Super Easy Broiled Salmon

We have been eating a ton of wild caught salmon filets lately and loving it!  For someone that grew up fishing the Gulf of Mexico this is astounding.  

Here's why!

• Research suggests that eating oily fish once or twice a week may increase your lifespan by more than two years, and reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 35 percent
• Compared to those in the lowest percentiles, those with omega-3 blood levels in the highest 20 percent were 27 percent less likely to die of any cause; 40 percent less likely to die of coronary heart disease, and 48 percent less likely to die of an arrhythmia
• If you want to maximize health benefits from fish, steer clear of farmed fish, particularly farmed salmon, and even more specifically genetically engineered farmed salmon, which may end up being approved within the next two years—especially if you’re seeking to improve your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio
• The ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fat of wild salmon is far superior to farmed. Whereas farmed salmon has a 1-1 ratio of omega-3s and omega-6s (due to its “junk food” diet), the ratio for wild sockeye salmon is between 6 and 9 to 1, which is a more ideal ratio
• Avoid Atlantic salmon, as salmon labeled "Atlantic Salmon" typicallly comes from fish farms. Look for “Alaskan salmon,” and “sockeye salmon,” as Alaskan sockeye is not allowed to be farmed and is therefore bound to be wild. Source

My daughter gave me this fool-proof, super delicious broiled Salmon recipe.  Trust me, NO ONE can mess this up!!!  It's so easy, it's a tad embarrassing to even devote a post to it, but here it is!!  The key with the perfection of this recipe is that you put the salmon in a COLD oven, then turn it on and set your timer. CANNOT FAIL!!  Comes out perfect, moist and delicious!

Broiled Wild Caught Salmon
The Chef In My Head from Elise Nicole K (amazing woman, mommy, surfer, artist etc)

1 Wild Caught Salmon Filet (your choice of size)
Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
(Or your favorite seasoning, here's mine below!)
Adams Reserve Smokey Sweet Potato

Cover baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.  Lightly spray foil with olive oil and set aside.
Rinse salmon filet, pat dry and place on foil.   Rub a little olive oil on filet and season.

Place baking sheet in COLD oven.  Turn oven to 400 degrees, set timer to 20 minutes!
That's it!  Perfection!

Fantastic with a salad and grilled asparagus and great for your heart!!

Enjoy!

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Sweet & Spicy Roasted Almonds

Sweet & Spicy Almonds



We are starting to plan ahead for recipes to take to the beach for Spring Break this year so this was a perfect one to try from Giada's run on I Heart Cooking clubs "California Dreamin".

Both of these recipes were a snap to prepare.  The almonds come out spicy with just a touch of sweet.  Perfect football snack for now!  The Chili-Infused oil will have lots of uses.  You can use it as a dipping oil with your favorite crusty loaf or use it to spice up any stir-fry.

Chili-Infused Oil

Chili-Infused Oil, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Italian

The Chef In My Head

Makes 1/2 Cup

1/2 C. olive oil

2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper flakes

In a small, heavy saucepan, heat the oil and crushed red pepper flakes over a low flame, stirring occasionally, until a thermometer registers 180 degrees F, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.  Transfer the oil and pepper flakes to a 40ounce bottle or other small container and seal the lid.  Refrigerate up to 1 month.

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Almonds

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Almonds, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian

The Chef In My Head

Makes 2 Cups

2 T Chili-Infused Oil (above)

1 T Sugar

1 tsp Grey Sea Salt

2 C Almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir the oil, sugar, and sea salt to blend.  Add the almonds, and toss to coat.  Arrange the almond mixture on a large, heavy baking sheet, spacing the almonds evenly.  Bake, stirring occasionally until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

The nuts can be made two days ahead, store airtight at room temperature(if they last that long).

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Hurricane Alex, Sundried Tomatoes and Fish Stock

Rainy Day in the Hill Country

I sincerely pray for everyone down in Mexico and South Texas.  Our first hurricane  of the season, Hurricane Alex, has made his presence known.  Those of us in Central Texas are just really grateful for the rain, almost 3 inches at our home so far.  The rainy day gave me the perfect excuse to catch up on that list of things to do in the kitchen.  Today, that's Sun Dried Tomatoes and Fish Stock.

