Saturday, September 19, 2009

Potato and Dill Crusted Salmon


If you want to impress your guests, look no further...this is your recipe. It sounds and looks diabolically hard to do, but I promise you it is easy. The question I am most often asked is "how do the potatoes stay on the fish? Don't they stick to the pan and make a mess?"
The answer to that question is no they do not! They stay right where they are supposed to stay...on the fish. And, it is a beautiful presentation. You have the golden brown of the potatoes, and through that you see the leafy green sprigs of dill, and then the pink of the salmon. Beautiful! Delicious!

This is another recipe I will have to talk you through, as it is more procedure than anything else. So, here goes...

Potato and Dill Crusted Salmon

Center cut salmon filets however many you need. Remove the skin from the back of the filets and then butterfly them (cut through horizontally) but don't slice all the way through.

Idaho potatoes - 1-2 should be more than enough. Slice long, thin slices from the potatoes with a vegetable peeler. Soak the slices in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Fresh dill sprigs

Procedure:

Take each butterflied filet (leave open) and pat with a little vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a few dill sprigs across each filet. Then overlap thinly sliced potatoes across the entire filet. Add enough of the vegetable oil to a large fry pan to coat the bottom and heat on a medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the filets potato side down. Then pat a little oil on the top side, add the dill sprigs, and the overlapping potato slices. Continue sauteing the filets on the first side until the potatoes are crisp and golden brown. Gently, with a spatula, flip the filets (no, the potatoes won't fall off) to the other side. Continue sauteing the second side until the potatoes on that side are golden brown. And viola! The fish is cooked through, the potatoes are crisp and golden, the dill sprigs are peeking through and you are a genius! Really, it is such a pretty dish to serve and truly delicious. I hope you will try it and report back.

P.S. Depending on the size of your pan, don't saute more than 2-3 filets at a time - you don't want to crowd them.




Saturday, September 5, 2009

Faux Fried Chicken Wings



Since I am making these as we speak, for part of my son's birthday dinner tomorrow, I decided to post about them. First, let me say, the dilemma in our house is always "are they better hot from the oven, or are they better cold the next day"? The answer is...we can't decide. We love them hot and we love them cold. Maybe we lean a teensy bit toward cold which is good news for any of you who decide to make them - you can do them the day before and clean up the mess in advance.

These little babies are addictive. Crispy, flavorful, just plain yummy. You can serve them as the main meal or as an appetizer. If serving as a main meal, we like to add twice baked potatoes with cheddar cheese and corn on the cob to complete the menu. Mmmm.. you are going to love these!

Now, the hard part...telling you how to make them, because it's not one of those measure the ingredients kind of recipe.
I will do my best...here goes...I'm just going to talk it out:

Our Favorite Chicken Wings

8-10 lbs. of chicken wings, disjointed, tips discarded (or freeze and use to make chicken stock)
Rinse chicken off and let drain in a colander.

Mazola oil

Flour - fill a quart size zip lock bag about 1/3 full of flour or Wondra - season the flour liberally with Lawry's Seasoned Salt, garlic powder, and pepper. You want to put enough seasoning in so you can smell it.

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375*

Line cookie sheets, with sides, with heavy duty aluminum foil

Pour oil in a shallow bowl. Shake 5-6 wings in the bag of seasoned flour, then roll in the oil (yes, I know the opposite of what you would normally do) let some of the oil drain off the wing and place on the foil lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the wings, adding more oil to the bowl as needed - taking care not to crowd the wings too tightly together on the cookie sheets. Depending on how many wings you make, you will need 2-3 large cookie sheets.

Bake in oven for 1 1/2 hours, turning once, or until both sides of the wing are deep golden brown. (when you turn be careful to go underneath the wing and loosen it from the foil without leaving the skin stuck to the foil - that's where all your flavor is).

When they are done, remove to a platter or bowl lined with paper towels and drain. Then dig in! Hee hee hee...I can almost hear the moaning going on :) Please let me know your verdict...better hot or cold??