English Style Potato Salad

I don't quite recall what inspired me to create this recipe. Maybe my own heritage. Maybe my love of anything potato. Either way, it is certainly a great spin on an old standard.

First thing:

1 1lb bag frozen, cubed home fries

• spread on a baking sheet and cook according to package directions

Mean time:

In a bowl, combine

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1/4 cup of malt vinegar
• 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1 can peas, drained
• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 1/2 tsp salt

Finishing touch:

• Salt the cooked potatoes and set them aside to cool.
• Once cooled, gently stir potatoes into the rest of the ingredients.
• correct to taste

Try it instead of chips the next time you have fish.

~You're welcome ;o)

Pear and Potato Soup

3 Green Anjou pears, peeled, cored and diced
2 large yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
3 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of extra old white cheddar (2yrs or older), crumbled
1/4 cup of butter
3-4 cups of chicken stock
1/8 tsp white pepper
few dashes of allspice

Melt the butter in a stock pot. Then add the garlic, pears and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the leeks and seasonings and cook for another few minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce and let simmer for 10 minutes. Puree in the pot with a hand mixer or in a blender. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve into bowls, garnishing each with a portion of the crumbled cheese. Serves about 6.

You're welcome ;o)

Honey Glazed Butterfly Chops with Nutty Greens and Apple Baked Potatoes

Dinner tonight.
Inspiration: Necessity

I hate to waste food. So, often I create recipes based on what needs to be used first. Tonight I discovered a bag of spinach that was on it's last leg. My first instinct was to turn it to soup, but after searching the freezer for protein, I had another idea. And here it is:



You'll Need

2 butterfly chops
1/2 lb baby spinach
onion
honey
cracked pepper
garlic
walnuts
coarse salt
1 beer*
lemon juice
olive oil/butter

THe ChOPs

• marinate the chops in the beer, 2 tbsp lemon juice and a teaspoon of coarse salt for 20 minutes
• remove from marinade, place in shallow baking dish and bake chops in a 375F oven for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size or thickness
  
• top chops with cracked pepper and drizzle with honey
• place under the broiler until honey begins to caramelize
• remove and serve against the greens
  

The GREENS

• dice 1/2 cup white or spanish onion, mince 3 cloves of garlic and caramelize them in 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• add spinach with a pinch of salt and pepper, cover and cook until bright green (about 2 minutes)
• in a separate pan, toast 4 tbsp chopped walnuts, then add them to the spinach

the apple-baked taters

• 4 large yukon gold potatoes cut into chunks and put in a baking dish
• in a small bowl place 1/4 cup applesauce, 1tbsp butter, 2 tbsp brown sugar, few dashes of allspice, dash of cayenne, salt and fresh cracked pepper
• heat in microwave until butter is softened (30-40 seconds)
• mix and pour over potatoes
• cook for 1 hour at 375F

*vinegar will substitute just fine for beer, preferably malt or cider.

Chocolate Chili

Dinner tonight.
Inspiration: The hubby's love for the sweet and spicy.

One thing I can't recommend enough is to use recipes as a reference. Don't be afraid to omit unappealing ingredients or substitute them with the foods you do like. Nothing could be more true than when it comes to spicy food. Some like it hot. But it doesn't have to blister your tongue or require you to wear an extra layer of antiperspirant. The beauty with this particular recipe is that you can find your own personal balance between the sweet and the spicy. Here is my version. I hope you can read my writing ;o)


in a saute pan, cook the beef, jalapeños and chili peppers. when they are almost done, let them simmer in the red wine for about 4 minutes.
in a stock pot, saute the diced onion with the garlic until they are golden brown.
add to the pot the black beans, the beans in tomato sauce, the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, diced roasted red peppers and all of the seasonings.
stir in the finished beef and the brown sugar.
finally, grate in the chocolate.
let simmer for 2 hours.
adjust seasonings to taste.



I'd love to serve this with a cheddar corn bread.

~You're welcome ;o)

Wild Rice Pilaf

Easy dishes that taste like hours of preparation are my favourite. Rice pilaf is not just for restaurants and banquet halls. And it should never be instant. For the short time it takes to dice a few veg, the payoff is 2-fold.