We have an abundance of tomatoes from the garden and can't possibly eat them all.  In addition to what I have grown, a box of tomatoes from friends arrived last week.  Sweet and super yummy yellow cherry tomatoes.  My dilemma; we can't eat them all, I can't toss them, so I am making sun dried tomatoes to store for later use.  The ones at the store must be lined with gold for the price is exurbanite and I happen to like mine better.  No preservatives, just fantastic rich flavor.  Just use what you have on hand and adjust the ingredients accordingly.  Not rocket science, I never measure anything with this, just eye-ball it.

Sun dried Tomatoes

about 2 quarts cherry or Roma tomatoes, sliced in half

2 T. olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp sugar

Toss together with all above ingredients with tomatoes.  Spread on foil lined baking sheet.  Place in 175 degree oven for several hours.  check on them periodically until they are the right texture for you.  Allow to cool.  Spread on clean baking sheet, freeze.  Remove to jar to store and pop back in the freezer for later use.

 

Just about right, a little longer

Mmmmm, that's perfect!

The fish stock was next on the agenda.  From the fishing trip my sister and I went on together, I brought back some of the carcasses from the fish cleaning.  Beautiful pieces of Ling, Red Snapper, Trigger and Pompano.  All waiting for a day like today to make stock.

So I looked toward my mountainous cookbook collection for some direction.  I found myself back to one of my favorite and most dependable Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques.  I love Jacques method of teaching and I think he's kinda cute too!  Just a thought....if you keep a plastic zip top bag in the freezer, you can put your daily vegetable and herb scraps in it.  You will always have veggies on hand to make different kinds of stock.  It is so much cheaper than purchasing it and a whole lot better tasting!

Fish Stock, approximately 1-1/2 quarts adapted from Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques

2-1/2 pounds fish bones (if fish heads are used, be sure to remove the gills) washed carefully under cold water or the fish stock will be bitter
2 T sweet unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
2 to 3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1/4 C parsley stems
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
1 tsp sea salt
1-1/2 C Dry white wine
3 quarts water

Place the butter in a large skillet or kettle and add the fish bones.  Steam on medium to high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spatula.

When the bones begin to fall apart, add the onion, celery, parsley and mix well.  Steam for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring.  Add all the other ingredients to bring to boil.  Boil on high heat for 35 to 45 minutes.

Strain through a fine sieve.  You can freeze the fish stock and use it for soups, or thick it with a roux so it becomes a veloute, as well as reducing it to a glaze and finishing it with cream and butter.

Ready for the freezer!

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Greek Stuffed Peppers with Orzo, Roasted Caponata and Baklava "Purses"

Since I admit to being the junkie I am, I sat and watched the Food Network most of the day(in the background, while I was working, Jess).  Just looking for inspiration, while I wound up watching my "kitchen porn" buddy Giada.  Giada, I mean this in the most complimentary way of course, but seriously, the cleavage Honey.  Anyway, I found her stuffed peppers and Caponata and the baklava.  I do not claim to be better than her by any means (but my cleavage is not bad for 45), I simply am not capable of following a recipe, and I know what I and my family like.  One of my other downfalls is I ALWAYS cook too much.  I will hightlight my changes so you can see what I've done and notes about changes I made.  So my sweet neighbors are having dinner delivered to them tonight.  Here's what's for Dinner Tonight, Sonya! 

Greek Orzo Stuffed Peppers

1 (28 oz) can Fire Roasted Italian tomatoes, drained
2 Zucchini, grated
1/2 C Percorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly gound black pepper
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp dried oregano
4 C chicken stock (I'm not a huge fan of broth)
1 1/2 C tri-colored orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
6 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow & orange)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Break up tomatoes in a large bowl.  Add zucchini, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano.  Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes.  Orzo should only be partially cooked.  Using a fine mesh sieve, transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the rest of the ingredients.  Spray your baking dish with our buddy Pamela and transfer the warm chicken broth to the baking dish.

Slice the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and ribs.  If necessary, cut a thin clice off the bottom so peppers will sit upright.

Fill the peppers with the orzo mixture and place side by side in baking dish.  Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for  45 minutes.  Remove the foil, sprinkle the tops of the peppers with the remaining cheese and continue baking for about 15 minutes until the cheese is golden.
Enjoy, serves 6.

