Scallops with Caper Sauce over Veggies

I may not have posted in a month, but I am getting this in just in the knick of time to enter this month’s Food ‘n Flix hosted by Caroline Makes. This month Caroline hosted the movie Burnt. This had been on my to-watch list, but I hadn’t seen it yet, so this was a great opportunity to watch the movie and let it inspire me.

This movie is about Adam, a chef who lost everything he had because of his addictions. But after cleaning himself up, he decided he wanted to earn his way back in the fine dining scene in London.

Obviously, this is a foodie movie. There was so much delicious food in it. But there were a few things that jumped out at me and made it onto my idea list:

• oysters
• shrimp
• summer vegetables on a bed of ricotta
• Burger King
• tarragon sauce
• halibut
• scallops
• omelet

I decided to make something I haven’t ever made before and went with the scallops. While not restaurant quality like the food in Burnt, my dinner was extremely satisfying. The combination of the capers, fat, and lemon was very tasty. Now imagine how delicious this would have been had Adam made it for me.

My inspiration from the scallops came from one of the many dishes you see being prepared in the kitchen. There were a ton of choices!

Scallops with Caper Sauce over Veggies

Ingredients
– 1 zucchini, julliened
– 2 carrots, julliened
– 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
– 3 tbsp unsalted butter
– 12 scallops
– 2 tbsp capers, drained
– 1 shallot, minced
– 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
– 1 lemon
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil. Once hot add the zucchini and carrot. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Pat your scallops dry. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat your skillet back up. Add the 2 tbsp remaining of olive oil. Once hot cook the scallops 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove the scallops and set aside, keeping warming.
4. Add the butter to the pan. Once the butter begins to boil and turn brown, add the shallot and capers. Cook for 1 minute. Take off heat. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the sauce.
5. Place vegetables in a bowl. Top with scallops. Spoon butter sauce over the dish. Sprinkle with cilantro.

• serves 2

Squid Ink Pasta with Shrimp

I’m squeezing this in right at the last minute here, but I participated this month in Food ‘n Flix’s challenge, this month hosted by Deb at Kahaki Kitchen. This month Deb had us watch Beetlejuice, entirely appropriate for the month with Halloween in it. If you want to check out the announcement post, go here.

It also happens that Fandom Foodies is having #burtoween this month, sharing food inspired with all Tim Burton movies. That’s being hosted this month by Witchy Kitchen.

I was inspired for this month’s recipe from Beetlejuice’s black and white striped suit. The squid ink pasta noodles, which are absolutely delicious, but look quite freaky being dark black, are representative of Beetlejuice’s signature outfit.

I made the squid ink noodles from scratch, though I actually had a box of premade squid ink noodles in my cabinet. But I hadn’t made noodles from scratch in awhile and decided to go crazy this month. I followed Serious Eats instructions on how to make these noodles.

Squid Ink Pasta and Shrimp

Ingredients

• 10 oz fresh squid ink noodles
• 10 oz cleaned shrimp
• 5 oz cherry tomatoes
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 bunch basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 1 1/2 tbsp chicken broth
• salt and pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water seasoned with salt to a boil.
2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add the tomato paste and stir, cooking for 3 minutes.
4. Add the cherry tomatoes, chicken broth, 2 tbsp water, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the noodles to the boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes. While the noodles are cooking, cook the shrimp in the sauce for 3 minutes.
6. Drain the pasta. Save the pasta water.
7. Add the noodles, butter, half the basil, 1/2 cup of the saved pasta water, and lemon zest. Toss with the sauce. Cook for several minutes, to reduce the sauce to a desired consistency.
8. Top with parmesan cheese and remaining basil.

• serves 2

         

Chinotto

Hello! I am still here – I swear. I’m just not here very much lately. Everything I have been cooking lately just hasn’t been calling out to be photographed. Pair that with the fact that my camera has been out of commission, I jut haven’t had a lot of motivation to post. But, I was gently reminded that I was hosting Food ‘n Flix next month. Actually, I didn’t forget at all because I’m hosting Popeye and I’ve been looking forward to it. I have been watching all the movies since I last participated, just feeling very uninspired. But I took the gentle nudge and decided maybe I should try to play again.

This month’s movie was hosted by CulturEatz and we watched I Am Love. This movie is in Italian and has English subtitles. Sometimes I find myself having some difficulty watching foreign films, because I have to pay such close attention to understand what is going on. This movie started that way for me, but I really began to get into the movie partway through and had less trouble.

This movie involves much family drama and many meals.

