Manhattan Style Roasted Vegetable Chorizo & Seafood Chowder

Manhattan Style Roasted Vegetable Chorizo & Seafood  Chowder

This outstanding seafood chowder is a real indulgent, celebration meal. I like to serve it with some freshly baked Cheese and Herb Scones.

Serves 6 -8

Start by roasting the vegetables.

Chop into bite sized pieces:

½ fennel bulb
1 medium red onion
2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 red pepper
2 stalks celery

Toss the vegetables in 3 tbsp olive oil, season in salt and pepper and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees F or until the vegetables are slightly browned and fork tender. Turn the vegetables once during cooking.

In a sauté pan, cook to crisp

6 slices of bacon chopped in small pieces

In the last few minutes of rendering the bacon, add

3 ounces of chopped chorizo sausage

Drain off the fat and deglaze the pan with some of the soup stock and add to the soup pot when adding the bacon and sausage.

In a large pot sauté

3 cloves minced garlic
1 large shallot finely chopped
in
2 tbsp olive oil
Add ¾ cup white wine
Boil gently until reduce to about half the volume.

Add the roasted vegetables along with

Previously cooked bacon and sausage
3 cups tomato juice
3 cups fish stock (or chicken stock if you prefer)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp marjoram
Salt and pepper to season

Simmer very gently for 20-30 minutes before adding:

1 ½ to 2 pounds of seafood of your choice, cut into bite sized pieces
3 chopped Roma tomatoes

Simmer very gently for another 5 to 10 minutes until the fish is cooked. Any combination of shrimp, salmon, halibut, cod, mussels, clams etc all work well. Remove bay leaf. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh chopped Italian parsley or dill. Personally, if I am adding shrimp and scallops, I prefer to pan sear these separately and add them to the chowder bowls when serving.

Bakeapple Amaretto White Chocolate Mousse Cake

 Begin by making a Golden Vanilla Cake

Cream well:

¾ cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract

Add, one at a time

3 eggs

Beat well after each addition.

Sift together
1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup + 1 tbsp cake flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder

Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, alternately with

¾ cup whole milk

Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour batter into two 9 inch cake pans that have been greased and floured and the bottoms lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

White Chocolate Mousse
1 ¼ cups white chocolate chips
1 oz water
2 tablespoons butter (no subs)
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup whipping cream

Whip your cream to soft peaks and chill in refrigerator.

Melt chocolate with butter on low heat, stirring until smooth.
Cool for 15 minutes.

In double boiler, whisk yolks, sugar and water.
Cook and stir over boiling water until mixture reaches 170 degrees F.
Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate mixture. Place saucepan in a bowl of ice water and stir constantly until chocolate cools to about room temperature.
Gently fold in whipped cream.

Bakeapple Compote
3 cups fresh or frozen bakeapples
2/3 cup sugar

Boil together for about 20 minutes.

Vanilla Whipped Cream
3 cups whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup sugar

Whip together to firm peaks.

To assemble the cake, split the cake layers in half making 4 layers in total. Place the bottom layers in two 9 inch springform pans. Sprinkle each of the 4 layers of cake with

1 oz Amaretto Liqueur (optional)

Divide the mousse into 2 portions and spread evenly over the bottom cake layers. Top with the remaining 2 cake layers, cover the springform pans with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and chill for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.

When chilled, remove the cakes from the springform pans and place one on a serving plate. Using a piping bag or a large Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off, pipe a border of whipped cream around the top perimeter of the cake. Spread ½ of the bakeapple compote inside the whipped cream perimeter. Add the second chilled cake on top. Frost the sides of the cake with vanilla whipped cream. Pipe a border on top of the cake and fill inside the border with the remaining bakeapple compote. Garnish with some melted white chocolate of desired.

Easy Blueberry Apple Strudel

This is a great simple recipe that will come in handy when you need a quick dessert.


Serves 4 to 6

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
2 tbsp melted butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1 egg + 2 tbsp water (beaten together to make an egg wash)
¼ cup turbinado sugar

Lay the puff pastry sheet flat on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the blueberries about 4 inches wide, down the center line of the pastry.
Mix together apples, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Spread evenly in a line in the middle of the puff pastry on top of the blueberries. Brush the egg wash along the edges of the dough. Bring the two opposite edges of the dough together, pinching the dough together to seal. Pinch the end edges of the dough together to seal as well. Gently roll the whole strudel over ensuring that the seam is on the bottom. Brush the entire strudel with egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar all over the surface. Cut 3-4 small slits in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before baking.

Note: Puff pastry warms up quickly once out of the fridge. If at any point the dough becomes too soft to handle easily, place the whole thing in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to cool.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until evenly golden brown all over. Let rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or gelato.

Sweet Potato Spice Muffins

We had some baked sweet potatoes last night for dinner and the leftovers got incorporated into these very easy to prepare, moist and tender spiced muffins. Not a bad addition to any Sunday brunch.

