Category: fish & shellfish
Seafood Bisque Casserole
| October 19, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under casseroles, crab, fish & shellfish, pasta, published, scallops, shrimp, wendy's signature recipes |
A warm bowl of bisque surely is soothing … but in a casserole? Oh, yes! Enjoy this seafood over pasta, creamy grits, rice,
Crispy Fish Sandwich With Roasted Tomato, Peach and Nectarine Jam
| August 18, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, condiments & accompaniments, fish, fish & shellfish, garden goodness, honey, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, peaches, published, put'n up... pickles & preserves, roasted goodness, sandwiches, tomatoes |
Enjoy those last summer tomatoes in this sweet n’spicy jam… roasted tomatoes, peaches and nectarines! Spoon over cream cheese or on crispy fish sandwiches.
Grilled Fish Tacos with Watermelon Pico de Gallo
| August 6, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, condiments & accompaniments, fish, fish & shellfish, grill thrills, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, published, watermelon, wendy's signature recipes |
This sweet and hot watermelon pico de gallo is the perfect topping for fresh North Carolina fish, shrimp or crab tacos. For the best texture, stir together just before serving.
Grilled Southwestern Romaine Salad with NC Shrimp
| July 29, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under cook & eat nekkid, corn, dressings, fish & seafood, garden goodness, grill thrills, low carb, published, salads, slaws and such, sensational sides, shrimp, stick foods, wendy's signature recipes |
Let your grill do the work on this one… dressed up or down as you’d like, grilled southwestern romaine with NC Shrimp is as quick a side as you can fix … but watch it closely, it is ready in a flash!
Summer Corn & Crab Salad with honey citrus dressing
| July 17, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under corn, crab, dressings, fish & shellfish, garden goodness, helpful household hints, honey, published, wendy's signature recipes |
Lazy hazy hot days of summer… nope, no cook’n around here! Throw together this no-cook fresh and light salad featuring fresh summer corn and the best crab you can find… like sweet lump North Carolina crab!
“throw cook” what ‘cha got ~ It’s Fall Y’all Clam Chowder
I’m a “throw cooker.” What does that mean? Well, that means I throw stuff together to create good food and teach others how to do that too. It’s pretty simple and just not that hard to do. Folks often ask me to share a ‘recipe,’ which is challenging, because I don’t use them per se. I do try now to ‘throw’ something on paper as a guide because I do love seeing others take my creations and make them… which is what you’ll find below today. So much of what you’ll see from me are concepts… ideas I have in this crazy head of mine I just go in the kitchen to make and see what happens!
Some of my best dishes are those where I simply open the fridge and see what bits and pieces of stuff I need to use and get out of the way in there. I usually share these creations because there’s just no way I can eat all the stuff (and why I’ve turned into my grandma and ‘hoard’ and recycle food jars!)… sometimes folks want “some more of THAT,” but these unique creations can never ever be exactly replicated again…
This gal can’t stand waste so you’re likely to occasionally see me throw something out here with ideas or ingredients that make you go… “do WHAT?” I keep a soup pot in fridge or freezer for soup days, and nothing is thrown out or composted without first pondering whether or not it’s fodder for ‘the pot.’ A perfect example in this recipe is slaw! Lordie, never throw out leftover slaw…. it’s just cabbage, and maybe a little mayo and/or mustard… so what if there’s a little pickle relish in there? That’s just cucumber, a vegetable. Cabbage always adds another layer of flavor (and that’s what we want to do when cooking… add layers of flavor till it tastes good). Folks g.a.s.p. at the sight of seeing me throw slaw into the soup pot… but just about every time there’s some slaw in a soup I’ve made, those are the concoctions that get the biggest rave reviews… so let slaw be one of your secret ingredients too!
Like most ‘throw together’ dishes, this chowder doesn’t need meaurements. That’s what THROW COOKING is all about… Cook’n what ‘cha got! And my mission in life is to get those of you who ‘think’ you need recipes outside of your comfort zone and turn YOU into throw cookers! I dream of creating a posse of TC’s across the nation… fearless folks who “cook what ‘cha got” with nary a written recipe in sight! What’s the worst thing that can happen? You mess up one pot o’ food? And that is so RARE, since something can always be done/added/tweaked to make something edible. The exception to this is burnt food… and nothing you do will make that fit’n to eat.
