Happy New Year!

2008 was definitely a rocky year for a number of reasons, but I still count myself lucky to be married to a wonderful man, have a job that I enjoy, and great friends and family around! It is now 2009 and I resolve to be better about updating this blog! I certainly haven't stopped cooking, but when school started in September I hit the ground running and didn't have the patience to keep photographing my creations each night. What better time to start back up again than with a delicious New Years meal!

My husband loves steak, but I really don't and since I'm the cook of the family, we really never eat it. So for our special dinner I knew steak was a necessary treat. We balanced that out with one of my favorite seafood dishes - baked stuffed shrimp. For sides we had Wild Mushroom Risotto and sauteed asparagus. Delicious! **Note: Please excuse the quality of my photographs. I didn't want our food to get cold!

Pan Seared Rib Eye
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 1 boneless rib eye steak, 1 1/2-inch thick
• Canola oil to coat
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Place 10 to 12-inch cast iron skillet in oven and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring steak(s) to room temperature.

When oven reaches temperature, remove pan and place on range over high heat. Coat steak lightly with oil and season both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper to taste.

Immediately place steak in the middle of hot, dry pan. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes. Flip steak and cook for another 2 minutes. (This time is for medium rare steaks. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.

Remove steak from pan, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 2 minutes. Serve whole or slice thin and fan onto plate.

Mushroom Risotto

Recipe courtesty Tyler Florence

Ingredients

• 8 cups chicken broth, low sodium
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 onion, diced, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
• 1 pound fresh portobello and crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil
• 1-ounce dried porcini mushrooms, wiped of grit
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese grated
• Fresh Italian parsley, for garnish

Directions

Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 onion and 1 clove garlic, cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, herbs and butter. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes until lightly browned, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle in truffle oil then add the dried porcini mushrooms which were reconstituted in1 cup of warm chicken broth. Season again with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Saute 1 minute then remove from heat and set aside.

Coat a saucepan with remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Saute the remaining 1/2 onion and garlic clove. Add the rice and stir quickly until it is well-coated and opaque, 1 minute. This step cooks the starchy coating and prevents the grains from sticking. Stir in wine and cook until it is nearly all evaporated.

Now, with a ladle, add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue to cook and stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy, not mushy. Transfer the mushrooms to the rice mixture. Stir in Parmesan cheese, cook briefly until melted. Top with a drizzle of truffle oil and chopped parsley before serving.

Baked Stuffed Shrimp

Recipe courtesy Gourmet/Epicurious

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (about 1/4 pound)
• 3 tablespoons minced onion
• 2 tablespoons minced celery ribs
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound scallops, chopped, or lump crabmeat, picked over
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 32 Ritz crackers (about two thirds of a 12-ounce package), crushed into coarse crumbs
• 18 jumbo shrimp (about 2 pounds), shelled, leaving tail and connecting shell segment intact
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. and butter a large baking dish.

In a large heavy skillet cook mushrooms, onion, celery, garlic, and parsley in butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Add scallops or crabmeat and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in broth and cracker crumbs and remove skillet from heat.

Butterfly shrimp by cutting lengthwise along inside curve, almost completely through. Split open shrimp and devein. Mound about 2 tablespoons stuffing onto each shrimp, pressing gently, and put shrimp, stuffed sides up, in baking dish. Melt butter and drizzle over shrimp. Sprinkle shrimp with paprika and bake 20 minutes, or until stuffing is golden.

Garnish shrimp with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

sushi, sushi, sushi!! (My First Blogging Event!)

I'm so excited to be participating in my first blogging event! After making maki rolls three times in 1 week, I didn't really have any excuses for not entering Joelen's Makin' Maki Sushi Event!

Anyway, here's how it all started...

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting some new friends who live in our town. Better yet, one of these new friends, Masako, is awesome at making sushi! She was kind enough to have a few of us over to her place for a sushi and spring roll lunch. I've attempted to make maki (sushi rolls) before, but it was great to get some tips from someone with more experience.

Here's a shot of the supplies:

For the salmon sushi, we layered cooked sushi rice on a half sheet of nori with cream cheese and slices of smoked salmon. The key to rolling the sushi is to use a rolling mat, and to make sure you aim the first roll for the middle, and then squeeze tight before continuing to roll. Here's me with a successful roll (my second try).

We also made some rolls with eel that Masako got at the Asian market.
In addition to sushi, Masako showed us how to make fried spring rolls. These were delicious!

Spring Rolls
Recipe courtesy Masako

Ingredients...

• ground pork
• cooked shrimp
• bean sprouts
• rice noodles (softened in hot water)
• sliced mushrooms
• carrots, chopped
• scallions, chopped
• egg roll wrappers
• oil for frying
• water for wrapping
  

Directions...

Start by heating a skillet at medium high heat. Brown the pork, then add the mushrooms, carrots, and scallions. Once the mushrooms and carrots have started to soften, add bean sprouts, shrimp, and noodles. Mix and cook ingredients until softened and heated through.


