30 Before 30: Roasted Salmon with Cheddar Dijon Bechamel (#17)

I know I said I needed to stop using roasted as a title so much, but guys, roasted things are so good! Sockeye has been on sale a lot lately, so we got more. I can't help myself, I just love salmon so much. Wanting to branch out even more than the meuniere and maybe find a good alfredo, I poked around my cookbooks and found something even more different. I was excited because I had almost everything on the ingredient list at home already, something that has been a major challenge within the challenge this month. I had to sub out the Dijon for sweet hot mustard because I was out for some reason (we are a multi-mustard home). I also subbed in some amazing herb tagliatelle from Pastaworks for the rice since we'd already been out shopping that day and it's fresh pasta. You can't say no to that. I also cut this recipe in half, which leads to two very large servings of salmon – but it's salmon. Don't say no.

Roasted Salmon with Cheddar Dijon Bechamel via The Tillamook Cheese Cookbook:

Serves 6

6 6 oz. Center-cut salmon fillets, skin-on

3 Tb. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tb. Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

1½ c. whole milk or half-and-half

¼ c. Dijon mustard

1 Tb. all-purpose flour

1 large egg yolk

2¼ c. shredded white extra sharp cheddar cheese

Salt

3 c. hot, cooked wild or brown rice

Position the oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place the fillets, skin side down, on a baking sheet. Mix the olive oil and mustard, and brush on the tops and sides of the salmon and sprinkle with pepper. Roast until the fish is just opaque, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by combining the milk, mustard, flour, and egg yolk in a small saucepan. Whisk to blend, and cook over medium heat, whisking gently and constantly, until the mixture just begins to bubble, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add ¾ cup of the cheese. Stir, until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, place a spoonful of rice on serving plates. Lift the fillets from the skin with a metal spatula, and place the salmon on the rice. Spoon the sauce over the fish and rice. Sprinkle each serving with ¼ cup of the remaining cheese.

We had ours with some steamed broccoli. This was one of my favorite meals this month because it was new, it was easy, it was fast, and I managed to get all of the components of dinner done at about the same time.

Recipes Complete: 17

Recipes to Go: 13

30 Before 30: Bow Tie Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes (#14)

Aaron made more of his amazing corned beef and I decided to make a whole lunch out of it. When thinking deli food, deli cookbooks are the way to go. This is an easy recipe to go with any fabulous lunch.

Bow Tie Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes via The 2^nd Ave. Deli Cookbook:

Serves 6

1 lb. bow tie noodles

1½ c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped into ½” pieces

¼ c. very finely chopped red onion

2 Tb. finely chopped scallions

½ c. extra virgin olive oil

1½ Tb. red wine vinegar

1½ Tb. balsamic vinegar

1 Tb. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. very finely chopped garlic

3 Tb. very finely chopped parsley

1½ tsp. sugar

½ tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

Cook bow tie noodles, rinse in cold water, and drain. Set aside.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss thoroughly. Serve chilled.

Fast. Easy. Tasty.

Recipes Complete: 14

Recipes to Go: 16

30 Before 30: Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage (#11)

Midweek dinners are one of the hardest ones to throw together based on ingredients in the fridge and a cookbook collection. Fortunately I have a cookbook dedicated entirely to pasta. Pasta is designed for midweek oh my gosh we need dinner now moments.

If you're looking for fantastic sausage, check out the meat counters at New Seasons or Sheridan's.

PS: Passata is crushed tomatoes. I had to look it up too.

Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage via Pasta:

1 lb. fresh spicy Italian sausage

2 Tb. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1¾ c. passata

2/3 c. dry red wine

6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained

1 lb. rigatoni or similar pasta

Salt and ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Squeeze the sausages out of their skins into a bowl and break up the meat (or buy it bulk).

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes until soft and golden. Stir in the sausage meat, browning it all over and breaking up the lumps with a wooden spoon. Pour in the passata and the wine. Bring to a boil.

Slice the sun-dried tomatoes and add to the sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes until reduced, stirring occasionally. Season.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well and top with the sauce. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Quick and wonderful. Make sure you have a crusty bread to go with this one or maybe some bruschetta? That's coming up.

Recipes Complete: 11

Recipes to Go: 19

Ravioli

Ravioli is super easy to make, especially once you’ve already got the hang of making pasta. You can fill it with anything you like, easily changing a meat based recipe like this one to a vegetarian one. The best part is that this doesn’t take long at all.

