Easy Summer Fruit Salad

Sorry I haven't written in a while. This new job makes it hard not only to cook but take some time to shoot and write about it. But this fruit salad, taken to a potluck BBQ, was easy. The sizes don't really matter. We had some blueberries from my folks garden, some left over cantaloupe. I bought a watermelon to make up the difference.

1/1 medium watermelon
1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 cup blueberries, thought I would have used more if I'd had them
1 tbsp minced fresh mint
1/4 tspn sugar

Using a small melon baller, remove all the fruit from the water melon and the cantaloupe, reserving all the removed fruit and the empty watermelon half. Using a large metal spoon, scrape out any remaining fruit, leaving a smooth surface. Pour reserved fruit, mint and sugar in bowl and mix well. Let sit in fridge for 30 minutes before serving for flavors to set.

Pretty, simple and tasty. Would work with almost any combination of summer fruits.

Chicken Cilantro Lime Soup

This is a great dish - easy, very tasty, and quick to make. I used the Cilantro Lime Soup recipe from Epicurious at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/599. However, I used two chicken legs and 2 chicken thighs. When the soup was done cooking, i pulled the pieces out, pulled the meat off the bone, chopped up the meat and tossed them back in the soup. The only other change was the addition of sliced avocado on top. Mmmmm...summer.

Crab and Cantaloupe Soup

Hmm. You know those food combinations that taste good for a bite or two, but you really don't want more than that? This recipe fits into that category. The cantaloupe and crab tasted pretty good together, but an entire bowl of it was just way way too much. I did enjoy the contrast of the lemony crab with the mellow sweetness of the cantaloupe, and it certainly felt healthy. I think this would work better as an amuse bouche, served in a little dumpling spoon. One bite would have been perfect!

Flatiron Steak Salad

Ding ding ding! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! Last night I made a fabulous salad for dinner. It was a huge hit and absolutely delicious. It's a definite keeper. Check out the Flatiron Steak Salad with Thai Dressing in this month's Food and Wine. The flavors were amazing, and we drank it with Dulle Teve, a Belgian Tripel Ale, since I was unable to find the recommended beer. (BTW, watch out - there's a higher alcohol content here...rough, rough morning.)

Let me know what you think. I was thinking that next time I might make it just a tad spicier, and add a little avocado.

Spaghetti with Arugula Walnut Pesto, Sausage and Tomatoes

Here's an idea for a quick pasta dinner that tastes great and looks pretty. I had a craving for spaghetti and a lot of great ingredients in the house to use up. First - some pesto. I had a full package of arugula that sat around for about a week hoping to get used in a salad but instead was forgotten about. So, I toasted a handful of walnuts and put those, the arugula, 2 cloves of garlic and some parmesan in the food processor. After combining I added in olive oil until I had a good pesto consistency. Next, while I cooked the spaghetti, I combined some Italian sausage with breadcrumbs and formed medium-sized-meatballs. I browned them on all sides, and then poured in about a cup to a cup and half of chicken broth, a handful of cherry tomatoes and put the lid on the skillet. I let these cook on medium low heat about 10 minutes until the sausage was cooked through.

Finally, I drained the pasta, tossed it with the pesto, and topped with the sausage and wilted tomatoes (the broth had cooked almost competely out of the pan at this point). Quick, easy and very tasty.

Semi Homemade Stuff

Yup, I feel a little like Semi Homemade Sandra Dee. This meal was assembled from
pre-made Southwestern Eggrolls from Entree Vous that I just fried up and Rice-A-Roni's Mexican rice. I added some homemade guacamole and some homemade cantaloupe tomato salsa. I guess the key with premade foods is to add your own very fresh touches, good veggies or fruit, etc. After frying the egrolls I sprinkled some shredded cheddar on top, stuck them under a hot broiled for about 30 seconds, and topped them with some sour cream. And, hell, everything is good with an extra-limey gin and tonic.

