(Side note: about nicknames and abbreviations, since this seems to be something people keep asking me about. All I’ll say is: I’ll keep this one my Dirty Little Secret… just another regret…)

The salmon adorably comes wrapped in brown paper listing off just some of the positive attributes of the Verlasso salmon. Fun!

The salmon was brilliantly vibrant and orange, gorgeous.

I chose to make the salmon en papillotte - which is just a fancy pants way of saying ‘in a pouch’. Honestly, though, I realized much later that I did it wrong… I’ve never cooked this way before, and I didn’t realize you need to add liquid to the packet. But… well, you’ll see.

I served it with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts, but due to a miscommunication about when dinner should be served, they got a little over browned. Still delicious and super crispy, but not burned, just not the prettiest to look at.

On the other side, I added more veggies – Earthbound Farms baby kale and dried Calimyrna figs with a simple lime vinaigrette. This went over very well!

And the salmon, which I cooked to the rare side of medium rare, came out gloriously. This was also very well received!

One of the lightest, healthiest meals I’ve made for DLS to date. I had a lot of fun working with the Verlasso salmon, and found it flavorful and delicious. I highly recommend it for those who care about the origins of their fish, the sustainability and about a fish’s life before it gets to your plate.

Lime Dill Salmon en Papillotte (sort of)

2 6-8 ounce fillets of Verlasso salmon
dried dill
slices of lime
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take a measure of aluminum foil and lay each piece of salmon on its own piece of aluminum foil. Season the salmon liberally with the dill, salt and pepper, then lay the slices of lime on top to make it look pretty. Lift the ends of the foil (along the longer side of the salmon) and bring the edges together, then fold down twice. Roll the short ends up, crimping as you go. (If you want to make this truly “en papillotte” you would do well to add a tablespoon of water, wine or broth before you close it up.)

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes for rare to medium rare, up to a full 20 minutes for medium.  Be careful when you take them out – it’s hot!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Batali-style

1 lb of Brussels sprouts, cut in half
Olive oil
salt/pepper
5-10 peeled whole cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 475 degrees with sheet pan inside. (I line mine with foil for easy cleanup, but that’s up to you.)

In a bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic cloves. Once the oven has come to temp with the sheet pan inside, take the pan out and quickly spread the Brussels sprouts across it in a single layer, then replace inside the oven. Roast for about 20-30 minutes or until it’s as tender/cooked as you like.

Try not to eat them all while they cool.

Baby Kale & Calimyrna Fig Salad

1 box of Earthbound Farms baby kale, chopped
5-8 chopped dried Calimyrna figs
juice of one lime
extra virgin olive oil
salt/pepper, to taste

In a bowl big enough for everything, add olive oil, lime juice, salt/pepper and taste. Whisk together until it emulsifies. Add kale and figs, tossing to coat, then store in fridge until you’re ready to eat. (The kale wilts a little bit and softens as it sits.)

Happy eating!!!

Please note that as a result of the $20 gift certificate to Fresh Direct that I received, I did not pay for the salmon or the Brussels sprouts. I also received the Earthbound Farms kale mix from a Food Fete event that I attended, as I did with the Calimyrna figs as well. However, I was under no obligation to post about any of these items and received no monetary compensation to do so.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: brussels sprouts, DLS, figs, kale, salmon

His propensity towards Asian food left me making Asian food. His stupid electric stove top shutting off on me in the middle of cooking – well, technically, I’d finished frying the tofu, then shut the burner, wiped out the pan, and went to turn it back on to cook the cabbage – really drives me bonkers…

I’m super comfortable frying tofu – it’s one of my favorite things to make, actually, though I prefer doing it when I can open the windows to let some of the stinkiness out – and I know it tastes awesome. I did forget to bring my Hungarian paprika, which lends it a smoky background flavor and makes it taste like bacon, but ah well. DLS enjoyed this a lot I think – and the cabbage cooked with residual heat well enough, thankfully. DLS lacks small sauce dishes, so I used a measuring cup and put some soy sauce mixed with Sriracha in there for a little kick – I’d intended to just use hoisin sauce but shockingly, DLS didn’t have any.  The soy sauce + Sriracha mixture worked well, though – the Sriracha left over from my making Spam hash the week prior.