Lay an egg roll wrapper on a clean, dry surface. Place a couple spoonfuls of the mixture onto the center of the wrapper. Fold one corner in toward the center, fold in the side corners, and roll until closed (pictures would have helped here, sorry!). Dab the last corner with some water to make it stick. Repeat until you've used up all the mixture.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry spring rolls until golden brown (about 1 minute on each side). Place on a paper towel to drain. Enjoy!


OK, so after making sushi with Masako, I was feeling motivated and have made sushi two more times since!! Once with my sisters (not pictured) and another time for the hubby. This time I decided to make california rolls.

Ingredients...

• sushi rolling mat
• nori (seaweed wrappers)
• sushi rice
• rice wine vinegar (about 1/4 cup? I didn't measure)
• avocado, sliced
• cucumber, peeled and sliced into thin sticks
• crabstick
• soy sauce for dipping

Directions...

Prepare sushi rice as directed on bag (I made about 3 cups of rice for 5 california rolls). Let the rice cool to room temperature and mix in rice wine vinegar. Lay a sheet of nori on your rolling mat. Wet your hands with some water (to prevent sticking), and grab a handful of rice. Spread the rice on the nori, covering about half the sheet. Lay one line of sliced avocado, crabstick, and cucumber across. Roll your sushi, making sure to press tightly as you go. Repeat with your next nori sheet!


Using a sharp knife, slice the roll into 6-8 pieces. Dip in soy sauce and enjoy!

Nice and Light

I've been trying to cook and eat healthier lately, so I was pretty excited when I saw this meal posted on Joelen's blog. I knew I had to try it right away! James and I both really enjoyed this meal and it was filling, but still pretty healthy. I did have a couple of issues however, which I think I know how to fix for next time. First, I couldn't get the breadcrumb/macadamia nut mixture to stick to the fish. I think the nuts were not crushed small enough, so next time I think I need to be more diligent about that. The other problem was that I couldn't get baby bok choy at the grocery store - only the larger variety. I think with the larger variety it's probably necessary to chop the white stems smaller than I did so that they will cook a little bit faster. Like I said, neither of these issues will be difficult to resolve the next time I try this recipe! Thanks Joelen!

Macadamia Nut Crusted Tilapia
Recipe courtesy of Joelen

Ingredients...

• 4 frozen tilapia fillets
• 1-2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup crushed macadamia nuts
• 1/2 panko breadcrumbs
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions...

In a small bowl, whisk eggs with water for egg wash.
In a shallow baking pan, combine the nuts, breadcrumbs, salt & pepper.
Dip each tilapia fillet in the eggwash and dredge in the nut/breadcrumb mixture until fully coated.
Plate coated fish on a plate and chill for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Place coated fish on a light greased baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Baby Bok Choy and King Oyster Mushroom Saute
Recipe courtesy of Joelen

Ingredients...

• 3-4 baby bok choy bunches
• 1 1/2 cups king oyster mushrooms (or any kind of mushroom)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions...

Heat large skillet or wok over high heat. Meanwhile, prep your veggies by cutting bottoms of the bok choy and rinsing any debris between the stalks. Cut off the green tops and set aside.

For the mushrooms, slice them and if you prefer, remove stems. When skillet or wok is hot, add oil to coat the bottom. Add garlic, ginger and bok choy bottoms (not the green leafy tops!). Stir until stalks are softened; then add mushrooms. Stir until mushrooms start to brown and soften.
Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and salt & pepper to taste. Stir and then add bok choy greens.
Remove from heat, add sesame oil and toss until greens wilt. **I also garnished with a few sesame seeds

Something New

You may recall me writing about how my husband loves beef and I rarely make it for him. Well, salmon is another thing he really enjoys, but I've never liked....until now! I thought I'd give this a try and it came out really delicious. It's another refreshing, summery dish - perfect for this stifling weather we're having. I served this over some couscous.


Grilled Salmon with Pineapple, Mango, and Strawberry Salsa Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, foodnetwork.com

For the Fruit Salsa...

• 3/4 cup small diced pineapple
• 3/4 cup small diced mango
• 1/2 cup small diced strawberries
• 1/4 cup small diced red onion
• 1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium non-reactive bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir to blend. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the salsa to macerate for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

For the Salmon...

Ingredients...

• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin-on
• 2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 recipe Fruit Salsa, recipe follows

Directions...

Preheat a grill to medium **I used a grill pan on the stovetop

Brush both sides of the salmon with the olive oil. Season the salmon on both sides with the Essence, salt and pepper. Place the fish on the grill, skin side down and cook for about 3 minutes then turn the fish 45 degrees and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until cooked through to the desired degree of doneness.

Remove the fish from the grill and serve with the fruit salsa spooned over the fish. Serve immediately.

And in case you don't have Essence, here's the idea...

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme