Seared Zucchini With Buttery Lemony Sauce

Sometimes it's hard and just don't enough time to put together a fancy side dish to please the crowd. Especially the case when you have to gather all sorts of ingredients, like to put together a colorful salad. So to tone it down a bit without sacrificing the taste, perhaps this seared zucchini with buttery lemony sauce can come to a rescue.

Seared zucchini with buttery lemony sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 25 grams unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow lemon
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• Some aged Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)

How?

Wedge the yellow lemon first. We are going to use about half during the cooking process, and save like one or two wedges for garnish in the end.

Trim-off both ends for the zucchinis then slice in half lengthwise. Score the cut-side to make a crosshatch pattern.

Bring out a stainless pan, use medium or medium high heat and wait till the pan gets hot. Drizzle a bit more olive oil than usual, I used 3 tablespoons here. 

Add in the zucchinis scored-side down. Once set onto the pan, do not move the zucchinis at all. Simply let them sear till the bottom turned slightly browned then flip and continue to sear the other side.

Meanwhile, add 25 grams of unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper to the pan. Also take the lemon wedges and squeeze in some fresh lemon juice, about 2 teaspoonful. 

Tilt the pan if needed, try to baste the zucchinis with melted butter and all that seasonings over and over again. Keep doing that till the top gets a glistening yet slightly browned coating, and the bottom has been seared alright.

Transfer the zucchinis to the serving plate with scored-side up. Spoon some of the remaining sauce to the top of the zucchinis. Serve with lemon wedge on the plate. Lastly, grate some aged Parmigiano Reggiano all over if preferred. I can guarantee you that the cheese will make the zucchinis extra delicious.

In the end, even without a fancy-looking salad or hard to find ingredients for the starter, I'm sure most people will still fall for this seared zucchini recipe. After all, these zucchinis were plump and juicy, not mentioning the umami added from the aged cheese grated on top.

To make it even better, this recipe only requires seven ingredients to make, including the most common things in the kitchen such as salt and pepper. So when you find yourself short-handed at a meal gathering at home, think about this seared zucchini recipe.

Other recipes using zucchini:

• Pasta all'ortolana
• Summer vegetable curry
• Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce
• Zucchini, corn kernels, and ground pork stir-fry

Chicken With Garlicky Lemony Anchovy Sauce

Usually one or two anchovies would do in a dish. However, this time not only I'm making bigger portion, but also making anchovies the key component here. That means, I don't want the anchovies just be like a back note or a hint of the savory depth. Instead, I want anchovies to shine. I want that umami-packed anchovies to be quite noticeable.

If someone take a bite of this chicken dish, whoever is familiar with canned anchovy should be aware of it right away. That salty savoy pop. Very yummy.

Chicken with garlicky lemony anchovy sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 740 grams boneless skin-on chicken thigh
• 1 small can/about 29 grams solid weight anchovies in olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons capers
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 1 lemon
• 1 small bundle/about 20 grams flat leaf parsley
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

How?

Thoroughly feel the chicken with your fingertips. Make sure there are no fragments of bone remain anywhere. Trim-off any excess fat then slice the chicken to medium bite size pieces. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper. Set them aside while we start prepping other ingredients.

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Use the leafy part of the parsley only, give it a rough chop. Slice the lemon into wedges.

Take out a big pan, I like to use stainless steel pan for any sort of western dishes that requires quite the amount of searing. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and switch to medium heat.

While the oil temperature hasn't rise up significantly, add in chopped garlics along with 2 teaspoons of capers and 1/2 teaspoon of dried red chili flakes. Also add in one small can of anchovies in oil, but just the anchovies. The one I used was marked as 29 grams solid weight, so I think that's just about the same weight for the actual anchovies inside.

The oil temperature should slowly rise up. Give all the bits inside the pan a few mixes. Continue to move around these ingredients till the anchovies start to break apart and nearly melt away.

Move these bits to the edge of the pan then transfer the chicken to the center skin side down. Sear till you feel the bottom starts to turn golden brown. Flip and sear the other side till golden brown too.

