Slow Roasted Salmon FNM-March

A while back(before my computer crashed) I made this recipe from the March Food Network Magazine(pg103).  Our family, small people included, enjoy fish so I'm always looking for good ways to prepare it.  This will definitely be used again.  What I loved about this recipe was that the fish was very tender and moist.  Fish is so easy to overcook and while I've gotten the hang of panfrying, salmon especially always makes me feel like I'm on the clock.  And with the small people always interrupting, it's nice to have a recipe that has a little leeway.

Here's what was needed,
Salmon
leeks(if you don't know how to use this vegetable, it's totally worth exploring)
EVOO
salt(I use Kosher for almost everything)
chopped shallots(again, another veggie worth getting to know)
butter
chives
tarragon
parsley
fresh lemon juice


The real flavor here came from the butter which combined the last 6 ingredients.  I was a little afraid not cooking the shallots would have a bit too much bite to them but they mellowed as the salmon rested.  The leeks were roasted beforehand and the salmon then placed on top of them, basted with the EVOO from the leeks and roasted at 275 degrees for 30-40 minutes(until firm).  I would try to get bigger leeks so that there is something there to bite into after the dish is done cooking.  This was very tasty and I really look forward to preparing it again!

Tequila Lime Chicken Wings from Food Network Mag January

For the Super Bowl, I made Guy Fiero's Tequila Lime Chicken Wings from January 2010 of the FNM.  I had made them once before so I knew how tasty they were but this time my hubby treated me with a charcoal fire to finish them with. 

As you see, this is all you need to make these tart, smoky, spicy little darlings.  And the chicken wings of course!  Yummy! 

First, I like them because you bake them plain with salt and pepper, not fry them.  Then, you soak them in the marinade and finish them on the grill.  So after two times through this recipe, I would recommend tossing the wings in canola oil before cooking them so that they don't stick to the pan and tear their skins all apart.  Also, I would make twice the called for marinade.  It has you cook the leftover down to toss on the wings after the grill and especially after the charcoal grill, it needed a bit more moisture.
I could not find straight Adobo sauce in Wegmans, but I did find some Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce and will now stock the item in my pantry, that's how useful I found them.  Not so much for the kids pallette, but it added a smokey/spicy depth to the diced tomato sauce I made for a quick pasta dish.  And it would be great in a BBQ sauce for sure!  I was able to freeze the leftover peppers individually so I would not waste them and it will provide a quick spicy addition to a few things I'm sure.

I will keep this recipe close and make it often.  We both really loved these and I got a lot of compliments from the other party-goers.  I would advise though if you are using a charcoal grill to wait until the fire has cooled.  These kinda got away from me and ended up with more charring than I like.

New ingredients to my kitchen: 
Adobo Sauce(with canned Chipotle Peppers)
Agave Syrup(A cactus extract that acts like a low glycemic sweetener,  great btw for diabetics)
Tequila!

The Easiest Ever Roasted Vegetables

A couple months ago I started to make our vegetables like this.  And we haven't looked back since.  It is so easy and so incredibly tasty, you will wonder why you ever made veggies any other way!

The best part is, you can use whatever vegetables you happen to have.  Here I have cut butternut squash, cauliflower, baby bella mushrooms, asparagus, and mayan sweet onions.  But I have used sweet potatoes, broccoli, and anything that I would normally steam.  I toss them in Olive Oil(mushrooms separated otherwise they soak up too much oil)  I usually spread the mix on the baking sheet and then toss the mushrooms with what's left in the bowl.  Salt and Pepper to taste then in a 450 degree preheated oven I roast them, single layer, turn after 15 minutes and continue on for another 10-15 minutes.  The kids won't eat them but what do they know?  I love them so much I tend not to make a starchy side since I will eat much more of these.  Try them and let me know what you think!

Obama's Herb Roasted Chicken and Gingered Pears and Parsnips

Tonight I made the Herb Roasted Chicken featured in the FNM(January 2010 pg.126) and Gingered Pears and Parsnips (same mag pg. 79).  First, we have the Gingered Pears and Parsnips. 

