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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Soy-Ginger Coated Fish Cakes

Happy New year everyone, I’ve missed you. Have you tried the new Kikkoman Kara-Age Soy-Ginger Seasoned coating mix yet? It has a wonderful flavor and provides a batter-like crust for fried fish and chicken. Each box contains two packages of coating mix. The premix makes it quick and easy to produce a flavorful and impressive meal. The package couldn’t have arrived at a more appropriate time!

As some of my twitter followers may know, December 20^th Dad fell, broke three ribs AND punctured a lung. Poor guy spent his 83^rd birthday in hospital not to mention Christmas and New Years! The re-emerging necessity of generations living together, aka The Sandwich Generation, has been a challenge to say the least. We canceled our Seven Fishes Christmas Eve Celebration and the planned New Years Day Florida Glazed Ham dinner. Despite my absence, I have been cooking, and eating!

As for the Kikkoman coating, I used both envelopes. Following the package instructions, I prepared two pounds of whiting filets first. Ginger is of course the prominent flavor. Because the whiting was previously frozen, I soaked it in milk for about 10 minutes, patted dry and brushed with hot sauce then proceeded to coat as directed. If you enjoy spicy Asian inspired flavors, do try this combo. The batter type ginger flavored crust engulfed the spicy heat perfectly. Inside, the fish was moist and mild, YUM!

Canceling the holiday festivities afforded me loads of pastas and various cans of fish, particularly anchovies and sardines in tomato sauce. As a result, I adapted this fish cake recipe, using the sardines and the second envelope Kara-Age Soy-Ginger coating.

Soy-Ginger Coated Fish Cakes

1 15oz can sardines in tomato sauce

1/4 cup onion minced
1/2 cup of Old Fashioned Oatmeal (not quick cooking)
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon reserved tomato sauce
1 egg

Oil for frying

1 envelope Kara-Age Soy-Ginger coating
Salt and pepper to taste

Drain tomato sauce from sardines and reserve. Because they are usually whole sardines, I remove spine bones. Mash the sardines and mix all ingredients together except coating. Shape six fish cakes. Pour coating into a shallow, wide bowl. Gently press fish cake into coated, turn and repeat to coat both sides. Cover the bottom of a skillet with olive oil. Fry over medium heat until golden brown, turning gently to brown both sides. Serve with remaining tomato sauce, spiced and warmed.

Ginger and sardines, upon mixing I began to worry about this combination and almost tossed the whole bowl however, overwhelming hunger forced me to press on. It feels as though every meal since the accident has been prepared because of profound hunger rather than taste.

Much to my surprise, the fish cakes were good. In fact, they were VERY good. The coating provided a crispy outer crust that contrasted the moist center nicely. I mixed a dash of cayenne pepper and chili powder with the remaining tomato sauce, warmed it to blend the spices, and then topped the fish cakes. Sorry I didn’t get a final photo, the sauce was an afterthought! The side of Green Giant antioxidant blend veggies nicely complimented these fish cakes too.

Thank you to Foodbuzz Tastemaker program and Kikkoman for providing the sample.

♥

Comments Recipe Tags: dinner, foodbuzz, reviews, seafood

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Three Cheese Alfredo Veggie Pan Pizza

My family loves a good pizza. While each has their favorite combination, no medley of pizza is ever turned away! Research confirms that my family is not of an elite pizza group but rather in line with the pizza commonality. A fan of homemade dough and Italian sauces, you can believe my family has experienced countless varieties of pizza. The chance to sample Classico’s new Light Asiago Romano Alfredo sauce also presented a new pizza combination opportunity.

Pizza Fun Facts

Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza a day or about 350 slices per second.
There are approximately 61,269 pizzerias in the United States.
Ninety four percent of Americans eat pizza regularly.
Kids ages 3 to 11 prefer pizza over all other food groups for lunch and dinner.
Women are twice as likely as men to order vegetables on their pizza.

