Tagliatelle with Truffled Mushrooms

I was shopping one day and came across a bag of Porcini Mushroom Tagliatelle (which is very, very similar to Fettuccine).  I immediately thought that it would go really well with a simple Truffle sauce with mushrooms.  I'd wanted to use baby portobello mushrooms (aka cremini mushrooms) but forgot to grab them at the grocery store so I ended up just using regular ole white, button mushrooms.

For the Truffle portion of the recipe, I used a truffle infused olive oil and a jar of chopped black truffles mixed with mushrooms.  I found both of these at a specialty food shop.  One thing to note is that the flavor of truffle is quite strong so don't think that you have to go hog wild and spend a paycheck to purchase an actual raw or 100% jarred truffle product.  A little goes a long way and a hint of truffle is very detectable in a dish.

If you're unfamiliar with truffles, they're very earthy tasting, similar to mushrooms which is why they're often paired with them.  If you like mushrooms, you'll probably also like truffles so give them a try.  I love mushrooms which is why I purchased the porcini mushroom pasta.  If you're unable to find mushroom infused pasta, any pasta will do.  Use your favorite or try something new.

OK, with all of the disclaimers settled, let's move on to the recipe.  I started by putting four medium sized garlic cloves into a pouch I made out of tin foil.  I drizzled in about a teaspoon of the truffled olive oil, a pinch of salt and a crank of pepper.  I put this into a preheated, 400 degree oven to roast.

Then I got started on the sauce, if you can call it that.  It was more of a coating than a sauce.  I finely grated about a cup of parmigiano reggiano cheese.  To that, I added about a tablespoon of the truffle infused olive oil, a pat of butter and a teaspoon of the truffle and mushroom mixture.  I added a few cranks of the pepper mill (refrain from adding salt at this point because the cheese is salty).  I mashed it all together to make a paste.  Once it was mixed, I realized that it probably wouldn't be enough for the amount of pasta I was cooking (the whole bag or enough for four).  So I repeated the process, doubling my amount of paste.

Pull out the garlic cloves and let them cool.  While they're cooling, get a pot of water on the stove with a hefty amount of salt in it and bring it to a boil.  While waiting on the water to boil, clean and dice the mushrooms.  I used about 10 which was almost the entire container.  I could've used them all so if you're a mushroom lover, feel free to add as many as you like.

Once the mushrooms are sliced, the water should be about ready.  Heat a skillet with a teaspoon of the truffle oil, salt and pepper.  When it's heated, add the mushrooms to the skillet and add the dry pasta to the boiling water.  Grab a pasta spoon or tongs and a ladle to have on hand.  The moisture will start to come out of the mushrooms so don't worry if they look soggy, just leave them and let them cook.  Once they're all heated through, give the pan a toss to flip them around or take your tongs and give them a toss.

When the pasta is almost done, take your pasta spoon or tongs and pull one bunch of the pasta from the pot to the skillet, add a third of the cheese paste to the pasta and put a dent in the top with the ladle.  Put a small bit (half a cup or so) of the pasta water in the dent.  Take the tongs and stir the paste and pasta water into the pasta to combine.  Pull the pasta up out of the pan.  This causes the starches to loosen and creates a velvety effect on the noodles.  Then repeat - another scoop of pasta, another third of the past and small scoop of the pasta water.  Stir and pull to combine.  Put the remaining pasta and paste into the skillet and stir and pull.  The sauce should be well incorporated, smooth and creamy - not stringy or gloppy.  If it's not almost creamy and velvety, add more pasta water and pull, repeating until creamy and smooth.

Serve immediately, topped with a small sprinkle of parmigiano reggiano cheese and serve with bread.

Ranch Potato Wedges

I'm addicted to the potato wedges at Buffalo Wild Wings so for the Super Bowl this year, I made my own version at home, along with chicken wings of course.

I pulled out my old Grand Pappy deep fat fryer and got the oil heating while I took about a cup of flower and a packet of dry ranch salad dressing mix and added it to the flour.  I washed and sliced 15 small red potatoes into bite sized wedges.  I placed the wedges into water while prepping so that they didn't turn colors.  I removed a handful of wedges at a time and placed them on a towel to get any larger amounts of water off of them and then dropped them a few at a time into the flour / ranch mixture and then into the hot oil.  Fry until golden brown, sprinkle with salt while blotting on paper towels and eat immediately.

Pumpkin Stuffed Shells with Sage Butter and Mushrooms

I slaughtered the first of two of our Halloween pumpkins this weekend and wanted to try something other than pumpkin bready things (pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin waffles, etc.)  So, I cooked it, scooped it, strained it and pureed it.  I'll break that down a bit.  I let the oven heat up to 350 degrees while I cut the pumpkin into quarters or 4 large pieces by cutting the pumpkin in half tall ways and then cutting the halves in half again lengthwise.  I covered three deep pans in tin foil and then placed cooling racks over them.  After scooping out the guts from pumpkins, I placed them on the racks.  I had two square pans and one long pan (that's why there's three but use whatever pans you have that will hold the sized pumpkin you have).  The reason why I use deep dish pans is because pumpkins have a lot of water in them.  Once they start cooking, they'll drip.  Put them in the oven and let them cook until they deflate.  Once they've deflated, let them cool enough to be able to scoop out the pumpkin with a spoon.  It will come off of the skin easily.  Press each quarter through a sieve or a very fine, mesh strainer using the back of a spoon.  More water will drain out of the pumpkin.  Once it's thick and dense, place the pumpkin meat into a food processor and process until it is smooth and no longer stringy.

