Herb-Crusted Salmon

Kyle and I hit up Whole Foods Market for the first time last weekend as we transition our diet into eating solely organic foods and attempting to eat more locally grown foods. I must admit that he had a terrible time pulling me away from the butcher, the cheese monger, and the seafood monger and I'd estimate that nearly half of what we spent that day was divided between these three areas - and I'm not at all ashamed to admit it. I mean, Whole Foods is a 40 minute drive for us and I really didn't know the next time we'd be back (although little did I know then that we're going back tonight) so I loaded up the cart with great meats and cheeses that freeze well and was like a kid in a candy store at the seafood monger as I picked out wild shrimp and wild salmon - two things that we cannot find at the seafood counter in our local supermarket but that I feel are totally worth the extra money (although not that much extra because the wild jumbo shrimp were on sale for $10.99/lb - a bargain in my eyes!).

So back to the salmon. We don't eat a lot of fish. And while I have been fully aware of the health benefits fish provides, it's never been a big part of our diet because of two reasons: 1.) Kyle claims that he's never been a big fan, and 2.) I've been afraid to cook it for fear of it being horrible. I've recently decided that I've had enough of these two excuses and so fish will now be a more regular part of our weekly menus...starting with this salmon we picked up last weekend. I had no idea how to prepare it but bought it anyway, figuring that I can find a recipe when I got home. Well...uhh...I never really found an actual recipe that I wanted to follow but was inspired by Katie's herb-crusted salmon and decided to make a few changes. The salmon was paired with some herb-roasted potatoes (quartered small white potatoes, mixed with garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, Kosher salt, black pepper, and drizzled with olive oil then baked for 35-40 minutes at 400 degrees F) I got 2 big thumbs up from Kyle on this one, a real treat for me to see, and so as my fish confidence rises, you'll be seeing more and more fish dishes here. Enjoy!

Herb-Crusted Salmon

• 2 6oz salmon filets (about 1 1/2" thick)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup garlic and herb breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• couple sprinkles of garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp milk

1. In a medium oven-safe saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Pre-heat broiler in oven and move rack to middle of oven.
2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, adding the milk last and adding enough so that the mixture just starts to stick together when pressed.
3. Cover flesh side of each salmon piece with breadcrumb mixture and carefully place salmon skin-side down in the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
4. Transfer saute pan to oven and continue to cook fish under the broiler for an additional 3-4 minutes or until fish is firm and begins to flake. Be sure that the breading does not burn under the broiler. Using an oven mitt or pot holder, remove the pan from the oven and serve fish. Provided the fish is thoroughly cooked, it will come right off the skin as you eat it.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2

Tuna steaks with Risotto and Butternut Squash w/ Sage

Since discovering how tasty seared tuna steaks are, I've wanted to incorporate more autumnal-type side dishes so that I could be sure the tuna steaks could roll out of a summer meal and into fall without a hitch. I think I've found a couple sides that really made this happen, and at least one side that I am already planning to add to my arsenal for other meals.

This was my first attempt at risotto and personally, I think it turned out beautifully but Kyle wasn't at all thrilled with it - not so much the flavor but the texture of the risotto itself. Ah well, can't please everyone always! I'll make it again for myself and I've now got a whole tub of it left over to master rice pudding this fall and winter!

Since I've decided to cut down on pasta and potatoes in our diets, I've been looking for new veggies other than our typical broccoli and asparagus. Inspired by the dishes that Cara over at Cara's Cravings has come up with using squash, I decided to find my own. I opened up my Great Foods Fast cookbook from the Martha Stewart kitchens and came across a delicious new recipe that Kyle loved and commented that it's a great substitute for potatoes.

And to tie the meal together, I made a balsamic syrup to top the tuna but that was also amazing drizzled on top of the sqaush.

