How to Snag a Shark in your Kitchen

The greatest thing about watching grocery store ads is that I can meld a meal by piecing together food on sale. It's, at times, inspiring. I feel like a cornball saying that, but as a dedicated deal seeker I pay attention to essentials that I can save on.

Recently, Sunflower Farmers Market at 38th & Wolff in Denver advertised thresher shark. I had tasted shark once before and remembered its sharpness and steakiness. Much like a swordfish.

Thresher shark is a hearty, meaty fish that is extremely versatile and can be seasoned to anyone's taste. Great if you want a taste of the wild.

Another item that Sunflower featured in its Wednesday ad was mango. I had never bought a mango, cut into a mango nor craved a mango. All this has changed and since this dinner I've sought out, peeled and blended mangoes to my heart's delight.

To maximize the thresher shark's tenderness, I chose to pair it with coconut-ginger rice and mango salsa. I borrowed the rice recipe from a fellow blogger, Recipe Girl, and combined a mess of sweet and savory ingredients for the mango salsa. Mix in homemade mojitos and great friends and a menu is made!

Thresher Shark
Marinate 1 lbs. in:

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 T. Tequila (or n/a orange juice)
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Place in fridge for about half hour. Watch the time because if you let it sit too long you may end up with ceviche, as the citric acid literally "cooks" the fish.

Have you ever handled a jicama?

It is very similar to a water chestnut in texture. Try it in stir fry, I did with some left-over shark the next night.

Mango Salsa

• Jalapeno pepper(s), seeded and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups mango, chopped and squared
• 1/2 cup jicama, diced
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, dried and chopped
• Juice of 2-3 limes
• Marinate about a half hour for best results
  

Tips for salsa:

• Mangoes have rectangle pits?! What the ...
  
• Rounder limes end up juicing better. Roll it around the counter a few times to get the liquid loosened.
• I reserved a small portion without jalapeno, for those who can't stand the heat.
  

Voila!

Grill the shark for about 5 minutes each side.

Muddle the mojitos while cooking and serve.

"Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo."

Health and love and time to enjoy them.

An Unlikely Bisque

At a recent Wynkoop Brewery beer dinner I had one of the coolest and tastiest soups. The meal was centered around Stone Brewery beers from Escondido, CA, and Stone co-founder Greg Koch was the entertainment. He's a really funny, honest and REAL guy. Kind of a craft beer celebrity of sorts. And his beers are just as awesome.

Our pairings began with Pear & Brie Soup. It was neither overly-creamy nor chunky. Toasted almonds floating in the star anise crème fraiche brought a smokey crunch to the smoothness of the bisque. I'm not very fond of brie and actually expected there to be crumbles of cheese bobbing in the soup. Luckily, the pear and brie are melted , blended and stirred to become a bisque. With only six ingredients and fairly easy prep, this could definitely become a mainstay for holiday dinners or a dish to one-up my foodie friends.

Pear & Brie Soup
From Wynkoop Brewery Denver, CO

• 2 large Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 8 oz. brie cheese, rind cut off, diced
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch ground clove
• Handful sliced almonds (flat, not slivered)

Combine sliced pears and chicken broth in 2-quart pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until pears are soft (approximately 10-15 minutes). Transfer broth and pears to blender and puree until totally smooth. Return mixture to pan over medium heat, add nutmeg and clove. Add brie a little at a time constantly stirring. The soup should be creamy and smooth. In separate pan, add almonds. No need for oil or butter. Toast almonds by moving around every 20 seconds or so, until light brown. When serving soup, top with almonds.

For this unlikely bisque, Stone paired its Cali-Belgique IPA. This hazy, caramel-colored brew has tropical fruit notes that complemented the soup great. Doesn't hurt (or maybe it will the next day) that it's seven percent alcohol.

"We're not trying to sell anything to you in the world of craft beer, we're trying to please you," Greg said.

The beer's definitely something I recommend to friends just getting their palates whet with craft beer. I'll absolutely pick some up this summer.

Follow the goings-on at Wynkoop by checking out their new website: www.wynkoop.com/happenings.

