En Papillote

Last night I made seafood linguine en papillote. It was amazing (if I do say so myself). I don’t know what made me think of it but I was craving pasta and seafood and then remembered the en papillote cooking method and decided to combine the three.

In case you aren’t familiar with the term, cooking en papillote is a method in which you seal the food in a pouch and bake. The food essentially steams and cooks in the oven in its own juices which makes it very flavorful.

You can experiment with this with many different types of foods; fish, veggies, chicken, etc….

For me, I made a sauce with garlic, leeks, crushed tomatoes, saffron, clam juice, lemon juice, white wine, and a touch of cream; the ingredients were layered over two hours. Then I lightly sautéed a bunch a seafood (red snapper, shrimp, and scallops) just to brown them; I didn’t fully cook them because they would finish cooking in the oven. I threw mussels and calamari right into the sauce. I put the fresh linguine in hot water for 30 seconds to help soften it but not to fully cook it. I cut the parchment paper into heart shapes, and then layered the components; the fish on the bottom, then the pasta, and then I poured the sauce over the top. I sprinkled each with a touch of parmesan and added a thin slice of lemon and folded the two pouches up and popped them in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

It was so fun to cut open the “hot pocket” and see the steam and smell the aroma. The flavors were amazing and the fish and seafood were moist and perfect. It paired well with a bottle of Perrier Jouet champagne and a small side green salad with a lemon vinagrette.

I invite you to play with en papillote and let me know what works. I’m thinking fish in coconut milk might be my next experiment. YUM!

Microwave Brownies

A very good friend of mine sent me an adorable care package in December. It was full of lots of goodies; one of those goodies was a microwave brownie. I had never had one before and was pretty skeptical. Last night I decided to try it. You just add one tablespoon and one teaspoon of water, stir, microwave for 45 seconds and whala – instant brownie, piping hot from the microwave. It came with a pack of fudge that you are supposed to squeeze over the top but I didn’t like the taste of it so I opted to make a brownie sundae instead. I piled vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge, caramel, and cashews on top of the brownie creating the ultimate sundae! And the verdict is……… I thought the brownie tasted a little chalky and a little off. Maybe I didn’t stir it enough? I’m going with the old saying that anything worth having is worth waiting for. I will wait an hour for the real thing. While it was fun to try it, and super convenient, I don’t think I will be running off to the store for another one.