Stir-Fried Beans with Pork and Chiles

We like this recipe for: Stir-Fried Beans with Pork and Chiles. Since we had some tomatoes from the Farmer's Market, we added them. It is a wonderful dish. You can get the recipe on our blog of: November 9, 2018. Click the date to get the recipe.

Wild Salmon With Fennel and Pistachios

Our friend Guillermo showed up and we made an appetizer using leftover Pasta Noodles from a Lobster dinner at our favorite: Newport Seafood. We prepared Sautéed Scallops and served them over the pasta. It was a great combo. You can find the recipe for the Scallops on of May 25, 2017. Click the date to get the recipe.

For the main course we made: Wild Salmon With Fennel and Pistachios. This was a good recipe for salmon, perfect for eating on a warm summer night.

Wild Salmon With Fennel and Pistachios

New York Times

Assertively flavorful, lush-textured wild Pacific salmon — notably king, but also sockeye — are seasonal treasures. Unlike farmed Atlantic salmon, which is of a different genus entirely and available year-round, Pacific salmon is a late spring through summer catch. Its richness makes a fairly modest portion satisfying. In this recipe I paired it with fennel, pistachios and lemon. I started the fish fillet in a very hot oven (not quite volcanic, but about as hot as a home oven can get) then immediately cut the temperature down and let the salmon cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. It’s a fail-safe technique that guarantees against overcooking.

Ingredients

2        medium-size fennel bulbs

4        tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2        pounds king salmon fillet, skin on and pin bones removed

Salt and ground black pepper

2        tablespoons shelled unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

3        tablespoons lemon juice

½       cup dry white wine

Preparation

1.   Heat oven to 500 degrees. Trim any fronds from the fennel and chop 3 tablespoons of them and set aside. Thinly slice the fennel bulbs, discarding the cores. Select a baking dish or heavy skillet, which can go on top of the stove, to fit the salmon. Place it in the oven, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and when the butter has melted after a minute or so, scatter the fennel bulbs in the pan, turning it with tongs to coat with butter. Return pan to the oven for 10 minutes.

2.   Place the salmon, skin side down, in the baking dish on top of the fennel, season with salt and pepper and dot with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter. Return the pan to the oven. Reduce the heat to 225 degrees. Let bake 15 minutes for rare, 20 minutes for medium-rare. Turn off oven.

3.   When the salmon is done, transfer it to an oven-proof serving platter and surround with the cooked fennel. Tent with foil. Place in the turned-off oven with the door slightly ajar to keep warm.

4.   Place the baking pan on top of the stove on medium-high heat. Add the pistachios and give them a quick stir. Add the lemon juice and wine and bring to a lively simmer. Reduce the liquid to about 1/3 cup. Lower heat and whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter bit by bit. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, remove the fish and fennel from the oven and spoon the sauce over the fish. Strew the reserved fennel fronds over top and serve.

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Lentil Pasta

I went to the Farmer's Market and bought a lot of tomatoes they call "Softies". They are overripe and they discount them to $ 1.00 a pound. My mother would be proud of me. We  candied them and then made a favorite vegetarian pasta: Lentil Pasta. The sauce is so good and you would swear there is meat in it. We have made this many times. It is definitely a favorite and you should make it if you haven't! You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 22, 2008. Click the date to get the recipes for both the pasta and the tomatoes.

Scarpetta's Spaghetti With Tomato and Basil

Scarpetta's Spaghetti With Tomato and Basil is a favorite pasta of ours. One of the things that makes it so special, is that you half-cook the pasta. When it is half-cooked, you add it to the simmering sauce where it finishes cooking absorbing the sauce directly into the noodle. And it is Vegetarian! You can get the recipe on our blog of: August 6, 2015. Click the date to get the recipe.

Help us with this Recipe

We made Coconut-Poached Fish With Bok Choy, but neither of us remember if we liked it. The recipe is below. If you make it, let us know if you liked it. We either thought it was not special, or we drank so much wine while enjoying it, the memory is hazy. In either event here is the recipe and proof we made it!