Ravioli:

Serves 2 with leftovers

1 recipe egg pasta

½ lb. ground meat (turkey, beef, or some combination of what you like)

¼ c. ricotta

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt & pepper

Basil

Oregano

1 egg, beaten

Sauce of your choice

Prepare the pasta. Roll it out as you would for long noodles, but leave in sheets. Set aside to dry.

Mix together all other ingredients except egg. Roll into balls and evenly space them across the dried pasta sheets, leaving another sheet to place on top of this one. When all of the meat (or pasta) is used up, brush the beaten egg in the spaces between the filling balls. This acts as a binder for the top sheet. Take the other sheets and press them down on top of the meat filled side. Create pockets for the filling, pressing down firmly to remove as much air as possible from each pocket.

Using a knife or a pastry cutter, cut the pockets into squares. Place the ravioli into a pot of boiling salted water. Like all fresh pasta, these do not take long to cook, 3-4 minutes at the most. Serve warm with any sauce (marinara is always good).

A fast and very tasty way to do a weekday meal. I like that the basic idea lends itself to many different types of ravioli, depending on what you like to use to fill it. 

Homemade Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Sauce

What do you do when you are gifted some of the best smoked salmon in the world? You put it on everything you can find. And then you take the rest of the filet and you make delicious, delicious pasta with it.

This past holiday season Aaron gave me something I have always wanted: a pasta maker. Not just any pasta maker either – an Atlas, the same kind my parents have had for years. It is wonderful and easy to use. The recipe I used for this batch was done by hand, but can also be done in the food processor (and it's easier too). It says pasta for 2-3 and I think it can be more 3-4 depending on what you put in it. If you have super amazing smoked salmon, I recommend this. Even if I never seem to measure anything. You can make a roux, right?

Homemade Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream Sauce:

Serves 3-4

Pasta-

1 1/4 c. Flour

2 eggs, room temperature

Pinch of salt

Sauce-

At least 1/2 filet smoked salmon, flaked and bones removed

Roux

Half-and-half or heavy cream

Dill

Salt

Pepper

To make the pasta, either buzz the flour and the salt together in a food processor and then add the eggs one at a time or put the flour on a cutting board or clean counter and make a concave space in the center. Using a fork, mix in the eggs and slowly drag in more flour until you make a dough. In both cases, knead out the dough for a few minutes and set aside to dry.

Using your pasta maker, roll the dough through the widest setting. Fold in half and do this again 8 more times. Then roll the dough through each setting progressively until you reach the thickness you want. Mine is at setting 8. You may need to cut the dough in half as you roll it through as it becomes quite long. Set aside and allow it to try for about 15-20 minutes before rolling it through the cutters.

Once you roll the pasta through the cutters and you have gorgeous noodles, everything else comes together really quickly. You'll want to have your sauce ready to go before you get the noodles boiling as it takes no time at all to cook fresh egg pasta.

To make the sauce, prepare a roux. I like to brown the butter a bit for that slightly nutty flavor. Add in enough half-and-half or cream to make a nice, thick sauce. Add in a good handful of fresh dill or a decent amount of dried. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Add in smoked salmon. Set aside and keep warm.

Get the water boiling and get those noodles in there. They'll be done really, really fast. Add them to the sauce and serve immediately.

This is a dynamite dish and it sounds much more complicated than it actually is. Plus it tastes really, really good.

Noodle Apple Kugel

I was invited to my very first seder over Passover (I missed this in the past somehow) and was responsible for dessert. I couldn’t get kugel out of my head, even though my mom informed me that it is more of a side than a dessert. I had to do it. The reason I found out about the side part at all was because I called to ask which was better: noodle or matzo kugel. The answer was a resounding noodle. Side or no, Passover or no, this is a good way to end a meal. The original had raisins, which I left out.

Noodle Apple Kugel from the 2nd Ave. Deli Cookbook:

Serves 8

1 lb. medium egg noodles
4 c. peeled, cored McIntosh apples, sliced into 1” pieces ¼” thick (I went for Pippins because they looked gorgeous at the market and are right in between sweet and tart)
1¼ tsp. cinnamon
3 Tb. unsalted butter
2 Tb. sugar
1 c. sour cream
1 c. creamed cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
Butter for dotting top of kugel

Fill a large stockpot three-quarter full with water, and bring to a vigorous boil. Toss in noodles, and cook 5 to 7 minutes until al dente. They say rinse your noodles. I shuddered. Don’t rinse your noodles. Ever. Drain and set aside.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss apple slices with cinnamon. Melt butter in a large skillet, and sauté apples on moderate heat for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar and sauté for 1 minute more. Refrigerate mixture to cool.

