Posted on June 25, 2009 by culinarycouple
Nick celebrated his bachelor party in the Outer Banks a few weeks ago and returned with over 20 lbs. of fresh fish! So for Father’s Day, we grilled mahi mahi — two ways. Both were tasty, but we all agreed we loved the heat of the blackened version. Nick still has about seven bags of fillets, so stay tuned for more seafood recipes!
Blackened Mahi Mahi – Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Blackened Mahi Mahi – Directions
- Blend spices and coat fillets. Let stand at room temperature for no more than 30 minutes.
- Heat cast iron skillet over high heat and add oil.
- Cook three minutes per side.
(adapted from allrecipes.com)
Tropical Mahi Mahi – Ingredients
- paypaya juice
- apricot juice
- salt and pepper
- lemon wedge
Tropical Mahi Mahi – Directions
- Marinade fillets in papaya juice and apricot juice for at least two hours.
- Grill three minutes per side.
- Finish with salt and pepper and lemon juice.
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Posted on June 2, 2009 by culinarycouple
Fantastic find on The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Emily re-fueled with this pasta dish after a long run, and she looks forward to making it for Nick! (Note: Recipe is halved in this version.)
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound thin spaghetti
- 1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) butter
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste if desired
- Plenty of grated Parmesan cheese
- Flat leaf parsley, chopped
- Extra lemon juice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
- In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over low heat.
- When butter is melted, add minced garlic.
- Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
- Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt to taste.
- Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.
- Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)
- When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top.
- Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley.
- Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
Served as a side dish alongside tilapia and roasted mushrooms and squash, but it’s also hearty enough to stand alone!
{recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks}
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Posted on June 1, 2009 by culinarycouple
The culinary couple traveled to Massachusetts to spend Memorial Day with two of our favorite people — and did I mention they’re also fantastic cooks? They taught us Pennsylvanians how to clean, steam, and eat fresh mussels. They picked up the recipe at a restaurant in Maryland and added a few touches of their own. The broth was so fragrant and decadent! I don’t think we’ll be able to eat mussels any other way.
Ingredients
- mussels
- butter
- garlic
- shallots
- lemon
- thyme
- clam juice
Directions
- Clean the mussels by rinsing the shells and removing the “beards.” Also it’s very important that the shells are completely closed, otherwise the little guys are already dead … and inedible.
- Saute all ingredients.
- Steam mussels over broth.
- Serve with more broth on top! The mussels are even yummier when pulled out of their shells and soaked in the broth. The broth was also perfect for dipping bread!
Thanks, Kristen and Eric, for treating us to a wonderful weekend! Read more about our weekend.
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Posted on March 17, 2009 by culinarycouple
Everyone loves Chinese take-out — including the culinary couple. And when Emily saw Mark Bittman make fried rice on the Today Show last week, she got an idea. Let’s cook Chinese take-out in the comfort of our own kitchen!
Both the shrimp fried rice and pork egg rolls were easy to make and tasted better than anything from a take-out box. We chose to use shrimp and pork because we had both in the refrigerator. But you could also use chicken in the rice or ground beef in the egg rolls.
We do, however, strongly recommend using peanut oil in place of any other oil. The nutty flavor is the perfect companion to these Asian dishes.
Shrimp Fried Rice
- peanut oil
- 1 bunch of scallions, cut
- frozen stir-fry vegetables (we like water chestnuts, broccoli, and snow peas in our mix)
- frozen peas
- shrimp, peeled and deveined
- garlic
- ginger
- 3 cups brown rice (it’s even better if you cook it early and let the starches develop for a few hours)
- 2 eggs
- schezwan sauce (includes soy sauce, sesame oil, sherry, and a bit of spice)
- 1/4 cup stock or water
- salt and pepper
- Heat peanut oil in a large skillet or wok. Add scallions, garlic, and ginger.
- In a separate skillet cook vegetables according to directions on the bag.
- Add cooked rice to oil mixture. Create a well in the center and add eggs. Scramble and incorporate eggs into rice.
- Add cooked vegetables and shrimp, followed by sauces and other liquids. Fold and stir until heated through.
Pork Egg Rolls
- wonton or egg roll wrappers (found in the frozen appetizers section of your grocery store), thawed
- pork, cook and chopped
- schezwan sauce (or other Asian sauces of your choice)
- peanut oil
- garlic
- scallions
- celery
- 1 lb. bean sprouts
- 1 medium head red cabbage, finely shredded (or take some help from the store and buy a bag of already shredded cabbage
- salt and pepper
- Stir fry garlic, scallions, celery, bean sprouts, and cabbage in peanut oil.
- Add pork.
- Add a spoonful of filling to the center of each wrapper. Fold and seal (with a bit of water, if necessary).
- Fry in peanut oil until golden brown.
- Serve with duck sauce, of course.