While the pumpkin is cooking, put one and a half sticks of butter into a pan along with a handful of fresh sage a split garlic clove, a dash of fresh lemon or lime juice and about a 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  When the pumpkin is ready to be removed from the oven, turn it off and place the butter mixer in the oven to melt.  Once melted, remove.

Boil some water and add a fair amount of salt to it for cooking the pasta shells.  You can use any type of pasta that you stuff (tubes, layered lasagna, etc.)  Mix equal amounts of pumpkin meat with ricotta cheese, a few handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese, a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds (mine were bought roasted and salted - I didn't toast them and wished I had for more crunch (next time) but they were still good) and few dashes of nutmeg.  I used one container of ricotta and was able to fill 18 shells.  Four to five shells usually feeds one person along with some bread.  

Clean and slice mushrooms.  You could use any vegetable you like.  I just really love mushrooms and found that the earthiness of the mushrooms went really well with the pumpkin and butter and cheese.  I used about a half of a container of whole, white mushrooms but wish I'd added more.  I'll use a whole container next time.

Once the shells become soft, remove them from the water and place them on a plate or other surface.  They should not be completely cooked because they'll cook more while in the oven baking.  They cool pretty quickly so you'll be able to fill them with the mixture right after removing them from the water.

Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and then line the bottom with the sliced mushrooms.  Rest the filled shells on top of the mushrooms.  Once all of the shells are in the baking dish, top with more mozzarella cheese and then pour strained butter mixture on top of shells.  I topped with what little mozzarella I had left in the bag because you can't have too much cheese and then I even topped that with some grated parmigiano region.

Bake, covered for 35-40 minutes or until all of the cheese is melted and the butter sauce is bubbling in the baking dish.  Uncover and let the top brown which is 10-15 minutes.  Place the bread in the oven at this time.  Serve, topped with chives and alongside bread.

Banana Nut Pancakes with Orange Ginger Syrup

This sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is but tastes so high end that you'll think you went out to a fancy brunch.  To start, gently slice the peel off of an orange.  Try not to get too much of the white part (because it's bitter).  Put the peel into a microwaveable (like glass) container.  Add a couple scrapes of fresh ginger - about the amount of a pinch.  Cover the ginger and orange peel with real maple syrup and set aside.

Get a griddle pan heating.  Squeeze the orange into a bowl and add pancake mix.  Make the pancake mix as you normally do (or according to the box directions).  Add a quarter sized dot of oil to the griddle.  Chop a palm sized amount of nuts (walnuts or pecans will work best).

Peel a banana and slice into equal sized slices.  Pour the pancake batter onto the hot griddle in the hot oil.  Top the batter with bananas and then pour more batter on top of the bananas.  For best results, pour a little batter and spread it so that it's not too thick.  If it's too thick, you run the risk of the center not cooking all the way.  Top with nuts.  Lift an edge of the pancake.  When it's brown, flip it.

Microwave the syrup for 1 minute.  Stir and if needed, microwave for another minute.  Be careful because will easily bubble over.  Remove the orange peels and serve alongside the pancakes.

Pho

Pho is a very popular Vietnamese dish.  I was a little bit afraid of it the first time I had it because it's usually served with raw beef that's so thinly sliced that when it's put into the broth, it's cooked immediately.  I've also tried seafood pho which has cooked seafood in it.  After that first time, I've been addicted to it.  Now that fall is upon us, I had some leftover chicken stock from making Chicken and Dumplings (another "Something Different" dish that could be considered.  I'll post that recipe next time) so I decided to give Pho a shot.  I put a palm sized toss of coriander into a warm pan along with 4 whole cloves and two star anise.  After just a couple minutes, I added the spices to the chicken stock.  I also added a finger long piece of ginger that I roughly chopped up.  I made the chicken stock by boiling a chicken carcass along with onions, carrots and celery.  I'd roasted the chicken the night before so I had the meat set aside while I boiled the bones to give the best flavor.  I strained the stock to remove the bones, veggies and spices and returned the broth back to the stove.  I added in shredded chicken and let it sit on the hot burner but had it turned off.  I sliced a single mushroom and put one each into the two bowls.  I diced a spring onion and split it between the bowls.  I brought a pot of water to a boil and added half of a package of thin, rice noodles.  While the water was coming to a boil, I chopped some cilantro and a green chili.  I placed them in tiny serving bowls.  I removed the pot from the burner and stirred the noodles.  The water turned milky colored and I knew that since they were so thin, it wouldn't take long to cook them.  I strained them and then divided them among the two bowls.  I topped the noodles, mushrooms and onions with the chicken and pho stock.  I served with the chopped cilantro and peppers on the side.  It was awesome.  Now I've had beef, seafood and chicken pho.  If I had to change one thing, I'd serve with Thai basil rather than the cilantro.  I like the anise (licoricey) taste of the basil over the cilantro.  The cilantro was good but I think the basil would've been better.

