Wild Atlantic Seafood Soup

For our weekly Saturday night dinner day, my pretty Irish lass suggested a meal from our favorite cookbook, My Wild Atlantic Kitchen. So we set our sights on Wild Atlantic Seafood Soup. I took a HUGE detour on this recipe for 2 reasons. #1, I live in a town with few options at the store #2, I don’t like fennel, star anise or tarragon I’ll run the recipe in full, but will note my departures with (*). Ingredients • 2 tbsp olive • 2oz butter • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped • 6 shallots, finely chopped (*used four) • 1 leek, washed and finely chopped • 1 fennel bulb, finely chopped (*used ½ if the bulb) • 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped • 1 tbsp tomato puree (*half a can of tomato paste) • 1140m1 / 2 pints shellfish stock (*I made my standard stock, water,...

Irish Pub Style Guiness Beef Stew

With the temperatures dipping into the 20s in both Colonial Beach I decided to go a heart warming soup/stew route. This recipe is a bit of a hybrid between My Wild Atlantic Kitchen and The Daring Gourmet. Irish pub-style Guinness Beef Stew • 6 slices bacon ,diced• 2 pounds beef chuck• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (with pepper, salt if you like,)• 2 medium-large yellow onions ,chopped• 4 cloves garlic ,minced• 3 medium firm red potatoes, cut into bit-sized chunks• 2 large carrots ,chopped in 1/2 inch pieces• 2 ribs celery ,chopped in 1/2 inch pieces• 1 bottle (1 pint or 16 ounces) Guinness Extra Stout• 1 cup strong beef broth• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce• 1/4 cup tomato paste• 2 teaspoon fresh thyme• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper• 2 bay leaves•...

Albequreque International Balloon Festival 2022

October in Albequreque is all about the launching of hundreds of hot air balloons. It’s a wonderous thing to see. It was amazing to see the logistics of getting 500 balloons airborne in the early morning. If you have an open spot on your bucket list, put this on...

Tikka fish with spinach and braised leeks

Our standing Saturday Night Dinner Date was virtual last week, and my kitchen partner and loving fiance, Carolyn Flynn suggested a couple NYTs recipes, Sheet-Pan Fish Tikka with Spinach, and for a side, Braised Leeks with Parmesan. It was a wonderful, tasty meal and the leeks surprised me by how tender and full of flavor they were. They absolutely will show up as a side-dish on future meals at my table. Here are the links. A subscription is required, but I find they $5 a month subscription well worth the cost. https://cooking.nytimes.com/…/1023493-sheet-pan-fish… https://cooking.nytimes.com/…/12667-braised-leeks-with… FISH TIKKA Ingredients Yield: 4 servings 1½ pounds firm, white-fleshed fish (such as cod, basa or halibut, cut into chunks)...

Don’s Chili

I have been fine-tuning my chili for decades. And next month (one assumes) the local brewery will be hosting their annual Chili Cook-Off. And I have every intention of participating. Yet…I’m about to post my recipe. I really don’t care about anyone copying it, I just want to share it. Tonight I made up my ‘small batch’ and had a good friend over to enjoy the meal on a cold night. Don’s Chili Grill 4 chicken thighs. Don’t worry about cooking them completely. Put on some wood chips to get a smokey flavor. Burn them a bit on the outside…it’s OK. Just don’t over-cook. Dice them in 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes. Heat up some olive oil, a few tablespoons. Dice up and onion and toss it in so it gets caramelized. Toss in a couple tablespoons on minced garlic and swirl, don’t let...