Friday, February 22, 2013

Sour Cream Coffee Cake











Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
½ cup chopped nuts
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350.  Grease and flour 10 inch Bundt pan, set aside.
Sift flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. 
Cream butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs and sour cream.
Mix dry and wet ingredients in large bowl
In separate bowl, mix nuts, brown and white sugars, and cinnamon.
Place half of batter in Bundt pan; sprinkle nut mixture on top.  Cover with remaining batter.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.
Cool slightly and unmold cake.
Alternative:  Omit nut mixture and fill with raspberry jam.


Vanilla Whipped Cream


Vanilla Whipped Cream

This is the easiest thing you can make.  I cannot see buying canned whipped cream when you can make it so easily and cheaply at home.    Homemade whipped cream adds a big ‘wow’ factor to desserts; you can buy a poundcake and some fresh berries, but when you add a dollop of fresh whipped cream, your guests think you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen all day.  

There’s nothing better than a scoop of fresh whipped cream on a cup of coffee—life is good when you can start your day that way!  

To preserve the cream, line a colander with cheesecloth, set it in a bowl, and pour the whipped cream into the cheesecloth.  This will remove the excess liquid and keep the cream stiff for a couple of days in the fridge.  If you don’t do this, the leftover cream will die in a day.

You can also make flavored whipped cream—add instant espresso powder and/or kahlua for coffee whipped cream.  Or Gran Marnier and/or some freshly grated orange zest. 
  


Ingredients
1 quart of heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
Instructions
 Chill bowl and whipping attachment for one-half hour before making. Add heavy cream and sugar to the bowl and set it on stir until cream and sugar begin to mix, about 30 to 60 seconds.
After mixing for about a minute, add pure vanilla extract, and increase speed.
Watch as the cream thickens and be sure to stop when you can easily spoon out the cream. (If you continue whipping too long it will turn to a buttery substance.)

Fresh Horse Radish Crusted Haddock


Horseradish Crusted Haddock
1 cup fresh-grated horseradish
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Juice plus zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1  egg white
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1 cup Panko, (Japanese-style breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 (6-ounce) haddock fillets, skin removed

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix the horseradish, parsley, lemon juice and zest, garlic, egg white, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a medium bowl. Stir in the breadcrumbs.

Toss 1/4 cup olive oil into the breadcrumb mixture using a fork. Break apart any clumps and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the fillets with the remaining salt and pepper and place 3 of the pieces in the skillet — skin side up. Cook for 2 minutes, gently turn the fillets with a flexible spatula and cook for 1 more minute. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining fillets. Top each fillet with an equal amount of breadcrumb mixture, press lightly to adhere, and roast in the oven until the breadcrumb crust  is golden and the fish is cooked — 4 to 6 minutes. Serve immediately over a bed of sauteed swiss chard or spinach.

Baked Shrimp Burgers



Baked Shrimp
 Burgers Recipe


1 slice sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
1 lb extra large shrimp (raw, not precooked, I used the 26-30/lb size), peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons Cains mayonnaise 
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
oil for frying

Add the bread to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Transfer to a measuring cup - you should have about 3/4 cup of crumbs. Wipe the bowl of the food processor out, then add the shrimp. Carefully pulse just until you have a mixture of finely minced and coarsely chopped pieces, about 7 pulses. Add the breadcrumbs and shrimp to a large bowl but do not mix yet.

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper and cayenne together until well combined. Pour this mixture over the shrimp and breadcrumbs, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together. 

Transfer the shrimp mixture onto a small baking sheet. Divide the mixture into 4 portions, and loosely pack each into a 1-inch thick burger. You want to be gentle here - don't try to pick up the mixture and shape it the way you might with a traditional burger. Cover the burgers with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours). 

Set a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it shimmers, carefully transfer the burgers to the pan. Cook until golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 8-10 minutes total.  Serve on toasted buns with Tartar Sauce or Cocktail Sauce.

4 burgers



Sheree Delorenzo's Seafood Casserole



  • 12 to 16 ounces cooked medium to large shrimp, cut up
  • 8 ounces lobster meat
  • 4 ounces crabmeat
  • 4 ounces sautéed mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine or sherry
  •  1 c. crushed Ritz Cracker Crumbs mixed with 2-4 tbsp. Butter and 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese for topping
  • Preparation:
In a buttered 1 1/2-quart casserole, combine seafood. Add cooked mushrooms.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat; stir in flour until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in seasonings and wine. Gently stir sauce into seafood mixture. Sprinkle with Ritz Cracker Crumbs and Parmesan cheese, drizzle 2-4 Tbsp butter on top of crumbs. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, then broil for a minute to brown top. Serve immediately.
Serves 4

This kicks up the Lobster Roll another NOTCH! Lobster BLT - Makes 2 Sandwiches


THE LOBSTER BLT
kicking the lobster roll up another notch!

