Mindylynn's Kitchen

I went to lunch with my friends Tina & Jaclyn, and since Tina and I are sushi buddies we went to Hiro’s in Petaluma, an amazing sushi restaurant. After lunch we walked across the street and found a little candy shop that had some crazy good caramels. It was there that I was introduced into the wonderful world of salted caramels. In this sad little county in which I live there is no where to get these so I’ve been deprived through 8 months of pregnancy cravings, until today. I spent days googeling looking for a caramel recipe that did not use corn syrup…I found 1, From chez Pim.  I then preceded to walk into my kitchen and sans candy thermometer I made my very first batch of carmels.  OH MY GOD.  I wanted to call everybody I know and exclaim to the world how yummy these were.  I’m beside myself with glee and I can’t stop running to the kitchen to nibble on them.  Enough gushing…and back to the cooking.

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Makes 4 pieces

1 large (sushi grade) scallop sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
4 tubular shaped pieces of sushi rice
4-1 cm wide strips of nori
dynamite sauce
paprika

Very quickly drop the scallops on a hot non stick pan. Flip immediately and remove just as quickly.  Place the scallops on top of the rice and secure with the stip of nori.  Top with dynamite sauce and dust with paprika.  YUM

this sauce is divine.  I use it for creamy scallop nigiri and BBQ hotate nigiri and I’m planning on using it on grilled albacore.

1/2 cup mayonaise (japanese mayo is best but a delicate flavored one such as from trader joes will work)
*2 tbsp siracha sauce (more or less to taste…so you can controll the spiciness)
1/4 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil

*you can also substitute a combination of franks red hot sauce and sweet chili oil or sauce.

Creamy Scallop Nigiri

OK, so my introduction to the wonderful world of sushi has been slow but wonderful. I asked a waitress at my local sushi restaurant for a recommendation and she suggested the creamy scallop nigiri.  Oh me oh my.  It was love at first bite.  These are the yummiest little tid bits EVER

This is enough for one order (2 pieces) of nigiri, the sauce makes like 3/4 cup (there will be extra)

1 Scallop diced (U-6 to U-8)
1/2 teaspoon sliced green onion
1/2 teaspoon fish roe like capelin roe
enough Dynamite sauce to coat scallop mixture
2- 1 1/4 inch strips of nori
2- 1 1/2 inch balls of sushi rice

Mix scallops, green onion, roe and sauce together and set aside.  Form rice into balls and squish the top and bottom and wrap the nori around the outside and secure the over lap with a little water.  fill the void created by the nori with scallop mixture

I was introduced to the wonder of honey baked hams from the honey baked ham store…however I cannot bring myself to pay for them…they’re pricey. I tried to find out how they made their hams so special…turns out it’s easy…ish. Mix 1 1/2 cup of white sugar with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 4 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice. rub onto the outside of the ham and then caramalize with a blow torch or under a broiler. When using the broiler remove from heat ever 2-3 minutes to prevent burning. make sure to get the sides browned too. when it is crispy on the outside turn down the heat to 300 degrees and finish warming the honey ham…serve with any drippings on the side. YUM

pasta noodles (cooked)

1 pound whole raw prawns
Quart of whipping cream
2 tbsp. minced white onion
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 cup of white wine

Saute onion until soft, deglaze pan with half of wine. Pour cream into pan and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add prawns, rest of the wine, garlic and salt and pepper to taste.  Remove prawns and simmer noodles in sauce for  3 minutes.    Remove noodles and add parmasean cheese to sauce and let sit for 2 minutes, ladle sauce over noodles.

This recipe was the product of my twisted brain.  I was menu planning and the idea of adding lemon to pesto just burst into my consciousness and I have to say…it was quite yummy

1 lrg bunch of basil
3/4 cup of marscapone
3 tbsp of pine nuts
3 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1 tsp of lemon zest
10-15 Jumbo Prawns
Spaghetti noodles
Parmesan cheese

In a food processor blend basil with pine nuts and salt, slowly drizzle in olive oil.  When well blended add the lemon zest and marscapone cheese.  Prepare your noodles as the package directs and in a frying pan sear the prawns with a little olive oil and let them cook until they are 3/4 way cooked.  Top with the pesto then cover the pan, remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes.  Mix with pasta and serve.  Top with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

My first real job was working in the same real estate office as my mom, awkward at times, but it had some perks.  Lunch was one of them.  We’d often go to this Mexican restaurant and I ALWAYS ordered the same thing.  A chicken chimichanga.  I’ve never been able to find another to compare, and since that’s the only thing I like from that restaurant and that restaurant is 250 miles away, I had to come up with my own recipe.   The most important thing for me is large amounts of jack cheese.  YUM that’s my favorite part lots of cheese.  Unfortunately there is one hard to find ingredient…GIANT 13 inch flour tortillas.  I get mine from Winco, they also make great salad wraps that I send my husband to work with. (more…)

It’s not secret that I love tuna, I love it raw and cooked every which way.  But growing up tuna was not something we EVER (and I do mean ever) cooked.  In my family tuna came in a can.  It’s rather sad but I never thought past that.  When I first saw tuna raw and in the flesh I was flabbergasted…I mean it was purple!!!  I was perplexed in my experience tuna was white and so dry that it had to be mixed in equal part with mayonnaise.  Well I’ve learned that tuna is a delicious fish, and properly cooked it in no way resembles the dry white flakes in the can.  The most important thing to realize when cooking tuna is that it should be seared and preferably rare on the inside (make sure you have a good quality fish so there’s no fear of…)  This is a recipe that was inspired in part by a delicious meal I had at a restaurant and in part by the finale of a season of Hell’s Kitchen. (more…)

This is a left over recipe. When I made my fish balls half the mixture was leftover so I made one LARGE patty, dipped it in the tempura and fried it. Then I refidgerated it. The next day I heated a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan and crisped up the outside. I toasted an english muffin and slathered on some skipper’s tarter sauce and finished it off with thinly sliced carrot, some baby spinach leaves and white onion. It was so good.