Let's Go Fishing!

I love salmon! It is one of my favorite fish and the good news is that it is good for you...at least the wild salmon. I am going to share with you a couple simple ways to cook salmon. First, we'll discuss Poached Salmon, both wild and farm raised.

Wild Coho Salmon ready to poach

You can poach salmon in just about any liquid with herbs or spices that you like, but a very simple recipe follows:

Ingredients:

Salmon filets, about 6 oz. per person

(This time I will poach 4 filets.)

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 small onion, peeled and sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

(Yes, this is the holy trinity commonly known as Mirepoix!)

3 slices lemon per filet, 2 go under the salmon and 1 on top

Several sprigs of parsley

3 bay leaves (1 per filet)

Salt/Pepper to taste

1 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon blanc works well and is nice to sip on while you are poaching.)

Juice of 1 lemon; lemon zest*

Preparation:

Cut the salmon filets if necessary. Make sure there are no pin bones in the filet. Run your hand over the filet, especially along the edges, and if you feel any little bones they must be removed. Either use tweezers or grasp firmly with a paring knife against your thumb and pull them out.

Place the carrot, celery, onion, lemon, parsley and bay leaves in a large skillet.

Add the salmon filets skin side down, cold water to cover, Salt/Pepper (I like to use white pepper which is very finely ground and a little more spicy.), the wine, and the lemon juice and half of the lemon zest. Bring the water to a boil, uncovered.

Adjust heat to simmer and let fish cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the fish undisturbed (covered) for 10 minutes. then remove it carefully to a serving platter. As you remove the filet from the pan, the skin should come right off. Top with remaining lemon zest. The salmon will be perfectly done. It is delicious served either hot or cold or at room temp.

* I use a micro plane to zest lemons. Make sure you do not go deeper than the yellow color of the rind. The underlying white layer can be bitter.

Wild salmon is much firmer in texture than farm raised salmon. I actually like farm raised better for poaching as it stays very moist, whereas the wild is a bit more firm and almost dry in texture. Both cook for the same amount of time. To enhance the Wild Poached Salmon, serve with SAUCE! I am sometimes known as the 'Sauce Queen' and I like to put  sauces on just about everything. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Salmon lends itself to many different sauces so the choices are nearly endless. I like a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with salmon. Red peppers are easy to roast. Here's how...

Roasted Red Peppers

Heat broiler to high. Place peppers on a baking sheet lined with foil and put under broiler. Broil until they become blackened. Keep turning to blacken all sides. When all sides of pepper have been charred, wrap up in the foil and set aside and let them cool. Once cool, strip off the skin. This comes off very easily by grabbing a corner of skin with a paring knife and pulling the skin to release; just make sure you remove all the blackened skin. Split the pepper open (the pepper will probably split as you are skinning) and remove seeds, stem and membrane. Put peppers into a blender or mini-max or my new favorite little blender, the Ninja!, and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste, about 3 Tbsp. cream cheese (for 4 peppers), 4 Tbsp. sour cream or non-fat Greek-style yogurt and blend until smooth. If the red pepper sauce is too thick, thin it with more yogurt/sour cream.

This is the basic red pepper sauce. From here, you can add fresh chopped basil, finely minced garlic, hot pepper flakes or other herbs and spices. I like to keep it fairly pure for the salmon saucing.

Here is a salad plate of farm raised poached salmon (notice how much paler it is than the wild salmon). I have served it here on a bed of micro-greens lightly dressed with viniagrette, peeled and steamed asparagus tossed in EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), salt and a hint of balsamic vinegar, hard cooked eggs with smoked paprika garnished with the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.  I got a little carried away with the red pepper garnish....this is a case where LESS is definitely MORE!, but I liked making the little blobs of sauce so just kept doing it! I think I should've used a bit more restraint! (Not my strong suit!)

I served this dish for a special birthday luncheon I put together for my friend Kim, who helped me by assembling the plates! Happy Birthday all over again, Kim!

Another very delicious sauce for poached salmon is:

AVOCADO CORN RELISH

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Olive Oil

4 cups fresh corn kernels (about 5 ears)

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 large avocados, peeled and seeded

1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded

4 Poblano chilies, roasted (just as you would the red peppers above), peeled, seeded

4 scallions, white and light green thinly sliced on the diagonal

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Cilantro garnish, optional

Preparation:

Heat 1/2 cup of the Olive Oil in a larger skillet over medium heat.

Saute the corn with the salt/pepper about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool.

