Mama’s Favorite Dinner – Soy-Glazed Salmon with Noodles and Sesame Stir-Fry Veggies

Start with enough salmon filets to feed as many people as you have. In my case, that was two fairly large filets divided among three people.

Soak the salmon in the soy glaze for anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour ahead of cooking. If I make the marinade, then put the salmon in to soak, then turn on the oven on to preheat, that works out to be a good amount of time.

Combine:

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup soy or ponzu sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

Zest and juice of one lemon

Splash of white wine, dry sherry or vegetable or chicken broth

Spray baking dish with non-stick spray (I use a pie plate), place salmon filet skin side up and pour marinade over. Lift to make sure some of the marinade gets underneath the filets.

Preheat oven to 400.

Chop vegetables for stir fry while oven heats:

3 – 4 large carrots

½ a bag of Broccoli Wockly

1 small bag of stringless sugar snap peas

2 – 3 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 Tbl. jarred)

1 inch of ginger, peeled and minced (or 1 Tbl. jarred)

Sesame oil

Salt

Cut up carrots, broccoli and sugar snap peas. (Put in whatever you have or whatever you like…  onions, red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms…  anything you like and/or have on hand.)

Stand by some minced garlic (jarred is fine), minced ginger (jarred is fine), a bottle of sesame oil and a bag of broccoli or rainbow slaw.

Heat skillet to medium high and drizzle in a tablespoon of canola oil.

Put a large pot of water on to boil for the noodles.

Stand by one package of ramen noodles per serving, as in, if you’re serving two people, use two packages.

As soon as the oven is preheated, put the salmon in and set the timer for 25 minutes.

After about 15 minutes, begin preparing stir fry.

Add in carrots while you chop broccoli, add in broccoli while you chop sugar snap peas. Stir occasionally as you chop, let some color develop, but avoid burning vegetables. As vegetables begin to soften, add in garlic and ginger. Stir fry until fragrant. Drizzle in about a tablespoon of sesame oil. Add in some salt and continue stir frying until the vegetables are crisp tender. Reduce to lowest heat and let stand.

The water for noodles should be boiling at the point, add in one package of ramen noodles per serving and boil for 3 minutes. When the noodles are cooked, put them in the bowl that contained the marinade before you poured it over the fish.

When the salmon is done, remove it from the oven and pull the skin off. Discard skin. Portion your salmon filets to serving plates. Pour the leftover marinade from the baking dish over the noodles and toss.

Serve noodles nested next to salmon and pile on stir fry veggies.

The Elements of Great Chili

It’s getting on toward chili weather. Right? I mean, it’s not here, but I assume it is elsewhere. At any rate, we don’t let weather stop us from eating chili in South Texas. I made a big batch tonight…  chili is at the top of the list of dinners that make great leftovers. It only gets better and it’s always hearty, savory and satisfying.

There are zillions of chili recipes. In fact, I just received an issue of Everyday Food magazine (one of my favorite food mags) that has chili on the cover and a big feature inside about the different ways to make chili.

I’ll just address beef chili right now, even though green chili and white chili are both also delicious. Obviously, their preparation is significantly different.

I’m also providing a fairly quick version in that my suggestions are built upon using ground meat, instead of slow cooking chuck or brisket or stew meat. That’s delicious, but if you don’t have 4 hours or so to devote to it, using ground meat is just as good and much quicker.

I think that the making of chili is something personal, and is likely to be slightly different every time. I think this is how it should be. But there are some elements that will ensure a super rich, savory, flavorful chili every time.

Start with bacon. You’ll need to brown whatever ground meat you have (or stew meat or brisket for that matter) and you might as well do it in fat that will add a lot of flavor. I chopped up just two strips of bacon and crisped those in the bottom of the pot before I started browning the ground meat.

Also, the ground meat…  definitely grab the regular ground chuck. For a lean chili, it’d be better to make a chicken version, so in this instance, I didn’t worrying about the fat content. I used 2 lbs. of 80/20 ground chuck. I also used one pound of ground pork. Again, this adds in fat and extra flavor.

The other important flavor element is chili powder. I strongly urge avoiding grocery store bought chili powders. This is the biggest flavor element in chili, it’s not the place to skimp out or go the easy route.

I use Pendery’s chili powders and blends exclusively. For many years, my family has relied the Dallas Dynamite blend. It’s delicious, but it is quite hot. Hot enough that it’s not exactly kid friendly. My two favorite go-to items from Pendery’s are the ground ancho and the Durango chile powder blend. Ground ancho is simply finely ground ancho chiles (which is a smoked and dried poblano pepper, very mild heat). It’s not at all “hot” but brings a tremendous amount of spicy, smoky flavor. The Durango blend is a mixture of quite a few different ground chiles and it’s a bit “hotter” than the ground ancho, but it’s still fairly mild. Mostly, it’s spicy and smoky with excellent complex flavor.

