Recipes

Lychee Martini

This has to be one of the tastiest martinis I’ve had in a long time. We had it for the first time at a Russian restaurant in Sunny Isles, FL (Miami). The restaurant is called Lotus Restaurant and Lounge. Don’t be fooled by the name. It is a Russian restaurant for sure. With an Asian flair. They have sushi on the menu along with the usual Russian dishes. A wonderful place. When we were there in August we asked the waitress about any specialty martinis that they might have. She suggested the Lychee Martini with Russian Wodka (No joke, that’s how she said it!) It was so good and the lychee fruit in the martini had been soaked in vodka. An extra bonus when you were done! Well we found a recipe that tastes pretty close to the one we had at Lotus. The hard part was finding lychee juice! You can get it from a can of lychees. That was the other problem. Finding lychees! We did find them in Whole Foods. They come in a can and the brand we got was Roland. I am on the search for other places that may be cheaper. Oh how I wish we had a Trader Joe’s here in Florida! One day maybe! Anyway, once you find the lychees make up a batch of these and you’ll be pleasantly surprised! Don’t forget to soak the lychees beforehand so you get that extra treat! The recipe calls for either white or red cranberry juice. We chose the red because the one we had originally had a light pink tinge, which you won’t get from white cranberry juice. Either way it’s a tasty treat!

INGREDIENTS:

3 ounces vodka

2 ounces peach schnapps

2 ounces red or white cranberry juice (I use light cranberry)

2 ounces lychee juice (from a can of lychees)

lychees for garnish

Ice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place ice into a cocktail shaker. Pour in vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice, and lychee juice. Cover and shake well until the outside of the shaker has frosted.

2. Strain into chilled martini glasses; garnish with a lychee fruit.

Makes 2 drinks

Microwave Shrimp Scampi

September 9, 2010
popcorngirl12
2 comments
butter, easy dinner, garlic, lemon juice, microwave, raw shrimp, shrimp, Shrimp scampi, white wine

No matter how many Italian restaurants you go to, if you order Shrimp Scampi you will rarely get the same thing twice. I think every restaurant has their own version of this simple and delicious meal. Some bread the shrimp, some have a creamy sauce, some grill the shrimp, some have lots of garlic, others don’t. The list can go on and on. Years ago I came across a recipe for the microwave that is so simple and fast that I use it quite a bit. I also adapted it of course to my cooking style. I used to serve it over linguini. Those days are over! Now I use the Tofu Shirataki Noodles for the most part. You can also use any small pasta like orzo or even rice. Linguini or spaghetti shaped pasta, wheat or regular is always a good choice though. It’s up to you. My recipe also calls for a little more garlic than most people like, so if you are one of those who aren’t crazy about lots of garlic, just put less in. This recipe is a great “go to” recipe if you need something fast, and happen to have shrimp in the freezer. I always have shrimp on hand. I stock up. (Yes, for when our friend Andre is visiting!) No really, I actually buy my shrimp at Walmart. No joke. We have a Super Walmart where I do most of my grocery shopping. They sell a 14 ounce bag of frozen cooked and cleaned or raw, large shrimp for $5! Sometimes they have the extra-large, same 14 ounces, for $6. Everytime I go I try and get another bag. This way I always have shrimp on hand. It’s great for any unexpected guests who pop in too. Shrimp cocktail is always a winner! A quick way to defrost that bag of frozen shrimp? Just put the shrimp in a large bowl (yes take it out of the bag first) and cover with cool water. Not hot or warm water. Cool water. Check after about 10-15 minutes, if shrimp is still a little frozen, dump the water and add fresh. It shouldn’t take more than another 5 minutes. Easy! Oh and I don’t know if you are like me when it comes to “shrimp tails” but I think it is such a pain in my butt to have to stop and remove the tail while eating! Every single restaurant leaves them on. Sure they look nice but really. Do we need to make a mess trying to get that tail off and not ending up with it in our lap? I think we can forgo the tail! So in this recipe, remove the tails before cooking along with the rest of the shell! Whew, thanks for letting me vent! And now for the recipe!

