Avacado Crayfish Cocktail

I fielded a complaint today that I hadn't made anything in a while. So here you are Ms. complaints - a brand spanking new recipe. And this one just happens to be deliscious too. I stopped at Longo's on the way home from work to pick up the crayfish tails. I knew Metro sure as heck would not have them...turns out Longo's did not either. So consulting my own inner wisdom I decided that the appropriate substitute would be shrimp. And my taste buds told me I was correct. Also (the list of subs grows ...as usual) rather than buying another bottle of vinegar I googled what would be a good sub for sherry vinegar and came to the conclusion I could use cider vinegar. Now, while I was driving to the grocery store I knew that I needed something green to make this recipe but couldn't remember what that was. Then once in the the store I became distracted by the flower display and completely forgot about this "green" ingredient that I needed so I didn't get anything. Then once home and looked at the recipe I realized that this "green" thing that escaped me was cilantro. Oops! In the end I just completely omitted it.

So, at the end of the day this recipe really is a snap to make. I used yellow tomato, shrimp and cider vinegar....(I'm the Queen of subs I think). I would serve this as a first course for a dinner with friends or it would make a great snack for 2 (the recipe serves 2 you'll have to double or triple for a dinner party). But if you love avacado like I do then this recipe is a must try.

Just as an FYI - any recipe I make you can find by Google-ing the recipe title and Nigella Lawson. Also if you have an iPhone Nigella now has her own app where you can also find all these recipes - I've not used or seen her app but from what I understand it's pretty freakin' cool.

Sesame Peanut Noodles

Yummy, yummy, yummy I've got noodles in my tummy!!!! This tastes de-freakin'-licious. Me love this long time. And it really, really does not get any easier to make. It takes 3 minutes to cook egg noodles so you can be eating this about 10 minutes after to start making this. Are you the kind of person who doesn't like to cook but loves to eat? If you can work a knife you can make this. Or if you have to take something to a pot luck or a picnic or something - cash in on this recipe. This makes a ton of food and it's different enough that every one will want to try it...that is unless they have a peanut allergy.

I loved this, Husband loved this and you will love this! Two Fred Flinstone sized thumbs up.

Spanish Omelette

Hmmmm, well this one is a good news/bad news recipe. The good news is it tastes really good. The bad news is perhaps evident in the photo that this turned out more like an "egg salad" if you will than an omelette. Let me start at the start.

I was SUPER tired all day today. I did not get to sleep until about 1:15-ish last night, or should I say this morning. Husband and I went to a Raptors game last night and when I went to leave the parking lot the pay machine ate my credit card...so we didn't get home any too early. I did get my card back but it wasn't exactly a speedy recovery. Then I had to drive back to suburbia in construction and post game traffic. By the time I got to bed and finally asleep it was past 1am. And my alarm goes off at 5:45 every morning. At 1am I wasn't diggin' the idea of waking up in 4.5 hrs so I re-set my alarm and decided at 1am this morning that I would skip my usual morning workout to get more sleep. This is why I was sooo tired all day. As you can well imagine I did not feel like cooking when I got home. But being the trooper that I am I carried out my plan to make Spanish Omelette for dinner.

The first thing you do is boil your potaotes. Not a problem. The next thing you do is heat your grill. Now maybe it was the lack of sleep but it took me about 6 minutes to figure out what she was talking about. I couldn't decide if she meant the oven or the stovetop. Don't sell me too short here...remember Nigella is writing in proper British English to my feeble American English mind. Yes I do watch Coronation Street and yes I do read Harry Potter so I have some exposure to proper English. But I was in a quandry. Finally I figured it out that she was talking about using both actually. You have to pre-heat the grill or broiler in your oven. But you first cook the omelette in your fry pan of the stove top. This put me in another cunumdrum. Usually you do this type of thing with a cast iron pan - which I don't have. So I could either use the stainless steel pan or the teflon no-stick fry pan. Seeing as Husband LOVES the no-stick fry pan I had visions of the plastic handle melting under the broiler and subsequently Husband FREAKING out on me - so I went with the stainless steel.

