pan-roasted shrimp

This is such a great combination of flavors.  Next time I will head to our Asian or Mexican markets to get the fresh head-on shrimp.

Shrimp Pan-Roast with Citrus

Serves 4.  This is from the January 2014 issue of Food and Wine magazine and is full of umami taste notes.  I’d love to use the head-on shrimp when I can get them but the headless ones you normally find are great too.

            1 Anaheim or poblano chile -                ½ tsp. crushed red pepper

              halved, cored and thinly sliced             1 rosemary sprig

              crosswise                                           4 Tbs. butter, melted

            2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced                   ½ c. olive oil

            ¼ red onion, thinly sliced                       1½ tsp. kosher salt

            ½ c. mixed pitted olives, chopped         1½ lbs. large head-on shrimp-

            two ¼”-thick slices of lemon,                  heads and tails left on,

              halved                                                  bodies shelled and deveined

            two ¼”-thick slices of orange                grilled country bread, for serving

              halved

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except shrimp and bread.  Add shrimp and toss to evenly coat.  Scrape shrimp mixture into a large ovenproof skillet and roast for 10-20 minutes, stirring once, until shrimp are just cooked through.  Serve with grilled bread.   

spicy chicken milanese

Here we topped it with the tomato salad in the original recipe, but we'd leave that off in the future unless you can find really good and sweet little tomatoes.  The leftover cooked chicken cutlets were also great for the next day's lunch - dipped in honey mustard sauce.

Spicy Chicken Milanese

Serves 2.  This speedy dish is from the January 2014 issue of Food and Wine magazine.  They specify a cherry tomato salad with it but we liked it without.

            2 large eggs                                          four 3-oz., thin-sliced chicken cutlets

            3 Tbs. Dijon-style mustard                    ⅓ c. olive oil

            1½ tsp. cayenne pepper                        lemon wedges

            kosher salt and ground pepper  chopped fresh parsley

            1½ c. panko bread crumbs                   shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a pie plate, beat eggs with mustard and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.  Spread panko in another pie plate.  Dip chicken in egg mixture, then dredge in panko; press to help it adhere.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil until shimmering.  Add chicken and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and cooked throughout, 4 to 6 minutes total.  Transfer chicken to serving plates. 

Garnish with lemon wedges, parsley and shaved cheese.  Serve immediately. 

ginger cookies

These just got better by the day.  I baked them on a Saturday night.  The next Wed. I was still sharing them with friends and getting rave reviews.  Thanks Sunset magazine
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mega-ginger-cookies-10000000523272/

pasta in sausage cream sauce

I love this method for making your own pork sausage from Cook's Illustrated for this dish.  We don't like mushrooms so I left it out of mine. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/7722-pasta-alla-norcina-for-two

spring risotto

I prepared this with asparagus this time.  Here you can see it 2 ways - the first night with a poached salmon salad and onion-parmesan toasts.  The next night I sauteed the leftovers as cakes to serve with a chicken breast and pepper pan sauce.

Spring Risotto

Serves 4.  Leftovers can be chilled, shaped into patties, dredged in flour or cornflake crumbs, and pan sautéed until browned and crispy.  This came out of the Relish insert in our newspaper. 

            2 Tbs. butter                                         3 c. chicken broth, heated

            ½ c. minced onion or shallot                  1½ c. fresh peas, asparagus tips, arugula or

            1 c. Arborio rice                                     spinach leaves

            ½ c. dry white wine                              ¼ c. light cream, heated

            ½ tsp. salt                                             ½ c. finely grated Parmigiano cheese

Heat butter in a large saucepan.  Add onion; cook 3 minutes.  Stir in rice and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.

Add wine and salt; cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed.  Continue cooking and stirring, adding ½ c. broth at a time and making sure most of the liquid is absorbed before adding more.  With the second to last addition of broth, add the vegetables (total cooking time is about 20-25 minutes).  After all broth has been added, stir in cream and cheese.     

pork and sweet potatoes

I started by heating the oven to 425 degrees.  Then the sweet potato wedges can roast while you prepare the pork and roast it too.  Nice dinner to have on the table in under an hour.  Here I served it with some creamed kale.

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

Serves 4.    

            2 lbs. sweet potatoes                           1 tsp. kosher salt

            2 Tbs. olive oil                         2 tsp. finely grated lime zest

            1 Tbs. brown sugar                              2 tsp. fresh squeezes lime juice

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut into wedges.  Toss sweet potato wedges, olive oil, brown sugar and salt together.  Roast on a rimmed baking sheet, flipping halfway through until golden brown and tender, about 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and season with lime zest and juice.   

Rosemary and Garlic-Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4.  I found this in Sunset magazine and love that a quick, tasty, lean entrée can be had for less than 200 calories per serving. 

