Bleu Cheese Twice Baked Potato

Place oven rack in the center position and preheat to 400 degrees.  Using a vegetable brush, scrub well the outside of small Idaho (Russet) Baking Potatoes, 1 per person plus 1 extra in case 1 breaks while filling.  Bake potatoes for 55 minutes.  While potatoes are baking, cook Applewood Bacon (1 strip for every 2 potatoes) until crispy.  When bacon cools, crumble it with a knife or by hand and set aside.  Thinly slice 2 Large Shallots (for every 4 potatoes).  Heat a small skillet and add 2 Tbl Vegetable Oil.  Add shallots and cook until golden and crispy.  Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Remove potatoes from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Use a paring knife to cut open the tops of each potato. Make two elliptical cuts from end to end in order to create a nice size opening.  Discard the top skin and remove the insides into a bowl.  For every 4 potatoes, add 1/4 Cup of Sour Cream and 4 oz your favorite Bleu Cheese.   Stir with a fork to combine.  The potatoes should still be slightly lumpy and the cheese not completely broken up.  Refill the potatoes with the mixture.  When ready to serve preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 20 minutes or until hot all the way through. Top with shallots and bacon and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes and serve.  These can be held in a warm oven set at 250 if you aren't ready to eat.  Additionally, you can bake the potatoes and prep them in the morning and hold them in the refrigerator until ready to bake for the 2nd time.  Delicious with a sliced grilled sirloin steak and a salad.

Nutella Martini Recipe..... need I say more?

Chocolate and Hazelnut, nary a better combination.

I have been wanting to make a martini using Nutella for some time now.  Here's what I came up with.
Swirl  Nutella in a martini glass.  Before adding ice, to a shaker add 1 Jigger Frangelico, 1 Jigger good quality vodka (I used Russian Standard), 1 Jigger Milk, 1 Jigger 1/2 & 1/2, and 1 heaping Tbl Nutella.  Shake to blend.   Add ice and shake again until very cold.  Strain into a martini glass and indulge!  Lovely for the end of the evening or a dessert party.
This recipe was posted on Thursday night and I am now typing on Saturday morning.  I have never searched for, heard of, nor consumed a Nutella martini until this one, the one I made up.  I decided to do a quick search of Nutella Martini last night and sure enough I found a few.  The interesting thing is people are calling them Nutella Martini's (just like me) with a small hitch, Nutella is a trademarked name but none of the recipes I found actually contained Nutella.  They used Frangelico and Godiva Chocolate.  I think that is what trademark infringement is all about.  Well I for one am supporting the real thing!

It's just after Thanksgiving 2012 and while in The Outer Banks, my brother made these for a few of us.  Since there was no shaker, he blended them without ice first, then the ice was added to chill.  I placed a dollop of Nutella on a dish and rotated the glass through it to rim the edge.  Once the martini was chilled they were poured.  Wow, they were divine! 

Trout Pecan with Lemon Butter Sauce

Like I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to perfect my Lemon Butter pan sauce.  This was an even better try as I made a few minor adjustments.  Rinse fish, in this case Trout Fillets, 1 per person.  Set onto paper towels to absorb excess moisture.  Lightly Salt and Pepper the fillets.  Zest and Juice 1 Lemon for every two fillets.  Set aside.  This fish is larger than the Orange Roughy (if you have read my previous post).  To cook 4 fillets, I used two 12" skillets.  If you don't have two then make this 2 times and clean the skillet before making the second batch.  Rough chop Pecans and toast in 1 Tbl Butter over medium heat.  Add A Few Pinches of Sugar, 1 Few Pinches of Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper and stir while they are toasting.  Set a side.  Heat empty skillet over medium high heat.  Add 2 Tbl Butter and melt.  Add fish fillets.  When they begin to look opaque around the edges, carefully flip the fish.  Let the second side cook until the fish is firm to the touch in its thickest part.  When done, place on a warm plate and make the pan sauce.  Add the lemon zest to the pan.  Stir for about 20 seconds.  Add lemon juice and swirl for 30 seconds.  Add 1/4 Cup Chicken Broth and cook until it begins to thicken.  Turn off heat and add 2 Tbl Butter and swirl until melted.  Spoon over the fish and top with the toasted pecans.  Serve at once.
NOTE:  The changes I made to this recipe vs. the Orange Roughy were to replace the Olive Oil with Butter and to swirl in more butter at the end which gave the sauce a thicker consistency.  I also added S&P and Sugar to the pecans provide a sweet and savory compliment to the butter lemon sauce.  If you wanted to take it one step further you could add a bit on cayenne pepper to give the nuts some heat.  I would love to hear some feedback from anyone making any of these recipes.  The comments section is open without a login.

