The name of this main course starts with the letter 'X"

Louise at the blog Months of Edible Celebrations is hosting a picnic. I am a late comer to the game. 

When I wrote to Louise to ask her if I can join in the fun and asked if I could take the letter V, she reverted and said there is only one letter left and that was the X.  Without wasting time, I quickly googled for recipes that start with an X. I was surprised to find a Portuguese dish called “Xerem”. I immediately wrote back to confirmed that I would take the letter X and "bring" Xerem to the picnic party.

Xerem is a traditional stew from the Algarve region of Portugal with ingredients that reflect the region's seaside location and fishing and farming traditions. There is no single list of ingredients but all that I have read list start with a thick porridge made with coarse-ground yellow maize (corn) meal as the base. From that base, there is a departure into many variations that feature combinations of  clams, bacon, sausage and ham.  This was the first time I had heard of this dish and after looking through the ingredients, I suspected it would be a hearty, simple food, that would taste good. After assembling and cooking the stew according to the recipe, I submitted a sample to my Quay Lo for a quick taste test. He suggested that I enhance the flavors by adding garlic, onion and some spices which I did. True enough the dish was considerably more tasty after modification. I served this with crusty whole grain bread and green peas sauteed with butter for lunch. Pei-Lin of Dodol Mochi joined us for lunch and she brought with her a decadent pumpkin pie, which we enjoyed with a large dollop of freshly whipped cream.  I am sure she will soon be sharing with you the recipe. 

Well so much for our lunch. 


I am going to the virtual picnic party now and I am bringing Xerem ..
A. Apricot Cobbler
B. Banana Cream Pie
C. Cherry Bars in a Jar 
D. Diva Doggie Bites 
E. Emeril's Strawberry Lemonade
F. Fingerling Potato Salad w/ Honey-Thyme Vinaigrette
G. Gugelhopf Twister
H. Honey Graham Roll-ups 
I.  Incredible "Rabbit" Pineapple Tarts/Rolls
J. Jam Jewels-Tiffanee 
K. Kirschmichel
L. Lime Cranberry Fizz 
M. Mint Sundae brownie squares
N. Nice Mini Biscuit Sandwiches 
O. Orange Nut Ring 
P. Pan-Bagnat Provencal  
Q. Quick Lemon Bread
R. Rhubarb Ruguh-Love
S. Salmon Salad 
T. Tequila Truffles 
V. Venus Is Out Tonight Radish, Black Olive, & Feta Salad 
W. White Chocolate Cherry Almond Sour Cream Scones 
X.  Xerem


Xerem

Adapted from Celtnet recipes with modification

Ingredients with corn meal soaked in water

Ingredients:

4 cloves chopped garlic

1 medium chopped onion

1kg fresh white clams

100g fried bacon

100g chiriso sausage, sliced

100g ham, sliced into strips

200g coarse-ground yellow corn meal

150ml white wine

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbs ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

Method:

Wash the clams thoroughly then leave in a large pan of salted water for at least 2 hours to clean. Mix the maize meal with 250ml water and set aside. Sautee garlic and onion till fragrance and add to the corn mixture. Fry bacon and place on paper towels to absorb the oil and set aside. Add a little butter to a sausage and ham for a few minutes. Add half the wine and continue cooking until the wine has evaporated then take off the heat and set aside. In the meantime, drain the clams and add to a second pan along with the remaining wine and a little water. Cover and steam the clams for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until opened. Remove the clams and extract the meat from the shells (discard any unopened clams). Strain the cooking liquid and retain. Add the clam meat and cooking liquid to a pan and bring to a simmer. Stir-in the soaked maize meal (with the soaking water) and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the maize meal has swelled and is cooked through (the consistency should be that of a thick porridge). Add salt, ground pepper, cardomom and paprika. Transfer to a serving dish, arrange the fried sausage and bacon mix over the top and serve.

Be a couch potato but don’t blame me

This soup had all the necessary nutrients in it and it is so easy to make. I ate with half a bowl of cooked fragrant white rice in it while my Quay Lo ate with crusty bread.  This is another quick and simple meal for a lazy evening. Definitely “An in-front of TV” meal. Use disposable bowls and cutleries if you don’t even want to get up and wash dishes.

