Flashback Friday – Miso Hungry

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 12/29/08 at Exit 51.

Miso Hungry

Many years ago I used to subscribe to Cooking Light.  I wanted to cook light, really. Each month I would sit down and tag pages to remind myself to try this or that.  Sometimes I would follow through.  More often than not, the recipes went untried.  There were just too many to sort through and I ultimately began to drown in a sea of Cooking Light.  So I canceled my subscription.  But I held on to those magazines for ages with the hope that one day I would make good on my intentions.

Good intentions will only get you so far, and ultimately you need to cut your losses and move on.  It was in this manner that I broke up with Miso Glazed Salmon.  I think, no I know, that I made this dish and liked it.  But for reasons that I can’t recall, I never moved the recipe from the test pile to the keep pile.  And when the day came to cull the towering stack of pending recipes, Miso Salmon got the boot.

But memory is a fickle thing.  So after a trip to the store that resulted in 2 pounds of salmon and a tub of miso paste coming home with me, I went to dig out that recipe.  It was nowhere to be found.  How could I have let the Mister Right of recipes get away from me?  Clearly, I must not have been thinking rationally.  Why else would I have parted ways with one of the easiest, tastiest, guaranteed not to fail recipes I’ve ever had?

Fortunately, Miso Salmon did not hold a grudge because after one quick Google search, we were reunited.  Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but I’m not going to let this one get away again.  Try it yourself and you’ll see why.

Miso Glazed Salmon

Cooking Light

Notes:  The recipe calls for this to be broiled.  My irrational fear of the broiler will not allow this.  Instead, I cook it at 425 degrees.  Two pounds of salmon needed about twenty minutes in the oven.  Also, I think 2 tablespoons of soy sauce is too much.  So I mix everything else together and then add the soy sauce to taste.  I probably use more like 2 teaspoons, but you add as much as you like.  To make this a truly South Beach Friendly recipe, substitute Splenda Brown Sugar blend for the brown sugar.

  • 1/4  cup  packed brown sugar
  • up to 2  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2  tablespoons  hot water
  • 2  tablespoons  miso (soybean paste)
  • 4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
  • Cooking spray
  • 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh chives

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 4 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Arrange fish in a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon miso mixture evenly over fish.

Broil 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, basting twice with miso mixture. Sprinkle with chives.

Tomato Soup With A Twist

Last time on BAH, I discussed the various creative uses I have found for my canning jars.  So there’s some kismet to the fact that this post should come directly after it.  Yes, that is a  picture of soup in a jar.  That soup went from the pot on the stove, into that jar, and then got tucked into my lunch bag.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Adapted from Fine Cooking

BAH Note: I don’t see why you can’t roast the fennel along with the tomatoes and save yourself a step.  And the decision to leave the charred skins on the tomatoes is yours and yours alone…there’s no right or wrong answer.

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, sliced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves roasted garlic
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1 can light coconut milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon curry powder (optional)

Heat the oven to 450 degrees and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.  Place the tomatoes on the pan, cut side down, and drizzle with half of the oil.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and roast until the skins are charred.

Once the tomatoes are removed from the oven and cooling, heat the remaining oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the sliced fennel and onion and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the vegetables soften and begin to brown.  Add the broth and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.  Add the roasted tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and roasted garlic.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes before carefully processing the soup in a blender.

Return the soup to the dutch oven, add the coconut milk, and taste for seasoning.  Add kosher salt to taste and continue to cook until the soup is warmed through.

{printable recipe}

Flashback Friday – Battle Barefoot Contessa

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 12/8/08 at Exit 51.

Battle Barefoot Contessa

Are you tired of hearing me talk about the new Barefoot Contessa cookbook yet?  I hope not.

Before I was lucky enough to snag it from The Washington Post Food Chat, I had downloaded the recipe for Mustard Roasted Fish.  It screamed Easy Weeknight Meal that must be tried as soon as possible.  So once the Thanksgiving madness was behind me, I put it on the menu.  And you know what, my instincts were spot on.

