Mustard & Dill Salmon

Here at the abode we are trying to be more diet friendly. Though we are all big fans of fried with gravy it just isn't kind to the waist-line. This dinner took about 35 minutes to prepare from start to finish. I served it with couscous to have a starch, I do love a rounded meal.

INGREDIENTS

Spice Rub:
1 teaspoon each dried mustard, dill
1/2 teaspoon salt & black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

4 6 oz salmon fillets
2 teaspoons honey
8 cups spinach leaves
1 clove minced garlic (I use my microplane to grate the garlic right into the pan, be sure to have your spinach ready to go in or you will burn your garlic and have to start over)

1/2 cup red wine (Something you would drink, not cheap "cooking wine")

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

I began by making the spice rub, drizzling honey on the salmon and sprinkling the rub on the fish, reserving about 1/2 of the rub. I added olive oil to a large pan, grated in the garlic and quickly added the spinach. I filled the pan, let it cook down and filled the pan again to be sure to have enough. Spinach cooks down a lot so it is better to aire on the side of too much than too little. I also didn't salt it. I was worried as it cooked down it would be too salty. I suppose a small sprinkle would have been okay.

I took the spinach out of the pan and set it aside to stay warm. I heated some oil and browned the salmon. Once browned on both sides I put it in a 300 degree oven to cook through, you want it at 130 degrees. While I waited for the salmon to cook I added the wine, Dijon mustard and left over spice rub to the pan and reduced it to make a nice sauce.

To plate I made a pile of spinach which I laid the salmon on. I drizzled the red wine sauce over the fish and placed a rounded scoop of couscous on the side. Enjoy!

Moules Ravigote

The man of the house made a delicious dinner Saturday night which consisted of mussels and shrimp. Super simple idea, good ingredients, good flavors and you get a great meal. He also thought the 3 of us needed 2 pounds of mussels, silly man, that was way too much. What to do with left over mussels, toss them right, they can't last that long, or can they?

We picked out the left over mussels and saved them in the fridge. I happened across a recipe in Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home Cookbook. I admit it, I love cookbooks and read them like regular books. This wasn't a difficult recipe by any means, but it was time consuming. Thankfully I am a chopper and tend to dice things into little bits, so this recipe really worked well with my knife skills. It is hard to tell in the photo, but there are a bunch of mussels, nestled in their shells, covered in the ravigote. I served a simple salad of romaine, tomatoes, and shaved Parmesan with a faux Caesar dressing along with the mussels, it was a nice light dinner. It would have been even better enjoyed on the deck in June with a nice white wine. If you want to just cook the mussels and make the ravigote sauce you can do that too.

INGREDIENTS

For the ravigote sauce:

1 1/2 Tbs minced shallots or scallions

1 1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard

2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped

2 Tbs chopped gherkin pickles

1 Tbs capers

1 Tbs chopped parsley

2 Tbs Chives (I didn't have any)

1 Tbs white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)

2 tsp lemon juice

4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp Tabasco

1-2 cloves minced garlic

Mince, chop, and dice all of the above items that need chopping. Then add the wet ingredients. Spoon the sauce over the mussels and enjoy.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

It was a week of everything pumpkin; pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin ravioli. I couldn't find a recipe that I really liked so I mixed a bunch of different recipes together. I did not make my own pasta. This was a personal choice, I have never wanted to make my own pasta. You can buy perfectly good wonton/ egg roll wrappers at the grocery store that serve the same purpose and are much less labor intensive than making your own pasta. However, if you are a glutton for punishment, feel free to make your own pasta. For the sauce I went simple, butter, sage, salt, pepper and a bit of red pepper, next time I would add enough sage so there was one sage leaf for each ravioli.

I began by making my filling. I mixed the pumpkin, ricotta cheese, tomato paste, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and pepper together. Now that I think about it, an egg may have been a good idea, but I didn't have any issues with the filling staying together.

Next I cut my egg roll wrappers in half. I couldn't find wonton wrappers, so I had to substitute with eggroll wrappers. Once I put a full teaspoon of filling in the center I ran a wet finger around the edge of the pasta to help seal the pasta. I dropped the pasta and cooked until done in salted boiling water. I can't say how long really, just test the pasta to be sure it is cooked.

You want the sauce finished and waiting for the pasta. I melted a stick of butter and 14 sage leaves in a pan and let it go brown, not dark brown, but just brown. The sage leaves get crisp and are quite yummy with the ravioli. I added salt, pepper, and red pepper to the butter. As the raviolis finished cooking I dropped them into the sage brown butter sauce. Plate and enjoy!



INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups pumpkin puree
.5 cups ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt, pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (grated fresh from an actual nutmeg if you can)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Eggplant & Sausage with Radiatore

I have a crush, on eggplant. I love it, I can't get enough of it! I didn't follow a recipe for this dish, just threw it together using flavors I enjoy. I was being bit lazy and bought a jar of marinara sauce. (I have yet to find a homemade marinara that I love.) I used Victoria brand sauce, which was quite good. While I was opening the jar the sauce spilled onto my shirt, which I then licked off and thought "wow, this is pretty good!"

I began by slicing my eggplant into rounds, laying them on a wire rack on a cookie sheet, and sprinkling them liberally with salt. This is called purging the eggplant. You can find lots of information on it by doing a quick internet search. Basically it helps remove excess water from the eggplant. After the salt has had a chance to work it's magic, I let them sit for about 30 minutes, rinse the eggplant with water and dry with paper towels.

