Something Fishy is Going On February 1, 2012
Posted by cirellih in Craving, Dinner, Food.Tags: Broccoli, Jacques Pepin, Potatoes, Tilapia
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That something fishy is tilapia!
I was in the mood for fish tonight. That craving came from Saturday, when I watched a marathon run of Jacques Pepin on PBS. He made this delicious looking dish of Darphin Potatoes with spring onions that would be “parfect wiz some feesh.” He is French, you see.
After that, all I wanted to make was that pancake with fish. This is what it was supposed to look like:
Sadly, my potato doormat did not come out looking anything like his. I blame Chris, and his dislike for non-stick pans. I am pretty sure that was the major flaw in my cooking plans.
Anyway, the rest of the dinner came out beautifully, if you ask me!
I followed the recipe for pan-fried fish from The Joy of Cooking to the last detail. They really do know their stuff in that cookbook! They suggested washing the fish in cold water and then patting it dry to reduce splattering. That certainly worked! Barely a drop splatter anywhere, and look how golden brown… scrumdiddlyumptious!
Please ignore the gelatinous grey blob at the top of my plate. That was supposed to be crispy and golden brown as well. Sadly most of the crispy decided to stay on the bottom of the pan. Ah, well, live and learn, eh?
Dinner for a Busy Bee September 1, 2011
Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Food.Tags: Broccoli, Chicken, Honey, Onions, Potatoes, Rosemary, Swiss Chard
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I can’t claim that I was a particularly busy bee today, but Chris had an early morning and was working hard all day!
Dinner was almost ready when he got home! Honey Rosemary Chicken with broccoli, pan fried potatoes, and local swiss chard with caramelized onions. Pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself.
For the chicken:
Cook the chicken in a little olive oil until it is full cooked. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside. In the pan, put two or three tablespoons of honey and a generous sprig of fresh rosemary. Let the honey mixture cook a little until if forms a nice glaze. Put the chicken back into the pan and let it get coated with the honey. Easy.
For the swiss chard and onions:
Cook the onions with ‘butter’ (I used vegetable oil spread and it came out just fine). Cook them FOREVER until they are browned, soft and delicious. Blanch the swiss chard in some boiling water until they are the texture that you like. Drain, then mix with the onions. I sprinkled mine with a little parmesan cheese. Delish!
The nice thing with a dinner like this, is that you can do as much or as little as you like. I had already caramelized the onions yesterday, so I didn’t have to worry about cooking them tonight. The potatoes took a little bit of patience, mostly trying to resist the urge to flip them before they are browned. You could just stick to the chicken and broccoli and call it a night!
Meat in the Mail August 14, 2011
Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Food.Tags: Anniversary, Broccoli, Potatoes, Steak
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As I said, Chris and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary recently…as in August 1st! Just before we left for our weekend getaway, we found a package on our doorstep. In this glorious package, we found filet mignon, pork chops, chicken breasts, kitchen knives and a cutting board. My grandmother sent us a wonderful present from Omaha Steaks that we are going to enjoy most thoroughly!
For our first attempt at cooking our meat in the mail was a fantastic success. In typical fashion, Chris deftly grilled the steaks to perfection. I added in broccoli and roasted potatoes. It was certainly a delicious meal altogether.
Chris put a dry rub on the steak. It included coriander, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric, brown sugar, salt and pepper. It came out so well! For the potatoes, I boiled them first to cut down on the roasting time. After they came out of the water, I added paprika, a bit of salt and olive oil then baked them for 20 minutes. I always love it when foods are ready at the same time!
Just the way we both like our steaks. Absolutely delicious!
Snow in Spring? This Calls for Stew! April 13, 2011
Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Food, Health.Tags: Carrots, Lamb, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Slow Cooker, Stew
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Really, Colorado? Snow?? In April???
Fine. Keep faffing about with the weather. I’ll go make a stew.
A delicious lamb stew at that. Combined with a hunk of nice, crusty sourdough bread there is nothing that combat cold weather better.
The Recipe:
1/2 lb lamb stew meat
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/4 cup peas
1 stalk of celery
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
3 cups beef stock
3 small potatoes
Put the carrots, onion, celery, lamb, thyme, paprika and beef stock into a crock pot. Put on high heat for 5 hours. When you are almost ready to eat the stew boil the potatoes and mash when they are ready. We thickened the broth a bit by taking some out and adding in corn starch. I like a little heartiness to my stew. At the very last minute, I added in my peas from yesterday’s dinner. What a great addition of color, texture and flavor. Mmm.
This was my easy take on Shepard’s Pie. No baking involved, but they flavors are all still there. As an added bonus, you can stick as many veggies as you like into a stew like this. I’ve made root vegetable shepard’s pies before, so squash or rutabagas would be a nice addition.
Healthy Heath 