Roasted Caponata

1 (14 oz) can diced Fire Roasted tomatoes with juice
2 Zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds
2 Summer Squash, cut into 1-inch rounds
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 large eggplant, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into1-inch, half moons
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 Youkon Gold potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp Grey salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
4 to 6 slices sourdough bread, brushed with olive oil and toasted on grill

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pour canned tomatoes into 3 1/2 quart baking dish that has been sprayed with our buddy Pamela and spread to cover the bottom.  In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients except the bread.  Toss to coat.  Pour the vegetables over the canned tomatoes in an even layer.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake until the edges of the vegetables are golden, for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Serve alone as a side, or over toasted sourdough bread.  Served over bread, it can be a great vegetarian main course.  Enjoy, Serves 6 to 8.

Baklava "Purses"

1/2 C almonds, toasted
1/2 C walnuts, toasted
1/4 C chopped dried apricots
1/4 C plain bread crumbs
2 Tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, divided
3 Tbls honey
12 sheets phyllo dough

Special equipment: 2 mini-muffin tins + I used a small tamper (my finger doesn't fit so well in that tiny tin)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the almonds, walnuts, apricots, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt in your awesome, probably Cuisinart Food Processor (I had to use my crappy one).  Run machine until the mixture is very finely chopped.  It smells amazing! Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, add 2 Tbls of the melted butter and all of the honey, stir to combine. 

On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo (keep the rest covered so it doesn't dry out).  Brush lightly with melted butter.  Cover the first sheet with the second, repeating the process until you have used 6 of the sheets.  Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces (cut lengthwise into 3 pieces and widthwise into 4 pieces).
Gently press each piece into the mini-muffin tin cups. Press 1 Tbls of the nut mixture into each of the phyllo cups.  Gather ends and twist to make a purse.  Continue with the rest and begin with the second set for your second muffin tin.  Bake until the edges are golden for about 20 to 25 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, remove from tins and transfer to a serving plate.  Do not leave unattended or your husband will a mysterious tummy ache.  Makes 24 "purses"

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Roasted Salmon and Roasted Garlic, Zucchini and Tomatoes

I was raised in Houston, Texas and spent each summer on the on or near the Gulf of Mexico either from my Aunt and Uncle's home in Corpus Christi or fishing with my dad.  I love salt water and living in South Texas near the Hill Country and it is beautiful but I feel rather land locked sometimes.  When everything is just out of sorts for me, I need my salt water fix.  It has never failed me.  It always works.  As a result, I love seafood!  Oysters, shrimp, crab and all kinds of fish...Grouper is probably my favorite(we refer to that as a "Top of the menu" fish).  Following grouper, it's snapper, red fish, speckled trout, flounder(not in that order) and the list goes on and on with the seemingly endless numbers of tasty fish the beautiful Gulf of Mexico provides.  I love it and it is not fishy.  And that, brings me to this.  I would like to take a moment to address something I hear all the time from people, that say they don't like fish, "it's fishy".  FRESH fish is NOT fishy.  If it is get rid of it!!  If you find yourself in a situation like I am now, having to buy it from a grocery store, then ask lots of questions.  Where did it come from, what is the texture like when it's cooks, and ask to smell it.  Don't be shy.  It's not cheap and it's worth it to get the freshest seafood you can.  I got lucky enough to find a business in San Antonio that supplies seafood to restaurants and they will sell it to the public.  Believe me, it's fresh and it's not fishy!

Having said all of that, I struggle with salmon.  It doesn't come from the Gulf of Mexico, so I have trouble with creating recipes for it.  I love it raw, as sushi and I love it smoke with all of the usual suspects, purple onion, capers, egg etc.  But cooking it, is a real challenge for me.  I have tried Asian methods, I have tried cream dill sauces,etc. nothing really taste right to me.  So I decided to go back to basics after I had salmon at a dear friend's house for her birthday, and I loved it!  I was given some fresh salmon that another friend caught in Alaska.  So here's the method I learned from the birthday girl and we had it for dinner tonight.  I sprayed a cooking sheet with my buddy Pamela.  Placed the steaks on the pan, sprinkled them with some flaked lemon salt I had and fresh ground pepper.  Tossed it the oven at 350 degrees.  After about 15 minutes, I turned off the oven, cracked the door and let it sit there while I finished preparing the rest of dinner.  After I pulled it out of the oven, I drizzled it with really good olive oil and transferred it to our plates.  Really yummy!  Maybe there is hope for me afterall.  I just got off the phone with another friend that suggested I take the leftover cooked salmon, shred it with forks, place a little of it on a small square of puff pastry.  Top it with a dab of cream cheese and capers.  Fold over the top with the pastry, brush it with egg whites and bake.  That may be our late night snack.

