Recipes

Salmon en Croute

Ingredients
1 pound fresh spinach
4 (6 ounces each) salmon fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 sheets puff pastry
1 cup mustard béchamel (recipe follows)
1 egg, beaten

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400*F. 

2. Place spinach in microwaveable container with 1 tablespoon water.  Cover and microwave 5 minutes.  (You might need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your container.) 

3. Season salmon with salt and pepper.  Roll both sheets of puff pastry out.  Place 2 salmon pieces side by side in the middle of one sheet of pastry.  Spread with ¹⁄₂ cup béchamel then spread ¹⁄₂ spinach over béchamel.  Fold sides of pastry over salmon and spinach and press edges to seal into packet.  Flip seam-side down and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Repeat with remaining ingredients then brush each pastry bundle with beaten egg. 

4. Bake until golden brown and puffy, 30 to 45 minutes. 

Basic Mustard Béchamel Recipe
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons butter
¹⁄₂ cup flour
1 ¹⁄₂ cups whole milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons mustard
Pinch nutmeg

Instructions
1. Melt butter and olive oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming.  Add flour.  Cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes or until bubbling.  Slowly add milk, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth.  Cook, stirring often, 10 to 12 minutes or until sauce thickens.  Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and mustard.  Note: Extra can be frozen, just thaw very slowly over low heat. 

Comments
This recipe is from La Receta de la Felicidad and, thankfully, there was a translation provided so I was able to prepare it!  I thought it was very tasty and I enjoyed the leftovers, although I’d recommend heating leftovers in either the toaster oven on bake or in the oven.  The microwave will make the pastry soggy.  This is a very enjoyable dish and was quite pretty, at least before I cut into it.  For a nicer presentation, cut the pastry in half and make 4 bundles instead of just 2.

Internet - La Receta de la Felicidad

Roast Sirloin with Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients
1 (2-3 pound) sirloin roast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups red wine
¹⁄₄ cup red onion, minced
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 500*F. 

2. Season roast on all sides with salt and pepper.  Place in heavy ovensafe skillet and transfer to oven.  Cook 10 minutes then carefully turn roast and cook 10 more minutes. 

3. Reduce heat to 350*F and continue to cook until meat reaches 135*F.  Remove from oven and skillet, wrap with foil and rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. 

4. Meanwhile, put wine and onion in small skillet and cook over high heat until wine becomes thick and syrupy.  Remove from heat and stir in butter. 

5. Slice meat thinly and serve with sauce. 

Ingredients
This recipe isn’t from anywhere, it’s just a basic roast beef recipe with a simple sauce.  I think I overcooked the meat a little, which is a shame since it’s sirloin.  It was a tasty roast regardless and it made great leftover sandwiches too.

Person - Gwen

Chicken Fauxganoff

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
¹⁄₂ medium onion, sliced into half moons
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
¹⁄₄ cup sherry
¹⁄₂ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 bay leaves
¹⁄₄ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1-2 cups frozen peas
¹⁄₂ cup fresh parsley, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cooked egg noodles, for serving

Instructions
1. Toss chicken with paprika, flour, salt and pepper. 

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook until browned, about 7 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside. 

3. Add onions and mushrooms to skillet.  Sauté until mushrooms have released their liquid and begin to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. 

4. Deglaze the skillet with sherry, stirring, for about a minute.  Add broth, tomato paste, and bay leaves.  Stir to combine. 

5. Return chicken, with any juices that have accumulated, to skillet and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in yogurt, peas, and parsley.  Cook 2 more minutes until peas are heated through. 

6. Serve stroganoff with egg noodles. 

Comments
This recipe is from Bev Cooks.  I added the peas and, as you can see from the photo, I added way too many!  I’d suggest sticking to just a cup or two instead of the entire bag like I did.  I’d also want to add more mushrooms if I make this again – up it to a whole pound instead of 8 ounces.  I thought the recipe was tasty although we wouldn’t call this dish stroganoff!  I’m not sure what I’d call it, but it’s not like any sort of stroganoff I know of.

Internet - Bev Cooks

Mashed Potatoes with Cottage Cheese

Ingredients
4 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
¹⁄₃ cup half and half
¹⁄₄ cup unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
¹⁄₄ cup cottage cheese, pureed (I pureed mine in my hand blender.  Use whatever works for you.)
2 tablespoons chives, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Place potatoes in large pot and fill with water.  Salt water well then bring water to boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook potatoes until fork tender, about 25 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, bring half and half, butter, and garlic to simmer in small saucepan.  Remove from heat. 

