The Joy of Cooking

Sometimes I think the best part about knowing how to cook is just being able to create something.  I enjoy Meatloaf, not the food although I like that too, but the singer.  Some of his songs go on way to long, but I can imagine him sitting there playing the Piano and not wanting to stop just for the joy of it - Anything for Love and Everything Louder than Everything Else come to mind.  I also have some good friends that can play the guitar, passing the lead back and forth to each other without a word.  Just playing for enjoyment for themselves and those listening.

I can strum a guitar to a limited set of songs and can't play the piano at all but when it comes to food my creative abilities kick in and I can create if not a masterpiece at least something enjoyable and tasty.

This is not really going to be a recipe per say but the process I went through on making dinner last Saturday.

I started with some canned tomatoes I had from my garden, I grew some San Marizinos and wanted to see how they were.  I opened the jar and poured them into a pan with a little white wine and set them to simmer and reduce the liquid a little.

Next I poured some olive oil in my trusty cast iron pan and let it heat up.  Last summer I had some left over sliced peppers and onions from the church fair that I had bagged and froze so I took a handful out and chopped them a little more and added them to the oil.

Meanwhile I had found some dried morels in the pantry so I crushed those and added them to my tomatoes to reconstitute and add some flavor.  Once my onions started to brown I added my tomatoes so I was down to one pot.

I had a gift card from Sur la Table and back in august I purchased a Miracle Grow Aero Garden and had quite a bit of basil, both Thai and Genovese, so I made a pesto with some Manchego, pine nuts and olive oil, which I stirred in to my tomato sauce.  In the back of my fridge I found some half an half that hadn't expired yet so I poured it into a pan and let it reduce by half and then poured it with everything else.  Finally with my trusty immersion blender I gave everything a thorough mix, leaving some recognizable pieces of tomatoes and morels.

A quick boil for some artisan pasta and then mix it all and sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and dinner was ready. 

Of course during all this there were a couple games of chess with William, he won 1 out of four games, listening to Jonathan practice piano and raking, bagging and tilling some leaves into my garden... a fabulous fall day.

Now, Get in the Kitchen and Cook Something!

From Picture to Reality!

I have had subscriptions to various food magazines, Bon Appetite, Food and Wine, Food Network, Saveur, at various times in my life.  Some of the issues I still have but more often than not I look through them as soon as I get them, I love the beginning of the month!  More recently I have started going through them a second time and folding over the pages of recipes that I find interesting.  Finally, a couple days later, I go through and rip out the recipes that I might actually try.  This usually helps but every once in a while, I have to search online for something that I kind of dimly remember but didn’t make the cut.

Last month in Bon Appetite there was an ad for their Cooking School or a cooking school or something that showed this beautiful fish dish.  Unfortunately, there was no recipe, cause well, it was an ad I guess.  Nevertheless, I tore the page out and hung it up in my kitchen to look at.  I really enjoy creating recipes and sometimes a picture, a name, or just an idea can trigger one.

So, I bought some salmon, and some fresh fennel and tried to figure out what to do.  I started by slicing the fennel about a sixteenth of an inch thick on my mandolin and then adding some lemon juice and lime juice, then a little mayonnaise and sour cream, a dash of salt.  For a little extra zip a threw in some Old Bay seasoning.  That I stuck in the refrigerator and prepped my fish.

I have several of these thumb press pepper grinders that I fill with different whole spices.  For the fish, I used a blend of fennel seeds, dill seeds (I found these at Penzy’s Spice), coriander seeds and course sea salt.  A light sprinkle on the fish and a little old bay seasoning. And then into the broiler.

The picture from the add looks like an entrée, server over a cream sauce of some sort, I decided to do more of a salad and serve it cold.  It was a big hit, I hope you enjoy it!

Get in the Kitchen and Cook Something!

Broiled Salmon and Fennel Slaw Salad

     For the Slaw
            1 Bulb Fresh Fennel
            Juice of 1 Lemon
            Juice of 1 Lime
            1 t Kosher Salt
            ½ c Mayonnaise
            ½ c Sour Cream
            ½ t Old Bay
     For the Salmon
            4 – 6oz Salmon Fillets
            1 t Salt
            1 t Pepper
            1 t Old Bay
            Fresh Ground Coriander, Fennel and Dill Seed – optional
     For the Salad
            Mixed Lettuce
            Assorted vegetables, I used beets, artichoke hearts, green olives, garbanzo beans,
            radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes and butternut squash.  Apples and peaches are
            also nice.

1.      In a mixing bowl, combine the fennel, lemon and lime juice, mayonnaise, sour
       cream, salt and Old Bay.
2.      Mix well and transfer to a container and refrigerate.

3.      Meanwhile, turn on the broiler

4.      Combine salt, pepper, old bay and other spices if using

5.      Sprinkle evenly over the salmon

6.      Heat a large skillet over medium heat

7.      When pan is hot, arrange salmon in it in a single layer

8.      Cook for about 2 minutes then transfer the pan to the broiler for 6 minutes

9.      To serve hot, arrange the fish on a plate and top with the fennel slaw

10.  To serve cold, place the salmon in a container and cool it down in the refrigerator

11.  Arrange lettuce on a plate

12.  Place Salmon in the middle of the lettuce

13.  Arrange the remaining vegetables around the salmon

14.  Top the salmon with some of the fennel slaw.