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Category Archives: Seafood

Salmon, Corn, and Tomato Pasta in Pesto

Posted on August 10, 2010 by amydeline

I have leftover basil pesto in my fridge from Friday night’s Wine and Cheese soirée. It would be a crime to let it go to waste. So, I planned a dinner around it. A few salmon fillets that have been chillin’ in my freezer and some candy-sweet summer corn sealed the deal. A handful of ripe baby tomatoes begged to join and I couldn’t resist. Voilà. Dinner.

Salmon, Corn, and Tomato Pasta in Pesto

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Salmon Fillets
  • 3 ears Corn
  • 2 cups Baby Roma Tomatoes (or other small, sweet tomatoes), cut into halves or quarters
  • 1/2 cup Basil Pesto, recipe here
  • 1 box Rotini (or other pasta)
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season salmon with a bit of salt and pepper. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until fully cooked. When cool enough to handle, cut into small pieces. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook corn for 8 minutes. Cool in cold water. Cut the kernels from the cob. Cook the pasta according to package directions in lightly salted water. Drain. Toss the warm pasta with pesto, corn, salmon, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Serves about 6

Simple. Fresh. Delicious.

8 Comments

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Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Posted on July 26, 2010 by amydeline

Today’s a very special day! Right now, at this very moment, you are reading my 100th blog post! Wow! One hundred posts! Where in the world did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that I was spending all of my free time tending to my imaginary mafia.

Change a diaper. Beg for untraceable cell phones and illegal transaction records. Play legos. Save up enough Thai Baht to buy a Nguhea Sniper Rifle. Clean up the play-doh that’s been rubbed into the carpet. Try to collect the last faberge egg for my Moscow collection. Console a crying baby. Spend 24 million rubles on a musk ox. All in a day’s work.

Then, I abandoned my mafia and entered the blogosphere. Now I alternate between toys, cooking, temper tantrums, food photography, snuggling, recipe writing, laundry, editing, bath time, and menu-planning. I suppose that being The Gourmand Mom is a much more productive role than Mafia Wars Mom.

So, you may be wondering what else has changed during these past 100 posts.

Well…

Writing recipes feels a whole lot easier than the first few posts that I fumbled through. I hope they’ve become easier for you to follow.

I’ve baked more bread products than I ever did in my pre-blog life. In fact, I had to buy a new cover for my dining room table, since the old cover seemed to be harvesting yeast which my three year old so kindly scattered across the table.

I’ve gained back a couple of the pounds I worked so hard to lose. Going to have to fix that. But it’s been for a good cause and I had fun doing it. Perhaps I can file for some sort of blogger’s compensation for my troubles?

My love of cooking has been completely reinvigorated.  Having a forum for sharing recipes and stories about food has been truly fulfilling for me. Thank you for being my audience.

Having an audience has forced me to add even more variety to my cooking. Since I’m guessing you don’t want to read about the same recipes every week.

My children have become the most skilled toddler sous chefs. I think I need to find little aprons and chef’s hats for them.

Through practice, my photography has become more purposeful. Now, rather than taking a hundred pics to get five that are post-worthy, I take about fifty. Though I’m still quite the novice photographer, I’m getting better at judging lighting and approximating camera settings.

It’s been a fun hundred posts. I’m looking forward to writing a hundred more!

In honor of such a momentous occasion, I’ve been saving something special for you. My favorite food in the whole world is macaroni and cheese (or ‘Ronis and Cheese, as my little guy calls it). And I don’t discriminate. I love ALL macaroni and cheese, whether it’s frozen, from a box, or made fresh from the finest cheeses. I like it baked or creamy. I like it smothered with cheese and bread crumbs or not. Just give me any macaroni and some form of cheese and I’m a very happy girl.

Today is a special day though, so a special macaroni and cheese is in order. And I’ve got just the thing to turn something sort of pedestrian into something elegant and worthy of a celebratory meal. That’s right… Lobster!! Lobster makes everything fancy. Now, once we throw lobster into the mix, we need to pay special attention to the cheese selection. Now would NOT be the time for American cheese or Velveeta. They’ve certainly got their place in the world of mac and cheese, but it’s definitely not here. Now’s the time for smooth cheese with grown-up flavor. I’m using three of my all time favorite cheeses; Gruyere, Fontina, and Brie. You can substitute other cheeses, if desired. Try gouda, chevre, provolone, asiago, or sharp cheddar.