In the Pot

• according to the directions on the package, measure out rice* adding it to chicken stock in place of water.
• add a combined cup of diced mushroom, red pepper, red onion and celery
• add 2 tblsp of chopped walnuts
  
• bring to a boil, reduce, cover and let simmer for the cooking time stated in the directions.
• Serve. It's that easy.

*use quick cooking wild rice. Otherwise the other ingredients will be far over cooked. If you must use regular wild rice, saute the other ingredients and stir them in once the rice is cooked.

~you're welcome ;o)

Simple Pleasures

The season of entertaining is upon us, a time when tortilla chip and spinach dip sales are at an all time high. If you're tired of the same old appetizers, try these on for size.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

1 bunch of Asparagus, snapped
2 cups of beef stock
2 cloves of garlic, minced
enough prosciutto for wrapping, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil

• saute the garlic in a sauce pan with olive oil for about 1 minute
• add the stock and asparagus to the pan and bring to boil
• reduce and let simmer until asparagus turns bright green (about 3 minutes). The asparagus should still be firm. If it turns limp it will not work.
• immediately drain from pan and put in the fridge to cool.
• starting at one end, wrap the asparagus with the prosciutto on a diagonal so it will wind up to the other end.
• present on a platter for serving

*Optional*

Serve with a spicy peach puree:

• Drain and puree I can of peaches. Stir in the zest of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 an orange, 2 tbsp of orange marmalade, 1tsp chili flakes, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Oriental Bacon Wrappers

1 can whole water chestnuts, drained
1 package of bacon
1 bunch green onions
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 cup naturally brewed soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp grated, fresh ginger
toothpicks

• in a small mixing bowl, combine the soy, garlic and ginger.
• add the drained water chestnuts and let marinate until the bacon is cooked and cooled.
• preheat oven to 425F
• place enough bacon on a baking sheet, lined with wax paper, to wrap each water chestnut
• cook in the oven until 1/2 done and let cool.
• cut the whites off of all the onions and cut the remaining green shoots to 1 inch pieces
• drain the water chestnuts
• take one piece of onion and sandwich it between a piece of pineapple and one water chestnut. Then wrap it in a piece of bacon, securing it with a toothpick by piercing through the entire wrap.
• Just before you are ready to serve, put the wraps back on a clean pan and finish under the broiler until the bacon is crisp.
  

Bocconcini Skewers

As required:
cherry tomatoes
bocconcini
fresh basil
coarse salt
fresh cracked pepper
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
large toothpicks

• put desired amount of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper in a blender and begin to mix. Very slowly add about the same amount of olive oil. This will actually homogenize the oil and vinegar if you blend it slowly enough.
• start your skewer with the cheese. Bocconcini will often have a flat side. Put this side down allowing your skewer to stand on the serving plate when finished.
• follow the cheese with one leaf of basil and a cherry tomato on top.
• place all the skewers, upright on a flat serving tray
• drizzle with the dressing and serve.
  

You're welcome ;o)

Steelhead Salmon in a Pesto Rub

Dinner last night was in short order for the extra parental heads that were joining us around 8pm. My fridge was looking a little desperate so I headed out for a quick run up the food aisles. With the recent weight gain of our loon there were many sales to indulge in, including some steelhead fillets, fat enough to feed 5. I snatched one up to prepare an old standby that never fails to impress. And it's easy too; a half an hour from start to finish.***

The Rub
Salmon is a fish rich in oil. So for this dish I've chosen to omit the olive oil from a standard pesto, creating a perfect balance.
2 tbsp dry basil
1/4 cup pine nuts (either crushed in a mortar and pestle or finely ground in a food processor)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

• combine ingredients in a small bowl

The Fish
1 steelhead salmon fillet, large enough to feed 4-6 adults, dusted with salt and freshly cracked pepper

• Preheat the oven to 450F
• Spray lightly, a baking sheet, with oil
  
• Spread the rub evenly over the seasoned fillet
• drizzle with 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• let the fish cook at 450 for 15-20 minutes
• Turn the oven to broil and finish till the rub is nicely toasted

What I served it with

• wild rice pilaf~cooked in chicken stock with mushrooms, red pepper and red onion
• snapped asparagus~steamed in chicken stock and lemon juice

***The rice will cook in time with the salmon. And the asparagus will cook in time with the finishing of the fish under the broiler.


~You're welcome ;o)