Smoked Mussel Tapenade

This smoked mussel tapenade is a savory delight, heaped upon toasted bread or even stirred through hot pasta. The mussel flavor is subtle but super tasty!  

We’ve been spoiled this year from mid-August through mid-November because, staying in the Channel Islands, the most delightful mussels cooked with garlic and cream are available at many restaurants. The island’s own farmed stocks were much depleted by an invasion of spider crabs (Who knew that spider crabs are a natural predator for mussels? Not me!) but the Scottish mussels substituted were wonderful. 

We are back in Houston now and while there are fresh mussels nearby, they are a larger variety than we are fond of. We like ‘em small, truth be told. 

So, for this month’s Fish Friday Foodies challenge with mussels as the main ingredient, I decided to go a different direction and use canned ones. I found a few recipes online that were easily adaptable and sounded tasty. And then I went to three supermarkets and couldn’t find smoked mussels in any of them. 

Trader Joe’s to the rescue! An internet search – which I admit I should have done in the first place – said that Trader Joe’s has smoked mussels so I called my nearest one. The lovely person who answered the phone actually went to look and reported back that, indeed, he had smoked mussels on the shelf. When I told him that he was wonderful, he joked, “Wait a sec while I get my wife on the line so you can tell her.” Never mind his wife, I hope his employer appreciates him! 

Smoked Mussel Tapenade

This recipe is adapted from one on Wendi’s AIP Kitchen. Nonpareil capers are the little small ones. If you are using larger capers, you might want to use more than 1 tablespoon because of the space between them as you measure. 

Ingredients

3 1/2 oz or 100g (about 30-32) oil-cured olives (Pits still in are better!)

2 cloves garlic, chopped roughly

1 can (4.02oz or 114g) lightly smoked mussels in extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon nonpareil capers

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped green onions (just the green part) plus extra for garnish

Method

Pit the olives with an olive pitter or by hitting them with the flat side of a large knife on a cutting board and pulling the pit free. I suggest you count the olives and then count the pits afterwards. You do not want to leave a pit in an olive. 

Drain the olive oil off of the mussels and reserve two tablespoons of it. 

Place the olives, garlic, drained mussels, capers, lemon juice and most of the green onions (reserve a small amount for garnish) in a mini food processor along with the reserved two tablespoons of olive oil from the mussels. 

Process, scraping down the bowl as needed, until you get a chunky spread. 

Remove to a serving bowl or ramekin and garnish with the reserved green onions. 

Serve at room temperature on toast. Delicious! This would be a great appetizer with a crisp white wine or chilled beer. We ate it heaped on the toast for lunch! So good. Leftovers were tossed with hot buttered pasta. Divine.

Enjoy!

It’s the third Friday of the month so it’s time for my Fish Friday Foodies to share seafood recipes. As mentioned above, our main ingredient/theme this month is mussels. We are small but mighty this month. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Creamy Garlic Mussels and Spaghetti from Palatable Pastime
• Garlic and Herb Steamed Mussels from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mussels with White Wine and Garlic from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Smoked Mussel Tapenade from Food Lust People Love

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Glazed Donut Bread Pudding #BundtBakers

The best recipe for leftover donuts, this Glazed Donut Bread Pudding is sweet, buttery and absolutely delicious! Serve it plain, with cream or ice cream! It's pretty much the perfect dessert, and better still, uses up something you might have tossed.

Here in Houston, we have a hometown favorite donut shop. It’s named Shipley Do-Nuts but everyone calls it Shipley's despite its official lack of an apostrophe and s. When their glazed donuts are hot and fresh, there is no better treat. We ration ourselves because they are not, ahem, a healthy breakfast but sometimes, only a hot glazed from Shipley's will do. 

A tip: When it's your turn to order, you must ask for "hot glazed" or they might not give you the most recently cooked ones. Oh, they'll still be fresh, just not warm. We like the warm ones the best. 

The leftovers, if there are any, tend to languish. They aren’t great the next day, even warmed in the microwave for a few seconds. They are, however, fabulous for making bread pudding! 

My husband is a fan of all bread puddings but we both agree that this one is special. You can really taste the glazed donut flavor still and it’s soft and just the right amount of sweet. If you have leftover donuts, I highly encourage you to try it. 

That said, and just for the record, I bought donuts this time specifically to make this bread pudding the next day. It’s that good. 

Glazed Donut Bread Pudding

Do not skip the extra step of double buttering the Bundt pan to ensure that the bread pudding will release from the pan. I would also suggest you use a fairly plain Bundt pan, not one with a lot of nooks and crannies. This makes one 6-cup Bundt bread pudding. 