Our sauce starts as a basic Bechamel Sauce, which is simply a white sauce, made with milk that is thickened with a roux. (Check out my roux guide by clicking here.) The thickened milk is then seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Bechamel is one of the five French mother sauces, meaning that many other sauces can be made with a base of bechamel. To our bechamel, we’ll melt in the delicious cheeses. Finally, we’ll toss the macaroni with the sauce and warm lobster meat. If you feel like racing lobsters, go ahead and buy some live lobsters, steam them, and collect the meat. Or, do as I did and buy a container of frozen lobster meat. You grocery store may also sell lobster tails, which can be steamed.

Before we get to the recipe, I want to let you in on a little secret. I made the macaroni and cheese on Saturday when we had people over. And I actually sort of botched it. Not a complete botch, but a definite error of convenience. My prime focus at the time, was on the burgers. My intention was to submit the burger recipe for a contest. So, I wanted to be able to devote all of my attention towards working out the timing and flavor balance of the burger components. Then the storm came, which totally turned the burger plan upside down. Anyway, I prepared the macaroni and cheese earlier in the afternoon and stuck it in a baking dish, figuring that I’d bake it in the oven to reheat with a little extra cheese melted on top. As I should have anticipated, the pasta drank up most of the sauce during the baking. It was still very flavorful, but not the creamy mac and cheese I’d intended.

Never fear though. The recipe I’m writing for you does not include a baking step. So, your macaroni and cheese will be creamy and delicious. If you do want to prepare it ahead of time, I’d recommend tossing the pasta with just a bit of sauce. Then, refrigerate the bulk of the sauce and the pasta separately. You can reheat both and combine, along with the lobster, when you’re ready to eat.

This is good, good stuff. If there were a way to send food through the world wide web, I’d send you each a taste and a glass of celebratory champagne. But since that’s not possible yet, I’ll share my recipe instead. Then you can whip yourself up a batch of fancy ‘Ronis and Cheese.

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 box Pasta, such as Campanelle
  • 1/2 cup Gruyere
  • 1 cup Fontina
  • 1/2 cup Brie
  • 3 cups Milk
  • 3 Tbsp Butter
  • 3 Tbsp Flour
  • 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp Cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 pound Lobster Meat

Directions

Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside. In the same pot that you cooked the pasta, whisk the butter and flour together over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. This is your roux for thickening the milk. It should have a pasty consistency. Remove the roux with a spatula and set aside. Add the milk to the pot. Bring the milk to a simmer. Then, begin to whisk in the roux, whisking until smooth. Allow the milk to simmer with the roux for a few minutes until it begins to thicken. Whisk constantly. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, and salt. Turn down the heat to low. Add the cheese and stir until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if desired. Add the lobster meat and the cooked pasta to the hot sauce. Stir for a minute or so until it’s well combined and hot.

I hope you’ve been enjoying this blog during these first one hundred posts. Let me know how you’ve liked it so far and if there’s any way I can serve you better! Thanks for reading!

12 Comments

Posted in Cheese, Food, General Rambling and Such, Main Course, Sauces, Seafood, Things I Love and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Pan-seared Scallops with Pina Colada Salsa and Coconut Rice

Posted on July 6, 2010 by amydeline

Many moons ago, my husband and I found ourselves in Italy, in the middle of a heat wave. The beautiful city of Rome is overflowing with fountains; cool, refreshing, swim-worthy fountains. Unfortunately, it’s also full of fountain police, whistles constantly in mouth, ready to blow at the first hint of a toe touching the water. When in Rome…don’t go in the fountains! Torture on such a hot day. But, sweet relief came in the form of little kiosks, selling big icy chunks of fresh, chilled coconut and iced bottles of water. I can still envision the towers of fresh coconut pieces, cool water running down over the artfully arranged displays. No coconut fountain police in sight. Sweet, sweet coconut relief.

So, whenever the weather gets hot, I think about coconut. It’s definitely hot out there today! I think a little coconut is in order.

Never hand your baby a coconut. He will assume that it's a hairy ball and will throw it at your knee. Trust me.