The zucchini was super simple!  I diced a couple of fresh zucchini, tossed in some cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, fresh ground pepper and salt.  Poured about a 1/4 Cup olive oil and tossed it all together.  Baked, uncovered, at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.  After removing it from the oven I sprinkled about 1/2 Cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and served.

Daddy, you asked me to let you know what I came up with for the salmon, here it is!

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Texas Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Toasted Pecans

So evidently my husband did not know there are anchovies in Caesar Salad and evidently he discovered he likes them.  I like them too, but in small doses.  I am also kind of a wimp because I like mine to come from the tube instead of looking at their hairy little bodies in a can or jar, but that's just me.  The recipe is below.

My weekends are usually spent doing a few chores in the kitchen for the upcoming week.  It's hard to actually think of them as chores because I like doing them.  Invariably, I have left over Sour Dough and/or French Baguettes.  I hate to see it go to waste but God knows my waistline can take it all.  Although, I am sure, if I had to, I could live on French Bread.  So I make my own bread crumbs in my super crummy food processor, remember I am still on a quest to break it so I have to replace it.  Here she is.  Understand?    So I suffer.  Oh it's true.  Anyway, so we now have all the fresh bread crumbs I can use for a while.  The Sour Dough quickly turned into Garlic Croutons.

Texas Caesar Salad

(In Texas, most every meal has a pecan in it somewhere)

For Dressing:

1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, shredded

1 Tbl Anchovie Paste

3 Tbl Lemon juice

Grated lemon rind from half a lemon

3 large garlic cloves, large dice

2 Tbl Dijon Mustard

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3/4 C Good quality olive oil

For Salad and Pecans:

Three heads of Romaine, discard outer leaves and tear the rest into large bite size pieces

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 C Pecans

In the bowl of a food processor, combine cheese, anchovie paste, lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, dijon and pepper.  Process on high and slowly pour olive oil in a stream to combine while processor is running.  Dressing will be thick.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat small saute pan on medium heat, place pecans in dry pan and toast. Set aside to cool.

In a large serving bowl with romaine, toss with dressing a little at a time until it is coated with a desired amount.  You will have some dressing left over, it should be sealed tight and will keep refrigerated for up to a week.  Garnish salad with remaining parmesan cheese, croutons and toasted pecans.  Ya'll enjoy!

Serves 4-6.  You can also add rotisserie chicken to salad to serve as a meal. Note:  I did not add raw egg to dressing because we had a guest for dinner I was unsure would want that.  This dressing is thick and rich enough that it stands alone fine without it.

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Soupe A' l'oignon (French Onion Soup)

Soupe A' l'oignon

4 T butter

2 T olive oil

2 lbs onions, thinly sliced (about 7 cups)

1 tsp salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1 T sugar

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp thyme (fresh if you have it)

3 T flour

2 qts beef stock (I usually include some chicken stock)

1/4 - 1/2 C dry red wine

In a heavy 4 - 5 quart stock pot, melt the butter with the olive oil over moderate heat.  Stir in the onions, salt, pepper,sugar, balsamic vinegar and thyme.  Cook uncovered over low/med heat, stirring occasionally for 20 to 30 minutes or until the onions are a rich golden brown.  Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the red wine to deglaze then add beef/chicken stock.  Bring the pot to a low boil then turn down to simmer for another 40 minutes (or longer).  Occasionally skim off any fat.  Taste for seasoning.

Croutes

12 - 16 one-inch thick slices of French bread (I always make more than we need to have a couple per serving)

2 tsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, cut in half

1 C grated Gruyere cheese

While the soup simmers, make the croutes.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Spread the bread slices in one layer on a baking sheet.  With a pastry brush, lightly coat both sides of each slice with olive oil.  Bake for approx 15 minutes on each side.  They should be completely dry and lightly browned.  Rub each slice with the cut garlic.  While they are still warm, top each slice of bread with shredded cheese and set aside.

To serve, place croutes in individual bowls and ladle the soup over them.

Serves 6 - 8.

I've been making this soup for at least 25 years, we all love it.  Now the kids are grown and I still make the same amount and freeze the rest.  It's even better the next day!  A great recipe to make ahead.

Bon Appetite!

Remember to skip on over for Tasty Tuesdays!  http://www.beautyandbedlam.com/

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