3. Drain potatoes in colander and return to pot.  Mash potatoes and taste for salt, add more if necessary.  Pour half and half mixture over potatoes and stir well until combined and potatoes are as smooth as you want them to be. 

4. Stir in pureed cottage cheese, chives, and taste for seasoning.  Add more salt and pepper if desired. 

Comments
This recipe is from Spoon Fork Bacon and was originally called “Heavenly Mashed Potatoes.”  I didn’t find them very heavenly, but they were certainly scrumptious.  The cottage cheese isn’t detectable in the finished product but I’m sure it adds a nice creaminess without the addition of extra cream.  The garlic, of course, helped too! 

Shown here with Roasted Lamb Shoulder.

Internet - Spoon Fork Bacon

Roasted Lamb Shoulder

Ingredients
1 (2 to 3 pounds) lamb shoulder
1 bunch fresh rosemary
1 head garlic, separated and peeled (My heads are small, so I used two.)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 500*F. 

2. Place half rosemary and half garlic in bottom of Dutch Oven.  Rub lamb all over with olive oil then season with salt and pepper.  Place lamb on top of rosemary and garlic then top with remaining rosemary and garlic.  Tightly cover and place in oven.  Reduce heat to 325*F and cook until meat falls apart, about 4 hours. 

Comments
This recipe is from foodnetwork.com and I used the first lamb from our recent lamb order to make it.  I’m not sure where I went wrong, but I wasn’t thrilled with it.  I didn’t trust that it really needed to be cooked for 4 hours so I just cooked it until it reached 145*F.  Even then, it seemed overcooked.  I’m not sure if I should have trusted the recipe and cooked it the full 4 hours, or what, but it seems like it would have been completely unpalatable at that point.  Who knows, though, maybe it would have turned into something like pot roast?  I’m just not sure.  From reading the reviews, it seems like I should have trusted it with the entire 4 hours.  Seems scary!

Shown here with Mashed Potatoes with Cottage Cheese.

Internet - Food TV

Baked Egg Boats

Ingredients
2 sourdough rolls or small baguettes
5 eggs
¹⁄₃ cup half and half
4 ounces pancetta, finely chopped and fried until crisp
3 ounces gruyere cheese, grated
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2-4 thin pats butter

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Cut off tops of bread and partially unstuff dough from middle. 

2. Beat together eggs and half and half.  Stir in remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper.  Pour mixture evenly into each roll.  If space remains at top of hollow, chop removed bread bits and place on top.  Place pats of butter on top. 

3. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, puffed, and set in center.  Cool 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Spoon Fork Bacon and variations on the theme have been all over the blogosphere recently.  I screwed up when making it and ended up using loaves of bread that were much too large.  Then I had to double everything and it didn’t work very well.  I think the key is using smaller rolls – round ones or small baguettes.  You could also use one long baguette and just make one. 

The end result was tasty, just not as tasty as it could be!  I’m sure there are endless varieties, since this is basically just quiche in a bread bowl.  Yum!

Internet - Spoon Fork Bacon

Lox Rangoons

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 ounces lox
2 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons fresh chives, minced
24 wonton wrappers

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Combine cream cheese, salmon, and chives in medium bowl.  Spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray then place a wonton wrapper in each cup.  Spray tops of wontons with cooking spray then bake 5 minutes. 

3. Spoon 1 tablespoon salmon mixture into each wonton.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until wontons are crisp. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Way To His Heart.  It’s a baked take on crab rangoons that uses salmon instead of crab.  The original recipe doesn’t call to prebake the wontons but I wish I had so I’ve included that step in this recipe. 

The flavors were very nice and tasty, Lance and I had them as a lunchtime snack and finished them off pretty quickly!

Internet - The Way To His Heart

Garlic Stuffed Petite Tender Roast

Ingredients
For roasted garlic
1 whole head garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 to 3 pound petite tender (or whatever you’ve got to work with)
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced
1 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
1 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Mix peeled garlic with thyme, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.  Pour onto aluminum foil and wrap tightly to seal. 

