Salmon Rangoons

Leftovers, leftovers! Tons of stuff still in the fridge! Then I see wonton wrappers sitting on the shelf all by themselves. Sparked an idea...

You can find wonton wrappers in usually your pre-packaged salad section in your grocery store. At least that is where I found mine.

Canned Salmon. Sure, why not? I didn't have any crab on hand so the usual Crab Rangoons just went out the window and I had to improvise.
Chop up mushrooms and green onion pretty finely and saute in butter until brown. Yes, butter. Mix the cooked mushroom/green onion mixture with about half a block of and cream cheese into a bowl. Heck, go ahead and shred some Monterey Jack in there if you have it. Pretty easy. Hodge podge much? Lol.

I put the mixture into the middle of the wonton and sealed the edges with egg whites. Popped it a skillet of hot oil for about a minute on each side. Hot oil crisps these things up quickly. Let them rest on a paper towel for a minute or two and enjoy!

Deep Fried goodness.

Not healthy, but very satisfying after just eating a couple.

Children's Hospice Benefit Dinner

Our own Cafe Ella's is doing something really great this Holiday season. After dinner last night she came by my table to let me know what was going on...

CHILDREN'S HOSPICE

Benefit Dinner & Dance Show

December 3, 2009 - 6:oo p.m.

Portuguese Community Hall

124 Atkinson Lane, Watsonville

Tickets only $35 call (831) 728-4537

Cafe Ella's will be doing all the appetizers, dinner and dessert buffet! In addition to dinner there is a live auction, raffle and silent auction. As well as dancers! Jazz, Hip-Hop, Hula and Folkorico!

Sounds like a wonderful event!

So digustingly full.

I am so full. No more food! I have eaten more food in the past three days than I ever have, ever... Let's recap!

I had Dunneville's Fish and Chips on Friday during lunch and the portion is hearty. Did I have to eat the whole fish? No. But I did! Plus a cup of their chowder - which they changed and is not very tasty anymore. Darn it! Switch it back please.

Now up has been my old faithful. Mashed Potatoes with too much gravy. This has been a mid day or afternoon snack. I know, terrible.

Oh Posole, I love you. I chowed down on this too. Hominy really fills you up. I am sure it even expands in your stomach after you eat it. Dona Esther's in San Juan makes a mean daily bowl if your interested.

Holy fantastic roux! Ate this also as a mid day snack - Full fat Scalloped Potatoes! Stop the madness!

And last but not least, Chile Verde. Villa de Jerez in Hollister does it right. The "gravy" is good and you can't beat the tender meat!

I am so stickin' full. I do not need to eat for a week!

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving Table - very pretty!

One of my most favorite appetizers of all time - Stuffed Jalapenos!

Outside app's - Cavier and Cream Cheese, Apricot Jelly and Cream Cheese, Stuffed Jalapenos, Olive Variety and crackers.

Cousin Rebecca and Penny

Papa and James

New cousin Aliesa, Cousin Shannon and Melissa Good Taste!

Newly engaged Cousin John playing with the herd of dogs.

Cousin Allison and Aunt Carolyn worked hard all day preparing our lovely meal. Thank you!

Aunt Tricia too. Worked and worked. Thanks again for making that terrific gravy!

Beautiful sisters! Papa even snuck in the photo. Tricia, Kathy and Carolyn.

First course. Cucumber boat with shrimp - topped with a refreshing Thousand dressing.

Everyone getting prepared for the main event!

Ready, set, go!

Cousin Robert and Girlfriend Stephanie

Cousin Charles and Alesia

My plate. Heavy on the stuffing because there were two types! Onion with cheese sauce, dark turkey, white turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy over everything and sweet potatoes. HEAVEN!

My Uncle Charles and Aunt Kathy.

Had to get a shot of the propane powered fire!

Ulrich Von Dassel Crompton. He is pretty special.

And their off! What a day! Thank you to everyone!

Acorn Squash: Another treat!

So, I am obsessed with stuffing vegetables. But,I think the main reason I like to do it is because of the portion control. I am stuffing the veggies with not so healthy items but because the cavities are small it is ok to get away with.

