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.

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??

Summer? What Summer??

Ok, this is ridiculous...it's the end of August here in Chicago, and for the next few days, the highs will be in the 60's and the lows in the 40's!!! We have had the worst summer on record for a long time. This should be October weather, not August weather. It's so unfair...winter is on it's way. Way too soon. So, please forgive me if my thoughts have turned to...chili! Yes, it's that miserable here. I want a big, steeping, spicy bowl of chili to warm me up in...August. Oh, did I forget to mention it's been raining practically every day? It's damp, windy, dreary...I could go on and on, but why? Just cut to the chase and make the damn chili! This is one of my favorites:

Chili (in August, in Chicago)

6 Tbls. oil
4 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 small bulb of garlic. minced
3 lbs. ground chuck
3 lbs. sirloin, cubed
2 1 lb.12 oz. cans whole, peeled, tomatoes (or tomatoe puree if you prefer)
1 small can tomatoe paste
1 tsp. cumin seed
3 Tbls. hot chili powder
3 Tbls. mild chili powder
1 Tbls. salt
1/2 Tbls. oregano
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbls. pequin quebraba (some grocery stores, or Mexican market)
1 Tbls. chili caribe (some grocery stores, or Mexican market)
1 tsp. sugar
2 cans pinto or kidney beans, drained
16 0z. tomatoe juice

In a large pot brown meat, in oil, in batches. Remove to large bowl. Brown onions and garlic. Place meat back in pot. Add all other ingredients and simmer for 2 hours. Adjust seasonings as desired. If you live in Chicago, serve. If you live in a warmer climate, well...I'm jealous!

Sesame Noodles # 3, 2, & 1

I love Sesame noodles. Therefore, I couldn't decide which recipe to post for you all. So...I am going to give you my top 3 faves in order of deliciousness, starting with # 3. They are all different, they are all yummy. You be the judge. You can eat these as is, or turn them into more of a main dish by adding cooked chicken. As a side dish, they will add a nice hearty zing to almost any meal you are serving. Here goes:

Sesame Noodles # 3

12 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked, drained, cooled
1 diced green pepper
1 diced red pepper
1 diced orange pepper
1 diced yellow pepper
3 thinly sliced green onions

Dressing:

1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 small clove garlic (or more, if you like), minced
1 tsp. hot chili oil, or to taste

Whisk dressing ingredients together and toss with pasta and diced vegetables. Chill and serve.


Sesame Noodles # 2

12 oz. linguine noodles, cooked, drained, cooled

Dressing:

1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
6 Tbls. cold water
1 Tbls. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic (or more), minced
6 Tbls. creamy peanut butter
3 Tbls. Asian sesame oil
1 tsp. hot chili oil, or to taste

Place soy sauce, vinegar, water, sugar, salt, ginger, and garlic, in a food processor. Process on high speed until ginger and garlic are smooth. Add the peanut butter, process 1 minute longer. Combine the oils and with the processor running on low speed, drizzle them through the feed tube, and process until completely combined.

Place the cooked linguine in a large bowl and toss with 1 1/2 cups of the dressing. Chill and serve.


Sesame Noodles # 1

1 12 oz. package linguine, cooked, drained, cooled
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, cut into matchsticks

Dressing:

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbls. oriental sesame oil
2 Tbls. red wine vinegar
1 Tbls. vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tbls. sugar
1 Tbls. prepared chili sauce with garlic

Place noodles, peppers, and green onions in a large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Chill, serve.

I hope some of you try one or all of these and let me know what you think and which is your favorite. Enjoy!

Puff Pastry Pizza Appetizer # 2

I love puff pastry. I could probably write a blog just using all my recipes for various ways in which to use these tender, flaky little gems. So versatile. So impressive when served. So satisfying when your friends think you're a genius. So easy! This is another good pizza type appetizer (refer back to # 1) to serve with cocktails or as an accompaniment to a main dish salad for lunch or dinner. Any way you serve it, it will be delicious, and most important...your friends will be impressed :)

Puff Pastry Pizza # 2

1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry - defrost according to pkg. directions
3 cups (or more - you decide) swiss cheese, shredded; divided
2 lbs. plum tomatoes, thinly sliced and blotted dry
1 cup (or more) green olives, sliced or chopped
good quality olive oil

Lightly roll out puff pastry sheets. Cut each into 1/4's and crimp edges. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and sprinkle each square with shredded swiss cheese, sliced tomatoes and green olives. Drizzle with a little olive oil and top with remaining shredded swiss cheese. Bake at 375* for 20 - 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and cheese is bubbling.
Serve. When your guests applaud, feel free to take a bow :)

Corny!

If you are looking for a great summer side dish look no further. This corn salad is easy, flavorful, and really attractive displayed in a pretty glass bowl. Did I mention easy? Everything is pretty much in season now, so go to your Farmer's Market and get your vegetables as fresh as possible. You can serve this salad with almost anything - steaks, chops, chicken, you name it. It's crunchy, colorful, and a little spicy depending on how much heat you decide to add. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of chilies and cumin to satisfy your personal taste buds.

Summer Corn Salad

4 12 oz. cans of Green Giant corn, drained
1 large tomato, diced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
4 green chilies (or 1 small can) diced
1 small can artichoke hearts hearts, quarted

Dressing

1/2 Tbls. cumin
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
3 Tbls. minced parsley
2 Tbls. lemon juice
2 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

Blend all vegetables together in a large glass bowl and toss with the dressing. Let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Didn't I tell you...easy!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

If given a choice between a chocolate dessert or a lemon dessert, I always go for the lemon. I love the tart, refreshing, citrusy bite of lemons, especially in the summer. This dessert combines 2 of my favorite things...lemons and good vanilla ice cream. Since it's frozen, it's a great dessert to have on hand in your freezer for when guests stop by. I love the contrast between the tart lemon filling and the sweet vanilla ice cream. I usually make two at a time...one to share and one to have just because! This recipe calls for a 9 inch frozen pie shell, baked according to package instructions - but I usually make a graham cracker or ginger snap crust - up to you.

Frozen Lemon Pie

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker or ginger snap crumbs
6 Tbls. butter, melted
1 Tbls. sugar
Combine ingredients and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes - cool on wire rack

Filling:

1/2 cup of butter
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 Tbls. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 quart of vanilla ice cream, softened

Melt butter in top of a double boiler. Add lemon juice, lemon rind, salt, and sugar. Beat the eggs and egg yolks thoroughly. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Cook over hot (not boiling) water, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Remove from heat and chill. Press softened ice cream into pie shell and freeze. Spread lemon filling over the frozen ice cream and freeze. When frozen cover with Saran. When ready to serve, top with a dollop of whipped cream.
A great summer dessert!