Photo is for illustrative purposes only!

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup butter (or butter substitute)

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound raw large shrimp, cleaned and DE-TAILED (you will thank me!)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup white wine (any kind you have is fine)

Paprika (optional)

Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the butter in a 2 quart microwave safe bowl or casserole dish. Stir in the parsley, lemon juice, garlic, wine and salt.

2. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper or other type of cover.

3. Microwave on HIGH until shrimp is pink/opaque and tender, about 3-6 minutes, stirring twice.

4. Serve over linguine, spaghetti, orzo, rice, quinoa, or whatever you want! Sprinkle some paprika on top if desired. Serve with parmesan cheese for the top and maybe some nice crostini or Italian bread to soak up the garlic butter!

Serves 2

Baked Shrimp Quiche (Formerly Known as Baked Shrimp Balls!)

Yes, the shrimp balls did not come out so good. I followed the directions and though they looked and smelled good they tasted pretty bad. So the next night I took all 25 or so of them, crumbled them up in a large bowl. This didn’t take much as they were falling apart to begin with! They already had onions, garlic, and the rest of the ingredients so I was halfway there! I just added 1 cup of egg beaters, 1 cup fat-free half-and-half, about 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed out) and some shredded low-fat cheese. (About 2 cups). Threw it all in a large round casserole dish and baked it for about 45 minutes at 350º. And presto! A delicious dinner saved! So much better all around. And since I don’t use a crust you save more calories!

Tabouli with Quinoa

September 7, 2010
popcorngirl12
2 comments
Cucumber, dried mint, garlic, green onions, lemon juice, light feta cheese, low calorie, olive oil, parsley, quinoa, salad, scallions, side dish, Tabouli, tomato

Usually I am not a big fan of mint. No mojitos for me. And definitely none of that flourescent green mint jelly when I have lamb! That is wrong to my taste buds on so many levels. Luckily my husband is not a fan either. So many recipes have mint in them and most of the time, to me anyway, it’s too much. So when I tried Tabouli years ago I was surprised to find that there was mint in it! Imagine that! I liked it in spite of that! And now with my new favorite food, quinoa, I can have that delicious tabouli salad with a more healthy twist! It’s a refreshing and filling salad for lunch or a side dish or just for snacking in the afternoon. I will also add crumbled feta cheese to mine for a little extra zip. You can use goat cheese if you want too, anything you like really. Just don’t go crazy and kill all the good with too much cheese. Moderation! This recipe is also one time where you should have the fresh parsley rather than dried.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

¼ cup fresh parsley, without stems

2/3 cup green onions (scallions), cut into ¼” pieces

1½ cups peeled cucumbers, cut into ¼” pieces

1½ cups chopped tomatoes, cut into ¼” pieces

1 garlic clove, minced (no garlic powder on this)

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon dried mint (optional)

½ cup crumbled light or fat-free feta cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put quinoa in a fine strainer and rinse under running water until water runs clear. Drain well. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Cover pan, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until water is absorbed. Quinoa will be fluffy. Chill in the refrigerator or rinse cooked quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer under COLD running water. Drain well.

2. Toss remaining ingredients with quinoa and serve!

Makes 5 cups (1 cup per serving)

Apple & Celery Slaw w/Blue Cheese Dressing

September 6, 2010
popcorngirl12
2 comments
apple, blue cheese, buttermilk, celery, fuji apple, granny smith, mayonnaise, salad, side dish, slaw

I am always looking for variations on the usual cole slaw recipes. This recipe is a light and refreshing one that is not your “usual” slaw. Using lighter versions of the ingredients lowers the calories and makes a great addition to the summer barbecue! The recipe calls for granny smith apples but feel free to change them to your favorite. Fuji apples are a great apple for this recipe as well. Not as tart as granny smith apples but just as tasty!

