Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder

• 6 strips thick-cut bacon, can sub salt pork
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce, or ½ tsp tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups Half and Half
• 2 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 ¼ lbs. potatoes, see notes
• 3 (6.5 oz. cans) chopped clams, juices reserved

• ½ teaspoon EACH: dried oregano, dried parsley
• ¼ teaspoon EACH: dried thyme, salt
• 1/8 teaspoon EACH: smoked paprika, pepper

Cook the bacon in a 4.5-quart soup pot slowly over low heat. (I cut my bacon in half, it’s easier to fit it in the pan and have it cook evenly.) While the bacon cooks, measure out remaining ingredients. Once the bacon is cooked, set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Chop once cooled and reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.

Wipe any dark spots from the pot but leave as much bacon remnants as you can, as that will add flavor to the soup. Add reserved bacon drippings and butter to the pot over medium heat and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the pot. Add the diced onions and celery. Toss to coat and soften for 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously, until the raw flour smell is gone. Add the chicken broth in small splashes, stirring continuously, and wiping the pan “clean” again as you do so. Add the half and half . Stir in the chicken bouillon- and add the bay leaf. Add the juice from the canned clams to the soup, but don’t add the clams yet. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer, so that it’s just gently bubbling. Simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered. Stir occasionally as it cooks.

Peel and dice the potatoes and add them to the soup. Bring back to a very gentle bubble and let the potatoes cook through for 20-25 minutes, until fork tender. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the clams and let them heat through, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Garnish with chopped bacon.

 

https://thecozycook.com/clam-chowder-recipe/

Crispy Baja Fish Tacos

 Crispy Baja Fish Tacos

Ingredients

Fish Tacos

• 1 1/2 lbs. halibut, mahi mahi or other firm white fish like cod
• 15 corn tortillas, 6-inch (or street taco size)
• Vegetable oil

Fish Taco Batter

• 24 Ritz crackers, crushed (3/4 of a sleeve)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups sprite

Garnish

• shredded cabbage
• Avocados
• salsa
• lime juice
• hot sauce

Pic de Gallo

• 4 Roma tomatoes diced
• 1/2 large white or red onion, diced
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, minced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• salt to taste

White Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Hot sauce to taste

Instructions

White Sauce

Whisk the White Sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate. Combine the Pico de Gallo ingredients together in a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate. Mix all the batter ingredients together in a large bowl. Slice fish into strips approximately 3/4” wide x 4" long (they don't have to be exact - error on the side of thinner). Pat fish very dry and add all of the fish to the batter and gently stir to coat. Fill a 12-inch pan with about 1 inch deep oil and heat to 375 degrees F.Working in batches, fry fish until golden, flipping halfway through. Place on paper towels.

Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a seasoned skillet over medium heat. Add tortillas and cook until golden and starts to brown in spots, about 20 seconds, then flip and cook until other side is golden. The tortilla should still be soft and pliable, not crispy. Place warmed tortillas on a plate with a paper towel in between and cover with a towel. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, adding additional oil as needed after every couple tortillas.

Add fish to tortillas (I use 2 strips per taco) and top with shredded cabbage, Pico de Gallo, freshly squeezed lime juice and White Sauce. Drizzle with hot sauce/salsa to taste and garnish with avocados if desired.

 

Orange Cookies with Sweet Orange Glaze

 Orange Cookies with Sweet Orange Glaze

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 egg

For the Sweet Orange Glaze:

• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• Fresh orange juice

Instructions

1.                   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.

2. Make the Cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the the sugar and orange zest, rubbing them together with your fingers until the zest is completely incorporated into the sugar.
4. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and the orange zest-infused sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and orange and mix until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. If the dough seems a little on the soft side, refrigerate it for up to 30 minutes.
5. Using a medium cookie scoop (or 2 tablespoonfuls), scoop out the dough and roll them into balls, placing them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges, but still pale in the middle. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
6. Make the Sweet Orange Glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, orange zest, and enough orange juice to achieve the desired consistency (less juice for a thicker glaze, more for a thinner one). Spread glaze over top of the cooled cookies, and allow to set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Store at room temperature in an airtight container (divide layers with wax paper so the cookies don't stick together).

 https://www.browneyedbaker.com/orange-cookies-recipe/#recipe

Cherry Sweet Rolls

 Cherry Sweet Rolls

Ingredients

• ¼ ounce active dry yeast (1 package)
• 1 cup milk warm
• ½ cup sugar granulated
• ⅓ cup butter unsalted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 21 ounce cherry pie filling (1 can), blended up so there aren’t huge cherry chunks

Cream Cheese Icing

• 6 tablespoons butter unsalted, softened, or margarine
• 1½ cups powdered sugar also known as icing sugar, or confectioners sugar
• ¼ cup cream cheese at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1.                   Bloom the yeast. Pour the lukewarm milk into a small bowl and mix in a teaspoon of the sugar from the dough. Then sprinkle the yeast over the milk and let it set for about 20 seconds before gently stirring it once or twice to fully dissolve. Now, leave it alone to sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until it gets foamy and begins to smell yeasty.

2.                   Make the dough. Add the remaining sugar, unsalted butter, salt, eggs, and all-purpose flour to the bowl of your stand mixer and then mix until well combined. Now, pour the bloomed yeast milk mixture over the flour mixture and fully incorporate all the ingredients together using the dough hook.

3.                   Let the dough rise. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Then put it in a warm place to let it rise for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4.                   Assemble the rolls. Once the dough has doubled in size, place it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out until it is about 16 inches long by 12 inches wide.

5.                   Spread with pie filling. Then spread your favorite cherry pie filling evenly over the dough making sure to cover the entire surface. Now, working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom of the other edge. It should look like a long swirled log when you are done rolling. Then cut the rolled dough into 1¾-inch slices and place them on a lightly greased baking pan.

6.                   Let the rolls rise. Cover the rolls on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper with a clean kitchen towel and leave them to rise for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

7.                   Bake the cherry rolls. Bake the rolls in a preheated 350℉ oven for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Baking time can vary, so be sure to check them at 15 minutes and it could take up to 25 minutes. Every oven is different.

8.                   Make the icing. While the cherry rolls are baking in the oven make the cream cheese frosting by adding all the icing ingredients to a large bowl and beating them together with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.

9.                   Top the cherry rolls with icing. When the cherry buns are done baking, generously spread them with the prepared icing and enjoy.