Smoked Salmon Fried Rice

 

 

3 cups cooked jasmine rice, don't use hot rice, let it get cold.

1 cup small pieces of smoked salmon

1/2 cups fine diced red pepper

1 TB minced garlic

4 green onions, white and green parts

zest of one lemon

1 egg

1 TB fish sauce

2 TB soy sauce

fresh parsley

 

In a pan , heat 2 Tb canola oil,  saute the red pepper, garlic and the egg ( scramble the egg), add the salmon.  toss.  Add the smoked salmon, green onions, add the rice. Toss.  Then add the fish sauce and soy sauce.  Incorporate until the soy and fish sauce is mixed in  well with the rice

Add the lemon zest and parsley.

Add some crack black pepper.

 

Enjoy !

Calamari with Artichoke Pesto and Lemon

 

I really enjoy this. It's only my second  time cooking with fresh squid.  I've only ever had squid breaded and deep fried and dipped in something delicious at restaurants as an appetizer.  I wanted to try to make something a little lighter with some of my favorite ingredients - artichoke & lemon.

 

 

Ingredients :

 

8-10 calamari tubes, sliced
Garlic oil
4 TB of artichoke pesto  - ( jarred or finely chopped cooked artichokes with  1tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, 1/2 tsp fresh  thyme,  2 TB olive oil, 2 TB, lemon zest lemon juice)
zest of lemon
2 Tb butter

Italian herb panko crumbs, grey sea salt and cracked black pepper,  pan fry until golden with a little  olive oil, toss until golden and crispy. Set aside.

Fresh chopped parsley.

 

 

In a pan with about 1 TB of  garlic oil and 2 B of butter, on medium- high heat, add sliced squid. 

Saute and toss in pan about 2 minutes.  They cook fast and can easily be overcooked.  Watch them.  When they look like they are not done.. they probably are.  Reduce heat to low and add the artichoke pesto, zest of one lemon and  1 Tb of extra virgin olive oil.

Serve on a plate, sprinkle with panko crumbs.  Garnish with lemon slices and parsley

 

Photo taken without the panko crumbs

Gnocchi with Chorizo & Basil in a Red Wine Sauce

Gnocchi is one of my favorite pasta dishes.  I am always trying to figure out new things to make with it.  I - LOVE - THIS - DISH.  It's spicy, it's delicious and takes very little time to make.  Small effort, big flavor.

Ingredients :

I made this for two people

1 cup of chorizo, crumbled, cooked
1 small red pepper, sliced
1/2 pound of gnocchi.. you can make your own.. but there are very good gnocchi at your local international market
Fresh Basil leaves, chiffonade
1/2 cup red wine
2-3 TB butter

Cook your gnocchi according to directions on package, don't forget to salt the water.  You know the gnocchi is done when they start to float. Set aside,

In a pan with some  olive oil, add crumbled chorizo, saute until half done about 2-3 minutes add red peppers.  Continue to cook about 3-4 minutes. Add gnocchi.  Add butter, stir.  Add the red wine.   Add the fresh basil. Incorporate and coat.  Serve in a dish.

Sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Serve and enjoy every bite !

Salmon with Roasted Red Peppers , Asparagus Lemon Couscous with a Saffron Butter Sauce

I love Salmon, it's a feel -good food for me. Maybe it's the Omega :) I love this dish... it's simple, quick and wonderful flavor.


Ingredients :

Salmon filets - season with French Grey Sea salt, fresh cracked peppers, smoked paprika. Broil in a  oven for about 5-7 minutes, turn off oven, let it sit in the hot oven  to finish cooking.  Check for doneness before you remove.


Red peppers - seeded and stem removed.  Brush with olive oil, char slightly over a grill for about 3-5 minutes.  Remove from grilled, rub off the charred areas of the pepper. Julienne the peppers.

Diagonally slice asparagus into small pieces,   boil in a pot of salted water for about 3 minutes.  Remove.   Cool on iced water to retain green color. 

Prepare couscous according to directions on the package. ( I used chicken broth instead of water)  It's takes almost no time for couscous to cook.   When the couscous is done, add the asparagus to the pot  of couscous, add zest of a lemon, cracked pepper and grey sea salt., about 2 tablespoon of olive oil and chopped parsley.

In a heated pan, add 3-4 table of butter, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a few strands of saffron, a sprinkle of smoked paprika and  cracked pepper.


Assemble of plate as shown in photo.

Enjoy Every Bite !

Corned Beef Shepherd's Pie

I wanted this St. Patrick's Day meal to be simple.  I got what I asked for.   I've made a Shepherds Pie with corned beef, colcannon, a stout beef gravy and a biscuit topping.  This is not a traditional Irish dish but individually... colcannon, corned beef and shepherds pie are.... so why not combine it all together to make one great dish !  It's  tasty, filling and comforting. 

