Romesco Sauce

I am generally not one to ramble on, but I need to give you a little background here. Last week, feeling nostalgic, I decided to replicate the meal that I had on our honeymoon in Nassau some 27 years ago, blackened grouper. So I got myself some grouper, and then realized that I don’t know anything about cooking fish. I searched for a recipe, and while I did come up with one for blackened grouper (which is nothing more than putting blackened seasoning on both sides of the grouper and then baking, broiling, or grilling it), I discovered Romesco Sauce for the first time. 

 Where has this been all my life? If you are wondering what Romesco Sauce is, let me tell you that it is of Spanish and Portuguese origin. The base ingredients include roasted red peppers, nuts, garlic, bread (yes, bread!), olive oil, and vinegar. It is then processed into a paste wherein it will become one of your favorite sauces in the world! Not only is it tangy, spicy, and delicious, but it is so versatile. I have used it on its own, in pasta salad, as a topper for tomato soup, stirred into ranch dressing, blended into cream cheese as a spread, and recently in egg salad; it makes everything better! I also added a tablespoon to my recipe for Cheesy Garlic Bread, and it was magnificent! 

In case you’re wondering, I ruined the grouper. It was overdone, tough, and rubbery, but hey, I found the sauce!

Romesco Sauce

Slightly adapted from Gourmet Magazine, June 2000

 1/3 c. whole blanched almonds, toasted

1 slice firm white sandwich bread, torn into pieces

2 large garlic cloves

½ t. dried hot red pepper flakes*

½ c. coarsely chopped Melissa’s roasted red peppers

2 T. red-wine vinegar

½ t. salt, or to taste

¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil

 Finely grind almonds, bread, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Add roasted peppers, vinegar, and salt, then purée, adding oil in a slow stream. Season with black pepper.

*Use less, if desired.

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Artichoke Remoulade

Planning ahead (something I seldom do), I decided to make remoulade over the weekend in preparation for what I had planned on eating this week. For the first time in my life, I decided I needed to make fried green tomatoes, and what better topping than remoulade? I also had picked up some beautiful crab cakes from a local market, and have those on the schedule, as well as planned on making egg salad for sandwiches. Egg salad? You ask, quizzically. Yep. If you’re as lazy as I am, having remoulade on hand makes egg salad the easiest thing ever. Just chop your eggs, and spoon in the remoulade, a little at a time, until you get the desired texture. It works equally well in chicken and ham salads. I have another recipe on the blog that you can find here, but today I decided to mix things up a bit and add artichoke hearts. Boy, is this delicious!

Artichoke Remoulade

1½ cups Duke’s mayonnaise
¼ cup whole grain mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. smoked paprika
¼ t. Old Bay
¼ t. Crystal Hot Sauce
3 scallions, white and tender green parts, chopped
1 6-oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and minced
In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until combined. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow flavors to meld. Keeps, refrigerated, for 7-10 days. Makes 2 cups.

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Greek Egg Salad

It’s not that I eavesdrop on fellow diners when I’m enjoying a meal out, but when I hear the word “marvelous” in a neighboring conversation during a discussion of a recipe, admittedly my ears perk up. In this case “marvelous” was paired with the words “Greek Egg Salad.” Intriguing, no? As a lover of egg salad, I can assure you that I pondered this for the rest of my meal, and continued to do so after I got home. The next day I came up with my own version and it is, indeed, marvelous!

Greek Egg Salad

¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup finely chopped scallions
½ cup finely chopped, seeded tomato
¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives
1 teaspoon drained capers
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon Greek salad dressing (your favorite, or this one)
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Pinch Creole seasoning

Pinch oregano
8 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

 4 croissants, or other favorite roll 

Shredded lettuce, for serving

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl, and fold together carefully with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow flavors to meld, or ideally, four hours or overnight. Serve generous scoop on croissants and top with shredded lettuce.

Serves 4.

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If unique egg salads are you thing, you’ll surely enjoy this Pimiento Cheese Egg Salad.

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​Pimiento Cheese Egg Salad

When I was growing up, occasionally, my dad would come home for lunch. On the occasions that he did, my mother would remind him that she married him "for better or for worse, but not for lunch!" My mother was not a fan of the midday meal; she always found the cuisine rather limiting. I share her aversion to lunch making. When the time comes, I'm often struggling to put something together that’s satisfying. So, as often as I can, I try to stock the fridge with cold salads that can be easily served on a leaf of lettuce, rolled in a tortilla as a wrap, or on a flaky croissant.

The other day, while hard boiling eggs for  a Cobb Salad, I decided to toss in a few extras in order to make egg salad for lunch one day this week. I was thinking about my favorite luncheon salads -- chicken, egg, shrimp, and pimiento cheese, when the idea struck me to combine two of them, namely egg and pimiento cheese. To me, it seemed like the best of both worlds, and, let's face it, egg salad can get a little boring after a while. I was enormously pleased with the results! There's something about adding delicious, chopped, roasted red bell peppers to egg salad, along with a pinch of cayenne, a bit of grated cheese, and a dash of mustard, that turns it into something special. Give this some consideration the next time you're putting together egg salad for your noonday meal. You will not be disappointed.

Pimiento Cheese Egg Salad

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

4 hard cooked eggs, chopped

½ cup mayonnaise, more or less to taste

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. capers

¼ tsp. salt

Pinch of cayenne

½ cup finely diced Melissa’s fire roasted red bell peppers

Combine the cheese, eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon, capers, salt, pepper, and roasted bell peppers in a large bowl. Refrigerate for at least an hour to meld flavors. Serve as you would any egg salad.

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This post is linked to:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

Dream, Create, Inspire

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
 Homestead Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Passionate Egg Salad

Did I get your attention with that title? I thought I might. Actually the name of the recipe is not Passionate Egg Salad, but "Paul Shipley's Egg Salad," and it appears in the wonderful Consuming Passions, A Food-Obsessed Life, a book about which I'm passionate, so I figured it all worked out, title-wise.  

The author is none other than Michael Lee West of the Designs by Gollum blog, not to mention seven other books, and a couple of character-related blogs.  This woman is prolific.  Not only is she prolific, she's good!  I adored this book of comfort, recipes, and living life in a close-knit family of Southern crazies. Warm, witty, sweet, and at times laugh-out-loud funny, this is one of those books impossible to put down, but when forced to, as you've reached the end, feel sad that there's nothing more.  This is one book I'll be reading again, and once you read it, you will too.  Be sure to shelve it with your cookbooks, there are some great sounding recipes in here along with valuable cooking and home-keeping information such as (something I'm still afraid to do) seasoning cast iron.

Now go make yourself an egg salad sandwich, put your feet up, and order this book.  You're in for a great time!

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