NEW FACE

Well, what does everyone think? Tiffany with Tart Designs worked on this new blog header and she absolutely nailed it. Other than a little tweaking of the size, adding a red border to bring it all together, and some post-title color changes, it's good to go. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do!

I made a delicious Greek salad last night with a fresh basil vinaigrette. I put all the ingredients separately in little bowls and let everyone choose what they wanted to add to their own salad. They put everything in a small metal mixing bowl and tossed it together themselves. With kids, allowing them to assemble their own food really helps in the enjoyment of eating, especially when veggies are involved. They ate it up!

The perfectly grilled bone-in chicken, courtesy of my hubbie, helped a lot with the yumminess-factor of this salad. Since we were grilling hamburgers this past weekend, I had him grill my marinated chicken too. I then finished the cooking process in the oven last night in a baking dish on super-low heat (250 degrees) for about 30 minutes. The chicken was tender and sooo moist. I served it with diced tomato, sliced kalamata olives, crumbled feta, diced cucumber, and the fresh basil vinaigrette. Everyone added their own ingredients and tossed. Delicious-ness for all!

Our computer crashed and we are still waiting to have everything uploaded. Here's the Hot/Cold Potato Salad I did this week (recipe to follow in The Commercial Appeal next Friday).

Salmon Nuts

The new blog design has me wanting to cook! More importantly, it has me inspired to remember to take pictures of what I cook. I don't use a fancy camera like some of the other food blogs do, not that there is anything wrong with that. I also don't take more than 10 pictures of anything, cause who has time for that?! I just take a quick shot so you all can see what it should (somewhat) look like as an end result when you're done cooking it. I'm no food stylist for sure and I just want the pictures to look real...because usually I'm snapping the shots right before we sit down to eat it. Now about the food...

This is a pan-roasted almond crusted salmon and it's so easy, good for you, and doesn't have any strange ingredients. I use this same "crusting" technique with chicken cutlets, pork medallions, and other types of fish. Just make sure your chicken or pork is no more than 3/4-inch thick so that it cooks through without burning the nuts, like I came extremely close to doing, as you can see in the picture.

I served this salmon with a chilled whole wheat couscous salad that I first started making at work for a food-sale weekend. The fresh basil vinaigrette is so yummy and makes the desires for Spring overwhelming. I typically add toasted almonds to the couscous, but since I'm using nuts on the salmon, I'm leaving them out. Couscous is so easy to prepare because it's a type of pasta and not a grain, so it only requires steaming and not boiling. I use my instant hot water dispenser and the couscous is done in 5 minutes (Israeli couscous, which is more of a pearl-shape, does require boiling).

The basil vinaigrette is something I make at least 2 cups of at a time. I use it for the obvious salad, a marinade, in cold pasta or tuna salad instead of mayo, and so much more. It's really vers-a-tile (you have to say that slowly with the emphasis on each syllable and end with "-tile" using an extremely long "i" sound....I don't know why, but I say it that way every time and it makes me chuckle to myself). Hee hee.

Almond Crusted Pan Roasted Salmon
Serves: 4

4 pieces salmon (about 4-6 ounces each), skin-off, bones removed
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 egg white mixed with 1 tsp. cold water
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. oil
4 lemon wedges for garnish (optional)

For the couscous:
8 ounces whole wheat couscous
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup basil vinaigrette (recipe follows)
4 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup roasted corn medley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tsp. fresh citrus juice (lemon, lime, or orange) or vinegar (red wine, apple cider, or rice wine)
1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds (optional)

Basil Vinaigrette:
yield: 2 cups

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup agave nectar (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 cup canola or olive oil
8 leaves fresh basil

Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium-low heat and add the 2 Tbsp. oil. In a shallow dish or paper plate, stir together the egg white and water with a fork. In a separate dish or paper plate, toss the almonds with the parsley. Sprinkle both sides of the salmon with salt, pepper, and the garlic powder. Press only the flesh (where the bones were removed from) side of the salmon filets into the egg whites and then into the almonds (you are only putting the egg whites and almonds on one side). Cook the salmon, almond-side down, very slowly so the almonds don't burn. Turn after you start to see the edges of the salmon turn pale pink. Cook on the other side for about 3-5 minutes or until desired doneness. Make the vinaigrette by blending all the ingredients in a food processor, blender, or by using an immersion blender. In a 1 quart dish that has a lid, place the couscous, 1/2 tsp. salt, and water. Cover and let set for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine; chill.

Other People's Food

Just thought I'd write a quick post to let you know that I cooked for most of the day today and made some really great things by other people (mostly Cooking Light): Chicken Souvlaki by Cooking Light, Brownies by Saveur, Basil-Lime Sorbet by Cooking Light, and Homemade Basil Pesto by me. Can you tell my basil needed to be used? Yes... I'm aware that making things from Cooking Light doesn't balance out the brownies :(

Here's the adjustments I made to the Souvlaki: I didn't use pita, not because I didn't want to, because mine had freezer burn. I also used fat-free feta, fat-free plain yogurt, and half the amount of the dill (using dried) for the sauce. I also seasoned my raw chicken with the ingredients listed, using fresh garlic, and roasted it in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes on top of the called-for onions. That's it. No pic for this one...we ate it and I forgot.