I do not recommend that you do this often because I do not want to be responsible for you turning into a couch potato. I think once in a while is fun. One thing I would like to mention though is not to snack in front of the TV.  Studies have proven that people who watch TV and snack at the same time consume many calories without knowing it and tend to overeat.  The chances of you gaining weight is very high. I have told you so, if you don’t listen, don’t blame me. LOL!

French beans, potato, bacon and ham soup

Ingredients:

300 gm French beans, cut into 1 ½ in pieces

3 medium size yellow potatoes, cut into chunks

1 medium onions, cut lengthwise into six

2 pc of bacon

100 gm diced ham

4 C chicken stock or enough to cover all the ingredients

1 tsp ground black pepper

salt to taste

Method:

Throw all the above into the soup pot except salt and ground black pepper and bring to boil.  Turn heat to medium and let it boil till French beans are limp and onions are translucent. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer till potatoes are soft.  Add salt and ground pepper and serve hot.

Bacon cheddar cheese apple mini pie

I saw some pictures of cheddar apple pie by “feeding maybelle” and decided to adapt the idea to clear up  some chopped apples in my fridge.  I wanted something crunchy to the filling so I added fried bacon.  The saltish sweet taste of these mini pies are uniquely delicious.  I like that they are mini and it is not too filling even if I take two but I took three after they were baked and I have to stop myself not to take the fourth! An idea came to my mind, these mini pies will be a great snacks to carry on a road trip. 


I am submitting this recipe to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011) hosted by Jean of Nom I must. To find out more click here. Do head over to Jean's blog, she has lots of great bakes. 

Makes 18 mini pies

2 ½ pieces of  10 x 10 inches Borg short crust

Ingredients for fillings:

(A)

1/1/4 cup chopped green apple

3 tbs brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

(B)

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 pcs fried bacon

2 ½ sheets short crust pastry

Method:

Put A in a small pot and cook till apple is slightly limb.  Fried bacon till crispy and drain away all facts. Cut bacon into bite size. Mix bacon bits and shredded cheddar cheese with half cooked apple. Cut out 36 pieces of round short crust dough about 2 ½ inches in diameter.  Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each piece of cut-out dough and place another piece on top and seal it. Use a fork to poke some holes in the top crust and top with 2 thin slices of cheese crossing them.  Preheat oven at 170 degrees C. Bake the pie for 25 mins.  Serve warm.

Mix greens and spinach with Roasted Butternut Squash, Bacon, Pecan and Maple Vinaigrette - Featured in Group Recipes

I saw this recipe from one of the foodie’s site but unfortunately I forgot to write down the url.  This recipe is adapted from the Kitchen of Once Upon a Plate.  the two things that I changed in this recipe included using pecans instead of walnuts (my hubby is a southern boy through & through) and I added spinach mixed into the regular salad greens (another favorite of ours.) We enjoyed this salad so much that we did not want the meal to end.  The flavors in this salad go extremely well with a favorite white wine, which for me is usually on the slightly sweet (demi sec) side of the equation. We drank an Australian Gerwurtztraminer with it that evening.Heaven!  

Serving: 4

Ingredients for the Salad:

1 packet 125 gm mix greens

1 packet 125 gm spinach leaves

3 cups butternut squash

5 slices of bacon

1 cup pecans

Ingredients for Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup

1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive

1/4 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

¼  tsp Sea salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method to prepare Vinaigrette:

Place Maple syrup in a small pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and allow syrup to reduce by about half. In a small bowl, whisk together the reduced maple syrup with the vinegar, whisk in the Dijon mustard, then whisk in the oil until mixture is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Method to prepare the salad:

Washed mix greens and spinach leaves and set aside. Remove skin and seeds of Butternut squash and into cubes/dice (about 3/4-inch). Slices of bacon, sliced crosswise into thin strips and fried until just crisp, drained. Spray some oil on the pan and roast pecans. Place diced butternut squash on rimmed baking sheet, toss with a tablespoon olive oil to coat, then sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast in hot oven turning pieces once or twice until just tender but not mushy. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Arrange mix green and spinach leaves in salad bowl and add roasted butternut squash, crispy bacon and pecans. Drizzle with Maple Vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper before serving.