Recently, my sister and brother-in-law posted pictures of a dinner they enjoyed at a fine restaurant on Skaneateles Lake. My sister had a juicy grilled pork chop with mashed potatoes, beets, carrots, and asparagus. The picture made me hungry. My brother-in-law’s selection didn’t have quite the same effect. The dish he ordered featured seared scallops alongside a bed of sautéed spinach and a strawberry pastry. Everything on the plate was drizzled in a bright pink sauce which looked like it was made of strawberry yogurt. I stared at the picture trying to make the dish work in my head. My brother-in-law said it was delicious and that the tart strawberries in the salty pastry complemented the sweetness of the scallops. Sounds sensible enough, but I’m still having a hard time with the dish. I love the combination of fruit and seafood, especially during the hot summer months. Strawberries with scallops makes sense to me. And, I like strawberries in spinach salad, so I guess that pairing makes sense too. I think my issue with the dish lies more with the creamy, sweet-looking sauce and the dessert-like appearance of the pastry sitting next to the scallops. But, what do I know??

In any case, I must still have scallops and fruit on my mind, because as I was trying to come up with an interesting way to use the coconut I was craving, scallops dominated my thoughts. I tossed around the idea of somehow cooking scallops in the fresh coconut water, but I didn’t imagine a very nice texture resulting from that preparation. So I decided to pan-sear the scallops and combine the coconut with a bit of pineapple, orange, and lime for a pina colada inspired salsa. Not wanting to let any of the yummy coconut go to waste, I reserved the sweet coconut water to use in cooking the rice. The result was a light, fresh dinner on a hot summer day.

Tending to the fresh pineapple and coconut take a little time, but it’s worth it. Though my vote definitely goes towards using the fresh fruits, you could easily substitute canned pineapple, mandarin oranges, and unsweetened shredded coconut for the salsa and canned coconut milk for the rice for a really quick, delicious summer meal.

Pan-seared Scallops with Pina Colada Salsa over Coconut Rice

Ingredients

For the Scallops:

  • 1 pound Scallops
  • 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper

For the Salsa:

*To supreme an orange, cut off the top and the bottom. Place it on a hard surface and cut off the skin and pith. Then, use a paring knife or other sharp knife to cut out each orange segment between the membranes.

Orange Supremes

Directions

To prepare the salsa, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix to combine. Taste. Add salt and pepper, if  desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To cook the scallops, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Pat the scallops dry and season with a little salt. Place the scallops in the pan. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes, without disturbing. Once they’ve formed a golden-brown crust, turn the scallops over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until fully cooked and translucent.

Prepare the rice according the package directions, substituting fresh coconut water for part of the water. Throw in a couple small chunks of coconut for added flavor.

Serve the scallops on a bed of the coconut rice and pina colada salsa.

Serves 4

4 Comments

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Chilled Avocado Soup and Crab Cake with Chipotle Remoulade

Posted on June 21, 2010 by amydeline

Tonight’s meal was initially intended to be two separate meals.

Meal #1: Chilled Avocado Soup
Meal #2: Crab Cake Sandwiches with Chipotle Remoulade

Then, it occurred to me how marvelously the two would go together, like peas and carrots. You see, avocados and crab love, love, love each other! If it were socially acceptable for a fruit to marry a crustacean, the two would run away together and make millions of adorable baby crabocados. Until that day, we’ll just have to settle for joining them in perfect culinary union. With that in mind, tonight we’re making Chilled Avocado Soup decked with a Crabcake and dressed with Chipotle Remoulade.

We’ve really got three separate recipes going on here. And, they’re kind of like those items in your wardrobe that you can mix and match with other outfits in all sorts of ways. Make these recipes together, as I’m doing tonight, or use them in other ways. The crab cakes are fantastic as a sandwich or on their own, served on a bed of slaw. They’re wonderful full-sized or make perfect bite-sized hors d’ oeuvres. Serve them alongside a filet mignon with bernaise sauce for a really special dinner. The remoulade, a seasoned mayonnaise-based sauce, is great on seafood, but would also be delicious with chicken or roast beef. It also makes a great sandwich spread. Even I, the despiser of mayonnaise, enjoy this remoulade. The chilled avocado soup can stand alone (with a little dollop of creme fraiche) or top it with grilled shrimp, lobster, or broiled sea bass. Your options are truly unlimited.

