Super Bowl Perfection-Mediterranean Style Cheese Puffs

Most recipes for Super Bowl or Playoff parties are pretty standard.  This appetizer from sunny Spain in the Mediterranean is not standard.  It features creamy Manchego cheese which comes from sheep's' milk.  Genuine Manchego cheese comes only from the whole milk of manchega sheep bred and reared in the La Mancha region near Madrid. . If La Mancha sounds familiar, think , Don Quixote of La Mancha.  This cheese was mentioned in the novel.

This recipe, which comes from one of my favorite and most beautiful cookbooks, Mediterranean, also suggests using Gruyere cheese or another well-flavored cheese.  Be aware; these tasty little gems will get eaten up in a jiffy.  Give yourself time to make a few batches.  You'll need them.

Cheese Puffs

1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 whole eggs, plus one yolk
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup finely grated well-flavord cheese, 
         such as Manchego or Gruyère


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. (About 218 degrees F.)  Bring the butter, salt and water to a boil in a pan.  Sift the flour onto a sheet of  waxed paper, then pour the flour into the boiling liquid and stir it in very quickly.


Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon into a thick paste that leaves the side of the pan clean.  Remove the pan from the heat.


Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time, then add the mustard, cayenne pepper and grated cheese.


Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 350F (176.6C) and cook for another 15 minutes, until well browned. Serve these hot or cold.


Make sure to have lots of olives.  They are a great accompaniment to the cheese puffs.

Get other deliciously impressive appetizer recipes and  bites from the very  popular America's Secret Recipes cookbooks.  Your family and friends will keep coming back for more. Click image at left.

Charging On with San Diego Style Fish Tacos

A friend of mine is a San Diego native--hard to find out here in DC-for me, at least.  so, I asked her what a San Diego food would be.  She said that the locals love fish tacos, the likes of which she can't find here, although she keeps trying.  You can get them grilled, however, Robbye says there is nothing like San Diego fried fish tacos in a beer batter.  They are made with whitefish fillets such as cod, tilapia, halibut and even, mahi mahi. Since she doesn't cook, I searched for a recipe.  There are some some that are simpler, however, this looked authentic from what Robbye described.

San Diego Fish Tacos Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup beer
1 large egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 - 8 ounce whitefish fillets cut cross-wise into 6 pieces
1 small to medium sweet onion such as Vidalia, 4 to 8 ounces
10 sprigs cilantro
1/2 cup light or regular mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
1 small head green cabbage, 12 to 16 ounces
2 ripe but firm avocados
1 lime
1 12-ounce jar medium-hot salsa
12 flour tortillas, about 8 inches in diameter

Directions:

1. Put the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the beer, egg, and flour in a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir in the mustard, cayenne, salt, and several grindings of black pepper. Put 6 pieces of fish in the batter, coat well, and add to the skillet. Cook for 3 minutes, turn the pieces, and cook for 3 more minutes, or until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-lined platter. Repeat with the remaining 6 pieces. Reduce the heat if needed to prevent burning.

2. While the fish cooks, peel and quarter the onion and remove the leaves from the cilantro sprigs. Put the onion and cilantro in a food processor and pulse several times, or until coarsely chopped. Add the mayonnaise and yogurt tot he processor and pulse just once or twice to combine. Put the onion-mayonnaise sauce in a small bowl.

3. Halve the cabbage lengthwise and remove the core from each half. Place each half, flat side down, on a cutting surface and cut into thin shreds with a chef's knife. (Or shred using the large holes of a four-sided grater or the grating attachment of a food processor.) You should have about 4 cups. Put the cabbage in a small bowl.

4. Halve, pit, and peel the avocados. Cut each half lengthwise into six slices. Lay the slices on a small plate. Cut the lime into 4 wedges and put in a small dish. Put the salsa in a small bowl with a slotted spoon (so you won't get a lot of liquid in your tacos).

