Fancy Summer Bites Series: Spicy Grilled Shrimp Cobb Salad with Homemade White Balasmic Dressing

Hey there!

It's my second installment for my Fancy Summer Bites Series and summer is just kicking off!  I'm not sure about how the weather has been for you, but its just starting to warm up in Connecticut.

Today was rare, I was able to leave work a bit earlier, so I decided, hey why don't you cook something.  I knew that I had some shrimp that needed to be cooked, but I wanted something light.  Thus came the idea for this beauty pictured above. 

Man, I swear I love the way my brain works sometimes.  Whelp, I'll keep it short and sweet this evening, but turn in for my Restaurant Review of Ruth's Chris!  I'm sure you are dying to hear what I thought.

Let's jump in.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp Cobb Salad with Homemade Dressing:

1 pound of medium shrimp
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1 rip avocado
1 small red onion
6 boiled eggs
1 container grape tomatoes
Container mixed greens (spring mix)
Feta Cheese

1.  Clean shrimp and season with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion and olive oil (I
     used hot sesame seed oil)
2.  Spray griddle pan lightly with nonstick pan and grill shrimp.
3.  Take the rest of the veggies and chop to add to the salad.
4.  Top with dressing.

For Dressing:

1.  Add White Balsamic, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano and spicy mustard.  All ingredients are
     to taste.  ( I used a spicy honey mustard).

Try out and leave it here!  I want to hear from you guys! 

**Are you following me on Instagram @Southerncrumbs412?  If not make sure you add me today.  I post tons of pictures that I don't blog about and answer users questions about recipes to help spice up there evening meals.  See you there!


 

Passion or Nah?

This weekend was SUPER DUPER action packed!  Like no exaggeration.  Saturday morning was a great one…was finally able to take my first culinary course.  EXCITING! And trust me it was super informative.  It’s refreshing to be amongst other culinary professionals and be able to pick their creative brains.  After leaving the city, I headed back in to the home state to embark on an evening of girl talk and fine dining at Ruth’s Chris.  Fancy, no?!  It was my first time there, but I’ll get into my thoughts about that in my restaurant review post (yes I will dedicate a whole post primarily to my experience).  And then came Sunday.  I had to work from home AND was commissioned to cook at a family function.  So as you can see I was a busy little something.

This leads me into the real reason for this post all together.  When I first graduated from college, I jumped right into the Finance world with my head down ready to climb the corporate ladder.  Five years in, I realized, I had missed such an important theme.  Happiness.  I worked long hours, I was stressed, I was downright miserable and my attitudes began to affect my personal relationships.  The money was good, but not worth the life sacrifice I had to make.  I ALWAYS knew I loved to cook, but leave my lucrative corporate job…to what become a line cook?! You can clearly already see what I picked.

To me there is a perfect balance in pursuing one’s passion.  At no point (and now we are about to get into some very STRONG opinions) do I think it is prudent to quit one’s job to just pursue a passion.  I instead think that you need to make both work to your advantage.  I’ll use my situation as an example.  Yes I work full time, and yes I’d love to cook for a living period, but I need to FUND this dream.  I need to have seed money, I did to have a steady stream of clients, I need to be smart and organized.  And before you say it, no everything cannot be planned, but if I truly am passionate about what being a business owner, I need to give my passion a FAIR CHANCE!   And that fair chance doesn’t include leaving finance prematurely before I have done everything possible to set up my PASSION for success.

And maybe I have gotten it all wrong, and you should do what you love initially all other things held equal.  But you tell me what you think…Does passion trump all …or is there a science to this thing here.

So sound off folks….PASSION OR NAH?

Fancy Summer Bites: Red Curry, Coconut & Ginger Infused Clams

 

 

 

Well hello there!  It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything, but rest assure, I am BACK an I have a TON of new material for you guys. 

The weather is warm, the sun is shining the birds are chirpings, and us New Englanders know all to well how brutal the winters can be here, so when the warm weather is here we are ready to get up and get OUT!

I don't know about anyone else, but during the summer, I'm looking for light fare, seafood, salads, fruits, FRESH ANYTHING!  Those heavy winter meals are left behind.  And I've got to admit after a while I'm over the normal hamburgers, hotdogs and the bbq chicken.  SOOOOO...I decided to put together a Summer Series.  Just because its summer doesn't mean you can't achieve gourmet dishes, quickly and more importantly DELICIOUSLY!

Today I was in the mood for CLAMS!

 

Red Curry, Coconut & Ginger Infused Clams 

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 teaspoons red curry paste
• 3 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 pounds of Littleneck Clams
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon hoisin sauce 
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 

 

 

1. Melt the butter in a wok over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook until garlic is fragrant but not browned.
3. Add in the red curry paste and the fish sauce.
4. Pour the chicken broth and coconut milk into the pot. Stir the broth mixture for a couple seconds until well mixed.
5. Add the clams and cooked covered for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until clams have opened. Discard any clams that are still closed (Very important step.  If the claim doesn't open that means it was dead before cooking and shouldn't be consumed).
6. Top off with cilantro and stir.