Coconut-Poached Fish With Bok Choy

New York Times

YIELD       4 servings

TIME         25 minutes

This one pot, Thai-influenced dish couldn’t be easier to assemble, and its beautiful presentation makes it look like you spent a lot longer on dinner than you actually did. The poaching liquid does double duty by gently cooking the fish and wilting the bok choy. If bok choy is unavailable, another sturdy green, like kale or Napa cabbage, can be substituted. Serve with steamed jasmine rice to soak up some of the fragrant coconut milk broth.

Ingredients

4        (6-ounce) cod fillets or other flaky white fish

Kosher salt

2        tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1        large shallot, thinly sliced

2        garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1        (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

1        fresh Thai or Serrano chile, thinly sliced

2        (13 1/2-ounce) cans coconut milk

1-½   teaspoons fish sauce

1        teaspoon light brown sugar

About 7 ounces baby bok choy, ends trimmed and stalks separated

¼       cup roughly chopped cilantro, both leaves and tender stems

2        tablespoons thinly sliced scallion greens

Lime wedges (from 1 lime), for serving

Flaky salt (optional)

Preparation

1.   Season fish well with salt. In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, ginger and chile, and cook, stirring often until they become translucent, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.

2.   Add coconut milk, fish sauce and brown sugar, and whisk together until combined and sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a gentle simmer. Add cod fillets and turn the heat down to low. Cover and cook until cod is just cooked through and opaque, about 6 to 8 minutes. Carefully remove the fish and plate in bowls.

3.   Add bok choy to the coconut milk broth and turn heat to medium-low. Cook bok choy until leaves are wilted and stems are tender, about 1 to 2 minutes.

4.   Divide bok choy evenly alongside the fish and ladle the coconut milk broth over each portion. Top with cilantro, scallions and a good squeeze of lime, and serve with remaining wedges on the side. Garnish with flaky salt, if desired.

Hungry Cat Salad and Corn Pasta

Hungry Cat Salad

Even though Hungry Cat, the restaurant, has closed - we continue to make their Salad. I like the avocado, egg and lemon juice. It is a great salad. You can read about why it is called The Hungry Cat Salad on our blog post of: November 21, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Summer means Corn, which means making an old favorite: Corn Pasta. Since we had some tomatoes we added them to the recipe. You can get the recipe for the Corn Pasta on our blog of: July 17, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

Mustard-Roasted Fish

Fresh Baked Focaccia Bread

Summer Tomatoes ready for their close up!

I always think of Mustard-Roasted Fish as being a Bengali favorite dish. The Bengalis love Mustard-Roasted Fish. This recipe, however is not a Indian recipe and to me was a disappointment. Oh well, we tried. Won't make this one again, but would be happy to make a real Bengali recipe!

Once again we baked Focaccia Bread we purchased the dough at Cookbook in Echo Park. We served it with a Tomato Salad.

Mustard-Roasted Fish 

Barefoot Contessa

4       (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper

1       Kosher salt

½      freshly ground black pepper

8       ounces crème fraîche
3       tablespoons Dijon mustard 

1       tablespoon whole-grain mustard 

2       tablespoons minced shallots

2       teaspoons drained capers 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. 

Combine the crème fraîche, two mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it’s barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it’s done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top. 

Pork Fried Rice

The last of our Pork from July 4th became Pork Fried Rice. We use our recipe for Lobster Fried Rice which is a variation of the recipe for Crab Fried Rice. None the less it tasted great! You can get the recipe for Fried Rice from our blog of: April 4, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Shrimp Scampi With Orzo

We read this recipe for Shrimp Scampi With Orzo in The New York Times. It was interesting using Orzo rather than rice to absorb the sauce. I like Orzo. The dish was good, we will make it again.