Once the other side seems to set and golden, squeeze in some lemon juice, about 1 tablespoon. Also add in most of the chopped parsley. Mix and cook a little bit longer, or till you are certain all the chicken pieces have been fully cooked. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Once all checked, plate and sprinkle the remaining parsley throughout. Serve with one or two more lemon wedges on the side. 

Note that we didn't use additional salt during the actual cooking steps. It's because we already sprinkle salt and black pepper on raw chicken, also remember that canned anchovies can be quite salty too, especially with the amount used in this recipe.

By the way, I haven't write about wine pairing for a long time (don't drink and drive), but based on my experience I think this dish will go very well with some nicely chilled riesling, or oaked chardonnay. 

Other recipes using canned anchovies:

• Salmon and chorizo in tangy tomato sauce
• Pasta al tonno (pasta with tomatoes, capers, and canned tuna)

Baked Camembert with Hot Honey

This is a very versatile recipe. I mean the whole Camembert is there for sure, and who doesn't like a chunk of oozing cheese to eat along with bread? So what goes around the cheese is more so additional points here and there per my opinion.

Honey is another key, it is an ingredient that most likely goes really well with most variety of cheese. So we have the Camembert and honey down for sure. All other extra elements solely depend on your own preference. 

Simply use whichever herb you usually enjoy in a dish, such as rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Dried red chili flakes is my favorite, but a little twist by using pink peppercorns or even Thai sweet chili sauce can be fun too. Remember, the key is to incorporate things that you normally love in this baked cheese recipe.

Baked Camembert with hot honey - 

Ingredients?

• 1 round Camembert cheese
• 1 small sprig rosemary
• 1 garlic clove
• Some baguette or other type of bread of your liking
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt flakes
• Some black pepper
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (I used 1 tablespoon of Thai sweet chili sauce instead)

How?

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 395 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the Camembert from the plastic packaging if there's any, but do save the wooden box. Simply put the cheese back to the wooden box, which can act like a serving container. I further use a baking dish to hold the cheese box in case of any spilling in the oven later on.

Use a knife and score the top of the Camembert. Peel and slice the garlic. Insert the garlic slices here and there within the cracks on the surface of the cheese. Also pick out some rosemary and insert that to the cheese too. 

Since we will be heating up the honey in the oven, I didn't intend to make the hot honey prior, but simply mixing room temperature honey with some Thai sweet chili sauce. You can mix honey with dried red chili flakes too. Pour that all over the cheese. Also sprinkle some salt and pepper on top.

Into the oven. Mine baked for about 15 minutes. Should be around that time. The basic idea is to use high heat and bake till the cheese seems about to melt. Note that the surface of the Camembert might still appear slightly solid, so just aim for the oozing cheese underneath.

Once ready, remove the Camembert from the oven. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and serve with preferred bread. I used some baguette slices.

You can also pre-toast the bread slices. Slightly crunchy bread works and dips even better with melted Camembert.

Of course you can serve it with crackers too. But crackers tend to break more easily, so in that case, perhaps have some utensils on the side to scoop out the cheese then spread onto the crackers instead.  

Other recipes good with a glass of wine or two (don't drink and drive):

• Steamed clams with smoked bacon in white wine parsley sauce
• Less oil fried cream cheese wontons

Hands Down My Most Delicious Batch of Madeleines Ever Made - Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Madeleines

These chocolate madeleines were so delicious. Seriously, me and Mister were like munching on at least two madeleines every time we opened the storing container. But why just two? Because the whole batch only yields 12 madeleines, and I gave two to my mother-in-law, so we had to control ourselves and try to make these pastries last a little bit longer.

Chocolate dipped chocolate madeleines - 

Ingredients (about 12 pieces)?

• 115 grams unsalted butter 
• 14 grams/1 tablespoon unsalted butter for prepping the pan
• 2 large eggs
• 80 grams granulated sugar
• 20 grams caster sugar
• 30ml whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 95 grams all purpose flour
• 10 grams/1 tablespoon for prepping the pan
• 22 grams cocoa powder
• 10 grams/1 tablespoon for prepping the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Chocolate dipping sauce:

• 100 grams 70% or dark chocolate
• 5 grams/1 teaspoon unsalted butter

How?

