Cheesy Shrimp Bread

It's been way too long since I've written on this blog. Way too long. 

That's not to say that I haven't been cooking. I'm still doing most of the cooking at home. And the eating too.

And that's not to say that I haven't thought about my blog either. 

Believe me, this blog was ALL I could think of. 

I think about my blog when I wake up. When I drink my coffee. When I drive to work. Oh you know, stuff like... I wonder how my blog is doing. Could someone be reading one of my posts right now? Is Google going to suspend my blog for inactivity? 

Did my blog eat? Did it remember to take a bath? I have got to check that blog out! 

What's that darn blog's password again? Why in the world did I even bother putting up that blog, anyway? (Did I not think at all that I have 3 kids that needs to be showered and changed and fed???)

You know, the usual stuff bloggers think of when they think about their blog, really. Nothing new.

Here's how I make my cheesy shrimp bread. Actually, I wasn't planning to make any sort of cheesy bread shabang. I was just really craving for cronuts. 

And while I was buying cronuts at Brioche, I fell upon this lovely focaccia bread that they had. A little overpriced in my opinion, but it looked so good. I had to buy it. Needed to buy it. I couldn't leave without it.

So now inside my ref is one lovely and very expensive bread that I have absolutely no idea what to do with. I know I have to use it quick because the shelf life is only 2 days. Yep, 2 days. As in 48 hours. 

Focaccias are great for paninis but I just wasn't feeling like making a panini sandwich.

So I made this "cheesy shrimp bread" instead.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons margarine or butter, at room temperature

1 cup shredded cheese

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons pimiento cheese

1/2 cup sliced green olives stuffed with pimientos

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1 cup shrimp

Sliced spring onions

Focaccia bread

Take a mixing bowl and put in your margarine. Mine is herbed margarine. Make sure this is at room temperature otherwise you will have trouble blending it in with the other ingredients.

Throw in your shredded cheese. I used quick melt kind. You can be fancy and use Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar, or Colby. Nothing too strong because you'll want to taste the shrimp too.

Then the mayonnaise.

Followed by the pimiento cheese. I used the one you can squeeze out of tetra packs.

Throw in your diced red bell pepper,

Followed by your sliced green olives stuffed with pimiento cheese.

Mix all these good stuff up slowly.

Meanwhile take your precious focaccia bread and cut in half so that you will have a top and bottom (like you're about to make a sandwich). Then cut each layer in to rectangular pieces (I had 4 slices each layer). Lay all the pieces on a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. 

P.S. I know I don't take good pictures.

Spoon some of your cheese mixture and spread on the bread. (The bread slices are suddenly missing some because I took a couple of slices to be frozen so that I can bake it at later date). 

P.S. This is a really bad picture.

Using a tong I take my peeled and deveined shrimp one by one and put it on my cheesy bread.

Then I sprinkle some sliced spring onion on top.

I put the whole thing inside my preheated oven at 150 degrees celsius. This will bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

This is how it looks when it's done. 

Don't forget to wipe off some of the melted cheese with your bread. Have a good dinner, y'all! :)

Fish Fillet with Garlic and Tomatoes

When I started cooking fish I messed up a lot. And I mean, A LOT. I tried almost everything in the fish section and I failed.

I remember one time I was newly married and I bought sole fish because I love sole fish. My grandmother use to fry them up really nice and crispy. When I got home I fried mine up too. Except when I ate it, it was really bitter and nasty.

Because... because I forgot to clean and gut the darn things. Gross. Disgusting. Blech!

I decided I was a lot safer off buying a jar of Montano sardines and heating them up in a microwave. Back in the time, that was a winner!

Then I discovered packed fish fillet in the frozen food section and alleluia!

Life became a lot easier.

No need to clean, gut, scale, or skin the swimmers. Just defrost and slice away.

This packed fish fillet is called cream dory, also known as white river cobbler. It is so easy to cook. You can't fail.

Begin by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan.

Put 1 cup of flour and 1 tablespoon paprika in a shallow bowl. To this add just a pinch of chicken powder and mix together.

Dredge your cut up fish fillets in the flour mixture.

Fry in skillet for about ten minutes per side.

Don't worry. Unlike salmon or sea bass, you can't overcook these. If you undercook them (and you can tell because the inside is still pink), just throw them back in the pan. You can't fail with cream dory.

When the fish is nice and golden brown in color, transfer to a serving plate.

In the same skillet, add 3 tablespoons finely minced garlic. Let cook for a bit until the garlic browns.