As for this Clam Chowder, you can delete any of these things or add stuff (such as carrots or other veggies, other fish/seafood, etc.) to make a wondermous “pot o’ something!” Open your fridge, take a look around at the bits of this and that you would like to get outta the way, and do the same in the pantry. Throw that stuff into your crock pot while cleaning up supper and throw in the fridge. In the morning while your coffee is perk’n, plug in your crock pot, turn it on low and come home to a home perfumed with something mighty good. Add a salad (or not), some cheese toast, cornbread, crackers or even Nabs…. crawl into your lounge-y clothes and make your family’s tummies happy… supper’s done in the 15 minutes it took you to throw all this stuff in a pot the night before…. now doesn’t THAT sound delicious!!
“It’s Fall Y’all Clam Chowder”
Recipe by: Wendy L. Perry, Inc. ©
Feel free to share with credit please.
*Be sure to think/shop/buy/support LOCAL folks and your local economy whenever possible! There’s probably a farm near you where many of these ingredients, from the veggies to the bacon, can be had. It’s a ‘good habit’ to get into… thinking ahead a bit and just takes a little “re-programming” a new shopping normal in the beginning, but once you’re there, you’ll remember just how wondermous fresh food from minutes away tastes instead of oceans and continents away!
INGREDIENTS: (in this particular batch)
- large sweet potato — diced
- few slices bacon, diced
- couple stalks celery with tops, diced
- part of a red pepper, diced
- few cloves garlic, chopped
- a couple of small turnips, peeled and diced
- sweet onion, peeled and diced
- leftover slaw (or diced cabbage)
- salsa (and/or crushed tomatoes)
…i had some tidbits of salsa in the fridge i wanted to get outta my way, one of them was a salsa with habanero, so today’s chowder has a little WOWza to it
- tall can creamed corn
- canned clams, or fresh if possible (a can or two per your preference, undrained)
- clam juice, clamato juice, tomato or V8, broth (chicken or vegetable)…your choice of what’s on hand
…i didn’t have any clam juice on hand today (but put on shopping list), so i threw in some chicken broth i had stashed in the freezer - seasonings
…today, i used some Tomato Powder and Homestead Seasoning from a favorite place to shop in Raleigh, Savory Spice Shop (link below). Other seasonings that work well in chowder are thyme, oregano, Old Bay or just whatever your family likes! - barbecue sauce
…i have a lot of tidbits of this, that and the other sauces in my fridge, because i’m a sauce junkie… putting some of this in the chowder just adds another layer of flavor
Throw all ingredients into a crock pot. Turn on low and let this slowly simmer all day till you come home from work. My crock pot decided to DIE on me today when I put this in, so I dumped into a stock pot, brought to boil, then cut back to slow simmer for about 30 minutes for some REAL ‘fast food!’
Total time from start to eat if done on stove-top… less than an hour! Good old simple food… food the way God meant it to be enjoyed… Nekkid!
This is the chowder go’n in…
…and the seasonings I used from Savory Spice Shop in Raleigh... drop by and tell Cindy I sent you! 
See if there’s a Savory Spice Shop near you here!
I hope this inspires you to peek into your fridge and see what YOU can ‘throw’ together! And when you do, please come back and share with us all…
HAPPY FALL Y’ALL!!! now git in the kitchen and”Throw” somethin’ in a pot…
Print “recipe” here!
…i can almost smell salt air!
| January 21, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under fish & shellfish, salads, slaws and such |
Here it is, middle of February, and as typical here in North Carolina, we’re having a beautimous day approaching 80 degrees! A few windows have flung open to ‘air out’ the house, hopefully blowing out the germs from another visit from Mr. Winter Crud. I’m trying to pretend the fragrance of Vick’s Vaporizer that fills the air is actually salt air and close my eyes, visualizing I’m strolling down one of our beautiful North Carolina beaches.
One of my favorite warmish day meals is Shrimp or Seafood Salad. This is such an easy and f.a.s.t. treat to throw together and for me, gets better after a day or two in the fridge! I hope you’ll enjoy making this salad and enjoy eating it as much as I do! Now, I’ve gotta run and rinse the sand off my toes….
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Many recipes I post in my my blog will not give you exact measurements. I like to teach folks “throw” cook’n… throw some of this, that and the other together till it tastes like you like it! Those are usually the best dishes, so don’t be afraid! What’s the worst that can happen? You have “A” dish that’s not going to be a family fav? The other side of that is you *might* even create something you’ll be making for years to come! So, don’t be afraid just because there are no measurements here ~ let’s just throw down…
Start with fresh local shrimp if possible. Here in my neck of the woods, I can get peeled and deveined North Carolina Shrimp at Lowe’s Foods (where they have seafood markets). I stock up when on sale and buy 5# bags still frozen (just ask the folks behind the counter for those). That way, I can just grab out a few handfuls at the time to throw on a salad, in a quick stir fry or to make shrimp butter to top a steak just off the grill. Sometimes (as in this batch), I throw in some of that ‘fake’ crab, not a big fav of mine, but in this case, had a few extra folks coming and needed a quick stretch of the salad (and one in the crowd loves the stuff)! The shrimp need to be well drained…. so throw in the colander to thaw and drain.