Bosc Pears
Parsnips
White Wine
Chicken Broth
Butter
Lemon
Ginger
Bay Leaf
Sugar
Red Pepper Flakes

Overall, I did not care for this dish.  I do not ever remember cooking with parsnips so perhaps it is my ignorance that struggled with their flavor.  They seemed overly sweet.  The pears were lovely, though I would have added more red pepper flakes and a touch more salt, which was not mentioned in the recipe.  Also, the recipe did not state whether to peel the Pears so I peeled half and left half with peels on.  Peel the pears, much better.  The dish turned a lovely golden brown though so it gets a gold star for appearances.  I think the dish would have been better with a stronger savory flavor to balance the sweet.

Then the Obama Herb Roasted Chicken

Fresh Herbs(I used dried, duh, it's the middle of Winter!)
Dijon Mustard
Olive  Oil
Salt and Pepper

The recipe called to marinate for an hour or overnight.  I did the hour and wish I'd done the overnight.  The skin tasted great( what skin doesn't) but the flavor really didn't penetrate far into the meat.  I questioned the amounts in the recipe b/c they were so small.  I would use twice as much and for sure marinate overnight next time. I also had to broil them for the last few minutes to crisp the skin. 

So, not great, but not horrible.  New ingredients in my kitchen for this meal:  Fresh Ginger and Parsnips  

In the Beginning...

This has all started from a magazine subscription.  For Christmas my brother and SIL got me a subscribtion to The Food Network Magazine.  And since I didn't want to spend the whole year looking at pretty pictures of foods while making the same 10 meals with slight variations, I told myself I would make at least 2 recipes a month from the magazine.  And this I find allows me to buy ingredients that I have never had in my kitchen before.  And it makes me feel brave.  It will likely make my kids turn up their noses but what do they know?  Their adult taste buds haven't come in yet.   I decided to blog about it because I get dreadfully bored with Winter and need something new to keep me occupied.

Let me start by saying that, though I enjoy cooking, I am no chef.  I will go so far as to say I have slightly above average kitchen skills, however, my kitchen, due to size and equipment, is slightly below average, so I think it's a wash.
This is my mixer.  Her name is Helga.  She does not have a paddle attachment or any attachment for that matter, other than what you see.  She was my Grandmothers.  And much like the hardy German stock of my Grandparents, she is lasting longer than she rightly should.  I guess I wouldn't mind a new shiny fancy mixer but why?  Helga is not broken, she does her job and she makes me feel attached in some small way to the past...ok that last bit is a little over the top but seriously, I don't have a few hundred $$ to spend on a mixer just now so this will do quite nicely.

Today I made a cake following this recipe. The real challenge will be tonight when I will experiment with fondant for the first time.  It is prepackaged so I am already a little disappointed in myself for not daring to make it from scratch but I will point out that I have 3 smallish kids and time is not always a luxury I can count on.

Update:2/1/10

The cake was delicious, but the reviews were correct, you  need to mix each stage a long time.  I doubled the recipe and felt I underbaked it, but only by a few minutes.  Fondant...lovely.  I really enjoyed my first forray into this medium.  I found the prepackaged (Wilton I think, found at Walmart) to be very easy to work with.  I prepped my table with shortening and cornstarch, took out a little bit for the decorations and let the kids start to work at kneading the color into it, and started rolling it out.  The first thing I noticed was the texture.  Soft and smooth like satin.  I kept running my hands over it, amazed at the feel.  It was more flexible and sturdy than pie crust and fell gracefully into place when I went to lay it over the buttercream frosting I had prepped the cake with. In the future I will decorate on a unlipped plate as the lip on the plate I used got somewhat in my way.  Also, it makes a rather large mess.    But I do love, love, love working with it and will try it again with a homemade recipe later this month.  And perhaps up the degree of difficulty in the decorations.  I feel like if you have successfully rolled out a pie crust, you can totally handle fondant.  Hopefully the home made recipe will have more flavor than the storebought one.