Let me say it again, this is an Easy Weeknight Meal.  It’s the kind of dish that tastes like it took hours but really only needs about five minutes of your time.  As the Barefoot Contessa herself would say, how easy is that?

battle-barefoot-contessa1

In the time it took for the fish to cook in the oven, I had my grill pan going on the stovetop, pan roasting some asparagus.  If I had really been thinking, I would have put on a pan of water and made some quinoa.  That didn’t occur to me until the timer had gone off so the best I could do was some microwave brown rice.  Still, in less than thirty minutes, dinner was on the table.  Yes, you read that correctly.  From prep to table, a complete meal in less than thirty minutes.

Mine might not look as pretty as the picture in the cookbook, but if the empty plates were any indication, Battle Barefoot Contessa was a success.

Mustard Roasted Fish

From Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics

  • 4 skin-on mild white-fleshed fish fillets, such as black rockfish or Alaskan red snapper (6 to 8 ounces each)
  • Kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon for the sauce
  • Freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon for the sauce
  • 2 to 3 medium shallots
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons capers
  • 8 ounces creme fraiche
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
  • 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, or have a baking dish ready that is large enough to hold the fish in a single layer (the fillets can overlap slightly).

Season the fillets lightly on both sides with salt and pepper. Place them skin side down on the sheet (or in the dish).

Mince the shallots (to yield 2 tablespoons) and drain the capers (to taste); place both in a medium bowl, then add the creme fraiche, the water, both of the mustards, 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring to combine. Spoon the sauce over the fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until it is just barely cooked through.

Serve hot or at room temperature, with sauce from the pan (or dish) spooned over the top.

Pork with Mushrooms

this pig was not harmed in the making of this recipe

I met this particular pig last summer when The Mistah and I went to pay a visit to the family farm.  And by family farm I mean the roadside produce stand that sits on the edge of the parcel of land that used to be a huge farm owned by his father’s side of the family.  Now there is an interstate bisecting the property and I could only see a few small plots where things were actually being grown.   Clearly, development in the area has restructured the landscape and taken its toll on the place.

As we poked around the property, we came upon the big red barn that has stood for ages.  It’s a little wobbly now and piled high with lord only know what but The Mistah says that the barn used to be used to dry tobacco leaves.  Ah, the legacy of agriculture and cash crops.

Around the back of the barn is where we found this guy.  I’m assuming it’s a he but I would have no way to know for sure.  The closer we got to the pen, the louder the pigs inside squealed and the more animated they became.  One minute this one was down in the mud and the next he was up on his back legs, looking me pretty much dead in the eye over the top of the wooden fence.  I will just say this is the closest I have ever been to the living, breathing incarnation of what ends up on my plate.

That pig I met was destined to become someone’s dinner at some point according to The Mistah.  Each year the folks on “the farm” slaughter a pig or two and have a roast.  By now, he could already be gone.  I suppose if I were a kinder, gentler individual this could have been a life changing encounter.

Please don’t be disappointed when I say that this meeting didn’t spark any epiphany or make me less inclined to eat animals.  Although it did take me a few weeks before I put pork on the menu.

Pork with Mushrooms

Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

  • 2 pounds pork loin, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup sour cream

Place pork in a bowl.  Add paprika, salt, and pepper to the pork and stir until completely coated.

Heat half of the olive oil in a dutch over over medium high heat.  Working in batches if necessary, brown the pork cubes on all sides.  Transfer the pork to a plate.

Add the remaining oil to the pot and cook the onion until it begins to soften, approximately 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and dried thyme and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and start to brown.

Add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth to the pot, bring to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes for the sauce to reduce a bit.  Return the pork to the pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes until the pork is thoroughly cooked.

Stir a few tablespoons into the sour cream so that it warms and becomes loose.  Add the sour cream mixture to the pot and stir to combine before serving.