Basic Risotto

from Everyday Italian
Giada De Laurentiis

• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Marsala)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated black pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, abring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep hot over lot heat.
2. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 mintues. Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and stir until amost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cuip at a time, sitrring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining tbsp of butter, and the salt and pepper. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 4

Butternut Squash with Sage
from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast
from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 lbs butternut squash, pelled, seeded, and cut into 3/4 inch pieces (I cut them into 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp dried
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (the original recipe doesn't call for this but it was a nice addition)
• 1/4 cup water

1. Melt the butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the squash and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing frequently, until the squash is lightly browned, 5-6 minutes.
2. Add 1/4 cup water and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the squash is fork-tender, 8-10 minutes.
3. Toss with sage

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 4

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

A new cookbook has emerged in my kitchen - Everyday Food: Great Food Fast (from the Martha Stewart Kitchens). I know I've raved about it a past post so I'll save my breath this time but I have to rave about the Spicy Black Bean Cakes that came out of this cookbook.

Oh. My. Goodness. SO GOOD!! I'm not known to be a "spicy kind of girl" and I've NEVER made anything with fresh spicy chilis but I've watched enough FoodNetwork to know that you can dramatically reduce the heat of a chili pepper by removing the seeds and pulp (carefully of course, avoiding direct contact with the seeds - which is where the heat of the chili lies - and avoiding touching my eyes before thoroughly washing my hands). So that's what I did. I wanted the flavor of the jalepeno chili sans heat.

The premise of the cookbook is that you can really make great food in a decent amount of time (usually under 30 minutes) and the recipe states that it should take 20 min to prep the cakes. It took me about 25-30, mostly because of the time it took to remove the seeds and pulp from the jalepeno. The extra time was well worth it though and I am so pleased with the result - and I will definitely be making these again. I paired them with my garlic-cilantro-lime marinated grilled chicken and about 1/2 lb shrimp that "got happy" all day in the same marinade (separate bags though), and the suggested lime sour cream that the cookbook suggested to serve with the cakes. YUM!!

I've had some trouble finding the recipe on Martha's website so below is the recipe directly from the cookbook.

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

• 2 tbsp olive oil (I only used one and sprayed the cookie sheet with Pam)
• 4 scallions, thinly cut
• 1 small jalepeno chili, finely minced (I used 3/4 of the jalepeno)
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I used 1 can)
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to Broil and adjust rack to between 4 and 6 inches from the broiler.

In a medium frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Cook scallions for 2 minutes, add garlic, jalepeno, and cumin; cook for 30 seconds until fragrent; remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. To the hot mixture, add black beans. Mash beans into hot mixture, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole; season generously with salt and pepper. Fold in sweet potato, egg, and bread crumbs and work the mixture until everything is well-incorporated.

Coat a cookie sheet with remaining olive oil (again, I sprayed it with Pam instead of using the olive oil). Scoop a handleful of the mixture out and pat into a small patty, about the size and shapes of a crab cake. The mixture will make 8 cakes. Place the cakes on the sheet; broil for 10 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over and broil for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 12-13 minutes

Serves: 2-4

Lime Sour Cream

• 1 cup low-fat sour cream
• 4 tsp freshly-squeezed lime juice
• 1 jalepeno, finely minced (I subbed this out for a handful of chopped fresh cilantro)

Combine ingredients and serve with cakes.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

Garlic-Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken and Shrimp

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/2 inch thick
• 1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (fresh works best for this dish)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 limes
• 4 tbsp honey
• 6 tbsp olive oil

Separate marinade ingredients in half (except for the limes - 2 for the chicken, 1 for the shrimp). In 2 Ziploc bags, add all marinade ingredients, and squeeze around in the bags to combine them well. Squeeze in lime juice (again, 2 limes for chicken and 1 for shrimp). Add chicken and shrimp to their respective bags and squeeze all the air out of the bags before closing. Work the marinade around the chicken and shrimp. Refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours (or even overnight).

Grill chicken for 10-12 minutes, flipping once after 8 minutes. Add shrimp to grill (metal or wooden skewers work great) during the last 2 minutes of cooking the chicken. Turn shrimp once. Serve with black bean cakes.

Active prep time: 10 minutes

Inactive prep time: 8-10 hours

Cook time: 10-12 minutes

Serves: 2

Tuna...The New Red Meat...

at least in my house! Holy cow was this good! Kyle and I had eaten lots of fish while on our honeymoon in Hawaii last year and got pretty spoiled by it. And now for my confession...I've NEVER made fish aside from whatever comes out of the freezer section. I know, I know...how did I grow up in a coastal community (Long Island, NY) and manage to never learn how to cook fish? Beats me!

Nonetheless, I took the plunge last week and picked up a big tuna steak (that I cut in two) and 2 HUGE sea scallops. I was bound and determined to prepare a healthy seafood meal that reminded me of a fancy dinner we had in Hawaii while overlooking the setting sun on the Pacific Ocean. After lots of searching online to make sure I felt confident enough to cook the tuna without ruining it, I came across a great recipe for balsamic-glazed tuna on CookingLight.com.

The glaze was a touch on the sweet side and I think the next time I make it, I will cut out 1 tsp of brown sugar. While only making 2 tuna steaks, I did make the full amount of glaze because the reviews on the website said that 1 tbsp of glaze wasn't enough per serving. This recipe calls to grill the tuna but I seared it alongside the 2 scallops on a griddle that attachs to our gas grill's side burner and cooked them for 4-6 minutes per side (4min for my med-rare and 6min for Kyle's medium) over low heat. I cooked the scallops for 5 minutes per side - they were about 1 1/2" thick before cooking.

I paired the tuna and scallops with brown rice that I cooked in chicken broth and garlic powder and a vegetable salad that Kyle came up with and prepared all on his own - see below. (I was SO proud of him!) The vegetable salad was a wonderful and light addition to the meal and we will definitely make it again.

Balsamic-Glazed Tuna

• Cooking spray
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 3/4 inch thick)
• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 4 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup diagonally sliced green onions
• sesame seeds (the recipe didn't call for these but I pressed them into the tuna before searing)

Place a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Sprinkle pepper and salt over fish. Place fish in grill pan; cook 3 minutes on each side until medium-rare or desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, combine broth, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spoon glaze over fish; top with green onions.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes (including rice)

Serves: 4

Serving size: 1 steak and 1 tablespoon glaze

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 266 (29% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 2.2g,mono 2.3g,poly 2.9g); PROTEIN 40.3g; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 11mg; SODIUM 366mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 4.6g

Source: Marianne Marinelli , Cooking Light, JANUARY 1999

Vegetable Salad

• 1 1/2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all indgredients and serve cold.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: none

Serves: 4

WC Platinum Chef Challenge Round 3

Ina Garten's Crunchy Noodle Salad
Round 3 WC Platinum Chef Challenge

I feel like a little blogging maniac tonight! This is my 4th post tonight but its only because I haven't posted anything in 2 weeks - withdrawal!!

So the past couple of weeks have been crazy (not a whole lot of cooking - *gasp!*) and I skipped the WC Platinum Chef Challenge Round 2 but I was bound and determined to get back into the challenge for this round. Cara has been hosting this challenge and posted the 5 new ingredients for this round last week: wine, peanut butter, honey, onions, and seafood.

I got right to thinking about a recipe or two that would emcompass all of these ingredients when I remembered a recipe I had filed away both in the back of my mind and in my recipe book that I was dying to make which used peanut butter and honey. Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network) Crunchy Noodle Salad called for peanut butter, honey, and to my surprise, scallions (green onions) - I would only need to add wine and seafood to the dish to complete the challenge! Ina pairs it salmon but I added shrimp because, well, that's what I had in my freezer. :) And what a better time to make a salad than on a rare 95 degree evening here in New England!