It also helps, although this isn’t strictly necessary, to buy whole cumin seeds and toast them, then grind them up. Toasting the cumin brings out its flavor. Usually what I do is pour a pile of cumin seeds, corriander seeds and black peppercorns and toast them, then grind it all together and keep the blend in an airtight container. It’s a great mix for a lot of things, but chili is at the top of the list.

Finally, you can decide if you want beans and/or vegetables in your chili according to your preference. In my family, beans were always mandatory in chili but noooo vegetables were ever, ever included. Chopped onions are allowed as a topping only.

However, I have modified my recipe from the traditional family recipe by including tomatoes. I love tomatoes and now that I can purchase “chili style” tomatoes that are already cut into large chunks and canned in a spicy sauce, I think it enhances the chili. I also buy the canned pinto beans in medium chili sauce. No need to drain, just pour the entire can into the pot. So easy, so delicious.

Our traditional family recipe always called for water to be added to make the chili saucy…  I always use beef broth. It adds so much more flavor. In the past, I have also used a bottle of dark beer in addition to beef broth to sauce up the chili. The beer provided a refreshingly different complexity to the flavor of the chili. I don’t do that all the time, but it was delicious.

Some people put chili over rice, some put it over noodles…  I made cornbread. I know you’re shocked because I don’t bake, but my secret is CornKits cornbread mix. One packet of it is 88 cents and after I embellish it, it makes fantastic cornbread.

The package directions call for adding an egg and some milk. I use an egg and some buttermilk. I also add in a small can of green chiles, some shredded pepperjack cheese and butter. It’s just so much more flavorful and moist and the green chile flavor goes beautifully with the chili.

It’s easy to eat too much of this, it’s so delicious!

Chili, topped with cheddar cheese, featuring a dunked piece of cornbread.

Memories and Hope

In my kitchen today…  on this 10th anniversary of 9/11, I made food and loved my family. I saw inspiring patriotism on TV that filled my throat with an aching lump and my chest with pride… huge crowds of Americans bonded together and cheering for us. Us the U.S.

For brunch, I made our new favorite: the Migas Hash. It’s crazy good. We all agree that as soon as I ever open up my own diner, I’ll make good money on that one. Yum.

Unlike last week, I planned meals and made a grocery list as we watched the Houston Texans stomp all over the Indianapolis Colts. Goodness gracious.

Like everyone else in the U.S. today, I thought of where I was on 9/11/2001. I was 8.5 months pregnant and on my way to work at a TV station in Dallas. At first, when I heard a plane had flown into the World Trade Center, I automatically assumed it was a little plane. Like a commuter or private plane. It never occurred to me that it was a fully-loaded 747.

I didn’t know it, but I was just 10 days away from giving birth to the little guy (who was a month early).

As if it all weren’t awful enough, the worst part of it for me personally was that, for health reasons, I ended up on bed rest the following week and spent the next 7 or 8 days a prisoner of my TV. Worried about my health, my baby, deeply hormonal and unable to escape 24/7 news coverage of one of the worst things that’s happened in this country. I can’t say that the stress of constant horrifying news coverage (I didn’t watch all the time, but there was no way to escape it when I did watch) didn’t add to my blood pressure issues that resulted in my early delivery.

On the other hand, having a new baby so soon after such a devastating event was a hopeful thing…  and obviously, very distracting for me. Ten years later, he’s a smart, delightful 4th grader who will have a birthday in ten days. Officially a double-digit midget. Like all  parents, I must scratch my head and wonder, “where does the time go?“

I’m lucky that he eats as well as he does. He didn’t always, of course, but I can’t call him a picky eater anymore. He eats whatever I fix and likes or even loves the vast majority of it. Migas Hash? Loves it.

Tonight’s dinner of Crispy Cod filets and a warm Pasta Salad? Liked it pretty well. He’s not a fan of tomatoes, but he ate everything else without complaint.

I halved some cherry tomatoes and then sliced one zucchini and one carrot on my mandoline. I added in the zest and juice of one lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. I let that hang out while I finished cooking the pasta and frying the fish.

When the pasta was done, I drained it and then dumped it on top of the vegetables and lemon juice and tossed the whole thing together. Later, I added in some little cubes of queso fresco and more salt and pepper.

The big guy, who doesn’t much care for pasta salad, loved it. And, of course, the crispy fish was delicious. I just did my usual three dip method of flour, egg wash and seasoned panko bread crumbs. There is no better way to fry and get ultra-light crispyness.

