Archive for the ‘Dinner’ Category

Everything local!

October 11, 2021

Sunday Dinner 10 October 2021 Lamp Chops, Peppers and Eggplant, Duck Fat Potatoes

Six small chops from Sturgeon Creek Farm, Elliot, about 1.2 lbs total. With salt and Finessence. 

Going back to our old favorite recipe for Spanish-Style Grilled Veggies with Breadcrumb Picada. Not going to do the grill, cold and dark out, and these peppers from Zacks are small, so can I do them in a grill pan? Cut the peppers in half and seeded, oiled and put skin side down in grill pan and let cook awhile and get some grill marks then removed. 

Cut a bunch of tiny eggplants from From the Ground in half, oiled and then grilled cut side down to get some marks then flipped to finish cooking.  

Made the toasted Panko bread crumbs with garlic from From the Ground again, and the lots of the dressing of parsley, parsley from our garden. Also used the dressing as board sauce on the chops. 
A bunch small potatoes, again from From the Ground, in duck fat in the big CI and then in oven at 425 CR for about 20 mins, with some sage from our garden. 

A really delicious meal, everything local!  With an Akiyoshi Red Wine Blend. Very good.  

Wild Salmon Bites with Chimichurri, Sugar Snap Peas.

October 10, 2021

Using a pound of NFM “ground” wild salmon, dried with paper towels, then salt and lots of KH, cooked quickly in the grill pan. Not sure if that helps, but maybe the ridges add some extra sear. 

Made a good sized batch of the chimichurri, with lots of our garden oregano, parsley and window sill basil. And a diced jalapeno. 
Pan fried a bit of prosciutto in butter then the sugar snap peas. 

Kathy made us a good drink before, with proseco, then we had a light red with the meal. 

Dinner 12 March 2020 Brazilian Shrimp and Fish Stew, Kale Salad

April 1, 2020

I had been eyeing this recipe in the Cook’s Illustrated Annual for 2018 and now that we are hunkered down at home I have more time to organize meals and give them a try. I had some shrimp, and a pound of cod as called for. Cooked up in the Big Blue Dutch Oven. Interesting method here, make the stock and veggies, add coconut milk, bring to a boil and add fish, shut off the heat and cover. That’s it. Cooks perfectly.

The dollops of red you see in there are a salsa made with pickled red cherry chiles from a jar. They promised it would be a hit, and they are right, wonderful hot chile taste but nicely balanced.

To go along with this I made up a kale salad, some organic purple kale torn, a bit of salt and some oil rubbed on it to soften. A dressing with anchovy paste and mustard with the oil and vinegar, and then topped with some crumbled feta and pomegranate seeds. Just a bit of dressing.

Some nice crusty toasted French Bread from a local bakery, one of our favorite wines, Kungfu Girl Riesling, and extra sauce on the side.

Mushroom Soup, Chicken Breasts with Zucchini, Caprese Salad

August 18, 2016

Used the shiitake and oyster mushrooms we got at the farmer’s market Sunday in a clear broth mushroom soup from Cooking Light. It calls for three cups of mushrooms, I only had two but it still worked nicely. I used lots more vegetables (1/4 cup each) and more herbs than called for. And more fat.

Four B&E Chicken breasts with Feather Dustings, using the recipe from Gourmet with the shaved zucchini pappardelle. Fun, nice, but I think the chicken breasts need to be thinner, these were about 1 lb each. Pound them next time? It calls for skin on but I have never tried that. Zucchini was organic from New York.

Usual on caprese, using tomatoes we bought Sunday at the farmer’s market.

Feather Dustings Fire Roasted Chicken

March 26, 2016

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Butterflied a Bell and Evans 4 1/4 lb chicken, lots of Feather Dustings mixed in olive oil on the chicken and under the breast skin. Putting marinade under the skin keeps it from getting quite as crisp, but oh is the meat juicy!  Cooked off fire for near to an hour, turning from time to time. For a short while skin down but mostly skin up. Also cooked neck and back for stock.
Lots of board sauce to go with it. Board sauce had parsley, shallots and diced serranos.
Made a salad that is a take off on the Kale Caesar I have been making. With escarole, radicchio, and arugula. Grated one hard boiled egg, some ricotta salata cheese, and used the leftover dressing for this salad from January. Very good!

Pan Fried Duck Breasts with Crispy Sage and Apple Peach Chutney

December 28, 2015

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Oh, this was really tasty! The duck breasts were seasoned with salt and French Kiss, one of our seasonings that we are considering putting on the market someday; Herbs de Provence with a kick! I cook the duck breasts with the fat and skin on, and there is some duck fat that remains after they are removed. Just a coating  on the bottom. Then I place fresh sage leaves (Yes, we are still getting lots of nice sage) on the bottom of the pan and let them get crispy, turning once or twice. Then I remove them and add shallots, parsley and thyme to the pan, cook a bit, add some wine, cook a bit and them some cream or creme fraische. Plate the duck breast and pour sauce over, top with crispy sage leaves.

