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Apricot salmon with a kick

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on May 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Apricot salmon with mushroom risotto and corn on the cob

This is Part 2 of the Meal of Deliciousness. Admittedly, the picture isn’t all that great, but this is one of my favorite salmon recipes (discovered haphazardly in one Suzanne H.’s kitchen on that fateful day in college). The ingredients may sound a little weird, but just trust me on this one. The finished product mixes them divinely.

Ingredients

There are absolutely no measurements to this concoction, but I’ll do my best to estimate. The estimated measurements are for one serving of salmon.

  • 1 serving of fresh salmon
  • 1 Tbs apricot preserves
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (a few sprinkles, based on how much of a kick you want it to have)
It would also be delicious with orange marmalade instead of apricot preserves.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. It really couldn’t be much easier. The biggest issue is deciding whether you want to tent-bake or bake it in a pan.
  1. To tent-bake, place the salmon on a piece tinfoil about the size of a dinner plate. Sprinkle on the cayenne pepper, then spread the apricot preserves over the top, and drizzle with honey.
  2. Connect 2 sides of the tinfoil at the top and fold that edge to seal it. It should now look like a tube-shaped tent. Fold up the ends to seal so that no air can escape.
  3. Place on a pan and bake 15-20 minutes depending on how big the salmon is. If you use the tent-baking method, you must split up the salmon into separate servings and “tent” each serving separately.
  4. If you use a pan instead, use something with a lid (or seal with tinfoil). Just place the salmon directly on the plan, place the toppings, cover and bake.
I really with I had a better picture to show this dish in all its simple, delicious splendor. Oh well. I guess you just have to make it for yourself.

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Creamy mushroom risotto

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on May 17, 2011| 3 Comments »

Dinner plate with salmon, corn and mushroom risotto

Mushrooms are probably my favorite food. Salmon makes the Top 10. Fresh corn is pretty high up on the list too. All that to say…. this was a good day.

I’ll post about how to make the Apricot Salmon With a Kick later in the week, but I want to talk about the mushroom risotto today. I had always wanted to make risotto, but I never got around to it until I saw this recipe from Rachael Ray. She calls it “Wild Mushroom Risotto,” but I don’t even know what porcini mushrooms are, so I just used plain ol’cheapo ‘shrooms. It turned out delicious, so I guess I have no idea what I’m missing with the porcini mushrooms.

Ingredients

I changed around a few minor things from her recipe. Here’s my version.

  • 1 8-oz. carton mushrooms, chopped into chunks
  • 1 quart beef broth
  • 1 quart water
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 1/4 cup onion, chopped small
  • 2 cups Arborio rice (or any short-grain rice, if you can’t find Arborio)
  • 1/2 cooking sherry
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2-3/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste
I actually had most of this on hand already. I only had to buy the mushrooms – and they were on sale!

Directions

You can’t toss it on the stove and walk away for 20 minutes, but I learned that risotto is a lot more low-maintenance than I was originally led to believe.

  1. Place mushrooms, broth and water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer.
  2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium or medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and sauté for a couple of minutes more, stirring frequently.
  3. Add the sherry and let the liquid evaporate. Add several ladles of the beef broth and reduce heat to medium, medium-low. Simmer and stir frequently until the liquid is mostly absorbed.
  4. Remove the mushrooms from the broth and add them to the rice. Add several more ladles of broth to the rice, and continue stirring until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Continue this pattern of adding broth and letting it absorb, until the rice is cooked to al dente (almost completely soft).
  5. Stir in thyme and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I would go lighter on the salt since the broth is already salted). The actual cooking process (not counting prep) should take 20-30 minutes, but like I mentioned, you don’t have to totally babysit the thing. You can have other things going at the same time. When you’re finished, the risotto should be a creamy consistency from all the starches releasing. Note: You might not use all the broth, so don’t worry if it seems done and you have some broth left over.