Its a long list of ingredients but Kyle joined me in the kitchen tonight and took on making the sauce while I prepped the veggies, which really helped to cut down on the prep time. All told, I loved it, giving it a 4 out of 5 - to me, it had a little bit of a Thai taste, without the heat or the coconut - just the way I like it! :) Kyle, on the other hand wasn't all that fond of it (although he polished off his serving while I was taking photos of my serving) and gave it a 2 out of 5. I will make it again, but only when I'm bringing it for a pot luck or serving it amongst other things at my house for a gathering (i.e., not for a main course for Kyle and myself). Of course, I made some modifications, which are noted below the recipe.

Crunchy Noodle Salad

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound cooked (and cooled) shrimp, peeled and deveined*
• 1/2 pound thin spaghetti
• 1 pound sugar snap peas*
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoon chardonney wine*
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger*
• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted*
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded, and thinly sliced
• 4 scallions (with and green parts), sliced diagonally
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted*
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves*

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas, return to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes, until crisp tender. Lift the sugar snap peas from the water with a slotted spoon and immerse them in a bowl of ice water. Drain.*

For the dressing, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, peanut butter, salt, to taste, and the pepper, in a medium bowl.

Combine the spaghetti, sugar snap peas*, peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the scallions, the parsley*, and the shrimp and mix again.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 9-11 minutes

Serves: 4-6

* Modifications

1. The recipe doesn't call for it, but I added cooked shrimp to make it a well-rounded meal and to satify the requirements of the WC Platinum Chef Challenge.
2. I'm not a fan of sugar snap peas, so I omitted them and the whole step that includes them.
3. Again to satisfy the Challenge requirements, I added a little wine to the dressing.
4. I totally forgot the recipe called for fresh ginger when I shopped this week, so we used ground ginger.
5. Toasting the sesame seeds required too much heat to be generated on such a hot night so we didn't toast them.
6. I don't favor parsley so I omitted this as well.

Addendum:

I wouldn't normally post something like this but since Kyle felt like being a "chef" on his own after not being fulfilled by the Crunchy Noodle Salad and not wanting to go back for seconds (fine by me - lunch tomorrow!), he decided to whip up a little something of his own...the result...

Loaded Mashed Potato Hot Dog Boats

Gotta let the man be happy, right?

Sunday Night Seafood

Kyle and I tried out two new recipes this weekend (I forgot to take pics of the other one) and this one was so worth waiting for a little extra time on the weekend to really enjoy preparing it together. We don't get a lot of time during the week to cook together but when we have the chance, we work like "2 peas in a pod," as my gramma likes to dub the two of us in the kitchen. Cooking with Kyle is one of the activities I really enjoy most that we do as a couple. Anyhow...we tested another Giada recipe tonight, this one from her relatively new Everyday Pasta cookbook. A winner!

A few tweaks from the chefs:

1. we halved the recipe but still used 3 cloves of garlic (you can never go wrong with extra garlic!) and 2 shallots
2. we defrosted some frozen shrimp (cooked, peeled, and deveined) we bought in bulk and added them to the hot mixture (just before adding the spaghetti) to heat them up
3. we substitued the sun-dried tomatoes for roasted red peppers and it was delicious (Kyle doesn't care for sun-dried tomatoes)
4. instead of whole clams (with shells), we used a can of chopped clams and some of the juice
5. the arugula was a wee bit overpowering and next time we'll substitute fresh spinach
6. we added some freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving for a little extra tasty touch

Spaghetti with Pinot Grigio and Seafood

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups Pinot Grigio (or other dry white wine)
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups arugula, tough stems removed

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and the garlic and cook for 3 minutes, until tender but not brown. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add the wine, shrimp, and clams. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the shrimp are pink and the clams have opened, about 7 minutes.
Add the spaghetti to the seafood mixture. Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the arugula. Stir gently and place on a serving platter. Serve immediately.