Pilaf if you please: Grilled Salmon Steaks with Black Butter

This recipe has been a go to salmon recipe for years. This winter I made a batch, smeared it on the salmon and then decided to stir what was left in the bowl into the jasmine rice I prepared. It was outstanding. Now I make a batch just to put in the rice.  Either way I always skip the butter.

SPICY GRILLED SALMON STEAKS WITH BLACK BUTTER

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, I use 1/8 teaspoon because we are cayenne wimps
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 salmon steaks (1 pound) each about 1 inch thick
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a bowl stir together the black pepper, the paprika, the cayenne, the garlic, the onion, the thyme, the salt, and the oil until the mixture forms a stiff paste. Pat the paste onto both sides of each salmon steak. Heat an oiled ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until it is smoking and in it sauté the salmon for is cooking, in a small skillet cook the butter over moderate heat, swirling the skillet, until it is dark brown, but do not let it burn. Transfer the salmon to heated plates and pour the butter over it.

Serves 2

Gourmet, September 1990

Thai Basil Chicken

My favorite thing from Big Bowl home edition. Fortunately you can download a copy of this cookbook to your tablet or Kindle through Overdrive.

Shrimp and Chicken with Thai Basil and Red Onion

4 ounces boneless chicken breast, sliced

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sesame oil, Kadoya brand preferred

½ teaspoon salt, do not double if increasing the recipe

4 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half lengthwise, I have yet to make this with shrimp

3 tablespoons fish sauce, Flying Crab brand preferred

2 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

5 teaspoons sugar

1 cup peanut oil or canola oil

1 cup cut-up red onions (cut into 1-inch square pieces)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced

1 teaspoon fresh garlic minced

1 teaspoon finely minced lemongrass, the lemongrass in a tube works great, thanks Moe

¼ cup tightly packed Thai basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts, I skip this

2 teaspoons ground dried shrimp, I skip this

Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish, I only use this if I have it on hand

Put the chicken breast in a small bowl and mix with 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, ½ teaspoon of sesame oil and the ½ teaspoon of salt. Add the shrimp to the bowl. Mix in the remaining cornstarch and sesame oil. Set aside.

Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar.

In a wok or skillet, heat 1 cup of peanut oil over medium-high heat. When hot but not smoking, add the chicken and shrimp, and cook, stirring to separate the pieces. When the pieces change color, remove to a colander to drain, reserving the oil.

Heat a clean wok or skillet to hot and add ¼ cup of the reserved oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring until they just become transparent. Add the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and stir briefly. Turn the heat to high and re-add the chicken and shrimp. Stir and add the fish sauce mixture. Bring just to a boil, stir in the basil, and remove from the heat. Stir in the peanuts and dried shrimp. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with rice.

Serves 2 to 3 as part of a larger meal.

Maura’s adaptation:

When I make this for my family of 5 I usually slice up 4 boneless chicken breast and omit the shrimp altogether. I triple the amount of cornstarch and sesame oil but not the salt.

I double the sauce mixture as follows:

1/3 cup fish sauce

1/3 cup  lime juice

3 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of water

I double the red onion and often times add a mixture of red, yellow and orange peppers to stretch it.

I skip the peanuts and dried shimp.

I use only enough oil to sauté the chicken then I wipe out the pan and add only enough oil to sauté the onions and peppers.

I serve it over jasmine rice

2010: I LOVE January

2010 has been good to me so far.

My new year’s resolutions have stuck.

I spent January with the positive affirmation of “I LOVE January. I LOVE January.” Repeated over and over until it was April, nearly.

No potato chips, not hard at this time of year but porch season will be the true test.


No McDonald’s which is only an issue on long car trips to the cabin or Milwaukee, I shall be tested on that this week.

Exercise and housework before knitting. I am happy to report that while I am down five pounds I am also down five pairs of felted mittens.

No alcohol for Lent may become no alcohol for then next many years as the oldests social life if ramping up and I need to have my wits about me for late night parent pick ups.


A new beginning running program has me skipping in public, much to my children’s embarrassment, but running without the knee pain and twisted ankle of last year’s thwarted attempt.

In other news

My new best friend is my prescription strength Vitamin D. After a few weeks the lethargy that has been plaguing me since I became a mother nearly 15 years ago is abating.

My netflix life has enjoyed the series Doc Martin, William and Mary and Mad Men.

My ipod life has loved listening to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Everybody Ona Move by Michael Franti and Spearhead and Start the Commotion byt the Wise Guys.

Since I last posted a have put on a baby shower, Thompson cousin gathering, baked potato bar Lenten supper for a hundred (Lutherans love crack), a birthday party for the low fat, no meat, no shellfish, no chocolate, not too rich, newest 42 year old in the neighborhood, Palm Sunday for 200 and I have made a host of new recipes that are good enough to share, in link form.

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew from Cooking Light. My sister was the first to try this and it has been in heavy rotation ever since. Not a very spring like dish but bookmark it for next fall.

Pasta with Asparagus, Pancetta and Pine Nuts also from Cooking Light but I made it a la Cooking right by using 8 ounces of bacon instead of 2 ounces of pancetta, a mix of whole wheat and regular pasta and 1 1/2 recipe of the lemon and olive oil dressing. I cannot wait to make this again.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas My parents are the proud owners of a functioning computer and my mother discovered this recipe on allrecipes.com. It is great. I prepare my chicken in the crockpot using this recipe, and use La Victoria Salsa Jalapena which is labeled Extra Hot and a green chile enchilada sauce. My sister used a canned jalapena salsa the first time she made it and it was red so she reported that the sour cream mixture had a very unpleasing pink tinge. I have adapted the recipe to reflect G and F's sensitivity to spiciness by whirling together the sour cream, cilantro and green enchilada sauce reserving some of it an then whirling in the jalapena salsa. I have prepared it with flour and corn tortillas and it is good either way.

Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Yogurt Dressing This is from Food Network's Elie Krieger and I made it for the aforementioned birthday party. The yogurt dressing is good but not an obligation.

Beet Hummus Very pretty, very good, if you like beets. I am now the proud owner of a very large jar of tahini so if you are going to make this let me spot you the tahini. From the wonderful food blog Simply Recipes. I love her caramel sauce.

Fudgy, Chewy, Cakey Brownies by my food heroine Pam Anderson. My new go to brownie recipe. My only complaint she suggest letting them cool for 3 hours. Are you kidding me?

Go North Young Man

Photo by kosmatka365

The H left this morning for a week of Up North schooling with his school. He passed the crucial temperature test, no one was allowed to board the bus if they had a temperature of 100 or above, and left his dad behind while he waited with his friends. This child, born and raised in Minnesota, to Wisconsin born and raised parents, has never been further north in his home state than Round Lake outside of Aitkin. Can I help it if my internal compass draws me east to Marinette County and beyond?

I made him one of his favorite meals for dinner last night, despite his uncharacteristically crabby attitude throughout the day. My family is glutton like in their love of salmon. If left to their own will they would each eat a pound a piece, including the cat.

Here is my most fool proof salmon recipe. It is originally from Bon Appetit and my parents where the first to try it all those years ago.


ROSEMARY-ROASTED SALMON

2 large bunches fresh rosemary
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 2-pound center-cut salmon fillet with skin
2 large lemons, thinly sliced
1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 450°F. Arrange half of rosemary sprigs in single layer in center of heavy baking sheet. Arrange sliced red onion atop rosemary. Place salmon, skin side down, atop red onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover salmon with remaining rosemary sprigs. Arrange lemon slices over rosemary. Drizzle olive oil over. Sprinkle lemon slices with salt. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Roast salmon until just cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. Transfer salmon to plates. Serve with roasted onions and lemon slices.

4 servings


Bon Appétit, February 2000

A Chicken in Every Crockpot

I love my crockpot, I love my sister, and I love the blog crockpot365.com so when Maggie said that the rotisserie chicken crockpot recipe from crockpot365 was very good I gave it a go. I did use the optional 4 cloves of garlic and quartered onion. I cooked it on high for 3 hours and then kept it on warm until the rest of the dinner was ready. I fished out the four cloves of garlic and mashed them into the naughty mashed potatoes and I made gravy with the ample juices. It was very good and very easy. I am eagerly awaiting my copy of Make It Fast, Cook It Slow the cookbook based on crockpot365 from the library.

This week whole chickens are on sale at Rainbow for .99 a pound.

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken

1 whole chicken, skinned (4-5 pounds)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, I cut back the cayenne to 1/4 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of chili pepper (probably not necessary)
4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
1 yellow onion, quartered (optional)

The Directions

I used a 6 quart crockpot for a 5 pound bird. It fit nicely.

Skin the chicken and get rid of the neck and other stuff from the cavity.

In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Plop the bird breast-side down into the crockpot.

If desired, shove 4 whole garlic cloves and a quartered onion inside the bird.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours, or on low for 8. The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.

Naughty Mashed Potatoes

Prepare mashed potatoes as usual but instead of adding milk stir in 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, and the four cloves of garlic from above. Season with salt and pepper.

Let the wild rumpus start

It was the King of Keratoconus' 43rd birthday last week and we celebrated with Julia Child's infamous Boeuf Bourguignon, chocolate cake a la Cafe Latte Turtle Cake and a diorama of Where the Wild Things Are. I have been making this cake for a few years now but I have always used chocolate ganache for the frosting. This time I used the frosting from the recipe and though it seemed too sweet right out of the bowl it was just perfect on the cake. If I can scrounge up two cups of flour this may become today's home from school snack.

Cafe Latte Turtle Cake

Cake

1 egg
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 TABLESPOON baking soda, I have inadvertently made it with one teaspoon of baking soda not good
1 cup hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans, it can also be made in a 9x13 inch pan. Combine egg, oil and buttermilk. In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Combine the egg mixture with the flour mixture, mixing well. Slowly mix in the hot coffee. Turn into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes if in two round pans or 40-45 in the 13x9 pan. Frost when cooled.

Frosting

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
5 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup caramel topping
1 cup toasted pecans

Mix sugar and milk in a saucepan, add butter and bring to a boil. Place chocolate chips in a bowl and pour hot mixture over them and mix until smooth. Spread over cooled cake. Drizzle caramel topping over the frosting and crunch toasted pecans over caramel.

By Request: Mexican Rice

Neighbor Sherry requested that I post this recipe on the blog. It is the wicked cousin of the most caloric mac and cheese you have ever had. My mother has been making it for years and it continues to be my vegetarian brother John's welcome home meal. I wonder what kind of makeover Cooking Light would give this? I wonder how it would taste with quinoa? Hey, Costco now has a 4 pound bag of organic quinoa for $10.49. That is a bargin.

Mexican Rice

1 cup onion chopped
1/4 cup butter
5 cups cooked rice
1 pint sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 4 ounce can chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onions in butter. Mix the onions, rice, sour cream, cottage cheese, bay leaf, salt, pepper and green chiles together. Pour half of the rice mixture into a greased 12x8 pan (12x8 must be some weird 1970's size, I like to use a corning ware 2.8 liter oval ) cover with half of the cheese. Repeat. Sprinkle parsley on top and bake for 30 minutes.