(I normally serve with cilantro sauce but as I discovered the hard way that DLS doesn’t like cilantro, I didn’t bother attempting to make that for him.)

The basic recipe for the fried tofu, though, can be found here. The major differences would be that I didn’t use paprika, and that I used corn starch instead of flour – which is what I’m pretty sure I always do, not sure why I wrote flour in that post.  Regardless – enjoy these tasty tofu bites!

Oh, and the cabbage was just sliced up Napa cabbage that was cooked with a bit of oil and sliced garlic and salt.

Happy eating!

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DLS, tofu

KC was ready for the holidays and made us a Pizza Rustica.

It was full of various meats and cheeses. Very delicious but lethal. I could have eaten this whole thing myself.

CT made Barbacoa for the first time in our crockpot. She was a little disappointed it came out dry, but the fresh avocado salsa she also made fixed that problem.

I took a shot at making Korean food this time around; Pork Bulgogi. I had wanted to make Esther’s recipe from Ambitious Deliciousness for a long time but never got around to it until now. It turned out GREAT and was pretty easy to make. You just need a couple days to marinade the meat and then it cooks quickly on a grill pan. I brought some romaine to make lettuce wraps. It also helped cool down the spicy meat. Thanks Esther for posting your recipe. I’ll definitely be making it again.

Beer Boor took a shot at making mini Chicken Fried Steaks. They turned out very well. He really knows how to fry! The steaks were served with onion rolls and gravy. I had seconds and possibly thirds.

Dean made Lotus Root Salad with freshly fried shrimp chips. I gotta be honest when I heard salad, I didn’t have high expectations. It turned out to be one of the best dishes of the day. There were a lot of different flavors and textures going on from the lotus root, shrimp, fried onions and more. It wasn’t the easiest thing to eat on top of the chips, but very good regardless on how it ended up in my mouth.

Hungry is always one to have multiple contributions.

She took over Yvo’s role as bartender and brought a huge jug full of vodka infused with pineapple and lime. It was super potent and needed to be cut with seltzer, however the sip I had was delicious. I tend to stick to beer during the potlucks or else I am prone to pull a TC and pass out.
She also made some red wine braised shortribs. I don’t think they came out exactly as planned, but I am pretty sure it was her first time making them. I will happily be the guinea pig the next time she makes them.

Gaji brought some spiced cauliflower. I liked that it wasn’t cooked fully through so it still had some texture. It was good to get some veggies in where I could.

Cheeeese made some pulled pork again. He changed the recipe up this time with some different spices. Can’t blame him for making the same thing because who doesn’t like pulled pork?

KC also brought out some homemade Philly cheesesteak stromboli!!! We love when KC makes strombolis for us. This quickly disappeared which is all that needs to be said.

Hungry made us a Chocolate Cream Pie for dessert.

CT has been on a baking kick recently and adapted a recipe for Rum & Coke Brownies.

Thanks to TC, LBA and Beer Boor for providing the booze and beer.

All in all, another successful potluck! We really have this down to a science. Stay tuned for the next potluck in a couple months.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: FBM, potluck

Make spaghetti alla carbonara!  I picked up a package of already cubed pancetta from Trader Joe’s, and beat a few eggs with salt/pepper and cheese that isn’t in the picture (I used piave).  The matzoh crackers in the background are because I also made salted caramel chocolate covered matzoh sandwiches… yum.

While some of the eggs scrambled a teeny bit, I was super pleased with the end result, and I think I converted DLS into loving carbonara. Okay, that’s a lie, he doesn’t express that much emotion to say he loves any food – but I know he enjoyed it greatly.  So good, I was really happy with this.

The next morning, to use up the egg whites, I made Spam & eggs hash. It was also very good and well received… yum.

Spaghetti alla carbonara (yes I continue to not use measurements, sorry)

2 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, beaten with salt & pepper and grated cheese – I used Piave, which I thought wasn’t salty enough, so perhaps use romano, let’s say a quarter cup
1/2 package of spaghetti
4 ounces cubed pancetta
1 smashed clove of garlic

Heat skillet over medium heat; a turn or two of olive oil around the pan. Add pancetta and heat through along with garlic.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti. If you time it right, the pancetta/garlic should be all brown and happy just as the spaghetti is finishing cooking. Remove garlic and discard. Add the spaghetti to the pan using tongs or a pasta scoop (don’t drain), toss around to coat with the pancetta/oil.