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Posted on February 18, 2009 by culinarycouple
Lately we’ve been more of The Engaged Couple and less of The Culinary Couple. Every weekend either Nick drives to State College or Emily drives to New Jersey. Sometimes we meet in Dover to work on wedding planning. All of this traveling leaves little time for grocery shopping or energy for cooking.
We’ve been enjoying far too many mango habanero wings from Otto’s, sandwiches from Jimmy Johns, and brick-oven pizzas from Faccia Luna. We did try a great sushi joint in Hoboken a few weeks ago and have ordered thai food several times. We know … you expect more from The Culinary Couple. And that’s why we’re making it our goal to dust off the cookbooks and get back into our aprons.
Until then, we leave you with some photos from Valentine’s Day. Last year we cooked a fabulous gourmet meal, but this year we took a little help from Wegman’s. We started with chocolate martinis. For dinner we enjoyed stuffed clams and lobster bisque in a soudough bread bowl (for two). And for dessert we made chocolate-covered strawberries.
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Posted on February 18, 2009 by culinarycouple
We watched Rachael Ray make a version of this and just had to try it ourselves. It’s easy and versatile and tasty! We served ours with a seasonal blend of roasted yams and butternut squash with cinnamon and nutmeg. And roasted mushrooms completed the plate.
Ingredients
- skinless boneless chicken breast
- salt and pepper
- EVOO
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- slices of fontina cheese
- apple butter
- 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cut each Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, 5 minutes total. Remove from heat.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pastry into equal pieces (depending on your desired serving size, you can cut the chicken and pastry into smaller pieces). Place a piece of cheese on each pastry square and top with spoonfuls of apple butter. Finish with chicken. Pinch the dough up and over the meat and cheese, seal with egg wash, flip the pastry packets over, and brush the tops with remaining egg wash.
- Bake 12 to15 minutes, until golden.
original recipe from food network
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Posted on December 4, 2008 by culinarycouple
There’s no better greeting after a long drive from State College PA to Hoboken NJ than the sweet and spicy aroma of simmering meat sauce. Nick treated Emily to a hearty and impressive lasagna one Friday evening. We didn’t eat until almost 10 p.m., but it was well worth the wait! This is a must try.
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 3/4 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 – 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste
- 2 – 6.5 oz cans canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 16 oz. ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- In a large pot, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (As always, the longer it simmers, the better!)
- In a separate large pot, bring lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. (To prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.)
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
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Posted on December 4, 2008 by culinarycouple
Chili is the perfect way to warm up a cold winter night! And it’s one of those recipes that you just can’t get wrong. We added ingredients such as ground beef, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers, kidney beans, black beans, and a variety of spices. Cumin and chili powder are musts. The longer it simmers, the better. And it’s especially satisfying with cheddar cheese and warm bread!
Filed under: Recipes | Tagged: meat, soups and salads | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 4, 2008 by culinarycouple
This is a Rowlands’ family favorite. And Nick became a fast fan!
Ingredients
- sweet Italian sausage
- EVOO
- your choice of sliced peppers: red, green, yellow, jalapeno
- sliced onion
- provolone cheese
- ketchup
- hard roll
Directions
- Cook sausage in a sauce pan with water.
- Saute peppers and onions in EVOO in a separate pan. Add cooked sausage and brown.
- Split sausage and stack it with veggies and cheese and ketchup on rolls. Broil until rolls are warm and cheese is melted.
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Posted on October 16, 2008 by culinarycouple
Nick got down on one knee, and Emily said YES!
He proposed on Sunday, Oct. 12 after a perfect weekend full of surprises and adventures. Of course, food was also involved. We are the culinary couple, after all!
On Saturday morning we enjoyed eggs and bacon and coffee from matching mugs. That afternoon, after a trip to Penn’s Cave, we indulged in brisket and brews at Elk Creek Cafe in Millheim, PA.
Saturday night we made a fantastic meal with ingredients from Wegman’s. We grilled cedar plank salmon with maple glaze, which was served alongside roasted vegetables and rice with roasted garlic and pecans. Nick also surprised Emily with a bottle of fancy red wine.
On Sunday, after chai teas and cinnamon crunch bagels at Panera, we drove two hours north to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. It was a fantastic fall day! We hiked into the Canyon and enjoyed a picnic lunch of ham sandwiches, raspberries, and brownies. (Little did Emily know Nick was carrying the ring in his backpack! However he felt it was too crowded for the perfect proposal.)
After our hike, we showered and returned to the site of our very first date — Otto’s Pub and Brewery. We enjoyed our favorite beers (ale for Emily and stout for Nick) and mango habanero wings. We also shared a salad with maple balsamic dressing and a crab cake sandwich.
Following dinner and a short walk, we returned to Emily’s apartment. This is when it happened! Nick lit candles and said words that brought tears to Emily’s eyes. It couldn’t have been more personal and more perfect.
We look forward to a lifetime of happiness (and culinary adventures) together!
View more photos from our engagement weekend.
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