But the real hit was the chutney that Kathy made for Christmas giving from a Chris Schlesinger book with dried apples, peaches and raisins. What a perfect paring!

The crispy sage offers a need dimension of texture, a fun small crunch in an otherwise soft textured meal.

On the side there you see some fennel sauteed with peppers and onion.

 

Balsamic Glazed Salmon with Creamy Leeks

November 7, 2014
Balsamic Glazed Salmon
This is a recipe I discovered in Hannaford’s Fresh magazine they give away at the store. Used to be it had some really snappy stuff but not so now. But still interesting so pick it you if you are shopping in a Hannaford and give it a read. Most of their recipes are on line so you can find this one there. I will let you look it up there and here I am going to give you my adaptation of the same dish, with a bit of Pepper Coast Products thrown in.
 
This dish has three parts; the salmon, the glaze, and the leeks. Lets get going.
 
Heat the oven to 400F. 
 
Leeks:
 
The original recipe calls for 6 cups of leeks sliced, yes, that is a lot, and you can use less if you like. Clean them and slice them thin across. As you go up the stem you can pull off the dark green leaves and keep slicing. One good size leak makes a lot in a measuring cup. You also need a shallot minced. Heat a medium sized non-stick skillet on medium. Or maybe a large one, something that holds the leeks comfortably. Something in 9 to 10 inch range. Add some olive oil, EVOO is not needed here, let it heat up and and add the leaks and shallot, some salt and pepper and let them cook. We are looking for about 10-12 minutes cooking time here, if they start to take on too much color, turn down the heat. At the end add some wine and water, about 3 tablespoons each, let bring to a simmer, then a tablespoon of butter and turn off the heat after strining in. This part is done. 
 
Glaze:
 
Start making this up while the leeks are simmering. I have used many different jams and chutneys for this and they all work. So get a small bowl, one you can micorwave if you need to and put in a few tablespoons of what you have on hand and want to try. I have used Nervous Nellies Cranberry Peach Chutney, NN’s Rhubarb Ginger Chutney, Bornco Bob’s Raspberry BBQ Sauce, Red Currant jelly as they suggest, Shiriacah,  you get the idea. Some sweet with fruits, and some heat. Mix this together, use the MW if necessary.
 
Salmon:
 
I recommend only wild caught salmon, sorry there are too many issues with all of the farm raised salmons. You want to check it for pin bones. Most of the bone are gone when it gets to to you and they are tiny, but take the time to pull them out. Run you fingers along the middle part of the fillet and you will probably notice them. Use heavy tweezers or needle nose pliers. Its easy. Then I salt it and give it a good coat of Finessence and spray it with a bit of oil so the seasonings will mingle with the  fish. I usually leave the skin on and place the fish on some foil in a baking pan, whatever fits. Then before going in the oven coat the top with the glaze you made earlier. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes and then finish under broiler to glaze the glaze.
 
Finishing:
 
To plate up place a bed of leeks on a warmed plate and then a chunk of salmon on that. Add extra glaze if you like. 
 
We made this first in 2008 and have made many times again when we have a source of good salmon and plentiful leeks. 

New England Boiled Dinner

March 17, 2014

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It’s almost St Patrick’s Day and time for our annual cooking of the corned beef.  A few years ago we discovered that Carl’s in Kittery makes their own and it’s the best.  Followed a Bittman recipe we have used before.  With two sauces.  Guiness Mustard and Horseradish Cream.  A really nice wine paring: Bookcliff Cabernet Franc given to us by our friends Deb and John.

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner 17 March 2012 New England Boiled Dinner

March 16, 2013

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

17 March 2012

New England Boiled Dinner

Corned beef and cabbage with two sauces, marked as favorites in Epi. need better horseradish next time. I had a Murphy’s Stout with mine but Kathy had Trunbull Pinot noir. Very good.

4 1/2 lb brisket from Carl’s, the Bittman recipe

Pan-Fried Trout with Smoky Bacon and Sage

December 2, 2012
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Take off from old recipe from NYT. Fry three bacon slices in 12″ cast iron skillet and remove. Saute thinly sliced shallots and chopped garlic in a small skillet with olive oil, just enough to moisten.  Add some Finessence.  Line the cavity of the fish with whole sage leaves then stuff with the shallot and garlic mixture.

Dip the outside of the fish in milk then coat with flour. Pan fry about 4 minutes each side in the bacon drippings and additional olive oil. Remove and keep warm.

Add butter to the pan, chopped sage and lemon juice to make a sauce. Wine? maybe, don’t remember. Top the trout with the crumbled bacon and sauce on the serving plate.

Kathy says this is the best ever! – the taste of the trout comes through. Even though they were bone-in, the skin was easy to remove and the meat from the upper half come off easy, then the bones and spine came off in one piece.

Herbed Green Beans was the usual, with basil and other herbs this time.