Du'in It in the Kitchen » quick

Poached Salmon in White Wine

Du — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:38:18 +0000

I keep forgetting how easy it is to poach fish. Using white wine gives it that extra oomph that makes it special! Every time I serve this I get looks from those I’m serving that I must have spent hours in the kitchen slaving away. This is actually one of those dishes I feel like I pull out of a hat at the last minute.

If you’re so inclined to make it even fancier, you can make a sauce out of the leftover juices/wine in the baking dish to serve with it.

Poached Salmon in White Wine

(3 servings)

3 salmon fillets (5-6oz each)

½ cup dry white wine

2 -3 garlic cloves, minced

1 -2 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper taste

In a baking dish, brush the bottom with olive oil and place fish skin side down. Mix minced garlic and olive oil in a small dish and brush the tops of the fillets.

Pour the white wine in the dish but not over it. Drizzle remaining olive and garlic over fish. Season it with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Cover dish with foil and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes and remove from oven.

Poached Salmon in White Wine

Serve immediately.

Tomato “FUN-nel” Soup

Du — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:39:39 +0000

Yeah, yeah…. “FUN-nel.” I’m just bein’ silly. I’ve had fennel on the brain lately and I’m not sure why. It’s been so rainy here in NYC the last couple days that’s it has put me in the mood for soup. Cream of Tomato was always my favorite as a kid. These days I try not to do very much dairy as it creeps into my baking.

I wanted a hearty soup due to the weather and nothing was sounding good until I thought of tomato soup. It was always a comfort soup for me (rather than chicken soup). Whenever I was sick, tomato soup was what I asked for. I added the fennel for an extra burst of flavor and made this recipe totally vegan.

Tomato Fennel Soup

Tomato Fennel Soup

8 servings

2 cans (28oz each) of whole, plum tomatoes w/ juice

2 bulbs of fennel, chopped

4 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups veggie stock

½ teaspoon dried thyme (tab fresh)

½ teaspoon dried oregano (tab fresh)

½ teaspoon dried marjoram (tab fresh)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

In a large, heavy bottom pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add fennel, onion and garlic and sauté approx. 10 minutes, or until fennel begins to soften. Season with 2 -3 large pinches of kosher salt and pepper.

Stir in canned tomatoes, and stock and bring to a low boil. Add herbs. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 30 – 45 minutes.

Turn off heat. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth. If using a blender, cool the soup before blending in batches.

Serve with a crusty bread or garlic croutons.

Baked Tilapia with Bread Crumb Topping

Du — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:01:23 +0000

Baked Tilapia with Bread Crumb Topping

Tilapia is a medium flavored fish that tend to pick up what ever you cook it with. It reminds me a little of catfish. You can easily broil it with a little olive oil and lemon juice or fancy it up a bit. I wanted to something crunchy so I made a simple bread crumb mixture. I could have left it at that but really wanted a nice sauce to compliment it. The lemon-wine was fast and simple and it’s OHHHH so good!

Baked Tilapia with Bread Crumb Topping

2 tilapia fillets (6 – 8 oz each)

¼ cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon dried dill

olive oil

Coat the bottom of an 8” X 8” baking dish with olive oil and place fish in it.

In a small dish, mix bread crumbs with melted butter and herbs. Spoon bread crumbs over both fillets. Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake 15 – 20 minutes, then place under broiler for a couple minutes to brown topping.

Serve with a lemon wedge or sauce.

This is a simple sauce that goes well over seafood. You can easily add different herbs to change up the flavor a little.

Lemon-Wine Butter Sauce

1 small shallot, minced

¼ cup dry white wine

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter

juice from ½ lemon

1 tablespoon cream or half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, heat shallots in wine to a low boil. Reduce to half while stirring occasionally. Whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Whisk in lemon juice, cream and salt and pepper.

Serve immediately over fish.

If not using right away, keep warm over low heat (or double boiler). If sauce begins to break, quickly whisk in a little cold water until sauce comes back together.

Raw Vegan Fudgy Balls!!!