3. Bake 35 minutes.  Remove from oven, unseal, and let cool. 

4. Reduce oven heat to 225*F. 

5. Mix garlic, thyme, rosemary, and olive oil in small bowl. 

6. Cut petite tender in half or cut a deep pocket into it depending on the size.  Mine was super teeny (a bit less than 1 pound) so I just cut a pocket into it. 

7. Fill pocket with roasted garlic or place garlic between two halves of petite tender.  Tie closed with butcher twine.  Rub meat well with garlic and herb mixture from small bowl. 

8. Cook until meat reaches desired doneness.  Instant read thermometer should reach 135*F for medium rare.  Tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from dfw.com.  I was foiled a bit by the teeny size of my petite tender, but I decided to run with it and we ended up with a pretty tasty meal.  The meat is super flavorful like a good steak, but it was almost as tender as a filet mignon.  The roasted garlic added a great touch and I want to revisit my garlic stuffed filet roast recipe using roasted garlic as the stuffing.  This was a delicious preparation for this cut.

Internet - DFW

Chicken Congee

Ingredients
1 cup white rice
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

For the marinade
1 teaspoon corn starch
4 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sherry
2 inches ginger, peeled and minced
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices

For the congee
2 inches ginger, peeled and minced
6 cups water
8 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons sesame oil
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground white pepper
Salt, to taste
1 bunch green onions, sliced

Instructions
1. Place rice in sieve over bowl.  Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and water to cover rice.  Stir and soak at least 30 minutes. 

2. Combine all marinade ingredients and marinate chicken for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. 

3. When rice finishes soaking, remove from water and drain.  Place rice, ginger, water, and chicken broth in large pot or Dutch oven over high heat.  Stir well.  Bring to boil then reduce heat to medium.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until congee reaches desired consistency. 

4. Add chicken, increase heat to high, and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through.  Stir in sesame oil, white pepper and salt to taste.  Garnish with green onion before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Smoky Wok.  I’ve only ever had congee once or twice in restaurants; sadly it isn’t commonly offered in Chinese places around here.  I tried making it once many years ago and then I guess it fell off my radar.  I saw this recipe online the other day and knew that I had to make it, especially since I was under the weather and it was getting chilly out.  Congee is a great cold weather food.  It’s warming and cozy. 

This recipe is lovely.  In appearance, this looks quite a bit like Avgolemono.  The similarity ends with appearance and excellence.  I can’t wait to make this again and, thankfully, it’s a super simple recipe that involves very little in the way of prep!  I actually doubled the ginger accidentally while making this, but we all loved the added kick so I’ll be making it that way in the future and have changed the recipe to reflect this.

Internet - Smoky Wok

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 handfuls baby carrots, roughly chopped
3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
3 pounds ground beef
6-8 ounces bacon, cut into small pieces
2 cups tomato paste
3 cups red wine
Water
3 bay leaves
1 bunch thyme, tied in a bundle

Instructions
1. Combine onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and mushrooms in food processor and process until a smooth paste forms.  Heat oil in large pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add pureed vegetables and season with salt.  Cook, stirring, until water has evaporated and vegetables brown, about 15 to 25 minutes. 

2. Add ground beef and bacon and cook, stirring, another 15-25 minutes until beef and bacon are well browned. 

3. Add tomato paste and cook until color darkens, about 5 minutes.  Add wine and cook until reduced by half, 5 to 10 minutes. 

4. Add water until contents of Dutch oven are completely covered.  Add bay leaves and thyme, stir well to combine.  Increase heat to high and bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 3 ¹⁄₂ to 4 hours.  As water evaporates, add more 2 to 3 cups at a time.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

5. Remove bay leaves and thyme.  Serve with pasta and Parmesan cheese.  This recipe makes enough sauce for two to four pounds of pasta, depending on how saucy you like your pasta. 

Comments
This recipe is from Anne Burrell via Food Network.  She is a nut and I love her.  I’ve never actually made Bolognese from scratch before and, for whatever reason, I thought it would be fun to try and a good way to use up three entire pounds of ground beef. 

Lance declared this the perfect spaghetti sauce.  He prefers his sauce to be on the meaty side and this certainly qualifies.  I’m not sure where I stand in the sauce spectrum.  I appreciate tomato-based sauces as well as a good meaty sauce.  I guess it just depends on my mood!

I did add bacon and mushrooms to the recipe which, I believe, enhanced the flavors in the sauce.  This clearly got Lance’s vote and Art and I both enjoyed the sauce as well.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Internet - Food TV