Cut the avocados, bell pepper, roasted Poblano into 1/4 inch dice.

Add to the sauteed corn along with the scallions, red wine vinegar, and the remaining 1/4 cup Olive Oil.

Mix well and let sit 20-30 minutes to blend flavors. (Also can be made 2-3 days ahead; stored in tightly covered container in the fridge. If you are making in advance, DO NOT add the avocado in advance. Add it just before serving.)

Serve at room temp.

A final sauce suggestion for Poached or Broiled Salmon...

AIOLI

Add to blender: 1/2 cup mayonaise with 3 Tbsp. finely diced garlic and a dash of Tumeric, This sauce, aka Aoili, is absolutely delicious on Poached Salmon! Tumeric is not a traditional addition to Aoili, but I love the taste and really like how it give the mayo a deep yellowish color.

Another very simple preparation for Salmon is to broil it. I like to serve Broiled Salmon on a bed of greens, like spinach or kale. Use about a 6 oz. filet (wild or farm raised) per person. Check for the pin bones and remove if necessary. Rub filets with Olive Oil, sprinkle with salt/pepper and that's it! Place skin side down on an oiled baking sheet and pop into a hot broiler and broil for about 5 minutes per inch.

If you are not using Aoili, another nice way to sauce or garnish Broiled Salmon is with a little Compound Butter (not shown in this picture.).

Compound Butter does not have to be a big production, Here is a very simple way to make it:

Ingredients:

1 lb. butter

3-4 Tbsp. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

2 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

1 garlic clove, smashed and diced fine

Preparation:

Chop the butter into uniform chunks using a sharp knife and place in a bowl.

Place the EVOO into a food processor; add chives. Process until the chives are finely chopped. Add the remaining herbs and blend until the herbs have colored the oil. Keep blending until the texture of the oil softens and lightens-about 5 minutes.

Add the butter to the herb oil and blend for another 2 minutes until oil is fully incorporated.

Spoon the herb/oil/butter mixture onto waxed paper, parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll into a tight log and chill for 2 hours. Try to get all the creases out of the paper so exterior of butter log is smooth.

When ready to serve slice into 1/4 inch pieces and place on top of hot Broiled Salmon.

Compound Butter is good on just about everything: veggies, bread, rice, meats (especially if you add blue or other cheese)...use your imagination!

Wild Alaskan Salmon Cakes

If you are not able to get good fresh salmon, Wild Alaskan canned Salmon is also very good for you and delicious! Here is my recipe for Salmon Cakes.

Ingredients:

1 can Wild Alaskan Salmon

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs (I like to use a combination of whole grain crumbs that I keep in the freezer at all times.)

1 Scallion, green and white parts, sliced thin

1 Smashed and diced garlic clove

1 tsp. drained capers

1 Egg

2 Tbsp. Mayonaise

Dash of hot sauce

Dash of Worchester sauce

Salt/Pepper

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil for frying

Preparation:

Many canned salmons now come completely cleaned (no bones or skin). If that is the case, just mix all ingredients and form into patties. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to get the right consistency before frying.

Add oil to a skillet. Get oil hot and saute Salmon Cakes for about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on how thick you make your cakes. The Cakes should have a nice brown finish and be firm.

I like to serve these with mashed avocado under the Salmon Cake and either Aioli or Roasted Red Pepper or both!

Salmon is versatile, easy to work with and yummy! Hope you enjoy these recipes or become inspired to create some new twists of your own. Please let me know what you concoct with Salmon!

See you in the kitchen again soon!

May your creative juices keep flowing, spirits remain high, and joy of cooking continue!

SAUCY COLD POACHED SALMON

 I had my good friend, Dorita Pina, over for lunch on the first day of fall. This was my first "food-guest" since March when COVID19 came on strong. We were able to sit outside, but the day was still very warm so I decided to serve a cold lunch.

I had everything put together except the dressing of the salad so we had lots of time to visit.

COLD POACHED SALMON 

WITH DIJON MEYER LEMON SAUCE

Ingredients:

2 Wild Coho Salmon filets

Cut 3 lemons into quarters after juicing and zesting for the vinaigrette and sauce. I also added a big squeeze of lemon juice to the poaching liquid. 

1/2 cup white wine

Lots of freshly chopped chives.

Lots of freshly chopped dill.

Salt/Pepper

Water to nearly cover the salmon filets.

