Back in the Saddle

Well, I'm back after a long hiatus! After two years of canned soup for me and packaged pot roast for Kevin while we juggled our teaching load at SCAD, I'm climbing gingerly back into the cooking saddle. There couldn't be a better time to do it; summer in upstate New York means tons of fresh and tasty produce courtesy both of Wegman's (the best grocery store in the world) and of the many farmers' markets in the area, and it's also the perfect moment to dine al fresco. Temperatures are only getting up into the 80s here during the day. We might freeze our fingers and toes off in March, but in July we've got it made.

So, to ease back into cooking, I'm trying easy, fool-proof recipes, since my culinary ego is too fragile to handle spectacular failure. For dinner last night, I tried Mark Bittman's four-spice salmon, which is meant to be coated in a crust of ground coriander, nutmeg, ground cloves, and cumin and then pan-fried in a neutral oil or clarified butter. I decided to broil it to cut down on fat, but it definitely needed the frying to make a nice crust. When I make it again, I'm going to lighten up considerably on the cloves and rub the fish only lightly with the spices. Good salmon doesn't need a ton of added flavor, in my book. On the side, I made a red potato and green bean salad with shallot-sherry vinaigrette, sprinkled with crumbled feta and fresh dill. FABULOUS--and it would also make a great summer lunch. I also broiled peach halves with a little nutmeg on top. Teamed with a beer for Kevin and a G & T for me, it was a terrific summer meal!

Recipes:
The Minimalist's Four-Spice Salmon--http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/the-minimalist-four-spice-salmon/

Green Bean and Red Potato Salad--http://www.acouplecooks.com/2011/06/green-bean-potato-and-dill-salad/

Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. Give me a traditional Turkey dinner with all the trimmings any day of the week and I'll be a happy girl. Robin, Win and Tom...not so much. They think the traditional feast is for the birds. So with that said, Molly and I knew we had to kick it up a notch this year...and we were ready!
I am happy to report that this year's meal may have converted them to lovers of the Thanksgiving meal. Everything was just amazing. I call it traditional, but with a twist. Yummy Turkey and Gravy (a la Molly) and yummy sides (a la Me)! And I can't forget Molly's Pecan Sweet Potato Pie (OMG)! I wish I would have documented the meal better. Thankfully, Robin had sense enough to snap this quick shot.

2010 Riley Thanksgiving Feast- Pass Christian, MS

Roasted Turkey stuffed with LA Satsumas, Onions and Celery

Cauliflower Mash with Horseradish and Parmesan

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Maple Syrup

Roasted Carrots with Herbs de Provence

Rice and Gravy (Just gotta have it)

Cranberry Sauce (Old school canned variety)

Salad with Blue Cheese, Apples and Walnuts

Pecan Sweet Potato Pie

Lots and lots of Champagne and Wine

I COULD list every recipe in detail, but that would be madness. So, I decided to just post one of the luscious sides. I went back and forth between the Brussels Sprouts and the Cauliflower Mash, but settled on the Brussels Sprouts. If you would like a recipe for the Cauliflower (It's a real winner), just let me know. Enjoy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Maple Syrup

Brussels Sprouts- Cleaned and cut in half ( think I had about 2 lbs)

1/2 lb Bacon- Fry it up, crumble into pieces and set it off to the side. Save the grease!!!!!!

Maple Syrup- Use the real stuff, no Ms. Butterworth! :)

Salt

Red Chili Flakes

In a large bowl, coat the cleaned veggies in the reserved bacon fat. Mix well. (You don't need to use all of the grease, but be sure the sprouts are glistening.) Then, throw them out onto a large cookie sheet, cut side face down. Drizzle with maple syrup and chili flakes and little sprinkling of course salt. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes. Half way through, turn the sprouts over. This will make the entire sprout crispy and delicious.

After 30-45 minutes (or whenever they are fork-tender and a little crispy), pull them out and toss with the crumbled bacon pieces and a few more chili flakes. Serve and watch them disappear!

Chris Inglis' Sticky Date Pudding with Pear and Ginger

When I was 6 years old the Riley family moved into the house across from us in Auckland, New Zealand. It was as exciting as a flash of magnesium.

I can’t put it any better than my father who, when thinking about the Riley home, wrote “all I can do is recount stories of a lost civilization straight from H. Rider Haggard. How Margarette fished out a drowned cat from their pool, Robin cooking 3 sheep, a boar and 5 turkeys on a barbecue he brought back from Texas, Molly's sweet potato in orange skins and cassis jelly. The butchering of Bill Gates and his dreadful computer operating system.”

One of my father’s main contributions to all this was his infamous sticky date cake. He started making it in 1990 when Suzy and I were 10 and he has been making it ever since. Still going strong, this blog is its latest incarnation...

Sticky Date Pudding with pear and ginger

Cake
20 pitted dates, diced and fresh are nice
1.25 cups of water
1 teaspoon baking soda
60g of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1.5 cups of self-raising flour
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
2 pears peeled, cored and cut into slices

Place dates, water and baking soda in a pot large enough to take all the mixture
Boil 5 minutes and remove from heat
Stir in chopped up butter until melted
Mix in sugar and eggs

Fold in flour, ginger and pear slices and pour mixture into cake tin lined with baking paper.
Bake at 180 deg C for 60 mins.

