What to do with leftover paella...stuffed peppers!

I know that a lot of people don't have leftover paella but we do because once people know you make it you seem to be making if often. This leftover dish is really just a stuffed pepper but with a twist. Most recipes for stuffed peppers say you should parboil them first...cut off the tops and clean them, place on the stove in cold water and let them come to a boil for 5 minutes...drain and cool. 

Take the tops and dice them with some shallots or onions...brown in oil.

Add ground beef and a little bit of curry powder....cook till done.

Mix with the leftover seafood paella, a beaten egg and a half a cup or so of nice cheese.

Stuff peppers and top with breadcrumbs and bake at 350 (160) for 45 minutes.

Americans don't generally mix seafood and beef but I think this is an excellent example of how delicious it can be!

I made 3 stuffed peppers and William and I ate two the first night....pictured is the left-leftover lunch the next day...I still had some paella that I heated up in the oven with a half of pepper each...with a glass of wine in the last summer sun in the backyard it felt like I was on vacation for 15 minutes.

Mushroom Mornay at Steiningers

When Food Network asks William for his all time favorite lunches out he'd put the Mushroom Mornay at Steiningers in Salem NY at the top of his list. 

http://www.steiningers.com/restaurant.html

I'm convinced she makes this puff pastry herself...and the mushroom sauce is just to die for. I can't recommend this lovely spot in Salem enough...call ahead and make a reservation and save room for dessert!

This photo was taken a few years back in front of Steiningers...me and my mother and the girl my grandmother wanted me to marry!

Have you tried a Portobello mushroom?

I love these mushrooms. They have such a meaty texture and are great on the grill. I make them for an easier dinner.
I fill the caps with a marinade made from olive oil, garlic, basil and some white wine. A half hour is long enough.

The juice that forms in the cap is excellent.

This time I had avocado and gorgonzola.

It's paella season! Pictured above a fresh sea bass. I buy them whole and use the head for my bouillon. I grew up on Hedges Lake and we had to clean all the fish we caught...but I can imagine it's not for everyone. This one needs to be scaled which is a wicked pain in the ass but it does bring back great childhood memories.

Our plum trees are just getting ripe so I made a compote. Sugar, water, cinamon, and some Madeira wine which I thought worked quit nicely with the plums.

So I had to make something to put under the plums of course. I love custards of all kinds - this time I went for a baked egg custard. The texture isn't as silky as pudding because you use the whole egg but I just didn't feel like having 4 egg whites left over. I all ready made two things - I wasn't going to make a whip for my own ass like my father always said and make three!

I put the plum compote in my bean pot which gave it a rumtoof sort of feeling...for my German followers!

Parmesian bread sticks

Dust off the bread machine and treat yourself to some cruncy parmesian bread sticks. I added some dry herb de provence and rolled them in lots of parmesian.

It couldn't be easier...
That's the finished product on the home page.

I'm still cookin'

Boy does the time fly when you get older. My camera died so I was without for a while and now Miguel saved me and gave me Javier's old one. Love the start-up sound Javier! Anyways - I'm still cooking - a little bit of everything. Here some recent successes...

Pasta with shrimp garlic and basil...thanks Pats and Marg for the smiley face spatula - I think of you every time I use it!

I'm forever roasting chickens.


Eat your red fruits - most of these come from our garden.


My Uncle Dick taught me everything you need to now to build a good sandwhich.
I cooked the eggs myself but the crab salad is from the store!


I've been on a Ossobuco craze recently - I think I've made it 6 times in the last 3 months....this version is Milanese. Veal shanks that melt in your mouth. If you dare the marrow is delicious.


I bought some of the small squid at the market. We floured the tentacles and deepfried them - if you like that sort of thing this was an OMG. I felt like I was in Greece. William made his famous squid in tomato sauce and parcely with the bodies - no foto but trust me it was fab.

Thanks for the artwork Marlou!

I decided it was time to change the look of the blog a little bit.

Thanks Marlou for providing the "cover" artwork for so long!