Recipe #313: Baked Whole Trout

My first trip to Costco resulted in my first time purchasing (and then cooking) whole fish.  It was so fresh and moist baking it this way.  The bones are a little annoying, but the work is worth it for how flavorful this turned out.  The trout was already gutted and cleaned, so it was a simple dish to make.

Prepped and ready for the oven

INGREDIENTS, amounts as needed/to taste:

Whole trout

Dried dill weed

Dried thyme

Salt

Pepper

Lemon slices

Sliced Onions

White wine (or chicken broth or water)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Oil a metal baking/roasting pan.  Season insides of fish with dill, thyme, salt, and pepper, and stuff with onions.  Oil the outside of the fish and season the outsides too.  Lay lemon slices on top.  Pour over a little white wine on each fish.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Pour more wine over and bake another 10, until the fish flakes easily.  Remove heads and tails and serve.

Recipe #312: Caprese Garlic Bread

My sister was raving about this recipe, so I had to try it.  Her high praise wasn't for nothing- this is delicious.  I used four mini loaves of ciabatta and a whole stick of butter.  I also found a bottle of balsamic glaze at the store instead of having to make it myself.  This is from twopeasandtheirpod.com.

ingredients:

1 loaf ciabatta bread, horizontally cut in half
4 tablespoons salted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place both sides of the baguette on a large baking sheet with the cut side up.

2. In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic and spread evenly on bread halves. Place the mozzarella cheese slices on top of the bread, making sure the cheese covers the bread completely. Bake the bread for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

3. While the bread is in the oven, make the balsamic reduction. Place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring the vinegar to a boil, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is reduced by about half. This should only take about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.

4. Remove the bread from oven. Top the bread with tomato slices. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Cut into slices and serve.

Recipe #311: Slow Cooker Maple Country Style Ribs

My friend told me about this recipe from allrecipes.com.  I love the sweetness from the syrup and the hint of cinnamon.  They fell right off the bone.  The changes I made was to double the sauce PLUS one extra tablespoon of maple syrup, because I had more than 1.5lbs of meat (2.7lbs, to be exact).  I also used half of a fresh onion instead of dehydrated.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds country style pork ribs 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons dried minced onion 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 dash ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Combine ribs, maple syrup, soy sauce, minced onion, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, garlic powder and pepper in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 9 hours.

Recipe #310: Bacon-y Potato Soup

Oh man this one is just perfection.  I made a couple changes, marked in red.  It makes a LOT of soup (serves 7-8) and is perfect for this cold weather we're having.  This is another winner from allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound bacon, chopped 2 stalks celery, diced 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 8 potatoes, peeled and cubed 4 cups chicken stock, or enough to cover potatoes

3 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon dried tarragon 3 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro  (I used green onion instead) salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until done. Remove bacon from pan, and set aside. Drain off all but 1/4 cup of the bacon grease.
2.	Cook celery and onion in reserved bacon drippings until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add cubed potatoes, and toss to coat. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Return bacon to the pan, and add enough chicken stock to just cover the potatoes. Cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender.  (about 25 minutes or so- test with a fork)
3.	In a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream, tarragon, and cilantro. Bring the cream mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir the cream mixture into the potato mixture. Puree about 1/2 the soup (I used a potato masher to lightly mash the entire thing, but leaving plenty of potato chunks), and return to the pan. Adjust seasonings to taste.  Top with shredded cheese.

Recipe #309: Sausage, Peppers, and Pasta

I was craving this for several days before I found a recipe and tried it myself.  I'd only had it in restaurants previously, but now this is going to be a staple in my own kitchen.  So easy, but restaurant quality.  This one is from simplyrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Italian sausage links (sweet, hot, or a couple of each)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into 2 to 3 inch long strips
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2 to 3 inch long strips
• 1 bell pepper of another color (yellow or orange or purple), sliced into strips 2-3 inches long
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced into slivers
• 1 large sweet or yellow onion, sliced into 1/4-inch half-moons
• 1 small (15 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp of dried oregano
• 1/2 cup Marsala or red wine (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt to taste.

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan that has a lid. When the oil is hot, add the sausages and brown them slowly. If they sizzle and crackle too much, turn the heat down. You want a gentle browning, not a sear. Cook for several minutes, turning them occasionally so they brown on all sides. When the sausages are browned, remove from the pan and set aside.

Increase the heat to high and add the onions and peppers. Toss so they get coated with the oil in the pan and sear them as well as you can, stirring every so often. You want some blackening. Once the onions and peppers soften, sprinkle some salt on them. Once you get some searing on the onions and peppers, add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the Marsala or red wine if you are using, and with a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the browned and blackened bits. Let the wine cook down by half.

Add the tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes (if using) and stir well to combine. Add the sausages back in. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the peppers are soft the sausages are cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Serve over polenta, or with penne pasta, or load up in a hoagie roll. 

Recipe #308: Baked Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks

I LOVE this recipe.  Just a little kick to it, nothing too spicy, super easy to make and cheap.  I made a dipping sauce on the side by melting blue cheese with a little bit of milk and adding flour to thicken it up a smidge.

Ingredients

Chicken:
8 drumsticks
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Spicy Sauce:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 tablespoon BBQ sauce

Directions

For the chicken: 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Rinse and pat dry the drumsticks. Mix the oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and some salt and pepper in a medium bowl or resealable plastic bag. Toss the drumsticks in the seasoned oil to coat well. Bake the drumsticks on a wire rack placed on a baking sheet (so air circulates around chicken) until very tender and the skin is crisp, 50 minutes.

