Power AirFryer XL - Incredible Fries & Delicious Salmon Cooked Simultaneously

On a whim, I recently bought a Power Air Fryer XL. A customer in BJs noticed me looking at it, and she commented on what great fries and breaded cod it made. I had to give it a try. I'm really glad I did. It was extremely easy to use and produced great results;

The first time I used it, I tried breaded chicken. It turned out tasty, but not incredible. However, yesterday evening, I decided to try cooking salmon and french fries at the same time. The salmon was delicious and the fries were among the best I have ever had. They were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

I used unthawed Alexia frozen fries, which I lightly coated with EVOO. I prepared the 7-oz. skinned, fresh, wild Keta salmon filet by basting both sides with EVOO and lemon juice, and sprinkling it with sea salt and pepper.

Then I set the temperature at 400° and the timer at 18 minutes. I put the fries in first. When the timer reached 11 minutes remaining, I opened the basket and inserted the salmon. At the same time, I turned over the fries. When the time reached 5 minutes, I turned the salmon over and shook the fries.

It doesn't get any easier than that. One great benefit of using a hot air fryer, is that it significantly reduces the calorie count of dishes.

The fryer inner and outer baskets are non-stick and are dishwasher safe.

The cost of my 5.3 quart air fryer at BJs was $79.99.

Delicious Japanese-Style Beef Stew

In searching for a delicious Japanese-style main dish to serve my brother who was visiting from out of town, I found a terrific New York Times recipe by Mark Bittman. I figured it had to be good because it had over 1,000 five-star reviews. I've made it several times now and have been very happy with the results. I serve it with Japanese, short-grain, sticky rice. (My brother really liked this stew and asked for the recipe.)

This recipe serves four and takes me about an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare. I've also scaled it up to serve six people. I've added my comments to the original recipe, which can be found at 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017398-japanese-style-beef-stew.

Ingredients

- 1 & 1/2 to 2 pounds of boneless chuck cut into 1-inch to 1 1/2 inch chunks. (I use precut chunks of stew beef from Publix.)

- 2 cups of dashi or chicken stock, or water. I use dashi, which is a Japanese cooking stock. It is easy to make with Hondashi, a powder produced by Ajinomoto. For each cup of dashi, mix 1 tsp of Hondashi into 1 cup of boiling water. I bought the hondashi at Kim's Oriental Food, a local oriental store, but it is available on Amazon.

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 1/4 cup mirin, honey, or sugar. I used Kikkoman mirin purchased at Kim's Oriental Food. It is available at Publix and Whole Foods.

- 10 nickel-sized slices of ginger

- black pepper to taste

- 1 lemon

- 1 & 1/2 pounds of peeled butternut, pumpkin, or other winter squash or sweet potatoes. I used butternut squash. It was great.

- salt to taste

Preparation

1. In a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat, sear meat until nicely browned on one side - about 5 minutes. Transfer chunks into a medium-size casserole pan.

2. Add stock to the skillet, and cook over high heat, stirring and scraping until all the solids are integrated into the liquid. (This took me less than a minute.) Pour this liquid into the casserole and add the soy sauce, mirin, ginger, and a couple of grindings of pepper.

3. Peel the lemon and add the peel to the casserole. (I had never used lemon peel in a recipe, but I quickly found lots of videos on different ways to easily and properly peel lemons.) Now juice the lemon, but don't add the juice to the mixture yet.

4. Cover, and cook on top of stove (or in an oven at 350 degrees), maintaining a steady simmer. Stir after 30 minutes. Then check meat for tenderness every fifteen minutes after that. I only simmered the meat 45 minutes the first time. That was not long enough. The second time, an hour of simmering worked perfectly.

5. When the meat is nearly tender, stir in the squash and continue to cook until the squash is tender, but not mushy. Add salt if necessary. Then stir in the lemon juice. Serve.

"Lamburger" - Middle Eastern Flavored Lamb Burger

Since I had some ground lamb, extra pita bread and other ingredients from a Levantine Arab meal I was preparing, I decided to make a burger using Middle Eastern flavors. It was very easy to make; and I was very happy with the results.