1- 3-4lb corned beef, cook according to directions .  I simmered mine on stove top.

4 potatoes, cook and mash

 



about 6-8 kale leaves ( I sued Tuscan Kale), slice , saute in pan with butter, salt and pepper

 

 

 

How to :

When corned beef is done, chopped up.

When mashed potatoes and kale are done, mix the two together, add a little cream, more butter.

For the gravy :

In a pan, add two cups of beef stock, 1/2 tsp Thyme, about a half of a bottle of a dark beer. 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp of onion powder.  Let simmer at medium heat until it reduces slightly.    *** I add about 1 tsp of "better than beef bouillon ". I let some of the alcohol burn off... not sure if that even helps.    Tae about 1/2 cup of the liquid, add 2 tablespoons of flour.  Mix into a paste.   Simmer for about 5 minutes on lower heat.  Burn off the floury taste.  If you don't cook long enough, it's going to taste like flour.  Season it with salt and pepper.

In a casserole dish... spread colcannon, then the chopped corned beef, pour some gravy over top, then drop little dollops of biscuit mix on top.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes.... until biscuit mix is golden.

Happy St. Patrick's Day !



 

Split Pea Ham Soup with Doughboys

The title might throw you off a little... What is a doughboy?  Growing up on Prince Edward Island  I didn't call these puffy pillows anything but doughboys  but they are probably more known as dumplings... same idea, different culture.  I haven't made split pea soup before and now that I think of it, I don't know that I've ever tried it.  A lot of people are put off  of this soup, whether it be the color, the texture or scenes from The Exorcist which makes them turn up their nose but it is hearty and delicious.

A lot of recipes I have seen call for a ham bone and it probably does give the soup a lot of added flavor but I just bought a smoked ham slice and used it.

****  Soak the split peas in a bowl, completely covered in water for at least 2-3 hours.

Ingredients :

About 5-6 cups of chicken stock

1 leek, sliced, cleaned of any sand left behind

1 large potato, diced smaller

2 carrots, diced smaller

2 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp minced garlic

1 -  6-8 oz ham steak, diced

1 cup of green or yellow split peas

Salt and pepper

1 tsp of onion powder

3 TB butter

Doughboys :

1/2 cup Flour
1.2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tb of butter, cold
2 Tb of shredded sharp cheddar
1/4 cup of milk


HOW TO :

In a pot, melt butter and add diced carrots, leeks, thyme, bay leaves, onion powder and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes.  Add the diced ham and saute for about 2 minutes more.  I let the ham caramelize a little.

To the pot, add the chick stock,  split peas and the potatoes.  Let it simmer on low for about 2 hours.  Keep checking the liquid level.  I added about a half cup of chicken stock while it simmered.

When the soup is done and you want to serve,  Prepare the doughboys.

In a bowl  add the flour, baking powder,, salt.  Crumble the cold butter pieces into the flour until the flour mixture appears to be crumbly.  Add the milk and cheddar, mix just until the ingredients are combined.  it will be sticky.  Drop two large dollops or four smaller dollops gently on top of the soup.  Cover and simmer until the doughboys are cooked, about 5-6 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Let it rest about a minute, uncovered.  Serve !

Enjoy every bite !
 

Gâteau Fondant Aux Poires - French Pear Cake

I love desserts but I am fussy about what kind of dessert I eat. I am not a real fan of the very sugary types.  This French Pear cake has a very light sweet flavour . The pear flavour stands out more than the sugar, making this a dessert you can eat until the last bite.  A nice compliment to this cake is a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a vanilla sauce or a custard sauce.  With this recipe, I made a vanilla sauce one night ( only because I ran out of eggs) and ice cream the next day.  Both were exceptional and even great on its own.

Ingredients :

4 Bosc pear, peel, cored and sliced - set aside

1/2 cup of flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1 TB  baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the above ingredients together. 

Then add :

1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp almond extract ( I added two)
2 eggs
1/3  cup of milk

Mix above ingredients and add to flour mixture until blended.  I will have a consistency of pancake batter.

Add the sliced pear and coat well.

Coat an 8" springform pan  generously with butter.  Pour the pear batter into the pan.

Bake in a 375 oven for about 30 minutes.  Ovens vary but it will seem sponge  and started to have turned lightly golden.  Take out of oven and follow next step.

In a bowl,  mix together :

1 large egg
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of melted butter

**  do not add the heated butter to the egg mix, let it cool some so the egg does not cook.

Pour the egg sugar mix over the cake and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Cool.  Serve.


Enjoy !