Preparation:

Place salmon on a rack in a saute pan. Drop lemon pieces around the salmon. Cover with herbs, salt/pepper, white wine and top with water to nearly cover the salmon filets. Cover the pan. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat immediately to a bare simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave in covered pan for 5 mins. Salmon will be done when it becomes opaque and is slightly firm to the touch. Remove cover and let cool on the rack before removing the salmon. Carefully lift out the salmon with a spatula. Peel off skin and any herbs that have stuck to the fish. Set aside, covered in the fridge with plastic wrap.

DIJON MEYER LEMON SAUCE

Ingredients:

Juice and zest of 1 Meyer lemon. If you don't have Meyers, any lemon is good. I just really like the sweet flavor of the Meyer lemon.*

1/4 cup mayo

Scant tsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. capers

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives

Salt/Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients. Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve. Giving it an hour or more in the refrigerator helps to bring the flavors together.

*WHY ARE MEYER LEMONS SO SPECIAL? Meyer Lemons, originally from China, are considerably less acidic than the regular lemons you will find in the grocery, which are usually either Eurekas or Lisbons. Meyer Lemons definitely taste lemony, but both the juice and zest are more fragrant than what you normally get in the groceria. They are also smaller with thinner skin and less white pith under the skin than the regular lemons. You could practically eat the entire Meyer Lemon whole, but probably would not. They are perfect for a totally lemon-forward meal!

LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients:

Juice 2 Meyer lemons to make 1/3 cup. Again, any lemons are good. Just make sure you have 1/3 cup juice so citrus to oil is proportionate. Add 1/2 cup of your best extra virgin olive oil. I used an oil I bought at my new favorite store in Tucson, Roma Imports. Salt and white pepper to taste. Do not under-salt. Put all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously until they come together and somewhat emulsify. Leave on counter until ready to dress your greens. Shake again just before dressing. 

Just before Dorita arrived, I dressed some beautiful, fresh arugula with the vinaigrette and made a Caprese Salad with heirloom tomatoes, fresh Buffalo Mozzarella and lots of basil from my garden. I drizzled balsamic vinegar over the top and added salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

I completed the meal by steaming asparagus and dressing in just a little, you guessed it, lemon juice and lemon zest. This also was served cold. The theme today was definitely lemon and perfect for a warm first day of fall. 

We had such a fun afternoon eating, sipping some lovely wine and enjoying each others company. I have truly missed sharing food with my friends and hope to do more of it soon!

This meal was so easy to put together. I think you will love it!

ALL FOR TODAY...

SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF...

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

FARRO SALAD

FARRO AND GREEN OLIVE SALAD

WITH WALNUTS AND GOLDEN RAISINS

I just made this salad today. I didn't have golden raisins, but dark raisins work, too.

 

A daily staple in ancient Rome for thousands of years, Farro was also consumed throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. It is still a popular grain and recently making a resurgence in swanky American restaurants.

Farro is in the wheat family and it is believed farro may be the "mother" of all wheat. It contains lots of goodies (high fiber, protein and iron) and has a delicious nutty flavor and chewy consistency. It is excellent in salads, soups, and mixed with vegetable stir-fries or other side dishes.

Here's a recipe my good friend Debby V. gave me, which I love--perfect balance of salty and sweet.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups Farro
1 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
2 1/2 cups pitted green olives, preferably Castelvetrano; chopped
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1/3 cup snipped chives
2 Tbsp. golden raisins (I used 4 Tbsp.)
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (I used 1/4 tsp. white pepper and 1/2 tsp. ground West Indian Pink Peppercorn--any pepper combo would work well.)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. honey
Sea salt to taste (But use cautiously as both the olives and cheese are already salty.)
Shaved Pecorino cheese for serving (I used Parmesan.)

I bought these Castelvetrono Olives online, but you could
probably get them at Trader Joes or other similar stores.
Note, the word, WHOLE. Make sure you buy them pitted!

 

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375. (I skipped this step and lightly roasted the walnuts in a dry frying pan on top of the stove.) If using the oven, place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 15 minutes.

In a medium saucepan combine the farro with 4 cups of water (I used 2 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water), and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered until the farro is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Drain (Save the liquid for future soup stock.) the farro and spread it on a baking sheet to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the farro, toasted walnuts, scallions, chives, raisins, crushed red pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, honey and season with salt. Toss well. Transfer salad to a platter and garnish with the cheese. I made it the day before and I think it helped meld the flavors. 