What you do is you beat your eggs and add all your chopped foods - when you do this it looks like there's not enough egg and you want to add more - but don't. I came soooo close to adding a 5th egg but trust me it's okay, you don't need to. So you take this and add it to a heated pan, cook for 5 min. Then you take the pan off the stove top and place it under the broiler to finish it off. Maybe 2 minutes. Next you flip it out onto a plate and let cool. Here is where I next had problems. My Omelette would not flip out. It stuck. It was pretty rich when Husband said to me "Oh you should have used the non-stick pan" because it was my fear of ruining his favourite 'grilled cheese makin' pan' that I didn't.

Anyhow, I did get the omelette out just not in one piece. More like 58 pieces. Then I put it in the fridge to cool becauae you're supposed to eat this at room temperature. I chilled it about 5 min and served with a side salad for dinner. I liked it, Husband liked it, so in the end this recipe is a winner. Just use a non-stick pan!

Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese

Well dears...I just wasn't sure what to make next. This one was looking good to me but I just wasn't sure. I was making a recipe to take to a movie night at my sister in laws and I was kinda baffled what to take. But I have to say I was glad I made this. For one thing it makes a lot so I'm happy there was many people to help eat this. Secondly - it's just damn good.

It's pretty simple to make. You roast the squash then toss the cheese and pecans in and serve...simple. I highly recommend that you make this for a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal. This is a great way to do squash - people will feel that their traditional family meals have been revolutionized.

Cloudy Lemonade for a Sunny Day

This is a revelation in lemonades...and for more than one reason. First allow me to tell you how you make this. Fizzy water, 2 lemons and a small bit of sugar. That's it nice and simple. But often simple is the best way to have something. Seriously think about it...you know it's true.

Today was a remarkable day weather wise. April 3rd in Canada and and 26 degrees! I'm mean it's unheard of. So making some cloudy lemonade for a sunny day just seemed to fit. Husband and I tried it and we both agreed it was good. What I really liked about it was that it's just straight forward lemons and just a little sugar to take the harsh sourness away and you're left with a nice tart refresher.

Now, after I made this I stepped out for a short trip to the plaza and while there I realized what I need to do is add some vodka to this lemonade. So when I got back home that's exactly what I did and it was pretty darn good. But as I was drinking this Husband says to me "Why don't you add some of that Limoncello we have in the fridge to it." and I realized I married a genius. - a flawed genius but still a genius.

After I'd slurrped down my vodka + lemonade I made myself a Limoncello + lemonade. This drink is a Godsend. An Easter miracle if you will. The next time it's a beautiful sunny day and you want a fabulous drink to enjoy on your patio - I urge you to make this. The Limoncello takes this drink to a level I didn't even know existed before. This drink is like a mojito in a way - in teh respect that it's so light and refreshing. And anyone who was at my bachelorette can atest to just how many mojitos I can drink .... and that is quite a darn few. I see just exaclty how I'll be spending my summer afternoons this year... me, some lemonade and my LCBO wondering why limoncello has had a 50% rise in sales.

Smoked Trout Pate

I planned on making this a few days ago but guess what? My Metro didn't sell smoked trout. Last night I stopped at Longo's and lo and behold there it was..and for only 4 dollars too. I had the other ingredients because, as I said, I was planning to make this earlier in the week.

It's a pretty simple make. Dump it all in the food processor and voila. Like she says - Nigella Express. The taste is just okay. This would be good to make for a party with numerous appetizers. But I would not make this to serve on it's own. The horseradish and the cayanne give it a nice kick - but it's just not a show stopper in my opinion. It's perfect to make for an array of finger foods something a little different. But I don't think you can eat a lot of it so a few pieces per person and mix it in with a few others and it will stand out as something different.