It's so beastly hot here today, I am making crab louis

Salmon With Sweet Chili Glaze

Ingredients

4  6-ounce  pieces skinless salmon fillet

2  tablespoons  olive oil

1  tablespoon  brown sugar

1 1/2  teaspoons  ground ancho chili pepper

kosher salt and black pepper

4  small summer squash (about 1½ pounds), thinly sliced

2  scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

Heat oven to 400º F. Place the salmon on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

Rub the salmon with the brown sugar, ancho chili, and ½ teaspoon salt. Roast until opaque, 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the squash, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, tossing frequently, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes; fold in the scallions. Serve with the fish

This was *so* delicious!  I served it with a simple butter lettuce, tomato & avocado salad with a creamy chipotle dressing.  I also tossed a little bit of cilantro into the squash with the scallions.

Was back in the kitchen last night.  This was it, sort of.

Brown Sugar-Glazed Pork and Grilled Corn

Ingredients

1/4  cup  Worcestershire sauce

2  tablespoons  brown sugar

1  pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 pounds total)

kosher salt and black pepper

4  ears corn, shucked

2  tablespoons  unsalted butter

2  sliced scallions

Directions

Heat grill to medium-high. In a small bowl, mix together the Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.

Season the pork with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Grill the pork, turning often, until the internal temperature reaches 150° F, 20 to 25 minutes. Brush with the Worcestershire mixture during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, grill the corn, turning occasionally, until slightly charred, 6 to 8 minutes.

Cut the kernels off the cobs, place in a bowl, and toss with the butter, scallions, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Serve with the pork.

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It was pouring last night & our schedule was a little chaotic.  Instead of grilling corn, I threw about 1/3 of a package each of frozen corn & lima beans into a collander to thaw as soon as I got home.  I diced up about 1/3 of a red bell pepper + the scallions listed above.

When the pork was almost done, I threw the corn/lima beans into a hot cast iron pan to finish evaporating the water and begin to char.  Added a little oil (grapeseed) and the bell peppers + seasonings and finished giving everything a nice char.  Added the scallions at the end.

We also had a mixed green salad (butter, green leaf, arugula and basil) with roasted beets, avocado & toasted pine nuts topped with a lemony gorgonzola viniagrette.

Mer, you are relentless

Have been making some Ellie Krieger recipes from her Comfort Food Fix, quite delightful (apparently to THIS family member only)

Does she still have a show?

She has a chick chick recipe

Am craving Zucchini bread and think I will make a few loaves tomorrow (which is highly unusual for me to cook on a Saturday, let alone bake). Hopefully, can get some at the Farmer's Market today.

Monday made Turkey Meatballs and Angelhair.

I used a recipe from Rachel Ray that someone posted on here years ago. The gal who adopted a son.

You bake them in the oven. Really good. At any rate, Mr. prefers your Mama's simmering in the sauce. 

Definitely need to make your own breadcrumbs. I will never use storebought again.

Tuesday, Cod in a Sack over Organic Spinach leaves, Asparagus, and Macoroni and Cheese. I finally have my roux down to a science!

Wednesday, ate out (Mexican) Tortilla Soup. Has potatoes in it, darndist thing! Lots of sliced avacado in it and on the side.

Thursday, Rachel Ray recipe again for Sloppy Joe's

Birthday week-end...aren't doing diddly cooking (sans the zucchini bread) I think that could be Ocean Gypsy's recipe.  

Just checking in to see how everyone is.

That Mona is a cookin' fool! Thanks for sharing those recipes with us. I've missed seeing your famous "Mona Mashes."

Lisa - Good to see you in here, too, and see what you've been up to. I see you're still into turkey meatballs! You still making your wedding soup? That's gooooooo!

Laddieboy - How are you doing? Are things back to normal now? That was a long time to be without power. I'm waiting for my tree man to call me back. I phoned him this morning and he's usually fast getting back to me, but might be away. I noticed one of my trees snapped in two and is leaning heavily on another tree. I'm worring it'll fall and take out my neighbor's fence. I had one do just that in November. I'm having him look around to see if there are any he suggests I remove. I do that every few years. It's alwys somthing!

Saturday - I used the recipe below on some sirloin steak tips rather than a flank steak & they were delicious:

Ancho Adobo Steak

Feel free to use any brand of whiskey you might have on hand. You can also use apple juice as a non-alcoholic substitute.

Makes: 6 servings; Total time: 25 minutes

1⁄2 cup apricot preserves

1⁄3 cup whiskey

2 Tbsp. minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. ancho chile powder

1 tsp. kosher salt1 tsp. 1 tsp. black pepper1 tsp.

1 flank steak (1½ lb.)

Preheat grill to high. Brush grill grate with oil.

Whisk together preserves, whiskey, and chipotles for the glaze. Set aside half of the glaze to serve with the steak.

Combine brown sugar, chile powder, salt, and pepper; rub the mixture on both sides of the steak.

Grill steak, covered, 3 minutes. Flip steak; grill 3 minutes more. Brush glaze on the exposed side and grill, 2 minutes more. Flip steak, brush with glaze, and grill 2 minutes more, for a total of 10 minutes. (By glazing midway through cooking, the sauce caramelizes rather than burns.)