 

From Serious Eats:

"Castelvetrano olives are Italy's most ubiquitous snack olive. Bright green, they are often referred to as dolce (sweet), and come from Castelvetrano, Sicily, from the olive variety nocerella del belice. They have a Kermit-green hue, meaty, buttery flesh, and a mild flavor."

 

To find recipe for Poached Salmon, go to:
http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=Poached+salmon

In the above recipe I used wild Coho Salmon versus a high-quality farm-raised Scottish salmon pictured below.

Poached Salmon with a creamy lemon sauce on a bed of spinach
and cherry tomatoes were the perfect complement to the Farro Salad.
I dressed the greens with a citrus vinaigrette.

LEMON CREAM SAUCE
Ingredients:

3 Tbsp lemon juice.

1/4 cup chicken broth, fish stock, clam juice, white wine, or water. (I used chicken stock.)

2/3 cup heavy cream (Light cream is OK, too.)

1 Tbsp butter

Salt/ White pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

Melt butter in a frying pan. Add stock. While stirring, bring to a gentle boil. Add lemon juice. Keep stirring. Reduce heat. Add cream. Stir some more. Season with salt/pepper. The secret to a good sauce is to bring everything together over a moderate, not high heat, and stir continuously. This sauce has endless variations: add rosemary, garlic, chives, dill, or almost any other herb you can think of!

THAT WILL CONCLUDE THIS EPISODE OF

 

COOK WITH CINDY!

 

Until next time...Keep on Cooking!

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

 

 

 



Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!

It's Sunday morning, Labor Day weekend, beginning of a new month, second day into a beautiful Blue Moon, and I am thinking about breakfast. I prefer to eat breakfast after waking gently over a cup of coffee. On the weekend I like to eat brunch rather than breakfast and sometimes have it with a Bloody Mary.

Try garnishing your Bloody with different toppings such as draping a shrimp cocktail over the glass or skewer a combination of cocktail onion, cornichon, olives and roasted red pepper. Another fun combo are pickled mushrooms and fresh cherry tomatoes.

ON TO SOME FOOD...

Here are two different BREAKFAST SANDWICHES

SPINACH AND FETA CHEESE BREAKFAST SANDWICH

This wonderful blend of flavors goes very well with a Bloody Mary. Lightly fry an egg over easy. Try not to break the yoke. Top with a handful of fresh spinach and a generous amount of crumbled feta cheese.  Put a lid on the frying pan to steam the spinach and slightly melt the cheese. To make this sandwich even better, butter 2 slices of whole grain bread on both sides and fry it until golden brown. Serve the egg on the fried bread along with a small green salad.

BREAKFAST SANDWICH WITH AVOCADO

AND CRISPY PROSCUITTO

 

Slice a few pieces of proscuitto into strips and fry it as you would bacon until it is nice and crispy. Toast a slice of bread (or fry it as above) and mash 1/2 of avocado on the bread. If the avocado is very ripe you can do this with the back of a spoon so there are still some chunks in the avocado. Top with a couple strips of proscuitto, egg fried over easy and a couple more pices of proscuitto on the top to garnish. Easy and delicious!

I have always wanted to make my own sausage and finally tried making it using a recipe from Alton Brown. I made this pork sausage pretty much just as the recipe called for, but next time I would add some fennel seed. I would really like to try some exotic sausage and stuff into casings, like smoked duck with apple or chicken sausage with sun-dried tomato and fresh basil.

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Ingredients:
2 pounds pork butt (I used ground pork as it came from the store)
Alton calls for cutting into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 lb. fat back, diced into 1/4 inch pieces. (Because I bought my pork already ground there was plentry of fat in it so I skipped this ingredient.)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. finely chopped sage
2 tsp. finely chopped thyme
1/2 tsp. finely chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flake

Preparation:
Combine diced pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Using the fine blade of a grinder, grind the pork or as I did buy it already ground. Form into 2 inch rounds. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. For immediate use, saute the patties over medium-low heat in a non-stock pan. Saute until brown and cooked thoroughly, approximately 10-15 minutes.

This plate could use a sprig of parsley or something to brighten it up!

FARM FRESH SCRAMBLED EGGS

These eggs are so yellow because they are farm fresh eggs. To make perfect scrambled eggs, lightly beat 2 extra-large eggs in a bowl, add a slight pinch of salt, and a scant 1/4 cup either milk or water. Beat lovingly with a fork until mixed. Get a non-stick frying pan sprayed with a little cooking oil hot and pour the eggs into the pan. Turn down heat to medium right away. Twirl the pan, but do not stir the eggs. When the edges of the egg start to thicken up, then you can very gently start folding the egg onto itself. Keep folding until it is cooked-3 to 4 minutes. The eggs will look soft and hold together well. That doesn't sound like much time, but the eggs keep cooking when you take them off the heat. Overcooked scrambled eggs are not good. I served with a few slices of avocado and a heated whole grain tortilla.

