Tuna and White Bean Salad

To placate my masses I must re-emerge with a wonderful recipe, one so great that once you make it yourself you will moan with delight and forget all about my absence here from the blog. This, my friends, is just such a recipe.

I came across this recipe when some coworkers and I took an Italian cooking class. Really, it was more of a cooking demonstration and tasting since there were no hands-on opportunities. Regardless, I came away with one of the best recipes I've ever tried in my life. No, I am not exaggerating!

Tuna and White Bean Salad
2 cans Italian tuna, in olive oil
2 cans cannellini beans
1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
Leaves from celery (the light green parts inside)
Juice of one lemon
6 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar

Ingredients photo:



(2 lemons pictured because I wasn't sure how much juice I'd get from one. Only use one, which should give you about 4-5 Tbsp. of juice.)




Close-up shot of the tuna. Find this tuna! Specialty markets may have it. I found mine at an import food shop here in Seattle. It's worth it...trust me on this. If you like, you can use regular tuna canned in oil or water but the flavor will be different and not as rich.



Take off all the stalks from the celery. You're after all of the light green leaves. You can use some of the darker green leaves but not too many! The green leaves have a wonderfully delicate flavor that adds so much to this salad.



Special Italian beans...yum! These tasted amazing. I got them from the import shop as well.



Slice the red onion verrrrrrrrry thinly. You can use a mandoline if you like but I just used a knife.



Mmmmm...tuna.



Mmmmm...tuna. ^_^



Put the lemon juice in a separate bowl.



Add the olive oil.



Now add the salt, pepper, and pinch of sugar.



Incorporate the dressing carefully. You don't want to break up the tuna too much.



Enjoy! Yes, I did eat this whole bowl. No, I don't feel guilty. It was amazing!



Obligatory cocktail shot: this time a dirty martini for Mr. Mary Cooks!

Wow!

It has been a really long time since I updated. I have some photos of food that I am going to upload this weekend. The kids will be gone so I should have some quiet time to really work on the blog and get things updated. Maybe I'll launch a new look, too!

I just wanted to drop a note that I am still around. I've got some great posts to put up with regards to great products I've been able to try thanks to Foodbuzz!

Check back over the weekend!

Taquito Casserole

My dad got this recipe from somewhere...perhaps the back of a box of taquitos. Anyway, it's a great recipe and lately I've made it a few times.



Ingredients:
1 box of unthawed taquitos (you need about 30)
28 oz can refried beans
20 oz can enchilada sauce
4 oz can chopped olives
4 oz can chopped green chiles
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cups of shredded cheese


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.




First, chop the green onions. Use the white and green parts. I love this photo. I love green onions! Hey, win-win!




Put the refried beans, green onions, olives, and green chiles into a microwave-safe bowl. Stir everything up so it's all happy together. Microwave for about 3-4 minutes, stirring halfway through.




Meanwhile, spray a 9x13 casserole pan with nonstick cooking spray. Lay down some taquitos.




Drizzle about half of the enchilada sauce over the taquitos.




Put half of the refried bean mixture over the taquitos.




Spread half of the cheese over the refried beans.




Repeat layers! Cover with foil and cook for about 50-60 minutes, or until hot. Cover with remaining cheese and put back into the oven until the cheese is melted.




This is pure comfort food. It's like enchiladas without all that pesky rolling! Add salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for a religious experience.

Taquito casserole is so great. Aside from the cooking, it really doesn't take much active time at all. You can use the taquitos that are corn or flour tortillas. I like both.

And now my stomach is grumbling. Maybe there are some leftovers still left in the refrigerator...

Let's Kick It Up a Notch!

Foodbuzz sent me a terrific package filled with goodies from Emeril's product line.



The package contained chicken broth, Emeril's Essence, Emeril's Chicken Rub, and a horseradish mustard. I immediately got inspiration from the mustard.

Kicked Up Honey Mustard Shrimp

Ingredients:
Shrimp (I think this is the 3 pound bag from Costco)
4 Tbsp. Honey
4 Tbsp. Mustard
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste



The star of this dish is Emeril's Kicked Up Horseradish Mustard!



Add the ingredients into a bowl. Here's a photo of the mustard outside of the bottle. It looks (and tastes!) amazingly great!



Whisk the ingredients together until they are all incorporated.



Put the shrimp and marinade into a zip top bag and let marinate for about 30 minutes. You can marinate it longer if you'd like.



Put the shrimp on skewers to prep for the BBQ.



BBQ the shrimp until they are pink and cooked throughout. This doesn't take very long, maybe 4-5 minutes.



Serve the shrimp. These did not last long at all. Everyone at our party adored them!




Since I received this package I have been using Emeril's Essence for a lot of things, most notably steak and (separately) scrambled eggs. It's delicious! I definitely recommend his products. I hadn't ever bought them before but you can bet that now they're in rotation in my kitchen.

Great Blog

I just wanted to recommend a great blog Joel F. Brown. I came across this guy on LiveJournal through his posts in the Food Porn community. His writing is pretty good, in a stream of consciousness way. It makes me think Jack Kerouac went to Paris to learn how to cook French cuisine. It's not for the weak of stomach or heart, though. And it's not for those who are offended by expletives since he uses those liberally.

Anyway, check it out!