Caramel sauce
3 tablsp water
1 cup white sugar
2 tblsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup of cream

Heat water, sugar, golden syrup and vanilla in a pot until sugar dissolves.
Bring to a fast boil for about 2 mins. Add cream and boil for another 2-3 mins
until slightly thickened. Sauce will keep in the fridge for several days.

Pear, Stilton & Honey Roasted Betroot

There is a farm shop up the road from our house which sells wonderful beetroot called ‘dirty beets’. I tried them roasted in this salad and they were great. The quantity below serves 3 people as a main or 5 as a side salad.

Ingredients

4 large ripe pears

8 beetroot trimmed, scrubbed and peeled

A portion of stilton cheese (I used blue)

Lots of fresh rocket

2 tbs. clear honey

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dash of olive oil

For the dressing mix the following:

4 tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tbs. good olive oil

2 tbs. very finely chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp. sugar

Rock salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Slice the prepared beetroot into quarter wedges and boil in a large pan of water for 20 minutes. Drain and add to a large roasting tin with a dash of olive oil. Drizzle the 2 tbsp of clear honey over the beetroots. Add a sprinkling of black pepper. Shake the dish to ensure the beetroot is coated. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.

While the beetroot are boiling, peel the pears, slice into wedges and remove cores. Place in a small roasting tin and roast for approximately 10 minutes.

Leave to cool separately (otherwise the beetroot will colour the pears).

When you’re ready to eat, add the beetroot and pears to the rocket, crumble the stilton over and mix through the dressing.

Mediterranean Feast

For the past month or so, I have been consumed with our latest house project, the creation of a "master suite." Winston would argue that our contractor Andy is actually creating a new office and bath for him, but that's another post altogether. :) Now that Andy is 75% complete, I'm back to thinking about food, not tile, paint, or light fixtures.

This delicious meal was whipped up in the midst of the renovations. We were without air conditioning for about 2.5 weeks, so I used our grill as much as possible. Enjoy!

First on the list was this lovely Chickpea Salad.

1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 tomato-diced

1 handful of cilantro or parsley- ripped into small bits
olive oil and balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic-diced

salt and pepper

Combine and let it sit on the counter while you are making the rest of the meal. It gets better over time.

Next, was a quick Tahini and Yogurt Dip.

Greek yogurt-plain

tahini- 2 tbs or so depending on your taste

salt and pepper

glug of olive oil

Combine and set in the frig until serving. Serve with pita

Next was the grilling! Most of you probably know that I refuse to eat beef (I'm weird like that), but I love lamb! Don't ask. ANYWAY, so next on the menu was grilling off the lamb sliders and red onion slices. The onion is self explanatory, but here's the scoop on the sliders.

1 lb ground lamb

3 cloves garlic- crushed

salt and pepper

sprinkle or two of breadcrumbs

1 tbs garam masala (Indian seasoning)

glug of olive oil

Combine and form into small patties. Grill on a medium flame until cooked. I like them pink in the middle. If you don't have access to a grill, just pull out a skillet and fry in a little oil. They're yummy that way too.

I also pulled together a simple green salad while the sliders were sizzling away on the grill. So, that's it! Throw it all on a plate and enjoy. Win and I certainly did!

Dirtball Back Porch Lunch

I’ve always been attracted to the concept of canned sardines—little oily fish in a can—and the fact they are good for you, cheap and accessible. But I’ve never found a way to eat them that was completely satisfying. They’re OK tasting but they ain’t a chicken taco.

Anyway, with nothing to eat in the house and Molly at Mahjong, I pulled a leftover can of Cento sardines from the icebox to give them another try. I enlisted mayonnaise, cracked black pepper, Cajun seasonings and Crystal to jazz things up. I put the mess on some water crackers (I would have used saltines, but Molly won't have them in the house). I discovered that the more Crystal I added to each bite the better the stuff tasted. Altogether—and with a beer, I would give it a B+ for an easy, tasty Riley lunch.

Peas and Parrano

When I was a child, I hated peas. If you wanted to set me off at the dinner table, all it took was a spoon full of peas. No way, no how.

Thankfully, I came to my senses. I think it had something to do with Molly's sinful pasta primavera. Here is a VERY loose interpretation of that dish. Enjoy! Pasta with Peas and Parrano

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Avocado

Pasta Ingredients:

pasta- cooked al dente

frozen peas- about 1.5 cups

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil- 2-3 glugs

2 tbs butter

2-3 tbs milk

lemon zest- 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

parrano cheese- it tastes similiar to parmesan

Salad Ingredients:

avocado- chopped

tomatoes- chopped ( I picked up the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes at Whole Foods, but use what you have.)

olive oil- 2 glugs or so

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the pasta, drain and set aside. Crush garlic and throw it in a skillet with olive oil. Add peas. Cook on medium heat until peas are defrosted (maybe 2-3 minutes or so). Add milk, butter, s & p, and lemon zest. Stir for another minute. Add hot pasta and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, until nicely combined. Add the cheese right before serving.

Serve with tomato salad and a glass of white wine.