It's hard to believe how fast and simple some delicious recipes can be. I found a terrific salmon recipe in this category at allrecipes.com. This one is appropriately named "Super Simple Salmon" (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/super-simple-salmon/).
This recipe calls for four salmon fillets. I only used two 8-0z fillets because there were only two of us. It only takes 15 minutes to prepare and requires very few ingredients. I prepared it in a grill pan on the stove.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 x 6-ounce salmon fillets
2 tablespoons butter
4 lemon wedges
Directions
1. Stir together the garlic powder, basil, and salt in a small bowl. Rub in equal amounts on the salmon fillets.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the salmon in the butter until browned and flaky - about 5 minutes per side. Serve each piece of salmon with a lemon wedge.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Forage in Salt Lake City - An Incredible Dining Experience
On a recent trip to Salt Lake City, I had one of the most
incredible dining experiences of my life. It was at a small restaurant called
Forage (http://www.foragerestaurant.com/),
where a colleague and I had a 15-course meal. Each course was small, but
exceptionally creative and delicious. Moreover, each course was served in a
very artistic way. At the end of the meal, we were delighted with the many different
tastes we had experienced, but did not feel in the least bit full. We
accompanied our meal with a nice red wine from northwest Italy.
Thanks Chef Brown!
It was my colleague who discovered Forage in Internet
browsing, and suggested we try it. As soon as I read the reviews he forwarded
to me, I agreed that we should try it.
Forage specializes in using local foods "from the wild
and from small farms and ranches." It serves a single set menu of 15
courses for $87 per person. It also offers wine pairings for $65, or juice and
other non-alcoholic pairings for $26. It also offers a small, but nicely
constructed wine list. The wine we chose was a bottle of 2011 Pecchenino San
Luigi Dolcetto di Dogliani DOCG (a red).
Forage was opened in 2009 by Chefs Bowman Brown and Viet
Pham. Chef Pham subsequently left in 2012.
In 2011, Food and Wine Magazine included Chefs Brown and
Pham in a very small group of the Best New Chefs in America.
In a January 2013 Iron Chef competition, Chefs Pham, Brown,
and Luke Fowles defeated Chef celebrity Bobby Flay. Their most innovative dish
then was a beef fat ice cream with cherries. It blew away the judges. (http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/01/07/utah-chef-defeats-bobby-flay-iron-chef)
Each course that we enjoyed had only a few bites and was
served in a very creative fashion. In some cases, food was served in a way that
it blended in with non-food items in the dish - so that one almost had to
"forage" for the food. Of course, the server pointed out the actual
food item.
The restaurant is located in what appears to have originally
been a residence. It is relatively small inside.
Two servers waited on all the clients. There was a young
woman named Brooklyn, and a young man of Nepalese ethnicity named Pratik. Both
were very attentive, professional, and helpful.
After returning from my trip, I sent an email to Chef Brown
thanking him for the terrific meal and asking him to review my descriptions of
the dishes. He kindly responded and corrected a couple of my errors.
The courses we enjoyed were:
Appetizers
Juniper Soda and Sorrel Sorbet - with salt around the rim
Potato Crisp with Elderberry
Caper, Shallot, House-Made Sour Cream
Burn Eggplant Crisp with
Eggplant Purée
Elderberry Leather with
Chicken Liver Paté
Grilled Dragon Tongue Beans
Smoked Cheddar, Malted
Barley, Epic Beer Batter
Main Dishes
Smoked Tomato Broth, Corn,
and Fresh Trout Roe
Idaho Sturgeon and Cabbage
infused with Rosemary, and with Buttermilk Whey
Plum and Tomato with Sheep's Milk Cheese and Basil Purée
Vegetables with Roasted Chicken Vinaigrette
Smoke Trout with Rosehips, Wild Sumac, Apple Juice, and
Rosehip oil
Aged Duck with Beets and Burnt Onion
Desserts
Muscat Grapes, Celery Sorbet, and Sorrel Powder
Asian pear purée and Douglas Fir Mousse
Rosehip sherbet, vanilla meringue, sparkling yoghurt, dried
raspberry.