The recipe below is for a single large burger - half a pound. The size can easily be adjusted.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound or less of ground lamb
1/2 a large piece of pita bread
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
2 stalks green onions, sliced into small pieces
3-4 tablespoons labne (Lebanese-style yogurt) or Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped cucumbers

Ingredient Notes
1. Labne is thicker than Greek yogurt, and is spreadable. There's lots of info about labne on the Internet. It's available at Middle Eastern grocery stores. I bought mine at Oasis Cafe, a Lebanese cafe and store on U.S. 41 just south of Bee Ridge in Sarasota. 
2. If possible, get really tasty pita from a place like Oasis Cafe, not  the pita found in supermarkets.
3. You could also add chopped fresh mint to the labne and cucumber topping.
4. To give the burger a bit of a kick, you could add 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne.

Preparation
1. Mix spices
2. Knead spices and green onion into lamb, and then form patty with indentation in the top.
3. Pour olive oil into skillet and heat skillet on medium for two-three minutes
4. Cook burger for about 5 minutes on each side for medium burger.
5. Place burger into pita bread.
6. Spread labne on top of burger; then sprinkle cucumber on top.
7. Enjoy.

Delicious, Fast, 'n Easy Tomato-Basil Grouper

In my search for a fast and easy way to prepare the grouper I love, I found this very nice recipe for tomato-basil grouper at: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grouper-with-tomato-and-basil-106744. It makes two servings and takes about 25 minutes total.

The only change I made was to use cherry tomatoes cut in half vice chopping a tomato. 

I purchased the grouper from the terrific seafood counter at the University Parkway Detwiler's Farm Market.

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- A one-pound piece of grouper or red snapper fillet (3/4-inch thick), skinned and halved cross-wise. 
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil (FYI, it's easy to buy a small, potted basil plant at Publix or Home Depot and leave it to grow in the pot on your porch or lanai.)

Preparation
1. Put one tbsp olive oil in a 10-inch non-stick skillet at medium high heat, and add fish, turning to coat on both sides. Arrange fish skinned side down and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Toss tomato, garlic, basil, remaining tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Cover skillet with a tight-fitting lid and cook over moderately high heat until just cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Easy Risotto

Risotto is originally a northern Italian dish. Rice is an important crop along the Po River in the north. Traditional risotto takes a bit of work, so I normally only have it at Italian restaurants. I've found an easy, prepackaged risotto from the Puglia Region in southern Italy. It is produced by "Tiberino" and comes in many flavors. 

I've prepared two different flavors and have been happy with the results:
a. Risotto "Sorrento" with Tomato and Basil
b. Risotto "Venezia" with Asparagus and Leek

To prepare the Tiberino risotto, takes only a couple of easy steps:
1. Put olive oil and water in a large skillet, using the amounts of each liquid specified on the package. Bring to a boil.
2. Put the contents of the risotto package into the skillet; then stir and cover.
3. Cook for 18 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. When all the liquid has been absorbed, plate and drizzle with olive oil.

The next one I plan to try is Risotto "Amalfi" with Orange Zest.

Both times, I served it with sauteed shrimp.

In Italy, risotto is normally served as a first course (primo piatto).

In Sarasota, its available at Ancient Olive on St. Armand's Circle. It's also available on Amazon. 

Sauté Sea Scallops - Super Easy

I recently decided to try to sauté sea scallops. I couldn't believe how easy it was. It took about 5 minutes and worked beautifully. I served them with risotto. I found the recipe on http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-scallops-on-the-stovetop-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-203516.

I did two things differently. I used only one pound of sea scallops and I used a non-stick skillet instead of a stainless steel skillet. I recommend reading the original article which is much more detailed.

Ingredients
- 1 pound of sea scallops
- 1 tbsp of butter or olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Remove side muscle from each scallop. It's a small tab that's tougher than the scallop. It pulls off very easily. (They're not harmful to eat.)

2. Pat scallops dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat olive oil or butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Skillet is ready when a few drops of water evaporate on contact.

4. Cook scallops one side for two minutes.

5. Flip scallops with tongs or spatula and cook on other side for two-three minutes. Scallops are ready when golden brown on both sides and opaque all the way through.

6. Serve immediately.

Easy Flat-Bread Pizza

After tasting a bit of flat-bread pizza at Publix recently, I decided to make one of my own, with my choice of ingredients. It was really easy, and I was delighted with the results. The two pizza crusts in the package are enough to make four servings. 