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After draining, I take some paper towels and dab the shrimp to dry out as much as possible… then throw in a bowl.
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One of my fav kitchen tools are my Dollar Store scissors… I keep several pair handy (along with my wondermous Cutco Shears). The scissors are perfect for snipping things like the ‘crab’ in this salad.
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Celery is a ‘must’ for me in seafood salads… so just finely dice up as much as you like., then throw it in the bowl.
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A little red onion never hurts either, so throw that in too! I usually add some boiled eggs, again, as much or as little as you like… but didn’t use egg in this particular batch. Sometimes I throw in some pickle relish or cubes too.
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Any kind of pepper will do, but I like using white pepper in light salads!
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…and in my kitchen, the o.n.l.y. mayo is DUKE’S! End of story. Start with a couple of tablespoons and stir in… add a tablespoon at the time until the consistency you like.
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The is where you can play with seasonings…now y’all know I’m not one to measure, so throw in whatever herbs and spices you like with fishy wishy stuff. I sometimes grab a pack of Ranch Dressing mix and throw in a bit to mix with the Duke’s to ‘dress’ this salad. Even a dab of honey mustard is good in a seafood salad. Some herbs and spices that work well with shellfish are bay, basil, cayenne, coriander, curry powder, dill, marjoram, oregano, tarragon and thyme.
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And as ‘standard’ for many of us Southern cooks, we have to throw in some sugahhh because that just enhances everything… a little dab ‘l do ya!
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Mix it all up real good, and dish up! Garnishes that work well are parsley, chive or cilantro… I ♥ cilantro, so I often use that on my Shrimp Salad. Try to make this a day ahead, or at least a few hours ahead if possible and throw in the fridge. All those goodies will ‘marry’ and taste bunches better after ‘dating’ for a while! I hope this recipe has inspired you to throw together a shrimp salad real soon. And if you do, come on back here and tell us about it. And oh, can you smell the salt air where you are?
Creamy Fall (or anytime) Clam Chowder
| January 21, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under bacon & belly, Carolina Country, cornbread & hushpuppies, fish & shellfish, published, soups, stews, chilies chowders and such, sweet potatoes, wendy's signature recipes |
Don’t wait until fall to cook up a pot of this flavorful creamy clam chowder. And be sure to fry up a batch of Sweet Potato Hushpuppies to enjoy alongside it too.
A fun way to enjoy an old favorite… Crab Rangoon Stuffed Mushrooms!
| November 29, 2018 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, Asian, Christmas, crab, party foods, published, Toaster Oven, wendy's signature recipes |
You won’t go wrong making up a bunch of these Crab Rangoon Stuffed Mushrooms for your next gathering. You can bake in small batches in your toaster oven, or do a great big pan for larger crowds in your oven.
…crunch time ~ Let’s ROLL!
| February 18, 2014 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, cook & eat nekkid, here piggy piggy!, molasses, party foods, rolls & wraps, shrimp, wendy's signature recipes |
Sunshine.Finally. Enough with this winter already. Here’s hoping we are on the back side of this one here in my neck of the woods….
Even my taste buds are in need of something fresh. It has been way too long since I’ve thrown together some of my egg rolls, and I’m longing for something crispy and crunchy. My inspiration for this came from one of the first cookbooks I was ever given decades ago. My uncle and aunt lived up in Michigan (might as well have been a foreign country back in the day when I was a little girl). Every year me, mama and my Ma Hocutt would fly up there to visit. They would take us to this “WEIRD” restaurant to eat food we’d never heard tell of… Chinese! It was years before I realized I like that kind of food, because they would order stuff for us they liked… like wonton soup (ewwwww). And Moo Goo Gai Pan (ewwww…too boring). But over time, as I tried new things, I loved it. So seeing blossoming cook that I was, they gifted me with a Chinese cookbook. I had mama help me find egg roll wrappers and that was all she wrote. I have made no telling how many of these over the years… mostly this recipe, but sometimes I’ve thrown in other fridge leftovers or tweaked a bit one way or the other. I love egg rolls and have made them from barbecue and slaw, to fruit filled ones like these blueberry ones below too. Friends beg me for these, and when having girls’ beach or river weekends, egg rolls are always on the menu… we even eat them cold for breakfast the next morning… IF there are any leftover. They are fun food… and who doesn’t like fun food?