While the ukha was the main dish in the storyline, I went another direction – mainly because it’s so hot here. Ukha, or fish soup with a clear broth, the food Emma’s son Edoardo loved as a child and tied in to the drama of the film, is not appropriate for temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. No soup is suitable for this type of weather. I needed something cooler . . . Something I could tolerate while sitting in front of my fan.

Emma meets Antonio (a chef, a friend to her son, and her lover) at a bar to discuss a dinner he’s going to cook for a business dinner. Emma orders a chinotto from the bar.

I jotted “chinotto” down, but was unsure what it was. Wikipedia tells me (and wikipedia knows everything) that chinotto is a soda produced from the fruit of the myrtle-leaved orange tree. Chinotto is a popular Italian drink and is exported by San Pellegrino.

Though I don’t have access to a myrtle-leaved orange tree, I googled around to find how I could make my own version of chinotto. Because I couldn’t find all the same ingredients (how come my grocery store didn’t have rosemary?) I made some changes. So while not anything near authentic chinotto, the orange drink was still perfect for a hot day in the desert! Hopefully Emma would have at least tried a sip of mine.

Come participate with us this month and then come back to my blog next month for Popeye!

CHINOTTO
(source)

Ingredients
1 bunch of fresh mint
3 cups sugar
1 grapefruit
1 cara cara orange
1 blood orange
1 tbsp black pepper corn
5 cloves
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
seltzer water

Directions

1. First make your ice cubes. Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to boil. Add half of the mint and let sit for 30 seconds. Place in a ice bath.
2. Once the mint water has cooled, pour into a blender and blend. Pour the blended liquid into ice trays. Place in the freezer until frozen.
3. Preheat the oven to 350.
4. Cut the oranges and grapefruit into chunks about the same size. Spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle all the herbs (including the remaining mint) on top of the fruit.
5. Roast for 30 minutes.
6. Place the fruit into a pitcher. Mix into 3 cups of sugar with 6 cups of water.
7. Chill the mixture.
8. When ready to serve, place ice cubes in a cup. Fill cup mostly full with seltzer water. Add a splash or two of the chinotto to the cup.

Lentil Cauliflower Curry

This month’s movie for Food ‘n Flix couldn’t have come at a better time for me. The Lunchbox is a movie set in Mumbai, India. A lunchbox delivery service starts delivering the wrong lunchbox to the wrong man. They begin sharing notes through the lunch boxes.

I have given up meat for Lent. I’m including fish and other seafoods in Lent – the reason being to make more vegetable heavy dishes. I use Lent as my annual exercise in self-control. Given I’ve been dreaming about buckets of bacon and eating meat, clearly this is a good exercise for me.

Because so much of Indian food is vegetarian, this movie really came at a good month for me.

Ila learns that her husband has no idea that he isn’t getting the food she was making for him when he comments on her cauliflower – needless to say, she did not make him cauliflower.

Though Ila may not have made her husband cauliflower, I figured I would make my boyfriend cauliflower.

I love curries in general. For such a simple meal to make, curries are packed with flavor.

This month Culinary Adventures with Cam is hosting the film. There’s just a little bit of time left if you decide to join us. If you don’t make it this month, next month we’re watching A Walk In The Clouds!

Lentil Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
1 chunk ginger root, minced
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp crushed red chili pepper
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups dried lentils
4 cups water
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a pot heat over medium-high heat, heat the coconut oil. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Once the onion is translucent, add the ginger, turmeric, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, and crush red chili pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. If your pan is getting dry, add some oil. Add the carrots and sweet potato to the pot and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat.
5. Then add the cauliflower florets. Cover and cook for 20 more minutes over low heat.

• serves 2

Candy Sushi

Erm…. Yes. This is absolutely a strange recipe for me to share. It’s an absolutely strange thing for me to have on here. But without further ado, welcome candy sushi! It is incredibly sweet and if you eat too much of it, you will get a stomachache, I promise.

Regardless, these were fun. I’d never made rice krispies treats before (yes, really!) so I got to do that. And then I got to stuff candy in them.

I guess the question is, what on earth would inspire me to make this? It isn’t like I have kids or something to entertain.

Would you believe me if I told you it was due to this scene in Failure to Catch? Hosted this month by Amy’s Cooking Adventures, this month at Food ‘n Flix we watched this chick flick. I’d seen this movie before and never considered it a foodie movie, but it definitely has many food scenes!

