RECIPE: Spaghetti & Clams in a white wine garlic sauce

Feeling adventurous? Well even if you're not, this recipe is still perfect because it is simple and looks much harder than it is! This is very simple and absolutely delicious- win win! 

STEP ONE: Assemble the ingredients! 

Spaghetti or linguini pasta

 Fresh clams

 White wine 

 Butter

Red pepper flakes

 Flat leafed parsley

 Olive oil, 

Parmesan cheese 

STEP TWO: Cook the pasta and leave aside. 

Then, wash the clams, THOROUGHLY! I'm serious, wash and scrub them each! Do not skip this step or your sauce will be salty and grainy with sand! Not yum!

STEP THREE: Mince and saute the garlic for about 30 seconds on med-high heat, being sure not to burn them! Do not add garlic to a cold pan! 

STEP FOUR: Add the Fresh clams, half a cup of white wine, one pat of butter, couple pinches of red pepper flakes, flat leafed parsley, freshly ground black pepper, and olive oil

You dont need to add salt!!!

STEP FIVE: Cover until clams start to open, then leave the lid open for a couple more minutes until the sauce reduces

STEP SIX: Remove the clams and let the sauce simmer until reaches a thinker consistency, then finish off with the rest of the butter

 STEP SEVEN: Add the pasta and clams back into the the pan and coat everything in the sauce and until everything is well heated!

 STEP SEVEN:
Plate and top with extra parsley and parmesan cheese.. then devour!

Enjoy!

HOW TO: Cut an Onion

So cutting onions may seem like a simple task, but I'm sure most of you dont know the easiest way to do it. I know I even used to just grab it and start chopping until it was the size I wanted, but I'll teach you the easiest way to julienne (sliced thin) and dice an onion!

STEP ONE: Cut off both ends, KEEP THE ROOT INTACT and cut through the root, not through the body of the onion

STEP TWO: Starting from the end, slice the onion as thinly as possible, going through the entire half

STEP THREE: VIOLA! Perfectly sliced onions ready to be caramelized and added to just about anything

HOW TO DICE:

STEP ONE: Slice across the onion horizontally toward the root but do not cut it completely off!

STEP TWO: Cut across vertically, also making sure not to cut anything completely off the onion

 STEP THREE: Turn the onion 90 degrees and chop, chop, chop till you reach the end!

STEP FOUR: Shed a tear for how talented you are, not because your eyes are burning from chopping these onions! 

PRODUCT: Ready made Crepes!

Who doesn't love crepes? I know I do! But if you have ever tried making them from scratch it always involves some tears and frustrated shouting. The batter is always too thick or too thin, and will either burn or rip when cooked. So ALAS! I have found a solution to my constant sweet tooth crepe cravings:  Heat & Serve Crepes! 

We're gonna start out simple just to demonstrate how easy these crepes are to make with a strawberry and Nutella crepe! Yum!

STEP ONE:

Butter up that pan! When its heated add the crepe and flip after a couple minutes

STEP TWO:

Add in your fillings! 

Get creative: Nutella, caramel, raspberry jam, nuts, marshmallows, bananas, or even get savory and make a breakfast burrito or a turkey sandwich crepe! Don't be afraid to pile in the goods (the crepes come in two boxes of 8 crepes each, plenty of ways to test each of them out)! 

STEP THREE: Fold em up! First, using a spatula fold them over half way, then one more time to make a triangle!

STEP FOUR: Plate and Serve with powdered sugar, whipped cream, more chocolate, fruit, etc!

Wanna know where you can find these? Check a Costo near you or email them at: 

info@lepetitbelge.net 

RECIPE: Teriyaki Shrimp

Marinade Recipe

2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbs brown sugar

2 tbsp Mirin (sweet rice wine)

1tbsp ginger paste (or freshly grated)

1tbsp oil

First, marinade the shrimp for 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through to make sure everything is coated. One problem with what I made is that I used already cooked shrimp, this is a no-no, but I had to work with what I had. So in this case your shrimp should look blueish.

On a sizzling pan, add in the shrimp and cook until this color pink! Move them around and flip them every so often for even cooking

After the shrimp is done, set aside, keeping the juices in the pan on medium heat until thickened. 

When its done, it should look like this: 

To know when its ready, use a rubber spatula to scrape the middle, if it stays, its ready.

Pour, mix, and devour.

Enjoy!

Eating Seasonally

HOW TO: Dice a Mango

Mango's are one tough fruit to cut, and even worse dice!
The giant and oddly shaped pit makes it really difficult to cut this fruit, which is why many people avoid it because of the hassle of cutting it!
So heres a step-by-step!

Get your mango and knife ready!

Cut the mango lengthwise, cutting off the roundest parts

Cut off both sides and you get this!

Now, dice the inside carefully, making sure you do not puncture through the skin

Push up from the bottom until it pops out like this! (You can serve it like this, or cut the dices off)

and BAM!

Enjoy!

COOKING TIPS

1. Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips. 

2. Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle - perfect shaped pancakes every time.

3. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

4. To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.

5. To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature & roll them under your palm 

against the kitchen counter before squeezing.

6. To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stovetop-skillet will be much easier to clean.

7. When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead-no white mess on the outside of the cake.

8. If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato-it absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up." 

9. Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

10. Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up.

11. When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.  (ah, an old 1940’s Fannie Farmer trick!)

12. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh-if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

13. Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

14. Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.