Now That's Really Good Stuff!!!

You gotta eat every day - that's a given. And it's always nice if the food you eat tastes good. Usually our food is good, but sometimes our food (which I'm responsible for, except for the excellent grilling hubby GB does) is simply outstanding! This weekend we had four incredible dishes. Salmon, a stir-fry and lemon cookies. (Also had spontaneous twice-baked potatoes. Thought we were having 5 for dinner and ended up with 9. So I cut the 6 taters I'd baked in half and made them into twice-baked! Never made them before, and I got lucky - they were delicious!)

Below are 3 of the 4 recipes. Twice-baked recipe to come! 

Yes, the asparagus was slightly over-done, and, yes, the color of that plate is hideous. I'm throwing it away now. But the salmon on that plate? It was simply spectacular!

 

Salmon with Maple-Lemon Glaze

3 T. fresh lemon juice

4 T. real maple syrup

2 T. cider vinegar

2 T. canola oil 

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. skinless salmon filet

1 t. salt (or to taste)

1 t. fresh ground pepper (to taste)

cooking spray or canola oil

Preheat broiler. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add fish to bag, seal pressing air out of bag. Let marinate 15 minutes. Remove fish from bag, reserving marinade. Place marinade in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high till hot. Heat a large oven-proof nonstick or iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish evenly with the salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spary or canola oil. Add fish to pan, skinned side up, and cook about 3 minutes. Coat with marinade and turn fish over. If filet is quite thick, cook for another 2-3 minutes on the stove top. After that, or if your filet is thin, brush with more marinade and put in the oven to broil for another 3 or so minutes or until the fish flakes easily and is browned. Yield:  4 - 6 servings. Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, April 2009

How can anyone cook without iron skillets in their kitchen???

TSAnnie's By the Seat of my Pants Stir-Fry

8 oz. snow peas (how Stew Leonard's sells them), trimmed

8 oz. sugar snap peas (see above), trimmed

8 oz. or so frozen petite peas

1 smallish red pepper, cut in 1/4" X 1" strips

1 mediumish vadilia onion, cut in 1/4" rounds, then quarter those

canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

soy sauce

ground ginger

House of Tsang's Classic Stir Fry Sauce

Heat a large iron skillet and add canola oil to it to coat it, about 1 - 2 T. Add the onions and cook until they're becoming translucent. Add the pepper strips and cook a minute or two longer. Add the snow and sugar snap peas. Cook for about 5 minutes, adding soy sauce, ginger and stir fry sauce to your taste. Add frozen peas and stir around just to let them thaw. Serve over brown rice. Or not, it's up to you. 

This would be delicious with garlic added to it, fresh ginger...above is just a jumping off point. (And you don't really need the House of Tsang's sauce - just makes things easier.) 

My recipe I made up in my own little mind...

Lastly, these wonderful biscotti-like, cookie-like thingys that Martha Stewart's magazine "Everyday Cooking" calls Glazed Lemon Cookies. Just delicious, but cookies that should definitely be consumed within 48 hours of making them. The glaze just doesn't hold up. 

Glazed Lemon Cookies

2 C. flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 T.++finely grated lemon zest

2 T.++fresh lemon juice

1 stick unsalted butter @ room temp.

1 C. sugar

1 large egg

1 t. pure vanilla extract

(Lemon Glaze recipe to follow)

As far as the lemon zest and lemon juice goes, amounts given above are recipe specific - add more (I did) to your own lemon-love taste.) Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until combined.  With mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart (personally, next time I'll drop the dough by heaping bite-size teaspoonsful), onto two baking sheets (that are lined with parchment paper - I always use it). Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Dip cookies in Lemon Glaze (I dipped them twice and it was a very good thing to do!) and let set for about an hour. 

Lemon Glaze

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 C.++ confectioners' sugar, 2 T. finely grated lemon zest and 1/3 C. fresh lemon juice until smooth.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food , A Martha Stewart Magazine, May 2009.

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xoabb

expect good eating!