Measure 115 grams of unsalted butter and melt it. I used the hot water bath (bain-marie) method to melt the butter, also changed the hot water once to speed up the melting process. Meanwhile, remove 2 eggs from the fridge and let them rest under room temperature for a little bit.

Bring out a big mixing bowl, I simply used the stand mixer bowls. Measure in 80 grams of granulated sugar plus 20 grams of caster sugar. Also break in that 2 eggs we took out from the fridge earlier.

Beat them either using the stand mixer, but I actually used hand-held mixer instead. Switch to medium speed and beat for about 5 minutes, or till the mixture appears a little frothy-looking.

Pour in 30ml of whole milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat again till fully blended.

Have another big bowl ready and measure in 95 grams of all purpose flour, 22 grams of cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Sift these powder on top of the big mixing bowl filled with our wet ingredients. Mix till everything has been evenly blended together.

Now let's pour in the melted butter. This time don't use the mixer, but a rubber spatula instead to fold till just about evenly mixed together.

You can use this batter right away, but this time I was more patient and actually store the batter to a lidded container then into the fridge overnight. So the next day when I bake the madeleines, I will be using cold batter, which will help the madeleines rise better and have a more "humped" shape as a result.

So either way, when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Prep the madeleine pan. Again, I used the hot water batch method to melt the butter, this time 14 grams, about 1 tablespoon of butter. Then I brush melted butter to the madeleine mold.

Prepare a small bowl and add in 10 grams, that is about 1 tablespoon of flour plus 10 grams, also about 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. Mix them together then dust onto the madeleine mold. After that, invert the pan and give it a few taps. This till shake-off excess powder sticking onto the pan.

Some people prefer to further store the prepped madeleine pan in the fridge and wait till cold enough to actually use in baking. The concept is kind of like storing the batter in the fridge overnight. But for the pan, I think 15 to 30 minutes will do the trick, or simply skip this step shouldn't do much harm.

Scoop the batter to the center of each madeleine molds. I used about 1 tablespoon to 1 1/2 tablespoons for each madeleines. There is no need to level or even out the batter, just keep them like imperfect shape of scooped batter balls.

Into the oven and bake for 12 minutes plus or minus 2 minutes depending on your oven heat status. Just to be safe, check halfway through and see if you need to flip the madeleine pan around to ensure even baking. The madeleines are ready when the center rises up, like a humped pastry, and the edge appears darker color.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool under room temperature. I turned them out onto a wire rack to cool-off.

During this time, melt 100 grams of chocolate along with 1 teaspoon of butter. Use a rubber spatula to mix them evenly together. Pour that chocolate dipping sauce to a smaller but deeper container, which will be easier to dip in the madeleines.

So once the madeleines is cool enough to handle by hand, dip them one by one in the warm chocolate sauce. Then back to the wire rack to cool-off and set, at least 15 minutes. Later on I actually carefully move the chocolate dipped madeleines to the fridge to further help the sauce set.

So I guess the extra work, that means prep the batter a day ahead and store them in the fridge can really make a big difference. These madeleines turned out with a tiny bit moisture feel, I mean they weren't dry at all. More so on a little luscious side.

By the way, even though many chocolate madeleine recipes all look somewhat similar, after all, some classic dessert ingredients and steps have been tried and true. But I did look closer into Emma Duckworth Bakes' chocolate madeleines recipe online for some reference. 

Look at the result, my batch of chocolate madeleines turned out super delicious. So I can assure you that her original recipe should be very good too, most likely even better. And I thank her for publishing that recipe online, so I had a good research before baking these yummy chocolate bites.

Extended reading:

• Two-color madeleines 雙色瑪德蓮

Steamed Clams with Smoked Bacon in White Wine Parsley Sauce

My initial plan was to use chorizo for this clam recipe, but somehow all the imported chorizo were banned in Taiwan. So I guess I won't be seeing imported chorizo for a long while. Good thing that the substitute - thick cut smoked bacon worked really well too.