 

POACHED EGG WRAPPED IN SMOKED SALMON

This is what I ended up making for breakfast this morning. It was absolutely yummy!! Start by laying out 4 pieces of smoked salmon/2 slices per poached egg. My tomatoes are just ripening so I include them with almost every meal. Slice a few tomatoes, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and garnish with a sprig of basil. To poach the eggs, fill a frying pan with water nearly to the top, add 1/4 cap of vinegar. Any vinegar is fine, but tarragon infused vinegar adds a very subtle flavor. This keeps the eggs from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Bring the water to a roiling, but gentle boil. Open each egg into individual small bowl or custard cup. This helps keep the egg intact as it hits the boiling water. Gently pour the egg into the water and poach until the white firms up. Skim water over the top of the eggs as they poach to form a "skin" over the yoke.

 

I use a fine mesh spoon to remove the eggs from the water and place on the smoked salmon. Carefully wrap the salmon around the poached egg. This is easier than it sounds. Lay the salmon encased egg on a piece of toasted rye bread. Garnish with chopped chives and a caper berry if you like.

 

GRANOLA

I do not have a picture of this granola, but I want to include it because it is a delicious recipe and can be added to or changed any way you like to include your favorite fruit or nut.  It keeps well in a tightly sealed glass jar or container and also makes a great gift!  This recipe makes about 10 cups.

Ingredients:

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 1/2 cups sliced almonds

1 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup golden raisons

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and oil the foil. Toss together oats, almonds, coconut and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together oil and honey, then stir into the oat mixture until well coated. Spread mixture in baking pan and bake, stirring occasionally until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Stir in cranberries and raisons, then cool completely in pan on a rack. It is important to put the cranberries and raisons in after the granola has baked. Once when I was making this I added all ingredients by mistake, including fruit, and then baked for 25-30 minutes. The fruit gets too cooked. The cranberries actually got a little burned so best to remember to add after baking.

 

Now you decide what you want to include: pecans, prunes, wheat germ, brown sugar or agave nectar instead of honey...whatever you like best.

 

EGG BAKE

This dish is also versatile and lends itself to many different combinations of breakfast meat, cheese or all vegetarian. It is prepared the night before and then baked in the morning, which makes an easy breakfast if you have a crowd. Once it is baked the bread disappears into the egg. It puffs slightly as it bakes and is light and richly flavored.

 

 

Ingredients:

6 eggs

2 cups milk, half and half, cream or a combination

1 lb. grated cheese-I used cheddar

6-8 slices (depending on how meaty you want it) thick-cut bacon

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

3 shallots or 1 small onion, sliced

1 loaf French bread

Butter

 

Parparation:

Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a baking dish. Cut French bread into 1/2 inch slices and butter each side of the bread, then cut into 1 inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Cook the bacon until it is crisp. Remove from the pan and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Add shallot or onion, mushroom and saute until cooked. Beat the eggs with an electric mixer, add milk or half and half. Add the bacon, veg, cheese and the milk into the bowl with the cubed bread. Mix well together and put it into the buttered baking dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, let sit on the counter for about 1/2 hour to come to room temperature. If it looks dry, add a little more cream to the top. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the eggbake in the oven and cook for about 35-45 minutes. It is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean; same as testing doneness for a custard.  Cut into squares and serve.

 

I am going to conclude with one of my favorite breakfasts...

 

EGGS IN A HOLE, AKA EGGS IN A RABBITT HOLE

I was making this breakfast for my friend Diana one morning and she came up with the Rabbitt Hole name!

 

Now that is a serious face! I served Eggs in a Hole with big, fat breakfast sausages. To make the eggs, cut a circle out of each slice of toast. You can use a cookie cutter or small juice glass; whatever you have handy to remove the center. Butter each side of the bread and the hole. Fry both sides of bread and hole and drop an egg onto each piece of bread. Let it cook for a couple minutes then very carefully flip the whole piece of toast so the egg finishes cooking.

OK! That's better...now I am having some fun!







