Eat with your eyes!

How many times have you seen a picture of food and you hoped it tasted better than it looked?  While I'm not one to promote myself as goddess of the camera I try to get pictures that would make a person go "Oooohhh yum!"  as opposed to "Ewwww gross!"  I'm a person that eats w/ my eyes to determine if I want to eat what I see.

A couple of weeks ago I was on my second favourite cooking site - Mantestedrecipes - when I noticed a contest called "Set the mood".   The contest looked simple enough, upload a picture of your best meal for a romantic night, and then based on votes you might win a Jambox by Jawbone.  

I don't have anyone in my life that I cook for in a "romantic" realm, but I decided to submit a picture of my Pecan-crusted trout w/ roasted artichoke sauce  I then posted the link to my facebook page and asked my friends to vote for me.

I normally do NOT have the habit of asking others to vote for me, preferring to rest on my own laurels.  If my photo is better than the rest, I figure others will agree and vote regardless of whether they know me personally or know of my cooking repertoire.

On 26 June -the day before my birthday- I was surprised beyond words to find the following email :

How fricking cool is that!!!  I was SO excited to have been chosen as the first winner!!!! 
I got my jambox this past Tuesday!!! 

Party for the mouth

Last night I *FINALLY* got around to making the Shrimp, corn and coconut soup w/ roasted poblanos !!!

• 3 poblano peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup fresh corn
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 cup Coco Lopez cream of coconut
• 2 pounds 91-110 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 ounce brie cheese, cubed
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation method

Prep: 30 mins | Cook: 40 mins

1.

Place poblanos on a skewer and blacken them over the stove top burner. Put them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam a little. When cool, rub off the skin with a paper towel or peel the skin off with your fingers. Mince the poblanos.

 

~~~See my personal notes if you don't have a gas stove~~~

 

2.

Heat olive oil and butter in a four- to five-quart pot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Then sauté onions and celery and fresh corn about four minutes*. Add flour, cilantro and garlic and cook for three minutes stirring occasionally. Add wine and prepared diced poblanos stirring frequently. Add coconut milk, coco Lopez and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for fifteen minutes. Ladle soup into bowls to serve.

I first sampled this recipe at the Chefs of the Coast stockpot cookoff in Biloxi, MS. Chef Chris has effectively created a "party for the mouth" with this soup!!  The first thing that I notice taste wise is that the flavours meld together perfectly, while still keeping their own uniqueness.  As I sampled the soup I could detect the sweetness from the coconut, the heat from the poblanos, the burst of cilantro, and the creaminess from the brie cheese & cream.  The flavours seemed to dance in my mouth!

It has a bit of a kick combined w/ a perfectly balanced sweetness. I made some slight changes in the method of preparation.

Notes:
I'm not lucky enough to have a gas stove, so I cranked up my oven, placed the poblanos on a cookie sheet and allowed them to roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. While the poblanos were roasting, I sauteed the onion, celery and 1/2 cup of corn.
*Once sauteed I took this mixture and blended it up for added creaminess. Afterwards I transferred the blended mixture back to my stockpot, and added the remaining 1/2 cup of corn and finished cooking per instructions. Thank you to Chef Eric for sharing this recipe!!!!

Man tested recipes

This post will be decidedly different.  I'm going to step out of picture mode and give some recognition to another trending recipe site called Man tested recipes. I first heard about this website while I was in Biloxi, MS for the Chefs of the Coast event.  For those already acquainted w/ Allrecipes.com you'll certainly want to peruse the Man tested recipes website, especially if you are the man of the house who has ventured into the culinary arena.

One thing you'll notice about Man tested recipes from first glimpse as evidenced by the food pictures is that the food is going to be "stick to your ribs" goodness!  Spend some time looking around this site and you'll quickly find some great recipes to try for your next football party, date night at home, or for that potluck that you've got at work.
Did you go fishing and actually catch that 15" 20 pound catfish before it got away?  Awesome!!!  Did you just get an 8 point buck or any pheasants while out hunting?  Wonderful!!!  Man tested recipes will absolutely have recipes for you to try!!!

From appetizers to main course and drinks to desserts, this website is a friendly find for the cook in your home - oh and it's gender friendly too, women are welcome also.