It's really a simple dish to make but so elegantly different.  It's so filling and I think the spices make me feel great - almost energized.  Give it a try.  It's really bold and will give your house such a nice, fragrant smell.

French Onion Soup

I've always thought that French Onion Soup was something that was reserved for eating out.  I've just never thought about making it at home because it seemed like an upscale, elegant type of food that was reserved for restaurants.  Prior to making it, I actually stumbled on the idea of it while making some beef stock at home.  I was rummaging through the freezer when I pulled out a beef bone that I'd brought home from leftover steak.  I'm sure I used the remaining meat from the steak to go with eggs on the weekend and then tossed the bone in the freezer to deal with later.

I pulled the bone out of the baggie and tossed it in a pot of water.  I added a 5 finger pinch of salt and 4 or 5 grinds of the pepper mill.  I turned the burner on medium until the water was practically boiling and then I tuned it down a bit.  I let the bone cook all day.  The stock reduced by half and smelled incredible.  I gave it a taste and got the subtle notes of the steak, a bit of rosemary, maybe where the steak had been garnished and the richness of the roasted meat that had once been there.  It made me think of the silky smooth onion soup.  I could almost see the lightbulb above my head.  I went to the refrigerator and found a small block of swiss cheese, a few different types of onions and only two slices of sourdough bread.  I could make it work.

I grabbed the onions and lined them up on the counter.  I had a red, a yellow and some scallions.  I grabbed a garlic clove as well.  I chopped half of the red, half of the yellow and two scallions.  I put some olive oil in a pan and turned it on low.  I added the onions to the pan along with a pinch of salt and a couple grinds of black pepper.

I added a splash of Worcester Sauce to the beef broth and turned on the oven.  I didn't have any thyme so I snipped some fresh rosemary, oregano and sage.  I diced it and added it to the stock as well.  I then diced the bread into bite-sized cubes, put them on a pan and put them in the oven.  I only put the oven on 200 degrees because I wanted the bread to turn to croutons rather than toasting them and having the center still soft.  Cooking the bread slow will dry it out.

The secret to caramelizing onions is to cook them very slowly.  It hit me that this whole dish was to slow cook everything.  The bone had to cook all day to make a rich broth.  The croutons had to cook slowly to dry the bread out and make it nice and crunchy and the onions had to slow cook to let out all of the sweetness without crisping them.  I let the onions and bread take their time and when they were done, I removed the bread from the oven and the onions to a back burner.  When the bread cubes were cool enough to handle, I rubbed them with the garlic clove and drizzled just a tad of olive oil and a tiny dash of salt over them.  I love croutons so I could've eaten all of them just as they were.

I strained the beef broth to remove the bone and any bits of fat or bone fragments that fell apart from the stock.  I added the onions to the broth and let them sit until it was time for dinner.  I spooned the onion broth mixture into two bowls and dropped in the bread cubes.  The swiss cheese that I had was a thin block so I wasn't sure once I sliced it, if it would stay afloat to melt under the broiler.  I found a large block of cheddar and remembered that one of my most favorite French Onion Soups was made with both cheddar and swiss.  I grabbed it and sliced off two large squares and several slices of the swiss.  I turned on the broiler and gently laid the cheese on top of the soup.  I placed it under the broiler and snipped some fresh chives to place on top as a garnish.  I removed the soup from the oven once it was bubbly and topped with the chopped chives.

French Onion Soup is no longer an 'only at the restaurant' item.  It was rich and silky smooth with the stringy cheese and soft bread and buttery onions.  I was quite proud.

Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breast

OK, so it's really just a coincidence that the last recipe I had was chicken and pesto and here I go with another chicken pesto recipe.  It has been a few days so it's not like I eat this every day.  Even still, I wouldn't normally post these back to back like this but I had it last night and it was so yummy that I have to get it out there.  I thawed a chicken breast and placed it in a plastic sealy bag.  I pounded the hell out of it until it doubled in size and was thin enough to roll but not too thin that it was falling apart.  I then went outside and grabbed a small handful of basil and then a big handful of arugula.  Can you tell I'm swimming in basil and arugula?  Anyway, I didn't feel like getting out the food processor so after rinsing both the basil and the arugula, I grabbed a garlic clove from the fridge and placed it on the cutting board with my basil.  I wrapped the arugula in a paper towel so that it wouldn't go limp after washing it.  I diced the basil and then the garlic.  I added some salt and pepper and then topped the mixture with some pine nuts.  I chopped it all together until it was as small as I could get it.  I then heated some olive oil in a pan.  It hit me that I saw on TV the other day that roasting the pine nuts makes a much better pesto.  Since I'd forgotten this until I'd already combined it all, I figured what could be the harm in toasting it all?  I added a tiny squeeze (maybe a half inch) of anchovy paste to the heating oil and swirled it around until it was broken up.  If you don't have anchovy paste, get some.  But in the meantime, you can use a dash of Worcestershire sauce.  Add the pesto mixture to the hot oil and remove it from the heat.  Stir it around until it's all coated and let it sit to cool.