As you can see I don't often make sweet breakfasts, much to my husband's dismay. Occasionally I will make waffles which are especially good stuffed with a sweetened cream cheese and topped with strawberry sauce and fresh sliced strawberries. You can also turn the Eggbake into a sweet breakfast. One of my Mom's favorites (she had a huge sweet tooth!) was Yankee French Toast, which is also made the night before, but instead of savory ingredients uses sugar and bakes up more like a custard. We often would have Yankee French Toast on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning.

 

 

Thanks for sharing breakfast with me!

 

I had so much fun this morning talking about breakfast. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend and I will be back to you soon!

 

To see some of my previous food ramblings, go to:

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

 

 

 

 

 









EASTER CELEBRATION 2021!

 Our good friends, Dorita and Rudy Pina joined us for Easter dinner this year. It was so fun to laugh, love, enjoy lively conversation and tasty food. The theme this year was FRENCH! Today I am going to talk about our starters and first course.

My husband, Jerry is on the left. 

Dorita and I began the celebration with a classic French cocktail...

FRENCH 75

The inspiration for this cocktail originated in Paris around WWI and was named after the 75mm Howitzer field gun, which both French and Americans used. Like the Howitzer it packs a punch. We were both new to the drink and found it slightly tart, refreshing and not at all overpowering. The flavors were mellow and sophisticated. It is often made with gin, but I decided to use vodka as that is our drink of choice. I'm not big on exact measurements when making cocktails, but this is roughly what I came up with (using my eyeballs to measure!). Adjust to your own taste...more simple syrup if you like sweet; more lemon juice if you prefer a more tart drink.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz. vodka

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Simple Syrup*

3 oz. champagne

Lemon twist

Preparation:

Shake the first 3 ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker. Strain into champagne flute and top with champagne and lemon twist.

Voila!

*Since I had made the candied lemon slices for the Lemon Curd Cheesecake the day before, I used the Lemon simple syrup, which gave this drink a rich, super lemony flavor. Plain simple syrup would work, too. Next time I will blog that special Easter dessert!

Dorita made the puff pastry for these savory Palmiers from scratch. I have never tasted anything quite like them. For the filling she used onion caramelized in red wine and orange juice, toasted walnuts, and orange zest. After the onions were caramelized she blended and then added roughly chopped green olives. She only used 1 stick of butter to make the pastry! It tasted like much more. They literally melted in your mouth! Flakey deliciousness. 

MARINATED SHRIMP WITH 

CHAMPAGNE BEURRE BLANC

I found this recipe online and liked the idea of swapping out the white wine with champagne for the Beurre Blanc, but the recipe was really overly complicated so I have simplified it. This made an intensely flavorful starter for the 4 of us. I did have a little extra Beurre Blanc, but that is always nice to have on-hand in the fridge. 

Ingredients For the Marinade:

12 shrimps, peeled and deveined

1 cup champagne (I used Prosecco, but any dry sparkling wine would work.)

3 Tbsp. minced shallots

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. minced chives

1 Tbsp. minced tarragon

1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Combine all ingredients and place in a zip lock bag. Marinate shrimp at room temperature for an hour or more. Every 15 minutes give the bag a shake to ensure that all shrimp is getting the benefit of the marinade. 

Ingredients for the Beurre Blanc:

2 cups champagne or dry sparkling wine

1/3 cup minced shallots

2 Tbsp. champagne or tarragon vinegar (I used tarragon vinegar.)

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

Combine the champagne, shallots, vinegar, and white pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup liquid; about 20 minutes. Set aside. 

Drain shrimp. Pat dry with paper towels. Arrange shrimp on a foil lined, lightly oiled baking sheet in a single layer. Broil shrimp until just opaque in the center; about 2 minutes per side. Arrange 3 shrimps on a plate.

Rewarm sauce base over medium-low heat. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time, allowing each piece to melt before adding the next. Do not let the sauce boil or it could separate. 

Season Beurre Blanc with salt and more white pepper if needed. Spoon the warm sauce around the shrimp. Sprinkle with a few more fresh herbs if you like. 

The third hors d'oeuvres was a Smoky Salmon Dip served with crostini's. I wanted to make a classic French black olive tapenade, but could find no cured black olives in the entire town of Nogales. Possibly people are hoarding them, along with the toilet paper and grape-nuts! I have made this appetizer before, but this time added about a cup of chopped smoked salmon, which really enhanced the smokiness!

http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=salmon+dip

ARE YOU FULL YET?...

ON TO THE FIRST COURSE!

