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!

Peter's Chicken Curry with Orange Cucumber Raita

I've now been making curries for a few years and learned with the help of the cookbook Curries Without Worries (Sudha Koul) and my girlfriend Lidia. My key ingredients....ghee - curry powder - ginger - fresh corriander...but use your imagination!
It's not that much more work to make the curry powder yourself - what I don't have pictured is tumeric....which is the bright yellow powder without much flavor that gives curry it's yellow color. Tumeric is usually sold in powder form but the rest of the spices you can roast in the oven for great flavor...fennel seeds...star anise...cumin seeds...corriander seeds...red pepper....bay leaf

I almost forgot coconut milk...it does make a difference.

I grind the spices the old fashioned way.

Have ja ever seen a ginger grater? This one I inherited from my dear old friend Bruce Kurtz.
It's ceramic and has tiny razor sharp teeth. Hold tight and run the peeled ginger back and forth.

There are all kinds of fancy garlic gadgets...I love my mushroom from Bennington a gift from my brother A.J. It's sole purpose is to smash garlic so you can get the skins off easily. I need to oil my shroom. A.J. is our family's most experienced restaurant chef....really!

Brown the chicken parts in hot ghee. Take them out and let them sit for a minute.

In the same ghee (remove some if you like to brown with a lot of oil - it should just cover the bottom of your pan) add onions, garlic, ginger, and the crushed spices and tumeric until just past golden, deglaze with a little white wine, then add the chicken, carrots, coconut milk... a peeled chopped potato or two if you want...lastly fresh chopped corriander. I use some chicken stock but I try never to add more than a cup. I'm not really into thickeners like corn starch but that's always an option. Over the years I've reduced the amount of stock and added an extra can of coconut milk and a potato...simmer on low for an hour and half or two. It's always better the next day.

I love to have a Raita with my curry...this is a peeled, deseeded grated cucumber mixed with yoghurt (sour cream if you want but you can skip it) mandarin oranges, fresh chopped corriander and a dash of salt. It's a great compliment to curry along with some chutney...see my recipe on this blog october 2009 green tomato chutney...yum!

I'll have to make a Razmah soon...also an excellent sideidish with curry...Sudha describes it as Kidney Beans for Kings.