My salsa was as follows:

3 roma tomatoes, seeds and pulp removed, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 small red pepper, seeds removed, minced
1/4 of a cantaloupe, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
splash of champagne vinegar

Mix together. Let sit for an hour or so if you can before serving.

Chicken Salad

For Sunday brunch, in addition to the cheese souffle, I also made a chicken salad from the leftovers of a chicken I had roasted a couple nights earlier. You could do the same very easily with a rotisserie chicken from the market.

Three cups chopped cooked chicken (with or without the skin, depending on how much you care about being alive for much longer)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 cup seedless grapes, halved or quartered depending on size (I used red for the color)
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped or broken into small pieces
freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon
salt

Combine all ingredients through the black pepper in a medium bowl. Taste. I had cooked a maple black pepper glazed roasted chicken, so the outside was a little sweet. Therefore, I added the juice of about a half a lemon to counter the maple's sweetness, add a little acidity. You could also use fresh tarragon for the same thing. So, taste yours, see if you need to add lemon. Same thing with the salt - mine was a little salty on the skin so I didn't need to add any to the salad. Enjoy with bread, mixed salad greens, whatever floats your boat.

Broiled Trout with Bacon, Onions and Raisins

So, frustratingly, Gourmet hasn't posted the recipe I recently tried - the Broiled Trout with Onions Raisins and Bacon from the March issue. It was pretty good, but, hmm, I probably won't cook again. It was exciting - I cooked my first head-on fish. Not sure why that's exciting but it was, and it wasn't bad, just not great. I think more of the sauce would have been good, and I might play around with it. I served it with some arugula with a lemon-y vinaigrette, and my sweet made some sweet cornbread, which nicely offset the vinegar and the tartness of the sauce on the fish.

Have you made this recipe? Tell me what you think.

BROILED TROUT WITH BACON, ONIONS AND RAISINS
Serves 4

The sweet and savory flavors coaxed from the bacon, onion, raisins and vinegar in this dish complement the delicate trout without overpowering it.

4 thick bacon slices (7 oz) cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-wide strips
2 cups coarsely chopped red onion
1/2 cup golden raisins (3 oz)
1/2 cup red-wine vinegar
2 tspn sugar
1/2 tspn salt
4 (10- to 12-oz) whole rainbow trout, cleaned and boned, leaving heads and tails intact, (butterflied), or 8 fillets
2 tspn olive oil plus additional if necessary
1/4 tspn black pepper

Special Equipment 2 (15- by 10-inch shallow baking pans)

Cook bacon in 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, then pour off all but 1/4 cup fat (add additional olive oil if bacon doesn't render enough fat). Add onion to skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and beginning to brown on edges, about 6 minutes. Stir in bacon, raisins, vinegar, sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt and boil until liquid is reduced about 1/3 cup, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and keep warm, covered.

Preheat broiler and oil baking pans.

Arrange 2 trout, opened and skin side down, in each pan. Brush flesh of fish with 2 teaspoons oil (total) and sprinkle with pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Broil 1 pan of fish about 4 inches from heat until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes, then loosely cover with foil to keep warm and broil second pan of fish in same manner. Spoon bacon mixture down center of each fish and drizzle with remaining juices from skillet.

Cauliflower Risotto

Right up there in my cooking nirvana with cooking a masterpiece that takes several hours and looks AND tastes spectacular is cooking something really good with no menu based on ingredients solely from the kitchen, where I didn't go out and get a single thing. That may sound like nothing to those who keep a better stocked kitchen than myself, but to me its pretty special. The other night we had some chicken with cauliflower risotto. Why make risotto (such a fabulous rich creamy warm dish) with boring odd cauliflower? Because it's what we had in the house. And it was delicious!