We had the leftovers with lunch the next day, and it kept really well in the refrigerator. I’m not a huge fan of being able to taste a lot of thyme in my food, but this dish was SO GOOD. I’m pretty sure I had to stop Stephen from getting thirds (“Don’t you want some tomorrow with lunch?”).

Apricot Salmon With a Kick to come in a later post.

Sautéing the rice as the sherry evaporates:

Sauteing the arborio rice for risotto

Broth with mushrooms:

Beef broth with mushrooms

With the first round of broth:

Cooking risotto with beef broth

After adding the mushrooms and the second round of broth:

Making mushroom risotto

I lost count with the broth…

The risotto is getting close to being done

After mixing in the thyme and parmesan:

Mushroom risotto with thyme and parmesan cheese

All done!

Finished mushroom risotto

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Sushi rolls

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , on May 5, 2011| 7 Comments »

Sushi roll on blue cutting board

I know, I know. It isn’t officially “sushi.” There is no raw fish, nor is it entirely authentic. I don’t care. It’s delicious, and I can eat it without cleaning out my wallet. Don’t get me wrong – I loooooove “real” sushi. But a girl can only afford to eat so much “real” sushi before thinking real hard about her retirement fund.

So anyway…

Sushi rolls. The type that you can make at home with just a few basic tools. All you need is a little bamboo sushi mat for rolling, some sheets of dried seaweed, and some rice. The rest of it is entirely up to you. I’ll include what I used this time.

Ingredients

Sorry… there is no way I can include measurements. It all depends on how much sushi you want to make, so you can just estimate how much you want to use for your particular roll.

  • Several sheets of dried seaweed. This is the “wrapper” on the outside. (Yes, it’s edible.) I bought a pack of 20 from World Market for a few dollars.
  • Short-grain white rice (you can buy official “sushi rice,” but any short-grain white rice will do. Short-grain rice is more sticky than longer-grain varieties.
  • Fake crab meat cut into thin slices (it comes in packages, it’s fully cooked, and it’s usually made out of other types of fish. It looks similar to crab meat, but it’s a lot cheaper.) You can also use cooked shrimp instead if you like.
  • Avocado, cut into thin slices
  • Carrot, shaved into thin strings with a vegetable peeler
  • Cucumber, shaved into thin strings with a vegetable peeler
  • Cream cheese, cut into really thin strips from a block of cream cheese
  • Ground cayenne pepper
These are just suggested ingredients – use whatever you want!

Directions

The most time-consuming part is (a) cooking the rice, and (b) slicing the vegetables.
  1. Cook the rice the the recommended amount of time. Let it cool before using it for sushi, or else the heat will distort the seaweed wrapper.
  2. Slice everything into strings.
  3. Spread rice onto a seaweed wrapper, staying away from the edges so it doesn’t ooze out.
  4. Make a little indentation in the rice, and line up all the “innards.” I sprinkled a little cayenne pepper on it too, for some extra kick.
  5. Gently roll everything up using the mat. Press it gently, but don’t squeeze too hard or it will come out the sides.
  6. Slice with a damp knife. Using chopsticks. Dip in soy sauce and/or wasabi paste. Sigh with contentment.
vegetables sliced up on cutting board
Sushi before rolling
4 sushi rolls on a plate
Close-up of sushi roll
Dipping sushi in soy sauce with chopsticks

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Split pea soup – Or, the ugly duckling

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , on April 9, 2011| 4 Comments »

Homemade split pea soup in white dish

It’s not much to look at. If you’ve never had it, you can probably imagine a lot of things you’d rather eat. But to those of us who have tasted good split pea soup, it is a beautiful sight to behold.

Back when I was looking for a split pea soup recipe, it seemed like they all involved some random piece of meaty bone that you boil with the soup and then discard. I’m not a huge fan of spending money on something I’m just going to throw out, so this recipe was the solution.