Ingredients
- One package of "naturally fermented Brooklyn Bred pizza crust" (available at Publix)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- One can of Cento San Marzano peeled tomatoes (available at Publix). The tomatoes are canned in thick sauce. These tomatoes are grown in the Campania region of Italy in an area not far from Mt. Vesuvius. They are perfect for pizza, for which nearby Naples is famous.
- One 8 oz. package of fresh mozzarella cheese (I used 4 ounces per pizza.)
- Four slices of Publix herb-coated hard salami, sliced in quarters
- Six pitted Castelvetrano olives, sliced in half. These olives are from the Sicilian town of Castelvetrano. I buy 2-lb jars of them at BJ's and use them in salads. 
- Six fresh basil leaves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Brush olive oil on top of pizza.

3. Brush the thick tomato sauce from the Cento can onto  the pizza crust.

4. Slice about three of the tomatoes and put them on the pizza crust. 

Cut four ounces of the mozzarella into small wedges and place on the pizza crust.

5. Put the salami pieces and olives onto the crust.

6. Bake per instructions on the pizza crust package. The amount of time depends on whether you place the crust directly on the oven rack, on a tray or on a pizza stone. Nine minutes on a tray was perfect for ours. For the first pizza, I started out by putting the pizza directly on the rack, but soon discovered that melting cheese was dripping into the oven.

7. Place basil leaves on pizza and serve.

Creamy Lemon Chicken - Nice and Easy

This delicious and easy chicken can be served over potatoes or pasta. I served it once over linguine and once over sliced honey gold baby potatoes sauteed in butter for 10 minutes.We liked both. The originator of the recipe also served it over mashed potatoes.  

I found this recipe at http://www.recipetineats.com/creamy-lemon-chicken/

The original recipe serves four. Since I was cooking for just the two of us, I reduced the amount of chicken in half.

Below is my version of the original recipe.

Ingredients

- 1 chicken breast sliced in half horizontally to create two thin pieces of chicken. The weight of the chicken breast depends on how much chicken you'd like. For starters, you could try a 12-ounce piece.
- salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 3/4 cup of regular or low-fat cream
- juice of one lemon
- a tbsp of finely chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Sprinkle each side of each piece of chicken with salt and pepper. Then coat each piece with flour and shake of the excess.
2. Place butter and oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter melts, swirl the oil and butter together.
3. Add chicken and cook the first side until golden. Then turn over and cook until the other side is golden. This took me about 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a plate.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth; bring to a simmer, and scrape the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet into the liquid. Add remaining chicken broth and cream. Simmer for two minutes until slightly thickened. (The sauce thickens more as it cools during serving.)
5. Stir through  the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice if you wish.
6. Return chicken to the skillet. (Also pour in any juice on the plate that held the chicken.) Cook for another minute to reheat the chicken and thicken the sauce more.
7. Place chicken on dinner plates with pasta or potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Either pour the lemon cream sauce over the chicken or put it in a gravy bowl for diners' choice.

Easy Sauteed Chicken, Celery, and Onion

This easy chicken skillet dish is my own creation, influenced by the Giada de Laurentiis Chicken Piccata I previously posted. It serves two. I created it to use some leftover celery and chicken broth.

Ingredients

- 3/4 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 4 stalks celery, rinsed, trimmed and pealed, with leaves reserved
- chop celery leaves
- 2 tbsp capers
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put butter and olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium high.

2. When oil is sizzling, add chicken and onions. If you like soft celery, add celery now. Otherwise, wait 'til next step. Cook for 3 minutes until chicken is browned.

3. Turn chicken. If you did not add celery in previous step, add now. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes.

4. Add broth, juice, and capers. Simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Dish skilled contents into bowls and garnish with celery leaves.

Easy Chicken Piccata

Piccata or Picatta dishes are of Italian origin. In Italy, the usually involve veal or seafood. In the U.S., chicken is popular.

This easy and delicious recipe is a Giada de Laurentiis recipe that I found on foodnetwork.com. The original recipe serves four. I made some adjustments to make two servings rather than four. Below is my adjusted version.

Ingredients

- Two thin boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (You can butterfly slice one thick breast if you don't have two thin ones.)
- sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour for dredging. I put two tablespoons on a plate.
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (I used broth.)
- 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
- 1/3 cup parsley, chopped

Directions

Combine the lemon juice, chicken stock, and capers in a small bowl.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 of the 3 tablespoons butter with the olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip the chicken and cook for 3 more minutes.

Add the mixture of lemon juice, chicken stock, and capers to the pan. If there are any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, scrape them and stir them into the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan. Put the remaining tablespoon of butter into the pan and whisk it into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken, and garnish with parsley.