I got some salted water boiling and another pan with some olive oil heating.  I grabbed some cheese from the fridge.  I found some goat cheddar the other day.  It's pretty strange.  It tastes like goat cheese but is hard and sliceable like cheddar.  I immediately wanted to stuff some chicken with it.  It's awesome for all those things you've always wanted to use goat cheese for but found it too delicate to do so.  Once the pesto cooled, I spread it onto one side of the chicken breast and then topped with a few squares of the goat cheddar.  I then rolled the chicken and place toothpicks in to secure it.  By now, the olive oil is hot so I placed the chicken in the pan, seam side down to seal it closed.  While the chicken is searing, I added some pasta to the boiling water.  I used squid ink capellini but you can use whatever you have.  Turn the chicken as appropriate to get a nice golden brown on each side.  It'll take a little while to cook the inside since it's been rolled.  Allow it time to cook through and don't worry if a little cheese escapes (I have plans for that).

While the pots are cooking, grab another clove of garlic and a pat of butter.  Dice the garlic up as best as you can and then top it with some salt.  Smash and pull your knife along the garlic and salt folding the back portion to the front an then smash/slide again.  This will create a paste of sorts.

When the chicken is done and the pasta is al dente, remove the chicken from the pan and turn off the heat.  Add the pat of butter to the pan along with the smashed, creamy garlic paste.  Stir around getting all of the bits of chicken and cheese off of the bottom of the pan.  Add water from the pasta pot a spoon at a time until a thick, creamy sauce appears.  Add the pasta and swirl around getting each strand coated in the sauce.

Place the pasta on the plate, top with the chicken breast (the two of us split one breast - it was quite stunning seeing the inside of the chicken with the cheese and pesto so even if you eat a whole one, cut it so you can see the beautiful inside).  Put arugula on top of the chicken and then sprinkle with parmesan and serve with bread.

Bellagio - Basil Pesto Pasta with Fried Chicken and Arugula

I was in Vegas last week for a quick stopover and went to my favorite casino, the Bellagio.  When I got home, it hit me that I'd been wanting to try and mimic Cheesecake Factory's "Bellagio" pasta dish.  I did a quick inventory and realized I had everything I needed to make it so I started by thawing a chicken breast.

I gathered a good fistful of basil, a large clove of garlic and a palm full of pine nuts.  I added it all to the food processor along with a dash of salt and pepper.  I added enough olive oil to get it to all come together.  I put it in a container to sit and get comfortable together.

I got some water boiling and when the chicken breast was soft enough, I placed it on a paper plate, covered it with plastic wrap and pounded it out some.  It's amazing that a single boneless, skinless chicken breast can spread out enough to practically double in size.  I mixed some regular bread crumbs with some panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper and some dried italian herbs (oregano, parsley, basil).  I rubbed the chicken breast with some olive oil and then coated it with the bread crumb mixure.

I heated some bacon grease (about 2 tablespoons) in a pan and dropped a bread crumb in to watch for the sizzle.  That let me know when it was ready to drop the chicken in.  I eased the chicken breast into the grease.

I went out and grabbed a big handful of arugula along with a few tomatoes (grape and cherry).  I washed the veggies and diced the tomatoes.

When I could see that the chicken was cooked on one side and nice and golden brown, I flipped it.  I then added a big handful of angel hair pasta to the boiling (salted) water.  I grabbed another pan and put it on a low heat and added the pesto.

I grabbed some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and the cheese grater for the ready.

When the chicken was golden brown on the second side, I removed it from the grease and placed it on a paper towel to grab some of the excess grease.

I then pulled the pasta out of the pot and put it in the pan with the basil pesto.  Don't worry about draining the pasta.  You'll want some of the pasta water to loosen up the pesto and get it to adhere to the pasta.  With the tongs, I kept turning the pasta in the pesto until it was coated.

Place the pasta onto plates, cut the chicken breast in half and place on top of the pasta.  Put the arugula on top and then the tomato dice.  Cover with cheese.

Of course I served with olive oil drizzled, toasted artisan bread.  This was enough for two people.  We were stuffed when finished but cleaned our plates.  I think I nailed the dish!  Hope you like it.

Crostini dinner

I love crostini and I love cheese so I went a bit berserk at the grocery the other day and bought a boatload of fresh artisan breads and cheeses.  I'd planned on doing a crostini each night with dinner but when my plans fell through and found myself facing a last minute throw together dinner, I made the crostini the main course.

I had some bits of salmon in the freezer from filleting a whole salmon.  I'd wanted to use them for a dip or a spread but thought it would go great with the crostini.  I soaked a cedar plank while I worked on the marinade for the salmon.  I put the juice of a whole lemon in a pot along with a fist full of brown sugar and some fresh herbs (whatever needed pruning - mint, basil, oregano, rosemary and a few slices of a chili pepper).  I mixed that until the sugar was dissolved and then put it with the salmon in a sealed bag until the salmon was thawed.  I put the pieces of salmon on the board and then put it on the grill on the lowest heat possible.

I started the bread by putting a drizzle of olive oil on one side of 8 slices of rustic bread.  I then put it on the grill for a bit of smokiness.  I didn't want it too crispy so I didn't leave it on too long.  While the salmon was still cooking, I removed the bread.  I rubbed two pieces with garlic and topped with fresh mozzarella.  I then diced a few grape tomatoes, added some basil, a touch of salt and some olive oil.  I let that sit while I worked on the other crostini.