At the end, we were served a couple of candies, probably home-made.
Wine
Dolcetto is a type of wine produced from a grape of the same
name. It is from the Langhe area of the Piedmont Region of northwest Italy. The
Langhe is one of Italy's greatest wine producing areas. Its star wine is Barolo.
While Dolcetto is one of the Langhe's lesser wines, this one was very nice. I think the
price was about $40.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Salsiccie all'Uva - A Delicious and Really Easy Tuscan & Umbrian Sausage Dish
I found this terrific recipe several years ago on the New York Times' Diner's Journal Blog (http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/recipe-of-the-day-sausages-with-grapes/?_r=0). I've prepared it several times, most recently last night. I've always been happy with the results.
The first couple of times I tried it, I used Publix mild Italian sausage. However, last night, I tried Roma Sausage from Mazzaro's Italian Market in St. Petersburg, FL. The Roma sausage's ingredients include capicola, pepperoni, and asiago cheese. I'd never heard of it before, but it was very nice.
This recipe serves 4 and takes about 30 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1 to 1&1/2 pounds fresh Italian sausage
- 4 cups seedless grapes (I used red grapes)
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, or to taste. (I used 4 teaspoons of balsamic.)
Method
1. Place sausages in a 10- or 12-inch skillet, and turn heat to medium. Cook the sausages turning from time to time, about 15 minutes. When they are brown all over, prick each sausage in a few places with a thin-bladed knife and cook for 5 minutes more. (The author of the NY Times blog posting advised that waiting 15 minutes to prick the sausages to release their fat would minimize the mess and that the sausages would brown perfectly even in a dry pan. He was right; and per the recipe, I used a dry skillet.)
2. Remove sausages to a warm platter. If more than a tablespoon or two of fat remains in the pan, remove the excess. Add grapes and turn heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until some of the grapes collapse. Add vinegar or lemon juice, stir, and turn off the heat. Serve sausages nestled in grapes.
(Note: The NY Time author used the "salsiccia," the Italian singular for "sausage." I used the plural, "salsicce." If you Google the recipe title using either, you'll find lots of results in both English and Italian.)
The first couple of times I tried it, I used Publix mild Italian sausage. However, last night, I tried Roma Sausage from Mazzaro's Italian Market in St. Petersburg, FL. The Roma sausage's ingredients include capicola, pepperoni, and asiago cheese. I'd never heard of it before, but it was very nice.
This recipe serves 4 and takes about 30 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1 to 1&1/2 pounds fresh Italian sausage
- 4 cups seedless grapes (I used red grapes)
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, or to taste. (I used 4 teaspoons of balsamic.)
Method
1. Place sausages in a 10- or 12-inch skillet, and turn heat to medium. Cook the sausages turning from time to time, about 15 minutes. When they are brown all over, prick each sausage in a few places with a thin-bladed knife and cook for 5 minutes more. (The author of the NY Times blog posting advised that waiting 15 minutes to prick the sausages to release their fat would minimize the mess and that the sausages would brown perfectly even in a dry pan. He was right; and per the recipe, I used a dry skillet.)
2. Remove sausages to a warm platter. If more than a tablespoon or two of fat remains in the pan, remove the excess. Add grapes and turn heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until some of the grapes collapse. Add vinegar or lemon juice, stir, and turn off the heat. Serve sausages nestled in grapes.
(Note: The NY Time author used the "salsiccia," the Italian singular for "sausage." I used the plural, "salsicce." If you Google the recipe title using either, you'll find lots of results in both English and Italian.)
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Mojo Peach Pork Sauté - Delicious & Easy Publix Recipe
Tonight, I tried making a Mojo Peach Pork Sauté I had sampled at Publix the other night. We loved it. The recipe serves four and takes about half an hour to prepare.
