Spanish Mahi Mahi with Tomatoes, Pine Nuts and Garlic

Aside from the magazines I scour I do come across other interesting blogs from time to time. One of them is  Hunter Angler Gardner Cook, whose writer introduces himself succinctly as such:


"My name is Hank Shaw. I write. I fish. I dig earth, raise plants, live for food and kill wild animals... Honest food is what I’m seeking. Nothing packaged, nothing in a box, nothing wrapped in plastic."


He tends to focus on some of the less common editable plants and animals which is how I came across his recipe for Spanish Shark with Tomatoes.  As much as I admire Mr. Shaw's dedication to actually wild  food I didn't have shark. All I had was frozen Mahi Mahi but I gave it a shot anyway. Here is my modified recipe:

Spanish Mahi Mahi with Tomatoes, Pine Nuts and Garlic

12 ounces skinless fillets of mahi mahi or other firm, white fish
Whole wheat flour for dusting
At least 3 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, slivered
1/3 cup pine nuts
4 tablespoons white wine
9-10 Cherry tomatoes cut in half
2 teaspoons paprika (Spanish smoked is better)
1 teaspoon thinly sliced scallions
1 teaspoon minced chives (optional)
Salt
Black pepper

1.  Cube the fish into chunks of about an inch on a side. Salt well and set aside.
2.  Put a saute pan over medium heat and add the pine nuts to toast. Do not walk away at this point, because pine nuts can burn easily. Toss the pan frequently to toast all sides of the nuts. Once you get a dark brown on even a few nuts, turn off the heat and pour the nuts into a bowl.
3.  Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Turn the heat up to medium high.
4.  Dust the shark in the flour and saute in the oil 5-6 minutes turning frequently after the first 2 minutes.  Set the cooked fish on a paper towel to drain.
5.  Add the garlic and pine nuts to the pan and saute. Add a more olive oil if the fish soaked up too much. The second you see the garlic brown, add the tomatoes and toss to combine. Grind some black pepper over everything.
6.  Add the wine and scrape up any stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
7.  Sprinkle a little salt over the tomatoes, then add the fish back to the pan. Sprinkle with the paprika. Cook for only another minute or so, just to coat everything evenly. It is very important that you not cook the tomatoes so much they break down. Just a couple minutes is all they need.
8.  Add the scallions and herbs, toss to combine and remove from heat. Serve immediately!

Pan Sautéed Chicken with Cognac Cranberry Sauce

I love chicken made with a nice pan sauce. Pork chops also work well for this too. The original recipe called for bourbon but I have always like cognac better. The sauce came out a little thick the first time I made it because some of the flour mixture from the chicken ended up thickening the sauce. If this happens to you just add more broth or water to even it out.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour, divided

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 medium shallot , minced (about 3 tablespoons)

3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup bourbon

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

For the Sautéed Chicken: 

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. 

While pan is heating, whisk 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in small bowl. Lightly brush top side of 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts with half of butter mixture. 

Place chicken in skillet, coated side down, and cook until browned. While chicken browns, brush top with remaining butter mixture. 

Using tongs, flip chicken, reduce heat to medium, and cook until second side is browned and thickest part of breast registers 160 to 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer. 

Transfer chicken to large plate and let rest while preparing pan sauce (if not making pan sauce, let chicken rest 5 minutes before serving).

For Pan Sauce: Add 1 medium minced shallot to now empty skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon flour and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and add 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth, 1/2 cup cognac, 1/3 cup dried cranberries, and 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme. 

Return pan to medium-high, and bring to simmer, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Simmer rapidly until reduced to 3/4 cup, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Stir in any accumulated chicken juices; return to simmer and cook 30 seconds. Off heat, whisk in 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over chicken and serve immediately.

Alternatives to the Cognac and Cranberry is a nice Fennel and Mustard sauce:

Omit cognac, cranberries, red wine vinegar and thyme. Follow pan sauce recipe as above adding 1 teaspoon fennel seeds with shallot and add 1/2 cup dry vermouth with broth. Off heat, whisk in 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon with the butter. 

Lemon Pudding Cake

I hadn't heard of Pudding Cake until I found a Lemon recipe in "Entertainment," the new Cook's Illustrated magazine I have mentioned previously. I originally thought the name meant I would make pudding and somehow have it in cake, perhaps in layers. Further investigation revealed that it is actually custard components with flour and beaten egg whites that separate into pudding (or really more of a custard) and a super fluffy cake top as it bakes! Baking is like science magic once again!