One-Pan Shrimp Scampi With Orzo

New York Times

The universal appeal of shrimp scampi, frankly, isn’t the shrimp but the pan sauce: garlicky butter lightened with white wine and bursts of lemon, parsley and red-pepper flakes. Scampi is often tossed with pasta or served with crusty bread, but this version instead uses quick-cooking orzo. It simmers directly in the pan sauce, imparting a starchy gloss — and soaking up the garlicky scampi flavors. Toss the shrimp with some garlic, lemon zest and red-pepper flakes to marinate while the pasta gets a head start on the stove, then simply toss the shrimp on top of the orzo to steam. It all comes together in a flash, and feels effortless. Pair this dish with Caesar salad, steamed broccoli or arugula, or bask in its simple comfort, straight from a spoon.

Ingredients

1      pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

3      tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1      tablespoon fresh lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice (from 1 lemon)

½     teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Kosher salt and black pepper

4      garlic cloves, minced

2      tablespoons unsalted butter

1      cup orzo

⅓     cup dry white wine

2      cups boiling water, seafood stock, or chicken stock

3      tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Preparation

1.  In a medium bowl, stir together the shrimp, 1 tablespoon olive oil, the lemon zest, red-pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and half the garlic. Set aside to marinate (this step can be done up to 1 hour in advance).

2.  To a medium skillet, add the butter, the remaining olive oil and garlic, and heat over medium. When the butter starts to bubble, add the orzo and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the orzo is toasted, about 2 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent the garlic from burning. Carefully add the wine (it will bubble) and stir until absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir in the water or stock, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the orzo is al dente, about 12 minutes.

3.  Add the shrimp in a snug, even layer on top of the orzo, cover, and cook until all the shrimp is pink and cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, 2 minutes.

4.  Sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

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Braised Pork in Caramelized Soy Sauce

Tomatoes with Burrata and Pesto

We still had more left over Pork from July 4th. We made : Braised Pork in Caramelized Soy Sauce. We made the same dish last year using some of the leftover July 4th Pork. You can get the recipe on our blog of: July 10, 2018. Click the date to get the recipe.

Spinach and Gorgonzola-stuffed Baked Potatoes

July 4th Leftovers

We had leftover food from our July 4th dinner. Cathy decided to make Spinach and Gorgonzola-stuffed Baked Potatoes from a recipe by Ottolenghi. Cathy is not a fan of Gorgonzola Cheese so she substituted White Cheddar Cheese. The potatoes were great. They were a perfect accompaniment to the delicious leftovers!

Spinach and Gorgonzola-stuffed Baked Potatoes

Simple

Ottolenghi

I love the strong blue cheese here, but use any other cheese that you have around or prefer—it’ll work just as well. This is either a meal in itself, to serve two, or works well to serve four, alongside a simple steak and fresh green salad. The walnuts are optional, but they do add a welcome Crunch.

If Esme could have had her way, there would have been more recipes for baked potatoes here. With both apologies and thanks to Esme, this is for those that didn’t get in and the two winners that did.

Serves two as a main or four as a side

2              large russet potatoes

1-1/2       tbsp unsalted butter

3              tbsp heavy cream

2-1/4       Gorgonzola

salt and black pepper

7 oz        baby spinach leaves

2              tbsp walnut halves, lightly toasted and broken up into 1/2-inch pieces (optional)

1.  Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2.  Poke the potatoes a few times with a fork and then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour or just over, until the flesh is soft all the way through. Remove from the oven and slice the potatoes in half, lengthwise. Scoop the flesh out into a medium bowl, setting the skins aside on the sheet for later. Roughly mash the potato with 1 tbsp of the butter, the cream, Gorgonzola, 1/2 tsp ,of salt, and a generous grind of pepper and set aside.

3.  Take the remaining 1/2 tbsp of butter and divide it among the potato cavities. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and return to the oven for 8 minutes, for the skin to become crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside.

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4.  Place a medium saucepan, halfway filled with salted water, over high heat. Once boiling, add the spinach for about 10-15 seconds, just to wilt. Drain the spinach, squeezing out as much of the water as possible. Stir into the potato flesh, to combine, then spoon the mash back inside the empty skins, piled high. Bake for 15 minutes, until the top of the mash is crisp and browned. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the walnuts, and serve.