 

If this wasn't good enough, I paired this with some angel hair pasta and garlic bread and thickened the red curry sauce to top off the pasta.  Delicious? Gourmet? Quick?  You've got it! 

 

Simply a Southern Crumbs' Fancy Summer Bite!

 

Questions or comments, leave it, for now I'll be busy drinking my Homemade Mint Honey Green Tea!

 

 

 

 

Let's Catch Up!

Hey Guys!!!!

I know it has been what seems like such a long time since I have posted anything but I assure you it was with good reason.

Two weeks ago, one of my very best friend's was involved in a life threatening car accident.  As you all know I am typically going hard in the kitchen on Sunday's for my posts, but as you can imagine I was in the hospital ensuring that this mother of three was safe.  And although she had some bumps, bruises and broken bones, she pulled through and is a real trooper.

Love you Danny!

Also, as many of you know from my bio, I'm currently pursuing an M.B.A in Finance as well (yes, hunnie I'm a busy chick), and well yeah it was finals week...so yeah...like I said there were tons of things going on.  I felt obligated to let you into my world and let the readers know what's going on.  I haven't forgotten you! 

With that said, who is SUPER EXCITED!!!  Ok don't get me wrong, I am extremely excited to have ended school, but I'm so very excited because I will now have more time in the kitchen to get you amazing food.  Now that is the real source of my joy!

I have a very special post coming up for my Mother's Day special, so please tune in for that.  I also, have tons of other things that I am actually "quietly" working on for Southerncrumbs.  And really I can show you better than I can tell you, so when you see me posting all the good stuff I have going on, don't say I didn't tell you about it lol.

Well, that's about it for now.  Like I said I will have tons of posts coming up for Mother's Day, so until then...

Also, if you don't follow me already, follow me on Instagram @SouthernCrumbs412

Toodles!

Sweet Ending Sundays: Holiday Edition - Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Hey guys! As you may already know, I am big on desserts, however I have made an attempt to prepare one for every Soulful Sunday post.  I also think it is important to give credit when credit is due so below I have listed all the contact information from the person that actually put together this recipe.  The reason I changed nothing about the recipe is because I followed it EXACTLY!

That doesn't mean however that I won't be back with a added twist!  But this time at least we followed along with the recipe.

But rounding out our Curried Lamb dish, I thought I had to continue my "Easter" themed meal but of course give you something unexpected as well.  I thought this was the perfect combination, and quite frankly it reminded me Sweet Potato Pie.  I guess it was the combination of spices used for the Carrot Cake and the creamy texture of the cheesecake.  Either way it's a must try.

So let's jump right in!



Recipe is accredited to http://www.howtoinstructions.us/carrot-cake/#sthash.Swo8brio.qjtu


Carrot Cake Cheesecake:

Cheesecake Mixture

• 2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened well (but not melted)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Carrot Cake

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups finely grated carrots

Topping

• 2 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.  

For the cheesecake mixture:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and 1 1/2 tsp flour until well combined. Add cream cheese and using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together cream cheese and granulated sugar mixture until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined after each addition and adding in vanilla with second egg. Blend in sour cream. Forcefully tap bowl against countertop about 30 times to release air bubbles. Set mixture aside.
• Rinse beaters clean. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg for 30 seconds. To a separate large mixing bowl, add canola oil, applesauce, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and blend mixture using electric hand mixer set on low speed for 1 minute. With mixer running on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Add carrots and mix until evenly distributed. Tap bowl forcefully against counter, about 3 times, just to release large air pockets.

To assemble cheesecake:

• Pour 1 1/2 cups carrot cake mixture into buttered springform pan and spread into an even layer. Dollop about 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture by the spoonfuls over carrot cake layer (don’t spread or swirl). Spoon remaining carrot cake mixture over cream cheese layer, then finish by drizzling by the remaining cheesecake mixture over carrot cake layer, working to cover all of the carrot cake mixture (I found this easiest to do this was by slowly drizzling over with the spoon). Bake in preheated oven 60 – 65 minutes, until center portion only jiggles slightly and tenting with aluminum foil at 40 minutes to prevent excessive browning (tent in a way that the foil doesn’t touch cheesecake or it will stick). Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack 1 hour, then cover with foil and chill in refrigerator 6 hours or overnight.

For the topping:

• In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add remaining topping ingredients and mix until pale and fluffy, about 4 – 5 minutes. Spread evenly over cheesecake then chill cheesecake in freezer for 20 – 30 minutes. Sprinkle edges with chopped pecans. Cut into slices. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

And last but not least, question or comments....LEAVE ME ONE!

