Steelhead, Arugula, and Ginger Noodles

Claire had the gall to work this Thursday, on our cooking day, can you believe it? I took the opportunity to make some wonderful steelhead, which needs to be served right away and doesn't lend itself to preparation ahead of time. We made 2 large fillets.  Not one single bite left to take over to Claire to try, although she did manage to score a few of my oatmeal raisin cookies at the end of her double shift. I will admit that the Ginger Sesame Noodles don't really fall in the same food genre as the Lemon Mustard Dressing for the Steelhead.  I have a tendency to mix pan-Asian with anything. This doesn't bother me (or anyone else, since there were no noodles left either), but if you prefer a more traditional pairing, consider the green rice from Bang Bang! Here Comes the Chicken http://lomomacooking.blogspot.com/2011/04/bang-bang-here-comes-chicken.html or the yellow rice pilaf from Chicken Adobo and Cake Pops    http://lomomacooking.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html instead.

Don't make this if you want leftovers.

Steelhead (or Salmon) with Lemon Mustard Dressing
It's entirely possible that you're supposed to start with the skin side up, but this is how I always do it, and it always turns out fine.  It's so easy to cook fish this way. So so easy.  I rarely get leftovers with this recipe.

Place fish skin-side down on a large baking pan.  Drizzle olive oil (just a little) over the top, and season with good salt.  Broil on high for 4 minutes. Take out of the oven, and using 2 large spatulas, flip the fish over so the skin side is up. Broil again for 3 minutes. Take out and peel the skin off.  Flip the fish (carefully!) onto your  serving platter. The original side that was up should be up again.  Drizzle dressing over the top and serve immediately.

Lemon Mustard Dressing
The dressing recipe is rom Diane Morgan's Salmon:  A Cookbook.  (See below.) We have an autographed copy.  Pete Watson, who delivered 3/4 of my kids, took the author's photo in the back of the book.  You can also use this dressing for asparagus.

1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 heaping teaspoon dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 c finely minced chives (I used scallions today- it looks greener with the chives)

Whisk together until emulsified.  Drizzle generously over salmon and serve immediately.

Ginger Noodles
A basic side dish.  Make it a full meal by adding either chicken or shrimp. 

1 lb square Chinese noodles (substitute spaghetti if you have to, but it won't be as good)
2 T canola oil
2 c thinly sliced Napa cabbage
1 handful of spinach
1/2 c shredded carrots
1 bunch of scallions, sliced diagonally, very thinly
1 c shitake mushrooms, soaked (you can chop them if you like)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T minced ginger root
1/4 c soy sauce
1/2 c water or chicken broth
1 T sesame oil

Boil water and cook the noodles ahead of time, leaving them slightly al dente. Heat a large wok or skillet and add the oil. Throw in the ginger and garlic. Add carrots and Napa cabbage and stir.  Add shitake mushrooms.  Add noodles, then soy sauce and sesame oil.  Add water or chicken broth as needed.  (If you like a thicker gravy with the noodles, stir 1 T of cornstarch into your water/broth before you add it to the noodles.)  Toss in the spinach and green onions and turn off the heat. Sesame seeds for garnish if you want.

Roasted Asparagus
It doesn't have to be complicated. You don't have to peel asparagus. Yes, it will do funny things to your urine. As my dad put it, be glad you're not in the men's restroom at the Michigan Asparagus Growers Association's annual convention.

Make however much you think you can eat.
I can eat a whole pound by myself.

1-2 lbs of asparagus
olive oil
salt and pepper
shredded parmegiano-reggiano cheese

Snap off the tough, white ends of the asparagus. The asparagus will tell you where to snap it. There's a natural bend right at the point where the woody root meets the tender stalk.  Break it there and toss the root. Wash.  Toss with olive oil, just enough to very lightly coat the asparagus.  Lay out on a baking pan. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.  Broil on low for about 6 minutes, then jostle the asparagus a little so most of the stalks are flipped.  Bake on low for another 6-8 minutes.  The cooking time will depend on how big your stalks are, and how tender you like your asparagus.   Arrange on a serving platter.  Garnish with fresh shredded parmegiano-reggiano cheese.


Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
My husband doesn't even like oatmeal raisin cookies, but he ate a ton of these.  The original recipe calls for dark brown sugar, but I used light brown sugar and a teaspoon of molasses. I baked these on the longer side for a slightly crispier cookie, but if you want a chewier cookie, go with 11-12 minutes.   http://www.food.com/recipe/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-35813

Whisk together
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt

Cream 
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 tsp molasses
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Stir in 
3 c oatmeal
1 1/2 c raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk dry ingredients together, set aside. Cream sugar and butter together, then add eggs, molasses, and vanilla.  Stir in the flour mixture until blended well- do not overmix. Add the oats and raisins, stir to incorporate. Place golf ball sized balls of cookie dough about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie pan.  Flatten the balls slightly.  Bake for 12-14 minutes on center rack until golden.  Let cool on pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.