The prospect of beating egg whites has never thrilled me. You really do need a mixer as it would take forever by hand. Using my cheap Target bought mixer the lowest speed seems like a really fast speed but it did really take several minutes to get the egg whites to from foamy to stiff peaks. You can add a little bit of sugar to help speed up the process without endangering yourself of going into the realm of over beaten egg whites (in other words, clumps) . Don't be intimidated by egg whites! You can always make more even if you mess up and believe me, the results were superb!


Recipe:


2 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened, plus extra to grease the pan
1/2 cup granulated sugar , plus 2 tablespoons
1/8 teaspoon table salt
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 - 3 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice , strained, from 1 to 2 lemons
1 cup whole milk
4 large egg whites , at room temperature

1. Lightly butter pan or baking molds of choice. You can make this cake in almost anything: custard cups, ramekins, mini souffle cups, round cake pan or what I choose, an 8" square baking dish. The baking time regardless of pan chosen will remain the same. Lay a folded dish towel in bottom of large roasting pan where you will set your pans or dish. Later you will use the large roasting pan as a water bath for the cake.

2. Meanwhile, in mixing bowl mash 2 tablespoons butter together with sugar and salt with back of wooden spoon until crumbly. Beat in yolks, then flour, mixing until smooth. Slowly beat in lemon zest and juice, then stir in milk. Set this aside in a bowl and clean mixer.

3. Before you begin the next step its a good idea to start preheating the oven to 325. You will also need to boil enough water to create a water bath for your baking dish.

4. Next, beat egg whites to stiff, moist peaks. Gently whisk whites into batter just until no large lumps remain.

5. Immediately ladle (don’t pour) batter into pan, custard cups, or ramekins. Place the large roasting pan containing your ramekins etc on the oven rack. Pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of baking pan or molds and be careful not to burn yourself.

6. Bake until pudding cake center is set and springs back when gently touched, about 25 minutes. Remove roasting pan from oven and let pan or molds continue to stand in water bath for 10 minutes. Pudding cakes can be served warm, at room temperature, or even chilled but are best served the same day as they are made. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for extra effect.

Here we couldn't resist cutting into it!

Here is the close up view of the layers

A Truly Perfect Herb-Crusted Pork Roast

This is a dish I made from Cook's Illustrated new double sized quarterly magazine Entertaining. As the name implies the focus will be on good recipes and menus for those special nights. I'm pretty new to cooking pork but I thought it was about time I gave the other white meat a chance. This recipe does seem to require a food processor though you could potentially get away without one if you are willing to put in the work. Thanks to all the research done for me by the same award winning team at America's Test Kitchen, it came out beautiful, flavorful and next time maybe I will actually make it for company!

Herb-Crusted Pork Roast

1 boneless center-cut pork loin roast ( I couldn't find boneless so I hacked the bones off the bottom and it still came out well) about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds.
Table salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 large slice of white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1/2 cup of fine grated Parmesan (I used Romano because I like the flavor better tho it is saltier) cheese
1 medium shallot, outer papery layer removed
4 tablespoons plus two teaspoons olive oil
Ground black pepper
1/3 cup packed fresh parsley or basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

1) Using a sharp knife lightly score the fat cap in a 1/4 inch width crosshatch pattern. You should have two overlapping diagonal set of rows of nice little groves. Later this is where the herb paste we make will sit. Next, make a pocket into the meat by inserting a knife about a 1/2 inch from the edge and cutting along the middle of the roast. Be careful not to cut to the other side of roast. Dissolve a have cup of salt and the quarter cup of sugar into 2 quarts (8 cups) of water in a large bowl. Place the roast in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

2) While the meat is brining, pulse the shallot in the food processor to mince. Transfer to a medium bowl and clean the food processor bowl very well. Next, add the bread pieces and pulse until you have crumbs, about 15 times; you should have about a cup of bread crumbs.  Transfer crumbs to the same bowl as the shallots and do not clean processor bowl. To the medium bowl with the crumbs and shallots now add 2 tablespoons of the grated cheese, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and using a fork toss the mixture to coat the crumbs well. Set aside.

3) To make the herb paste add all the herbs, garlic, remaining grated cheese (about 6 tablespoons), 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to the food processor and pulse, adding 3 tablespoons of olive oil slowly until paste is fully incorporated and smooth, about 12 pulses.

4) Once roast is done brining, rinse very well and pat dry with paper towels. Spread about 1/4 cup of the herb paste inside the pocket of the roast, season outside of roast with salt (I skipped the salt here because I was using salty cheese) and pepper and then tie the roast with kitchen twine to keep the pocket closed. I didn't have kitchen twine which made this more difficult but I was able to keep the paste from slipping out by using a good pair of tongs to handle the roast in step 6.

5) Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a cookie sheet with foil. Place a wire rack (I used a sturdy cookie cooling rack) on the cookie sheet and set aside.

6) Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add roast, fat side down, browning lightly on all sides about 8-10 minutes. If the fat begins to smoke lower the heat. Once done remove the kitchen twine and place roast on the wire rack.

7) Cover top of the roast evenly with remaining herb paste and then sprinkle bread crumb mixture on top of roast with hands, gently pressing to affix the crumbs firmly.

8) Transfer to oven and cook until thickest part of the roast registers 145F about 50-75 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Internal temperature should rise to about 150F.

9) Using a spatula and meat fork carefully transfer to carving board, cut into half inch slices and serve immediately.

Red Bell Pepper Bisque

I love a good soup and this one is both healthy and not much work. The key is to make sure the vegetables are nice and cooked down. Then when the slow cooker goes to work it wont have to be cooked quite as long and will have a deeper flavor.

4 red bell peppers chopped

2 leeks, white part only, chopped

1 onion chopped

1 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups 2% Milk

Salt and Pepper

1. Coat skillet with cooking spray and set over medium high heat. Add bell peppers, leeks and onion. Cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2. Place vegetables in slow cooker. Stir in broth and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high 2-4 hours.

3. Puree soup on batches in a food processor or blender. Return soup to cooker. Stir in milk and cook 15 to 20 more minutes, or until heated through.

Chicken Chorizo Stew

Last night I made a Chicken Chorizo Stew. It isn't super healthy due to the chorizo ( I actually used Soy-chorizo; cant tell the difference) but as there isn't that much used for a whole pot, I'll let you decide that for yourself!


2 chicken breasts cut up in to bite size chunks or equivalent amount of chicken tenders
1/2 package of chorizo sausage, chopped up or squeezed out of casing and broken apart
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes (recommended to get the ones with Mexican spices in it)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2-3 cups chicken stock (depending on how stew/soup like you want it)
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained, or two cups frozen
1/4 tbs ground cumin
1/4 tbs ground corriander

Suggested garnishes: sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, tortilla chips

Chop chicken into bite-size pieces and season with salt and pepper. Heat a medium soup pot and add extra-virgin olive oil. Add the chicken and chorizo to pot. Lightly brown, 2 minutes, then add cumin, coriander and garlic. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, then add peppers, onions and celery. Cook 5 minutes until onions are glassy and tender, then stir in tomatoes, black beans, corn, and hot sauce. Add chicken stock and bring stew to a bubble.

Let simmer partially covered for 30 min before serving. Add garnishes if desired.

Faux Beef Pot Pie

Earlier in the week I used my food processor to chop up a whole host of root and winter vegetables. Really almost anything can go in this dish and so far I've used different ingredients each time. The first time I made this I used left over pork tenderloin with vegetable stock and forgot to add the peas I had planned on using. This time Im going with, fennel, celery, carrots, turnip, diced onions and I have left over steak and home made beef stock. This dish could easily omit the meat if you choose. After you have all your vegetables chopped you can preheat your oven to 375F.

If you have leftover rice, bulgur or quinoa now is the time to take it out of the fridge. I had cooked quinoa the other day in vegetable stock for extra flavor. I added some olive oil and a half cup of shredded cheese to about two cups of cooked quinoa. I choose to go with mozzarella as I think it will compliment the flavor of the beef in the dish better but any cheese would do. Set aside the toping mixture for now.

If you are starting with raw meat, salt and pepper it and brown on all sides in a frying pan. Once cooked most of the way remove the meat to a side plate and drain off all but a tablespoon of fat or add enough olive oil (a must if skipping the meat) to make a tablespoon. Next add the hard root vegetables to the same frying pan. I like to sauté just long enough to take the hardness out of the vegetables, without getting anywhere near mushy, as once this dish is assembled it will be cooked another 30 min anyway. Next I add in about 3 tablespoons of flour (I used whole wheat) and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in peas, or less hardy vegetables like corn if using, and 2 cups of broth along with dried thyme and sage or rosemary and stir, cooking for another 2 minutes or until partially reduced. My broth is home made and therefore entirely devoid of salt so at this stage I like to add a good bit of sea salt to help bring out the flavor of the stock and the vegetables. After reduced a bit  add the meat back in to the frying pan.

Next I add in 3 tablespoons of plain fat free yogurt to the pan, stirring in well. You can use low fat Greek style which has a nice thickness and tangy taste or you can go with regular plain fat free as I have here. I sometimes find I need to add more yogurt if I use regular plain and more stock if I use the Greek style. Cook for a few minutes until the dish has thickened and then remove from heat. The liquid should look a bit like the kind of gravy you expect to find in pot pie but a bit thinner.