Super-Easy and Delicious Pork Loin

Pork loin and pork tenderloin are two very different cuts of pork from different parts of the animal. The tenderloin is very narrow in diameter, about 2 inches in diameter; and the loin is wide - about 4 - 5 inches in diameter. I have cooked pork tenderloin many times, but not pork loin. In searching the Internet, I found a tenderloin recipe that sounded really easy, and decided to try it on pork loin. The results were terrific - juicy, moist, and delicious.

I found the original rccipe on allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/176359/easy-marinated-pork-tenderloin/) I made a couple of changes to the original recipe. I:
- used a shallow roasting pan rather than a baking dish,
- used a 24-ounce piece of meat rather than 2 pounds, and
- calculated the cooking time on a per-pound basis rather than giving a 2-pound time. 
The recipe below is my version. It should make three to four servings, although the two of us managed to devour the whole piece.

(The way I ended up with a 24-oz piece of meat was that Publix had a sale and the pork loins on sale were very large. I bought a 6-pound loin and cut it into four equal lengths. I froze the three pieces I didn't use.)


Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp Dijon honey mustard
salt & ground black pepper to taste
24 oz. piece of pork loin

Directions

1. Cut excess fat off the pork loin.

2. Whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Place the meat in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour prior to cooking.

3. Preheat oven to 350°.

4. Place the meat in a shallow roasting pan and pour the marinade over the meat.

5. Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes per pound, until the pork is no longer pink in the center. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145°. I cooked the 24-oz. loin for 45 minutes.

Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts, White Wine, and Prosciutto

This is an easy and delicious dish that I created and that serves two.

Ingredients (in the sequence in which they're used)

- 4 oz. of spaghetti or angel hair pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil (for cooking sauce)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 1/2 cup white wine (I used a chardonnay)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- small jar can of artichoke hearts (I used a 7.5 oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts)
- 1/4 cup pitted and chopped olives (I used castelvetrano green olives)
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1 to 2 oz finely chopped prosciutto (I used Citterio prechopped prosciutto, which comes in 4 oz. packages. I typically mix it into salads)
- 1 to 2 tbsp of very high quality extra virgin olive oil. (I used Persian lime flavored oil.) This is to pour over finished pasta.

Directions

1. Pasta
Cook pasta until al dente, per package directions. Drain and put in serving bowl.

2. Sauce
a. Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat

b. Sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes

c. Add white wine, lemon juice, and artichoke hearts. Cook for 3 minutes.

d. Add olives, capers, and parsley. Cook for 2 minutes. Wine and lemon juice will have evaporated.

e. Spoon over pasta and mix. Then sprinkle prosciutto and olive oil over pasta and mix again.

Fish in Crazy Water - Pesce all-Acqua Pazza

The Sorrentine Peninsula of Italy is an incredibly beautiful place and one of its iconic dishes is Pezzogna all'Acqua Pazza - Sea Bream in Crazy Water. It is often called by the more generic name - Pesce all'Acqua Pasta - Fish in Crazy Water. I enjoyed this dish when we visited Sorrento and decided to try making it this evening. I was very happy with the results. I could not find sea bream, so I used flounder. The recipe is very easy to make.

There are many different versions of this recipe. The one I made tonight is a combination of two of those recipes and some modifications of my own. One source is the website Summer in Italy - https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/pesce-all-acqua-pazza. The second is from the cookbook, Naples at Table, Cooking in Campania, which includes recipes from all over the Campania Region of southwest Italy.

This recipe serves two.

Ingredients

- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white wine 
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced. I used mini San Marzano tomatoes
- 1/2 cup sliced olives (optional) I used Castelvetrano olives imported from Sicily and sold at Publix
- 1 tbsp capers (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 2 fillets of a fish like sea bass, branzino, halibut, or snapper

Directions

1. Put olive oil, water, wine, salt, red pepper, flakes, and cherry tomatoes into a large skillet and boil for 5 minutes.

2. Add fish, olives, and capers; and cook for six minutes. After the first 3 minutes, use a pair of wide spatulas to gently turn the fish fillets over.

Vesuviotti Pasta with Scallops and Onion-Zucchini-Tomato Cream Sauce

I recently bought an interesting imported Italian pasta type called Vesuviotti, which means little Vesuviuses because its shape is apparently meant to symbolize Mt. Vesuvius erupting. I found it at Detweiler's Farm Market.