The next one was a soft cheese that was spreadable.  It was almost like butter, very smooth but quite strong.  I spread it onto two slices of bread and topped it with sliced apple.

Next, I spread apricot jam onto two slices and topped with very strong blue cheese.

Lastly, I put spread (if you could call it that) goat cheese onto two slices, topped with arugula, pecans and drizzled with honey.

I went back to the tomato, basil mixture and topped the mozzarella with it and then drizzled with balsamic glaze.

I removed the smoked salmon from the grill and placed it in a ramekin for a nice addition to the crostini.

Dinner for two with each person getting one crostini each.  It was more than enough for dinner.

Grilled Pizza

I did two types of pizza on the grill.  As with the previous post, I tried to come up with some way to use the zucchini that's taking over my kitchen so as I rolled out my dough, I had the grill heating.  I then sliced one small zucchini per pizza, placed them on non-stick tin foil (note that you can cover a metal pan with the tin foil which will make it easier to pick up once done) along with a couple slices of bacon and put it on the grill.

One pizza was a traditional pizza with red sauce I'd made earlier in the day, letting it plop in the pot and get nice and thick.  I spread the sauce on and chopped the rest of the veggies (onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, black olives, hot pepper), fresh herbs (basil and oregano) and cheese (fresh mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano).

Turn the bacon and flip each slice of the zucchini to get the other side browned.  Once they're both finished, carefully remove from the grill (be careful of the bacon grease - I suggest taking out something to pour the grease in after removing the bacon and the zucchini so you don't have to worry with spilling it).

I took the extra bacon grease and added it to a pan.  Once heated, I added some onions and then them simmer for awhile to get caramelized.  I added a couple slices of red bell pepper and a large garlic clove along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

I added the grilled zucchini to the tomato sauce and then topped with other veggies, herbs and cheese.  I put that pizza on the grill and turned it to low heat.

I then started on the next pizza.  My grill is only big enough for one pizza at a time.  I have one of those pizza pans with the holes in the bottom that I use to grill my pizzas.  I rolled out my dough.  Once the onions and peppers were nice and brown, I added a Tablespoon of butter and splash of olive oil.  Once incorporated, I spread this mixture onto the dough, added the zucchini, crumbled the bacon over it, added some sliced mushrooms.  I topped with tons of basil and oregano and slices of tomato and then the cheese.

The first pizza was ready so I removed it from the grill and then put the next one on.  I sliced the pizza and served it.  While we started on the first one, the second one was grilling.  Once it was finished, I topped it with arugula and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Zucchini side

With zucchini growing like wild these days, what to do with it all?  The initial answer is zucchini bread but then what to do with other 10 that you have?  My second go to option is sautéed with bacon and onions.  I cook up a strip of bacon per person that will be eating it.  I then chop one med or two small zucchinis per person along with a few slices of onion.  Once the bacon is crisp, remove it from the pan.  If there's more grease than just a coating on the pan, remove the excess and then add the onions to the pan.  Once they begin to get translucent, add the zucchini.  Flip around until nicely browned and serve.  Bacon makes everything good.  That was my primary recipe for zucchini but I've recently started adding red bell peppers and mushrooms so feel free to add any other veggies that you want.  It's my go to side when I have an over abundance of zucchini.  It goes great with fish, rice, chicken, anything really.

Grilled Pistachio Encrusted Salmon

I've been grilling a lot lately so when we went to the shore and got a fresh Salmon, I didn't think about anything except getting some filets on the grill.  The first round was simply salt and pepper on the filets and cooked on a cedar plank.  The smokiness of the board is really nice.

Upon returning from a baseball game, I went to put away the leftover peanuts in the pantry when I ran across some pistachios.  The lightbulb went off.  I thawed a few more filets, cracked the pistachios and did a quick chop of them with my knife.  I peppered the filets but didn't salt the meat side because I was thinking of the salt already on the pistachios.  If you're using unsalted ones, go ahead and salt the meat.  I did salt (and pepper) the skin side.  My partner had the idea of putting "something sweet" on the filets in order to get the pistachios to stick.  I grabbed my bottle of balsamic glaze, put a few stripes on and then smeared it around.  I then dabbed the top side of the fish into the chopped pistachios.  I put the filets on non-stick tin foil and then on the grill.  I had the heat med-low. I usually like to cook most things hot and quick but I didn't want to burn the pistachios because they'd get bitter.  Just as they started to brown, I flipped the fish over to the skin side and let them cook the rest of the way.  That got the skin good and crispy as well.  I served the fish as is but wished I'd done another slight drizzle of the balsamic glaze.  Next time.  The sweet glaze along with the crispy pistachios and the soft salmon was divine.

Seafood Risotto

Having some extra mushrooms in the fridge prompted me to want to make some risotto.  I also had a couple containers of seafood stock in the freezer so I decided to do some cleaning.

Let me start by saying that there's nothing better than homemade stock.  During crab (dungeness but you can use any crab) season, I took the shells of a couple that we'd had for dinner one night and boiled them one afternoon along with some veggies I had (a couple small bits of onion, carrot and celery).  So yummy.    Make your own the next time you have some lobster, shrimp or crab shells that you're about to toss in the trash.  I used some of the stock to make a chowder and have an idea for more of it later in addition to the risotto.

Now let me continue by saying, the one thing you need to remember about risotto is that it requires a lot of attention.  I don't know how those contestants do it on the cooking shows.  It requires almost constant stirring in order to get the starches out of the rice and make it a thick, rich and creamy dish.

I started the dish by adding the leftover bacon grease from breakfast to a pot along with a few pats of butter.  I then diced a shallot and one garlic clove and added it.  Once that gets all sizzly, add the risotto and stir it around so that it gets coated well.  Leave it in there for a few minutes and then add some seafood stock and give it a few more good stirs.

In the meantime, I diced up some sundried tomatoes and added them to the mixture.  Stir.  I went out and snipped a good handful of fresh basil.  I brought it in, cleaned and diced it.  Stir, stir, stir.  Continue to stir until it's time to add more.  You'll know because the rice is white and there's very little liquid.  Add stock, stir.

While that's cooking, I put some shrimp on a couple skewers and took the feet off some scallops and skewered those too.  I take the feet and dice them up super tiny and add them to the risotto.  Make sure you get them tiny because they're tough but I hate throwing them away.  If they're small enough, they'll add flavor and no one will know they were ever even in there.  Season the shrimp and scallops with salt and pepper and a dash of italian dried herbs.

Stir the risotto.  And then stir more until it needs more stock.  Add more.  I add about a cup at a time. I only used one cup of risotto.  Clean the mushrooms.  I used button, cremini (small portabella) and portabellas.  Dice them but keep them a nice bite-sized (not too small).  I had a spare piece of corn on the cob in the fridge so I shucked it and removed the corn from the cob.

When the risotto is almost done, add the basil, corn and mushrooms.  Get some parmigiano reggiano cheese and have the shredder at the ready.  Toss the seafood on the grill.  I actually put the scallops onto a non-stick tin foil because I didn't trust the skewers.  I added a couple pats of butter and then sat them in it.  I didn't get a good sear on them but they tasted good none-the-less.  I also put a few slices of buttered sour dough on the grill and toasted it.  I then rubbed it with a tad of garlic to serve alongside the dish.  Stir in the cheese and serve.

Coupla kabobs

Kabobs aren't all that different to eat but I hardly ever make them so they do tend to be a bit different from the every day.  These were really tasty.  I started by buying two small rounds of top sirloin.  I brought them home along with the usual staples of bell pepper (I got orange but any color will do), vidalia onion and mushrooms.  I also grabbed a small slab of salmon to mix things up a bit.  I've been on a salmon kick lately.  I also grabbed the wooden skewers I was going to use and put them in water to soak so that they don't catch fire when grilling.

I started by cubing the steak into like-sized pieces so that they cook evenly.  I then coated them with powdered ginger and tossed into a zip top bag.  I diced a garlic clove and a spring onion and added those to the bag as well.  I then poured in enough teriyaki to coat the beef.  I spread it all out flat in the bag, placed it on a plate and into the fridge.  The longer you can marinade the meat, the better.

The next day, when it was getting close to dinner time, I assembled the skewers with the bell pepper, onion and mushrooms.  I had two different types of mushrooms (white button, portabella and cremini which are just small portabellas) from a festival I'd been to the day previous but you can use whatever kind you want.  I wanted some sort of sauce for them so I grabbed the butter and cut off about 2 tablespoons and added it to a dish along with a squeeze of half a lime, a big dollop of honey and a bunch of mixed herbs.  When it was time to grill, I popped it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it so I could brush it on the veggies on the grill.

I then grabbed some pickled ginger and a tube of wasabi paste from the fridge.  I diced the ginger so finely that it was almost a paste itself and mixed it with the wasabi paste and added the other half of the lime that I used from above.  I took the salmon from the fridge and cut it into cubes.  I took some wasabi powder and dusted it on the cubes and then skewered them.  Let me just say, a wooden skewer is no match for salmon skin!  I had no idea it was that tough.  I almost gave up having visions of skewering my fingers but I managed to get them all (6 cubes) pierced without injury and only butchering one piece of the salmon.  I think next time I'll just use non-stick foil rather than skewering.

I don't really know if putting the powders on the meat prior to putting the sauces on really does anything but it's what I did and they turned out awesome.  I didn't put the sauce on the salmon until I put it on the grill for fear of having the citrus in the lime start to cook the salmon.

Be careful not to overcook the beef (or the salmon for that matter).  I actually did.  I forget that they cook faster when skewered because they're separated allowing for more heat to get around them and cook them faster.  I put the veggies on first and then the beef and then the salmon.

I don't want you to think that I'm a pig but we had corn on the cob too.  It was the holiday weekend so we went all out.  I grill corn by carefully pulling the husk about halfway to three quarters of the way down, pulling out the silt and then wrapping it back up.  I use silicon bands to wrap around them and keep them covered.  I soak the whole thing while I'm prepping everything else.  This allows the corn to steam in the husk while you're cooking everything else.  I put them on the top rack in the grill and turn every so often when checking on the other items.

Everything turned out great.  The steak, as I mentioned, was a bit overcooked but had such a wonderful flavor that it was ok.  So, kabobs may not be too different but what you put on them can be different every time.