Cheers (from Dane, Greg and me)!

Love Me Tender(loin)

In honor of the National Stock Show here in Denver, I'm paying homage to my favorite fare: BEEF!

Did you know that:

• Sixty-two percent of Americans profess their love for steak as their most desired Valentine’s Day meal (according to a recent survey conducted by Pelegrin Gray for The Beef Checkoff Program).

• Nothing says love like beef and backrubs: Forty-three percent of Americans said they would choose a steak meal to kick off a romantic evening of hot tub time, back rubs and champagne.

• They call me Dr. Love: Americans associate steak as a “best match” for love (44%), romance (42%) and passion (41%)—more so than chicken, pork or fish.

• Let’s meat: Beef (36%) is more often associated with “magnetism” than fish (22%), pork (21%) or chicken (21%).

• 50 percent of Americans associate beef with celebrations, compared to chicken (18%), pork (17%) or fish (15%).

• An Impressive Selection: Sixty-two percent serve a beef dish if they are hoping for their partner to express gratitude or appreciation for their efforts.

• The Perfect Pick: When choosing a meal for a significant other, 61 percent say they would order beef at a restaurant to express how much they care.

Thanks to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association for the meaty statistics. For more news on beef and recipes galore, visit BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com

Coooooooool Whippppppp

salad with marshmallows? snickers?

This Thanksgiving we were lucky enough to be included as "family" at our good friend's house. They would do the turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing and some other traditional sides. We would bring our own family traditions to the table as well.

Not necessarily on every American's dinner table at this food-centric holiday is the salad/dessert we call "Fluffy Green." I encountered the delicacy a few years ago when I celebrated my first Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's (now husband) extended family. I was a bit wary of the green goo but went for it with an aggressive spoonful. Oh. Wow.



Fluffy Green
Two 8 oz. containers Cool Whip
One pack mini marshmallows
Two boxes (1 oz. ea.) pistachio Jell-O instant pudding
One can mandarin oranges (drained)
One can pineapple tidbits (drained)
One jar maraschino cherries (stemless)
Two bananas (sliced)

Mix Jell-O into Cool Whip, add everything except the bananas (be sure to drain fruit). Add bananas just before serving.

Now, it doesn't look amazing, or even sound like something gourmet. And it's not. But it's tradition and tasty, and on Thanksgiving you can't ask for more. In my searching for other people who share this meal on Thanksgiving I came across many opinions. Some balked at the idea of a "marshmallow salad" and others said their grandparents introduced it into the family during the Depression.

To our hosts, we were honored with surprising them with how great it tastes! Even the 11-year-old finicky child took multiple servings.

Another great Cool Whip salad often served in wintertime in the Midwest is the Snickers salad. Snickers AND salad, you ask? Trust your taste buds. Trust me.

Snickers Salad
Cool Whip
Granny Smith apples
Frozen Snickers candy bars
Vanilla pudding mix

Mix Cool Whip and pudding mix. Add chopped snickers (about a 1/2 inch thick each) and chopped apples. Mix and serve chilled. Kids love this one, too!

Za, My Way

I love a good za. Pizza that is. And what a great time in history it is for the pie-lover!

The gourmet pizza revolution is up and swinging. In Minneapolis, Punch, Pizza Luce and the stand-by Red's Savoy are among the favorites branching out to several locations. Here in Denver Lala's not only has great go-to za, but I must say one of the best Caesar salads I've had in years--garlicky dressing, white anchovies and a "small" the size of most lobster platters. Among the other pizza joints we get our fill from are Basil Doc's, Two Fisted Mario’s Pizza, Proto’s and Denver Pizza Company, the last being my next stop.

Recently though our pizza and its fixins have been coming from the menu of my mind. With Pillsbury dough on sale, I picked up a couple rolls and set out for a homemade pizza pie.