Orange Roughy with Lemon Butter and Toasted Pistachios

I have been working diligently on perfecting a pan sauce after sauteing a piece of fish.  I really sort of copied a bit of my brown butter technique for this sauce and it's tasty. But what I am really after is the light lemon butter sauce we see in local restaurants.  After many tries I am convinced they may make up a lemon butter sauce and that it isn't made with the pan juices every time they fire up a fish dish.  That will be a whole 'nother set of experiments.  For now, I am just trying to get a quickly cooked piece of fish that has some color on the outside, that can be turned without breaking apart, that can be removed from the pan without breaking apart, is tasty and has a quick 2 minutes sauce.  None of these are that simple though it sounds as if it should be.
I have many spatulas but I need to get to Simplee Gourmet on Hwy 21 (for the local gang) to get a tool for turning fish.  Any good gourmet shop will have what you need and that is our local store.  The other variable is the pan.  I am concluding that the newer pans I have (and the pans sold) are coated.  I don't feel they render themselves to the browning I am after.  I may have to invest in a larger stainless skillet for that.  In any event, when making this dish you will need to have a thick bottomed skillet.....Ok, a lot of talk, here's what I did:
First, rinse fish fillet(s) and pat dry or place on paper towels to dry.  While it is drying, heat a small skillet and toast chopped Pistachio Nuts in 1 Tbl Butter.  Set aside.  Zest and Juice 1 Lemon.  Heat a skillet, large enough to fit the fillets, over medium high heat.  After a few minutes add 2 Tbl Olive Oil and add 1 Tbl Butter. Swirl to coat the add 1 Orange Roughy Fillet per Person but don't overlap the fish.
When the fish begins to turn opaque around the edges, carefully turn it over.  Cook the second side until fish feels firm to the touch at it's thickest point.  Place on warm plates.  To the pan, add the lemon zest and stir for 20 seconds.  Add lemon juice and swirl to combine.  Add 1/4 Cup Chicken Broth.  Let this reduce for a few minutes until it thicken slightly.  Turn off heat and add 1 Tbl Butter, swirling the pan the entire time.  Pour over fish fillets and add toasted pistachios.  Serve at once.

OMG, Great Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches!

When I was a kid, we had a store around the corner called Urban's Market.  We used to get penny candy (for a penny) and candy bars and popsicles for 5 cents.  When you walked in, on the left, there was a freezer with a siding glass top that contained all of the ice cream novelties.  What I loved about their ice cream sandwiches was that the cookie was crunchy, not because it was frozen, but because it was a crisp cookie and it didn't get soft and stick to my fingers.  This summer my son and I have tried Blue Bunny and Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches, hunting for the kind I grew up with.  Though not perfect, Blue Bunny was the winner when it comes to the crispness of the cookie.  Blue Bell stuck to my fingers when unwrapping the paper, though they are good otherwise.
As a jumping off point, I found a chocolate dough recipe in my Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  I made the dough yesterday and it is in our Man-Frig (named because it contains beverages, one of which is beer, though there is a drawer with snacks for my son) and it is set at the coldest setting.
Today, I have to roll out and bake the dough.  It has a few steps so I'll be busy. Then I'll scoop ice cream in order to get real tall sandwiches.  My husband wants Blue Bell Fat Free Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt  but he'll have to settle for Raspberry Sherbert since that's all I found.  I am looking for some sort of White Chocolate that I am going to squish Fresh Raspberries into and I think my son wants something chocolatey.  (I got Dutch Chocolate for my son and I found Black Raspberry, so we are all in heaven.)  Once assembled,  I'll wrap them in parchment paper.  Hopefully I'll get the results I am looking for and if not this go around, it's sure fun trying!
In the meantime, here is the dough recipe.  In a bowl, measure 1 1/4 Cups Flour, 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbl Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and 1/4 tsp Salt.   Using a wire whip, stir to combine the dry ingredients.  In a mixer bowl with a paddle, beat 1 Stick UnSalted Butter, 2/3 Cups Brown Sugar and 1/3 Cup Sugar.  Add 1 Egg and 1 tsp Vanilla and beat to combine.  With the mixer on the lowest setting, add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  With floured hands, divide in half, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for a least 1/2 hour.
Remove from the refrigerator 1 at a time and roll out dough to 1/8" thickness and freeze.  Cut out 2" circles and freeze the circles.  Gather the scraps and repeat the process until all the dough is cut.
Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for approximately 12-14 minutes until the cookies feel firm.  Once cooled, fill with ice cream and freeze until ready to serve.  Thank you Mrs. Urban for all the childhood memories!!
In the end, my son ate 2.  Need I say more?