My first Rice Bowl

My partner saw a recipe online for a healthy rice bowl and wanted to try it.  I wasn't as interested so I kept the link but figured I'd probably never end up making it.  One day I had come down with a horrendous migraine and couldn't fathom eating anything until I remembered the rice dish.  I thought it would be something bland and boring that I could eat and not irritate my stomach any more than it already was.  The rice bowl recipe was simple enough but even with feeling nauseous from the migraine, I had to spruce it up a bit.  It called for white rice, avocado and a fried egg.  I decided to dissolve a bouillon cube in water for the base to the rice.  I didn't know if I should use beef or chicken so I did one of each.  And since my partner likes brown rice and I like white rice, I made the two batches with the brown going with the beef and the white with the chicken.

I made the separate batches of rice but wasn't thinking about the time difference in making white rice as opposed to brown rice.  Brown rice takes about twice as long to make as white rice so when I was ready to start the second portion of the recipe, the brown rice was still crunchy.  I decided that we'd share the white rice and then have the dish again the next night with the brown rice.  I could take one for the team with the brown rice.

While the eggs were frying, I sliced a half of an avocado and then ran outside to snip some chives.  I diced the chives, put the rice in a couple bowls, topped with the egg then the avocado and then sprinkled with the chives.

I was still skeptical about the dish but I curled up on the sofa and held the bowl in one hand and the fork in the other.  I took a few small bites of just rice and then egg white and rice.  It progressively got better.  Then rice, egg white and avocado.  The creaminess of the avocado with the rice and the tiny bite of the chive was incredible.  It was so soothing.  Then I went for it and had a bite of it all - white rice, egg yolk and avocado.  I was blown away.  The saltiness from the chicken bouillon rice with the silkiness of the egg mixed with the rich avocado.  Heaven.

We gladly ate the same dish the next night with the brown rice and was surprised that I liked it just as much with the brown rice.  This is one I'm keeping in my list of go to dishes when wanting something to wrap up in and enjoy.

Tabboul'itch

My partner said that "Tabboul'ich" sounds more like a condition than a dish.  I'd been wanting to try Tabbouleh for sometime and finally took the plunge.  I bought a bag of the bulgur wheat at the grocery store and was happy to find a recipe on the back of the bag.  I cut the recipe in half since it said it served 6.  With just the two of us doing the eating, I do that often.  I prepared the grains by soaking them in boiling water (1 for 1 - 1 cup of boiling water and 1 cup of grains).  While they soaked, I diced some cucumber, grape tomatoes, and spring onions.

This dish has a lot of herbs in it so it's great to make when you need to go trim up the herbs a bit.  The recipe called for parsley and mint but I also added fresh oregano and thyme.  I put a bit more lemon juice in it than it called for.  I mixed the lemon juice and olive oil first before tossing it in.

The day before, I knew I was going to make the Tabbouleh for dinner the next night.  When I'd last had Tabbouleh, it was as an appetizer and served alongside hummus and tzatziki.  Loving those combinations, I decided to combine two of them.  I found a can of chick peas (or garbanzo beans) and decided to make hummus as well.

I started with caramelizing some onions.  I'm usually too impatient to caramelize onions properly but I thought they would be so great in the hummus.  I started a pan with some bacon grease left over from breakfast.  Once the grease was hot, I added a half of an onion, three shallots and three garlic cloves.  I had the heat on 4 at first and once everything was well coated and sizzling in the grease, I reduced it to 3.  Once they all turned translucent, I reduced it to 2 and let it cook until I'd see a bit of browning.  Stir and cook until everything is caramel colored.  It took a good hour or more.

I added the onions and garlic mixture, one raw garlic clove, salt, pepper.  Remember I said that this is a good dish for using herbs?  Well, I love pesto and hummus so it hit me that they'd be great combined.  I snipped a big bunch of basil and added it to the processor along with the beans on top of everything else I'd already added.  I put a touch of sesame oil (in place of tahini since I didn't have any).  When I say a touch, I mean a touch.  No more than a few drops as it is very strong.  Pulse the processor a few times to get things mixed up.  Then add in a few gluts of olive oil and turn the thing on to puree.  You should see it turning to the consistency of peanut butter.  Keep scraping down the sides as you process so that the hummus comes out smooth and not gritty.  If you need to add more oil (if it seems to thick and not getting smooth), then add it a bit at a time so that it's not overly oily.

Since I was making the meal the next day, I simply tossed it in the fridge to let the flavors set a bit.  Now, fast forward a day and I've just made my Tabbouleh.  I wanted it for dinner so I wanted to do something more than just set it on a plate with the hummus and pita chips.  I decided to make a sandwich with the pita halves.  I split the pita and then rubbed the hummus on the inside and stuffed them with the tabbouleh.  That's where I get tabboul'ich.  They were really good, very healthy and quite filling for dinner.

Some things I'd do differently is that I'd warm the pita.  I'd wanted to toast the pita but knew that it would probably end up breaking.  It didn't hit me until after I was eating it that I could've simply warmed it.  I'd also like to try the tabbouleh with some feta cheese and maybe some black olives.

I'm curious to figure out what else I can make with that bag of bulgar wheat but once I figure it out, I'll post it.  For now, I have about two more portions to get through (and that's with halving the recipe).