Chilled Avocado Soup

  • 2 Ripe Avocados, skin and seed removed
  • 3/4 cup Chicken Stock (plus more, if desired)*
  • 1/2 cup Creme Fraiche (or sour cream)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice
  • 1/4 cup Parsley Leaves or Cilantro
  • 1/2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp Salt (plus more, if desired)
  • Pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 Jalapeno Pepper, chopped fine (optional)*

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste. Add additional salt and pepper, if desired. Add additional broth to make the soup thinner, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

*Use vegetable broth for a vegetarian soup.

* To add some spice without compromising the bright green color, add jalapeno pepper.  I did not have a jalapeno on hand when I make this soup today, but my guess is that 1/2 jalapeno should be about right.

Broiled Jumbo Lump Crab Cake

  • 1 pound Jumbo Lump Crab Meat, cooked*
  • 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs (or regular bread crumbs or cracker crumbs)
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • 2 Tbsp Mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp Old Bay or Creole Seasoning
  • 1 tsp Mustard
  • 1 tsp Garlic, minced

*You can steam and pick your own crabs, if you want. But, I always buy steamed jumbo lump crab meat, that’s been hand-picked and packaged. It’s a time-saving and mess-saving option, which in my opinion, makes very little difference in the quality of the final product.

Preheat broiler. Combine all ingredients, except the crab meat, in a bowl. Mix until well blended. Gently fold the crab meat into the other ingredients, taking care not to break up the chunks too much. Use your hands to form four equal sized balls of the crab mixture. Place the balls on a baking sheet and gently flatten into thick patties. Place under the broiler and cook for about 10 minutes until completely heated through.

Chipotle Remoulade

  • 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 Chipotle Pepper (from can of chipotles in adobo)
  • 1 Tbsp Capers
  • 1 Tbsp Chopped Pickle
  • 1 Anchovy fillet*
  • 1 tsp Mustard

*Run your fingers along the anchovy, as you rinse it under running water to check for and remove any larger bones. If you choose to omit the anchovie, you may want to add a dash of salt to the sauce.

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To compose the dish:

Ladle some soup into a shallow bowl. (You don’t want the crabcake to drown in the soup, so don’t fill the bowl too deep.) Place the cooked crabcake in the center of the soup. Drizzle chipotle remoulade over the crab cake.

A little trick for drizzling the remoulade over your crab cake – Spoon some of the sauce into a small sandwich bag or ziploc. Use a pair of scissors to cut off a tiny bit of one corner.  Squeeze the sauce through the hole onto your crabcake.

Crab Cakes and Avocado. What The Gourmand Mom has joined together, let no one put asunder.

3 Comments

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Shrimp and Asparagus in a Lemony Basil Alfredo Sauce over Fettucine

Posted on June 16, 2010 by amydeline

Something about the warm weather makes me crave seafood. This is the only time of the year when I think I’d have any chance of making it as a vegetarian, or more accurately a pesceterian. Though, I’d definitely end up missing burgers and grilled steaks and bacon and… Oh, nevermind!  I’d make a terrible vegetarian. But, I do love seafood in the summer! It’s fresh and light and tastes great with summery lemons. With that in mind, I offer you Shrimp and Asparagus in a Lemony Basil Alfredo Sauce over Fettucine.

The sauce is a basic creamy alfredo sauce, with the addition of basil and a little lemon juice and zest. Lemon zest is the bright outer peel of the lemon (not including the bitter, white pith). It is full of concentrated lemon flavor. You can skip the zest, but it really deepens the lemony flavor and looks lovely in the sauce. So, I definitely recommend it. To zest your lemon, thoroughly wash it and then use a zester to remove the thin outer layer of the peel.  If you don’t have a zester, you can use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to carefully remove the outer peel. Then, cut the peel into small strips.