I cut the eggplant into bite size pieces and tossed it into a bowl with the chopped squash. I drizzled it all with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I poured the veggies onto a foil lined cookie sheet and into a 450 degree oven. I let them roast for about 20 minutes until they were cooked the way I wanted them.

I also wanted some meat in this dish. I bought some Chef Bruce Aidell's Sundried Tomato with Mozzarella Cheese smoked chicken and turkey sausage. I sliced it on an angle and heated it in a pan. Looks yummy right?

After the sausage was heated I added the jar of sauce to the pan. Then the roasted eggplant and squash went in. I drained my pasta and reserved some of the cooking liquid in case the ricotta needed to be thinned. I stirred in about a 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese to the pasta. It wasn't too thick at all so I didn't need any of the cooking liquid. I put some pasta on the plate and finished it by topping it with the roasted veggie sausage sauce. This was quite yummy if I say so myself.

INGREDIENTS

1lb eggplant

1.25 lb squash

25 oz marinara sauce

1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese

Chef Bruce Aidell's Sundried Tomato with Mozzarella Cheese Smoked Chicken and Turkey Sausage

Broccoli Rabe with Sausage and Orecchetti

This is such a simple and delicious dish. Don't forget, use the best ingredients you can get your hands on.

You want to start a large pot of water put on to boil with a palmful of salt. This way you can drop your pasta once your broccoli rabe and sausage are ready. The orecchetti is the last thing you add in this dish.

Next heat some olive oil in your pan. Remove your sausage from the casing and roll into balls or cut into chunks, totally up to you. I used sweet sausage here, though I myself do not eat sausage for the fear of "chunkers". You want to cook the sausage until it is browned on both sides. It doesn't have to be cooked through, just browned on both sides.

Next chop up your broccoli rabe into bite sized pieces. As you can see in photo I used the stems as well. Broccoli rabe can be bitter if you don't cook it long enough. Some blanch it before they cook it with the oil and garlic. I did not blanch it this time, I sauteed it in the pan until it was a bit softer than al dente.

Carefully slice the garlic and toss into the oil. If you would like a little heat add some red pepper flakes. Once you can smell the garlic toss in your chopped broccoli rabe. You want to saute this until it is cooked to your liking, I prefer it just past al dente. You want to drop your pasta when you have about 10 minutes left on your broccoli rabe. When the pasta is done toss it with the sausage and broccoli rabe. You may want to add a splash of the pasta cooking water. Salt and pepper.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb of Orecchetti
1 bunch of broccoli rabe
2 links of sausage
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1/2-1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Thai Style Halibut in a Coconut Broth

This recipe was emailed to me by a friend. Thai seems to be my new favorite type of food so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this recipe from Ellie Krieger. I didn't change very much from the original recipe below.




INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 shallots, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)- I used vidalia onion
2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste*, or 2 teaspoons curry powder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup light coconut milk- I added almost the whole can
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning
4 (6-ounce) pieces halibut fillet, skin removed- I used a different fish, can't remember what
Steamed spinach**
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice, for serving

*Available in the Asian section of most supermarkets
**Steam or microwave 5 cups of washed baby spinach for 2 minutes

METHOD

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes. I reduced it even more, I wanted it to be thicker.

Season the halibut with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange the fish in the pan and gently shake the pan so the fish is coated with the sauce. Cover and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 7 minutes.

Arrange a pile of steamed spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallions, and lime juice into the sauce and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce over the fish and serve with rice.

Hawaiian Pizza

Most people don't like to let food go to waste, I try to be one of those people. We had left over ham and some left over pineapple, what came to mind? Hawaiian pizza of course! As it turns out this is the topping of choice for my cousin Elizabeth. Friday night is usually pizza night here. Dough is made fresh in the bread maker and rolled thin. Next a moisture barrier on top of the rolled dough, some olive oil, spread with a rubber brush. Then a simple sauce of crushed San Marzano canned tomatoes, these are a MUST! Top this with mozzarella cheese to your liking. Since this was going to be a Hawaiian pizza I added some chopped pineapple and ham. We also tried adding a bit of blue cheese. We didn't really care for the blue cheese, it took over the delicate flavor of the ham and pineapple. Bake your pizza at 425 degrees for about 14 minutes, be sure to check your pizza so it doesn't burn. Enjoy!

Dom's Mom's Meatballs

Dom's Mom's Meatballs
These are my favorite meatballs. I didn't realize how much I loved them until my mother stopped making them in favor of store bought frozen meatballs. Not that the store bought meatballs were bad, but I had the taste of these meatballs and they are wonderful.
Source: Dom's Mom's Meatballs Eat This by Dom De Luise.

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ground chuck
1/2 pound of ground pork
2 cups Italian-flavored bread crumbs
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 cup grated cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped very fine
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts) (optional)

METHOD
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Let stand 1/2 hour. Shape into medium-size meatballs. Fry gently in olive oil until lightly browned, or place on foil on a cookie sheet and bake for 1/2 hour at 35o degrees.Gently place in your own hot spaghetti sauce and cook on medium-low heat for 1 hour.(Dom's note) P.S. What I like to do is quadruple the recipe (you'll have about 100 meatballs) and then place the meatballs on large Teflon baking pans. After they're baked and cooled, I put twenty at a time in large Ziploc bags and pop them in the freezer. Then they're ready, willing and able anytime.*My note: I make a large batch of sauce and meatballs and freeze it for easy dinners. A great way to freeze it to freeze it in containers until hard. then pop the "sauce cube" out of the container and put into a Ziploc bag or if you have a vacuum sealer system seal them in baggies to store in the freezer.