I'll start with the chicken. I used the method I usually use when I'm in a hurry. First I browned two chicken breasts in just a little olive oil over medium high heat. Once browned, I set them on a plate to the side, turned the pan heat down to medium and added 2 strips of bacon to the pan. When they were just starting to release their fat, I added two crushed garlic cloves. I cooked these for two minutes, stirring, then added about a cup of white wine, a sprig of fresh thyme, a rib of celery chopped and the chicken breasts. I put the lid on the pan and let cook for about another 20 minutes. This may seem a little weird, but about 3 minutes before the chicken was done, I added a handful of cherry tomatoes. One, I did it for color, two, I was concerned that with the cauliflower risotto and the chicken and the bacon that the dish needed some acidity and something to lighten it up a bit.

OK. While the chicken was cooking I cooked a large head of cauliflower (cut into florets) in a medium pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. I drained the cauliflower in a strainer, and added the cauliflower to another medium pot with a tablespoon of olive oil and, over medium high heat, cooked the cauliflower a few minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the cauliflower to get browned in a few places. Then I added 1 cup of arborio rice and stirred for one minute. Next, I turned down the heat to medium, and added 1 cup of white wine. If you've made risotto before, you know its just a process of adding liquid and constant stirring until its at the consistency you want it at. So, I alternated between white wine and vegetable stock until it was where I wanted it. Then I added 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a tbsp of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and serve! I thought it showed off the cauliflower well, with its mellow sweetness contrasting nicely with the cheese and wine flavor. By the way, the risotto would be a perfect veggie main dish also, and we had enough risotto to serve about 4 people.

Vidalia Onion Fig Chicken and Zucchini Fritters

There are some fabulous pre-made sauces out there, and for Christmas we received a bottle of Stonewall Kitchen's Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce. I served it over some chicken breasts and made some zucchini fritters (recipe from Epicurious) on the side. The chicken was very flavorful and I will definitely make again. The fritters were tasty, but just too greasy, even for me. I put them on paper towels after frying, but when I bit into them it felt like a pool of grease was exploding in my mouth. Not good. And I felt a little queasy as I tried to sleep later that night. So, I'll be making the chicken again, but staying away from those fritters.

For the chicken, I took 4 chicken breasts, browned them in a tbsp of olive oil over high heat. Then I put them in a casserole dish, poured about a cup of the sauce over them, tossed to coat, and stuck them in an oven that had been preheated to 350F. They cooked for about a half an hour and were perfect.

PS - those are my favorite gougeres also on the plate.

Linguine with Crab

Do you want to hear about the failures? Or things that just aren't that good? I'm not sure if I should write about them, but this one falls in that category. I started with a Nigella Lawson recipe and tweaked it based on what I had in my fridge, but I honestly don't think my minor change was the reason this dish was fairly unsatisfying. Her recipe is Linguine with Chilli, Crab and Watercress from her Forever Summer cookbook. I replaced the watercress with steamed asparagus pieces (I understand they are completely different) because we had some and I wanted more veggies. I thought it would be light and flavorful, but it was extremely bland. Drew said it was, hmm, ok, but I won't be making it again. I tried to think what would have made it better, and made the flavors come together better. I considered a white wine/butter/lemon sort of reduction, but I just think that would have overpowered the delicate crab. Her original recipe is below. Let me know what you think, if you've tried it, how I might have improved it, etc.

Thanks!

Linguine with Chilli, Crab and Watercress

2 cloves garlic
1 scant tbsp Maldon or other sea salt
1 large red chilli
2 lbs 11 ounces undressed crab, to give you 7 ounces white meat and 4 ounces darker meat
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 lb linguine
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
handful of watercress leaves, roughly torn

Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta.

In a large pestle and mortar pulverize the peeled garlic cloves with the salt, so that it make a smooth paste. Then add the chopped and seeded chilli and crush again until you have a gloriously red-tinged mixture. Tip in the crabmeat, breaking it up gently with a fork, and pour in the oil. Zest the lemon into the mortar and then add the juice.

