Salmon with Lentils - read the review before you exit!!

Just looking at name of the recipe, most of my blog visitors will immediately exit. Wait!! This is an excellent recipe. Maybe the kids won't like the lentils but, it really is good. It is a Barefoot Contessa recipe from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook.  Most of her recipes that I have tried I have liked. I have liked them better then any other cookbook author. I have all her cookbooks. Even a signed copy of the latest one -  Barefoot Contessa at Home. A present from The Husband.

Put aside your preconceived lentil notions and give this a try. It is healthy so you may just be extending your life by a couple days. Maybe tonight make Salmon with Lentils for yourself and throw a pizza in the oven for those kids.

Pot Stickers

Pot Stickers

Since my last recipe using wonton wrappers was so much fun, my daughter and I decided to tackle Pot Stickers. Like the Barbecued Asian Lettuce Wraps from a couple nights ago, pot stickers are on many restaurant appetizer menus. Especially your favorite Chinese restaurant. My daughters love the pot stickers from the Costco freezerland. I was hoping to make a healthier version. The filling is simple enough to toss together. The time comes in when you are filling the wonton wrappers. I decided to while away the time with a nice cosmo to keep my spirits up. We also had some of my famous Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry (check back to Dinner #13) with brown rice. Threw in a dozen shrimp with the chicken for a little excitement on a Tuesday night. We are wild round here.

Pot Stickers

1/2 pound ground turkey - can also try ground pork which is more traditional
1/2 head green cabbage, finely chopped
2 green onions, sliced thin
about 1 TB grated ginger root
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 package wonton wrappers, about 50
vegetable oil

sauce - mix together

3 TB soy sauce
2 TB rice wine vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
dash sesame oil

Cook ground turkey in pan. Drain and set aside. Mix together cabbage, green onion, ginger root, salt, sugar, sesame oil and cooked turkey. Chill in frig about 30 minutes.

Place about a teaspoon on the mixture in the center of the wrapper. Brush edges with water. Fold over and press to seal. You can crimp it if you are feeling adventurous. Place finished pot stickers in freezer for about 10 minutes.

Heat a large pan and add about 2 tablespoons of oil. Place pot stickers in pan - don't crowd them. Cook about 30 seconds then flip and cook additional 30 seconds. Add about 1/4 cup water, cover pan and cook about 3 - 4 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain. Serve with dipping sauce.

Cannellini Bean and Escarole Soup

Cannellini Bean and Escarole Soup

With Winter refusing to fly north for the Spring, and last night's Easter Feast still digesting, I decided to make something a little more on the nutritious side tonight. Not that White Bean and Escarole Soup is not delicious, it is and very good for you too. It's a whole meal in a bowl. As I'm reaching middle age, dare I say, I am trying to eat a healthier diet. My diet has been pretty much the same my whole life -- I can eat whatever I like without to many repercussions. The only setback I have had to date is no coffee and donuts. Not good on the early morning digestion. Maybe I'll try popping a Pepcid first next time.

This recipe is a basic soup base. Add any number of ingredients to it to change it up. I especially like escarole in soup because it retains a little crunch even when cooked. Add cooked chicken or sausage. Change the escarole to bok choy and a dash of sesame oil and soy sauce for a more Asian flair. Use a combo of chicken and vegetable stocks with a little beef stock to give your soup a rich flavor.  Mix up the kinds of beans - black, kidney, garbanzo. Clean out the fridge and the pantry. That's what I did. I'm the only one who ate this tonight. No Thank You Boy is still eating the hard boiled eggs that they dyed for Easter and the girls made paninis with the Easter ham. Love to see those leftovers move!

White Bean and Escarole Soup

serves 8

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped
4 carrots, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
8 cups chicken stock
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 teaspoon dried thyme
pinch of red pepper flakes
6 cups escarole, chopped
salt
pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

In a large stock pot, saute the onions in the olive oil for about 8 - 10 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic and saute another 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add beans, thyme and red pepper flakes. Simmer about 10 minutes. Add the escarole and simmer a 4 - 6 minutes to slightly wilt the leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Baked Ham with Pineapple Bread Pudding

Woke up to a bright, sunny Easter morning. I was ready to put on my frilly Easter dress, when old Mr. Thermometer said it was 25 degrees. I opted for my Easter turtleneck instead. Kinda losing the enthusiasm around here for the egg hunt and Easter baskets so the kids got a crisp $10 bill to spend on candy at the Pathmark. Happy Easter!! Took the whole family to shop for dinner after church because I have had a wicked, nasty cold. Nothing to earth shaking this year. But, like the Thanksgiving meal, tradition works best. This isn't a low cal meal so look elsewhere for that. Live a little.