(http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/SimpleMealPDF.do?mealId=8269)
(I have a soft spot in my heart for Publix recipes since I learned to cook at Publix Aprons Cooking School.)
Ingredients
- 2 firm peaches, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, coarsely chopped (I skipped the chives because I didn't want to buy a package of chives just for a tablespoon)
- zest & juice of 1 lime
- 1 lb of pork tenderloin sliced into 1-inch thick slices
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 12-oz bag of Publix fresh fajita vegetable mix. (If the fajita mix is not available, use about half an onion, half a red bell pepper, and half a green bell pepper sliced.)
- 1/4 cup Publix Bakery spicy peach butter. (You could probably substitute spicy or regular peach preserves)
- 3 tablespoons mojo marinade.
Directions
- Preheat large sauté pan on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Season pork with salt & pepper; place oil in pan. Add pork; cook 1-2 minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove pork from pan.
- Add fajita vegetables to same pan, and cook 3-4 minutes, or until peppers begin to soften.
- Combine peach butter, mojo, lime zest, and lime juice.
- Add pork, peaches, and peach butter mixture to vegetables. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens. Top with chives and serve.
(http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/SimpleMealPDF.do?mealId=8269)
(I have a soft spot in my heart for Publix recipes since I learned to cook at Publix Aprons Cooking School.)
Ingredients
- 2 firm peaches, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, coarsely chopped (I skipped the chives because I didn't want to buy a package of chives just for a tablespoon)
- zest & juice of 1 lime
- 1 lb of pork tenderloin sliced into 1-inch thick slices
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 12-oz bag of Publix fresh fajita vegetable mix. (If the fajita mix is not available, use about half an onion, half a red bell pepper, and half a green bell pepper sliced.)
- 1/4 cup Publix Bakery spicy peach butter. (You could probably substitute spicy or regular peach preserves)
- 3 tablespoons mojo marinade.
Directions
- Preheat large sauté pan on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Season pork with salt & pepper; place oil in pan. Add pork; cook 1-2 minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove pork from pan.
- Add fajita vegetables to same pan, and cook 3-4 minutes, or until peppers begin to soften.
- Combine peach butter, mojo, lime zest, and lime juice.
- Add pork, peaches, and peach butter mixture to vegetables. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens. Top with chives and serve.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Chicken Katsu - Tasty and Easy Japanese Dish
One of the types of dishes I enjoyed in Japan was Katsu dishes such as Tonkatsu (Ton = pork), Katsudon, and chicken Katsu. Americans who are not vegetarians usually enjoy katsu dishes. What many don't realize are that the original Japanese katsu dish, a beef dish first created in Tokyo in 1899 are Japanese versions of western dishes. Katsu is an abbreviated Japanese pronunciation of the English word "cutlet" (katsuretsu) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkatsu#History).
I decided to try making Chicken Katsu. I found an allrecipes.com recipe that was very easy, and the results were excellent (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-katsu/). The author of the recipe says it can also be used to make Tonkatsu (by replacing the chicken with pork.) I plan to give that a try.
This recipe serves 4 and should take less than half an hour to prepare. I served it with Japanese-style short grained sticky rice.
Ingredients
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness. (I avoided the pounding by purchasing thin-sliced chicken breasts.)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup oil (I used canola oil) for frying
Directions
1. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the flour, egg, and panko crumbs into separate shallow dishes. Then:
- Coat the chicken breasts in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Dip the chicken breasts into the egg.
- Press the chicken breasts into the panko crumbs until well coated on both sides.
2. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the hot oil, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
3. Serve with rice and tonkatsu sauce. (You can often find tonkatsu sauce at oriental food stores. The brand we prefer is one called Bull-dog sauce. Tonkatsu sauce also sounds very easy to make. Google "tonkatsu sauce recipe" to find recipes for the sauce.)
