Roasted Garlic Chunky Mashed Potatoes

Last Wednesday, I didn't know what to cook for the longest time. And Diwata gave me a genius idea that I had never heard about: bacon-wrapped scallops! What the hell is that? I think anything bacon-wrapped sounds hella good. I thought I'd try it out and I found a great recipe that offered a spicy mayo recipe as well. It was more of an appetizer dish, so I decided to add some mashed potatoes and roasted veges. Oh man, was I super excited for this dish. When I went to Safeway to get the scallops, I was sad to find out that they didn't have large scallops! Bah, I had to settle for the smaller ones, so I figured I would just stack them to compensate. And since I was planning on feeding Aaron and Larsen, I decided to wrap some shrimp as well to see how that would turn out:

Ingredients

• 6 red potatoes, not skinned
• 1/3 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup of whole milk
• 1 cup of Monterrey jack cheese (I like to use pepper jack)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Rosemary
• 5 large garlic cloves
• Salt and pepper

Directions

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Make a bowl out of aluminum foil, throw in 5 garlic cloves and drizzle with olive oil. Roast the garlic for about 40 minutes, or until a nice golden brown.

Fill a large pot with water and sprinkle with some salt, bring to a boil. Chop up the potatoes into roughly 1-2 inch cubes. Throw them into the pot and let them boil for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Once they are done, drain the water. Mash the potatoes in the pot with the roaster garlic and turn the stove again to a low flame once that is done. Since I like the chunkiness, instead of using a masher I just use a wooden spoon to lightly mash the potatoes against the walls of the pot but allowing for some potato chunks to remain. Toss in the milk, butter, pepper jack cheese, and rosemary. Continue mixing until butter is melted and season with salt and pepper until beautifully tasteful. Oh yeah, by the way I kind of estimated the proportions. I just usually go by eye. Feel free to accommodate to your taste buds (I usually put more cheese, haha).

Review

Every time I make these mashed potatoes, they never come out the same. Not because I have a problem with replicating the same recipe but because I always try something different. Sometimes I don't use rosemary. Sometimes I used buttermilk, heavy cream, or sour cream instead of whole milk. Sometimes I get lazy to roast the garlic since I don't have a toaster oven at home. But in any case, this is the general formula I use and I love it

Kickin' Jambalaya

I forgot where I got the idea to cook this, but one of my all-time favorite restaurant dishes would be the Jambalaya pasta dish from California Pizza Kitchen (and I'd say the one from Karl Strauss is pretty damn good too). What I love is that it is so rich with flavor and it normally has an overflow of seafood, mmmm. The one I made doesn't have that overflow of seafood, but it does have andouille sausage and chicken. It is also ferociously spicy and I even added an extra kick because that's how I like it. And this is how it turned out:

Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Creole seasoning, recipe below
• 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme leaves
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups rice
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Essence (Creole Seasoning)

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions

In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium high heat. Season shrimp with Creole seasoning and saute until almost cooked through, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove shrimp and set aside until later. Season chicken pieces with Creole seasoning. Add remaining olive oil to Dutch oven and when hot, add chicken pieces and saute until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add sausage and cook until browned. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, cayenne and thyme and cook until vegetables are wilted, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and water and return chicken pieces to pot. Season with salt and pepper and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add rice to pot, stir well and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and cook for 15 minutes. Add shrimp, green onions and parsley to Dutch oven, mixing carefully, and continue to cook, covered, for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Review

As for my 1st try, I think it came out very well though there are some things I would change. Instead of using water, I would use chicken stock to give it more flavor. I actually just used hot links because that's the sausage I had, but I'm sure the andouille sausage would but much spicier and flavorful. Maybe some crawfish, too. Oh, and I also didn't put celery because I hate celery. The next time I make this, I am going to try to do it with a spaghetti or penne because I like jambalaya pasta. As for the creole seasoning, I think it makes way more than is needed. I would say just shrink the portions to 1/2 a tablespoon for each tablespoon. And if there is extra, you can always save some for a post-cooking seasoning.