            1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb.)            ½ tsp. kosher salt

            2 garlic cloves, minced                        ¼ tsp. ground black pepper

            2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary            2 Tbs. olive oil

            ½ tsp. ground cumin

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut pork tenderloin in half crosswise.  Mix garlic, rosemary, cumin, salt and pepper and rub mixture all over pork.

Heat oil in a medium ovenproof frying pan over high heat.  Add pork and cook, turning as needed, until outside is completely seared, about 3 minutes total.

Put pan in oven and roast pork until done the way you like, about 10 minutes for medium (150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.   

chocolate caramel pecan tart

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tart

Serves 8-12.  This is a Martha Stewart recipe.  I’ll admit that I am not the most skilled at making caramel so sometimes I substitute a jar of salted caramel sauce from Trader Joe’s instead of making my own caramel.  I heat it up and add the chocolate to melt in and go from there.  Also, I have substituted raw (turbinado) sugar for the sanding sugar.

            1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed         ½ c. heavy cream

            flour, for dusting                                    2 Tbs. butter

            1 egg, lightly beaten                              1 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped

            coarse sanding sugar                             ½ c. pecans, toasted and finely chopped

            1 c. granulated sugar                             flaky sea salt

            ½ c. water                                            whipped cream for topping, optional

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Unfold puff pastry on lightly floured parchment paper.  Roll out into a ⅛”-thick rectangle, about 10 x 15 inches.  Transfer puff pastry on parchment to a baking sheet.  Fold down 1” around each edge to form a border.  Prick bottom of puff pastry all over with a fork.  Brush border with the beaten egg and sprinkle the border with the sanding sugar.  Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake pastry shell until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.  Press down on bottom with an offset spatula to flatten (leave border puffy).  Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan; cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.  Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, occasionally washing down sides if pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming.  Let boil, swirling pan occasionally, until caramel is dark amber, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat. 

Gradually add cream (caramel will steam and sputter).  Add butter and chocolate; stir until melted and smooth.  Pour filling into cooled tart shell and spread to cover bottom.  Sprinkle with pecans and salt.  Let cool slightly, then refrigerate until set, about an hour.  Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before cutting and serving, serve with whipped cream if desired.  Tart can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator up to 1 day. 

refrigerator leftover hash starts the day

When I want an egg for breakfast, I also see what is in the refrigerator to make a hash. For this I browned up some leftover cut up baked potato, added in some cooked bacon, green chile, and cheddar - then topped with a fried egg.

local wildlife

As I put out the bird seed to feed the scale quail in our arroyo the other morning, I noticed this beautiful owl watching me.  Fortunately our new kitten was not available for him to hunt as she stays indoors only and was 'helping' me on the computer.

smoked fish chowder

Sometimes I just need a bowl of hearty soup to chase away the winter chill.  I saw this recipe in Saveur: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Smoked-Whiting-and-Scallop-Chowder

but I couldn't find Smoked Whiting so I used smoked trout fillets instead (they have them at Trader Joes and Whole Foods).  I simmered the fish in the milk, cooled, strained and flaked the night before so it was relatively quick to finish cooking the chowder for dinner one evening.  Leftovers were great for lunch the next day.

coq au vin and a potato gratin

We needed some warm comfort foods for these snowy and cold winter nights!  This version of the classic French dish came from a "Best of" Sunset magazine in January of 2014:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/white-wine-coq-au-vin-10000001947684/

The potato gratin was from another of my favorite food magazines, Saveur:
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Mike-Colamecos-Potato-Gratin

a favorite breakfast for decades

We call this S.O.S. - probably short for "Stuff" on a Shingle that Dad brought back from his days in the Marines.  I've been eating it about once a month for as long as I remember.
To serve 2-3:  melt 4 Tbs. butter in a medium saucepan, saute in it a couple Tbs. of chopped onion (white, yellow, green, red - whatever) and a clove of chopped garlic for a few minutes.  Add in 4 Tbs. flour and cook on medium for a few minutes.  Whisk in 2 c. milk, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened.  Cut up 2 oz. of dried beef (this is made by Hormel and comes in a glass jar, find it in the canned meats section of the grocery store) and stir in.  Season to taste.  The beef is fairly salty - I usually add ground white pepper, maybe some garlic and onion powder - or salt.  Serve over toasted bread.

I like mine 'plain' like this, some members of my family get fancy and add sliced mushrooms.

lamb skewers

If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for about an hour before you cook these so they don't go up in flame!  It worked fine using an indoor hot grill pan - outdoor grill would be great too!  Here I served them a side dish of pan sauteed sugar snap peas and yellow bell pepper.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sticky-korean-lamb-skewers-50400000131728/

shrimp, rice, cheescake

I was trying some recent recipes from Cooking Light, which led to a great dinner.  The shrimp are so flavorful and the rice is nice and spicy (well, I used hot NM green chile...)  I gave some cheesecake bars to a co-worker who proclaimed them "the best dessert I've ever had".

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/citrus-glazed-shrimp-rice-50400000131748/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-almond-cheesecake-bars-50400000131774/