These were made just for Dylan.

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I didn’t mean to, I swear!  It’s just that, well, there aren’t many recipes *left* in the WF market cookbook that I want to make.  So I’ve been cheating and cooking other things and not blogging about it.  Jess fail.

Tonight I made the fabulous fresh salmon burgers from America’s Test Kitchen: Best Classic American Recipes.  I’ve made these several times before and they are always delicious.  Continue reading →

Warm weather = salads.  Finally!  This was delicious as a sandwich filling, but would also be good with some shells or rotini for a picnic pasta salad.

• 2 cans good-quality tuna
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained well & coarsely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup each chopped fresh basil & parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon)
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl.  Eat.

This is a truly bizarre combination of ingredients that somehow all work together really really well.  The overall effect is a fairly light dish with umami out the wazoo.

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Back to the book tonight!  This was seriously yummy, and filling without being heavy, which is exactly the sort of thing I like around this time of year.

The shrimp marinates for about an hour in what the book calls a “fiery almond pesto.”  The ingredients are 1 jalapeno pepper (with or without seeds according to your preference, fresh cilantro, scallions, almonds (slivers or slices work best), olive oil, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.  Mix in a food processor until a thick paste forms.  Toss with shrimp and marinate in the fridge 1 hour or more.  (If you are like me and buy your shrimp frozen, you can let the marinate and defrost at the same time, which saves you having to remember to defrost them in advance.) Continue reading →

This was a BIG hit.  For the Israeli couscous, I simply sauteed a little curry powder, salt, and garlic in EVOO, then added the couscous and tossed to cover.  Then addded water, covered, and cooked like basmati rice (15 minutes on the heat, 15 minutes off, never lift the cover).

The seafood and veggies were marinated for about 30 minutes (separately) in a mixture of EVOO, lemon juice, garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, turmeric, salt, pepper, and a little cayenne on the seafood only.  The book said to refrigerate during this time.  I didn’t bother.

The seafod itself was a mixture of tilapia and sea scallops.  The recipe calls for mahi mahi and shrimp, but I think almost any combination of mild white fish and shellfish would work.  I’d love to have this with something like halibut and lobster.  Mmmmm, lobster.  The veggies are just red bell peppers and red onion - again, you could use almost any combination.

While everything is marinading, preheat the oven to 450F.  Cook the veggies for about 25 minutes and the seafood for about 10 (in separate pans).  Serve over couscous.  Yum!

Dylan Report: BIG thumbs up!!  Since I added cayenne to the seafood, I only served him couscous and veggies, and also threw in a few raisins for good measure.  He ate it all up with his spoon and then begged for more bites off of Mommy and Daddy’s plates.  I call that a win.  Good thing there’s extra couscous left - he can have it tomorrow for breakfast.

Oddly enough, this is the first “chicken and dumplings” I’ve ever made where the dumplings weren’t matzoh balls. And it turns out I’m better with matzoh than flour - these were a little dense for my taste.

For the broth, I cut the breast and thigh meat away from a 5-lb chicken and put the remaining carcass (without skin) into the slow-cooker with a few carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 onion, and a bit of salt. Filled with water and left it on low all day. When I got home, I scooped out the bones and veggies with a spider and added back the meat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Continue reading →

The original recipe is for an entire side of salmon to serve a crowd - I made it with 2 fillets to serve 2. I also skipped soaking dried chiles and used Thai red chili paste instead (because the overall flavor profile struck me as being Thai-ish and I had chili paste on hand already).

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a mini-prep, whiz together a lump of Thai red chili paste, a few tablespoons of brown sugar, juice from 1 lime, 2 big garlic cloves, and salt until a puree/paste forms.

Spread puree over salmon fillets in pan.  Lay thin lime slices on top.  Bake 20 minutes or until salmon is just cooked through.

This wasn’t great, but I blame the quality of the salmon more than the recipe.  I used frozen salmon fillets from Whole Foods to avoid having to go to the fish store after work today, but in the future I’ll make time.  The frozen salmon dried out in the oven much faster than fresh would have, and the resulting texture was dry and a little mealy.  The glaze was delicious and I would definitely give this another try.

I served it with a baby spinach salad - dressing was half the juice from a navel orange, a splash of champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, EVOO, salt and pepper.  Topped it with toasted pine nuts and crumbled blue cheese.  (My salad dressing jar?  An old Stage 2 baby food jar.  It is the absolute *perfect* size.)