Shrimp and Asparagus in a Lemony Basil Alfredo Sauce over Fettucine

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Shrimp, deveined and peeled
  • 1 small bunch of Asparagus
  • 1 box Fettucine pasta

For the sauce:

  • 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2-3 Tbsp water
  • 1 Shallot, diced**
  • 5-7 Basil Leaves, chopped**
  • 1 Lemon, zest and juice
  • 1 1/2 cups Light Cream
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt and Pepper

** Chop the shallot the same way you would chop a small onion. Click on the Photo Guides tab to view step-by-step photos of how to chop an onion and how to chiffonade basil leaves.

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the fettucine, al dente, according to the package directions.

Steam asparagus, chop into small pieces, and set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add shrimp to the pan and cook about 5 minutes until they are completely cooked through.  They will be pink and opaque. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.

Add a small amount of water to the pan, over medium heat, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits of shrimp stuck to the pan. Continue scraping the bottom of the pan until the bits are loosened and water has mostly evaporated. **See note below.**

Then, add about a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.  Add the chopped shallot and cook until slightly softened, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the cream and the zest.  Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly.

Add the cheese, basil, and  the juice from 1/2 the lemon (about a Tbsp) to the sauce. Stir to combine.

Continue simmering for a few minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a bit more cream or milk to thin it out.

Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add a bit more lemon juice, if desired.

Add shrimp and asparagus to the sauce for a few seconds to reheat.  Toss the fettucine in the sauce.

(Serves 4)

** This step is called deglazing. Those little caramelized bits in the pan are called sucs. There’s some yummy flavor in those sucs, as long as you don’t burn them. The cool water will sizzle in the hot pan and help loosen the sucs while you scrape them up. This step will prevent the bits from burning on the bottom, while preserving the shrimpy flavor for the sauce. A bit of stock or white wine would work well for this step too, but water is just fine. If the sucs burn, clean out the pan before cooking the shallot.

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Linguine with Littleneck Clams and Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Posted on June 9, 2010 by amydeline

Tonight, I’m serving up a minor variation on my regular Linguine and Clam Sauce.  The basic ingredients are the same; garlic, onion, pepper, white wine and clams. But, today I’m using fresh clams (where I often use canned, chopped clams). I’m also incorporating a little anchovy for added flavor and garnishing with slow-roasted grape tomatoes. If anchovies are a deal-breaker for you, skip them. I’ve made this recipe tons of times without them, but they really do add a nice touch to the dish. They dissolve into the sauce and add a really nice savory flavor. If you decide to omit the anchovies, be sure to season your sauce with a bit of salt.

If you’ve never used fresh clams before, don’t let them intimidate you!  They are as easy to cook as it is to open the canned clams. And, they make a show-stopping presentation. Just follow a few simple rules to ensure safety:

  • Keep the clams refrigerated until ready to use.
  • Thoroughly wash clams in cool water.
  • Carefully examine each clam and discard any cracked or open clams.
  • Discard any clams that don’t open after steaming.
  • Personally, I prefer to purchase most seafood on the day I plan to use it, so it’s as fresh as possible.

And, if fresh clams aren’t available to you (or you’re just not keen on their tough exteriors), then go ahead and use canned clams. You can usually find them near the canned tuna, sardines, and such. They work wonderfully in this recipe!

Linguine with Clams and Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

  • 1 box of Linguine
  • Littleneck Clams (40-50)
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 4 Anchovy Fillets, chopped
  • 3 cloves of Garlic, minced
  • 1 small Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Green Pepper, finely chopped
  • 3/4 cup White Wine
  • 3/4 cup Clam Juice
  • 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • Crushed Red Pepper
  • Salt (optional)
  • Slow-roasted Tomatoes (recipe follows)
  • Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Rinse clams in cold water.  Examine and discard any open or cracked clams. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook linguine until al dente. Heat olive oil in another large pot. Add anchovies and onion. Stir until anchovies dissolve and the onion begins to soften. Add garlic and green pepper. Cook for about a minute. Add white wine, clam juice, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Carefully, add the clean clams to the pot and cover. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes, until the clams have opened. Remove and discard any clams which do not open. Season with crushed red pepper and additional salt, if desired. Serve the clams and sauce over the cooked linguine.  Garnish with slow-roasted tomatoes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. (Serves 4)

For the Tomatoes:

Cut grape tomatoes in half, lengthwise. Toss in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet, cut side up. Cook in a 250 degrees oven for about 90 minutes until deep red and reduced in size. If you’re short on time, you can increase the heat and shorten the cooking time!