I decided to try making Chicken Katsu. I found an allrecipes.com recipe that was very easy, and the results were excellent (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-katsu/). The author of the recipe says it can also be used to make Tonkatsu (by replacing the chicken with pork.) I plan to give that a try.
This recipe serves 4 and should take less than half an hour to prepare. I served it with Japanese-style short grained sticky rice.
Ingredients
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness. (I avoided the pounding by purchasing thin-sliced chicken breasts.)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup oil (I used canola oil) for frying
Directions
1. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the flour, egg, and panko crumbs into separate shallow dishes. Then:
- Coat the chicken breasts in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Dip the chicken breasts into the egg.
- Press the chicken breasts into the panko crumbs until well coated on both sides.
2. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the hot oil, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
3. Serve with rice and tonkatsu sauce. (You can often find tonkatsu sauce at oriental food stores. The brand we prefer is one called Bull-dog sauce. Tonkatsu sauce also sounds very easy to make. Google "tonkatsu sauce recipe" to find recipes for the sauce.)
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Delicious & Easy Glazed Carrot Recipe
If you enjoy glazed carrots, you may enjoy this really easy Emeril Lagasse creation which I found on the food network. It's named, "Oh Yeah Baby Glazed Carrots." (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/oh-yeah-baby-glazed-carrots-recipe/index.html)
Ingredients
- 1 one-pound bag of baby carrots
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a medium, heavy saucepan
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the carrots are tender and the sauce becomes a shiny glaze, about 15 minutes.
Serve
Ingredients
- 1 one-pound bag of baby carrots
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a medium, heavy saucepan
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the carrots are tender and the sauce becomes a shiny glaze, about 15 minutes.
Serve
Terrific Pork Chop Recipe
In searching for a good, easy pork loin chop recipe, I found a YouTube creation - "Juicy Pork Loin Chops" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAjlfkzr2sg) that easily produces moist, delicious results.
Ingredients
- Pork loin chops (I used two center cut chops from Publix.)
- Several sprigs of rosemary
- As many cloves of garlic as you'd like, chopped coarsely. I used four large cloves
- one onion, sliced
- salt, pepper, and any other seasoning you'd like. I used pepper and a very nice French sea salt with herbes de provence, lavender and cornflower, called Balade en Provence by Delices d'Ophelie. The salt was a gift from friends Kathy & George.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet.
- Heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
- Put the pork chops and rosemary into the skillet and cook the chops for 3-4 minutes on one side.
- Turn the chops with tongs, not a fork.
- Add the onion and garlic, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Put the skillet in the oven and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, using oven-safe gloves or other protection to hold the skillet.
- Remove the pork chops from the skillet and cook the onions and garlic for another 5-10 minutes. (I did 5 minutes.) You can add salt, pepper, and/or other seasonings to the cooking onion-garlic mixture.
- Combine pork chops, onion, and garlic. Serve.
Ingredients
- Pork loin chops (I used two center cut chops from Publix.)
- Several sprigs of rosemary
- As many cloves of garlic as you'd like, chopped coarsely. I used four large cloves
- one onion, sliced
- salt, pepper, and any other seasoning you'd like. I used pepper and a very nice French sea salt with herbes de provence, lavender and cornflower, called Balade en Provence by Delices d'Ophelie. The salt was a gift from friends Kathy & George.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet.
- Heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
- Put the pork chops and rosemary into the skillet and cook the chops for 3-4 minutes on one side.
- Turn the chops with tongs, not a fork.
- Add the onion and garlic, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Put the skillet in the oven and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, using oven-safe gloves or other protection to hold the skillet.
- Remove the pork chops from the skillet and cook the onions and garlic for another 5-10 minutes. (I did 5 minutes.) You can add salt, pepper, and/or other seasonings to the cooking onion-garlic mixture.
- Combine pork chops, onion, and garlic. Serve.
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