Introduction
By now, you must have a pretty decent idea of what a Shake-Ups is. No? I’ll just assume you’re new here, in which case, welcome aboard. This is Chowder Express, and I’m your guide, Courtenay Hachey. Today’s destination, Shake-Up town.
In case you have been reading my blogs or, better yet, have a copy of my book, then I must first commend you on your fine taste. Loving the Shake-Ups? I hope you love them as much as I do. But in case you are new here and have no idea what’s going on, then I invite you to take a seat, a deep breath, and develop a big appetite, for we are about to head into unchartered territories of deliciousness.
Understanding The Shake-Ups
Shake-Ups are not your average cooking concept. if anything, they are an upgrade on your average cooking concepts. You’ll soon find that they are the key to salvation for your leftovers. So let’s say you cooked a delicious batch of Coconut curry chowder (recipe included in the book) and have had your fill. Now, you are just staring down the leftover chowder and wondering what you’ll be doing next. But before you make a rash decision, I want you to consider what can become of this wonderful leftover.
- You can convert it into chicken Meatballs with Rice noodles
- You can make chicken fried rice with it
- Or, you can make coconut curry chicken wings with it.
The choice is yours, but the possibilities are endless. The central idea remains the same: do not waste food! Instead, make the most of it and put your creative talents to good use. Reuse and recycle people; food doesn’t deserve to be wasted just because there’s an abundance of it. Here’s an example: Should you have leftovers from subs/hoagies & the bun is on the soggy side, take out the meat, cheese, and veg, chop it up, put it over greens & turn it into a gorgeous large salad. Or, put it between 2 fresh slices of bread, add some cheese & make the best decadent grilled cheese ever.
This is the concept that I’m preaching in my book, Chowders & Shake-Ups for the Week where a single dish of any kind of chowder can be used to create a lot of Shake-Ups. The ideas can be used to simplify cooking for the rest of the week and introduce new flavors that complement the already exemplary flavors of chowder.
I Want To Make a Shake-Up
Creating Shake-Ups is a practical experimentation of food combinations. My passion for food has been there since I was a kid, as me and my siblings were raised by our parents through their Pierogi business in Pennsylvania.
Over the years, I learned to shamelessly love anything food. Not only do I love food, but I try new recipes and upgrade them, which I dub my cooking concepts. You’d be surprised to know that I have a long history in the finance industry. However, my true passion has always been food, so I turned a full 360 later in my career and returned to my roots, which is cooking.
But that’s enough about me; let’s turn back to Shake-Ups. Suppose you have read my book or my words have inspired you, and now you want to make a Shake-Up of your own. Start by recreating the Shake-Ups from my cookbook. By creating a chowder and its corresponding shake-ups, you familiarize yourself with the flavors and ingredients that go hand in hand to create a perfect and well-balanced dish. The shake-ups are not random creations; rather, there’s some sense and logic behind each one.
For example, take chicken corn chowder. It is a traditional chowder that is quite popular, and many of us have already had it at least once. What do you think should be its Shake-Ups? Take a few moments here; once done, keep reading onwards.
Done?
Well, the combination of chicken and corn is almost universal and perfect for a number of dishes. One of those is pasta. By adding pasta to your chicken corn chowder, you are creating flavors we are already familiar with. Next, we are also used to having chicken and corn with pizza, yet another classic combination. The final Shake-Up you will find for chicken corn chowder is Mediterranean salad, which is a perfect carrier for the flavors of the chowder while also containing the goodness of vegetables. A light meal that you can enjoy during lunch break or when you don’t feel like eating too much.
It’s Easy But Logical!
That wasn’t so hard, was it? In my book, I have shared recipes for a wide range of original chowder that I believe will get you guys excited all on their own. The Shake-Ups are there to make things even livelier and help you get through the rest of the week with some tasty dishes that don’t need you to start from scratch. In my opinion, Shake-Ups are the real stars of the book as they break the conventional norms of throwing away the leftovers in the trash.
So be brave and bold, and have the passion to experiment with your food. My book is available on Amazon for you to order. It’s the perfect place to start and learn how you can take your culinary enthusiasm to the next level.