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Salmon Burgers with Horseradish Sauce and Corn on the Cob with Chipotle Butter

Posted on May 22, 2010 by amydeline

I make my salmon burgers the same way I make my crab cakes… heavy on the seafood, light on the filler. I like big chunks of salmon, blended together with just enough egg, bread crumbs, and mayo to hold it together.  A bit of mustard and creole seasoning adds the perfect flavoring! Served on an kaiser roll with a spicy horseradish sauce, this is a delicious way to enjoy salmon! I use fresh salmon fillets in my recipe, but you can substitute canned salmon, if desired.

Corn on the cob, served with chipotle butter makes a perfect side dish for this meal.  Chipotles are smoked jalapeno peppers; spicy and delicious! You should be able to find canned chipotles in adobo sauce in the Mexican or Latin foods section of your grocery store.  Adobo is simply a seasoned tomato-based sauce.  You can either discard the adobo sauce, or use some of it in the butter. You’ll only need 1/8 cup of pureed chipotle peppers for the butter, but puree all the peppers.  You can store the unused puree in the freezer for future use. (I’ll share my recipe for Chipotle Steak Quesadillas with you soon!)

Chipotles in Adobo

Salmon Burgers with Horseradish Sauce

For the burgers:

  • 1 pound salmon fillets
  • 1 tsp prepared mustard
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 egg white, beaten
  • 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 tsp Creole Seasoning
  • 4 Kaiser Rolls

For the Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 2-3 Tbsp Horseradish Sauce

To prepare the salmon – Preheat your broiler. Place the salmon fillets under the broiler and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. When the salmon is cool enough to handle, flake the fish into large chunks.

To make to burgers – Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except the salmon, until well blended. Gently fold in the salmon. Form into four burgers. Spray a baking sheet with a little Pam or a small amount of olive oil. Place the burgers on the baking sheet. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until heated through.

For the horseradish sauce – Combine sour cream with 2-3 Tbsp horseradish. (I use 3.)  Stir until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve burgers on kaiser rolls with lettuce, tomatoes, and horseradish sauce. Makes 4 burgers.

Salmon Burger with Horseradish Sauce

Corn on the Cob with Chipotle Butter

  • 4 ears of corn, husks removed
  • 1/8 cup pureed Chipotle Peppers
  • 1 Stick Butter

Remove chipotle peppers from adobo.  Wipe off excess adobo. Puree peppers in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Melt butter in a small saucepan over very low heat.  Add 1/8 cup pureed chipotle pepper and stir. Gently cook over very low heat for a minute or two. For the smoothest result, you can pour the melted chipotle butter through a fine sieve to remove seeds and any large chunks. (I skip this step!) Pour chipotle butter into a bowl and refrigerate, stirring every 15 minutes, until firm. Allow butter to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using. To cook the corn, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and boil for about 5-8 minutes. Spread chipotle butter on corn and enjoy!!

Chipotle Butter

Salmon Burger with Corn on the Cob and Chipotle Butter

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Broiled Halibut with Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Capers

Posted on May 17, 2010 by amydeline

I’m a planner by nature. I thrive on organization and routine in most areas of my life. But, as much as I love a good structured agenda, I rarely plan our meals in advance. I’ve tried in the past, but it just doesn’t suit my cooking (or eating) style.  I usually have a few potential meal ideas in mind for the week, but I’m hesitant to commit to anything too far ahead of time. I like to see how the week unfolds, leave some flexibility for cravings or laziness. I’m content to visit the grocery store every day, picking up just a few items for the night’s meal.  During the warm weather, morning walks to the grocery store are part of our routine. Some days, I head down there without a plan and just wonder around the grocery store until something inspires me. (I know that totally goes against all the advice you’ve seen about making a list and sticking to it!) It might be a wedge of cheese or a perfectly ripened avocado or a cut of beef behind the butcher’s counter.  All it takes is one ingredient and I’ll build a meal around it.