Using a fork, beat well to mix, and then you are ready to cook your pasta. So do so, and then drain the pasta and tip into a warmed serving bowl. Immediately pour over the crab sauce and toss the pasta about in it, then throw in the parsley and watercress and toss again.

Serves 6 as a starter; 4 as a main course.

Lamb Pitas

Still working on some lamb leftovers. So, we stuffed some pitas with our choice of cooked lamb, diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, crumbled feta, hot sauce, calamata tapenade, chopped red onion and a quick garlicky yogurt sauce: 1 cup low-fat yogurt mixed with two minced garlic cloves, a teaspoon chopped dill, squeeze of one lemon, salt and pepper. Also, to heat the lamb a little without drying it out I cubed it and sauteed it for just a minute or two in some hot olive oil, so it got a little crunchy.

White Bean, Ham and Kale Soup

I'm dealing with a lot of leftover ham from our Christmas ham, so last night I made an easy and tasty soup from the bone and some chopped up pieces of meat. It was simple and most of that time I was laying on the couch while it simmered away. Uh, rather I was, um, doing my taxes. I served it with corn muffins.

White Bean, Ham and Kale Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium to small yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 ham bone plus 1.5 cup diced ham (about 3/4-inch pieces)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can great northern beans
3 cups chicken stock
2 cup fresh kale, cut into strips

Heat oil over medium heat. Saute onions and celery about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add ham and bone, stirring for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, beans and chicken stock, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 35-45 minutes. Stir in kale. Cook for 5 minutes. Serves 4.

My Love

The holidays are rough on all our pocketbooks, but my poor boyfriend also has our anniversary and my birthday in December to manage. For our recent anniversary he put together what is simply my favorite thing to eat - a spread of lovely cheeses and meats, olives, fruit, bread, etc. I could close my eyes and imagine I am in some Provencal country house, but sitting on our old couch with him is almost as good!

The cheese plate included Humboldt Fog, Danish Blue, Triple Creme, Parrana, St. Andre, Smoked Rambol and Sharp cheddar. In the rectangular dish there is a Pate de Campagna, mixed olives, boursin and blueberries. Finally, he served some peppery French sausage, French bread and crackers. Just think of all the combinations you can make!

Garlicky Madeira Chicken

This was a quick dinner last night. Preheat oven to 375F. Brown four chicken breasts in a little olive oil. Remove chicken to oven-proof pan and put in oven. Saute 4 minced garlic cloves in skillet (add more olive oil if needed). Once cooked through, add 1/4 cup Madeira wine, 1/2 cup chicken or turkey stock, and 1/2 tspn minced thyme. Scrape up brown bits on bottom of skillet and turn heat to high. Reduce until thick, about 10 minutes. Cook chicken about 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through. Pour sauce over top. I served these with steamed asparagus and Boursin mashed potatoes.

Turkey, Barley and Asparagus Soup

Yup, Thanksgiving leftovers are still haunting us and its DECEMBER. I got the turkey carcass from Mom's Thanksgiving, and yesterday made lots and lots of stock. Tonight I made a soup out of the stock, cooked turkey, barley and veggies. It was simple yet very well-flavored, though next time I will use a little less barley. The recipe I used is below. As I said, probably should use a little less barley than I have listed below. Also, my stock was very well flavored with bay leaf, salt, pepper, thyme and parsley. If you are using store-bought stock, you might want a add a pinch of these seasonings.

4 cups turkey stock (feel free to substitute chicken stock)
1/4 cup diced onion
2 celery ribs, chopped
3/4 cup diced cooked turkey (feel free to substitute diced chicken)
1/2 tspn dried thyme
3/4 cup pearl barley
1 carrot, chopped
4-5 asparagus stalks, ends cut off, and stems chopped into 1 1/2-inch pieces
salt and pepper

Bring stock, onion, celery, turkey and thyme to a boil. Add barley and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. Add carrot and cook for 10 minutes. Add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning.

Serves 2.