Next throw in 3/4 cup of diced tomatoes and sliced basil leaves. I use fresh ones because my son grows two pots of this plant in the yard.

Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. But only because I ran out of red wine vinegar. Stir together for a minute then turn off heat.

Top your fish with the tomato and garlic. Serve and enjoy!

My kids love everything fish fillet, including this one!

Oysters and Spinach

Oysters and Spinach
by Cress Sia

I heart seafood.

All of them...

I heart shrimp.
I heart fish, eel included.
I heart crabs.
I heart lobsters.
I heart scallops.
I heart roe.
I heart seaweed.
I heart clams.
I heart muscles and legs.

Oops...!

I mean, mussels, and the crab kind. Gee what was I thinking!

And... I especially love oysters. I think nothing in this world can taste quite like oysters. It's sooo singularly can't-get-enough-of-it good.

I manage to get 3 kilos of oysters today. I'm so excited! (Rubbing my hands together!)

First, oyster shells have to be cleaned. I run warm water on the oysters and scrub their shells lightly with a dish sponge. Make sure every one of the shells are closed shut.

If it isn't, throw it away.

Now, now don't give me the "Oh what a waste!" reaction... Because it's not going to be a waste. It's going to be lethal. So away with it.

Fortunately mine are all fresh and nicely closed shut!

The reason why I scrub them is because their outside shells are mucky and icky, smells like crap and looks like crap kindda thing. Although frozen imported oysters don't have this mucky-ness on their outside shells. But why oh why does one choose to pay a fortune for frozen imported oysters when you can get fresh ones around the corner and just wash them clean? Boggles me.

So once they're all scrubbed and much less crappier (hahahaha!) than when you got them, lay them on a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan.

I know some people can eat this uncooked with a little lemon and vinegar. But not me. Uh-uh. I don't even like them cold like how fancy restaurants like to serve them. I prefer mine cooked and warm.

Now oysters aren't really for those with a weak stomach... or for the pregnant. If you think, suspect, or know you're one of them, find something else to cook. No joke.

I preheat my oven to 200 degrees celsius. Then I slide my oysters on the middle rack. It's going to bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, I get started on my topping.

Actually to be honest I don't like any topping on my oysters. I like them best straight out of the oven, with their distinctive taste of the sea and all. But that kind is way too easy for this blog.

So instead, I'm writing on the second best way I like them served.

To make the topping, I melt 2 tablespoons of butter on a saucepan over medium heat.

Then I throw in a tablespoon of flour. And a teaspoon of garlic salt.

Let the flour cook for two minutes.

Then add in a cup of milk. Let this boil.

Then I throw in a cup of shredded cheese. I'm feeling a little broke today so I use Quickmelt. If you're feeling quite the opposite use shredded parmesan. And I'm in a hurry too so I don't even bother shredding my Quickmelt. I chop it in to cubes.

It's going to melt anyway, right? Absolutely.

Once the cheese has melted and the mixture and has thickened, I throw in the fresh green spinach leaves. I have prewashed these in cold water. But I didn't bother to chop them. You should. Though I'm not one to mind chewing on big pieces of spinach leaves...

Let the spinach wilt and keep stirring for about 3 minutes more, then turn off heat.

At about this time take a peek inside your oven. Your oyster shells should have opened at least a quarter to a half an inch wide. If it is only just slightly open, add another 5 minutes to your baking time.

If at that time it still hasn't opened, it could be saying:

a) I'm lethal.
b) Don't eat me because something's wrong with me.
c) Throw me away.
d) All of the above.

That's it. That's all it could be saying. You can pick whatever answer you like. Depending on how gruesome you like to think.

Once they are opened, take them out of the open and let cool. Your oven will be very hot, take extra care when taking them out.

Look how beautiful the oysters are! Just begging to be shucked!

Pull apart the shell and lay the shell with the oyster on a nice serving plate.

Oh and stop praying you'll find a pearl. You won't. Pearls don't grow in the kind of oysters that is edible to us earthlings. It grows in a different kind of shell that is commonly called a pearl oyster. But even that is incorrect because it's not biologically an oyster but a different class of mollusk altogether. And it can be as big a dinner plate!

Now that we have established the fact that there is more chance of you finding an alien is in your bedroom than finding a pearl in your oyster, let's get back to business.

Spoon your still warm spinach mixture on top of each of the oyster. You can sprinkle this with toasted bread crumbs. But I ran out of bread crumbs.

Happy shucking!!