin newsletter encourages you to maximize your summer enjoyment-even when snacking solo or dining with friends. The ultimate ambassador of fun offers up these helpful tips to complement the bold flavors of the Little Penguin wine. Chardonnay tastes great with fresh clams, scallops and other “catches of the day”. Shiraz complements a thin crust pizza; add some pineapple and ham to make it a tropical delicacy! Pinot Noir pairs marvelously with a tender piece of salmon right off the grill. Merlot works great with light Asian fare like California rolls or a sesame chicken salad. Cabernet Sauvignon matches perfectly with tender steak or homemade pasta salad. Try the new Summer White with any of your favorite warm weather cuisines-from fresh fruit salad to hamburgers straight from the grill.
Also, wine lovers can turn their vino into salad dressing. If that”s the case, then try using the product from Milo”s Whole World Gourmet Company. They combine the wonderful flavor of various wines in their salad dressings. Along with an e-shop, where the dressing retails for about $4 a bottle, you can also have recipes and other information that are related to their products.
You can now and then experiment in your cooking using wine in a variety of dishes; it can be with seafood, creating sauces and such. One thing we heard repeatedly on good old FoodTV is not to cook with a wine you wouldn”t drink.
Then there is a company called Wine Cellar Sorbet. They have figured out a way to transform the flavors of vino into a yummy cool dessert. There are a lot of recipes that can be made but here is one which incorporates their Sangria sorbet, called a Champagne Float:
Name: Champagne Float
Category: Cocktail/Smoothie
Author: Sorbet Sommelier
Ingredients: your favorite Wine Cellar Sorbet varietals
semi-sweet sparkling wine
confectioner sugar
Directions: Powder rim of Champagne flute with sugar
Place 2 oz scoop into Champagne flute
Pour sparking wine
About The Author
The author writes about barefoot wine and blogs at http://www.celebrate-wine.com/.
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July 20th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Jonathan T. Teng
Very few people use Tahini – a ground sesame seeds – although it is available practically everywhere. Tahini seeds are inexpensive, they can survive longer and can be best stored in domestic refrigerators.
If you are from a Middle Eastern family, I”m pretty confident that you know what Tahini is. Just a little dash of it will make any Middle Eastern dish awesome.
Tahini is a bit tricky to use. When it is mixed with other ingredients, it thickens really fast. If you are cooking Tahini paste after mixing, you will have a really hard time stirring it.
Water plays a critical role in this salad. It takes care of all the stirring issues when it comes to Tahini. Add garlic and cumin in minimum quantities, some onions, tomatoes and a couple of tablespoons of hot water to the salad dressing and voila! You have an elegant dish in front of you.
Here are some interesting techniques you can use. If you like raw onions strong, you can skip soaking them; but this step, known as “killing” the onions, tames them nicely. Just to be sure that the taste of the dish remains, add tomatoes unseeded. The flavor and the juice which they impart are simply amazing.
I noticed that when I add cubes of stale, grilled or toasted bread, it just turns into something like Panzanella and I love it that way! You can provide the finishing touches to the dish by dressing it up. For a more tasty combination, you can add chicken or shrimp.
I am already feeling hungry…
– Tomato & Onion Salad With Tahini Dressing –
~ Salt and pepper to taste
~ 4 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
~ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
~ 1/3 cup tahini paste
~ 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
~ 1/2 garlic clove, peeled and minced, or to taste
~ 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
~ 1 medium red or white onion, peeled and diced
Soak onion in salted cold water while preparing other ingredients, about 30 minutes. Whisk or blend together garlic, tahini and cumin, and add lemon juice; the mixture will become very thick.
Thin with hot water, a tablespoon at a time, just so the mixture can be spooned. It will thin further when tossed with tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss onion, tomatoes and parsley with dressing. Taste, adjust the seasonings and serve. Yield: 4 servings.
Here”s a little tip: Do not hesitate to add some more ingredients of your choice to this recipe. Test it out and may be you”ll have something interesting.
Adding some chilis or something else can change completely the taste. It all depends on you.
About The Author
Jonathan writes for a famous online cooking newsletter “Quick Easy Recipes Secrets”. If you need delicious recipes and up to date cooking tips just visit:
http://www.Easy-Recipes-Secrets.com
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By Craig Chambers
Although French Recipes and French Cooking may not appeal to everyone, it is always elegant and refined. The masterpieces of royal cooks have become a signature in French cooking and the world”s greatest chefs were masters of the recipes and cuisine.
Different from Italian cooking, French cuisine is also noted for the diverse food preparation coming from each of the 26 regions. French recipes and techniques have also had a great influence on European cuisine as a whole. Schools that teach cooking techniques use standards and the cooking recipe of French cooking as the foundation for many other styles. This is especially apparent in western cuisine and recipes.