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs, and salt. Gently fold in noodles and apples.

Pour noodle mixture into a greased baking pan, dot with butter, and baked for 1 hour or until top is golden brown.

This is tasty, but dense. Parts of it were a little too noodle heavy for me. Manischewitz egg noodles come in 12 oz. packages, so adding in the extra 4 oz. to meet the recipe was part of the problem. I’d recommended upping the apples and the sauce and reducing the noodles to get a creamy base. That’s what I’ll do next time I tackle this one. Overall, though, it’s a good compliment to a meal.

Cheesy Baked Ziti

I am in love with Tillamook. I think this post makes that obvious. Aaron does too and he was excited to give one of their recipes a whirl the other night. We reduced the recipe by half since there are only two of us, omitted the bread crumbs (½ cup), and added garlic (because it’s, well, me) and sausage (because it’s Aaron), but the rest is all Tillamook.

Cheesy Baked Ziti slightly modified from The Tillamook Cheese Cookbook:

Serves 6

1 16 oz. package ziti
6-8 qt. water
1 Tb. butter
1½ c. heavy cream
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, plus extra to spread on top
1 Tb. olive oil
Marinara sauce (pre-prepared or your own)
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 chicken sausages, chopped and cooked
2 c. shredded mozzarella
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil the past in the water to al dente. Drain and reserve.

Heat the butter and heavy cream over medium-high heat in a 1-2 quart saucepan, stirring frequently. When the mixture starts to bubble, stir in the nutmeg and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring frequently.

Grease a large 13x9x2 baking dish with olive oil. Pour the pasta into the baking dish. Add the marinara, garlic, sausage, cream sauce, and mozzarella to the pasta, and stir well.

Top with more Parmesan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until bubbling. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or place under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp the top, if needed.

Cheesy, fast, and delicious. Leave it to Tillamook to come up with a stellar cheesy recipe. I loved this so much I almost forgot to take a picture of it. Are you busy tonight? Make this. Totally worth it.

Salmon Pasta

This is a really simple recipe from last summer and while I don’t remember exactly what I did, it looks like something I do fairly often in the summer and I know it’s good.

Salmon Pasta:

Serves 2

1 large wild Alaskan salmon fillet
Herbs of choice (here is rosemary, dill, and tarragon)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
Cooked pasta (pappardelle is great for this dish)

 Salt, pepper, and herb your salmon. In a medium size pan over medium-high heat with a bit of olive oil, grill it until done. Fish cooks quickly, so watch it. When done, set aside. In the same pan, add more olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until tender and fragrant. While this is happening, break up the salmon into bite size pieces. Remove pan from heat, return the salmon to the pan with the cooked pasta, and mix together. Serve immediately.

This is a fast recipe and it rocks with some grilled summer vegetables or salad.

Beer Steamed Mussels

Aaron and I both love seafood a lot. I also love Tastespotting a lot and when I came across this recipe, I knew it was what I wanted to have for our anniversary dinner. This is a fast and easy recipe, made all the easier by Aaron going grocery shopping before I got home from work and buying amazing Washington mussels. I can't think of a better way to celebrate an anniversary than cooking together.

Beer Steamed Mussels from Big2Beautiful:

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ sweet Walla Walla onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb. mussels
8 oz. Widmer Hefeweizen
¼ tsp. salt
½ lemon
Finely minced fresh Italian parsley (never curly. Never.)

Heat a large sauté pan or pot over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil and the onions and sauté for about 2 minutes, then add in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.

Add the mussels. Pour in the beer and season with salt. Once the sauce starts to boil, cover tightly. Cook for a few minutes until the mussels have opened. Squeeze the lemon over the mussels and sprinkle with parsley. We then added in egg noodles we had already boiled and a few seared scallops that didn’t end up getting wrapped in bacon (like these ones from Valentine’s Day this past year).