Ingredients

Butter for greasing the Bundt pan

6 glazed yeast donuts, at least one day old

2 eggs

3/4 cup or 180ml heavy cream

1/3 cup or 80ml milk

1/4 cup or 50g brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

Prepare a 6-cup Bundt pan by brushing it liberally with melted butter. Put it in the refrigerator till the butter gets hard and opaque. Brush it again with cool melted butter. If your kitchen is too warm, keep the pan chilled until ready to use. 

Cut each donut in half through the equator then cut it again into smaller pieces.  Set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk your eggs. Add the milk, cream, brown sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk again. 

Add the donut pieces to the bowl and stir well till they are coated. 

Set aside for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow the donuts to fully soak up the liquid. If you need to set the bowl aside for longer, cover it with cling film and refrigerate. 

When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Spoon the donut mixture into your prepared double-buttered Bundt pan. 

Put the Bundt pan inside another larger pan to catch any butter than might drip over the sides during baking. You can skip this step but, trust me, it’s easier to wash a pan that clean the oven. 

Bake your bread pudding for about 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.  As you can see, when it first comes out, it's still bubbling! 

Cool in the pan for about five minutes then loosen the edges.

Turn the bread pudding out onto a serving plate. You can serve it warm, just cut it carefully with a serrated knife. 

Slice and serve with pouring cream or ice cream. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the third Thursday of the month so that means it’s time for my Bundt Baker friends to share recipes baked in Bundt pans. This month we are all baking bread pudding with various flavors. Make sure to check out the diverse links below. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Bread Pudding Recipe From My Mom from Patyco Candybar
• Brown Bread Dark Chocolate Bread Bundt Pudding from Sneha’s Recipe
• Fall Harvest Bread Pudding from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Glazed Donut Bread Pudding from Food Lust People Love
• Pumpkin Bread Pudding from Palatable Pastime

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

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Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread #BreadBakers

This Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread is leavened with baking powder and soda, no waiting on a rise. It mixes up quickly. Enjoy a savory, tasty loaf with only 55-60 minutes of baking.

This month my fellow Bread Bakers and I are sharing recipes to celebrate the harvest, using seasonal produce. Where I am right now, spinach is a year-round crop so it’s always seasonal! 

I almost always have a bag of fresh spinach in the refrigerator to eat as salad or to toss in pasta dishes, soups and stews. Spinach adds flavor and much needed vitamins and iron to any diet. I always have frozen spinach in the freezer! 

Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread 

This recipe was adapted from one on Every Day Healthy Recipes. Do not skip the spinach drying step to make sure your bread batter is not too wet. 

Ingredients

4 oz or 115g fresh baby spinach

2 cups or 250g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 oz or 84g extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

3/4 cup or 185g Greek style natural yogurt

3 tablespoons canola or other light oil, plus extra for the pan

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 9.5 in or 23cm loaf pan by greasing it lightly and lining it with baking parchment. 

Rinse and dry your spinach thoroughly with a salad spinner or, if you don’t have one, put the spinach in a clean towel and go outside and swing it around vigorously so that centrifugal force dries it out. If your spinach says wash and ready to eat, just do the drying part.  

Chop the spinach roughly with a knife then pulse it in a food processor until finely chopped but not pureed.

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt and stir thoroughly using a whisk. Tip in most of the grated cheese, reserving some for the top, and stir to coat it with the flour mixture. 

In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, yogurt and minced garlic until well combined.  

Add the chopped spinach and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Pour the spinach mixture into the flour bowl and fold gently until just combined. 

Spoon the thick batter into your prepared pan, smooth out the top with a spatula or spoon and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top. 

Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean). If it browns too much before it’s cooked through, cover the top with foil. 

Remove the loaf from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes then lift out of the pan with the paper and place on a rack to cool. 

Once cool, slice to serve. This bread was wonderful just as it is and also excellent toasted.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it's Bread Baker time and we are sharing recipes with seasonal produce. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.

• Broccoli & Oats Sandwich Bread - Gluten Free by Sneha’s Recipe
• Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Cranberry Orange Beet Bread by Palatable Pastime
• Honeyed Spelt and Oat Levain by A Messy Kitchen
• Pomegranate and Blueberry Jam Milk Buns by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin Nasturtium Pull Apart Bread by Cook with Renu
• Sweet Potato and Cranberry Quick Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Winter Squash Sourdough Boules by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

 

Pin this Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread! 

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