Blini with Sour Cream and Caviar #SundayFunday

This elegant appetizer is incredibly easy to make and impressive to serve.  A great way to show the special person in your life just how much you appreciate them.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are sharing Elegant Appetizers for Mom...

B is for Bisque of Lobster

Creamy, savory bisque with chunks of lobster cooked in garlic butter is a beautiful and elegant first course for a dinner party.  Your guests will be stunned and will never know that this soup takes less than an hour to prepare.

 

We are cooking up recipes beginning with B for today's Alphabet Challenge......

Pear and Sweet Potato Soup #SoupSaturdaySwappers

This soup is not only gorgeous it is delightfully elegant and so very delicious.  A perfect start to your holiday meal.

Soup Saturday Swappers is sharing Celebratory Soups today........

Lobster Thermidor #FishFridayFoodies

Tender, sweet chunks of lobster tossed in a rich, creamy sauce, placed back into the tail, covered with a delicious, crisp, panko and parmesan crust and broiled to a gorgeous golden brown.  Your Valentine will be thrilled.....

This recipe and others we are sharing today on Fish Friday Foodie are "Quite the Catch" and perfect for a romantic dinner with your Valentine.

Scallop Crudo #ItalianFTW

Our Italian Food, Travel and Wine group are celebrating Spring this month with Verdicchio wine.  This event is being hosted by my friend Cam, of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  You can read her invitation post here.

I was pretty excited a few weeks ago when I discovered a wine store only 20-30 minutes from my home that carries a great selection and will order up anything that they don't have in stock.

This is certainly much better than the alternative of 1 hr. each way to the wine store I was using and, not being strictly wines but an International Marketplace, wasn't conducive to special orders.

They did not have any Verdicchio on the shelves but he wrote down the varietal I needed and said he would contact his provider and find the best bottle he could in the price range I wanted, less than $30.

He provided me with this bottle of 2014 Verdicchio dei Cestelli di Jesi by Marchetti Vineyards.  I paid less than $20 for this wine.  My new friend, Gassan, owner of Keg & Kone also ordered a bottle for himself so that he could try it.  I'm anxious for my next visit with him so that we can compare notes.

Verde means green and some Verdicchio have green undertones.  Mine was more golden but did have a "grassy" taste to it so I guess that could account for the "green".  This wine was wonderful.

Grass and citrus undertones and a crisp bright finish.  

The website linked above provides information that this is a small bottling, only 900 cases.  The grapes are grown in clay, limestone and sand.  It is 100% verdicchio grapes that are free run juice meaning no pressing is used for this wine that is aged in the bottle for 4 months before sale.

Further investigation as to food and wine pairings with the Verdicchio varietal showed many suggestions for seafood of all sorts, including Sashimi.  I decided that an Italian wine deserved to be paired with an Italian dish.  The Italian version of raw seafood is called Crudo.

However, the recipe I used came from Marcus Samuelsson.  You probably know Samuelsson from television and cookbooks.  I got to know him a little bit better when his memoirs, Yes Chef, was assigned reading for our Cook the Books Club.

While Samuelsson was born and orphaned in Ethiiopia and adopted and raised in Sweden his culinary training took place in Europe, including Italy.

The pairing was absolutely perfect, in my humble opinion.  The crispness of the wine played off the "buttery" texture of the scallops.  And the scallops themselves?  In 10 minutes time, I had an impressive and delicious first course for our Easter dinner.  I allowed one scallop, sliced into 3 pieces, for each person at the table.  

Not everyone chose to partake of the scallops and they were still all eaten and enjoyed by the time the soup course came to the table.

You will find links to the others pairings with this wonderful wine following my recipe.  We will also be getting together on Twitter to discuss our pairings at 11 AM ET today. You will find us by following #ItalianFTW.  See you then!!