Generally, this was a successful cooking adventure. Though I am satisfied, I feel like this recipe has more potential. I am on a quest to make the perfect Jambalaya.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Last Wednesday, I didn't know what to cook for the longest time. And Diwata gave me a genius idea that I had never heard about: bacon-wrapped scallops! What the hell is that? I think anything bacon-wrapped sounds hella good. I thought I'd try it out and I found a great recipe that offered a spicy mayo recipe as well. Oh man, was I super excited for this dish. When I went to Safeway to get the scallops, I was sad to find out that they didn't have large scallops! Bah, I had to settle for the smaller ones, so I figured I would just stack them to compensate (below is a picture of my successful attempt with large scallops). And since I was planning on feeding Aaron and Larsen, I decided to wrap some shrimp as well to see how that would turn out:

Courtesy of Tyler Florence

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound large scallops
• 1/2 pound thin-sliced bacon
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup good quality mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup hot chili paste (recommended: Sriracha Hot Chili Paste)
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 2 heads Bibb lettuce, washed
• 3 avocados, sliced

Directions

Heat the broiler. Wrap each scallop in a piece of bacon and secure it with a toothpick. Place the bacon wrapped scallops onto a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper.

Cook them under the broiler for about 10 to 15 minutes until the bacon is cooked through, turning once.

Make the spicy mayo by combining the mayonnaise, chili paste, lime juice, and chopped cilantro. Stir well and refrigerate until ready to use.

To serve, carefully peel away the lettuce leaves and line a large platter with the lettuce cups. Top each with a bacon wrapped shrimp, 2 slices of avocado, and a spoonful of spicy mayonnaise. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

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I've made this a few times, and while I love scallops AND bacon, the best part of this dish really is the spicy mayo. The combination of the juicy scallops, the crisp bacon, and the fire from the sauce is just delicious. One time though, after making this recipe, I ordered bacon-wrapped scallops at a restaurant (I honestly forgot the name of the place), but their version was so much juicier than mine! Therefore, I am on a mission to find out how to make these scallops even better. Nonetheless, this is definitely one of my favorite appetizers to date.

Pico de Gallo Spaghetti

Today, I was really lazy to cook something up. I then decided to go with a simple spaghetti. I didn't even really premeditate this. My plan was going to go with my own typical Filipino spaghetti, though I would be lacking the irreplaceable hot dogs. Next thing I know, I was going with something completely different from what I usually do, and I ended up with this:

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• Handful of cilantro, minced
• Half of a lime (or lemon)
• 2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup of spicy banana ketchup (Jufran)
• 4 cups of Prego spaghetti sauce
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• One regular-sized package of wheat spaghetti noodles
• Salt, ground black pepper, sugar (seasoned to your preference)

Random, is it not?

Directions

Boil the spaghetti noodles. Pour into colander and drizzle with olive oil to prevent clumping.

Saute the onions and garlic with olive oil until slightly golden. Throw in the ground beef for about 5-7 minutes until a slight crisp brown. Stir in the Prego and warm until barely boiling. Mix in the cilantro, lime, banana ketchup, soy sauce, tomatoes. Season with salt, black pepper, and sugar to liking.

Pour sauce onto noodles and ready to serve.

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I must say this was awkwardly interesting. I didn't realize that it had all the ingredients of pico de gallo until I tasted it. And I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I can call this my Mexican Spaghetti, haha. This will remind me that experiments don't always come out horrible.

A Genius Idea

If you didn't know, learning how to cook was one of my main goals when I started my new life in the Bay Area. I was thinking that it shouldn't be so bad since I have such a structured day now that I can just cook when I get home from work. And it really was that easy, haha.

Yesterday, I made some bacon-wrapped scallops and shrimps enticed with spicy mayo accompanied with some of my own cheesy mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. Larsen said to me, "You should make a blog and showcase everything you cook," or something to that nature. What a GENIUS idea!

So that is what this blog is for. Pictures and recipes to come. Here are some things that I made so far (that I am actually proud of) that I will make again for the sake of this blog:

Thai Chicken Coconut Curry
Carne Asada Fries
Bacon-Wrapped Scallops and Shrimp with Spicy Mayo
Seared Tuna and Avocado glazed with Soy, Ginger, Cilantro
Chicken Alfredo
Spicy Cheesy Pasta
Ground Beef Hash
Ground Beef Tacos with Pico de Gallo and Guacamole
Garlic Cheesy Mashed Potatoes