We like the spiral, honey glazed ham. But when you are shopping on Easter for Easter dinner you don't get too many choices. No honey hams. Got a smoked one (7 pounder) that we glazed with a mixture of apricot preserves (1 cup), brown sugar(1/3 cup), and Dijon mustard (1/2 cup) and baked at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half. Basted it occasionally and I even got to take a nap while it cooked. Not spiral cut so, we had to slice it up ourselves. The husband said, "Best ham we have ever had!" Added a side of steamed artichokes. Wrapped these individually in plastic wrap and microwaved 5 of them for about 18 minutes total. Serve up with melted butter. The salted butter we had from Costco tasted way too salty. Even for my middle girl who keeps a salt lick next to her bed. Also, roasted some red potatoes in olive oil, white wine, thyme, and s&p. Good and mellow to cut the rich tastes of the other foods. My favorite addition to the meal (as well as my Adventureous Eater's) was the Pineapple Bread Pudding. Gooey, buttery cubed bread with pineapple chunks cooked up crunchy on top and squishy in the middle. Used a fresh pineapple this year so it was extra excellent.


Fresh Pineapple Bread Pudding

1 stick butter, melted, cooled a little
2 extra large eggs, slightly beaten
a few grates of fresh nutmeg or use the jar stuff
pinch of salt
1/2 fresh pineapple, cubed, about 2 cups
4 cups cubed, rustic bread
1/2 cup or so apple juice

Combine butter, eggs, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in pineapple and bread cubes. Add enough of the juice so that everything is moistened. Put into a casserole dish big enough to hold the mixture and bake at 375 for about 30 - 35 minutes.

*note -- can substitute a 20 oz can of pineapple chunks and then just use the juice from the can instead of the apple juice.

Asian Barbecued Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Asian Barbecued Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I made an old favorite the other night. Asian Barbecued Chicken Lettuce Wraps is from a recipe adapted from one of Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals. They are like the lettuce wraps you can get at many  restaurants, and they are even pretty healthy.  Super easy to throw together, the entree keeps fantastically in the refrigerator of a couple days. They reheat in a snap and taste just as good or even better the next day.

Vary the vegetables you include in the recipe depending on what you have on hand. I like to use mushrooms, red peppers, green onions, and water chestnuts. Other delicious choices include bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, those fun baby corn cobs, or basically any other vegetable you like.

This is a 5 thumbs up recipe in my family. There are never leftovers no matter how much I make.

Asian Barbecued Chicken Lettuce Wraps

serves 5

peanut oil

1 1/2 pounds of boneless chicken breast, cut in small pieces
salt
pepper
2 cups of mushrooms, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced
zest of 1/2 an orange
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce (find it in the Asian aisle at the grocery store)

5 green onions, sliced thin
romaine lettuce leaves

In a saute pan over medium high heat, add about 2 teaspoons of peanut oill. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and saute the chicken for 3 - 5 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan to a bowl and set aside.  Add the mushrooms and red pepper to the same pan adding another 2 teaspoons of oil and and cook for about 2 - 3  minutes. Return the cooked chicken to the pan (without any of the accumulated juices) and add the orange orange zest, water chestnuts, and the hoisin sauce and heat through.  Sprinkle with the gren onions.

To service, pile spoonfuls of the chicken mixture into the lettuce leave, like a taco.

Where Have I Been??!!!!

Whoa! What the heck has happened that there hasn't been a post in such a long time? Lost my enthusiasm for cooking? Can't find any new recipes to make? Just lazy? Well, the gourmet cafe where I worked has closed so, I am now unemployed. But, not for long. I am going to be a personal chef and have been working on all stuff that needs to be done to set up a business. My new endeavor is going to be called EAT! A Personal Chef Service. The idea behind a personal chef is that I plan, shop for, and cook meals for people who don't like to cook, don't have time or have have special dietary needs. I hoping that this will be the main part of my business but, I may also do some catering and dinner parties. Hopefully, I'll be up and running sometime in May. I'll keep you up-to-date and in the mean time get back to posting more recipes. One of my sisters said she is tired of making butternut squash tortellini ever night!!