French Food = Eggs

This past weekend I was inspired by the Cooking Channel and one of their shows, French Food At Home. With the exception of one recipe (we'll get to that later), everything was really great and quite easy to prepare. I'm pretty sure that my cholesterol is way over the legal limit since I used eggs, and a lot of them, in every recipe but one. Once I had my mixer out, I just left it out all weekend because everything called for me to whip egg whites. This can be a bit annoying, but since I had read the recipes ahead of time and I was making 3 recipes from the show that required whipped egg whites, it wasn't as much of a nuisance.



The very top picture of those beautiful Angel Cookies or, as the chef of the show calls them, Powder Puffs, look so yummy. This is the recipe I was referring to...they weren't good...at all. The cookies came out of the oven smelling like popcorn for some reason. Now this might sound like a good thing, but I assure you, it was not. The texture was bad too; very powdery. Hey, maybe that's why she calls them Powder Puffs? Once the cookies were assembled, I realized they had to be eaten right away. They turned into one big blob in the refrigerator after just 1 hour and had to be tossed, without eating, the next day. Guess the hubbie wasn't really missing anything to begin with. The only salvageable item from this recipe was the vanilla whipped cream. I mean, who hasn't made this before right?! But after a really gross tasting cookie, the vanilla-scented pillows of cream (me and my daughters all with our own spoons in the bowl) made up for it.



The second item I tried from French Cooking At Home, was this Pea, Asparagus & Fava Tumble. I didn't have fava's or the time to deal with them, so I just used asparagus, peas, and edamame. Yummy! The bi-weekly column I do for the Commercial Appeal will have my version of this recipe out on 7/30.

The third item was her Spinach Omelet Souffle. Yum, yum, and more yum. I did have to cook mine on both sides or my kids would have said it was raw. Regardless, it was delish and easily flippable without losing too much air.

The fourth recipe was her Angel Cake. I used fresh blueberries from down the street and a homemade, quick Maple Creme Anglaise (1/2 sour cream & 1/2 heavy cream). The cake, again whipped egg whites, was light as air but still had depth of flavor from the egg yolks. This cake doesn't keep long as it takes on other flavors easily, so serve it at a dinner party or at brunch so that it doesn't make it to another day.


Angel Cake out of the pan.

I've been doing a lot of canning lately: tomato marmalade and blueberry syrup from Food & Wine, among other things. I'll be sharing those soon. I've canned before, but this time the lids made that beautiful "pop" to let me know they sealed. Very exciting!

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.