For the Brownies: I left out the espresso beans it called for and the espresso, as these were mainly for my children and I really didn't feel like padding the walls so that the caffeine could allow for spastic bouncing. This picture isn't pretty, but when it comes to brownies with frosting who really cares?!

Basil-Lime Sorbet: I made it according to their directions. My sister-in-law and I were deliciously happy when all the kids decided they hated it! Yippeeeee!

Don't you just love a good label maker?! It makes me feel way more "Martha" than I really am.

Homemade Basil Pesto:
Yield: 1 quart

4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
4-6 garlic cloves
1-2 tsp. salt, depending on taste and saltiness of the cheese
1 tsp. ground pepper
1/2-1 cup olive oil, depending on how thin or thick you like your pesto
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Puree all the ingredients together until smooth. Separate out into 1-cup portions in freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to one year. Thaw in the frig overnight.

Don't worry, I'll be posting the Pancake recipe later this week!

kēēn-wŏ

Recently I have been craving cold summer salads of all kinds. While searching the pantry for ingredients for my next salad adventure, I found some quinoa (kēēn-wŏ). Originating in South America, quinoa is an edible seed that is used like a grain or cereal and is high in protein and fiber. I used to use this at The Peaks in Telluride in a roasted vegetable terrine. It was really yummy, full of roasted zucchini, yellow squash, red bell peppers, eggplant, and quinoa. We served it with a smoked tomato vinaigrette. That's sounding really good too, so I'll have to play with it and see if I can manage a recipe.

See, IT"S NOT DEAD!

For today I knew I wanted a sweet and sour taste, so I made an easy vinaigrette with equal parts sugar and vinegar and then some olive oil. Since the quinoa and my chosen bean, black-eyed peas, cooked for the same amount of time, I just boiled and drained them together. Fresh basil leaves from the herb garden outside that I have managed not to kill, added a fresh summer bite. I tossed in a few other pantry ingredients and let it marinate for 3 hours. This was so good that we fought over who got to take the leftovers for lunch. I won!



Quinoa & Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Yield: 2 quarts
Serves: 12

1 cup quinoa (couscous, rice, or small pasta will work too)
1 small bag frozen black-eyed peas
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup sugar, brown sugar, honey, or granulated calorie-free sweetener
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
8 basil leaves, torn or chopped
2 tomatoes, diced

1 cup frozen or canned corn
¼ cup pimentos, drained

Boil the quinoa and peas together in 8 cups of boiling, salted water for about 20-30 minutes or until the peas and quinoa are tender; drain. In a large bowl, mix together the vinegar and sugar until dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the peas and quinoa, and toss to combine. Let set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but it tastes better if it sets overnight. If using couscous, rice, or pasta instead of the quinoa, cook it according to its specific directions, separately from the peas, and combine after they are cooked.

Quinoa before it's cooked.

A Perfect Meal

(Click here to listen)

This past Mother's day I had the delightful amusement of cooking with my girls while Kevin managed the grilling of shrimp and chicken sausages.

We started with these Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts, in the above picture. They are my favorite dish right now. I crave them all the time and can eat them straight-from-the-frig cold. If my mother had cooked brussel sprouts this way when I was a kid, I wouldn't have missed years and years of their delightful, earthy, smokey pleasures. I suppose I should save that kind of bitterness for a therapy session....

I first had a version of these brussel sprouts at my favorite restaurant, Restaurant Iris. Its chef, Kelley English, was voted one of the top new chefs of 2009 by Food & Wine magazine (we are so proud of him)! His brussel sprouts are more of a salad with a sherry vinaigrette and local bacon. I like to roast brussel sprouts with balsamic or sherry vinegar at the start and then another drizzle after coming out of the oven for a splash of tartness with all those condensed caramelized bits.



I have to say that Kevin performed perfection at the grill that Sunday. We almost didn't have to chew the shrimp they were so tender. A physical alliteration of "melt-in-your-mouth good." I did a simple marinade of crushed garlic cloves, basil from the back yard, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.

I've decided that kids will eat anything if it's been skewered. I guess it's the novelty of something cooked on a metal or wooden rod. Maybe we'll experiment with all the things they think they don't want to eat like lamb or some crazy fish to see if they'll eat that too. (Note to self: using kids for my personal food experiments might be the second indication of need for therapy...call Dr. Martin).



We drank virgin Piña Coladas from a Williams-Sonoma mix I bought on clearance last fall. I'm not going to lie....I missed the rum. They were frothy and icy and the perfect beverage to accompany our meal together, which would have been even better with rum.

Dessert was Emma's idea. She's 8 3/4's (can't forget the 3/4's, ever) and wanted chocolate turnovers, but wasn't quite sure what that meant, but knew she wanted chocolate in "dough." Maybe I have a protégé after all. We placed our chocolate chips in the pastry diamonds and enjoyed watching them go from flat to puffed with the help of a psychedelic oven light that needs replacing. They were quite tasty with the ice cream on top; reminiscent of days in Paris over 8 years ago.

It was the perfect day sustained by the perfect meal.



Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Serves: 6-8

1 pound brussel sprouts, trimmed & halved
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. balsamic or sherry vinegar
3 strips good quality bacon, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2-1 tsp. pepper (depending on taste)

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the brussel sprouts in a baking/roasting dish and toss with the olive oil, bacon, salt, and pepper. Drizzle on 2 Tbsp. of the vinegar and toss. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, stirring once. After they come out of the oven, immediately drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbsp. vinegar.