Du — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:09:20 +0000

Raw Vegan Fudgy Balls

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I’ve got chocolate on the brain. Okay… I always have chocolate on the brain – I don’t need February hearts and cupid to set my taste buds a tingling!! I am always working on a new dish with chocolate or sometimes pulling out something tried and true.

However, I decided to revisit a raw vegan treat I created a few years ago when I was dying for something chocolaty sweet while following a mostly raw vegan diet. Those prepared sweets were just too expensive and I was sure I could come up with something easy and quick and wouldn’t need to be dehydrated.

The following recipe is as close as I can remember. I didn’t write it down or follow exact measurements. I know the name is silly but it makes me (and everyone else I tell about them) laugh.

Fudgy Balls (raw vegan fudge brownies)

12 – 13 balls

Using raw ingredients:

10 – 12 pitted dates

cashews, pecans, dates and cocoa powder

1 handful of cashews

1 handful of pecans

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

Drizzle of agave syrup (1/2 half – 1 teaspoon)

Place all ingredients in small food processor and pulse until ingredients come together.

Using your hands, break off small chunks and form balls. Place on plate and refrigerate or store in airtight container in fridge

Fudgy Ball dough comes together in processor

Potatoes Anna

Du — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:53:02 +0000

Potatoes Anna just out of the oven

I don’t know who Anna is, but she sure makes great taters! A friend sent me a link on this… based on a recipe from http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/blog/ Apparently there are recipes for this using exact measurements…. but I don’t think it’s necessary. This is one of the easiest and simple dishes to make and it’s OH so good! I used one large baking potato for the picture shown and it was plenty for two people.

Ingredients

1 large baking potatoes

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice potato very thin with a knife or mandoline.

thinly slcied potato

Brush the bottom of a pie plate with the melted butter and begin placing the slices in a circular pattern until you have one layer (you don’t need to go to the edge of the pan). Brush melted over the top then sprinkle a tiny pinch of kosher salt and ground pepper on the layer. Continue to make layers, brushing with the butter then salt and pepper until you run out of slices.

just before covering with foil

Pour remaining butter over top and sprinkle kosher salt and pepper and cover with foil.

Place covered pan in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15 – 20 minutes until top is brown.

Apple-Ginger Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Du — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:15:42 +0000

APPLE-GINGER SPICED CRANBERRY SAUCE

1 12oz package of fresh cranberries

Apple-Ginger Spiced Cranberry Sauce

1 cup cane sugar

1 cup apple cider

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Mix apple cider and sugar in a medium pan and bring to a boil. Add cranberries, spices and fresh ginger and stir to incorporate. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to simmer at a low boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Flippin’ for Flapjacks!

Du — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:28:37 +0000

If it’s Sunday, it must be pancakes!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Okay… it’s Friday as I write this but I love me some homemade pancakes any day of the week – the variations are endless. No need for a store bought mix, they’re easy and quick to prepare.

Here’s a basic recipe the fam and friends will love! Next time I’ll remember to take a pic of the flapjacks to add to the recipe.

WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES

(makes 6-7 pancakes)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cup stone ground whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon agave syrup

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup of milk (may need to add a little more to thin out)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon canola oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Add vinegar to milk in a cup and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon until combined. Add vinegar/milk mixture along with canola oil, egg, vanilla and agave syrup to dry ingredients and using a wire whisk, mix until no lumps appear in the batter. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Check batter – may need to add a splash of milk to desired consistency. Some folks like thick pancakes… some like them thin…

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium/high heat for 2-3 minutes. To test griddle, dribble a little water on surface – water should bubble immediately and evaporate with 3 – 5 seconds. Using a folded paper towel, soak a little canola oil onto it and rub griddle to coat. You should only have to do this once.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop or ladle batter onto griddle. When bubbles begin to appear and edges are dry, flip pancake and cook for another 2-3 minutes being careful not to burn. Place pancakes on oven-safe plate in a warm oven until finished cooking.

Serve with butter and maple syrup or topping of choice.

Optional: When plated, dust pancakes with cinnamon and powdered sugar, then topping of choice.