Sweet and Savory Breakfast

I had this at a breakfast joint I've been to a few times and after the first time, I had to have it again the next time I went.  Then it hit me, this is so simple to make, I can do it at home.  What is it?  It's herbed goat cheese on toast with jelly.  Sounds a bit odd for breakfast, I know but once you have it, you'll be hooked, I'm sure!  Next time you're at the grocery store, grab a small package of goat cheese.  Not too soft.  Get one that's firm and spreadable but not to creamy or it'll make your toast soggy.  Next, get your favorite bread.  Mine is sourdough.  Then your favorite jelly or jam.  Hopefully you have some fresh herbs outside.  If not, you need to grab those too.  I went out to the patio and snipped a bit of dill, oregano, basil, thyme and sage.  You don't need a lot, just enough to flavor the cheese a bit so don't buy a bunch of packages if you're buying it.  Just get your favorite.  After washing the herbs, chop them up nice and small.  Dump the cheese into a bowl and top with the herbs.  Smash with a fork while your toast is toasting.  Spread the jam on the toast and then top with the cheese.  If it's not the greatest thing you've had in awhile for breakfast, then use the bread for sandwiches or as a garnish to a salad that you can also use the cheese in.  But I hope you love it as much as I do.

Banana Pudding

I thought about not writing about this one because I just posted a banana treat but it hit me that many others are probably in this same situation.  There was a sale on bananas.  Actually, I got a couple free with a coupon from my local grocery store.  I couldn't pass up free so I decided to grab a few.  I'm not a huge fan or bananas.  I'm mean, I like them but don't go crazy over them.  I mostly like them in Frosted Flakes cereal because that's how we always had them as a kid but I rarely buy Frosted Flakes anymore because of all of the sugar.  Anyway, I used one for the caramelized bananas recipe I just posted and then let the other two sit on the counter for a couple of days.  I'd heard that you can put bananas in the freezer and they do well so I thought I'd try it.  I grabbed a package of instant vanilla pudding from the store.  On the morning that I wanted to make the pudding, I put the banana in the fridge to thaw gently.  It didn't take long.  I tested it about an hour or so after moving from the freezer to the fridge and it was getting soft.  I mixed up the pudding, sliced the banana which looked great, just like a regular banana (not black like I was expecting) but it was super soft.  That made it perfect for the pudding.  I didn't want to buy banana pudding because I thought that would be too banana-ee and taste more like banana flavoring than real banana which I truly hate.  Banana flavoring is not pleasing to me.  Once the pudding was starting to set, I mixed in the banana that I'd just peeled and sliced.  It froze my fingers a bit but the result was worth it.  I still had some whipped cream in my canister so after dinner, I topped off my pudding with a squirt and it was divine!  So, yes, you can freeze a banana but only do it if you don't want perfect slices.  Use it to mix into something else.

Caramelized Bananas

After dinner every so often, I want a little dessert.  I hate buying cakes and that sort of thing because they sit around the house for days and I feel compelled to continue eating it.  I had a dessert at a Thai restaurant one night that inspired making the bananas at home.  At the Thai restaurant, the banana is cut into large chunks, battered, deep fried and then drizzled with chocolate sauce and honey.  Sounds fabulous doesn't it?  Well, I'll leave that much work to the restaurant but feel free to try it if you want.  What I did discover is that bananas get very soft and decadent when they're cooked.  They turn almost creamy.  I love it.  That prompted me to quarter a banana one night, throw a fist full of brown sugar into a pan with a tablespoon of butter and give it a shot.  My first attempt, I had the sugar and butter melted and then I added the banana and cooked until it was soft.  The caramel turned to hard candy and it was almost impossible to eat.  Almost but I was a trooper and made it through it.  Then I thought, I need something to make the caramel creamy so the next time, I melted the butter and sugar and then poured in some milk.  It didn't look like it was going to work at first.  It seemed like I had milk and butter and sugar in a pan but I kept stirring over medium heat and it came together nicely.  I then added the bananas again and after tossing them around for a bit, knew that it was time to take them out as soon as they were getting hard to turn (because they were so soft).  I had some whipped cream in a canister in the fridge so I put that on but it also goes nicely with vanilla or even better, coconut ice cream.  But, it's also good by itself.

Quick Sweet Treat

I found myself having a sweet craving one day and didn't feel like the same ol' cookies or cakes.  I had a coupon for Nutella and decided to get some just to see what I could do with them.  Once while in Paris, I'd had a crepe of Nutella and coconut.  Knowing that I probably couldn't make a crepe, or even if I could, it's involved and who wants to make just one after going to all that trouble.  I searched the fridge for a substitute and found some flour tortilla shells I'd used to make quesadillas out of for dinner one night.  I spread the Nutella over the entire tortilla and then sprinkled some shredded coconut I had in the freezer over half of it.  I popped it in the oven and let the tortilla get warm and just brown on the edges.  I took it out and cut it just like I would a quesadilla with three slices on an angle from the center.  Wow, what an awesome treat.  I thought maybe next time some nuts would be nice.  I'd also like to try Nutella and maybe sliced bananas or even strawberries, or hell, maybe even both.  Lots of ways you could go with this.