New Zealand Mussels Appetizer

I bought a bag of these frozen mussels at a HyVee supermarket.  They are already cleaned and cooked, so it makes preparation super simple.  Plus they are very affordable!  (I've heard these also called green mussels.)

This recipe, with a few modifications, can be found at Food.com.  This is one delicious appetizer. So let's get cooking.

Thaw the mussels and loosen them from the shell. Drain and pat dry, then place them back in the shell and arrange on a baking sheet.

Next make the bread crumb topping.

1 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tbl. melted butter
1 Tbl. parsley flakes
1 clove garlic finely minced
2 Tbl. grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
juice of one lemon

In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, melted butter, parsley flakes, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the mussels, Spoon the bread crumb mixture evenly over the mussels, pressing down a bit.

Broil for 5 minutes or until the bread crumb topping is golden brown and crunchy, and the mussels are warm. Watch carefully when broiling.  It can go from golden brown and delicious to black and burned.  Not that I would know anything about that.  ;)

Enjoy friends!

Homemade Tartar Sauce

We are having fried fish tonight courtesy of my brother Mike!  So I wanted a really good tartar sauce. I found just the right recipe over at "Simply Recipes" and here it is.

Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Yield: Makes about a cup and a half of tartar sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
• 1 teaspoon capers, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons chopped shallots
• 2 Tbsp chopped scallions
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 6 drops Tabasco sauce or more to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and place in the fridge until time to eat.

Chicken & Pineapple Skewers

I was looking for a recipe to use boneless skinless chicken thighs. We like the richness of chicken dark meat.  So after some searching on food network, I came across this recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence--he's a classy guy and I love the things he cooks.  So here it is, Chicken & Pineapple Skewers.

First let's get all the ingredients together:  chicken thighs, pineapple, green pepper, ketchup, soy sauce, honey, yellow mustard, brown sugar, garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt & pepper.

First make the sauce:  1 cup ketchup, 1/4/ cup soy sauce, 1/4/cup honey, 1 Tbls. yellow mustard, 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic, & juice of one lemon.  Combine all of the above ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.  Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Cool and remove the garlic cloves.

Cut chicken thighs into 2 inch pieces, cut the pineapple into 1 inch chunks, cut the green pepper the same.

Thread the pieces onto 4 to 6 metal skewers, alternating between chicken, pineapple, and green pepper.  Brush the skewers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Set aside about 1/2 of the sauce. Brush the skewers with some of the remaining sauce.  Preheat a grill to medium high.  Grill the skewers, turning and basting with the sauce regularly, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.  Serve with the remaining sauce.

Enjoy friends!