Recipe': Fish Burrito

I am always looking for new ways to cook fish and seafood. It is so easy to fall into the traditional, standardized types of meals centered around fish. I've only eaten fish or seafood taco's twice before: once with whitefish in corn shells, and once with sauteed shrimp in a flour shell.So, I got to thinking about what I could do with a flour tortilla and came up with the idea of a fish burrito. I headed down to Whole Foods Market last weekend, and talked with my favorite fishmonger- Marcy- and decided to get get some Turbot fillets. Also known as the poor man's Swordfish, Turbot is a meaty, mild tasting whitefish. It is especially good for those folks who like fish without the heavy "fishy" bite that some varieties have. One of the great things about shopping at a market like Whole Foods, is that you can get your meat and fish cut the way you want. I had already decided before going that I wanted to get thin, angular cuts of the fillet in order to make it easier to build the burrito. I knew I wanted cheese, green pepper and onion in there as well. But, I knew there was a missing ingredient I had yet to discover. The other nice thing about having a market that you visit on a regular basis, is getting to know the good folks that work there. Marcy was kind enough to suggest goat cheese, as she had tried something akin to that herself. So, credit for the goat cheese ingredient goes to her. In the end, it was a perfect choice, and the burrito I made was tasty, and filling. Unfortunately, it did not occur to me at the time to snap a picture of the dish. But I share with you instead, a picture of the mighty Turbot. And of course, the recipe'....

The ingredients in this dish are not measured, since the amount you may want on your burrito may differ.

Ingredients:

Flour Tortilla

2 ½-inch wide strips of Turbo Fillet (or other whitefish)

Goat Cheese crumbles

Shredded Mexican-Blend Cheese

Onion and Green Pepper sliced “Fajita” style.

Sour Cream

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 405 degrees. Heat up a tortilla in microwave or skillet to soften.  Lay tortilla flat on a plate, then spread some shredded cheese in the middle. Place 2 of the fish strips across the cheese, creating a “valley” between them. Fill the valley between the fish strips with goat cheese crumbles. Place “Fajita”-style slices of onions and green peppers on top of the fish and cheese at an angle. To make the burrito a little spicy, add some salsa, hot sauce, or other condiment drizzled on top of the fish and cheese mixture. Carefully roll the tortilla up into a burrito, folding all sides in. Then place the burrito in a greased baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes. After baking, remove from oven, place on a plate, and top with more shredded cheese and dollops of sour cream. Enjoy!

Episode 13: Back in Black Stuffed Pork Chop

Happy New Year to all!. Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary of bringing the culinary rants of a wolfman to you all, we have published the latest episode of The Lupine Epicurean Cooking Web-show. This time around we attempt a tried and true recipe of Stuffed Pork Chops with both a traditional and an experimental take. Hope you all enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 Center Cut Loin Pork Chop, bone-in or butterfly
1 wedge of Gorganzola Dulce cheese
Loose-leaf Baby Spinach
1 tsp. Ground Marjoram or 2 tsp. Garlic/Basil mix
Optional: 1/2 Tbl. Olive Oil

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a knife, cut a pocket into the side of the bone-in chop, or cut a top-down spiral in the butterfly cut. Stuff length appropriate slice of Gorganzola into pocket or along spiral cut. Then stuff adequate amount of spinach next. Stuff a couple of pinches of garlic/basil mix into pocket cut and then rub remaining mix into top of chop. If using the butterfly cut, rub ground marjoram into top of chop, then drizzle olive oil over the chop. Place the pork chop into a greased baking pan. Cook butterfly "Roulade" for 30 minutes. If using bone-in pocket, cook for 40 minutes. Serve with rice or side pasta.

Restaurant Review: Shiraz Mediterranean Grill (Louisville)

A few years ago- at my doctor's recommendation- I started transitioning over to a Mediterranean Food Plan. There are a lot of great things about "The Mediterranean Diet." First of all, it's more of a food and health plan than anything. As with any "diet", don't look to it as a miracle way to lose weight. Lifestyle is always key to losing weight. But Mediterranean food has a lot of healthy advantages. Olive oil is a great source of good cholesterol. Fish, nuts and fresh vegetables include vitamins, Omega-3, and other nutrients that really helps your body do what it needs to do. So, it will come as no surprise, that I am a big fan of Mediterranean style restaurants.