Scallop Crudo

adapted from  Marcus Samuelsson

6 large Sea Scallops

Juice of one orange

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of salt

2 sprigs of dill

thinly sliced red bell pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Slice the scallops into 3 even pieces, crosswise.  Combine the orange juice, lemon juice  and salt in a small bowl.  Ladle a couple of tablespoons of the juice mixture onto a serving platter.  Arrange the scallops over the juice on the platter.  Top with remaining juice, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the dill and pepper.  Serve immediately.  Print Recipe

Let's join the others and see what they are sharing

• Jeff at FoodWineClick! gives us a A Wine Pairing Lesson with Verdicchio.
• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla pours Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica with a Panzanella di Primavera.
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm serves up Scallop Crudo with Verdicchio.
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures offers a Multinational Spring Lunch with Verdicchio.
• Jane at Always Ravenous shares Verdicchio Paired with the Flavors of Spring.
• Nicole at Somm's Table posts Cooking to the Wine: Azienda Santa Barbara Verdicchio and Tuna Melts.
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish pairs Verdicchio and Roasted Vegetables: A Match Made in Heaven.
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest has A Spring Date With Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi.
• Susannah of Avvinare listens as Verdicchio Sings of Spring.
• Jennifer of Vino Travels shares Verdicchio of the Marche with Tenuta di Tavignano.

Crab and Crimini Bisque #FishFridayFoodies

This month's Fish Friday Foodies is being hosted by Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

Cam invited us to create and share any kind of shellfish recipe.  She told us to think soups, breaded and fried, sautéed, steamed or even raw.  

We were making assignments for 2018 posts way back in October so I knew that this great theme was first up for the year.

I made this elegant, silky, delicious bisque as our first course on Thanksgiving, knowing that I would save the post for this month's Fish Friday Foodies.

This recipe comes from Bon Appetit.  I modified it very slightly and it was the perfect amount for a first course for 6 adults and 1 toddler.

I used the best quality canned crab that I could find.  The mushrooms are applied in two different styles, using the chopped stems to flavor the broth and then the sliced caps in the finished dish.

I'm excited about this year's first edition of Fish Friday Foodies.  My group has some great themes lined up all year long.  Next month, Sue of Palatable Pastime, has us sharing en papillote.  If you would like to join us please leave your blog name and email address in the comment section of this post or pop me an email at wendyklik1517@gmail.com.

Crab and Crimini Bisque

slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

1 lb crimini mushrooms

6 T. butter

1/2 of a lg. Vidalia onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 T. flour

1 (32 oz) box chicken stock

1/3 c. dry sherry

1/2 c. heavy cream

2 egg yolks

1 t. lemon juice

1/2 lb. lump crabmeat, picked over, large pieces set aside

Remove and finely chop the mushroom stems.  Slice the mushroom caps and set aside.  Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the mushroom stems, garlic and onion.  Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, until mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates.  Add the flour, cook and stir for 2 minutes, until fragrant.  Stir in the broth and sherry.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Strain the liquids into a soup pot.  Discard solids.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet.  Add the sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook over med high heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Add to the broth and simmer for a few minutes.  

While soup simmers, whisk together the egg yolks, cream and lemon juice.  Stir in the crabmeat, retaining the large pieces to use as garnish.  Add the cream mixture to the soup, stirring and cooking over low heat until slightly thickened, being careful not to boil.

Divide into bowls, adding large chunks of crabmeat in the center of the bowl. Print Recipe

More Out of the Shell and Into the Pan Recipes

An InLinkz Link-up

Whitefish Bisque #SoupSaturdaySwappers

Our friend, Ashley of Cheese Curd in Paradise, chose the fun theme of  Soups From Your State (Regional and Local Soups) for this month's Soup Saturday Swappers.  What a fantastic theme!!

Soup Saturday Swappers is a group of wonderful people that join together on the 3rd Saturday of each month to share recipes inspired by a theme chosen by one of our members.  

We would love to have you join our group.  If interested, please leave a comment along with the name of your blog in the comments below or email me at wendyklik1517@gmail.com.  