CHILLED PLUM SOUP WITH ROQUEFORT PANNA COTTA

What an interesting combination of flavors and textures! The soup had that perfect blend of sweet and tart from the red plums and was thick and luscious. The Roquefort Panna Cotta was the complement that brought these flavors together; salty, sublimely silky and smooth. This is a winner! It would make a lovely lunch paired with a mixed green salad, Roquefort cheese, pears and toasted walnuts, possibly with a balsamic dressing. I found this online, too, but don't remember which site. I made the soup 2 days ahead, which really helped with the prep on Easter Sunday.

Ingredients for the soup:

2 lbs. (about 8 red plums), pits removed and diced, skin-on

1 cup white wine (I used Cupcake chardonnay, which is slightly sweet.)

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

a couple cranks of freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until boiling. Reduce to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes, until plums are soft and falling apart. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before pureeing. You can use either an immersion blender or the regular blender. I wanted it to be extremely smooth so used the standard blender. Chill until very cold.

Ingredients for the Roquefort Panna Cotta:

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

3.5 oz. good quality Roquefort cheese

1 packet unflavored gelatin

3 Tbsp. cold water

Preparation:

Lightly oil 4 ramekins and set aside. Pour the cold water in a medium sized bowl and sprinkle gelatin over the water. Set aside while preparing the milk/creams. In a small saucepan, heat the milk/creams and sugar over medium low heat, whisking occasionally until sugar is dissolved and a few bubbles begin to appear. Don't let the milk/creams get too hot or the cheese may curdle when you add it. Reduce heat to low and stir in crumbled Roquefort cheese. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into the water/gelatin bowl and whisk briskly until lumps are dissolved. Pour into cups, cover, chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours or until set. 

To serve:

Ladle soup into four small dessert bowls. Dip the panna cottas briefly into a bowl of hot water. Run a knife around the ramekins to loosen the panna cotta and carefully drop in the center of each bowl.

I think any cheese would work well with these savory panna cottas and look forward to experimenting with parmesan, goat cheese, stilton...the possibilities are endless. 

NEXT TIME WE WILL COMPLETE THE MEAL 

WITH THE MAIN COURSE AND DESSERT!

Butter Poached Cod heading to the dining room!

UNTIL THEN...

Our bearded iris are in full bloom!

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

Caribbean Style!

My husband and I recently returned from 10 glorious days in Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary.

We rented an adorable cottage right on the beach in Leverick Bay called The Coffee and Tea House. This gave me an opportunity to experiment with some Caribbean cooking. But first, let's start with a cocktail which you can easily make at home.

GUAVA-PINA COLADA

This is a delicious twist on a Pina Colada! Mix 2 ounces rum with 1 ounce Guava-Pineapple Juice and 1 ounce of Cream of Coconut. Stir and serve over ice. As beautiful as it is refreshing!

The most exciting dish I made was Chicken Foot Soup. Many have asked me why. Chicken Foot Soup is very popular throughout the Caribbean. I have never made it and the Feet were readily available in local markets so I thought...why not. I bought mine from Veronica, a charming woman originally from St. Vincent, at Buck's Market, a short drive from our cottage. Also an avid cook, she told me Chicken Foot Soup is very popular there as well. The Feet I used were quite large so had lots of 'meat' on them. I have to use the term loosely as it is not exactly meat, but fleshy gelatinous bits that are quite tasty!

CHICKEN FOOT SOUP

To start you must remove the toe nails. This was not a fun job as you literally cut off the end of each toe which is a little creepy, but the want-to-be butcher in me persisted and I got the job done.

I had a rich chicken stock in the refrigerator I'd made earlier in the week which made putting this soup together very easy.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Qt. Chicken Stock
2 large golden potatoes (such as Yukon Golds), peeled and cubed
1 large onion, diced
3 large cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce or more if you like it really spicy*
Big bunch of fresh thyme
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper

Feet missing their nails.

*I had a local pepper sauce that I took home in a doggie-bag from a restaurant and it was super hot and spicy so a little bit went a long way! You can also use fresh cayenne or goat peppers.

Preparation:
Wash the Chicken Feet (trimmed of their nails) thoroughly in cold water and let soak in salted water for about an hour. While they are soaking, heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the cubed potatoes, diced onion, minced garlic cloves, salt and pepper and saute until just golden-about 5 minutes stirring occasionally so potatoes don't stick. Rinse the Chicken Feet and pat dry. Add to the veg and stir to slightly brown the Feet. Add a big bunch of fresh thyme (tied with kitchen string) and the hot sauce. Add the chicken stock and turn heat down to a very low simmer. Cook for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Remove the bunch of thyme before serving. This soup is better than you might think and gets even BETTER the next day!

