Thai roasted salmon with coconut rice and cucumber salad

We had a great dinner with friends on Sunday to "break-in" their new kitchen. I wanted to share the meal we made. I made coconut rice before we went to their house. The recipe is super easy, simply use 1 C. of rinsed basmati rice and 1 1/2 C. light coconut milk. Boil the coconut milk in a pot and add in the rice. Add a pinch of salt, cover and reduce the heat to low and let cook until all of the liquid has been absorbed. It usually takes about 35 minutes.

We made a marinade using:
2 tbs. hoisin sauce
juice from 1 lime
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sambal oelek
2 tbs. honey
1/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbs. chopped fresh mint

Combine all of the ingredients and pour over the salmon (1 use 6 oz. per person, this is a good serving size) in a casserole or deep-sided glass pan.

Preheat oven to 400 and bake the fish for 18-20 minutes.

While the salmon cooked, we made a delicious cucumber salad.

Peel and chop 1 English cucumber and add to a bowl.
Add 1 diced shallot
2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. chopped mint
1 Tbs. chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients with cucumber and stir well to combine. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

We saved a little of the salmon marinade and cooked a few pieces of thinly sliced chicken breast in a pan. The kids loved it!

Chicken Enchiladas

I made chicken enchiladas last night and wanted to share the recipe with you.

Quick tip for busy moms

I taught the first of the Food and Wine Series today at the Christopher Peacock Showrooms and it was a really fun class. As everyone was enjoying the meal, one of my clients offered up a great tip that she uses with her kids which I wanted to share with you.

She buys small boxed of cereal and leaved a cup of milk on the lower level of her fridge so when her kids wake up on the weekend and are hungry, they can simply open the fridge and there will be a small box of cereal and a cup of mile that they can pour. She said this buys her a little time to lay in.

I thought is was a really clever idea and wanted to share it with you.

I think I will try pouring a bowl of dry cereal and leaving that in the fridge with a cup of milk next to it to the girls can simply take the bowl and cup out of the fridge and have their breakfast.

I'd love to hear any other great tips you have, feel free to email them to me or leave them on the blog.

:)

Cioppino

I am doing the first of our Food and Wine Series at the Christopher Peacock Cabinetry Showroom in Greenwich tomorrow and wanted to share a recipe that we will be sampling.

Terlato Vineyards is providing the wines and they recommend their Terlato Family Vineyards Syrah.

To register for any of the upcoming classes, you can visit my website www.timetoeat.info

Here's the recipe:

Cioppino

4 cubes frozen garlic
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Greek Seasoning
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2-teaspoons black pepper
1/4-cup olive oil
1 cup dry red wine
1 can diced tomatoes with herbs
1 cup bottled clam juice
1-2 cups chicken broth
1 lb. king crab legs
18 small (2-inch) hard-shelled clams (littlenecks) scrubbed
1 lb skinless red snapper or halibut fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb large shrimp (16 to 20), Peeled, cleaned and deveined.
3/4 lb bay (small) scallops
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
crusty bread (Sourdough if you can find it)


Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in a large heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and broth and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

While stew is simmering, cut crab legs through shell into 2- to 3-inch pieces with kitchen shears. Add crab pieces and clams to stew and simmer, covered, until clams just open, 5 to 8 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes and transferring opened clams to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon. (Discard any unopened clams after 8 minutes.)

Lightly season fish fillets, shrimp, and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.

Serve cioppino immediately in large soup bowls with thick slices of sourdough bread.

Terlato Family Vineyards Syrah

The Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County provides the ideal soil and climate for Syrah, similar to France’s Rhône Valley. Luscious Syrah fruit is fermented for 10 days in open top tanks with daily hand punch downs to give the wine more contact with the lees. It is then fermented for 17 months in 100% French oak barrels, 30% of them new. The resulting wine is concentrated and flavorful, with soft tannins and a long finish.


Enjoy!!

Spinach, cheese and bacon quiche

I made a delicious quiche last night that I wanted to share with you. For those of you who are watching your "carbs" this is just about 0.

Saute 1 diced onion in 2 tbs. olive oil in a large nonstick pan on high for 5-6 minutes or until onion begins to turn golden.

While onion sautes, cut 1 package of thick cut bacon with scissors, to make about 2" little pieces.

Remove onion from the pan, and add cut bacon. Cook on medium high heat until bacon is cooked though, about 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon on a plate lined with paper towels. The bacon should be cooked through, but not overly crunchy.

Remove bacon fat and saute 1 package chopped frozen spinach for 7-8 minutes or until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of Greek Seasoning.

In a large bowl, crack 6 eggs and whisk. Add in 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Add in a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Add in onion, bacon and spinach.

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a pie plate with nonstick spray. Add in egg mixture and bake for 25-30 minutes or until center of quiche has set.

Let cool and turn out onto cutting board. Cut into even wedges and serve. This dish reheats well and can also be eaten for breakfast.

Roasted turkey breast, not just for Thanksgiving!

I bought a nice turkey breast yesterday and am roasting it for dinner tonight. People generally stick to chicken when they make poultry, but I love turkey, it's got a delicious flavor and is a snap to make.

