spicy » Living Lou

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

Salmon is one of my favourite proteins to cook with because there are so many things you can do with it. This Sweet and Spicy Salmon is probably one of my ultimate favourite ways to enjoy salmon, it’s such a quick and simple staple meal that it has never crossed my mind to share it with you. Well, don’t worry, those days are over. You can now sigh a happy sigh of relief. With just four ingredients, yes I said four, you can have this salmon on the table in just 21 minutes.

Can you imagine, getting home from work/school at 7:40pm only to realize that there are only 20 minutes until Grey’s Anatomy starts! What are you going to have for dinner? There’s not enough time so you think to pull out one of those sodium stuffed frozen meals, well friends, please don’t do that. With only a couple of minutes of prep time you’ll be eating your salmon in no time. As far as side dishes go, anything from my Side Dishes category would do, but my personal favourites are this quick and easy 5 minute Spiced Couscous or these quick Green Beans in Vinaigrette.

Sweet and Spicy Salmon (serves 4)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 lbs skin on salmon fillets
2 1/2 tbsp honey mustard
3/4 tsp chipotle hot sauce
1/2 tsp sriracha sauce (a hot chili sauce)
1/4 tsp dijon mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a baking dish and place salmon skin side down on dish. Combine whisk together remaining ingredients and brush over salmon.

Bake for 20 minutes or until fully cooked.

This salmon should melt in your mouth and has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.

- Lou

Spicy Seared Scallops

I remember exactly how I felt around this time last year, I was getting ready to go into my senior year of high school, I had just made Tomato Garlic Parmesan Couscous and we were having a barbecue.

My sister was heading off for her second year of university and I was gearing up to battle a bad case of early onset senioritis. Fast forward a year, a year of studying – very hard, partying, working, cooking (have posted 89 times!), satisfaction and disappointment. It was a year of driving tests, cottage weekends, beginnings and ends. It was only a year but it really feels like a lifetime.

I wanted to try something new to commemorate this new beginning, something with a little kick, that extra little kick I need to leave my safe, little bubble. I saw this recipe for Spicy Seared Scallops on Martha Stewart’s website and knew right away that I had to make them. I love scallops and I knew these would be perfect with avocado to help balance the spiciness.

Spicy Seared Scallops
Recipe: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

10 scallops, halved
olive oil
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
20 plain rice crackers
1 avocado mashed

Directions

Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut the scallops in half. Prepare rice crackers, by layering mashed avocado on top.

Combine flour, cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, salt and cardamom in a bowl.

Heat olive oil on medium-high in a skillet. Dredge scallops in flour mixture and cook in pan. Flipping once until fully cooked 1-2 minutes per side.

Place scallops on avocado and serve, either warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy these spicy seared scallops, they make an excellent and impressive appetizer.

- Lou

Cocoa and Chili Rubbed Pork

The combination of cocoa and chili has always intrigued me, at first it seemed like such a random combination that I couldn’t imagine that flavor it produced. The first time I heard of this combination was during an episode of Iron Chef America in which Bobby Flay uses the combination of cocoa and chili, then when I was in Mexico earlier this year, I took the plunge and tried a mole sauce (pronounced moh-lay) which is a sauce often used in Mexican cuisine. This sauce can be a mixture of chiles, tomatoes, spices such as cumin, cinnamon and lastly, chocolate. I stumbled upon this recipe for Cocoa and Chili Rubbed Pork the other day and I knew it was something I had to make right away. Unfortunately, the pork chops that had been in my fridge went bad, so I had to wait a few days later until we got some new pork chops. Woops, bad planning. But, I’ll tell you, these cocoa and chili rubbed pork chops were by far worth the wait.

I’m not usually a fan of pork chops, but these were so easy to prepare and they cooked on the grill quickly, and were so juicy and tasty that I don’t think I’ll ever eat pork chops another way again.

Cocoa and Chili Rubbed Pork (makes 6 pork loin chops)
Recipe adapted from: Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients

6 small, boneless pork loin chops
1 quart of water
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper

For rub:
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground coffee

Directions

To prepare the pork, brine chops in 1 quart of water, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper for an hour in the fridge.

In a small bowl, combine chili powders, brown sugar, cocoa powder and coffee.

Remove chops from brine, and sprinkle half the spice blend on one side of all the chops, lightly patting it in before flipped over and sprinkling the remaining half of the spice blend on the chops and lightly patting it in.

Heat grill to medium and cook chops for 4 minutes on one side with the top down, before flipping and cooking an additional 5 minutes or until meat reaches 160 degrees.

Note: Cooking time may vary due to thickness of pork chops, my chops were not very thick so adjust cooking time as necessary.