I have thrown together Duck Sauce from scratch and used store bought too. I’ve used peach chutney, peach preserves, made pineapple concoctions and apricot variations. So use whatever you can find or throw together your own. Just make egg rolls. They only appear to be intimidating… but are super easy to make, wrap and fry. Be creative with leftovers… Just open the fridge and see what you can find in there to throw together, wrap and cook!
Let’s ROLL!
Wendy’s Pork & Shrimp Egg Rolls
What to throw together...
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cold water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4+ tablespoons garlic (I use the "squeeze" garlic from produce section)
- 2 pounds ground pork, cooked and crumbled
- 6 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 2 bunches scallion, chopped
- 1 pound small salad size shrimp, cooked
- 1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 package egg roll wrappers
- 1 egg, beaten in small bowl with 2 tablespoons water
- lard or favorite cooking oil
How to throw together...
- Blend soy sauce into the cornstarch. Whisk in water and molasses. Set aside.
- In wok (or large skillet), heat the oil over high heat.
- Stir in garlic and whirl around in the oil for 30 seconds.
- Add pork, cabbage, carrot and scallion. Cook about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Stir in shrimp.Scatter with sesame seed.
- Give the cornstarch mixture a stir and pour over the hot mixture. Stir just to glaze and thicken the filling.
- Set aside to cool before wrapping.
- To Wrap, place the wrappers with one of the corners pointing towards you. Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling across center of wrapper.
- Fold bottom corner over filling.
- Fold in each side and roll towards back corner.
- Brush edges with the egg wash.
- Place on wax paper or foil with pan spray (to prevent sticking).
- Fry a few at the time in hot oil, making sure not to crowd.
- Keep warm on a cake cooling rack placed on baking pan in oven on low temperature until ready to serve!
Blueberry & Pear Egg Rolls
What to throw together...
- 1 20-count package egg roll wrappers
- 1 tablespoon unflavored oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cups small dice Bartlett Pears
- 1 pound fresh blueberries (can sub frozen if off season), reserve a few for garnish
- pinch kosher or sea salt
- 3 tablespoons blueberry jam
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup finely diced red onion
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup toasted pecan pieces
- small amount water-cornstarch slurry
- lard for frying
- TOPPING
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 ounce cream cheese with chive, softened
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- chopped fresh chive, optional
How to throw together...
- Heat oil and butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot and butter is melted, add the pears and blueberries.
- Cook, stirring frequently.
- After about 5 minutes, or when pears are tender but still have a little bite to them, stir in salt, jam, sugar, onion, apple pie spice and thyme.
- Cook about 3 minutes until sugar has melted and ingredients have married.
- Remove from heat and stir in pecans. Chill filling for several hours or overnight to thicken.
- While making the egg rolls, head lard in deep fryer to 375.
- Have an assembly line ready for filling and cooking egg rolls. You'll need wrappers, filling with slotted spoon and water-cornstarch slurry.Unless you are wrapping all in a short period of time, keep the wrappers covered with a damp cloth.
- ASSEMBLE: Lay a wrapper on clean dry surface such as wooden cutting board. With slotted spoon, scoop out and place about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling across bottom corner. Lift and roll the bottom corner over the filling until about halfway across the wrapper. Fold one side, then the other into the center. Keep dipping your fingers into the cornstarch slurry to dampen and seal the wrapper. This helps hold it together for a tight roll to keep your egg roll from getting oily inside. Lay on oil sprayed wax paper or foil.
- COOK: Gently add rolls into heated oil making sure not to crowd in the oil. Fry until browned and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Remove with tongs onto raised rack lined with paper towels. Make sure oil has returned to 375 in-between batches before adding more egg rolls. If the oil is not hot enough, you will have soggy rolls. Keep warm on pan in oven until ready to serve.
- SAVORY WHIPPED CREAM: Using mixer, whip cream until stiff, adding sugar a tablespoon at the time starting about halfway through whipping. Add the cream cheese a tablespoon at the time and whip into cream. Keep chilled until serving.