Skinny Chicken

Years ago, my husband would order Skinny Chicken at Macaroni Grill every time we ate there.  I don't know if it's still on the menu.  I tasted it once and recorded in my kitchen cook book (the book where I write all kinds of stuff down) what I think was in the glaze/dressing.  The other day he mentioned feeling fat so I decided to review my notes and make this for dinner.  He was so appreciative that I listened and delivered on something low fat.  Last night as I was prepping the plates with the greens for my photographs and my mother-in-law walked over (we live next door) with a huge bag of garden Roma tomatoes, the perfect compliment.

First, rinse and pound, 1 Chicken Breast per Person in order to tenderize.  Whip up the glaze/dressing.  This is enough for 3 chicken breasts so double or triple as needed.   To a  bowl, add 2 Tbl Honey, 1 Tbl Rice Vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp Stone Ground Mustard (such as Zatarains), 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar, 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, freshly Ground Pepper, and a Pinch of Kosher Salt.  While stirring with a wire whip, blend in 3 Tbl Olive Oil.  Divide the glaze in half, reserving enough to drizzle on the finished salad since there is no dressing otherwise.  I reserved 1/2 in a neat ceramic pitcher that I have so it can be poured easily.

Preheat grill and while it is preheating, wash and spin enough greens for the number of people you are serving.  I found a nice Arugula/Spinach Mix that was perfect.  Arrange greens on the plate and add any vegetables you want, for example, my father-in-laws Roma Tomatoes.

Cook the chicken.  Baste 1 side of the chicken with the glaze and place on grill, glaze side down.  Glaze the upward facing side.  After a few minutes, flip the chicken breast.  Glaze the upward facing side.  After a few minutes, you are going to flip again but you want the grill marks to create a cross pattern, so the chicken needs to be rotated by 90 degrees to the first set up marks.  Glaze upward facing side.  In a few minutes you will flip for the final time, again, 90 degrees to the set of marks you have already.  Let rest for 5 minutes and slice on an angle.  Place hot chicken on the fresh greens and drizzle with reserved glaze.  Depending on how thinly you pounded the chicken breast and how hot your grill is, this should take about 2 minutes on all sides.  If the chicken is not releasing from the grill, it is not ready to flip but note the honey can be sticky so don't get fooled.

Also, consider adding any of these: shredded Carrots, thinly sliced Red Onion, thinly sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms or colorful Sweet Bell Peppers cut into strips.  I also think it would be nice topped with a crumbled Fete Cheese.  As I am listing all these accoutrement's, you may be thinking what I am thinking, which is this entire meal can be served at a buffet.  In the event of a buffet, make certain you have lots of salad dressing because people tend to take more than might be needed.  Again, the point is keep it fresh, keep it light and keep it skinny!

Baby Back Ribs

I really like to roast ribs in the oven because they come out extremely tender.  The other night I racked my brain to create something new as either a dry rub or a glaze. I came up with this wonderful glaze.  Truly my creation.

Often when I tell my husband "I made it up", it's code for, 'you won't see this again, because I didn't write it down'.  When he tasted these ribs, he told me he hoped I had recorded what I did... which I did.   I admitted to him that they smelled good in the oven and that I had photographed them just in case they tasted good.  Normally if I think a made up recipe will be a success, I write down what I did and snap a few photos.  If I don't, not only will I forget I made something but I surely won't remember what I did. So with that, here goes.

These will cook for about 2 hours depending on the thickness of the ribs.  Mine were on the meaty side.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line a sheet pan with heavy duty aluminum foil.  Rinse and pat dry a rack of ribs.  Grind Pepper over the ribs and add a very small sprinkle of Kosher Salt.  Place ribs in the oven on the center shelf.

For the glaze, using a 1/2 package of dry Good Seasons Garlic Cheese (as in the Salad Dressing dry mix), add 2 Tbl Honey, 1 tsp Soy Sauce (for gluten free, use gluten free soy), 1 tsp Water, 1 Tbl Stone Ground Mustard such as Zatarain's.  Mix together.  This should make a runny paste.

After 1 hour and 20 minutes brush some of the glaze on the ribs and return to the oven.  Reduce oven temperature to 325.  After another 20 minutes, glaze again and return to the oven.  They should be done at the end of 20 minutes.  Let rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

The above will work just fine and I encourage it.  Honestly, the exact way I cooked these is that,  I had to leave in the middle of cooking dinner.  I know, crazy, happens all the time!  If you are like me, maybe this method fits into your busy schedule when you have to leave briefly.  I turned the oven off after the second glazing and headed off to my son's guitar lesson.  We got home about 45 minutes later.  The ribs were hot and fall off the bone tender!!  If you understand cooking, you can leave things at the right moment and come back home and they are perfect.  Try it and see!  Happy 4th of July and happy summer!!