In a large bowl, mix together:

¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
½ cup cooking oil
1 cup sweet potato (mashed or pureed)

Sift together and fold into sweet potato mixture:

1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
¼ tsp cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Fold in

1 cup golden raisins (optional)

Spoon batter into 12 greased or paper lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Turkey, Bacon and Tomato Soup

Turkey, Bacon and Tomato Soup

Shown served with Parmesan Herb Crackers. Find that recipe by clicking here. Some light and flaky Buttermilk biscuits would be great to serve with this soup too.

Today marks a milestone for Rock Recipes blog. Today we went over the 200 mark for posts since last September when the blog started. I'm surprising even myself at this point. For someone who never actually wrote down any of the recipes that I have used for years, having completed over 200 recipes at this point is an accomplishment to say the least.

Thanks so much to all the regular readers of the blog who keep returning. We have regular readers, many of whom are transplanted Newfoundlanders, all over the world. I have heard from many of them in places I would never expect to find people interested in recipe ideas from the cold North Atlantic. We have had readers from 96 different countries visit the site. I'd like to encourage as many readers as possible to leave a comment on our guestbook and tell us from where you are reading the blog.

Stay tuned, I still have too much time on my hands and I'm not done yet.

Today's recipe is for one of my favorite soups, often made a day or two after a roast turkey dinner. The Parmesan Herb Crackers are a very tasty addition to this meal.

Turkey, Bacon and Tomato Soup
Serves 8

2 lbs cooked cubed turkey
8 slices thick cut smoked bacon
5 cups turkey stock
5 cups tomato juice
3 large carrots sliced
2 large parsnip sliced
4 stalks celery chopped
1 cup chopped fennel bulb
3 cloves minced garlic
1 large red or white onion chopped
2 large tomatoes chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp dried savoury
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp marjoram
Salt and pepper to season
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
½ cup lentils

To make the turkey stock for this soup I use the bones of a cooked 10 lb turkey. Break the carcass apart and cover them with water in a large pot. Boil for about an hour and remove all the bones from the pot. Skim off excess fat from the surface. For this recipe I like to reduce the stock to about 5 cups to concentrate the flavour so return the pot to the stove and continue to boil to reduce the amount of stock if necessary.

Cut the bacon in small pieces and cook slowly to crisp over medium low flame, rendering out as much of the fat as possible. Drain off all the fat and deglaze the pan with a little turkey stock and add to the soup pot.

Sauté all the vegetables and garlic, except the tomatoes, in the olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Deglaze the pan with a little turkey stock and add to the soup pot along with the sautéed vegetables.

Add all other ingredients except the tomatoes and cooked turkey to the soup pot and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Add the turkey and tomatoes and simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked.

Parmesan Herb Crackers

¾ cup flour
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
¼ cup very cold butter cut in small pieces
2 tbsp chopped herbs (Savoury and oregano are great)
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2-4 tbsp ice cold water

Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add only enough water to bring the dough together, pulsing the processor every time additional water is added. Form dough into a roll about 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a hour or so or overnight.

Cut crackers from the roll with a sharp knife about ¼ inch thick and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes, flip the crackers over and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Tip: Make a double batch and keep the plastic wrapped dough in the freezer for next time.
Fantastic with soups.

Coconut Shrimp With Orange Ginger Dijon Dipping Sauce or Lemon Pepper Mayonnaise

Coconut Shrimp With Orange Ginger Dijon Dipping Sauce or Lemon Pepper Mayonnaise

Coconut Shrimp is one of my favorites. I have a bunch of dipping sauces that I use for them including the two recipes provided. I serve them as a meal with salad or fries, as an appetizer/ hors d'ouevres with dipping sauce or even as a sandwich with sliced tomatoes, baby spinach and Lemon Pepper Mayo on the excellent Belgian bread from Georgestown Bakery around the corner.

• 2 lbs uncooked shrimp
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups cold soda water or beer
• 2-3 cups medium or large cut unsweetened coconut

Combine dry ingredients except coconut. Add the egg and soda water and whisk together just until the liquid is incorporated. Lumps in the batter are not a problem.
Season the shrimp with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge the shrimp in plain flour to help the batter stick. Dip the shrimp into the batter and then into the coconut, toss to coat completely. Carefully drop them into canola oil filled deep fryer that has been preheated to 325 degrees F. Fry for a few minutes, just until golden brown on both sides. Drain on a wire rack placed over a cookie sheet. Serve immediately.

If you have to fry the shrimp in more than one batch at a time, hold them in a 200 degree F oven on the draining rack to provide air circulation all the way around the fried pieces to prevent the shrimp from getting soggy.

Orange Ginger Dijon Dipping Sauce

• ½ cup orange marmalade
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger root
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Bring all ingredients to a gentle boil for only a minute or two until well combined. Puree until smooth.

Lemon Pepper Mayonnaise

Makes about 2 cups

In a blender or food processor combine until thick and pale in color

• 2 large or extra large egg yolks
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon zest

Add oil alternately with lemon juice in three parts, adding the oil very slowly in a thin stream.

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup sunflower oil
• Juice of one lemon