Transfer the contents of the frying pan to a casserole dish. Top with quinoa/cheese mixture evenly and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes or until top has browned. Once done let it cool for about 5 minutes and then dig in!

Home Made Cinnamon Buns

Cinnamon Buns!

I decided to deviate from a healthy regime by making these, a recipe from America's Test Kitchen.  This picture is post baking pre-frosting but you get the idea. I did something of a poor job making them as the butter was too soft when I mixed it in. I also had the rack too low in the oven so the bottoms are a bit burnt. They still turned out pretty good and I'll attempt another (half batch this time) in the near future.

Minestrone with Quinoa

Traditional minestrone soup has vegetables in a tomato based soup with pasta and kidney beans. The recipe I found called for something like two cups of chopped plum tomatoes, and water, as the base. In the past, I have found that leaving the tomato peels in can make the dish a bit bitter. I like using diced or stewed tomatoes but the third ingredient on the can seems to always be high fructose corn syrup! I managed to find a can of organic diced tomatoes that only actually contains tomatoes - imagine that! I used that and water instead of trying to dice a ton of plum tomatoes in my variation below.


To a soup pot add some olive oil, minced garlic, chopped fresh thyme, chopped fennel, a little bit of crushed fennel seeds, diced red onion, chopped celery, a little bit of chopped leek and two bay leaves. Stir frequently over medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add a can of organic diced tomatoes, juice and all, along with a can of your favorite beans, rinsed. I went with a can of tri-blend of black, pinto and kidney beans. Add about 2 cups of water to get actual soup consistency:

Next add about 1/3 cup quinoa and mix in well. I use quinoa as a rice substitute as it has pretty great texture and tons of fiber by comparison. I don't particularly like the pasta usually found in minestrone, so when I found a recipe that used quinoa instead I jumped on it. Quinoa doesn't look like much, but it does absorb as much water as rice would, so don't go over board!

Set the burner to high to get it all to boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaves and the soup is ready to be served!

How I love my food processor !

I found myself making burgers this weekend and craving a home made slaw that wasn't too heavy with creamy ingredients. After a quick search I found a recipe for an Edamame Slaw. 

Out came the food processor!

It made quick work of shredding cabbage, carrots, yellow bell pepper and celery. In another bowl I mixed honey with apple cider vinegar and lots of pepper. These went on my vegetables (along with some thawed shelled Edemame) and after a little time in the fridge I had what I was looking for:

While I had the machine out I made quick work of a few other vegetables I plan on using in a "Faux Pot Pie" - a variation on a recipe I found in Clean Eating Magazine. Turnip, leeks, carrots, fennel and celery all went into a plastic bag for later in the week. I would have done onion as well but I tend to buy chopped frozen onion now to save time on all my dishes. 

Half the fennel got saved for another dish; a variation on Minestrone which Ill get to next!

Steak on Bowtie Pasta

With things finally settling back down from the holidays I decided to take a look in my latest copy of Clean Eating magazine for some new dinner ideas. This past weekend I made one of their steak and pasta dishes from the budget section of the Jan/Feb 2010 issue. I don't tend to use cinnamon in savory dishes so I figured it would quite an experiment.

The steak is first chopped up and marinated for at least an hour in some garlic, a few good squirts of Dijon mustard, a little bit of red wine vinegar and cinnamon. I may have added too much cinnamon and vinegar because the meat came out mostly tasting of these flavors so maybe break it up with a little bit of water and only use a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for a pound of steak. I cooked up a 16 oz bag of bowtie pasta and set it aside for later.

In a saucepan I sautéed mushrooms, some garlic and a chopped up onion until all were a nice golden brown. I set those aside and cooked the steak, discarding the marinade. Once the steak was browned on all sides (about 4 minutes), I added the onion mixture back in with a hefty dose of Italian seasoning and some salt and black pepper. To this I added a can of diced no salt-added tomatoes. I let these cook on medium low for a few minutes to give the spices a chance to blend. I then added about 8 oz of low fat sour cream to make the sauce thicker and creamier. Add to pasta and serve!

I tend to find that steak strips or cubes that are sautéed get over cooked easily so in the future I think I might try seasoning, grilling (in the broiler, maybe) and then chopping up the steak to add on top at the end. I also think this dish would be tasty and easier with chicken strips or tenders. Chicken left to marinate over night seems to give more flavor with salt and vinegar type marinades. The no salt-added tomatoes were not a bad addition but I found that this meant I had to add more of my own salt later on. This is usually better though as I can use sea salt which is not as bad for you and altogether less salt than otherwise.