{printable recipe}

Fine Cooking’s Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

I’ve had pork on my mind.  Which is really something I never anticipated coming from an anti-barbecue background.  It took baby steps to get me here.  Some Andy Nelsons pulled pork love here.  Some Urban BBQ deep fried brisket in an eggroll happiness there. I have come to appreciate the simple beauty of a meat and two sides platter…not to mention a lemonade perfumed with some of Kentucky’s finest distilled spirits.

Just recently The Mistah and I paid a call to Mr. Andy Nelson where we commented that the old auto shop that serves as overflow seating is absolutely perfect.  We speculated that down south, where barbecue is a noun instead of a verb, the best eating would likely be found someplace like that…a little forgotten structure on the side of the road with sauce stained wooden tables and sticky floors.  I hope to test this theory extensively in the future.

Until then, I will have to be content to either make a run for carry out when the pork invades my thoughts or work some pulled pork magic in my own kitchen.  Thanks to the folks at Fine Cooking, I can do that. And so can you.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Adapted from Fine Cooking

  • 4 pounds pork shoulder, bone in or boneless, trimmed
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 3 or 4 dashes hot sauce
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Combine the sliced onion, 1/3 cup vinegar, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder and 1 teaspoon salt in the insert of a slow cooker.  Add the pork and coat it completely with the mixture.  Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or 5 to 6 hours on high until the pork is tender and falling apart.

Carefully transfer the pork to a cutting board.  Shred the pork, discarding the bone (if applicable) and fat.  Whisk the tomato paste, hot sauce, remaining vinegar and salt into the juices.  Add the shredded pork and any accumulated juices back to the slow cooker and stir to combine.  Taste for seasoning and add additional salt, vinegar, and hot sauce as desired.

{printable recipe}

Risotto Style Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms

screen shot from epicurious.com

I’m going to disagree with the folks at Epicurious, Merriam-Webster, TheFreeDictionary.com, YourDictionary.com, Answers.com, and countless other resources that define Risotto as a rice dish.  If I’ve heard Anne Burrell say it once, she’s said it a hundred times, risotto is a method of cooking.  But we’ve all basically shorthanded it so that it generally refers to the final product instead of the method.  I’d like you to reconsider that.  And The Minimalist is going to help.

I should say that Risotto Style Pasta is more involved than dumping your pasta into boiling water and walking away for 8 minutes.  Risotto style pasta requires hands on participation.  It needs you to whisper sweet nothings into the pot while you gently stir the broth and pasta.  What you’ll get in return is a love letter to creamy al dente perfection.

I don’t know about you, but I think we could all use a love letter every now and then.  I mean image how much happier the world could be if we all got love letters; if we all felt important and special; if we all had a belly full of satisfying creamy pasta with chicken and mushrooms.  Maybe one day we will thank The Minimalist for his contribution to world peace.

Risotto Style Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms

Adapted from Mark Bittman

BAH Note:  According to The Minimalist’s recipe, it looks like you can use almost any kind of pasta….cut pasta like ziti or long pasta like spaghetti.  I wouldn’t go for extremely thin pastas like angel hair, or any fresh or refrigerated pasta, you need them to be able to stand up to a fair amount of cooking without falling apart.  If you happen to have leftover cooked chicken on hand, I would add that in at the very end instead of dicing up raw chicken and cooking it with the pasta.  I thought the leftovers a day or two later were even better than what we served up right off the stove.

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 pound orzo
  • 1/2 cup white wine (optional)
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 3 or 4 boneless chicken thighs
  • grated parmesan

Carefully dice the chicken thighs and set them aside.

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallot and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

While the mushrooms cook, bring the chicken broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan.

Add the pasta and diced chicken to the pot with the mushrooms and stir so that it gets completely coated with the oil in the pot.  Add the wine, if using, or 1/2 cup of the broth and let the liquid cook down.

Add the remaining broth in 1/2 cup increments, stirring frequently.  You want most of the liquid in the pot to evaporate before you add more.  After about 10 minutes, the pasta should be close to al dente.  Continue to cook to your desired doneness, taste for seasoning, and add salt as needed.

Serve garnished with grated parmesan.