Steamed clams with smoked bacon in white wine parsley sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 380 to 400 grams clams 
• 100 grams thick-cut smoked bacon
• 1 big bulb shallot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small bundle flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 yellow lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

How?

First let's "clean" the clams first. Rinse and roughly clean the clam shells. Fill a medium pot with some room temperature water, mine was about 600ml of water with 3 teaspoons of salt added.

Add in the live clams and just let them sit there, don't go peeping too often in the beginning nor moving the pot. These movements might disturb the clams and then will have their shells tightly shut. 

The image I have here was only like 10 minutes into the soaking process. I would suggest wait for one hour, and make sure you do see the clams purged out the sand. It's actually quite fun to watch them doing that. Once all set, drain out the liquid and the clams will be ready to use.

When the clams are about ready, let's prep other ingredients. Slice the bacon to medium size chunks. Peel and chop the shallots and garlics. Separate the stem and leafy part for the parsley, chop the leafy part and section the stems. Slice the lemon into wedges.

Have a stainless pan ready, the reason why I specifically said stainless is that we will be adding in the clams, and the stainless material won't be damaged by the clam shells moving around.

Turn to medium or medium small heat. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and add in the bacon chunks. Sear till some fats have been rendered and the meaty part turns a bit browned.

Add in shallots and cook for about 30 seconds. Then add in chopped garlic, parsley stems, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Toss and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add in the clams and give it a quick mix. Pour in 1/2 cup of dry white wine.

Swirl a little then cover the pan with a lid. Use medium small heat and let it "steam" for about five minutes, or till the clams just opened up.

Remove the lid, pick out parsley stems and discard any clams that are still tightly closed. This time around, add in chopped parsley leaves. Squeeze in some lemon juice, about 1 tablespoon. Give it a quick mix.

Plate and add one or two extra lemon wedges on the side.

Note that I only posted the clam dish here. But there is definitely one other thing you can do to boost up the dining experience. Serve the dish with some toasted baguette. You can enjoy the clams and bacon chunks with the bread, also further soak up all the juice on the plate using the bread.

Nothing goes to waste, especially all that juice was like the essence from the clams, super flavorful and packed with umami. Even if you don't have any bread on hand, at least cook up some pasta or rice, just pour the sauce all over. It might sound weird but once you took a few bites you'll know what I'm talking about.

Other wine-friendly recipes:

• Nectarine and Serrano ham crostini
• Less oil fried cream cheese wontons
• Crostini with Serrano burrata and hot honey

English Tea Style Cucumber Sandwich

Not related to recipes at all, just want to share that recently I've been watching some bird-related live streams while doing chores or playing with my phones at the same time. Like when washing dishes, I'll have my laptop on the side with live streams on. Here is one of the channels I've been watching Big Bear bald eagle live nest. It's actually quite therapeutic if you ask me.

English tea style cucumber sandwich - 

Ingredients (about 6 servings)?

• 6 slices white toasts
• 1 yellow lemon
• 2 to 3 English cucumbers 
• Small bundle dill
• Small bundle chives
• 8 oz or 226 grams cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Some salt

How?

Remove the cream cheese from the fridge first and transfer 8 oz to a medium bowl. Wait till it softens. Chop the dill and chives, we will only need the leafy part for this recipe.

Trim-off both ends for the cucumbers. You can shave the cucumbers or thinly slice it. Doesn't matter which direction to slice into because in the end I'm going to chop the cucumber into smaller cubes for the sandwich. Not the typical way to prepare English cucumber sandwich but I kind of like it.

So transfer sliced cucumber to a bowl and use 1 teaspoon of salt to massage and marinate it. Rest under room temperature for about 20 minutes, until some moisture has been drawn out.

Once time's up, really squeeze hard to get all the liquid out from the cucumber. Dice into mini cubes and set aside for later use.

As for the cream cheese bowl, also add in 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of chopped dill, 1 tablespoon of chopped chives, zest from 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix till evenly blended. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Spread the cream cheese mixture to one side of the toast for all 6 square white toasts. Arrange chopped cucumber on top for 3 of the toasts. So for every one toast with the spread and cucumber, top with another toast with the spread only, making sure all the seasoned side facing the inside, the center direction.