Pizza #1

• Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust dough (salted and peppered)
• Homemade pesto (basil leaves—about 15-20, one handful raw pine nuts, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, olive oil, Parmesan and squeeze of half lemon)
• 2 cut-up already cooked artichoke hearts*
• 10 cherry tomatoes (sliced)
• ¼ of Columbus Salame (cut into strips)
• 5 cloves roasted garlic (peel back white skin, cut ¼ of an inch of top, put in tin foil and douse tops with olive oil, tighten tin foil and roast 30 minutes at 400 degrees)
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan, Romano and Asiago cheese mix
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• Few springs of rosemary (chopped and sprinkled on 1st layer of cheese)

* We love, love, love artichokes. So we ate the leaves as an appetizer. My mom's recipe: chop bottom of artichoke stem and about 1/2 inch off the top, wrap in plastic wrap, microwave 7-8 minutes, remove from microwave and melt 2 tablespoons butter per person, serve hot and peel, dip and scrape off the flesh. Save bottom, or the heart, for your pizza.

Pizza #2

• Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust dough (salted and peppered)
• Homemade pesto (basil leaves—about 15-20, two handfuls raw pine nuts, 3 cloves roasted garlic, olive oil, Parmesan and squeeze of half lemon)**
• 10 cherry tomatoes (sliced)
• 1 Russet potato (sliced, tossed in olive oil, seasoned with fresh rosemary, kosher salt and cracked pepper, roast in oven 30 minutes at 400 degrees)
• Few springs of rosemary (for potato slices, chopped and sprinkled on)
• ¼ of Columbus Salame (cut into strips)
• 10 cloves roasted garlic (peel back white skin, cut ¼ of an inch of top, put in tin foil and douse tops with olive oil, tighten tin foil and roast 30 minutes at 400 degrees)
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan, Romano and Asiago cheese mix
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

** Our pesto the second time around was much heartier. You may want to roast the pine nuts to add more flavor. The added basil and pine nuts this time around created a nice base with some nutty crunch.

Toppings tip: Cook anything you are going to put on before you top the pizza. Make sure your toppings are dry. Anything from a jar should be well drained. Anything frozen, should be thawed. When it comes to what you put on, go wild with the toppings. It's hard to mess up a pizza.

When Life Gives You Lemon

I cook with lemons on a regular basis. We love roasting our asparagus in the oven then squeezing fresh lemon juice and lemon zest on top. Most of my fish and chicken dishes have a dash of lemon in the marinade or sauce. And you can't beat fresh pulpy lemon juice in a summery cocktail!

As I was cleaning through my piles of torn-out magazine recipes, I saw Martha Stewart's magazine Everyday Food's recipe for Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad and a side dish of Lemon and Pine-Nut Rice. Sounded like the perfect fresh, light Sunday dinner!

Martha's Chicken Milanese recipe and the Lemon and Pine-Nut Rice ( a variation of Sesame-Lime Rice)

Though it calls for arugula as the main greens for the salad, we used our remaining (and massive!) spinach leaves from the farmer's market. We also utilized the small red onions picked up from the produce stand last Sunday from the Market at Belmar (our version of downtown Lakewood). We also skipped making our own breadcrumbs and chose the store-bought Italian breadcrumbs.

The Result: Tart-laced spinach with the cut of red onions, layered on top crunchy, seasoned chicken breast and a zesty mixture of toasty pine nuts, long grain rice and lemon kick!

Goodness on Top of Goodness

dedicated to lisa

One day during college some roommates decided to bake a cake. But they also wanted to eat some cookies, too. What a dilemma! AND SHAZAM! Cookie Cake was born!

Recipe for Cookie Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cake mix
• 1 cookie bag mix
• 1 (or 2) cans of frosting
• 2 9x13 cake pans

Instructions:

1. Mix cookie mix according to package.
2. Spray a 9x13 cake pan and spread cookie mix into cake pan. Bake according to cookie package.
3. Let cookie pan cool.
4. Mix cake mix according to package.
5. Spray a 9x13 cake pan and spread cake mix into cake pan. Bake according to cake package.
6. After cookie pan is cool, spread frosting over cookie.
7. After cake is cool, tip upside down and place on top of frosted cookie.
8. Frost the cake.
9. Cut and enjoy!

Thank you Lisa & Ben for the most delicious wedding gift anyone has ever received!