{printable recipe}

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

Yes my friends, it is the dead of summer and I’m talking soup. I know it’s hard to believe right now, but in just a few short months we will be welcoming fall.  Windows that have been shut against the summer’s brutal heat will be thrown open to let in a bit of autumnal cool.  Shorts, tank tops, and flip flops will be traded for turtlenecks, wool trousers, and boots. I even know people who change their home decor accessories…curtains, pillows, blankets, and linens…from summer to fall.  I know them, but I’m not one of them.

Just as you need to trade your summer gear for your fall wardrobe, you also need to dust off the fall recipes that have been relegated to the back of the recipe box over the summer.  Personally, I like this soup anytime of year but it’s definitely got a fall vibe to it.  If you’re reading this in Australia, then now is the perfect time to make this.  And if you’re not, you could make this now and pretend that the leaves have begun to change color and that your thoughts will soon turn to shoveling snow or you could wait until the calendar has flipped a few more pages into the year.  Either way, I highly recommend you make this soup.  It’s from the folks at Fine Cooking and it is indeed some fine cooking…regardless of whether the air conditioner is running at full steam or the fireplace is lit.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

Adapted from Fine Cooking

BAH Note: This recipe assumes that you don’t have a stash of those braised onions in your fridge or freezer.  Because if you did, I’m sure you would substitute a half cup or so of those for the sliced onion called for.  You would, wouldn’t you?

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 3/4 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 2 cans (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

Heat the oil in a dutch oven or stock pot set over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook about 5 to 10 minutes until the onions begin to soften.  Add the coriander, cumin, and a pinch of kosher salt and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the chicken broth, black beans, and sweet potatoes.  Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 30 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft.  Skim any foam that may accumulate.

Set aside 1 to 2 cups of the cooked black beans and sweet potatoes and then carefully puree the rest of the soup in a blender.  Add the reserved beans and potatoes back to the pot with the soup, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.

{printable recipe}

Flashback Friday – Some Assembly Required

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 11/19/08 at Exit 51.

Some Assembly Required

That phrase has gotten such a bad reputation thanks to our collective experiences putting together Barbie Dream Houses or Huffy Bikes or anything bought at IKEA.  I will admit that just seeing those words sends an icy chill through me…do I want it enough to figure out how it goes together?  Often, the answer is no.  But sometimes, not only is it worth it to say yes but the assembly is actually easy. I’ll give you an example.

I have a recipe for foolproof Shrimp Salad from Cook’s Illustrated.  From start to finish the whole thing takes maybe thirty minutes.  But I was feeling a bit lazy one day and didn’t even want to do that much cooking.  So instead of cooking the shrimp myself, I let the nice man at the Wegman’s seafood counter take care of that for me.  He didn’t seem to mind one bit.  And really, they know how to do shrimp.  I highly recommend using their court bouillon (plain) shrimp and their garlic/old bay shrimp.

All I had to do then was introduce Wegman’s shrimp to Cook’s Illustrated’s recipe.  It only took a few moments for everyone to be mixing and mingling in my big glass bowl.  They got along great and I was sad to see them go (onto other people’s plates that this).

Don’t think that you have to use fancy schmancy store cooked shrimp though.  Whether you cook your own or outsource it like I did, this is some assembly that you won’t mind.

Foolproof Shrimp Salad

From Cook’s Illustrated

CI Notes:  This recipe can also be prepared with large shrimp (26/30); the cooking time will be 1 to 2 minutes less. The shrimp can be cooked up to 24 hours in advance, but hold off on dressing the salad until ready to serve. The recipe can be easily doubled; cook the shrimp in a 7-quart Dutch oven and increase the cooking time to 12 to 14 minutes. Serve the salad on a bed of greens or on a buttered and grilled bun.