It is the approach to healthy cooking and food in French recipes that reflects their love of dining, appreciation of fresh ingredients, home cooking and ingenuity in the use of available ingredients in the different territories. Where as interest in French cooking varies, each region in France has a special outdoor cooking recipe for each season and occasion. The different seasons has also challenged the ingenuity of the French chefs in coming up with a gourmet cooking recipe for varied dishes using basic ingredients that are plentiful.
In summer, the cooking is light, salads and fruit dishes give the refreshing and healthful respite from the winters. When summer is gone, mushrooms are plentiful in the countrysides and appear in tasty stew recipes. Unlike Chinese cooking that highlights sea food, cooking venison highlights the well-prepared table during the hunting season that starts from September and runs until February. In spring, French food is spiked with oysters. Hence, French cooking is an art and has introduced gustatory delights to the commoner”s table through diversity.
The major tastes and flavors of French cooking recipes were invariably influenced by their proximity to other countries. Alsace, which is near Germany, has sausages, salted pork, raisin cakes, and potatoes as the main ingredient in their recipes for robust meals for all occasions. In the Alps region cheese reigns in almost all its provincial dish”s recipes. The Artois-Picardy provinces in the northern regions have fish dishes and terrines. The bouillabaisse a stew of fish, tomatoes and herbs is a favorite starter to any meal and a well-loved dish in the Cote d Azure and Provence areas.
The French cooking recipe in Britanny has made use of fruits in season in crepes; they also have the tasty flat crusty cakes and dumplings. Burgundy made edible snails an exotic dish and the southwest recipe gave the world cuisine pate foie gras a dainty dish of duck liver.
Many French cookbooks make vegetarian cooking recipes difficult. However for the time-harassed French food enthusiast, there are now French cook books that make it easier and more fun to prepare than ever, with cooking tips and techniques. Not to mention the fact that even without cooking school or fancy cooking equipment, you can impress your friends with food, the names of which they cannot pronounce when you master a French cooking recipe.
About The Author
Craig Chambers is a cooking enthusiast who enjoys French cooking and offers extensive free cooking guides, recipes and resources on his website www.cookingyourbest.com
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July 19th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Shannon N Jefferson
Quick chicken breast casserole is very popular in European & Asian countries. These 3 recipes below, by only reading it, will make your mouth watered and a strong will to start cooking that easy chicken breast casserole.
Chicken Breast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients:
~6 skinned and boned chicken
~Garlic
~Salt
~Pepper
~3 eggs
~1 packet of bread crumbs
~1 cup of milk
~Butter
~2 small cans of mushrooms
~1 lb of mozzarella cheese
Chicken Breast Casserole Instructions:
Mix up the milk and eggs and let chicken in the mixture. Put them in the refrigerator for about 25-35 minutes .After that put the cover the chicken pieces with the bread crumbs accompanied with the seasonings and parmesan cheese.
Heat the butter on fire until brownish color .Paste butter in the casserole from top to bottom. Place the chicken in layers covered with cheese and mushrooms.
Keep filling it with layers until the dish is full .Let it bakes uncovered at 200 degrees for an average of 25 to 30 minutes.
Tips: prepare the dish one night before for better taste and let it until cook, this will flavor it.
Serve: 6 people
Vidalia Sweet Onion Chicken Breast Casserole recipe
Ingredients:
~1 large piece of chicken breast
~2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
~2 medium-sized potatoes sliced and peeled
~2 medium-sized Vidalia sweet onions, sliced and peeled
~1 (10 3/4 Oz) can of cream of mushroom soup,(undiluted in paprika)
Vidalia Sweet Onion Chicken Breast Casserole instructions:
cook the breast in oil until brownish and remove the excess oil on the chicken by a piece of paper towel .In a 1 1/2 guard casserole put some oil .Place the potatoes at the bottom then layer onion and at the top of the mushroom soup.
Smoothly place the chicken breast on the soup and shower it with paprika .Tightly cover and bake between 340 and 355 degree for one hour.
Serves: 2 people
Fried Chicken Breast
Ingredients:
1 Egg white (beaten lightly)
1/2 teaspoon of Salt
4 Chicken breasts (skinned)
1/2 teaspoon of Onion powder
1 cup of Bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of Parsley
1/4 cup of Non fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon of Garlic powder
1/4 cup of Flour
1/2 teaspoon of seasoning salt
In a pie plate, mix all the dry ingredients then put the flour, yogurt and eggs white in a separate pie plate.Drop the chicken in the yogurt then in flour the in egg white. then roll the piece of chicken in the bread crumbs and please verify that all part are well covered .put on the baking pan sprayed with pam. Bake the whole at about 390 degree and 420 degree for a maximum time of 1 hour.