So delicious! What you can't see in the pictures is the amazing amount of sauce (also known as cooking liquid) at the bottom of the pan. We had some amazing baguette from Pearl Bakery that Aaron picked up at the farmer's market that was perfect for sopping that up. I do love mussels and because I don’t have them much, these seemed even better. I love the idea of cooking with beer rather than wine, though wine is also delicious. It doesn’t taste much different at first, but you get a hint of beer after each bite. The citrus nature of Widmer Hefeweizen (always our beer of choice) also blended really well with the addition of the lemon.And though I love basil, I think fresh parsley was a great choice. I try to go for what I have on hand that is fresh rather than dried. It was also excellent the next day! I mixed in some of the leftover oven roasted broccoli and it made for a dynamite lunch.

Cooking with your love is a great way to celebrate. I highly recommend this recipe, even on non-special occasions.

Ground Lamb Stroganoff

I've mentioned before that I'm not a big meat eater (10 years as a fake vegetarian will do that), but Aaron has gotten me to eat lamb from the farmer's market. He made this a couple of weeks ago and it really is so good and so easy. This would be perfect for a mid-week meal or any time you're really hungry and the idea of cooking sounds awful. Plus, it doesn't make the house too hot, which I like.

Stroganoff is usually made the strips of meet, generally beef (as in the original), but I think it worked really well (not that I'd really know the difference).

Ground Lamb Stroganoff from Diana Rattray (About.com Guide):

1 lb. ground lamb
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tb. butter
1 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb. all-purpose flour
1 c. chicken broth
1 medium onion, quartered and sliced
3 Tb. sour cream, room temperature
8 oz. rotini noodles

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan and blend in flour to make a roux. Gradually stir in chicken broth, stirring and cooking until thickened and smooth. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat; quickly brown lamb and onion on all sides. Depending on your lamb, you will want to drip a lot of the fat off. Add meat and onions to roux and sauce mixture. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil noodles, drain, and set aside.

Stir in sour cream and heat through but do not boil. Serve over noodles.

Broccoli and Pesto Sausage Mac and Cheese

Here’s another oh hey, when did I make this? post. I have pictures, so obviously it happened and I do remember this being good. Mac and cheese is super simple and amazingly delicious. Plus, it helps to use up those random bits of meat and veg in your fridge. And I love cheese. There, I said it. Like that was a surprise to anyone.

Broccoli and Pesto Sausage Mac and Cheese:

Makes a bunch

Flour
Butter
Milk or cream
1-2 c. finely shredded cheese (Tillamook’s white cheddar rocks!)
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 pesto chicken sausages, heated and chopped (other or no meat is also cool)
1 large head of broccoli, steamed and cut into florets
Rotini pasta (or whichever shape you like. I’m particular to wagon wheels when it comes to mac and cheese. And yes, I’m aware that the mac in mac and cheese means macaroni noodles, but I like different shapes.)
Handful of bread crumbs

Boil off your noodles to al dente. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.

Using your flour and butter, make a roux. Don’t brown the butter. Slowly stir in milk until you reach a consistency you like. It’s better to put in less and add more if it looks off after the cheese than have a sloppy mess. Slowly add the shredded cheese. When you get something resembling a cheese sauce, take off the heat. Mix in the garlic.





Add the cheese sauce to the pasta. Stir in the broccoli and sausage. Take the whole mixture and place in a large casserole. Top with bread crumbs and stick in under the broiler until the crumbs brown a bit. Eat and be happy.

Chicken with Lemon, Cumin, and Mint with Orzo

When I made this recipe the first time, I didn’t have a food blog (oh horror of horrors!). I honestly can’t remember what I thought of it the first time, so I figured let’s do it again. I was pleased and I have some ideas about what to do next time. The orzo was my idea because I love orzo. It always cooks perfectly and just wants to be friends with lemon and garlic. It was the perfect accompaniment.

Chicken with Lemon, Cumin, and Mint from epicurious.com with Orzo:

Serves 2-3

Zest of 1 lemon
½ c. fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1/3 c. olive oil
2 Tb. finely shredded fresh mint leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp paprika, preferably hot
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 chicken legs, skin on
Lemon wedges for serving
1 c. cooked orzo
A little extra lemon zest
A little extra minced mint
A little extra minced garlic

Stir together the zest, lemon juice, olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the mint, half the garlic, the paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper with a fork, in a large bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning occasionally. I found it easiest to mince the garlic and mint together in a small food processor.