Dessert tonight was also fabulous and very much from the seat of my pants! As I wandered through the produce section I came near enough to a pile of white peaches to be suckered by their luscious aroma…  the last warm waft of summer maybe? I bought two since they were quite large. They were not, however, very soft in the way peaches should be.

I thought I would…  I don’t know…  cook them. Somehow.

I cut them into chunks and put them in a little pot with a quarter cup of water and several tablespoons of brown sugar. I let that cook down…  a while. After it cooled some, I added in a bit of butter and, since it wasn’t as sweet as I thought it should be, a little more sugar.

I had purchased some little mini-cups of BlueBell Homemade Vanilla ice cream, so I served our peachy stuff in a bowl, topped with the ice cream and then garnished with…

…I was going to use a crushed granola bar, but oh no! We were out of those. Cereal? Oh yeah! I filled a little baggie with some of the little guy’s cinnamon toast cereal and bashed that up and sprinkled it on top.

This is what it looked like.

Cobbleresque deliciousness - juicy, creamy, crunchy, sweet and cinnamony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s more hopeful than homemade dessert shared with family?

Sunday Dinner – Concentration

Concentration = rich, outrageous flavor.

At some point on Friday? Maybe it was Saturday? We were watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. If you’re hungry while watching that show, it’s pure torture. It’s usually pretty torturous no matter what because the food is almost always drool-inducing, but it’s never from any of the diners, drive-ins or dives around here. Soooo…  yeah. Bummer.

And usually, there’s a well-seasoned flat top involved or a 30-gallon stand mixer, so it’s not like you can just whip up any of the dishes featured either. Usually.

The other night we watched a lady make a sandwich that looked outrageously good, but doable!!

It was shredded beef (chuck roast, like what you use to make pot roast), that she seasoned, seared and then soaked in beef broth and red wine in a 350 degree oven for 3 hours. It was falling apart when she took it out of the oven and she shredded it and then re-heated it in the au jus left from the pan.

She filled a crusty roll with the shredded beef and then topped it with caramelized onion “jam” that had been cooked down with some red wine, balsamic vinegar and thyme. Then she put on some scoops of blue cheese mousse that she then melted over the top in the broiler.

Well, my goodness… we had already eaten dinner and we were all watching slack-jawed and wiping up drool!

So I made that for dinner tonight.

But I didn’t make the blue cheese mousse. I just melted sliced provolone over our sandwiches.

Oh the buttery tender shredded beef soaked in the concentrated richness from the red wine and beef broth was outrageously flavorful. But then topped with the tangy, sweet, rich caramelized onion jam and blanketed under oozy, gooey provolone? It was almost obscene.

Is that sexy or what? Mmmm, you know you want a bite...

Menu Planning – Week of 8/29/2011

Here we are, headed into September next week. Already. Although, September is my favorite month. The little guy’s birthday is on the 21st, followed by mine on the 22nd. We usually have a two-day blow-out birthday celebration and I can hardly wait. Plus, the little guy will officially be a double-digit midget!!  The big 1-0!

It would be great if we could expect cooler temperatures this month, but the reality of South Texas is that its likely to continue being blast furnace hot until November maybe? December? I remember one year we were all wearing shorts out on the dock on New Years’ Day.

I’m not complaining though! As I left the grocery store yesterday (Saturday) evening, I was thinking how much I appreciate being able to run out in shorts and a t-shirt with sandals. I dislike it when it gets so cool that I’m forced to wear extra clothing. Things like socks and long pants. Keeping up with a jacket is kind of a drag.

This week, most of my recipes for the week’s meals are coming from Cuisine at Home Magazine. I won’t be able to link them. After I’ve tried them out, I can scan them in if they’re good.

Odds are they’ll be delicious, Cuisine at Home has quite simply never let me down. Their recipes are unfailingly superior. They’re not always quick, easy or cheap, so for weeknight meals, one has to be careful to choose recipes that don’t have a lot a steps or pricey ingredients. But no matter what, it will be fabulous.

Monday we’ll have Pork Chops & Apples with bacon-roasted Cauliflower.

Tuesday we’ll have Crab Alfredo Baked Shells. I’m particularly looking forward to that!

Wednesday we’ll have Meatballs with Ravioli. A one-pot baked dish that includes spinach. Yum!

Thursday I’m planning a family favorite: Salmon with Noodles and Sugar Snap Peas.

Friday we’ll have Lemon-Butter Chicken with Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous with Lemon and Goat Cheese.

And Saturday, when I have a little bit more time, I’m planning Caesar Salad Pasta with Grilled Shrimp and Crouton Skewers.

I’ve got my list made and organized according to the layout of my grocery store and while we do have one meal that calls for crab (which ain’t cheap), I think this week’s grocery bill will definitely be right around $100. I’ll let you know!

Weekend Brunch – What’s in the Fridge?