5. Bring all the ingredients for the tacos to the table and allow diners to make tacos one at a time as follows: Put a few tablespoons cabbage in the middle of each tortilla. Top with 1 piece of fish, 1 tablespoon of the onion-mayonnaise sauce, 1 tablespoon salsa, 2 avocado slices, and a squeeze of lime. Fold, eat and enjoy.

Serves 4.

This recipe is from the book, Cooking to Beat the Clock by Sam Gugino.

Get secret restaurant fish recipes from this edition of America's Secret Recipes. Get Volume 2 included.

Minnesota Vikings Land Super Easy Wild Rice Recipes

Minnesota Vikings fans bask in the beautiful land of 10,000 lakes.  It turns out that there are really more than 15,000, lakes, rivers and steams.  Minnesotans boast some of the best and most creative wild rice recipes, due to the quality of wild rice that is grown in the state.  Interestingly, wild rice is not rice at all.  It's a water-grass seed actually grown in Minnesota's cold waters and must be harvested in the traditional Indian way.  Here are just a couple recipes that I like, in particular, because they are delicious and SUPER easy

Microwave Wild Rice Casserole

1 cup uncooked wild rice
**2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs butter
½ cup butter
½ lbs sliced mushrooms
2 Tbs minced onion
2 Tbs minced green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup chopped pecans

Wash and soak wild rice 1 hour in boiling hot water or soak 2-3 hours covered with tap water.  Use a 3 quart covered casserole.  Cook broth, salt and 1 Tbs butter on high for 6-7 minutes.  Then add rice and cook on defrost for 50 minutes.  In 1 quart casserole melt remaining butter.  Add mushrooms, onions, pepper and garlic.  Cook on high 2-3 minutes until tender.  Stir each minute.  Add the pecans and cook on high for 1 minute.  Add to  the rice and cook on defrost 10-15 minutes until liquid is absorbed Let stand, covered, 5 minutes after cooking.

Serves 6-8

**To keep this vegetarian, I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth

Shrimp and Wild Rice Loaf

1 cup wild rice
1 green pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
½ can pimiento, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1can shrimp, deveined and rinsed in hot water
OR 1 can tuna, drained and rinsed
½ pound American cheese

Prepare rice. Heat mushroom soup and add cheese, stirring until smooth. Sauté celery, onion and green pepper in butter. Combine all ingredients with cooked rice and stir gently. Pat into greased loaf pan. Bake in 375° oven for 45 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Turn loaf out on platter. Serve with sauce as given below.

Shrimp Sauce

I can shrimp, rinsed and deveined
1 can cream of shrimp soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Heat together.
Get your copy of over 200 fabulous restaurant recipe replicas that are delicious and super easy.

New York Jets-New Jersey- Based Spicy Corn Bread Recipe

Cook like a top chef in one of America's favorite restaurants. Look here to find out how.

Since the New York Jets practice in Florham Park, NJ and will soon play in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ, I decided to pay homage to the Garden State and looked up some New Jersey Recipes. I found this Spicy Corn Bread Recipe by Christine Todd Whitman, Former Governor of New Jersey.  Imagine this tasty bread with chili or the Bacon-Potato Casserole

Spicy Corn Bread


Ingredients
    1 cup flour
    1 cup corn meal
    1 egg
    4 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
    1/2 stick margarine
    1 cup milk
    1/4 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 Tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
    1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Top in corn and red pepper. Add egg and milk and stir by hand till just combined. Melt margarine in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or cake pan in the hot oven. Pour the melted margarine into the batter and stir in. Immediately pour into the hot skillet and bake for 25 minutes.

This recipe is courtesy of 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook.
 

Get exciting seafood recipes copied from top restaurants. For example: Fried Soft Shell Crab from Red Lobster or Harvest Bay Mahi Mahi from Joe's Crab Shack.   You can enjoy these recipes even if you don't have one of these restaurants near you.  Just click book image for details