Serves 4

1 pound extra-large shrimp (21-25), peeled, deveined, and tails removed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice plus 1 additional tablespoon, spent halves reserved
5 sprigs fresh parsley leaves plus 1 teaspoon minced parsley leaves
3 sprigs fresh tarragon leaves plus 1 teaspoon minced tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns plus ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
Table salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 small shallot , minced fine (about 2 tablespoons)
1 small stalk celery , minced (about 1/3 cup)

1. Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup lemon juice, reserved lemon halves, parsley sprigs, tarragon sprigs, whole peppercorns, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt with 2 cups cold water in medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook shrimp, stirring several times, until pink, firm to touch, and centers are no longer translucent, 8 to 10 minutes (water should be just bubbling around edge of pan and register 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer). Remove pan from heat, cover, and let shrimp sit in broth for 2 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, fill medium bowl with ice water. Drain shrimp into colander, discard lemon halves, herbs, and spices. Immediately transfer shrimp to ice water to stop cooking and chill thoroughly, about 3 minutes. Remove shrimp from ice water and pat dry with paper towels.

3. Whisk together mayonnaise, shallot, celery, remaining tablespoon lemon juice, minced parsley, and minced tarragon in medium bowl. Cut shrimp in half lengthwise and then each half into thirds; add shrimp to mayonnaise mixture and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

Paprika Roasted Salmon

I’ve spent the better part of an hour writing, deleting, and rewriting something to accompany this recipe.  To be blunt, I’ve got nothing.  Heck, I don’t even have a photo of the Paprika Roasted Salmon.  But don’t let any of that stop you from trying Paprika Roasted Salmon.

Paprika Roasted Salmon

Adapted from McCormick & Co.

BAH Note:  The original recipe, which was an add in Fine Cooking magazine, called for the salmon to first be marinaded for 30 minutes in a mix of orange juice, olive oil, and thyme leaves.  I’m sure that would be lovely if you were so inclined to give it a try.

  • 4 salmon fillets
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder (I heart Penzy’s Chili 9000)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Combine the sugar, paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, orange zest, and salt in a small bowl.  Use a fork, or your fingers, to thoroughly combine the spices.

Place the salmon skin side down on the baking sheet and rub the spice mixture into the salmon.  Roast for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish, until it easily flakes with with fork.

{printable recipe}

Chicken and Mushrooms

The Mistah has this habit that drives me kinda batty.  When we sit down to eat, he’ll say, “So tell me about this”.  I know this is his way of expressing interest but what I want to say most of the time in response is, “It’s a hot plate of food, now hush up and eat before it gets cold”.

When I served up Chicken and Mushrooms, I jumped ahead in our usual script.  As I handed him his plate, I said “It’s chicken and sauce.”  You see, another peculiar habit is his fascination with ‘sauce’.  Doesn’t really matter what kind, he’s into sauce.  And if a dish isn’t served with some, he’ll go rooting around in the refrigerator to see if there isn’t something of the sauce variety that he can put on his plate.  This has seriously led to more than one uncomfortable silence at the table after he’s doused something in soy sauce.

So it really didn’t matter what else I said.  Sauce was the magic word he needed to hear.

Chicken and Mushrooms

Adapted from Melissa d’Arabian

BAH Note:  This is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day.  You might want to just go ahead and make a double batch to make sure you have some tasty leftovers.

  • 2 pounds bone in chicken thighs, skin removed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon herbs de provence
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dry the chicken with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Heat half of the oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Brown the chicken on both sides, working in batches if necessary.  Transfer the browned chicken to a plate.

Add the remaining oil to the pot and cook the onions until they begin to soften.  Add a quarter cup of the chicken broth to get any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and flour to the mushrooms and onion and cook for a few minutes.  Add the wine and deglaze the pot.  Return the chicken to the pot and add the and herbs de provence and the remaining chicken broth.  It should come almost to the top of the chicken.  Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven.  After 25 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook another 25 minutes.

Carefully remove the pot from the oven and transfer the chicken to a plate.  Set the pot over high heat and reduce the sauce until it thickens a bit.  Turn the heat off and gradually add some of the sauce into the sour cream until it is loose.  Add the sour cream mixture into the pot and stir to combine.

Return the chicken to the pot, coat thoroughly with the sauce, and serve over noodles.

{printable recipe}