Fun Facts via Pizza.com

Alfredo Veggie Pan Pizza

1 large pizza dough, homemade or store bought

Cooking spray or olive oil

1 jar Classico Light Asiago Romano Alfredo Sauce

Mushrooms

Spinach

Red onions

Bell peppers

Banana Peppers

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (245 degrees C). Gather all ingredients. When using frozen spinach, thaw and drain complete, pressing out all water. Spray a large pizza pan or jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on pan, push dough outward to edges, filling the pan. Using fingertips make dimples in the dough. Allow the dough to rest while preparing the veggies.

Lightly coat the dough with Alfredo sauce, leaving 1/2” border free from sauce. Be sure sauce fills all dimples in the dough. I used about 1 cup, half the jar of sauce. Top with your favorite veggies, and then with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and bake for 15- 18 minutes.

The pizza was well received by my family. With all that white gooey goodness, perhaps the kids may not question what’s underneath… perfect for those veggie hater types too. Even the hubby aka The Carnivore enjoyed it and it was gone in one sitting. The sauce was simply delish on this pizza. The pizza reminded me of a classic white pizza we served back home less the ricotta cheese. One might fail to notice the ricotta absence as the Alfredo sauce was certainly creamy and flavorful enough to make up for it.

Classico sauces are wonderfully flavored and great when time is short or the crowd is large. I have used their Alfredo sauces, pesto basil, and classic red sauces for years. They provide a wonderful base for creative and quick Italian dishes. My personal favorite is to use the Classico red sauce with black olives in place of tomato sauce when preparing spaghetti sauce for a large spaghetti and meatball dinner. The pesto basil sauce is great for a clams and linguine dish and as an appetizer spread over crusty bread slices, topped with tomatoes and/or olives.

Thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and Classico for providing the sauce, our pizza was fabulous!

Are you hungry? ♥

Comments Recipe Tags: dinner, entertaining, foodbuzz, pizza, side dish, vegetables, vegetarian

Friday, November 25, 2011

Easy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake

Duncan Hines Amazing Glaze - Easy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake

Happy Thanksgiving!! Isn’t it funny how mothers know exactly what foods to serve regardless of the circumstances. We planned for a small dinner with a few family members. My sons could not attend. Luis lives in Hawaii, enough said. Red was to shoot photos for a Tampa nightclub Thanksgiving Eve then scheduled to work Black Friday in the Portrait Studio. Thanksgiving was Red’s birthday but it seemed too much of a drive for just one day with a schedule like his.

Wednesday night I baked two pies and had just over a cup of fresh pumpkin leftover. Hmmm, should I bake a cake as well? My plan to prepare fresh orange cranberry sauce and the stuffing in advance along with some last minute cleaning left me unsure about having time to bake a cake. After a few minutes of deliberating with myself, I decided a Duncan Hines cake mix was the perfect answer. French Vanilla cake mix with pumpkin, mini chocolate chips, and the new Amazing Glazes would make the perfect Thanksgiving Cake.

What does this cake have to do with mothers knowing exactly what to serve? I received a text from Red at about 11:00 on Thanksgiving morning, “On my way!” Oh my gosh Red is coming home for Thanksgiving. I was ecstatic to see him and so glad I baked that cake! Moreover, Red appreciated it too.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake w/ Chocolate Glaze

1 Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix 18.5 oz

3 Eggs

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 1/4 cups fresh pumpkin

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 bottle of Duncan Hines Chocolate Amazing Glaze

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease bundt pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, milk, and pumpkin until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake according to package direction the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Heat the glaze according to directions and add to top of the pumpkin cake.

Duncan Hines saved the day for me this time. Not only was I able to use up the leftover pumpkin and provide a birthday cake for Red but I finally served a glazed cake where the glaze was visible!!! If you remember, I put out a call for help with glazes on this pumpkin muffin post. Seems my glaze always disappears. The Duncan Hines new glaze is very rich and the chocolate flavor was that of a semi-sweet, dark chocolate nature.

The cake was moist, pumpkin infused, and chocolate laced. Everyone really enjoyed it. In fact, Sarah thought it amazing and asked for the recipe.