So, it’s not unusual that I woke up this morning with no idea about what I’d make for dinner. After a weekend of indulging on celebratory pizzas, birthday cake, and our standard Sunday night chicken tikka masala with naan, I knew I wanted something light and fresh.  (It’s all about balance!)  I also knew I wanted something fast and easy; low-prep, quick to cook, minimal clean-up. As much as I enjoy cooking, I don’t like to be cooped up in the kitchen on a beautiful spring day!  There are bikes to be ridden and playgrounds to visit! So, I started thinking about a quick broiled fish, perhaps with lemon and capers. Capers made me think of olives, which, in turn, got me thinking of sun-dried tomatoes. And that, dear friends, is the train of thought which led to tonight’s dinner plan. It’s light, loaded with nutrition, and can be thrown together in about 15 minutes. Best of all, it’s full of Mediterranean inspired flavor.

Broiled Halibut with Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Capers

Broiled Halibut with Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Capers

Ingredients

  • 2 Halibut Fillets (approx. 6 ounces each)
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Juice from 1/2 Lemon (approx. 1 Tbsp)
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1/2 cup mixed olives, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
  • 1/8 cup capers
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
  • Crushed Red Pepper

Directions

Preheat broiler. Place fish fillets on a baking sheet and rub with a little olive oil and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place the baking sheet directly under the broiler and cook for about 10 minutes, until the fish flakes apart easily.  While the fish is broiling, coarsely chop the olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Combine with the capers, minced garlic and a sprinkle of  crushed red pepper.  During the last minute or two of cooking time, top the fish with the olive mixture to heat. Serve immediately. (Serves 2)


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Tropical Fish Tacos with Spicy Mango Salsa and Coconut Rice

Posted on May 12, 2010 by amydeline

A few weeks ago, I was flipping through the channels and happened to come across a wonderful show I hadn’t heard of before. Food Tech, which airs on the History Channel, is hosted by chef Bobby Bognar. The show follows its host as he travels the country deconstructing some of America’s favorite meals. My attention was immediately rapt by the Pancakes & Bacon (Yummy, BACON!) episode and I stayed tuned for the Mexican episode that followed, in which Bobby fishes for Mahi Mahi in Hawaii, harvests agave for tequila in Mexico, and ripens the perfect avocado. Well, this got my belly rumbling and the gears in my brain turning. The next day, I picked up a package of frozen Mahi Mahi fillets. Initially I’d been planning to prepare fish tacos with tomato salsa and probably a little guacamole.  But, then I remembered the Spicy Mango Salsa I used to make and a new idea took shape. So, tonight I offer you Tropical Fish Tacos with a Spicy Mango Salsa and Coconut Rice.

Tropical Fish Tacos with Spicy Mango Salsa in Homemade Flour Tortillas

The Flour Tortilla Experience

For me, one of the exciting things about this blog is that it motivates me to broaden my culinary horizons; to try things I haven’t tried before and to “perfect” the things I’m experienced with.  When I initially thought through this meal, I planned on using store-bought tortillas.  In fact, I didn’t give it much of a thought.  Just bought the tortillas and considered that part taken care of.  Then, this morning, on a whim, I decided to run an online search for flour tortilla recipes.  The recipes looked basic enough and I had all the necessary ingredients.  So, I decided to go for it. I would try my hand at flour tortillas with the help of my two little assistants. I figured I had nothing to lose.  If they worked out, I’d have homemade tortillas and a recipe to share with you.  If they were a total flop, I’d laugh with you about the experience and use the store-bought tortillas from my fridge.

Well…they worked! And, aside from my kitchen and two little boys being covered in flour, they were a piece of cake to make. Now, I’m not saying that I have any intention of  making homemade tortillas every time I need them or suggesting that there’s anything wrong with using store-bought tortillas. But, if you have the desire and a little extra time to make your own, it’s a totally reasonable task and the result is delicious!

Now, you may remember me saying how I rarely follow a recipe exactly as it’s written.  But, this is an exception.  There’s a chemistry to baking that makes precise measurements important. Some may argue that tortillas aren’t exactly “baked” per se, but considering you’re working with a dough, it counts as baking in my book.  Since I followed the recipe exactly as it was written, I am not going to republish it in this blog, but you can find it here.

The dough came together easily and was very manageable to work with.  Keeping your hands, rolling pin, table, and the dough dusted with flour helps prevent it from sticking. My 3 year old had the best description of the rolling process.  To paraphrase him, “You start with a golf ball, make it a cookie, roll it into a pancake, and then you have a tortilla!” It’s a pretty accurate description. My little assistants loved measuring the ingredients and keeping the table well dusted with flour. Hands down, the best way to cook with little kids running around is to engage them in the process!

