Redemption of the Frozen and the Canned.

Recently on the Food Network show "Next Iron Chef: Redemption", the chefs had to transform a canned good into a five star dish.  After all the whining and complaining, many accomplished what they thought to be the impossible.  Honestly, I did not feel their pain, I did not have any sympathy for them; the average home cook doesn't get the privilege of five star ingredients.  Depending on the average financial budget and the goods available in the supermarkets, the average home cook works with many canned, boxed and/or frozen goods.

Now I have explained before that Utah is a landlocked state and fresh fish is near to impossible to be obtained.  The fish I have to work with is frozen or canned; no shame in that if you can make it into a great dish though.  So, if those potential Iron Chefs don't like that idea, then be generous and send me even half your yearly budget for fresh ingredients.  Thank you, thank you very much.  Anyway, I am going to go through how to make a seafood stock that you can use to make a rich seafood bisque which includes ravioli and shrimp.  I'll write up the recipe for Seafood Stock as if you can find the fresh shellfish, but then tell you what to do if you cannot.

Seafood Stock (fresh shellfish available)

Ingredients:

6 cups combination of shrimp, crab and lobster shells, broken up
1/2 cup white wine
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
water to cover

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water until one inch over all ingredients.  Set heat on high and let cook until water just begins to bubble; reduce heat to medium and let cook for one hour.  During cooking, skim off any foam that may develop; do not let the liquid boil, reduce heat if necessary.

Use a cheesecloth to strain the stock into a large bowl; discard the ingredients.  The stock can be used immediately or up to 3 days later if stored in the refrigerator.  The stock can also be frozen for future use.

Makes 2 1/2 quarts.

Now if you can only find frozen shrimp which is most readily available, don't panic as you have two choices.  Simply make shrimp stock, or add clam juice which is available in cans or bottles.  For the clam juice, put 4 cups of juice into a large sauce pan; add 1 tsp fresh thyme and 1 tsp fresh chopped basil.   Start with high heat until bubbles begin to form; reduce to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.  Strain through cheesecloth and the clam stock is now ready to be added to your large stock pot with the water you need to add.

The seafood stock is now ready for creating an indulgent seafood bisque; rich, creamy and full of flavor.

Seafood Bisque

Ingredients:

2 cups seafood stock
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
4 cups heavy cream
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large sauce pan, heat the stock, tomato paste and butter on high heat until butter is melted; whisk in flour until completely incorporated.  Continue whisking as the heavy cream is slowly poured into the stock.  Bring liquid to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.  Add salt and pepper if necessary.

Makes 6 servings.

Now lets add some ravioli and seafood to that bisque and make one heck of a meal.  I like spoiling my husband and myself, so instead of using plain cheese ravioli, I used Buitoni's Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli.  I cooked it according to package directions, but instead of using the garlic butter sauce it comes with, I add the drained pasta to soup bowls and spooned the bisque over it.  I had also purchased medium shrimp which I shelled, deveined, sauteed in butter until just turning pink; added diced tomatoes, diced celery, diced carrot (cooked before hand till just softened) and thyme leaves and finished the shrimp up.  Into the soup bowls this combo all went and wallah: Seafood Bisque with Ravioli and Shrimp.  If you don't want to add the vegetables, that's fine; remember, it's your creation in the long run.

So here's my meal using frozen and canned ingredients; maybe the potential Iron Chefs could do better, but I made mine with love.

Mary Cokenour

Snow on the Driveway, Chowder in my Bowl.

All week the weather here in Monticello had been quite steady; cold at night, but sunny, clear and comfortable during the day.  The weather forecast for the weekend initially called for snow showers, but changed to rain showers.  My friend Heidi and I had made plans for today; I was to come down to her home and finally meet her mother Trish and Heidi's brother.  Trish, Heidi and I are friends on Facebook and we can get quite silly at times.  I had just purchased two Calphalon skillets and I had promised Trish that I would let her touch them.  Like I said, we get quite silly at times.

That was the plan until the snow began; first light flurries which didn't worry me too much.  My car doesn't like wet roads, but a light flurry wouldn't hinder her, yes my car is a her, and me.  Then the snow flakes got thicker and fell more heavily; it was sticking to everything and accumulating.  As much as I would have still liked to go to Heidi's, finding myself down in a canyon was not on my game plan, so had to cancel out on her.

With the wind blowing the snow here and there, it looked, and felt if you ventured outside, like a typical day for soup.  Ah, but what kind; a brothy soup would be nice, but a thicker soup would be more comforting I think.  Looking through the pantry, I find cans of whole baby clams which would go great with the shrimp I had defrosted the night before.  I originally was going to make a Thai dish with shrimp for dinner, but the snow just about changed everything  for the day.  So, to make it all better, I ended up making a shrimp and clam chowder chock full of shrimp, clams, potatoes and other yummy ingredients.  I've already had a bowl, and another bowl seems to be calling to me, so let me finish up and answer that call.

Shrimp and Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1Tbsp salt
2Tbsp butter
½ cup each diced onion and celery
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup sliced mushrooms
¼ cup partially cooked, chopped bacon
1 tsp each fine sea salt, ground black pepper and paprika
½ cup flour
1 (10 oz) can whole baby clams; drain, but reserve juice
2 cups milk
1 cup half n’ half
1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
1 lb medium sized, uncooked shrimp, tails removed

Preparation:

Place potatoes in large pot, cover with water, add one Tbsp salt and cook until fork tender; remove from heat. In another large pot, melt butter on medium-low heat, add onion, celery, and carrot; cook until just beginning to soften. Add mushrooms, bacon, sea salt, black pepper and paprika; cook additional 3 minutes. Add flour and mix until fully incorporated; raise heat to medium and add clam juice, milk and half n’half; cook until bubbles begin to form around edges of pot, about 10 minutes.

Drain potatoes and add with clams, thyme and shrimp to pot, cover and let cook for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded white cheddar cheese or sliced green onions.

Mary Cokenour