INGREDIENTS:

4 ounces regular or light blue cheese, crumbled

½ cup light or regular mayonnaise

½ cup light buttermilk

½ teaspoon sugar or sugar substitute (Splenda or even Agave nectar is good)

4 granny smith or fuji apples

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, using a fork, combine the blue cheese, mayonnaise and ¼ cup of the buttermilk until thick and lumpy. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup buttermilk and the sugar/sweetener. Refrigerate.

2. Quarter, core and coarsely grate the apples. In a medium bowl, combine the apples with the dressing. Stir in the celery; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 6

Hurricane Cocktails

Yes I am doing a Hurricane cocktail today. In honor of all the crazy storms out there right now, especially “My Name Is Earl”. As of right now Earl is down to a Category 1 storm with winds only at 85mph. ONLY! Coming from NY we never really knew what hurricanes where for the most part. Sure I remember Gloria. But by the time it got to NY it was nothing like the ones I experienced living here in Florida. I was here 4 years before our first one in 2004. Hurricane Frances. Then 3 weeks later Hurricane Jeanne. Hurricane Wilma in 2005 was another one we got to know up close and personal. Let me just say I am glad I experienced it but don’t need to repeat again, ever. We got hit dead on for these, not just a brushing past us. It was not fun. So now when they talk about these storms and some people just don’t realize how severe they can be. Just ask Louisiana or any other Gulf state. So for all of you up north in the path, even though it’s a Cat.1 please take it seriously and prepare. You never know! If I had a dollar for all the times our weather people said, “Oh this has never happened before! Or This is highly unusual for a storm!” I would be rich. Honestly, you don’t know! So be safe everyone and have a cocktail. Stock up on ice and water! You don’t realize how much you need them both until you can’t get them!

So enjoy the cocktails. This recipe makes enough for 8! It is courtesy of Rachael Ray. It will NOT be that bright red color that you usually have from a bar hurricane. That is pretty much all sugar and fruit punch. Yuck!! This will be a pretty orange/yellow color.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup simple syrup

2 cups golden rum

2 cups passion fruit juice

2 cups orange juice (no pulp is better)

2 cups pineapple juice

½ cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Mariner

juice of 4 limes (about ½ cup)

Myers Rum

ice cubes

Bitters, such as Angostura (You can leave this out if you want)

8 fresh pineapple wedges for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill a large pitcher or large punch bowl with ice cubes. Add the rum, passionfruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, pineapple juice and simple syrup and stir until chilled.

2. Strain the cocktail into glasses, top with a dash of bitters and garnish with a pineapple wedge. Put a little Myers Rum on top as a floater! Enjoy!

Tex Mex Calzone

Ok everyone, I am cheating again today. I got so far behind with doing other stuff today that the blog just got buried. I’m supposed to be making dinner right now and that will be late as well. Don’t even know for sure what it will be! Anyway, this is a recipe video on a Tex Mex Calzone. It’s ‘redone’ which means it’s made a little on the healthier side. Hope you enjoy it!

Collard Greens Gone Wild

Ok, I know, how can collard greens go wild? And I’m not talking fresh collard greens either. Frozen. Yes frozen. I never had collard greens growing up and of course just figured I didn’t like them. My husband suggested I try them so one day at the supermarket I went “wild” and bought a bag of frozen greens. Also since I had no idea how to serve them the Italian in me took over. I prepared them according to the package but when I served them I added butter and a parmesan/garlic seasoning. They came out really good. I was hooked. Then recently I tried them from a menu at a restaurant specializing in “southern/cowboy” type barbecue. I HATED them! They had no flavor, the color was so washed out they did not look very appetizing. Definitely not enough to even eat! Well I tried them. Yuck! I tried adding butter, salt, hot sauce…Still yuck! I was so disappointed! I knew I should have gotten the fried green tomatoes that night! So last night I kicked them up a notch so to say. They came out really good! The only thing is the bag of frozen greens is big that I now have lots left over. I will be using them tonight as my side for the Veal Scaloppini recipe I posted yesterday. They actually look like escarole and beans a little bit. I originally served it with a Lemon Lime Marinated Chicken recipe from a great food blog called Dana’s Food For Thought. Check it out! (Thanks Dana!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 16-19 ounce bag frozen chopped collard greens

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic chopped

3 cloves garlic thinly sliced

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cups chicken broth

1 -15 ounce can canellini beans, drained and rinsed

parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a dutch oven or large pot sauté olive oil and chopped garlic. Saute till garlic is lightly browned. Add the basil and oregano and stir for a minute or so.