Serve: 1 people.
About The Author
Shannon N. Jefferson gets her recipes from http://quickrecipesdy.info/” so be sure to stop by and check for new updates. She also loves to eat awesome restaurant recipes at: http://secretrecipesdy.info/
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July 18th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Adrian Adams
Coffee is everywhere in our society. Many people love the rich delicious flavor of a nice hot cup of coffee as soon as they wake in the morning. In fact, many people prefer to set their coffee makers so that the first thing they will sense when they wake is the fragrant aroma of fresh brewed coffee.
When it comes to keeping coffee hot, there are some steps that you can take to ensure that each cup of coffee is deliciously fresh, aromatic, and refreshing. First, you should make sure that you always brew your coffee fresh when you want some. For some people it may mean choosing a small coffee maker that only brews a cup at a time.
You”ll also find that you should use the freshest and purest water for your coffee. Since coffee uses mostly 90 percent water, make sure that you use high quality water. If you use tap water, you can filter it or use special coffee filters that will help remove any impurities before brewing.
You will need to make sure that you measure your coffee grounds according to the amount of brewed coffee you desire. You can purchase coffee according to its strength as well as adjust the amount of coffee grinds that you measure to make the coffee the strength you desire. However, it should be noted that everyone prefers a different strength to his or her coffee, and what may be the perfect cup of coffee to you, may be too strong or too weak to someone else. A standard cup of coffee is basically six ounces of water and two tablespoons of coffee grinds. By using this basic formula, you can determine how many tablespoons you need to brew a perfect pot.
To ensure that your coffee remains hot, choose your choice of coffee mug or thermos carefully. Make sure that it is well insulated. Glass and stainless steel will not affect the taste of the coffee and are recommended as suitable thermos materials. Also, you will find that coffee that has been percolated or brewed in an automatic coffee maker will retain the best flavor.
Coffee that has been brewed in a French Press may not taste as well if it has been kept in a thermos. This in part due to the remaining sediment that exists in the coffee, it will continue to heat and cause the coffee to lose its flavor. The same is true of Espresso coffee. By brewing your coffee fresh and storing it in the proper thermos, you will continue to enjoy fresh hot coffee.
About The Author
Find commercial coffee machines at http://www.cofcaf.co.uk/catalog/index.php
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July 18th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Shannon N Jefferson
Easy Beef Stew is very popular in European & Asian countries.These 3 recipes below, by only reading it , will make your mouth watered and a strong will to start cooking that quick beef stew recipes.
Herbed Beef Stew
~1 1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic powder
~1 Can (6-oz.) of tomato paste
~1 Kg Beef stew meat cut into 1-inch cubes
~1 Lg of Onion chopped
~1 Lg ofGreen pepper chopped
~1 Packet of Frozen corn kernels
~1 Packet of Frozen green beans (10-oz.)
~1 Packet of Frozen peas (10-oz.)
~1 Teaspoon of Dried basil
~1 Teaspoon of Dried oregano
~1 Teaspoon of Ground majoram
~1 Teaspoon of Rosemary crushed
~1 To 2 teaspoons salt
~1/4 lb of Mushrooms sliced
~2 Bay leaves
~2 Can of Cubed peeled potatoes
~2 Can of Sliced carrots
~2 Table spoon of Cooking oil
~2 Teaspoon ofPepper
~3 Medium Tomatoes chopped
~3 Cup of Water
Herbed Beef Stew Instruction :
Cook the meat in a ”camp oven” or Dutch oven , wait till meat become brown.pour water , then add tomato paste , onion and finally seasonning. Cook and cover for about 1 and a half hour or just wait n look for the meat to be tender ( not all meat need steady cooking).mix in corrots, green peper and potatoes, cook them for about 30 minutes. check if additional water is needed.Mix and cook the ingredients left for about 20 additional minutes .
Serves: 10 – 12 people.