Vesuviotti

I came up with an easy sauce that went very well with it. I started with the following recipe from allrecipes.com -  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/23404/tomato-cream-sauce-for-pasta/ - and adapted it. I added zucchini and scallops. I substituted cherry tomatoes for canned tomatoes and half and half for cream (so I wouldn't have to go to the store just to buy cream.) I also reduced a couple of ingredients because it was just for the two of us. In addition, I changed the directions a bit. 

I think shrimp would also work nice in this dish.

Ingredients

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1/2 onion, diced

- 1 small zucchini sliced into 1/4" rounds

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

- 1/2 tbsp dried basil (original recipe called for 1 tbsp)

- 3/4 tsp white sugar

- 1/4 tsp dried oregano

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

- 1/2 cup half & half

- 1 tbsp butter

- 1 & 1/2 cups Vesuviotti pasta

- 1 eight-ounce pkg of Publix frozen garlic cream Patagonian scallops (Publix has BOGO sales on these scallops from time to time, and I buy them to use with pasta.)

(I once tried to see how many types of pasta I could identify. I stopped at 365 because there seemed to be no end. Vesuviotti was not one of them.)

Directions

1. Boil pasta for 12-14 minutes, then drain.

2. While pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce:

a. In a saucepan, sauté onion and garlic over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

b. Add tomatoes, zucchini, spices and half & half, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes.

c. Add butter and simmer for 5 more minutes.

3. After starting step 2.b. above, cook the frozen scallops for 6-8 minutes in a non-stick pan.

4. Plate the pasta and top with scallops and sauce.

Easy Chicken Pasta Vegetable One Skillet Meal

This tasty chicken & pasta one-skillet meal can easily be adjusted to meet your tastes. I started with a recipe at  http://www.food.com/recipe/italian-chicken-in-a-skillet-19871. The original serves six. I adjusted the amount of chicken and pasta to serve three, and I substituted corn nibblets for the green peppers. My version is below.

Ingredients

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

- 1 cup chopped onions

- 1 (15-ounce can) chicken broth

- 1 (15-ounce can) diced tomatoes, drained

- 1 (11-ounce can) extra-sweet corn nibblets, drained

- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

- 1 teaspoon oregano

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon pepper

- 1 cup small shell pasta. I used penne.

Directions

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.

2. In large skillet, brown chicken in oil

3. Add onion, cook for 5 minutes

4. Add broth, tomatoes, corn, and spices; and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add pasta, reduced heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until pasta is done.

Scrambled Eggs with Mascarpone, Pancetta, Cream, and Croutons

I created this easy concoction because I was looking for a light dinner entrée that could use some leftover pancetta, mascarpone cheese, and whipping cream. I loved the results. It serves 2.

Ingredients

- 5 eggs
- 4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
- 1 tablespoon whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons garlic and butter croutons
- 1 tablespoon dried chopped onion mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 tablespoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ounces diced pancetta (I buy 4-oz. packages of diced pancetta)

Directions

1. Whisk together eggs, whipping cream, mascarpone cheese, dried onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then add croutons and whisk again.

2. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet and add pancetta. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Add egg mixture and cook.

Delicious and Easy Baked Grouper and Potatoes Recipe

When I was at Detwiler's Farm Market yesterday, I saw some beautiful, fresh Gulf of Mexico Grouper for what I thought was a reasonable price ($10.99 per lb.). So, I decided to make it for dinner. I found a very simple on-line recipe - Baked Fish and Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic from the renowned Italian-born cook and cookbook author, Marcella Hazan. The recipe states it can be used with firm-flesh fish such as grouper, mahi-mahi, snapper, or striped bass.

The name in Italian is, "Pesce Arrosto al Forno con all'Aglio e Rosmarino."

I modified the recipe to serve two and added a couple of ingredients - fresh lemon juice and capers. I would suggest looking at the original recipe and reviews at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/baked-fish-and-potatoes-with-rosemary-and-garlic-230907. Some of those reviews suggest modifications like using oregano instead of rosemary. Below is my modified version, including rewording the directions.

Total cooking time is about 40 minutes.