Remove steak from the grill and tent with foil. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain. Serve with reserved glaze.

Had the steak with these mashed potatoes by Bobby Flay.  I cut the mashed portion of the recipe to a more appropriate amount for our household so now I have some fabulous cilantro pesto to use this week in a pasta dish.

Whipped Potatoes with Cilantro Pesto

Serves: 4 

Fold, don’t mix, the pesto into the potatoes. You want to marble the potatoes with ribbons of the vibrant green pesto. 


Cilantro Pesto
1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup tightly packed parsley leaves
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine cilantro, parsley, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. Add the cheese and salt and pepper and pulse a few times until combined.

Mashed Potatoes
3 pounds baking potatoes, such as Idaho or Russet, peeled and cut into quarters
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by 2-inches. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat and cook until soft, 25-30 minutes. Drain well and return them to the pot on the stove over low heat. 
2. Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Add the butter and hot milk/cream mixture to the potatoes and mash until smooth. Fold the cilantro pesto into the mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Served both of the above with roasted asparagus.

Didn't feel like "cooking" last night, so we had pasta with some stuff I had on hand.

1/2 lb Cavatappi

1 medium yellow squash, cut into "triangles"

1 medium zucchini, cut inot "triangles"

1 clove of garlic, minced

Grape Tomatoes, halved (didn't measure)

1/2 C half/half

1-2 T butter

Bobby Flay Cilantro Pesto (didn't measure - 1/3-1/2 C perhaps)

Start water to cook pasta.  Saute squash & garlic in a small amount of olive oil (i used lemon infused) and butter with seasonings of choice (i used salt, pepper, a spice seasoning that contained red bell pepper & a little bit of crushed red pepper).  When tender, but not mushy set aside.  Heat half/half & butter in same saute pan.  When warm, add in pesto & heat through until slightly thickened.  When pasta is done, drain and toss with sauteed squash and halved tomatoes.  Add creamy pesto sauce & toss again.  Sprinkle with parmesesan or pecorino at the table.

I can't attest to the "edibility" of this recipe as I only cooked it, but did not eat it.  It smelled pretty good though and my honey ate it.

Stuffed Pork Chops With Roasted Carrots

Ingredients

1 1/2  pounds  carrots, thinly sliced **

1  small red onion, sliced

3  tablespoons  olive oil

kosher salt and black pepper

1/2  cup  dried cranberries, chopped

2  tablespoons  apricot preserves

1/2  teaspoon  ground coriander

4  1-inch-thick bone-in pork chops (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. On a baking sheet, toss the carrots, onion, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Roast, stirring once, until tender, 25 to 28 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the cranberries, preserves, and coriander in a bowl. Using a paring knife, cut a 3-inch-deep pocket in the side of each chop; stuff with the mixture.

Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.

Season the pork with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Transfer pork to oven (on the rack above the carrots) and roast until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve with the carrots.

** I did a combination of carrots and parsnips & used fresh thyme when tossing the veggies with olive oil.

I also used a moroccan seasoning blend on the pork chops with s/p before searing - it matched nicely with the "stuffing".

Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

Ingredients

6  tablespoons  olive oil

2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1  teaspoon  kosher salt

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

3/4  pound  trimmed green beans

8 small red potatoes, quartered

4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4 pounds)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.

Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

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I only used 2 chicken breasts, about the same amount of green beans & 3 (?) yukon gold potatoes.  I laid out the green beans on the bottom & potatoes around the edge of the dry dish before I started to make sure I had enough of everything.  I also added some quartered baby bellas to the potatoes.  My chicken was done in about 45 minutes.

I have leftover green beans & potatoes for lunch today.

All fresh, except for the corn; I was "lazy".  The beans, carrots & tomatoes were local (organic) grown, but not from my own garden.  I had to skip the garden this year for the obvious reason you are aware of.  I just have zero time for anything "extra" right now.  We hope to get the garden growing again next year.  This is my first year in what seems to be eons without a garden & I do miss it terribly!

I debated on the potato - some of the recipes I reviewed before I crafted my own "mona batch" had potatoes and some didn't.  Since I was using the orzo, I skipped the regular potato and opted for 1/2 sweet potato I had in my fridge just to use it up.

I did the veggies in batches, in order of cook time, pretty much in the order I typed them.  Regular soup stuffs first, green beans-snap peas-mushrooms together, then the squash items, the last items with about 5-10 minutes left were the thawed corn, tomato & scallions.

Dunno if I forgot to mention it above, but I also did a couple of rainbow chard leaves.  The stalks went in with the celery and the chopped leaves went in with the corn mix.

Herbs consisted of fresh parsley, small amount of cilantro (since I was finishing it with the cilantro pesto) & oregano.  I also used fresh celery leaves & some of the carrot top frond-y thingies - I love them in soup.  Dried spices were salt, pepper & a little bit of a italian blend.  Not much though since I already had the fresh in there.

Recipe took about 48oz of a combination of veggie & chicken broth - it was a biiiig batch.  We'll be having it once again for dinner one last time tonight.

It's been ahwile, so I just have to do this.....

I'm going to wait until 5000 before I snipe.