Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Writing and Recipes

Well, its Wednesday. I am not sure how it got to be Wednesday already but I'm not complaining. I'm pretty sure I'm losing brain cells with this heat and humidity down here in Texas. The hubs says it just makes me crazy, actually crazier. But who wants to be normal anyway? hehe. Speaking of being "un" normal. I have a confession to make. I hate writing. There, I said it. I am not good at, never have been. I know sooo  many bloggers who are AMAZING at writing because it their passion, as it should be! They focus their blog around meaningful and in depth content and then we get the bonus of a recipe, that's impressive. Love it! For me, I love creating fun recipes (mostly Gluten Free), writing up clever workouts, posting pictures of races & travels, recipe creations, and um...... that's about it. But that is my PASSION and that's how I share my passion. So in honor of those amazing writes and recipe lovers, I wanted to give a shout out to some talented writers and the recipes they shared on my "oyster creation" last week.

Eden's Eats- Amazing Writer, Clever, Witty, Creative Chef.
Eden sent me this recipe from glutenfreecooking.com. Sounds good to me and of course CREATIVE.
Bacon, wild mushrooms, white wine and shucked oysters combined with traditional stuffing ingredients make this an out-of-the-ordinary holiday stuffing recipe!

Gluten-Free Oyster and Mushroom Stuffing

 








picture form glutenfree.com
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound (about 12 cups) gluten-free bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
•4 slices gluten-free bacon, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
•1/2 cup diced sweet onion (Walla walla or Vidalia best)
•3 stalks diced celery with leafy tops
•2 tablespoon butter
•1 pound sliced wild mushrooms (chanterelle, porcini, shiitake or portobello)
•1/2 cup dry white wine
•1 cup gluten-free chicken stock
•2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
•1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed
•1/4 cup chopped parsley
•1/4 teaspoon black pepper
•16 ounces shucked oysters, with liquor (juice)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300º F / 148º C
Place bread cubes on cookie sheet and place in preheated oven. Bake until bread is dry but not browned (about 10 minutes). Turn oven up to 350º F / 178º C
Cook chopped bacon in a large skillet until just crispy. Add mushrooms and butter, saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the onion and celery, saute until they begin to soften. Add white wine, cook for 1 minute. Add oyster liquor, chicken stock, sage, thyme, parsley and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add gluten-free bread cubes and oysters. Toss well with a spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer to a 13x9-inch buttered baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake for about 45 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until the stuffing lightly browns. Serve warm.
Reminder: Always make sure your work surfaces, utensils, pans and tools are free of gluten. Always read product labels. Manufacturers can change product formulations without notice. When in doubt, do not buy or use a product before contacting the manufacturer for verification that the product is free of gluten.

Sophia (Burp and Slurp)- Bold and unique writer, adventurous recipes, just plain AWESOME!
Sophia created
this oyster dish and it made my mouth water.
Kimchi-Oyster Omelet                                                          

4 large fresh oysters
~1/4 cup flour
2 large eggs
salt and pepper
1/2 cup kimchi, sliced
2 oz cream cheese
Dredge each oyster in the flour until well-coated. Lay aside.
Beat together the eggs, season with salt and pepper, then mix in the kimchi. Finally, drop in the oysters.

Heat a pan with some oil at medium heat, then pour in the egg-mixture. Drop in the cream cheese in dots into the omelet. Cook on one side until done, then flip over to cook the other side. And you’re done!
The fresh, succulent oysters, salty and juicy, with the spicy and crunchy kimchi and tangy, creamy cheese, was such a sweet marriage!
It is so good when it’s right off the pan, hot and steaming in your mouth, the plump oysters oozing its briny liquid into your mouth, singing of the sea.

Maggs- (SunSafetyBarbie) Even though Maggs is taking a break from Blogging right now, I still have to give her a shout out. She is a HILARIOUS writer, triathlete extraordinaire, and the master gluten free chef. She sent me this simple canned salmon dish that I actually tried out Monday with my Wakeme Brown Rice noodles.
 

GF pasta before the fixins.
Ingredients:
pasta  (corn, quinoa, or other GF pasta. You can use regular flour pasta as well) 
1 tomato diced
1/2 small onion diced
1 clove garlic
1 cup frozen peas
1 can of salmon

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, add in the tomatoes and the can of salmon (drained), throw in some frozen peas. Toss with pasta and top with grated parmesan cheese (or goat cheese if you like). This is just about the only thing I will eat peas in. Sometimes I substitute fresh spinach for the frozen peas.
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Well, there you have it. Some amazing writers and recipe creators there! There are SO SO SO many more bloggers out there that are also extremely talented in the writing and recipe department (just look at my sidebar links to name a few), but it would take me forever to name them all. I'll try to post them all throughout the year, deal? haha.
I am thankful to have found such a wonderful network of blogs and will continue to read and share in their PASSIONS!

Now I must go watch Master Chef!

Cheers,
LC