pasta with brussels sprouts

This recipe came from Bon Appetit.http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/orecchiette-carbonara-with-charred-brussels-sprouts I love how the shape of the pasta mirrors that of the leaves - they all curve just the right amount to cradle the lovely sauce.

For dessert, I don't have a photo - but we loved some Salty-Sweet Pine Nut Bars.  Think of it like pecan pie, but with pine nuts.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/salty-sweet-nut-bars-50400000130037/

salmon and veggies for a weeknight dinner

This was in the Sept. 2013 issue of Cooking Light magazine and provides  nice spicy Asian-style sauce to complement all the flavors.  I served it over some pearl couscous.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/quick-broiled-salmon-vegetables-50400000130006/

chicken cheeseburgers

We enjoyed this Food and Wine recipe, I made ours into sliders instead of full-size and we also added mayonnaise to spread on the top of the buns.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/blue-ribbon-barbecue-chicken-cheeseburgers

pecan tart

Here is a sweet goodie from Cooking Light magazine that we enjoyed last week:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/honey-pecan-tart-50400000131115/

cedar planked salmon

A friend caught a lot of salmon in Alaska last year and gave us the gift of some of her (frozen) cache.  While I love the taste of wood smoked fish, I don't want to be outside in the cold with a smoker or grill this time of year. So, here is an oven roasted version of cedar planked salmon.  Serves 6.

Soak some (untreated) cedar planks, enough to fit into a rimmed baking sheet, at least 2 hours or even overnight.  I find I need to weight them down to keep submerged.  About 30 minutes before serving time, place the (drained) soaked planks on a baking sheet and put in the oven while heating oven to 325 degrees.

Combine 1 c. soy sauce and 2 Tbs. honey in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Reduce it by half, about 5 minutes (watch this carefully, it easily boils over and makes a big mess!).  Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbs. Dijon-style mustard.  Reserve some of this sauce to serve with the cooked salmon, use the rest to glaze before cooking as noted below.

Place a side of salmon, skin-on (skin side down) on the hot planks on the baking sheet, evenly and thoroughly brush salmon withe the soy sauce glaze.  Place back in oven and bake 20-25 minutes.  Serve with reserved glaze as sauce.

butter chicken

Whispering Windows Butter Chicken

 I enjoyed meeting author Sudha Koul and I made this delicious dish from her book (first published by Warner Books in 1983) “Curries Without Worries”.  We served it with basmati rice.  

weeknight dinner party

We had a few friends over to enjoy our homemade spinach lasagna (recipe is in my cookbook), an apple/bacon/spinach salad, and this wonderful garlic bread.  Dessert was store-bought (wonderful) sorbets from Frost Albuquerque.

Carbone’s Garlic Bread

Serves 4-6.  We had some friends over for a weeknight lasagna dinner and decided to try this from an issue of Saveur magazine.  It is attributed to Manhattan’s Carbone restaurant.  Delicious!

            1 large baguette (about 12 oz.),          4 cloves garlic, smashed into a paste

              sliced lengthwise                               kosher salt

            6 Tbs. butter, softened                                    fresh ground black pepper

            1 Tbs. olive oil                         ⅓ c. grated Parmesan

            1 tsp. crushed red chile flakes             1 Tbs. finely chopped chives

            1 tsp. dried oregano                            1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley

Heat oven broiler.  Place baguette cut side up on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Stir butter, oil, chile flakes, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl; spread evenly over cut sides of baguette and sprinkle with Parmesan.  Broil until golden and slightly crisp, 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with chives and parsley; cut into 2” pieces.      

delicious creamed onions

You'll see that I was also serving them with a pasta (bucatini with a roasted tomato sauce), but the luxurious texture and flavors of the onions was amazing.

 Creamed Pearl Onions

Serves 4.  I like to use the frozen pearl onions because I just don’t have the patience to peel fresh ones.  This was inspired by a back of the napkin page from Thomas Keller in the Nov. 2013 issue of Bon Appétit magazine.

            2 c. peeled pearl onions (frozen is fine)  ½ tsp. kosher salt

            2 c. low-sodium chicken broth    ⅔ c. cream

            1½ tsp. sugar                                          1 Tbs. minced fresh chives

Combine onions (frozen is fine), chicken broth, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated and the onions are tender – at least 10 minutes.  Add cream and cook until thickened.  Stir in chives and season to taste.    

french toast and bacon for breakfast

I like to use a loaf of unsliced challah bread for my French toast - that way I can cut the slices to whatever size I like.  I mix up eggs (usually one per person), milk, a pinch of salt, and a Tbs. of vanilla syrup- then quickly dip in the bread slices and fry them up in a smidgeon of butter.  We do not like our French toast to be soggy.  I also sprinkle both sides with cinnamon.  Serve with butter and maple syrup. All this can happen while the bacon bakes in the oven (no splattering mess on the stove).  I do thick sliced bacon at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes per side on a rimmed baking sheet.

citrus chicken

This recipe from Bon Appetit magazine said to broil these, but that would set off our smoke alarm so we grilled them instead  http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/citrus-marinated-chicken-thighs

pan-fried veal cutlets with herb tomato sauce

We do like to splurge with veal upon occasion.  This dish was bursting with flavors - I paired it with some oven-roasted vegetables.  This one came from Saveur magazine: http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/chuletas-de-ternera-pan-fried-veal-cutlets

skillet macaroni and cheese

Here I paired it with a pork scallopine.  I loved the technique for cooking the pasta in the sauce - so creamy!  Plus, I found a great gruyere-white cheddar cheese blend from Trader Joe's that worked for most of the cheese.  Recipe from Food and Wine magazine:  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/stovetop-mac-and-cheese

goat cheese gratin

This is a nice appetizer to serve with baguette slices.  Preheat the broiler.  Cube about 5 oz. of goat cheese and place in an ovenproof shallow dish.  Sprinkle on about a tsp. of mixed fresh herbs (we used rosemary, oregano and mint).  Top with some good tomato sauce, just barely enough to cover the cheese.  We added some kalamata olives and some roasted garlic cloves, then sprinkled on another tsp. of the fresh herbs.  Then we just broiled it for a few minutes.  Serves 4-6.

trout with brown butter pecan sauce

Pan-Seared Trout with Pecan Brown Butter Sauce

Serves 4.  Quite a New Mexican meal since we grow so many pecans here and you could go catch your own trout….

            12 Tbs. butter                                      ½ c. flour

            ¾ c. roughly chopped pecans              4 (6-oz.) boneless, skinless rainbow

            1 green onion, thinly sliced                   trout filets

            2 tsp. grated lemon zest plus               1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley, for garnish

              2 tsp. fresh lemon juice                     1 lemon, cut in wedges, for serving

            kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Puree 8 Tbs. butter, ½ c. pecans, green onion, lemon zests and juice, salt, and pepper in a small food processor until smooth; set aside.

Melt 2 Tbs. of remaining butter in a 12” skillet over medium-high heat; place flour on a plate.  Season 2 trout filets with salt and pepper; dredge in flour, shaking off excess.  Cook, flipping once, until golden and cooked through, 3 – 4 minutes.  Repeat with remaining butter and trout.  Transfer filets to serving plates.  Add remaining ¼ c. pecans to skillet; cook until toasted, 2 – 3 minutes.  Add butter puree mixture; cook until browned, about 4 minutes.  Spoon pecan sauce over trout.  Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.