March, 2019
Anita’s delicious Grilled Mussels with Creamy Glazed Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds fresh mussels, cleaned
1/2 pound shrimps , cleaned and deveined
1 pound fresh calamari cut in rings, cleaned
4 garlic cloves, minced
juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 Tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
- Heat a gas grill at medium-high heat.
- Place fresh mussels, shrimps and calamari into a heavy-duty foil pan. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.
- Drizzle olive oil and wine over mussels and calamari. Cover pan with foil. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until shellfish are open and shrimps turned pink.
- Continue cooking until all shellfish are open and discard any unopened ones. Add lemon juice and zest of lemons. Toss all well. Cook for another 5 minutes to absorbed all juices.
- Serve in a bowl and set aside.
Ingredients for Glazed Mashed Potatoes
4 large Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt + 1 tablespoon for water
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoon cream cheese
Preparation
- Add salt to a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. Add quartered potatoes and cook till fork tender for about 20 minutes, drain.
- Heat milk and butter over low heat. Add warm milk and melted butter over potatoes. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Using a potato masher bring potatoes to a creamy and smooth consistency.
- Add cream cheese and mix till no lumps.
Balsamic Glaze
In a small saucepan combine 1/2 cup of red balsamic vinegar with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Let it boil and reduced by almost half to thickened.
Assembling
Place delicious creamy mashed potatoes into a serving plate. Incorporate mussels, grilled shrimps and clams on top with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Sprinkle fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Anita’s Super Fast and Delicious Roasted Zucchini Orzo Pasta
Ingredients
12 ounces uncooked Orzo Pasta
3 Tablespoon extra virgin Olive Oil
1 large red onion, diced
4 Zucchini, half moon cut
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon marinara sauce (see my recipe)
1 Tablespoon oregano, ground
2 diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 garlic cloves, minced
Preparation
- Bring water to boil over high-heat. Stir in orzo pasta and cooked uncovered for about 10 to 12 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain well.
2. Heat oven at 400 grade Fahrenheit and roast zucchini, diced red onions. Drizzle with olive oil. Add minced garlic, and seasoned with salt, pepper, grind oregano and granulated garlic powder. Add marinara sauce. Toss all ingredients. Roast in a baking pan until tender for about 30 minutes. Set aside. 
3. Incorporate roasted zucchini, red onions into the orzo pasta, and fresh tomatoes. Toss well. Squeeze half of a lemon juice over mixed pasta. Enjoy!
Anita’s best Homemade Beef Stew
Ingredients
1 1/2 chuck pot roast meat, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
4 yellow potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 diced Roma tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
2 cups of peas, frozen
2 bay leaves
4 cups of unsalted beef broth
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
Preparation
- Preheat olive oil at medium-low heat in a heavy pan.
- Incorporate pieces of beef well coated with flour into the olive oil and browned beef on all sides.
- Add potatoes, garlic and onions, stir. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in carrots and tomatoes. Seasoned with salt, pepper, ground thyme, fresh chopped rosemary, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, and at low heat simmer with lid on for about 45 minutes. Incorporate wine and let it reduced.
- Stir in frozen peas and cook through for another 15 minutes. Add cilantro leaves. Remove bay leaves and serve. Enjoy!
Anita’s Winter Delicious PUMPKIN-CHOCOLATE Cake
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoon cloves, ground
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin puree, cooked
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chip
Preparation
- Preheat oven at 350 grades Fahrenheit and spray pan with no-stick cooking spray.
- Beat in a large bowl, sugar, eggs and vegetable oil till eggs have turned yellow pale.
- Add pumpkin puree, almond extract, and mixed well by hand or using a mixer at low speed.
- Incorporate slowly half of the sifted flour with baking powder, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt . Incorporate heavy cream and rest of the flour while continuously whisking until batter is smooth and creamy. Add chocolate chips folding into the batter with a spatula leaving 1/3 of the cup of chocolate chips for top of the cake.
- Drop pumpkin-chocolate batter into the greased pan. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of chocolate chip on the top of the batter, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until inserted toothpick in center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and invert onto your cake platter. Enjoy!