Mulled Cider

To keep us warm this past weekend while walking around a local holiday festival, I made my friends and I some mulled cider. It's 30 degrees out! Not fair! But the cider helped. In the local supermarket's picnic supplies aisle, I found coffee cups with lids we could carry around with us. Also, I didn't, but you should feel free to add a splash of rum to get even warmer!

Here's the recipe:

1/2 gallon apple cider
1 orange slice
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut in half
2 cinnamon sticks
4-5 whole cloves

In a medium-to-large pot, simmer all ingredients for 20-25 minutes. Makes 4 large servings, probably 6-8 small cups.

Lovely Lentils

Honestly, I just love lentils and could eat them everyday. Last night we had an old standby - Lentils with sausage and kale. It's pretty quick and inexpensive and is perfect on a cold night, though I would eat it no matter the temperature. By the way, I used the Healthy Choice Smoked Sausage and didn't taste a difference from other store-bought smoked sausages (my check better be in the mail).

olive oil
1/2 smoked sausage loop, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup lentils
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3-4 big kale leaves, ribs removed and leaves cut into long slips

Cook sausage in medium pot in 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from pot and drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low on pot and add onions and garlic, and saute, using more oil if needed. Cook until soft and add the lentils. Cook for 2 minutes. Add stock and cook, uncovered, until lentils are soft and cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Add kale and cook for 5 minutes. Feel free to add salt or pepper, but I found it was plenty salty from the sausage and stock I used.

Serves 2.

Asian Noodles with Chicken

We had a great dinner tonight - it was quick and very tasty. The recipe is from the December 2006 Gourmet, and I've also pasted it below. Only downside, I thought it was just a little bit salty. There's no added salt, but the oyster sauce clearly had a lot of salt. I might use a little less next time, or a little more cooking water to tone it down. Anyway, tasty tasty.

ASIAN NOODLES WITH CHICKEN AND SCALLIONS

Take a tip from Asian home cooks and use bottled sauces to your advantage.

1 lb chicken tenders (not coated or cooked)

1 lb fresh or frozen broccoli florets
1 lb dried udon (thick wheat noodles)
1/2 cup premium oyster sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee or Koon Chun)
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons Chinese chile garlic paste (preferably Lan Chi), or to taste
1/2 cup chopped scallions (from 1 bunch)
2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Cook chicken in a 6-quart pot of boiling unsalted water, covered, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add broccoli to boiling water and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to a colander to drain, then transfer to another bowl. Return water to a boil and cook noodles until tender (check often; cooking time on package may not be accurate). Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain noodles in colander and rinse under hot water.

While noodles cook, tear chicken into chunks.

Add oyster and hoisin sauces, sesame oil, chile garlic paste, half of scallions, and 1/3 cup cooking water to chicken and stir to combine.

Divide noodles, broccoli, and chicken mixture among 4 bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds and remaining scallions. Serve immediately, stirring just before eating. If noodles become dry, moisten with some of cooking water.

Cooks' note: If you have to substitute an Asian chile paste without garlic for the chile garlic paste, start with 1/2 teaspoon and add to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Woohoo! More Shrimp!

Still using up this shrimp I was given. Yay! Last night we had quick and easy spicy shrimp with spaghetti in a chunky tomato sauce, along with some garlic bread.

olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tspn red pepper flakes
2 medium cans diced tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tspn dried oregano
salt

1/2 lb dried spaghetti

10 medium shrimp, fresh or frozen, peeled and deveined

In a large skillet, heat 1-2 tbsp oil. Saute garlic, onion and pepper flakes over medium to medium low heat - don't burn the garlic! Cook until onion is soft. Add tomatoes, herbs and black pepper. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for approximately 30-35 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in boiling salted water.

When pasta is just shy of al dente, add shrimp to tomato sauce. Stir gently and cook until shrimp is pink - about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

When pasta is cooked through, drain and transfer to large bowl. Pour sauce over top of pasta and toss. Serves about 3, or 2 with leftovers.