I got up late this morning, kinda feeling like I’m getting a cold. Not super motivated… and no plans for brunch.

I didn’t even start thinking about food until noon. Then I was thinking, what? I knew I didn’t have a lot of eggs, but I did have some. Potatoes. Onions. Okay…  hash. I have sausage, but it’s brown-and-serve…  which is fine, but I’ll have to cut it up if I make hash. I wanted something spicy. I thought maybe I’ll make a spicy scrambled egg hash that we could put into warm tortillas with some cheese and have homemade breakfast tacos.

That’s what I set out to do, but what actually ended up on the plate was a little different…  and a thousand times more scrumptious!

I chopped half an onion fine, plus one quarter of a red pepper. Then I grated two peeled potatoes. Drained a small can of green chiles and chopped five brown-and-serve-sausages.

I heated some canola oil in a large non-stick pan to medium high heat and added in the red pepper and onion.

Once the peppers and onions were translucent and soft, I added in the shredded potato, the green chiles (which I normally don’t drain, but I did today because I didn’t want the liquid to make my hash too wet) and the sausage.

I added in some butter and mixed it all together good and turned the heat up a little so it could start browning on the bottom. The key here is to leave it alone. Don’t stir too much or you’ll end up with mashed potatoes with vegetables. And when you do stir, be gentle. Just kind of flip it and then leave it alone again.

My original plan was to scramble eggs in after the hash got browned, but here’s where a different idea struck me. Instead of scrambling the eggs in with the hash, I thought I would serve the hash on top of tortilla chips and then top that with fried eggs. Hey now!

So, I got two plates out and spread some tortilla chips (Uncle Julio’s baby!) on them and then sprinkled the chips with some shredded cheddar and jalapeno jack cheese.

After flipping the hash around some more to make sure it was completely browned, I seasoned it well with salt and fresh ground black pepper, then I started on the fried eggs. All that takes is melting some butter in a non-stick pan and cracking in a couple of eggs.

When the eggs were done, I put a pile of hot, sizzling hash on top of the chips and cheese on both plates, and then topped each pile of hash with two hot, fried eggs. I’m calling it Migas Hash with Fried Eggs <– my own original!

This is what it looked like before we ate every bite. Yum!

It was outstanding. Both of my guys loved it and claimed they’d eat it for dinner, too, if I wanted to make more.

I have to admit, it rang all my chimes, too. Only thing that could’ve improved it would’ve been a side of creamy, smoky refried beans. Might try that next weekend. Nom!!!

Weeknight Meals – Pan-fried Trout

Because I’d moved our tostada dinner up to Tuesday night, we ended up having the Pan-fried Trout with Tomato Basil Sautee for dinner on Friday; a recipe I found in the latest issue of Cooking Light magazine which I had just picked up last Sunday.

The photo looked good and when I read the recipe, it seemed like something that would be quick to cook.

This is the photo from Cooking Light that caused me to want to try the recipe. Looks yummy, right?

It was quick to cook, super quick (and one pan, hooray!). It was also much, much more delicious than it seemed like it would be. The big guy and I were both a little worried about tomatoes with fish. Somehow that seemed like an iffy flavor/texture combination, but it turned out that it was outrageously delicious!

What was so good was the tangy sweet burst of warm, juicy tomato in a bite with the light, flaky fish and a little crunchy, salty, smoky bit of bacon. Wow. Put that on the fork with a little bit of the Lemony Orzo and it was super flavorful. This is definitely my idea of healthy, light and flavorful (which isn’t always easy to do).

This was my version. I had more tomatoes, but tomatoes are so delicious!

One note I should mention: the recipe calls for pancetta and I put that on my list when I shopped last Monday. But HEBs didn’t have pancetta. There was a tag on the shelf, apparently they do sell it. But it was out. So I just used regular bacon. I’m sure it’s great with pancetta, but regular bacon is also delicious and it’s cheaper and easier to find.

Also, the recipe has you cooking the fish in a separate pan than the bacon, tomatoes, garlic and basil. I didn’t do that. I crisped the bacon, then pulled it out and drained it on a paper towel. I seared the fish in the hot bacon fat (which took almost no time at all) and then put those on a plate and drained off all the fat. Then in the same pan, I sauteed the tomatoes, garlic and basil, just for a few minutes, then put that mixture and the crisp bacon bits on top of the fish. I think cooking it that way makes the fish more flavorful and makes clean up quicker.

The other thing I loved about this dinner is that, because I had purchased three trout filets, there was no leftover. That makes clean up quicker and its best not to have leftover fish because it’s difficult to reheat. It ends up getting overcooked and dry…  blech.

I am going to strongly recommend this recipe. It was yummylicious (surprisingly so!), quick, easy, light and not a lot of clean up afterwards.