Preheat the oven to 375. I added a handful of baby carrots to a roasting pan along with 1 onion that I had quartered and 2 peeled and cubed sweet potatoes. I added 1 C. of water to the vegetables. I rinsed the turkey breast under running water and didn't pat it completely dry.

Next I drizzled a little olive oil to the to of the turkey, followed by garlic salt, adobo seasoning, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of chipotle seasoning that I just bought. Add enough of the seasonings so that the entire skin of the turkey breast is seasoned. You still want to be able to see the skin just with seasoning over it.

Next, cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the top. Put the lemon halves into the turkey carcass after squeezing them. This will help to season the meat from the inside as well.

Add the turkey to the roasting pan, it should sit on the vegetables.

Roast for 1 1/2 hours or until the little thermometer pops up.

I am making some rice and steamed broccoli to round out this meal.

The house smells yummy already!

Back from Cabo and split pea soup.

We did a last minute trip to San Jose Del Cabo in Mexico. It was so nice to get out of cold dreary New England and into warm sunny Mexico. We played and swam and are paying the price today with 2 tired little children.

We shuttled two yawning girls off to school today and did our errands, namely mountains of laundry. I ran to the market and came across some ham hocks. I decided to make some split pea soup for dinner tonight.

It's quite easy, but does take a while to cook, as the peas need to get good and soft.

In a large soup pot, add 2 tbs. of olive oil on medium high heat.

When the oil is hot add 1 finely diced onion, 3 stalks of chopped celery, and about 2 good handfuls of chopped baby carrots. Stir to combine in the pot and let the mixture cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn translucent. Add in the 2 ham hocks and 1 C. of rinsed split or green peas. Add in 5 cups of either water or chicken stock and stir to combine. Add in 1 bay leaf, a couple grind of black pepper and 1 tbs. of chicken bouillon or Adobo seasoning.

Cover and let simmer for at least an hour or until the ham starts to fall off the bone.

Stir every now and again to be sure the peas are softening.

We all enjoyed it, and oddly enough my 1 daughter who is the pickier loved the ham and ate almost all of it, while the other wrinkled her nose. We also had some clementines, and oyster crackers.

I have some fresh corn and a couple of steaks for tomorrow night.

More baked chicken wings

It's been a few days since my last blog entry, sorry.

The reason is that we've been eating a lot of things that I've shared from older posts. We went for Japanese food one night, and last night I made baked chicken wings using 1 C. panko, 1 C. corn flake crumbs and about 1 Tbs. garlic salt. I melted 1/2 stick of butter and dipped each chicken wing into the butter, then dredged the wing in the mixture.

I baked them on a foil lined cookie sheet at 400 for about 20 minutes. We all loved them, and my mom sent us more artichokes, which I steamed. We made a little farfalle and everyone ate happily.

We are having dinner at a friend's house tonight.

Abby is competing in her 2nd Chess Tournament tomorrow and we are all excited for her. Will let you know how it goes.

I have Pad Thai on my radar for an upcoming dinner. Will give the recipe when I make it.

:)

Papaya

Hi, I've been on a papaya kick recently and have found a nice way to enjoy it. I dice it up, then squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lime over it, then I sprinkle a little bit of dried shaved coconut, you can find it at any supermarket.

It's great for breakfast, and I've also been enjoying it for dessert. Find a nice ripe one (like in the picture).

Dinner wasn't anything exciting, tacos and some raw veggies, but everyone was happy.

I have some zucchini fritters that I plan to make for dinner tomorrow night with a couple NY strip steaks.

Coconut curried chicken with garbanzo beans and raisins

We had a pretty quiet weekend here. I took the girls to the NY Museum of Natural History yesterday where they are having a cool live butterfly exhibit. We all enjoyed a little trip to NY.

I had a little chicken left over from the one I roasted a couple days ago and decided to throw a few things in a pot and see how it turned out. I knew the kids would NOT eat this so they got cheese quesadillas and fresh snap peas for dinner which they were happy about.

I added 3 cubes frozen ginger and garlic to a nonstick deep pan. When those started to sizzle, I added in about 2 cups of the shredded chicken, 1 c. of light coconut milk and 1 can drained and rinsed garbanzo beans. I stirred everything around and let it come to a boil. I added in 1 tsp. of curry powder, about 1/2 tsp. of Galangal, which is Thai powdered ginger and a good pinch of salt. I wanted to add in some red pepper flakes, but could not find any.

I added in about 1/2 C. of chicken stock, a handful of baby carrots, and a handful of raisins. I let the whole thing come to a low boil for about 15 minutes.

I served it over a little of the lime coconut rice that I had bought from Trader Joe's. It's cooked and sealed in a clear plastic bag. It's found in the rice section of the store. It just needed to be heated in the microwave for a couple minutes.

This made a much larger meal than I thought, but it was really tasty and I ate it with a salad of pea shoots that I drizzled a little olive oil over with a pinch of salt and a tiny pinch of sugar.

It is definitely worth trying.