This movie is about Paula and Tripp. Tripp is in his 30’s and still lives with his parents. His parents hire Paula, a professional who’s one goal in life is to help grown men grow up and move out of their parents’ houses. While Tripp has his own reasons for failing to launch (ha, like what I did there?) I decided to mix together two things from the movie: the idea that moving out is immature and this sushi scene pictured above where Paula and Tripp went on one of their dates.

I wasn’t about to try my hand at sushi for real, because though I love to eat it, I don’t trust buying raw fish from anywhere. But I really wanted to do something from this scene. So I made some incredibly immature candy sushi.

Candy Sushi

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
5 oz jet puffed marshmallows, plus 4 more
3 cups rice krispies
twizzlers
gummy worms
fruit by the foot

Directions

1. First we are going to make a thin layer of rice krispies treats. Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the marshmallows and stir over heat until the marshmallows melt into the butter. Stir in the rice krispies. On a wax paper lined tray spread the rice krispies out thinly. Set aside until it hardens.
2. Once the rice krispies have hardened, cut into a rectangle, so you have straight edges.
3. At one edge, place a twizzlers and gummy worms, creating your filling.
4. Roll the rice krispies just once. Cut the rice krispies roll from the rest of your sheet.
5. Wrap in fruit by the foot.
6. Continue with your remaining rice kripsies treat.

Food ‘n Flix: Hocus Pocus Roundup

We have successfully completed another month of Food ‘n Flix and I am so happy I was able to share my favorite movie this month. Tomorrow is Halloween, so this movie couldn’t have come at a better month. I hope that this movie inspired some fun treats for the Halloween this year. There was such a fun variety of foods that were shared.

I’m hoping I’ll use this excitement you all shared in your dishes with making myself more active in my food blog.

Next month’s movie is taking us in a different direction. The movie is The Hundred-Foot Journey and will be hosted by Culinary Adventures with Camilla. And if you’re interested, this will be a co-challenge, also pairing with Cook The Books.

The first entry this month comes from Kimberly at Coffee and Casseroles with Broomstick in Amuck Brownies inspired by Sarah Sanderson who jumps. These delicious brownies have chocolate crispy treats and pretzels in them. These definitely are full of amuck! (If amuck means deliciousness.)

The next goodie comes from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm. She shared her Chocolate Painted Witch Suckers. Wendy uses the scene where Dani eats a witch sucker, that she got at Allison’s house before the whole witch encounter even began! Wendy used a technique to make these suckers that she used to use with her kids – painting candy molds with colored chocolate. These witches sure are spooky and look delicious!

Keeping with the witch thing, Amy at Amy’s Cooking Adventures made these deliciously adorable Melted Witch Candy Bark Bites. After quite an ordeal of actually being able to watch the movie, Amy finally got to watch it once it hit network television. Amy got her inspiration from the “Burning Rain of Death” scene, where the Sanderson sisters were convinced they are going to melt – alas, they do not. But if they had, maybe they would have looked this adorable!

Getting her inspiration from another character, Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen conjured up these Zombie Finger Cookies. At one point in the movie Billy, the zombie, loses some of his fingers. Poor Billy! Perhaps we have to eat them now! These fingers are perfect for any Halloween treat! The fingernails are freaking me out!

Next up is Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla, sharing Tentacles and a Bewitching Sip. First, you have a sip of Liquore Strega Witches’ Brew, a liquor with a bunch of herbs involved. The sip of brew is paired with some perfectly Halloweeny tentacles flavored with saffron and fennel. This is such a grown up take on the movie!

The next treat comes from Debbie at The Friday Friends.  Debbie delights us with Boogers on a Stick. (hehehe, let me giggle like the 7 year old boy I am sometimes.) These boogers look good enough to eat!

My dish was next! I made Master’s Eggs – really just deviled eggs make for the man in the devil suit that the Sanderson sisters so lovingly call “Master.” These eggs include avocado and sriacha, for a yummy kick!

Now back to the sweets! Sarah at Well Dined shared Candy Corn Jello Shots. Don’t let your kids get a hold of these alcohol infused yummies! Sarah had been wanting to make these and used this movie as a perfect opportunity to do it, because what candy says Halloween like candy corn?

Evelyne at Cheap Ethnic Eatz brought us our next goodie: Peanut Butter Fudge and Ganache Coffins plus Salt Dough Pumpkins. These coffins make a beautiful Halloween treat. And the salt dough pumpkins make a perfect decoration for the photoshoot!

Debra at Eliot’s Eats made two things! We get both Hocus Pocus Pumpkintini and Good Zombie Voodoo Cocktail. The pumpkintini is a nod to Sarah Jessica Parker, combining her Sarah Sanderson role with her Carrie Bradshaw character. But no evening is complete with just one cocktail! The second drink is for Billy the zombie. Both look great. I’ll take one of each.

