hot damn do I love making sushi. cucumber + avocado + crab + spicy mayo is our go-to recipe as well, never thought to use panko though, I'll have to try that next time. here's one of our more photogenic attempts:
Mixing imitation lobster and spicy mayo together into a rough paste and spreading that onto the rice before adding ingredients is awesome as well, you should give that a try.
Anywho, I have a ton of easy and original recipes I can share, here's two off the top of my head:
16 oz cream cheese (two packages), softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 can condensed sweetened milk
1 package cheesecake flavored pudding mix (might as well use the sugar/fat free variety, the end result tastes identical either way)
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp pumpkin spice
1 cup apple butter (homemade in our case, but store bought is fine)
Caramel Sauce
Premade graham pie crust
This couldn't be easier. Mix the first 6 ingredients together until smooth and fluffy, then fold in the apple butter and pour into a premade graham pie crust. Pour a few spoonfuls of the caramel sauce on top and use a knife to swirl into the cheesecake. Refrigerate for absolutely no less than 4 hours, overnight is better. Done.
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 tube of chorizo
1 tsp diced garlic (or 1 clove fresh garlic, diced)
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp tumeric
32 oz container fish stock (usually in the soup aisle next to the chicken broth, I think they're 1 liter)
1 lb box of long-grain rice
Bag frozen mixed seafood, thawed (mine had squid, mussles, cuttlefish, crab and shrimp)
Small bag frozen fully cooked shrimp, thawed with tails removed (about 2-3 cups worth)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 lemon
• Get your biggest, widest frying pan and put it on medium heat
• Add a little cooking oil, about a tablespoon
• Once it's shimmering (about 2 minutes) drain your can of diced tomatoes and cook until the color deepens, about 3-4 minutes stirring constantly
• Add the tube of chorizo and mix. Cook for about 5 minutes. The pan should be full of juices from the chorizo and tomatoes, do NOT drain it. This is a good thing. A very, very good thing.
• Add onion, garlic and tumeric and cook until onion is softened, about 2 minutes
• Dump in your box of rice and stir until all of the rice is coated with the pan juices
• Add as much fish stock as your pan will comfortably fit (or the whole container if it's big enough) and heat until boiling
• Reduce heat, cover and let it simmer. Check every few minutes -- the rice will absorb the moisture very quickly, so keep pouring stock as it cooks until you've added the entire container, otherwise it might burn.
• If you're religious, now is a good time to thank your deity of choice for how amazing your kitchen smells right now. If not, thank me instead.
• After the rice absorbs all of the stock, have a taste to make sure the rice is cooked thoroughly. If it's still crunchy, add increments of 1/4 cup water at a time until the rice is done. 1 liter of stock for 1 lb of long-grain rice should be enough, though.
• Dump in your seafood mix, shrimp, peas and the juice of half a lemon and stir, cook until heated through, about 3-5 minutes.
• If you're feeling brave, at this point you can recreate the best part of an authentic paella, the "crust" of caramelized rice at the bottom. Simply crank the heat to high and let it cook for 1-2 minutes without stirring, then remove from heat. This part's entirely optional.
• Serve with lemon wedges
It might seem intimidating but the ingredients only cost about $30, it takes less than an hour to throw together and it's easily 8 servings, plus it keeps in the fridge very well for up to a week. Oh and it's probably the tastiest fucking thing you'll ever make, assuming you like seafood.
I have a ton more, I'll share them another time.