Wise Choices: Spicy Grilled Chicken w/ Quinoa & Lentil Salad & Fresh Salsa Verde

As promised, I'm going to hit you with a healthy option.  I love using fresh ingredients.  I must admit, I didn't take the BEST picture (main reason why I have chosen to omit it from the post, but if you follow me on Instagram - Southerncrumb412, you will DEF see it .  But you have to trust me when I say the flavors in this dish is are well worth trying this recipe.

I didn't really measure as usual (I'm going to work on this folks, just bare with me while I go through it lol) but as usual LET'S USE OUR SENSE OF TASTE TO GUIDE US THROUGH THIS.

**Note: This recipe is another cafeteria inspired dish.  I miss that place SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS ONE! 

This is a rather short post, but I have something special planned for later on so...here we go!

Spicy Grilled Chicken w/ Quinoa & Lentil Salad & Fresh Salsa Verde

Spicy Chicken

-small package thinly spiced chicken breast
-onion powder
-garlic powder
-black pepper
-Lawry's Seasoning salt
-cajun seasoning


Rise the chicken and pat dry.  Then lightly seasoning with all of the above.  Take a grill plan and lightly oil it with olive oil and turn on medium heat.  Cook the chicken through.

Quinoa & Lentil Salad


Quinoa

-1 cup uncooked Quinoa rinsed
-1 cup water
-1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

 
Cook the Quinoa according to packaging.  Only difference is that I used a bit of chicken broth, because quinoa takes on flavor very well.

Lentils
 
-1 cup dry lentils
-2 cups water
-garlic powder
-onion powder
-salt
-black pepper

In a small pot, put in the lentils and water and seasoning the water lightly.  Cook the beans until they are tender but not too soft.

Let both the quinoa and the lentils cool.   In the meantime, cup up green pepper, red pepper, red onion, cilantro, and mango. Mix in 1 cup of craisins and then mix in the quinoa and the lentils.  Add salt and pepper to taste and drizzle a little white balsamic to finish off.  Put in the fridge to chill for about a half hour.

Salsa Verde
-5 tomatillo
-1 serrano pepper
- 5 cloves of garlic
-1 half a white onion
-cilantro
-juice of a lime

Take first four ingredients and put on a cookie shit and drizzle with olive oil and broil until you get nice char marks on the veggies.  Take out and put directly into blender.  Add cilantro, salt and the juice of half a lime.  My blender actually has a salsa setting.  If not pulse until all ingredients are blended well. 

Soulful Sundays: Holiday Edition - Curried Lamb with Black Beans and Mango Salsa over Jasmine Rice

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

I'm in such a good place, I've got to admit.  Creatively I'm really in a different space.  And I wanted to share that with everyone. 

It's Easter guys!  Okay, so we think baked ham, we are thinking candid yams, carrots....lamb?!   Yes, I tried lamb.  Now I will admit, I'm making tons of risks here every week.  Why do you ask, most of this stuff I have NEVER EVER EVER cooked before.  And I think it's important to show you that things don't always go according to planned, but it can still turn out fab.

I got inspired by the thought of cooking lamb, but I didn't want anything traditional.  I love the fact that Connecticut is finally seeing good weather, and perhaps I was feeling...tropical.  So here we are with a recipe inspired by Caribbean Pot.  I followed the recipe as closely as possible with a little bit of this and that along the way.  USE YOU PALETS FOLKS!  That is the greatest indication of flavor.

So here it goes guys, let me know what you think!


Lamb Chops:

5 chops (taken from the shoulder and sliced to my preferred thickness)
2 tablespoons veggie oil
8 grape tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
2 shallots
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 teaspoons grated ginger
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 cup water
1/4 scotch bonnet
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (flat leaf)

Put two tablespoons of oil into the pan and heat through on medium.  Put seasoned lamb chops (lightly seasoned with season salt, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper) into the pan and brown (I cooked until I could no longer see blood).  Take out of the pan to drain, and put in chopped shallots, garlic and ginger.  Cook until tender and then put in curry powder.  I ended up putting in a little more oil to cook the curry in.  Add the lamp chops back into the pan and thyme, scotch bonnet pepper and cilantro.  Next add in the water and coconut milk.  Turn the pan down and let the meat cook slow till tender or until the gravy has thickened.  At the end add in the grape tomatoes and parsley.

Serve with rice beans and mango salsa.

Mango Salsa:

-2 cups fresh or frozen mango
-2 jalapeno
-1/4 red onion
-black pepper
-white balsamic vinegar

Cut the mango, onion and jalapenos and mix together.  Lightly pepper and drizzle a little white balsamic vinegar on the mixture.  Put in the fridge to chill for a least a half hour. 

Black Beans:

-1 can black beans
-1 half package of Sazon seasoning

Take the beans out of the can drain and rinse. Put beans in the pot and enough water that it covers the beans.  Add light salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to the water.  Then put a half package of the Sazon seasoning in the water.  Bring the beans to a boil.  Done when heated completely though.

You already know....questions LEAVE IT HERE!