Next we get Bubbling Cauldron Popcorn & Dead Man’s Toes from Deb at Kahaki Kitchen. This popcorn was inspired by the Sanderson sisters’ bubbling cauldron. To move away from the sweetness we all know surrounds Halloween, Deb filled the cauldron with a savory popcorn. She also included some dead man’s toes, because every witch’s cauldron needs dead man’s toes!

Our last entry this month comes from Caroline at Caroline Makes. Caroline shared these spooky Toffee Apple Cupcakes, all decorated out for Halloween! Caroline made these cupcakes for a bake sale. They are perfect for Halloween!

And that ends this month’s Food ‘n Flix. I’m impressed with the amount of participation and with all the creativity in this group! Nice work everyone! And I’m excited to see where next month brings you – will you make Indian, French, or something else?

Master’s Eggs

I picked my favorite Halloween movie for this month’s Food n’ Flix! I’ve been awful about updating my food blog and life has been crazy this October, but I couldn’t let this one get by me, considering I’m the host. While not a traditional foodie movie, I had so many ideas when I watched this movie. I actually was going to make a Bloody Mary – but it just never came together and by this point in the week, I’m not about to drink some vodka on Monday night, because I won’t be getting up in the morning if that were the case. I also had the idea of candy apples or really, anything with candy.

Hocus Pocus is my absolute favorite Halloween movie. I always watch it the first day of October, because I love Halloween and I love this movie. In fact, I love this movie so much I’m dressing as Winifred Sanderson for Halloween this year.

It tells a story of three witches who were hung during the Salem Witch Trials, when they were stealing the soul’s of children to have eternal life. Their home was made into a museum. Now fast forward to the 1990’s. A teenager, Max, accidentally summons the Sanderson sisters who begin their hunt to steal the souls of children once again. Max, his little sister Dani, and his crush Allison work together to stop the witches. During this, they meet a wide array of characters, including a zombie and a black talking cat.

My dish focuses on a scene in the movie when the sisters are walking around the trick or treaters. They meet a man dressed in a devil suit and his grumpy wife, who no doubt is grumpy because she wants to watch TV in her curlers but her husband insists on inviting three strangers into their house and being a big ol’ flirt.

The witches don’t understand this whole ~costume~ thing and think this goofy old flirt in a devil’s suit is actually their “Master.” He doesn’t have a huge role in the movie, but he’s pretty hilarious and the Sanderson sister’s reaction to him is priceless. So, I decided to make something for him (and I needed to make it with something I had in the house already.)

So, say hello to Master’s Eggs! And join us next month at Culinary Adventures with Camilla and watch The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Master’s Eggs

Ingredients
6 hardboiled eggs
1/2 avocado
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp sriacha
1/2 tsp ground pepper
salt to taste

Directions

1. Cut your hardboiled eggs in half. Remove the egg yolk without tearing the white and place it in one bowl. Place the white halves on a plate.
2. Add the avocado, mayonnaise, sriacha, black pepper, and salt in the bowl with the yolks. Smash together with a fork.
3. Spoon the mixture into the whites.
4. Sprinkle with pepper.

Announcing Food ‘n Flix For October: Hocus Pocus

It’s one of my favorite months! I love October, November, and December – the months of my favorite holidays. Between Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, I have a hard time narrowing down which one I love most – but Halloween is so fun. I hosted a Food ‘n Flix in October three years ago and we watched Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. I chose that movie because though totally goofy, it had a ~scary~ theme.

This year I decided to host another October movie, but significantly less of a foodie movie. I decided to host my FAVORITE Halloween movie. I actually love horror movies and thrillers, but that’s not my favorite Halloween movie! My favorite Halloween movie came out when I was seven years old: Hocus Pocus! Hocus Pocus is the story of the Sanderson sisters, witches who are brought back due to some dumb decisions on part of a teenage boy. I love this movie so much that I’m actually going to be Winifred Sanderson for Halloween this year.

So watch this non-foodie movie and get INSPIRED! Maybe it’s the Sanderson sisters who inspired you, maybe it’s Billy Butcherson the zombie, maybe it’s Halloween candy, or maybe it’s something else – I hope that watching my favorite Halloween movie inspires your tastebuds and creativity in the kitchen!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN FOOD ‘N FLIX:

1. Watch the chosen film (Hocus Pocus). Using the film as your inspiration, use your culinary skills to create something.

2. Post about it on your blog with a link back to this post and post a link to Food ‘n Flix. You can use the Food ‘n Flix logo if you wish!