Momma”s Beef Stew
~1 1/2 lb of Beef stew meat
~1 Bay leaf
~1 Clove garlic minced
~1 cup of Red wine
~1 Medium onion minced
~1/2 can of Tomato sauce
~1/2 teaspoon of Oregano
~2 Carrots sliced
~3 tablespoon of wine vinegar
~4 Medium potatoes cubed
~4 tablespoon of Oil
~Salt and pepper to taste
Momma”s Beef Stew Instructions :
Cook the garlic and onion in oil.with the exception of carrots and potatoes , put everything in a large pot and start cooking them. Cook the meat until it become tender to your taste for about 1 and half hour. dont forget to add potatoes and carrots after about 1 hours of cooking.
serves : 6 people
Quick Beef Stew
~1 Bay leaf
~1 medium Onion, finely chopped
~1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
~1/4 Teaspoon of Celery salt
~1/8 Teaspoon of Pepper
~16 oz of Can tiny white potatoes and drained them
~2 Can of Beef gravy (recipe)
~2 Tablespoon of Vegetable oil
~2 To 3 Can cubed cooked beef
~8 oz Can green peasand drained
~8 oz of Can sliced carrots and drained them
Quick Beef Stew instruction:
Heat oil in Microwave Oven for 2 minutes with an appropriate heat resistant recipeint . for 3 minutes, add the onions and then mix the onion from time to time.after the 3 minutes add the carrots bay leaf , salt , potatoes, pepper , beef gravy , celery salt and beef. mix up 2 combine all the ingredients.heat all these in microwave oven for about 6-8 minutes .add salt and epper accordingly to your taste.discard the bay leaf.finally add the peas in the microwave oven for about 2 – 3 minutes.
serves : 4 people
About The Author
Shannon N. Jefferson gets her recipes from http://quickrecipesdy.info/ so be sure to stop by and check for new updates. She also loves to eat awesome restaurant recipes at: http://secretrecipesdy.info/
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July 17th, 2007 | Uncategorized
By Jonathan T. Teng
Would you want to know an easy way to cook shellfish on the grill or, when the weather cools off, on the oven?
A portable clambake is usually the answer. Based on the classic method of cooking en papillote (in packages but with aluminum foil, instead of parchment paper), the packages can be placed directly on the grill. If you want it exotic and really delicious, add some Asian ingredients.
Absolutely no sticking, turning and judging issues with this technique, it allows you to get rid of your phobia when it comes to grilling fish. In just 10 minutes, the dish is done after you placing the packages on a hot covered grill. If you are in doubt, cook them a bit longer. The fact is ,shellfish do not dry out so easily as it has a lot of moisture in it. This is a no-hassle technique which ensures good taste and a lovely presentation to go with.
Here is what you need to do:
Stock up all the ingredients into two layers of aluminum foil (heavy duty) and wrap them tightly. Just be careful that the sheets of the foil are big enough. Heat it up either via the oven or the grill and it”s done. The moisture content in the shellfish ensures that the taste of the dish is preserved. Adding a salad and a big plate of rice to the dish will make sure that you have a complete meal in front of you.
Linguica sausage will be my favorite addition to such dishes. You can also use the chorizo which is softer than Linguica or the kielbasa which is more garlicky in taste. If you like for continental flavors, I will recommend you to add the hot and sweet Italian Sausage. If your appetite favors Oriental tastes, you can add the Chinese sausage.
Mussels, clamp and shrimp form a traditional combination, but the combination of scallops, lobster claws, tails or pieces of fish can also be tried out. To prevent the event of the fish falling apart when they are cooked, make sure to include red snapper , monkfish , sea bass, stripped bass or any other sturdy variety. Their sturdiness ensures that the fish do not fall apart while cooking.
I like when the seasonings are fresh. If you intend using lime and all the soy sauce, just add them once the cooking is done. If you do that during cooking, the dish loses its delicacy. Shallots for ginger, lemon juice or little vinegar for lime and a mixture of parsley, basil thyme or rosemary for the herbs will give you a superb alternative.
If you take care of all the above mentioned tips, you should be on the way to prepare an exotic, lovely yet simple “Clambake without the sand”…
– Quickie Shellfish –
~ 1 lime, cut into eighths
~ 1 pound linguica or any other sausage, cut into chunks, optional
~ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
~ 1/4 cup each sprigs of cilantro, basil and mint
~ 16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined if you prefer
~ 2 pounds littleneck or mahogany clams, washed
~ 2 pounds mussels, thoroughly cleaned and washed
~ 2 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger
~ 4 teaspoons soy sauce
Start a charcoal or gas grill that has a cover. The fire can be quite hot, but it need not be long-lived. Or put a roasting pan in the oven, and heat to 450 degrees.
Tear eight sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, about one foot by one and a half feet each. Make 4 stacks of foil, each of two sheets. On the foil, pile 1/4 each of the mussels, clams, shrimp, sausage, ginger and garlic.
Squeeze one piece of lime over each pile (reserve 4 pieces), and top with herbs. Close packages tightly in any fashion you like. Put them on grill, and close top, or put them in roasting pan in oven. Cook for about 10 minutes.
About The Author
Jonathan writes for a famous online cooking newsletter Quick Easy Recipes Secrets. If you need delicious recipes and up to date cooking tips just visit:
http://www.Easy-Recipes-Secrets.com
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