How do I make…

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and thought “I wish I knew how to make that”? Of course you have. just this past Saturday I had a great bowl of soup at Opie’s, Shrimp and Corn Chowder. Although I love Opie’s and work nearby, I thought it would be nice to have this soup at home. So I searched and found what looks to be a comparable recipe. I will share it below.

But what about those times the recipe is a signature dish and the restaurant is mum on the ingredients? There is a great web site that has restaurant recipes. CopyKat Recipes offers famous restaurant recipes and options to buy cook books. Top Secret Recipes has free recipe and recipes you must pay for, but CopyKat has free recipes. Obviously I prefer CopyKat. So when you feel like trying to recreate that great dish you had at a restaurant, check out one of these sites.

And now for the Shrimp Corn Chowder. I did not get this recipe from the great people at Opie’s, I found this one at recipezaar.com.

Shrimp & Corn Chowder Recipe

6-8 servings
30 min 15 min prep
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/8 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon real butter, melted
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans campbell’s cream of potato soup
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups approx. whole milk (1 1/2 soup cans)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can golden whole kernel corn, undrained
2 cups frozen cleaned raw shrimp
1/8 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 dash frank’s hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt pepper, to taste
grated parmesan cheese, for garnish
In saucepan, cook onions, garlic, parsley and cayenne pepper in melted butter until tender.
Add soup, cream cheese and milk and mix thoroughly over heat until all lumps are gone.
Add shrimp and corn. Season with salt and pepper and stir.
Bring to a boil; Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until shrimp are pink and done. (Not overdone.) Stir occasionally.
Garnish with grated, fresh parmesan cheese.

Enjoy

Boogie Breakfast!

Now before everyone starts emailing me and telling me that disco is dead, you need to calm down. I do not think there will be any Saturday Night Fever tunes playing while you eat!

2007 marks ABATE of Indiana’s 27^th Annual Boogie. The annual festival is expected to draw 13,000 bikers to the Lawrence County Recreational Park in Springville, Indiana.

But aside from that, it is also a time to help out the Grace Center Food Pantry. “Boogie Breakfast” will feature homemade biscuits and sausage gravy served by volunteers at the Harrodsburg Community Center. So, if you are looking for a good breakfast and want to support a great local organization then come out and to the Boogie Breakfast and have a little fun. Tattoos are optional!

Kitchen Gadgets

I am a kitchen gadget junkie. I admit it. If it looks s useful and cool, I find myself buying it. I have a couple of different ice cream machines, and lots of cool little whiz bangs to help me cook. I had to buy a zester even though I know I could get the lemon zest without a specialized tool. I have a set of those cool checkerboard cake making pans I have only used once. I have a thing that looks like a grilled cheese maker but instead is to make little pies.

My favorite and most used gadget is the Egg and Muffin Toaster, I like this thing so much I have bought it as gifts for other people. I went to the store to buy a new toaster when I found this fancy machine. It has regular toast slots but it also has a little pot on the front and extra buttons on the side. The little pot at the front can be used to steam poach eggs, steam scramble eggs or make a mini omelet. In addition you can also to warm up bacon, sausage, ham etc. while you are cooking the eggs. The coolest part in case you want to make your own Egg Mcmuffin, is that the buttons on the side allow you to time the whole production so that when your muffin pops up, your eggs are done.

It is just a neat and quick way to make poached eggs, hard boil eggs, or make an entire breakfast sandwich in an easy and less mess way. If you eat this type of stuff for breakfast and want a fun cooking toy, give this thing a try.

Visit the web page for a movies and better pictures.

http://www.eggandmuffintoaster.com/

Too hot for the Oven?

How about some no bake cookies? These are easy to make and everyone loves them. I made some tonight to take to work tomorrow and I am sure I will not be bringing any home. Try the recipe below or visit Allrecipes.com through the link for more recipes.

Chocolate Peanut-Butter No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
Wax paper

In a saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

Downtown Bloomington Restaurants

Thanks for the emails, sorry it has been awhile, I have been kind of busy. Someone suggested downtown restaurants as a subject so here goes.

I eat downtown quite a bit so I have a pretty good routine down on where to go. I have also managed to find quite a few good deals.

Opie Taylors – Burgers for $4.00 on Mondays, great burgers and I have always had good service. Located across from the Courthouse on Walnut Street.

El Norteno – They have lunch specials every day, usually a few to choose from for $5.75. The food has always been really good every time I have eaten there. They have a really well done web page as well. Located on Walnut Street in the old Princess Theater between 6^th and 7^th streets.

Village Deli – On Tuesdays they have a sandwich that is not on the menu but listed on the board, the Sir Vegalot. Lots of veggies and super tasty. After you eat here, stop by the Monroe County Library Friends of the Library Bookstore and buy a recipe book. They are open: Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Thursdays, noon - 7 p.m. Saturdays, noon - 5 p.m. Located on Kirkwood Avenue about a block from the library.

Kilroys Sports – It has been a month or 2 since I went there because they were giving some terrible service so we put them on probation. It was a shame because on Wednesdays they have ½ price food. The fish sandwich is really good. I especially like the Jerk Chicken Quesadilla. Hopefully they have hired more wait staff. Call your order in ahead and you will be better off. Located on Walnut Street

Bloomington Sandwich Company – I think they have the best Reuben in town. I also love the Muffaletta. Attention all City and County workers, show your name badge and they will give you 10% off! Located on College Avenoue across from the Courthouse

Dat’s – Formerly Yat’s, this place is awesome. The guys that work there are super friendly and will give you a sample if your are curious. I like the Chili Cheese Etouffee or the Spinach-Mushroom Etouffee. Located on Grant between 3^rd and 4^th streets.

Max’s Place – this is a really fun place. There is always good music playing and the owner is about as nice as you can ever meet. It is turning out to be a pretty good nightspot as well. The favorite among my coworkers and myself is the Pietro’s Choice calizone. The pizzas and calizones are baked in brick ovens. Located on 7^th street between Walnut and College.

There are many more excellent restaurants located in downtown Bloomington, these are just a few that I visit with coworkers. Bloomingtononline.net has a lot of local restaurants listed in their directory and menus available for download.