Aaaaah, lunch....

Wish I had a square plate, would have been a nice visual.
Couldn't decide which sandwich I wanted, so I had a bit of both!

For lunch I kept it simple with 2 types of wonderful sandwiches.  For both of these, I used the regular French bread that you get in the grocery store for less than $2-- you know, the kind that you see sticking out of the grocery bag every time someone on TV or in a movie comes home with groceries.  Warm it up in the oven for a few minutes before assembling your sandwich.  I served it with some fresh, unseasoned jicama, cut into french fry sized pieces, and a side salad.  Voila! Lunch is served.



Tilapia Sandwich With Agrodulce
Who hasn't said to themselves:  I need to eat more fish.  I need to eat more deep fried foods.  I need to eat more arugula.  This recipe will kill all 3 birds with one proverbial stone.  The tilapia fillets are frozen-- make the agrodulce while the fish is baking.  Since I started making this relish, I will actually CRAVE arugula. It's that good, I swear it. 

Heat the bread if desired.  Slice the bread lengthwise in half.  Bake the fish fillets, and place in the bread with a heaping spoonful of agrodulce relish.


Agrodulce Relish
This is also great on top of broiled fish fillets, as a dinner entree.  Despite the arugula, this relish is not one bit bitter- it's actually sweet.   Even my kids will eat it. (Well, except for the kid who doesn't like tomatoes.)  


3 T olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 small ribs celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on how big they are
2 T red wine vinegar
1 to 1 1/2 tsp sugar
4 cups arugula, chopped


Heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic and onions.  Add chopped celery, stir. Add the tomatoes.  Add red wine vinegar and sugar.  Add the arugula and stir until it's wilted and well-incorporated. 


Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches
My sister brought a rotisserie chicken over, so I sliced off some of the breast meat.  I had a few roasted red peppers (purchased) as well as some leftover roasted red and yellow peppers from the day before.  See Verde Chicken in Red for a roasted mini sweet pepper recipe  http://lomomacooking.blogspot.com/2011/04/verde-chicken-in-red.html 

Layer sliced rotisserie chicken, or grilled chicken breast if you have that instead. Layer roasted red pepper, goat cheese crumbles, and thinly sliced basil onto french bread.

Please let me know if you try any of the recipes and have any suggestions or comments!!!

Awesome salmon cookbook.

We can get this at our local grocery.
Look in the Asian food aisle.

Verde Chicken in Red

Claire and both her boys were sick today, so instead of cooking with Claire, today, I cooked for Claire. Claire still managed to contribute chocolate chip cookies and homemade croutons, as well as a loaf of bread, so today's session still deserves its own entry.  Fortunately for me, my sister and her fiance came over to help with child wrangling and cooking. We finished all our dishes in about 2 1/2 hours, not including things like simmering time and tossing the salad before serving. Not too bad.  Several people have suggested that I add a recipe index on the side.  That should be coming soon. 

Pollo Rojo  (previously Verde Chicken)

Claire and I had decided on making this last week. She says that if she ever wrote a cookbook, this recipe would be in it. Since she was not here today, I was kind of on my own, but I already had all the ingredients so I went ahead and made it.  She forgot to tell me not to add the tomatoes listed in the original recipe, which is why my chicken turned out red and not at all green.  Hence, the new name.  The chicken is great served with tortillas and Cowboy Caviar (see below) on the first night.  The leftovers can be used the next night for chicken quesadillas.  If there are any leftovers after that, try making Mexican Chicken Soup.

2 T olive oil

1 medium chopped onion

4 cloves chopped garlic

4 large chicken breasts cut in half vertically

1 cup salsa verde

½ c. chicken broth

1 T chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 can diced tomatoes with juice (optional!)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in the pan.  Add the chicken and sprinkle with flour.   Let it brown, remove temporarily and saute the onion and garlic until soft.  Add the chicken back to the pan, turn a few times.   Add the salsa verde, tomatoes, and broth.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 20 min.  Add more broth if necessary. Shred the chicken as it simmers.  Garnish with cilantro.

Cowboy Caviar

This recipe is from my co-worker Dawn.  It's amazing.  Don't let the shoepeg corn throw you.  It's just canned white corn. Although, for some reason, I picture long-toothed cartoon hillbillies wearing overalls and worn-out boots.  This is great as a fresh salsa, on burgers, with chips, or as a stand-alone side dish.  You can adjust the jalapeno pepper to taste.  Dawn uses 1 small pepper or 1/2 large pepper, and I omitted it for the kids.  It's better with at least a LITTLE jalapeno.

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

¼ tsp. pepper

¾ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 can black eyed peas – drain

1 can shoe peg corn – drain

1 bunch chopped cilantro (approx. ¾ cup)

1 bunch green onion (approx. ¾ cup)

Diced jalapeno pepper (to taste)

2 diced roma tomatoes

2 diced avocados (add right before serving)

Add all ingredients together and stir.  Allow to marinate for about 2-4 hours.  Add the avocado right before serving. 