I can’t remember where I got this recipe. Off the internet somewhere a while back? Who knows. I made plenty of changes anyway. 🙂

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped (I never peel my carrots if I’m putting them in soup. It’s a waste of time. It’s not like they have a “shell” or anything; the only reason we peel them is because they’re not pretty.)
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 16-oz bag dried split peas (sift through the bag and check to make sure there are no tiny rocks mixed in!)
  • 8 cups chicken broth (I use fat-free low-sodium)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt-free seasoning blend (I used a random “savory” mixture I had on hand. You probably have one of those too, but if not, splash together some thyme, basil, etc…)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • A few good shakes of Cholula hot sauce (This sauce is one of my staples. I grew up on it. Stephen is now addicted. You can use another hot sauce if you don’t have Cholula, though.)

You may be tempted to avoid the red pepper and hot sauce. Don’t. My friend Andrea is very sensitive to spicy foods, and she didn’t think it was spicy at all. It just adds extra flavor, I promise!

Directions

It’s actually very easy, especially if you’re lazy like me and mash the soup with a potato masher instead of puréeing it in a food processor or blender (hey, it’s fewer dishes to wash!).

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sautée the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until onion is translucent. Stir occasionally – it should just take about 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in the split peas. After about 30 seconds, stir in the broth, seasonings and salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer (lid still on!) for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  3. Mash with a potato masher. If you want a perfectly velvety soup, you can purée it in a food processor or blender, but mashing it actually does a pretty good job otherwise.

We ate it with homemade biscuits. Perfect.

Soup vegetables in pot - carrots, onions, celery, garlic, olive oil

Ready to add the peas:

Sauteed vegetables in pot

 

Herbs in soup ready to start cooking

 

Split pea soup after mashing

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Mom’s amazing gingerbread cookies

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on March 31, 2011| 2 Comments »

homemade gingerbread cookies with raisins

I have no idea where she got this recipe. All I know is, it was a legend in our family, and I have very fond memories of this special treat. It’s fun, versatile, easy, unique and delicious. Really, it’s that awesome.

My sister-in-law, Rebecca, came over and made these with me tonight, molding them into adorable shapes and popping them in the oven. That, coupled with watching the movie Julie & Julia while the dough was in the refrigerator, made us feel all culinary and inspired and French. We can dream.

Ingredients

It’s actually pretty basic. The only thing you might not have on hand is molasses. It looks like a long list, but it’s mostly just spices.

  • 1 cup butter (I always use unsalted)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed down in the measuring cup)
  • 2/3 cup molasses
  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves (optional, but I always use it)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

I also sometimes use raisins on the cookies when I’m molding them into shapes.

Directions

You need to set aside a little time to make these, but it’s mostly just waiting. There’s hardly any busy work. I made a second batch of dough tonight to bring to a friend’s house tomorrow so we can just mold it into shapes and bake it.

  1. Melt the butter, brown sugar and molasses together in a medium saucepan. Stir, and then let cool for at least 10 minutes (If it’s too hot, it will scald the egg).
  2. Combine all remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
  3. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture, then immediately add it to the flour mixture and stir well. Cover and chill the dough at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  4. Form shapes on ungreased cookie sheets (I always use Airbake cookie sheets, they’re amazing. Its virtually impossible to burn the bottom of your cookies on those.). Make sure they’re not too close together, because they do rise a little. Bake 12-15 minutes at 325°. Remove from pan and let cool (or not…).

They’re awesome with milk, but sadly I didn’t have any in my refrigerator tonight. Thanks for baking with me, Becca!

Melting butter with molasses and brown sugar

 

Dry ingredients in mixing bowl

 

Melted butter, molasses, brown sugar, egg and vanilla

 

Mixing bowl with dry and liquid ingredients

 

Gingerbread cookie dough after refrigerating

 

Cookie dough twist

Becca is neat and organized. Here are her cookies lined up in pretty rows:

Organized cookies

I am random and sporadic. Here are my cookies sprawled all over the cookie sheet:

Random sporadic cookies on cookie sheet

Et voilà!

Homemade braided gingerbread cookie

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