And for your viewing pleasure, a few pics…

One of my eager assistants

Master Chef

Who wants to play ball?

Ready to cook tortilla

Homemade Flour Tortillas

And, now for the recipe you came here looking for:

Tropical Fish Tacos with Spicy Mango Salsa and Coconut Rice

Ingredients

Flour tortillas (homemade or store-bought)

For the Fish:

  • 2 Mahi Mahi fillets, about 6 ounces each (or other white flaky fish)
  • Juice of 1 Lime (Approx. 2 Tbsp)
  • 1/4 cup Canola Oil
  • 1 tsp Chile Power
  • 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
  • Salt and Pepper

For the Salsa

  • 1 large, ripe Mango, diced (See my guide for dicing mangoes, here.)
  • 1-2 Jalapenos, seeds removed, finely diced
  • 3-4 Green onions, thinly sliced
  • Juice of 1 Lime (Approx. 2 Tbsp)
  • Salt and Pepper

For the Rice

  • 1 cup Basmati Rice
  • 1.5 cups (12 ounces) coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) water

Directions

For the Salsa: Combine all ingredients.  Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  (Like your salsa extra spicy?  Add a second jalapeno!) Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Letting it sit in the fridge for a while gives the flavors a chance to mix and mingle and get to know each other better. **If sharing this meal with kids, you may want to put aside some diced mango before adding the jalapeno or onions, depending on their tastes.

Spicy Mango Salsa

For the Rice: Combine rice, coconut milk, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir once to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Turn heat down to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and gently simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

For the Fish: Combine oil, lime juice, chile powder and garlic.  Pour over the  fish and allow to marinate in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Fire up your grill or heat up a grill pan.  Remove fish from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on one side.  Then flip and grill on the other side for another 5 minutes or so, until cooked through and flaky. **As an alternative to grilling, cook the fish on a baking sheet in a 450 degrees oven until cooked through.  It should be opaque and flaky; 15 minutes ought to do it.

To assemble the meal: Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in a 325 degrees oven until warm. Fold the warm tortillas in half and fill with grilled Mahi-Mahi and mango salsa.  Enjoy with a scoop of coconut rice on the side! (Serves about 4)

Tropical Fish Taco

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Posted in Baking, Cooking with Kids, Food, Fruit, Main Course, Recipes, Rice, Seafood and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Latkes, Lox, and Eggs

Posted on May 8, 2010 by amydeline

When we lived in Silver Spring, MD, my husband and I used to frequent a place called, Parkway Deli and Restaurant, a self-proclaimed “New York Style Deli”.  We never left disappointed or hungry.  Hands down, my favorite meal there was the Latkes, Lox, and Eggs. Lately, I’ve been day-dreaming of latkes, lox, and eggs.  I can hardly think of anything else. It’s a terrible thing to be so utterly distracted with two active toddlers running around! Something had to be done.

So, this morning I set out to recreate this tasty dish. My entire plan was nearly foiled when I discovered the seafood cooler to be completely void of smoked salmon. I had a moment of shear panic, which must have been evident on my face, since the Wegmans fishmonger, my hero of the day, promptly made several packages of smoked salmon appear. Crisis averted! Picked up some russet potatoes, some chunky applesauce, a few other groceries and headed home. Then, patiently (or rather impatiently) bided my time until my littlest son went down for his nap and I had my hands free to prepare the latkes.

I followed a recipe, which I found on my go-to site for recipes, www.foodnetwork.com.  I fried the latkes in batches, placing the cooked ones in a 300 degree oven to keep warm.  Once complete, I cleaned out my fry-pan, threw in a little butter, and fried my perfect egg…over-medium, thoroughly cooked white, slightly runny yolk. Then, stacked it all up in a neat little tower and served with a side of applesauce.

And, it was good.  As good as my Parkway Deli favorite?  I don’t think so.  Not sure what it was lacking though…maybe just that “someone else cooked it” quality.

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Posted in Eggs, Food, Main Course, Potato, Recipes, Seafood and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
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