Ingredients

- 12 oz. small potatoes, washed and cut into quarters. I used Honey Gold potatoes, and did not peel them.
- an oven-to-table baking dish that can accommodate both the fish and the potatoes in a single layer
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary. (I used rosemary from our yard. It has grown into a huge bush that requires no attention.)
- 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled. (I cut them into a couple of pieces.)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon capers
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A one-pound fillet from a firm-flesh fish such as grouper, mahi-mahi, snapper, or striped bass
- 2 tablespoons fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Place potatoes in the baking dish and pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over them. Add 2 sprigs of rosemary, the garlic cloves, and salt, and pepper. Toss thoroughly. 

3. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. 

4. Remove the dish; turn the potatoes over; return the dish to the oven; and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the potatoes feel tender when tested with a fork.

5. While the potatoes are cooking in step 4 above, wash the fish fillet and pat it dry with paper towels. Also strip the leaves from the remaining rosemary sprig.

6. Remove the dish from the oven. Push the potatoes to the sides, making room in the center for the fish fillet. Place the fillet into the dish, with skin side down. (Our fillet came with skin already removed.) Scatter the rosemary leaves over the fish; pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the fish; and sprinkle salt, pepper, bread crumbs, and capers over the fish.

Return the dish to the oven and bake for 14 minutes. Let the dish settle out of the oven for 3-4 minutes before bringing to the table. (I just placed each serving of the fish on each of our plates rather than bringing the baking dish to the table.)

Easy Pork Tenderloin with Seasoned Rub

I love pork tenderloin because there are so many delicious and easy recipes used with this cut. I found this wonderful recipe on foodnetwork.com (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/pork-tenderloin-with-seasoned-rub-recipe.html). I can understand why this Ellie Krieger recipe has several hundred five-star reviews.

Since the spice mixture used to create the rub produced more rub than I needed, I later used the leftover rub on boneless pork chops, with equally tasty results.

Ingredients

1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried thyme
salt (I used 1 tsp)
1 & 1/4 pound pork tenderloin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450° F.

2. Make the rub by mixing the dry seasonings in a bowl with a fork until they are well combined. Sprinkle the rub over the tenderloin. Then gently rub the seasonings over the entire surface of the tenderloin, so that the seasoning adheres well to the tenderloin.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté, stirring for 1 minute. Put the tenderloin in the skillet and cook for about 10 minutes, searing each side, using tongs to turn the meat.

4. Transfer the meat to a roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

(As I do with most recipes involving a large piece of pork or beef, I brought the tenderloin to room temperature by leaving it out for 30 minutes. Then I applied the rub. After cooking, a let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.)

Chicken, Artichoke, Zucchini, Corn, Onion, Tomato, Olive, Red Wine Skillet Dish

I created this easy dish in the process of figuring out how to use leftover roast chicken. I was very pleased with the results. Needless to say, you could start with uncooked chicken instead.

It should serve 4 to 6, but the two of us managed to consume about 80% of it.

Ingredients

- 1/2 leftover cooked chicken, skin removed, and chopped into bite-size pieces

- 1 zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise, and then sliced into 1/2 inch, half round pieces

- 1/2 onion,  chopped

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 medium to large tomato, seeded and chopped

- 1 small jar of marinated and quartered artichoke hearts (7.5 oz)

- 1 small can extra sweet corn niblets (11 oz.)

- 1 cup pitted black olives, chopped

- 1/2 cup red wine - I used a Tuscan wine -Vecchia Cantina Rosso di Montepulciano

- salt and pepper to taste

- 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. In  a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. (If the chicken is uncooked, include it with the onion. If it is leftover cooked chicken, include it in the last step.)

3. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute

5. Add zucchini and sauté for 5 minutes, turning once.

6. Add remaining ingredients, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Za'atar Crusted Chicken Schnitzel

Za'atar is a tasty Middle Eastern spice mixture which I had mentioned in an earlier posting (http://viaggiviniecucine.blogspot.com/2015/02/zaatar-zaatar-pleasant-and-flexible.html)  It worked very nicely in this easy recipe which I found at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/zaatar-crusted-chicken-schnitzel. 

The version below serves four and is approximately half the original recipe.

Ingredients

- 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

- 1tbsp za'atar

- 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided 

- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 

- 1 large egg

- 1 egg white 

- 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts 

- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 

- Cooking spray

- 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges (optional) 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine panko, za'atar, sesame seeds, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish. Place eggs and egg white in another shallow dish; lightly beat with a fork. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/24teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Dredge  breast halves in panko mixture, then egg mixture. Dredge again in panko mixture.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts to pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned, turning carefully with a spatula. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until done. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.