These pork chops were spicy and one of my favourite meals thus far this summer. Get grilling tonight and make some of these pork chops, they pair perfectly with my Nana’s Coleslaw.

- Lou

Spicy Popcorn

Ah popcorn, the ultimate movie watching snack. Did you know that I love film? I’ve only mentioned it once, or twice, or three times, or four times, so yeah, guess what? I love it. Today I saw Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen’s latest flick, and whew, was it ever good. Did you know that I also love Paris? Although, I feel like everyone loves Paris, or they say they love it, but me, well I really love it. I visited last year during Spring Break, I spent the entire week walking around the city, trying every eclair and macaron I could get my hands on. Spending hours investigating the shops and walking the streets where Julia Child fell in love with food. I was hit with inspiration knowing that I was in the city where Louis Lumiere showed his first film, and just by gazing at the paintings in the Louvre, or my favourite, the Musee D’Orsay made me wish that I could actually paint. A girl can dream, right?

Well this movie, Midnight In Paris has to be one of the best movies of the summer. No, it’s not your typical action, summer blockbuster, but a story of romance and the pursuit of a dream. Definitely a film after my heart. And obviously, popcorn and movies go hand-in-hand, so today, I’m sharing a recipe for a yummy, spicy popcorn. Since I watch an unusual amount of movies, I’m always trying to find different flavorings for my popcorn. This one hit me one day when I was about to sit down and watch The Royal Tennenbaums, a favourite Wes Anderson film of mine.

Spicy Popcorn (makes about 16 cups of popcorn)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions

To pop popcorn, place kernels in a paper bag and roll over the top to seal. Place in the microwave for 2-4 minutes. Popcorn is ready when there are a couple of seconds between pops.

Melt the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds or until completely melted. In a small bowl, mix the seasonings together. Pour the butter over the popcorn and sprinkle with seasonings. Tossing to coat.

What movies are you going to be watching this summer?

- Lou

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

Well, this is weird. I guess I’m a high school graduate? I’ll tell ya, it’s a funny feeling walking down those halls for the last time,

I guess there can be a lot of different feelings about graduating high school, some people are excited, some are scared, some are ready to get the hell out of there, but for me, it’s definitely bitter sweet. On one side, I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life, but on the other hand, I’ve loved high school. Yes, I’ll say it; I’m one of those. The ones who loved high school with all of their being. All of the ups and downs, the crazy nights out, the long nights spent cramming for exams, the soccer games, the barbecues, the laughs, the tears – they’ve made me who I am today.

The first day of 9th grade seems like yesterday. It was a warm morning in September, the sun was pouring through the clouds, I was walking to school with a couple of my friends, we were nervous and excited – it was hard to believe that we were starting high school! While walking to school, I stepped on the back of my friend’s flip flop, and somehow managed to break it in half. So, we had to run home and grab a new pair of shoes, thus making us late for our very first day. Ah, 9th grade was so much fun, although, those seniors were very intimidating. We got up to a lot of stuff we probably shouldn’t have, and from freshman year on, each year kept getting better and better.

Flash forward to senior year, the days when you feel as though you rule the school. Instead of being late on the first day, you’re sitting outside the front entrance with all of your friends looking at all the new, tiny, scared freshmen. These are the days of free periods, teachers who talk to you like adults, and the time when decision making has suddenly become so important. There’s chatter of college and university, gap years, entering averages, acceptances and rejections, and you know what? We’re all scared, terrified in fact, but no one says it. We band tightly together, groups that were separated come together, being closer with everyone means that there’s no time to feel scared and alone.

Senior year was also the year that I realized that I really do love chicken wings. So today, in commemoration of my new found love, I’m sharing a recipe of buffalo chicken wings. Yum.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings (serves 3-4)
Recipe Adapted from: Jeanne on Tip32

Ingredients for wings

2 lbs chicken wings
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Ingredients for sauce

3 1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup ranch dressing
2 tbsp soya sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 400, and line a baking sheet with tin foil.

Toss wings in a bowl with the dry rub. Place wings on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip wings over and cook for another 15 minutes.

While wings are cooking, make the sauce. Heat all the ingredients over medium heat in a small-medium sized pot. Stir the sauce until the ingredients are all incorporated.

Once wings are done cooking, place in a bowl and cover with the buffalo sauce. Toss to coat. Once coated, place the wings back on the baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes on one side, then flip and bake for another 5-7 minutes on the other.

These buffalo wings aren’t too spicy, but you can always up the hot sauce ration in the buffalo sauce for a little extra kick.

Enjoy!

- Lou