I live in Michigan.  Considered the Midwest but located more Midnorth.  We are about as far north as you can get unless you cross the river into Canada.  Our State was first explored by the French who came over via Canada.  Most of our cities were named by them, often using the names they had for the Native Americans who lived on our shores.  

We are surrounded by the Great Lakes that began as oceans until the ice age arrived and turned them into fresh lakes.  All those icebergs came up onto land creating the terrain that is our State.  Our State Stone is Petoskey, which was obviously ocean coral at one time.   

We have a huge conglomeration of second and third generation immigrants born here after their parents came to find work in the auto industry.  We had Polish, Greek, Irish, German, Italian and Mexican communities downstate while our Upper Peninsula attracted miners from Norway.  

We are known for our fresh fish, including perch, walleye and white fish.  Our crops include corn, sugar beets, apples, peaches, and soybeans. We hunt venison, ducks, geese, bear and wild mushrooms and berries.  We grow cattle, pork and chickens.  We have Jiffy, Kelloggs, Vernors, Faygo, Better Made and Sanders.  We have wineries, breweries, dairies and cider mills.

And I was stumped.  I mean, there are a lot of soups that I could (and have) shared from the fine State of Michigan. Corn Chowder, Venison Chili, Dill Pickle Soup, Morel Mushroom Bisque. The list goes on and on.  

My problem wasn't thinking of a soup from Michigan, it was finding one that I hadn't already shared. Luckily, for me, I love living in Michigan and I love eating and cooking locally. This means I have a slew of Michigan Cookbooks.  

The recipe that I'm sharing today is from Savor Michigan Cookbook.  This cookbook contains recipes from "Michigan's Finest Restaurants, Their Recipes & Their Histories".  It is an interesting read.  The book is divided by cities, and features recipes from the best restaurants in each one.  I loved reading the histories of restaurants that I have visited or that are on my list to visit.

I have had the privilege of staying and dining at The Grand Hotel, located on the pristine and unspoiled Mackinac Island.  One of the recipes being shared from them was Whitefish Bisque.  Our clear, cold, fresh northern lakes provide us with wonderful whitefish.

I served this as the soup course at a dinner party for some of our diving friends.  I adapted the recipe as the original used coconut milk and one of my guests is allergic to coconut.  I also deleted the lemongrass as I thought that flavor profile was more fitting with the coconut.

It was an elegant, beautiful and delicious first course, especially topped with the smoke trout and fennel ragout.  I was proud to serve it to my friends and pleased when more than one requested seconds.

Whitefish Bisque with Smoked Trout and Fennel Ragout

adapted from Savor Michigan Cookbook, submitted by The Grand Hotel

For the Bisque:

1 T. butter

1/2 an onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, scraped and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 lbs whitefish, cubed

1 c. white wine

8 c. vegetable stock

2 t. dried thyme

5 baby red skin potatoes, scrubbed and diced

salt and pepper, to taste

2 c. heavy cream

For the Ragout:

1 T. olive oil

1/3 c. smoked trout

1 small fennel bulb, diced

1 tomato, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 c. jagermeister liqueur 

1 T. chopped chives

Bisque:

Melt butter in large soup pot over low heat.  Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté until softened and fragrant, 4-5 minutes.  Add the whitefish and sauté a few minutes more.

Add the wine, vegetable stock, thyme, potatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Let cook until reduced by half, 30 minutes or so.  Pour into a heavy duty blender and puree until smooth. 

Return to pan and stir in cream.  Cook gently until heated through. Do not allow to boil.  Garnish individual bowls with Ragout before serving.

Ragout:

Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the fennel and cook for 1-2 minutes until softened.  Stir in the tomato, trout, and garlic. Cook for another minute or two then add the liqueur and chives.  Cook and stir for another minute.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Print Recipe

I am sharing this recipe and cookbook review over at Foodies Read.  Check out what the others are reading this month

More Regional/Local Soups

An InLinkz Link-up