Simple Summer Potato Salad

Every once in a while I taste something that is simple and delicious and perfect for the time of year.  On previous summertime visits, my sister-in-law J has whipped up a potato salad that is just that.  This week, I had a hankering for the flavors I recalled, so I made it and now I can share it with you.

What I like best is that this potato salad has no mayonnaise and is perfect for an outdoor affair since nothing will spoil.  In fact, I think the flavors are more prominent if it isn't served cold so room temperature is the coolest I would go.  With that in mind, here's what I did.

Wash and quarter a 3lb Bag of  Small Red Potatoes, if some pieces are big, cut them in half.  Cover with cold water and cook over medium high heat at a gentle boil until the potatoes are tender but keep their shape when stabbed with a fork.  Once done, rinse in cold water to prevent further cooking.  Place in a flat bottomed bowl.  Drizzle with 1/3 Cup Olive Oil and toss to coat.  Add 2 Tbl Red Wine Vinegar and stir gently.  Season with 1 Tsp Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Pepper and Fresh Dill Leaves removed from their stems.  I like to combine fine and coarsely ground peppers for this dish.  In the end, you want it to taste good so feel free to taste a potato as you add seasoning.  If your plans for this July 4th are a picnic or barbecue, consider this simple potato salad as a side dish.

Making something cool today! Grilled Vegetable Antipasto!!

It's Father's Day and although I won't see my father (but we'll talk) we are going to my in-laws.  I decided to make a Grilled Vegetable Antipasto of sorts.  I am pulling together a few things already listed on this site.  First I am going to make dough to grill flat bread (Recipe on the site).  Then I am going to prep and grill Sliced Egg Plant, Colorful Sweet Peppers, Garden Fresh Tomatoes, Vadalia and Red Onions Slices, Whole Scallions, medium Sized Portabella Mushrooms and Zucchini sliced lengthwise.  (I grilled vegetables in a similar fashion when I made the Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches on Ciabatta Bread.)

When the vegetables are done, they can rest.  Then I will organize them on a platter.  In lieu of describing all the cutting, I will just post a picture.  I will likely grill the flat bread here since it will be easier although I think it would taste better and be more fun straight off the grill.
Here's the twist, the nouveau!  I am going to make some warm flavored dipping oils.  To individual ramekins, I will have Pressed Garlic in one, Lemon Zest and Fresh Rosemary in one, Oregano and S&P, and Lemon Zest and Pepper Flakes, one will remain plain.  I am going to heat Virgin Olive Oil and add it to the ramekins.  This will release all the flavors into the oil.

The eating technique, tear a piece of flat bread, dip it in oil and top with a vegetable.  Sound good?  I hope so cause my mouth is watering!!  Let you know how it goes over!!
I'd say it went over well.  The oil winners were garlic and rosemary lemon zest!  I didn't make the lemon zest red pepper flake oil but that would've been tasty.

Grilled Salmon, Scales On

First, when buying salmon, buy fresh salmon fillets with the scales on.  Buy individual fillets since they are easier to remove from the grill and can be purchased based on how well done you like your fish.  If you want to buy a full side, cut it into pieces that will fit on your spatula once cooked.  I like mine a bit thinner so it is more done than the way my husbands prefers his fish.  By buying 2 thicknesses, I can cook them both at the same time for the same amount of time.If you don't see the sizes you like, ask the fish monger to cut pieces for you.  I bought 2 fillets around 1.2 pounds total.

This recipe preparation is one of the few times I love our infer-red grill.  Place 1 Salmon Fillet Per Person, scale sides down, on a platter about a hour before cooking.  This allows the fish to begin to warm up to room temperature.  Either drizzle or brush Virgin Olive Oil on both sides of the fillet.  With scales down, top with the Zest of Lemon.  (The zest of 1 Lemon will top 2 Fillets)  Add Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste. If you like Dill, add it now.

About 20 minutes before cooking, throughly heat your grill.  Place the Salmon Fillets on the grill scale side down and close the lid.  Note: You will not be turning the fish.  The fish will cook in a matter of 2-6 minutes depending on your doneness and the heat of your grill.  Using your tongs, you can feel for doneness, soft and springy means rare in the middle and firm is cooked all the way.  The fish will go from a bright orange to a milky pink color as it firms up.  You can open the grill to peek as you are learning how long to let it go.  Try not to over cook it though because dry salmon isn't good.

To remove it from the grill, get the spatula under the scales.  It is easiest if you approach the fillet from a corner and at a diagonal to the grate to get it started.  With a quick motion, get the entire fillet including scales on the spatula and carefully transfer to each plate as is.  This goes great with grilled Asparagus, Lemon Rice Pilaf and a Lemon Drop Martini!  Eat immediately!!