2. Add the frozen collard greens and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and add the beans, red pepper flakes and sliced garlic. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Serve greens with parmesan cheese if you like.

Veal Scaloppine

The next time you see veal cutlets on sale buy some and try this recipe. You can also make this recipe using pork cutlets which are much cheaper or if you are weird about eating veal. My husband loves veal and is always upset when we eat at an Italian restaurant and they don’t offer it! The nerve! I guess you can also make this with chicken cutlets as well but veal or pork is best. This is a very simple recipe and isn’t loaded with fat. A taste treat for everyone! It is sort of like a veal Marsala really but you can call it whatever you want as long as you make it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound veal or pork cutlets

flour

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

pepper to taste

½ cup sherry or dry white wine

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

8-12 mushrooms, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. If veal or pork is thick slice in half, carefully and place pieces between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap. Pound thin with a mallet or meat pounder to about ¼ inch. If you can get the cutlets that thin to begin with even better! Cover lightly with the flour.

2. Add oil to a large skillet and sauté the veal and garlic for 3-4 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with pepper. Add the sherry or wine, parsley and mushrooms. Simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Serve with any side you want. Potatoes, rice, pasta, broccoli, or any vegetable.

Serves 4

Back of the Fridge Chicken Soup

Ever have one of those days when you just want to clean everything out of your fridge but you can’t throw it away because it’s still ok to eat? I did that last week. I had a bunch of little containers with leftover veggies, leftover rotisserie chicken from the supermarket and a freezer full of turkey stock I made from the my Thanksgiving in July dinner. You can use whatever you have left in your fridge or freezer and it will be delicious! I had some frozen mushrooms also that I threw in. It was very tasty! We actually had it two nights in a row.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups chicken or turkey broth or stock

1 8oz. package Tofu Shirataki Noodles, prepared according to package

4 cups mixed veggies of your choice (I used a mix of frozen chopped spinach, broccoli rabe w/chicken sausage, mushrooms, peas, green beans, onion and garlic), chopped into bite sized pieces

1-2 cups chopped leftover chicken, whatever you have is good

1 15-16oz. can cannellini beans drained and rinsed.

½ cup chopped parsley

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute the chopped onion and garlic in the olive oil. When soft pour in broth and rest of the ingredients except for the beans, parsley and noodles.

2. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until everything is heated through.

3. Add the beans and noodles and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so until the beans are heated through. Add the parsley and serve.

4. Serve with parmesan cheese if you like!

Makes 4-6 servings.

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Chilled Strawberry Bisque (Carnival Cruise Lines)

This is a refreshing chilled soup/bisque that tastes more like ice cream than a soup! It’s sweet, creamy and delicious! Great for those hot cruise days when you just want something refreshing before dinner. When the staff serves you they put some fresh strawberries in the middle of the soup bowl and pour the soup […]

Escargot Bourgignonne

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What's Cooking at the Genua's?

Recipes

Lychee Martini

Microwave Shrimp Scampi

Baked Shrimp Quiche (Formerly Known as Baked Shrimp Balls!)

Tabouli with Quinoa

Apple & Celery Slaw w/Blue Cheese Dressing

Hurricane Cocktails

Tex Mex Calzone

Collard Greens Gone Wild

Veal Scaloppine

Back of the Fridge Chicken Soup

Top Posts & Pages

Follow my other blog! : Cruise Ship Recipes at Home

Chilled Strawberry Bisque (Carnival Cruise Lines)

Escargot Bourgignonne

Alchemy Bar’s Cucumber Sunrise (Carnival Cruise Lines)

Baked Alaska (Carnival Cruise Lines)

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