I just happened to stumble upon the gem that is the Shiraz Mediterranean Grill, one afternoon after visiting my Insurance Agent on Poplar Level Rd., here in Louisville, KY. Set up on a hill not far from the Louisville Zoo and the Bellarmine Campus, The Shiraz is not the fancy place you might envision like...say, The Grape Leaf. In fact, you might even call it a bit of Medi Fast Food, but with positive connotations. The Shiraz maintains a "bar" of simple Medi delights up front, and then short-cooks to order many wonderful, traditional Medi fare. And they do it all at a fairly reasonable price considering the portions they serve and the care in which they prepare your food.

That particular afternoon, I indulged in one of my favorites: a Shwarma Wrap. Stuffed in a spinach tortilla, with Tzatziki sauce and roasted Habanero, were thick, succulent pieces of grilled chicken, and Fatoosh salad. Absolutely delicious! Truly a great lunch at only 670 calories and lots of flavor. And of course, I can not eat at a Medi place without trying the hummus. According to who I assumed was the owner, this particular chickpea dip they serve is from a recipe handed down by his grandmother. And it really was some of the best hummus I have ever tried; creamy with just the right amount of tahini and seasoning.

The menu at Shiraz is fairly full with appetizers, sandwiches, Kabobs, and tasty sides and combos. Portions are consistent with the price. Definintely a great spot for a healthy, flavorful lunch, early evening stop or snack. And even better, they have four locations around the Louisville area. Great food, great price, and a healthy choice; make it a point to try Shiraz if you are in the Louisville, KY area.

To see the menu and more at Shiraz, including catering, check out their website:

http://shirazmg.net/menu.htm


Wolf's Rating: * * * *

Kitchen Quick-Tips #2: Wok Maintenance

I LOVE cooking Asian food, as you all well know. And I get a LOT of use from my tempered steel wok. I have gone through a lot of inferior woks over the past 20 years, and the one I have now is one of my prized possessions. So, taking care of my wok is extremely important to me. As a result, I thought a really good topic for one of my new "Kitchen Quick-Tips" video would be wok maintenance. Here it is, sharing with all of you. Hope you enjoy the informative clip.

Breaking Bread

Something I call "Alfredo Scallopini", a recent experiment.

It has been a while since I’ve written anything here in the pages of the Lupine Epicurean.  As many of my readers know, I spent the month of May in the Philippines.  I got married while I was there.  And when I got back I found it difficult to get back into the swing of things.  It has been five months since then, and it in reflecting on my trip there and on the writing I have been doing, it occurred to me that this was the perfect time to talk about my feelings on something that I call “breaking bread.” It has long been tradition in just about every culture in the world to have community and family moments of being together; breaking bread together.  I found this to be just as true in the Philippines as anywhere else.  As human beings we value the connections we have with our community.  Whether it be a family dinner, a gathering of friends, a luncheon of coworkers, or a grand celebration, our societal need to gather and feast is a core foundation of our cultures.

Those of you who have watched my web show on Youtube know that it is common for my friends and I to gather to eat and play games.  Often on the Sundays when we get together for a friendly game of Dungeons and Dragons, we start our day cooking out on the grill.  Each person who comes brings their own selection of meat, I throw it on the grill, and then we enjoy a lively conversation over a community meal.  I have always used this breaking bread together to enhance our experience and make hour event more enjoyable.  It will, of course, come as no surprise to anyone reading this that I talk about food a lot.  One of the main topics I engage in with every single one of my friends is food and its preparation.  It is through cooking and eating that I often learn about other cultures.  For years I have had food celebrations where the meal I cooked was a representation of a country or culture on a list of all the countries in the world I printed out long ago.  I remember on one such occasion cooking a four course Argentinian meal, and it even finding folk music from Argentina to play in the background.  Just as language and music are clear representations of culture, so is food.  From the Empenadas of Argentina to the Gyros of Greece, cuisine plays an integral part of culture.