Slow-cooked Cannellini Beans and Sausage

(adapted from Williams-Sonoma recipes online)

The original recipe is a little different.  It calls for beans soaked overnight, and whole kielbasa sausages. I wasn't prepared for this, so I used canned beans instead.  We also sliced the sausages and served it more as a stew/soup. I am also terrible with slow cookers- we started this in the slow cooker, but ran out of room.  After a couple of hours, I moved it to a large pot and finished the cooking there. It was delicious.  Serve with crusty bread.  It's a lot of ingredients, but mostly things that you probably already have in your pantry or fridge.

2 T olive oil

2 lbs. sausages (I used chicken kielbasa, with sundried tomatoes and spinach), sliced into 1 inch pieces, diagonally

1 large onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 Tbs tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Red pepper flakes, to taste

2 cups chicken stock + 2 cups of water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp sage

3 cans cannellini beans, drained

1 can diced tomatoes, including liquid

1 c fresh breadcrumbs (better with homemade larger ones rather than the finely ground premade ones)

1 T butter, melted

1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Brown the sausage in a pan with the oil. Add the onions and garlic, cook until onions are soft.  At this point, transfer to a slow cooker.  Add tomato paste, stir.  Stir in the chicken stock, water, and spices.  Add the cannellini beans. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Stir in the red bell peppers and let it cook another 20-30 minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, 1 T olive oil, the melted butter, and salt and pepper.  Saute in a pan until crispy.  Take off the heat and stir in the parsley. 

Stir the chopped spinach into the stew until it's wilted.  Serve in a big bowl topped with bread crumbs, and a side of crusty bread.

In progress.  The breadcrumb topping finishes it off!

For lunch, I scavenged some things from the fridge and counter:  1/3 lb. ground turkey, 1 1/2 lemons, 1/4 red onion, and a handful of grape tomatoes. I came up with this Melange Pasta, which by definition has limitless possibilities, and served it with our favorite salad.

Melange Pasta

1/3 lb ground turkey

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 T chopped onion

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp sage

salt and pepper

4 T olive oil

1/2 cup grape tomatoes

1/4 red onion, sliced thinly

juice and zest from 1 1/2 lemons (1 or 2 lemons okay too)

1/2 package cooked pasta (spaghetti)

1 cup chopped spinach

Toss the tomatoes and red onion slices with 1 T olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and broil for about 3 minutes on high until browned. 

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large saute pan. Add garlic and onions. Add the turkey, rosemary, sage, and salt & pepper.  Once cooked, add the cooked & drained pasta, the roasted tomatoes and onions, and the lemon juice and zest.  Toss with the rest of the olive oil and the spinach.  Add a little more lemon juice to taste.  

Our House Dressing

(approximate)

1/4 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup lemon juice (to taste)

1/4 tsp salt

Whisk it until emulsified.  My husband puts it into a small plastic container and shakes it.

Homemade Herbed Croutons

Homemade croutons are a mixed blessing.  They are awesome on salads or soups, but you have to make at least twice as many as you need, because it is impossible to not snack on them after they're ready.  Impossible. The following is an approximate recipe that we both use, although we both generally wing it.   These are also great over soup.

Stale bread (preferably sourdough)

1/3 c olive oil (depends on how much bread you have)

garlic powder

pinches of assorted spices (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, whatever)

salt and pepper

Toss cubed bread with olive oil and spices, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Bake at 350 for a bout 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Mini Sweet Peppers

This doesn't even need a recipe because they're so simple, but I made them, and they're delicious.  I just like to eat them plain but they would be great on a sandwich with chevre cheese and scallions. So, here you go.

10 sweet mini peppers

Drizzle olive oil

coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Trim the tops off the peppers, slice in half, and remove the ribs and seeds. Lay out on a baking pan and drizzle olive oil over the peppers.  Sprinkle salt and pepper. Broil on high, for about 4 minutes or until they are golden.  The baking sheet should be close to the top burner, about 4 inches or so.  

I dropped off salad, cannellini and sausage stew, and a loaf of bread for Claire and her family for dinner, only to find that she had been busy baking chocolate chip cookies, bread, and croutons.  (Crouton recipe above.)  I've included a link to the bread recipe, as well as posting it here.  Cookie recipe follows.  Wouldn't want to forget dessert!

No-Knead Bread Recipe 
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1 5/8 c water
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

One delicious 1½-pound loaf.

Original recipe at:    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's a pretty bold statement, but these are hard to resist.


1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
3 c white ap flour
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Place sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in kitchen aide mixing bowl. Mix 1 min.  Add dry ingr.  mix 30 sec and chocolate chips mix 15 seconds.  Drop rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake 375 for 10-12 min>  Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.

You can also make 1 batch and freeze half of the dough for later.

Please let us know if you try any of the recipes, and leave us a comment!