Trim-off the toast edges. You can just use a knife and press down, don't saw back and forth since it might rip the edges and ruin the shape of the sandwich.

Slice the square sandwich in half, so it'll either become two rectangular sandwiches or two triangular sandwiches, whichever shape you prefer.

About the mayonnaise used in this recipe, I used the English style mayonnaise, not the Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise. However, if you only have the Japanese kind available, the flavor shouldn't be off too much in the end. 

So back to the bird-related live streams, the Big Bear Lake bald eagle channel seems to be on all the time, and it's been on for a long long time already.

Hope such live stream will raise some awareness in regards to animal's natural habitat and preservation topics. Meanwhile, seeing these wild life prosper is such an amazing feeling, a cheerful boost while doing the daily routine chores. 

Other sandwich recipes:

• Cured ham open-faced sandwich for two
• Roasted tomatoes Serrano ham and burrata pesto sandwich
• Food I love and miss back from high school years - sloppy Joes

Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta (Using Canned Artichoke Hearts)

Question first, why this recipe is often called shrimp and artichoke pasta instead of artichoke and shrimp pasta? In the beginning I was like maybe I should go with alphabetical order, so putting artichoke before shrimp. However, after a quick search online, most of the recipes are titled shrimp and artichoke, with shrimp in the front.

Why is that? Or it's like way too normal and too common so no one ever thought about it? Not like it's super important but it'll be nice to know the reason behind. I'm a little curious cat here.

Shrimp and artichoke pasta using canned artichoke hearts - 

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 portions)?

• 290 grams (60 grams solids) canned artichoke hearts
• 360 grams linguine pasta
• 16 to 20 shrimps
• 30 small or 20 medium cherry tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 small bundle flat leaf parsley
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt

How?

Have a big pot of water ready and bring to a boil. Season with few good pinches of salt and add in the linguine pasta. Cook till almost al dente. Before draining, save about a cup of pasta cooking water on the side, then proceed to drain out the water.

Try to calculate the pasta cooking time so when the sauce is ready, the pasta should be just about finished cooking too, then you can simply drain and dump into the sauce right away.

Peel and slice the garlic cloves. If the cherry tomatoes are on the bigger side, cut into half. Peel and devein the shrimps. Zest the lemon before slicing it in half. Chop the flat leaf parsley, do not use the stems if appear too tough. Remove the artichoke heart from the jar and give it a few chops.

Bring out a big pan and drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Use medium heat and add in garlic slices along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Sear till slightly golden then add in halved cherry tomatoes. Swirl the pan once a while and cook till the tomatoes seemed about to burst or slightly charred on some sides.

Add in shrimps and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in artichoke and continue to cook for a short moment.

Pour in 1/2 cup of dry white wine, also add all the lemon zest we prepared in the beginning, squeeze in juice from half of the lemon. Also add 1 teaspoon of salt and most of the chopped parsley. Swirl and toss to make sure every ingredients are evenly mixed together. Taste and adjust with salt if needed.

Check and see if the sauce is enough. If not, pour in some pasta water that we saved earlier. I added about 1/4 cup here. Then I transfer drained pasta over. Swirl the pan and try to blend in some air to the sauce.

Cook till the sauce looks slightly thickened, and the oily part appears binding with the sauce. Give it a last couple rounds of extra virgin olive oil drizzles. Toss a few more times. Plate and garnish with the remaining chopped parsley.

You know what? Canned artichoke heart ain't bad at all, it's actually quite delicious. Especially with all the hard prepping work being dealt with, the only job we have is to utilize the tender hearts into our cooking.

And using canned artichoke heart for pasta was such a great option. A slightly tangy touch worked really well with lighter-tasting shrimps. Not just shrimps, flat leaf parsley also balanced well with canned artichoke hearts. 

Extended reading:

• Thick cut bacon and lentil ragu
• Pasta all'ortolana (healthy pasta with lots of vegetables)
• Tuna and olive linguine for two
• Oyster and shiso peperoncino
• Paccheri with tuna in red bell pepper sauce