Take the pan off the heat; move quickly now and add the egg/cheese mixture to the pasta, tossing quickly with tongs to coat. Once the egg mixture has ‘melted’/coated the pasta, check for consistency – if you want it a little creamier, add a bit of pasta cooking water and continue tossing to coat.

Serve with extra cheese if desired.

OMG, this was seriously so good I’m thinking about making more more now. And super easy too!

Spam & Egg hash

2 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, beaten with a bit of salt/pepper/Sriracha
bag of Trader Joe’s shredded potatoes/hash browns
Can of Spam with Cheese, cubed
Shredded cheddar cheese, optional

In a skillet over medium high heat, brown Spam with a little olive oil. Remove and set aside; add a layer of potatoes to the pan with more olive oil. Once the potatoes are crispy, add Spam back to the pan, heating through. Add egg mixture, scrambling once the eggs start to set. Add cheese, and toss again a bit, then serve (once eggs are set).

Nice additions, had I had them, would be fresh tomatoes as well… yum.  Or any vegetables you like (bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, to name a few)… so good. The very background heat of Sriracha – I only used a touch – along with the meatiness of the Spam, the eggs, and the heartiness of the potatoes all added up to the perfect breakfast on a surprisingly chilly Saturday!

Yum!

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: carbonara, DLS, hash, Spam

All this to say that I haven’t yet completely figured out DLS’s palate, and that sometimes, unlike with just about the rest of the world who will complain about anything and everything and then some, he does not express these preferences and I have to find out the hard way that something is not to his liking.

Which is why I didn’t discover he’s not a fan of cilantro – but doesn’t HATE it, thankfully – until after I’d already chopped up an entire bunch and added it to the avocado salad and had him taste it. Oops. I chided him, since I’d listed all of the ingredients for him the previous day, and he said “I didn’t think you’d use the whole bunch of cilantro!” – fine, in all fairness, I just really like cilantro. A LOT.

While the chicken was cooking, I glanced out the window and noticed these awesome views. It was hard to capture exactly as the moon was so bright that it was reflecting off the white walls in the apartment back out onto the interior of the glass windows, but… wow, right? This is at night. Look at the clouds!

And the following week, I used the leftovers for another “Reinventing the TV Dinner” meal! I used mostly leftovers from random meals pieced together: top left, avocado salad with chips; fresh pineapple from Stew Leonard’s; New England clam chowder from Stew Leonard’s; leftover green beans from Penang; and leftover ribs from Southern Hospitality (which was so horrible I picked at it then froze most of it, intending to chop it up for soup later).  Mmmmm, perfect for sitting in front of the TV and vegging out

(BTW – I realized I haven’t posted this particular tray in the past. It was a lovely gift from TT & CT! Thank you guys! I love it!)

Yep – that’s how old this post is, from around St. Patrick’s Day. I decided to go ahead and make corned beef with bacon-roasted cabbage and a baked potato, though I don’t think DLS had ever had it this way. I think he liked it… though unfortunately he wasn’t feeling too well.

And a salad to go with it.

And homemade honey mustard to go with all of that as well.

As I linked the recipe for the chipotle lime crusted chicken above, I’ll refrain from repeating it here.

Avocado salad (basically, deconstructed guacamole)

Two avocados, diced
Diced red onion
Diced tomato
cilantro (as much, as little, or none – as you like)
juice of 1 juicy lime or 2 meh limes
salt/pepper/ground chipotle
thawed and patted dry corn niblets
diced purple cabbage (slightly bitter, will offset the sweetness of the corn, and adds a ton of crunch to the avocado salad)

Toss together. Let sit in the refrigerator for a bit – while the chicken cooks, if you’re serving together – as you like. Eat up – serve with chips or not. Mmmm.

Corned beef, bacon-roasted cabbage & baked potato

I’ve posted this menu in the past because I like eating it (even when it’s not St. Patrick’s Day, though I find it easier to find corned beef to cook when it’s March than the rest of the year).

Homemade honey mustard is just a grainy mustard mixed with honey, to taste.  And the salad was simply cut tomatoes with Romaine lettuce cut into bite-sized pieces.  What could be easier? Honestly… yum!

Don’t you wish you were DLS?

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: corned beef, DLS, roasted cabbage, salad, tv dinner