Cooking School....

I was 'discovered' recently after posting a few recipes I found interesting on the Instant Pot Page on Facebook. A local physician and staff asked me to teach the use of the Instant Pot at their Keto Clinic and I accepted not knowing what to expect.

I have used our pot quite a bit since getting this one around the holidays. I believe I pressure cooked a whole turkey breast in there once but lately I have been using it to tenderize meats before grilling or prepping for other reasons. I know we had used 2 pots to prepare the Irish Stew recipe for the Rainbow House a while back and I was not disappointed in the tenderness of the beef we processed.  I have also used it for pork kebabs and other cuts that benefit from the pressure cooking process.  I had hoped for a 'test' kitchen but basically ended up cooking in the lobby of a local Physicians Building for about 15 ladies and gentlemen.  The recipe had to be Keto which means not many carbs so I picked pork chops and cabbage and added a few extra ingredients like cream, fennel seeds and Dijon mustard to round out the flavors and get a more interesting sauce for the meat. Samples were passed amongst the crowd and pretty well received. It was actually pretty fun and people seemed to enjoy it.  I tend to reserve my pot for tenderizing meats and shun cooking other stuff in it like eggs or desserts. There is a lot of precedence for that but it takes a while to come to pressure and does not seem to save a lot of time in that regard. If you are making beef stews, chicken stocks or beef stocks, this is great. It cuts back the time and need to watch the pot. 

Dinner for Nicholas, the birthday boy....

Shrimp Bake with Feta and Fennel

Nicholas celebrated his birthday with all of us so I had to have something special. Normally that means a big hunk of meat or ribs but I wanted a little lighter fare this day with the heat and this dish turned out great and definitely a make again. I found 13 to the pound shrimp locally so I bought 2 pounds and the rest was easy.

Mediterranean Shrimp, Feta and Fennel Bake

1 cup of chopped Fennel (about 1 large bulb)
1 can of diced tomatoes (I use Muir Glen Fire Roasted)
2 T tomato paste
1 large garlic clove minced
1 shallot minced
1/4 c dry white wine
2 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 t dry Oregano
2 T Pernod (opt) (most of my eaters with tolerate the faint licorice taste of the fennel but this adds a bit more)
4 - 6  ounces of cooked orzo pasta, al dente.
8 ounces Feta block, cubed
2 pounds shelled raw shrimp, tails on
juice 1/2 lemon

Bread Crumb Mixture

1 cup fresh bread crumbs ( four or five slices white bread)
 zest from whole lemon
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 T olive oil
Combine all and toss with a fork.



Use a large oven safe skillet. Heat 2 T olive oil and sauté the fennel till soft and a little browned. Add the mince garlic and shallot and cook for about a minute then add the white wine. Reduce this a bit the add the canned tomatoes, juice and all and the tomato paste. I let this simmer a bit then added the al dente pasta I have cooked in the microwave (drained)  This was my addition and I omitted the Pernod altogether.

I removed the pan from the heat, set the oven to 400 and topped the tomato/ pasta mixture with the shrimps arranged tails up neatly on top. I covered the dish with the cubed Feta cheese then the bread crumb mixture.  I placed in the middle of the hot oven for just 15 minutes and the shrimps were perfected cooked. (remember they were large so...adjust the time accordingly). Top with a final squeeze of lemon juice.

Served with a side salad and fresh French loaves, this was a big hit.





Surpise Summer Wedding

An invitation to the 'cabin' for 4th of July turned into a surprise wedding of my good friend Doug and his fiancée, Danielle. Such a great couple and we do dinner often with them. Doug and I have flown together once in a while and spent a lot of time training on the system we use at work.  He is relaxed and laid back as is Danielle and we have a great time.

Its was kind of a surprise but Brenda and I had our suspicions that were confirmed when we drove up and Doug is in full tartan and his whole family was there. So nice to finally meet his dad and sister. I have met his brother before a while back. Danielle's family was equally as cordial and accommodating  We stayed till about 3 or 4 then the heat of the day just overcame me and I wanted to go home but we were there for the good part and its just so nice to be included.
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