Here's another Caribbean favorite. Unfortunately no photos, but the recipe is easy and delicious and unlike the Feet all ingredients are easily accessible. I will illustrate with some beautiful shots of Virgin Gorda.

CURRIED COCONUT CHICKEN

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs with bone and skin on
Flour for dusting the thighs-about 1/2 cup
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (or more to taste)
Salt/Pepper
1/2 packet Sauzon seasoning  (in Latin section of your super market)
2 Tbsp. curry powder (Flavor changes considerably depending on what type of curry you use. I used Jamaican style Badia brand-something I picked up at Buck's Market.)
1/2 cup Cream of Coconut
1+ cup Chicken Stock

View from the deck of our cottage.

Preparation:
Rinse and dry the chicken thighs thoroughly. Coat with 1/2 cup of flour shaking off excess. Heat Olive Oil in a skillet until very hot. Brown chicken thighs on both sides. Remove thighs and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add diced onion, garlic, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper, curry powder, Sauzon seasoning coconut cream and saute. This will make a paste. Return the thighs to the pan and coat all sides of the thighs with the curry paste. Add Chicken stock and stir until well blended. Add 1 Tbsp. butter. Reduce heat, cover skillet and cook for about 1 1/2 hours until chicken is very tender. Check seasoning and add more curry, hot sauce, salt or pepper as needed. Also add more water or chicken stock if necessary as it cooks.

We visited Road Town in Tortolla, a short ferry ride away from Virgin Gorda, and met a lovely woman at a fabulous bakery called Honey N Spice Bakery and Pastry Shop. Myrna does much of the cooking and runs the restaurant. She was our gracious host for breakfast.

The chef, Ansony Salmon is a 'Culinary Arts Gold Medalist Pastry Chef' and it is easy to see why once you taste his food. That morning we had two different little pies that were scrumptious.

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and we had it first there many years ago sauteed with eggs and salt-fish for breakfast. This time Chef Salmon's recipe brought it inside a beautiful pocket of savory pastry. I chose the Callaloo loaf which was equally delicious. I first had Callallo in Grenada as a soup and cannot get enough of it. Somewhat like spinach, it is rich, flavorful and extremely popular throughout the Caribbean. Most countries have their own special way to prepare Callallo. Again, this time is was made as a little loaf. Back to my own Virgin Gordian kitchen...

I love curry and used it many different ways. This next recipe is for curried goat, but I am going to try it at home with beef short ribs.

CURRIED GOAT

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound goat-bone in cut into 1-2 inch pieces
Flour for dusting the goat-about 1/2 cup
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 large golden potatoes-chopped, but do not peel
2 Tbsp. curry
1/2 tsp. hot sauce or more to taste
Salt/Pepper
1/2 packet Sauzon seasoning (in Latin section of your super market)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. butter
Fresh thyme
About 2 cups water, or more as needed

The Baths in Virgin Gorda.

Preparation:
Dredge the goat or beef short ribs in flour shaking off excess. Heat 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil in a heavy saucepan and brown the meat. Add the onion, garlic, potatoes and all spices and stir until coated. Stir in 2 Tbsp. butter. Add 2 cups water and a bunch of thyme. Reduce heat to low simmer. Cover and let stew for 3 hours stirring occasionally until the meat falls off the bone. The potatoes will disappear as they are so well done making the sauce rich and thick. This dish is great on its own or served with a spicy rice. Also excellent the next day!

Lunch out at the Bitter End Yacht Club was a special treat.

That also is a ferry ride away from Gunn Bay. I enjoyed a delicious Seared Grouper with a Chipotle Aioli, Red Onion Jam, Red Potatoes Poached in Butter and Frizzy Greens with tiny cubes of zucchini, red pepper, red onion and corn. Spectacular!

Of course I needed a beverage to accompany my meal...

I did not ask what exactly was in this frozen lemony cocktail so more research is needed, but let me tell you it was absolutely yummy!

We loved Virgin Gorda and having a kitchen in the Caribbean for the first time was a thrill! What a beautiful island; warm and generous people; and trade winds keeping the temperature at perfection. I can hear the gentle surf rolling in as we speak...

Christmas is just 3 days away! 

I hope you are enjoying the magic of the holiday!

Here's to another 20 fabulous years my love!

www.cookwithcindy.com