- SERVING: Place warm egg roll onto dessert plate. Add a dollop of Savory Whipped Cream... and dig in!
my almost famous “Pickled” Pickled Shrimp and Eastern NC Cotton Honey-Mustard Slaw
Happy July y’all…. the world’s slowwwwest blogger dropping by! I’m gonna be ramping things up (yes, I know I’ve said THAT before!) since I’ve been doing so many shindigs lately and have lots of NEKKIDness to share… plus, I’ve been getting requests from clients and their guests for recipes. I don’t keep many recipe secrets and am always happy to share (most), so feel free to ask for others anytime… happy to oblige.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a fun afternoon in the kitchen with a fun family celebrating a high school graduation. Instead of going out to a noisy restaurant to celebrate this momentous event, they decided to have an intimate afternoon and supper at home. They enjoyed playing board games, Wi and other fun stuff. Dad, who hired me, had put together a really special video with snippets of all the important folks in his daughter’s life. I didn’t even know these folks, but that was so heart-warming to see well wishes from around the globe… but I think perhaps most touching were the words of wisdom from her little-bit-older-but-VERY WISE sister. She is one smart cookie! They have an ”international” family of Germans and Japanese… (who says I can’t come up with a crowd pleasing menu?)…. and it warmed my heart to be there in the open kitchen putting together their dee-lish Nekkid Supper while seeing them enjoy each other’s company on this special day!
This is the menu created for their casual family-style meal…
“Pickled” Pickled Shrimp (recipe below)
Toastettes topped with a dollop of Greensboro’s
My Three Sons Pimiento Cheese garnished with fresh chive from my garden and topped with a dollop of cherry preserves
Eastern North Carolina Cotton Honey-Mustard Slaw (recipe below)
As requested, REALLLY Cheesey Taters... so I made some…
“The Bestest Cheesyest au gratin ‘taters EVER!” …
with Gruyere, Jarlsberg, and Fontina topped with Asagio!
(AMAZING and I think the BEST I’ve ever made!!!)
“Crispy Toastettes with Honey Carrot Butter”
Skillet Seared Beef Tenderloin Medallions with sides of
“Mushroom Menagerie Marsala Gravy” along with
Whipped Horseradish Cream, and…
Fresh herbed chicken tenderloins
…sauteed in browned butter
Dessert was left warm in the oven… an ooey gooey Chocolate Pudding Cake!
I hope you’ll enjoy, and call me if you’d like to enjoy life’s celebrations at home instead of out in a busy…loud and noisy… impersonal restaurant! We can even do an interactive party if you wanna roll up your sleeves and throw-cook with me!
Wendy’s Almost Famous “Pickled” Pickled Shrimp!
What to throw together...
- about 2 lbs. jumbo sweet North Carolina Shrimp, peeled/de-viened with tail on
- 1 jar NC's Mt. Olive Sweet 'n Hot Pickled Peppers WITH juice
- 1 pint jar Pierce Foods Watermelon Rind Pickles WITH juice
- 1 pint jar Pierce Foods Okra Pickles, DRAINED
How to throw together...
- Cook Shrimp. I prefer to steam in microwave or stove top vs. boiling as steaming keeps the good flavor and nutrients IN the shrimp instead of boiling them out into the water!
- Place cooked shrimp into non-reactive container. Pour peppers with juice, watermelon rind pickles with juice and DRAINED okra pickles over shrimp. Toss well. Refrigerate and chill. I like to do this a minimum of 8 hours before serving for the juices to "pickle" the shrimp and get nice and cold.
- Pierce Foods is a shop I frequent at the Raleigh Farmers' Market. If you go by there, tell Mr. Pierce I sent you. If not in this area, you can sub any similar products, but try to buy LOCAL and from your area farmers' market too!
Notes
Don't be alarmed with the color change to a yellowish tint. That simply means the pickle juices are "pickling" the shrimp just as you want to happen!
The reason I drain the okra pickles is because that juice is twangy and I want my pickled shrimp to be sweet.
What to throw together...
- Cabbage and/or other similar greens
- turnips
- carrots
- jicama
- any kinds of radishes
- spring onions-red onion-sweet onions…any sorts of onions or combination
- cilantro
- and any other nekkid veggies you'd like!
How to throw together...
- A variety of cuts makes this slaw pretty and far from boring. I thinly slice cabbage into ribbons... cut turnips into matchsticks, make long wide shreds of carrots using a vegetable peeler, slice/dice radishes and throw in thinly sliced red onions and chopped green onions (white and green parts).
- Just at serving time, throw in a heap'n help'n of chopped cilantro. This not only gives the slaw a pretty and vibrant punch of green, but throws in one more level of flavor... and THAT is rarely not a good thang!
Notes
The fun thing about this slaw is it can be whatever you want it to be... and can throw in any old things you wanna. If you have some of these nekkid ingredients on hand but not others, fix it anyway. This is a great way to clean out that produce drawer with those tidbits of this and that... not enough on its own, but perfect with thrown together with sister veggies.
Wouldn’t you love to make memories around your supper table at home… instead of a noisy restaurant with strangers?
It was my pleasure Robert… thanks to you and your happy family!!
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