4 slices of bread toasted
shucked lobster meat from 2 lobsters and cut into bite size pieces
4-6 pieces of crisply fried bacon
1/3 c. Cains Mayonnaise
4-6 slices tomato
4-6 lettuce leaves

Fry the bacon, toast the bread, shuck the lobsters and cut the lobster meat into bite size pieces. Mix the lobster Meat with the Mayonnaise. Assemble the Sandwiches by layering the ingredients between two slices of toast.

Serve Immediately, don't expect this sandwich to last too long. Enough for you and a friend! Enjoy!



Thursday, February 14, 2013

Cape Ann Seafood Exchange's Nina Jarvis and Eric Morse prepares with Vinwood Caterers a fine selection of Under Utilized Species Dishes for 2nd Annual Gloucester, MA Maritime Summit - Grilled Monkfish, Pan Fried Redfish, Skate Wings in a Lemon Butter Caper Sauce, and Deep Fried Dogfish


Nina Jarvis from the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange brought and Eric Morse cooked with the help of Vinwood Caterers a selection of Under Utilized Species for the enjoyment of the 150 people who attended the City of Gloucester's 
2nd Annual Maritime Summit at 
Cruiseport Gloucester on Feb. 7, 2013.

All the Species showcased are at sustainable levels in their fishery and make good alternatives to our traditionally caught species such as cod, haddock, and pollack.

Deep Fried Dogfish
using a  Traditional Beer Batter
Please note: This Dogfish is MSC Certified and Cape Ann Seafood Exchange in Gloucester, MA is the first fishery in New England to have this sustainable certification.

Skate Wings 
were sauteed in a
Butter Lemon Caper Sauce
Grilled Monkfish
grilled with olive oil, parsley, salt,
pepper, and lemon sauce

 Pan Fried Redfish
very lightly pan fried 
with butter, salt, and pepper



Mayor Carolyn Kirk
Making her selection with a few ohhs and ahhs!

Nina Jarvis from the Cape Ann
Seafood Exchange serving
her delectable fish at
the 2nd Annual Maritime Summit

From front ot Back: Grilled Monkfish, Pan Fried Redfish,
Skate Wings in a Lemon Butter Caper Sauce,
and Deep Fried Dogfish

Under Utilized Fish are fish that only a small percentage of allowable catch are caught and sold.

One of the most delicious fish cooked by Nina was the Pan Fried Redfish. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute has some amazing facts about under ultilized species such as
Redfish also known as ocean perch, are slow-growing, deep-water fish that yield small, flaky white fillets. To catch them, a rather large net is used

Apparently the fish can live for up to 60 years. These days there is not all that much demand (fishermen here only pulled in 22% of their federally allowable catch of redfish in 2010) but years ago it was considered a tasty fish and was eaten with gusto. These days Redfish are often used as lobster bait.

What does get processed for human consumption is mostly shipped to the Midwest where there is a slightly bigger market for redfish. It seems that the most recent popularity for the species was in the 1940s and '50s when the military fed a lot of it to the troops. I remember eating it as a child in Gloucester and it was considered as good as and as delicious as Flounder. It does seem amazing that this healthy, delicious, and abundant protein source accounts for only 22% of what can be caught and processed for this species.

Nina's Redfish was delicious and I remember a popular New England Redfish hash from years ago. I looked around on the internet and found an interesting Redfish Recipe from Maine:


Redfish with Green Grapes adapted from

Seafood Cookbook, Volume 1 by the Maine Fisherman's Wives Association 


  • 1 pound redfish fillets
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup of large seedless green grapes, cut in half
  • 2 tablespoons minced shallots
  • 3/4 cup dry white wine
  • 3/4 cup fish stock
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  1. Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a large saucepan. Add grapes, cut side down and saute them until the pick up a bit of color. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  2. Salt and pepper the fillets. Add the shallots in the same hot pan as you've cooked the grapes. Cook 1-2 minutes to soften them. Add the fish bone side down. Cook until the fish gets a bit golden (3-4 minutes). Flips the fish and add the wine and stock. Bring the liquid to a simmer and let the fillets sit in it until they are cooked through (3-4 minutes). Removed the fillet from the pan with a fish spatula and keep warm on a late. Sprinkle the grapes over the fish.
  3. Increase the heat to high and reduce the liquid to about 1 cup. Turn off the heat and whisk in 1 Tablespoon of cold butter. Add lemon juice to taste. Stir in parsley. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve immediately.

The whole question of using and enjoying Sustainable Species is really a matter of education and changing needs and tastes. Nina Jarvis and the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange have really done a fantastic job getting Dogfish MCS certified and creating sustainable fishing alternatives for the port of Gloucester, MA

Happy Cooking,
Sheree
Diners at the 2nd Annual Maritime Summit
enjoying the underutilized Species Dishes!