3. Your post must be current (during the month of October). The post may be linked to other events. The more the merrier!

4. Have fun with it!

5. Email me at elizabethccrab@gmail.com by the deadline and include the following:
a. Your Name
b. Your Blog’s Name an URL
c. The name of your dish and the permalink to the specific post you’re submitting
d. Attach a photo of your dish (or give me permission to pull one from your post)
e. Indicate “Food ‘n Flix” in the subject line of your email

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:  October 29, 2015
I will try to have the post up by Halloween!

Broccoli Arugula Pepperoni Pizza

Eek! The day is speeding by and I needed to get this dish made and posted! Food ‘n Flix is celebrating its 5th birthday this month and to celebrate, we could make a recipe based on ANY of the past movies hosted by the fun monthly challenge. I’ve participated in and hosted a ton of the Food ‘n Flix months in the past.

The past movies I hosted included Eat Pray Love, Delicatessen, Elf, Like Water For Chocolate, and Lady and the Tramp. And! In October I’m hosting Hocus Pocus!

Anyway, Food ‘n Flix has been such a fun monthly thing to participate in. It’s truly one of my favorite food round-ups. Heather, our fearless leader, is hosting our big party this month.

I decided to watch a movie I’d seen before, but one that I didn’t cook from for Food ‘n Flix because it was before i found out about this community. I watched Mystic Pizza!

Mystic Pizza (starring Julia Roberts who is always my favorite,) is about three girls who work at the Mystic Pizzeria. A true coming of age story, this movie follows sisters Kat and Daisy and their friend JoJo. When not following their own young loves, these girls work at a pizza parlor known for its secret (and delicious) sauce.

This was the perfect movie for me to watch, because I LOVE PIZZA. I love pizza so much. And I always have. When I was a little girl (probably around 3 or so,) my parents had ordered a pizza and brought it home for dinner. I sat down at the table and burst out crying. “What’s wrong Betta?” my parents asked.

“You can’t eat pizza! Pizza’s my friend!”

I didn’t cry over the chicken we ate or the cow or the pig – you know, living things. No, I cried because they were eating my dear friend Pizza. My friendliness with pizza has clearly changed, because now I’d eat it any day of the week.

I didn’t have time to make the dough for this pizza and tried the Pillsbury Pizza Crusts that were in a tube. It was surprising good and super easy! I need to get some more of those for some easy dinner nights.

Broccoli Arugula Pepperoni Pizza

Ingredients
pizza dough for one pizza
2 cups chopped broccoli
5 cups baby arugula
1/2 cup pesto
spicy pepperoni
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450. Stretch your pizza dough on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. While the dough is baking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook for 3 minutes. Add the arugula to the water and let wilt. Drain. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Spread the pesto on the pizza crust.
4. Spread the broccoli and arugula over the pesto.
5. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Place the pepperoni on top of the cheese, covering the pizza.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before attempting to cut.

Asian Noodles with Asparagus, Mushrooms, and Tofu

Sometimes I have problems with movies with subtitles. Eat Drink Man Woman provided me some trouble in that regard with paying attention. I kept seeing food, but I hardly followed the story line. Because of that, I can’t tell you what the movie was about.

Why am I talking about the movie though? Because this month’s Food n’ Flix hosted by Kahakai Kitchen features this movie. To participate I made some Asianesque noodles. Perhaps not the most inspired dish this month, but at least I’m participating? That’s more than I can say from the last few months.

Asian Noodles with Asparagus, Mushrooms, and Tofu

Ingredients
12 oz ramen noodles (without the spice packets)
12 oz firm tofu
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
12 oz mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3-inch piece of ginger, minced
1 tbsp mirin
4 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb asparagus, with fibrous ends removed cut into 3 inch pieces
3 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame seeds
pinch of red chili flakes

Directions

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a cast iron skillet. Once sizzling hot, add the tofu and cook 2 minutes per side. Remove and place on a plate.

2. In a pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add the ramen noodles and cook per package directions. Drain and set aside.

3. In the cast iron skillet, add some more oil. Add the mushrooms, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the mirin on top. Pour into a large bowl.

4. Add some more oil to the skillet. Cook the green onions for 2 minutes and place in the large bowl with the mushrooms. Then cook the asparagus in the skillet for 2 minutes. Place in the large bowl.

5. Add the noodles, tofu, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and chili flakes to the vegetable mixture. Toss to combine.

* serves 4
* Besides Food ‘n Flix, this dish is also shared with Delicious Dish Tuesday