Cutting the Acorn Squash is quite a task! Once done I put in a pat of butter, salt and pepper in each half. I put it on a plate, saran wrapped and nuked both halves for 12 minutes at the same time.

In the mean time I had the oven at 375 and got together my "stuffing ingredients". Leftover Chicken Curry was in the fridge, as well as the tub of mashed potatoes from the night before - perfect! Mashed potatoes go down, curry gravy on top, with a sprinkle of the Parmesan cheese on top. Sounds odd going into a squash doesn't it?

I kept the squash in the oven long enough for things to get crispy, last minute I switched it to broil to get the top nice and crusty. Just watch it, it only takes a few minutes.

Thanksgiving in a Bell Pepper

I know it is not Thanksgiving yet but I was craving some comfort food goodness. I did it the Rachel Ray way - fast and easy! I know that may make most of you cringe, heck, it makes me cringe.

Anyhow, I had 3 beautiful bell peppers - red, orange and yellow. I cut the tops off them and dunked them into a pot of boiling water. I let them parboil for about 10 minutes, until they were soft. In the mean time, I made Stove Top stuffing - so easy, yet so delicious. When the stuffing was done I mixed in shredded parmesan cheese - just because I thought it would be fun. And I must admit, I cheated again instant mashed potatoes in a tub! Throw it in the microwave for 5 and mix. Easy! I stuffed the bottom of the bell with the mashed, then the stuffing and topped with more cheese.

I stuck the three babies in the oven under 375 for roughly 25 minutes. I wanted the bells browned and soft. They were terrific! My mom said the only thing missing was gravy! Homemade gravy is another adventure on a another day!

Bahama Billy's - Carmel, CA

After hiking at the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park I had made plans for Elena, Amanda and I to try out a new restaurant. Bahama Billy's just so happened to be on the way home! The menu caught my eye with all the seafood choices. I have been on a kick lately, if you hadn't already noticed. In the Barnyard shopping area is where you will find great shopping, along with Bahama Billy's.

We got there at an awkward time, they were finishing up lunch service but it was not quite dinner. So we were stuck in the bar area, I did not mind but the dinner area is where the beautiful tables were - with a fantastic fireplace. We had a great view of the bar, I guess that is pretty cool. Given lunch menus, we were ravenous!

First, we had to celebrate! Bahama Mama's for the twins and a Mojito for me. The Bahama Mama's were stout little suckers if I understood correctly. Cruzan Coconut Rum, Banana Liqueur, Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice and a float of Dark Rum! Yowza! That is a drink!

Like I mentioned before, we were pretty hungry so we decided to split some appetizers to kick off this little shindig. Calamari Ring caught Elena's and my eye so we went ahead and ordered those. They were a tad chewy. The Rosemary, Parmesan and Lime Tarter was a good addition to the plate. Then we saw the Sweet Potato Fries, and just HAD to try those too! They were fried to perfection and had a duo of dipping sauces to go with - Habanero Aioli and Chutney. I liked them both! Then they brought us complimentary garlic bread - whoa nelly, getting full...

Don't forget about our entrees! Lol. Totally stuffed already we made our way the best we could. I ordered the Macadamia Halibut with Whipped Potatoes, Broccolini and Mango Butter. The Fish was cooked perfectly, the Mango Butter was too sweet! I stayed away from it as much as I could. Elena ordered the Seared Sesame Tuna, it came with sticky rice Broccolini and Wasabi Aioli. She seemed to like it but nothing out of this world. And last was Amanda's Coconut Shrimp Rice Bowl. She was bummed about the dish - it did not even taste like shrimp!

After all this food we were ready to pay the bill and get the heck out of there! Too much everything! Good thing we hiked a portion of it off! The bill was a smidge pricey but what did we expect with all the food and being in Carmel. I guess Monday through Friday they have a 50% your bill during Happy Hour. That sounds like a better deal than what we had! I would given 1.25 thumbs up because the price did not match the quality of food. I think things were tasting better than what they were because we were so hungry! Another restaurant, another day!