For the spicy sauce: 

Mix together the butter, hot sauce and BBQ sauce in a large bowl.
Toss the drumsticks in the spicy sauce until well coated. Place the drumsticks back on the rack and continue baking an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Recipe #307: Summer Corn and Lobster French Onion Chowder with Gruyere Toastets

I wanted to make something fantastic to celebrate (or lament) the end of a nice long vacation, so I went to foodgawker.com to see what looked interesting.  I saw this recipe and was smitten.  Super easy to make but tastes fancy.  Heavy, flavorful, perfect for cold weather.  If you don't want to spend the money on lobster, crab meat or shrimp would be fine substitutes.

(copied from http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/)

• 3-4 (8 ounce) lobster tails (optional and interchangeable)
• 4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups white wine or beer (12 ounces)
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
• 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley, chopped (I used basil)
• 1 french baguette, sliced
• 4 ounce gruyere cheese, shredded

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Once boiling drop in your lobster tails. Boil for 5-10 minutes or until your tails turn bright red. Drain the water and allow the tails to cool.

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain.

To the pot add the butter, onions, thyme and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Continue cooking and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Once the onions are caramelized, add the flour and garlic. Stir the flour with the onions to make a roux, cook about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the wine and chicken broth. Add the corn.

Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile cut down the back and front of the lobster and pull the meat away from the shell. Dice or shred the lobster meat.

After the soup has simmered about 10 minutes add the cream and simmer another 5 minutes. Squeeze half a lemon over the soup, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the lobster and fresh basil. Preheat the the broiler to high.

Ladle the soup into oven safe soup crocks. Top with a slice or two from the french baguette and a handful of shredded gruyere cheese. Place under the broiler until browned.  Garnish with bacon. Eat hot. Enjoy!!

Recipe #306: Beef, Stout, & Blue Cheese Pot Pies

This is immediately a favorite recipe, hands down.  I've had this one bookmarked from http://edible-ireland.com/ and finally got around to making it.  So wonderful.  Rich, hearty, filling, amazing flavors.... I can't say enough about this one.  The recipe would fill about three larger single rammekins, so I would double if feeding four.

Filling before adding the cheese.

I giggled when I got these out of the oven.

So good...

1kg (2lb) stewing beef (such as shin or cheek), cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons plain flour
rapeseed or olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
500ml (2 cups) stout
125g (3/4 cup) crumbled blue cheese
1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Put the beef in a large bowl and sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add the flour and toss the beef in it until it all has a light dusting. Heat some rapeseed or olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole and brown the beef in batches over a medium-high heat, making sure not to crowd the pot or the meat won’t brown properly. Add more oil in between batches if needed. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.

Add another splash of oil to the pot, then add the onions and carrots along with a pinch of salt so that the onions don’t brown. Cover the pot and cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft but not browned. Add the garlic, thyme and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more.

Pour in the stout, scraping up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Return the beef to the pot and bring up to a lively simmer, then cover and put in the oven for 3–4 hours (or simmer on the stovetop on a low heat with the lid on), stirring a few times. You will know it’s done when the beef easily falls apart when you prod it with a fork and the stout has reduced right down – it’s a pot pie filling, not a stew, so you want it to be nice and thick. Stir in the cheese, then taste it and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Place one large ovenproof pie dish or individual dishes or ramekins onto a baking tray just in case any filling bubbles up and over the sides, then spoon the stew into the dish(es). Roll out the pastry a little on a lightly floured countertop, then cut to fit the top of the dish. Rub the edges of the dish with a little water or some of the beaten egg to help the pastry stick in place, then place the pastry lid on top. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg (not too much or the pastry won’t rise properly), then cook in the oven for 20–30 minutes, until the pastry has risen and is golden. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before digging in.

Recipe #305: Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, Apple, & Gruyere Bites

Another winner from foodgawker.com.  I knew I had to try these as soon as I saw the picture.  It didn't make enough filling for all of the pastry, though. I would probably add more onion and mushrooms to balance out the apple more, but it was still delicious this way.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1½ granny smith apples, cubed into ½" cubes
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1½ oz. grated gruyere cheese
2 tbsp. chives, minced
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 package (1 pound) of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats. Set side.
2. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil and cook the onions (with 1 tsp. of salt) until they're
golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove and set aside in a large bowl. In the same skillet,
sauté mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside in the bowl with the
onions.
3. In the same skillet, melt the butter and add in the apples with the sugar. Cook until softened,
about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and add to the large bowl with onions and mushrooms.
4. Add the cheese, chives, and thyme to the bowl and stir to combine the mixture well. Season
with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. With a pizza cutter, cut the puff pastry into 2­inch squares and place them on the lined
baking sheets. Using a pastry brush, brush beaten egg on the squares.
6. Using a tablespoon, place filling in the middle of each puff pastry.
7. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through and switching the baking sheet on
the top rack to the bottom and the bottom to the top, until the pastry is golden brown and
crisp.

Recipe #304: Tex Mex Taco Pasta

Super easy!  Makes great leftovers.  I think it could be tweaked easily too if you would want more spiciness.  I skipped the cilantro because I'm not a big fan of it.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground beef (you could also use ground turkey or chicken)
• 1 packet taco seasoning, low sodium
• 1 (15oz) can Rotel, drained of excess liquid
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained
• ½ lb farfalle (bow tie) pasta
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
• 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large pot, bring water a boil and prepare pasta as directed.
2. In a high-rimmed skillet, brown ground beef on medium-high heat and drain off excess grease. Season with taco seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes. To the meat mixture, stir in Rotel, black beans, and corn. Turn the heat off and cover with a lid.
3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add in the meat mixture and stir. Pour in the cream and toss in the cheese and stir with a wooden spoon until the cheese has completely melted.
4. Ladle pasta into bowls and topped with chopped cilantro.