While in the Philippines I found the same kind of communal eating.  A gathering of the family at various intervals in the day to feast is very important to maintaining the familial routine.  I joke about the fact that while there and on a Filipino diet with lots of rice I lost about ten pounds.  My wife- Cherilyn- was worried for a time that when she gets here to the U.S.  she will not be able to eat as much rice as she would like.  Two quote a Filipino friend of mine “as long as we got rice three times a day… we’re good.”  I assured her that she could eat all the rice that she wants to eat.  Like many other Asian nations often a Filipino family or groups of friends will engage in something the Chinese call happy family.  It is the act of ordering several dishes that everyone shares from so that everyone can experience all the different tastes.  This also has the effect of building a communal sense of sharing.  My experiences with cuisine in the Philippines was incredibly satisfactory.  And just furthered my belief in the idea of breaking bread.

Some time ago when Hillary Clinton was still Secretary of Defense there was a story of how she was promoting an idea of sharing of cuisine as a form of diplomacy.  I was actually shocked to see and read about so many protests to this notion of building relationships with other cultures.  I thought it was a brilliant idea based on the same precepts of how food and cuisine is such an integral part of our cultures around the world.  And I applauded the effort.  It seems to me that if more of us who have conflict, and disagreement, and so on could just sit down together over a meal and talk about how great the food tastes and how we would do it and what else we’d like to try; it seems to me the world would be a better place.

And so with this brief yet hopefully impactful treatise on food and culture, I begin again with continuing the Lupine Epicurean foodie site.  I will be once again be posting more recipes, more web shows, more reviews of restaurants I have visited, and sharing my thoughts about food and cuisine with all of you.  Thank you all who have helped to make the lupine epicurean a success as we close in on ending the second year of this website.  I hope you all will continue to come here, and enjoy the articles, recipes and reviews.  Bon appétit!

Lupine Epicurean, Ep. 12: Spicy Pork Adobo & Ampalaya

In May, I finally traveled to The Philippines to marry my Fiance', Cherilyn Peralta. I tried a LOT of Filipino food while I was there. But, the most fun I had was filming the new episode of my Cooking Web-show with my sweetheart. Above is a link to see our version of Spicy Pork Adobo and Saute'd Ampalaya.Finally! The recipe is here.....

Ingredients for Sautéed Ampalaya:

1 whole fresh Ampalaya, scooped, then chopped

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large egg

1 tsp. Salt

2 glove garlic, chopped

¼ cup onion, chopped

1 pinch ground black pepper

Ingredients for Spicy Pork Adobo:

1 tbsp. Olive oil

½ lb. cubed pork, preferably center cut

½ Cup Wolfie’s Veggie Gruel

3 tbsp. Chipotle or Chili powder

¼ distilled white vinegar

¼ Soy Sauce

Instructions:

For the Ampalaya, bring the olive oil to medium heat in wok or frying pan, add garlic and onions. Sauté until slightly browned. Add the Ampalaya, and sauté’ for about 5 minutes. Add egg, stirring into Ampalaya. Add salt and pepper, then continue to sauté until egg is cooked, stirring throughout.

For adobo, bring olive oil to medium heat in wok. Add veggie gruel to wok, searing for 2 to 3 minutes. Add pork to wok. Sear pork for 3 to 5 minutes. Add vinegar to moisten. Add half of chipotle powder and stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Add soy sauce and the rest of the chipotle powder while reducing heat. Stir to thicken, then cover and let cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve Pork Adobo and Ampalaya with white rice. Serves 2-4.

Recipe': Steamed Mountain Trout with Kimchi

Ingredients:

1 Fillet of Mountain Trout

2-3 Leaves of Cabbage

½ Cup Kimchi

2-3 Tbsp. Korean Sweet & Spicy Sauce (Can also substitute with Hoisin or other sweet sauce)

Instructions:

Place cabbage leaves in a steamer basket. Place fillet of trout inside of leaves. Spread Kimchi over the length of the fillet. Pour sauce over top of Kimchi and fillet. Fold cabbage leaves inward to enclose fillet tightly. Place steamer basket onto steamer, covered, and steam for 15 to 20 minutes on high steam.  For low steam, cook at least 25-30 minutes. Serve with Brussel Sprouts or other green vegetable, or perhaps with Basmati Rice. Serves 1 per fillet.