Preheat the broiler. Place the chicken on the broiler pan and broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat, turning once, for about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and just cooked through. Meanwhile, cook your orzo, mix with the extra lemon zest, mint, and garlic, and set aside.



Transfer the chicken to a platter, garnish with the lemon wedges, sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon mint and garlic, and serve.

I also quickly fried a couple of lemon slices to serve with it. I ended up eating both, but I think they went very well.

My ideas for next time are to marinate the chicken for far longer. Like an overnight amount of time or something of that nature. The flavor is there, I just don’t think 30 minutes is enough. I’d also love to do this on the BBQ. Good thing spring is coming!

At Chernay Gardens or Where I've Been

Hi everyone! Happy new year! In case you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I went off to visit my parents with Aaron for a few days and then up to Alaska to celebrate the beginning of 2010 with my good friends and ridiculously cold weather.



It was just non-stop cooking at my parents and even when I wasn’t directly involved, I was watching and it was fantastic. The house always smells so good. Plus, I got goodies. For Chrisanukkah, I received a beautiful basket filled with dried jalapeños, pickled jalapeños, garlic (duh), hot pepper jelly, hot ginger pepper jelly, pasta sauce, and ranchero sauce. I’ve been really digging into the hot pepper jelly lately. I used leftover pancake batter and made savory pancakes with that smothered on top. I also made a huge grilled cheese and pickled jalapeño sandwich with the pepper jelly. I’ve made a large plate of nachos with the pickled jalapeños. And Aaron and I have had baked ziti with the pasta sauce. I’m a lucky kid.

I also got The New Food Lover’s Companion. If you love food, you need this book. Curious about the difference between pancetta and prosciutto? There are full detailed paragraphs on each. Want to know more about different cheeses or how one type of coffee drink differs from another? That’s in there. Curious about what part of the cow your meat is from? There’s a map for that as well as pigs and lambs. Want to know how an English tablespoon is different from an American one? That’s there too. I love this book!

Anyway, there were many good cooking times to be had. I made pasta with my mom from lasagna, which was really fun because they have an Atlas Pasta Roller. It makes making pasta THAT much easier, it’s fun, and the Atlas is cheaper than the attachment kind for a stand mixer (weird, I know). This was the recipe we used:

Pasta All ‘Uovo/Egg Pasta from The Romagnolis’ Meatless Cookbook:

3½ c. unbleached flour
5 medium eggs (at room temperature)
¼ teaspoon salt

We used a food processor, which makes the first steps oh so easy. Beat the eggs. Put the flour and salt into the food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Pulse in the eggs. Have a bit of water nearby just in case the dough doesn’t cling together properly. When you can pick up a bit, pinch it together, and it stays, it’s ready to go.







Take out your super amazing pasta roller. Take a piece of dough (begin with one about the size of a tennis ball) and put it in the pasta roller at the widest setting. This is how the dough will be kneaded. Run it through a couple of times. Slowly make it smaller and smaller by progressing through the numbers until you are at the perfect thickness (or rather, thinness!).







When you cook up homemade fresh pasta, it doesn’t take nearly as long as dried. Depending on the shape, you can do it in five minutes or so. I made extra little pasta bits with the leftover dough we had after cutting it into lasagna shape noodles. I made farfalle (aka bowties) because my favorite thing to do when I made pasta with my mom and brother as a kid was to pinch the bowtie shapes into actual bowties. I still got a kick out of it.



During the trip, I also made bread with my dad. Rather, my dad made bread and I watched closely. It is amazing to see him at work. The shaping takes no time at all with his expert hands.







But that’s not all that was made! Aaron made meatballs with my mom, I made an appetizer snack platter that had gherkin pickles, kalamata olives, marinated mozzarella balls, gouda cheese, cheddar cheese, roasted red pepper, pepper crusted salami, roasted red pepper hummus, and crackers. If there’s one thing I enjoy in life, it’s making platters.









My dad also made Death by Chocolate Cake from the Dom DeLuise cookbook I mentioned here (yeah, they have it!). We also had chile rellenos, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, a beautiful galette my mom made, and fantastic breakfasts. My dad makes the best omelet in the entire world (no exaggeration. I’m serious) and I also got a killer Dutch Baby from my mom.





Needless to say, time with the family left me very full and very satisfied. I’m lucky to have such a foodie family!