Another WOW moment in our culinary journey. This post is for my buddy Brenda because she wants it. I’ve noticed posts of late really tend toward Mexican/Southwest cuisine. We really like this style of cooking but maybe we’re in a rut. I don’t know. So, I was going to post some really terrific European dishes. Nonetheless, Brenda asked me what we had for dinner last night and I told her we had fish tacos. She wanted to know what was in it so I told her. She said it sounded great (It is) and what were we fixing tonight. I laughed and told her we were considering doing it again because it was THAT GOOD. She asked me if I would post it here, so here it is. Thank Brenda because I wasn’t going to post it for a while as I am missing some photos (which I will have to post later) but… Continue reading Tacos de Pescado al Mojo de Ajo (Fish Tacos with Garlic Salsa)→
This is a delicate, beautiful, sweet yet savory soup. It is the perfect balance between sweet and savory. You have a hint of sweetness from the pear and maple syrup contrasted with the savoriness of the bacon, blue cheese, stock, veggies and herbs. It is bowl licking delicious! You can serve it as a starter for chicken, pork, and milder fish. It combines beautifully at lunch with with cold cut sandwiches, or you can simply eat it by itself. Try it and you will see it is one of those WOW moments in dining. Continue reading Pear Soup with Bacon Crumbles & Blue Cheese→
My Aunt Virginia (Ginny) was a dietician and a health buff. She came up with this recipe for people on a no cholesterol and low fat diet, like her and my Dad. Mom used to make this when we were teenagers and we ate it. Little did we know it was no cholesterol, low fat. It was just darn good. If we had known the truth, we never would have tried it and wouldn’t have liked it if we did. Fake cheese, Blech! When I had children I got the recipe from my mom. It was then that I realized it used fake cheese. So, I put the real stuff back in it. My kids loved it. After we got married, Baby Lady got hold of the recipe and put her spin on it and as she likes to say “kicked it up a notch.” This recipe is her take on Aunt Ginny’s and Mom’s Spinach Casserole with a little kick. It really is good. If you want to put the real cheese back into the recipe, do so but we find it makes the casserole a little oily. Whatever you do, give this a try, especially if you’re on a diet or if have kids who won’t eat vegetables. Given the amount of cheese in the recipe, they’ll eat the spinach. 🙂 Continue reading Aunt Ginny’s & Mom’s Modified Spinach Casserole→
This recipe is from the Baby Lady to Adriana who wishes she was here for dinner tonight but had to take a raincheck. These photos are no substitute for the real deal.
Several years ago I bought Baby Lady a Pomegranate Tree. When she asked, I remembered when I was a young boy and would walk to my grandmother’s house. On the way to her house there was a family that had a large Pomegranate tree in the front yard. This family was friends of my grandmother. I knew better than to go into their yard and pick the fruit off of their tree as I was taught it was impolite without asking. Anyway, Grandmother always had fresh pomegranates from her friends so there really was no need. The tree was prolific. I always loved to see the tree in the fall full of lush red fruit and I couldn’t wait for Grandmother to have some fresh fruit from her friends. So, when Baby Lady asked me for a Pomegranate tree I didn’t bat an eyelash. She wanted it, we got it. Plain and simple. My love of pomegranates had nothing to do with it. I planted it in the back by the driveway out of view of unscrupulous fruit pickers. Then we anxiously awaited each year to see if it would bear fruit. We watched it blossom with the beautiful reddish orange blossoms and the fruit would start but it never made it to ripeness. Part of the problem was the yardmen who always seemed to knock off the fruit. The other problem was the tree was still young. Last year we thought we were going to get some to ripeness but they mysteriously disappeared. GRRR. This year we finally got fruit. Joy oh joy!!! In celebration of being able to harvest we fixed this dish. Continue reading Whole Fillet of Salmon with Pomegranate Glaze→
This recipe is a Texas-style chili, commonly referred to as a “bowl of red.” True Texas-style chili includes only meat, chile peppers, and spices. Like cajuns and their gumbo, Texans take their chili seriously and there are numerous disagreements over what is and what is not chili. The debate continues to rage over beans vs. no beans; tomatoes vs. no tomatoes, etc. and, over time, a whole chili lore has developed. Texans take their chili so seriously that chili was officially designated the state food of Texas by the State Legislature in 1977. Also, to most Texans, the fact that a genuine “bowl of red” can only be found in Texas has never been in doubt. In fact, it is generally accepted that, despite its Spanish name, chili con carne originated in San Antonio Texas. Indeed, in the 1800s when San Antonio was host to the Mexican Army, the Chili Queens of San Antonio (as they became known) made large pots of chili at home by day, and clad in brightly colored dresses, trundled their carts to San Antonio’s Military Plaza, ladling out their vendibles from cast iron pots heated over wood or charcoal fires in the evening.
Chili became so popular in Texas (and later elsewhere) that chili parlors and chili cook-offs sprang up everywhere. Legend has it that outlaw and desperado Jesse James refused to rob a bank in McKinney, Texas because that is where his favorite chili parlor was located. Beginning in 1967, as a joke with a chili-cooking duel between humorist H. Allen Smith and journalist Wick Fowler, chili cook-offs are now popular all over the country, with state-wide and International contests. The Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) cook-off is held in Terlingua, TX and the ICS (International Chili Society) Cook-off was normally held in CA. Even US Presidents have gotten into the fray over chili
“Chili concocted outside of Texas is usually a weak, apologetic imitation of the real thing. One of the first things I do when I get home to Texas is to have a bowl of red. There is simply nothing better.”
Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States
Try this recipe and you, too, can enter a chili cook-off with possibly the winning bowl of red. 😉
REMCooks 