Dips, Dressings, and Spreads – Page 17

Four Course Meal: Crab Cakes, Vegetable Gratin, Poached Salmon with Pesto, and Chocolate

Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Seafood, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Tonight I had a date night with myself. My husband went to hockey, and I made the girls Sloppy Joe’s at 5:00. I wasn’t ready to eat yet, so I just made their food and prepped my food while they ate. I made myself a 4 course meal… 1- Crab Cake with a smear of my pistachio arugula avocado pesto 2- Veggie Gratin 3- Poached Salmon with more of my pesto 4- Chocolate

1- Crab cakes- I got one of those already assembled in the seafood case. I knew it was just me eating, and I only wanted one. I cooked it on both sides for about 3 minutes. Then I added my pesto… Swoon!!!!

Normally pesto is made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil. Instead, I used arugula, garlic, pistachios, and olive oil. DIVINE!!!! I actually saw Alton Brown make a pesto today with pistachios, but he kept the basil. I wanted to try the arugula, and I am glad I did. So delicious! Don’t be afraid to experiment! I have plenty of leftovers for later!!!

2- Veggie Gratin
I had a yellow squash, a zucchini, a container of mushrooms, and 2 small tomatoes. I sliced them pretty thin, covered with olive oil, parm./romano mix, mozzarella, and italian breadcrumbs. So very tasty!

3- Salmon poached in Seafood Stock, Lemons, and Dill
If you read my blog last night, you know I made seafood stock. https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/01/19/seafood-stock-2/

I used it tonight to poach my beautiful salmon. I added some lemon and dill for freshness and acidity. YUM!!!! I cooked each side about 5-6 minutes. I put it on a bed of arugula and topped with my pesto. You could add a side of some healthy grain like orzo, risotto, or quinoa. This would be amazing. But since I already ate the crab cake and veggie gratin, a grain would be overkill. Even though salmon is a healthy light meal, it is very rich and fatty (good fats). Same for the pesto. A little bit goes a long way.

4- As for the chocolate- It was a square of dark chocolate, and it was glorious!

Cranberry Orange Sauce with White Wine

Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

I love cranberries! Cranberry juice, cranberry cocktails, cranberry relish, homemade cranberry sauce, and even that canned jelly stuff with the can lines. I am making Thanksgiving dinner for 8; It will be the 5 of us plus my parents and brother. I know everyone likes the canned stuff. I have no problem with the canned stuff. But today when I was finishing up my last minute veggie shopping, I grabbed a bag and an orange. Then this happened today. I already ate at least one serving of it…

Cranberry Orange Sauce Recipe- serves 4- or maybe just one =) I adapted this from Rachel Ray… instead of just water, I added some Riesling

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/snack-spread-dip-recipes/Cranberry-Orange-
Ingredients
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup of water——I added 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup white wine (Riesling)
1/2 cup sugar, plus more if desired
Pinch salt
1 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries, rinsed

Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water (or the water and wine mixture) with the orange zest, orange juice, sugar and salt over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cranberries and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 7 minutes. Sweeten with more sugar, if desired. Let the sauce cool to room temperature before serving.

Once cooled, I put mine in a cute medium sized jam jar.

Chicken Stock

Chicken, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads

Tonight I planned on making a roast chicken Julia (Child) style… I followed the directions to the tee. I usually just wing it and it ends up yummy no matter what. There is the occasional not-done-yet-and-have-to-stick-it-back-in-for-15-more-minutes situations, but usually they turn out perfect and delicious. Case in point…
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/10/06/sage-brown-butter-roasted-chicken/

https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/01/white-wine-roasted-chicken/?relatedposts_exclude=1227

Tonight I wanted to do a classic Julia recipe. It was a disaster. I did everything right. The oven thermometer showed the right temperature (I try not to go by the actual reading on the oven…sometimes it is wrong). I filled the cavity with butter and salt. I slathered the outside with more butter and salt… I put it in at 4:30. I followed all the directions and it was still almost raw in the center an hour and a half later. The skin was not brown and crispy. WHAT??? I was hoping it just needed a few more minutes. I didn’t take a picture. What happened????

Then my husband said something that made me feel a bit better about the situation. He said, “Was it defrosted all the way?”

Hmmmm. Well, we did buy it today from the meat section. I didn’t really feel it honestly. The outside seemed defrosted. My almost 4 pound chicken should have cooked in the hour and a half plus time I gave it. I basted it, I talked to it, I gave it a lot of friends to count on to have its back in the oven. It was fool proof! I guess it could be a possibility that Publix had not totally defrosted the bird when I cooked it???? Anyways, I decided to turn a positive in to a negative.

I took the rest of the bird- meat, bones, and all – and added to to my pot. I added all the veggies I cooked with it (potatoes, green beans, onions, garlic, celery, and mushrooms)and added more onion and 1 whole garlic head cut in to pieces. Don’t worry about the skins. They will be drained out. Add whatever you have on hand. Stock is a great way to get rid of leftover or dried out veggies and aromatics in your kitchen. Cook for 2-4 hours. Drain and store in the fridge or freezer. Delicious!

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Chicken, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pasta

Hey guys! It has been a LONG week. I haven’t cooked dinner since last Sunday. Well, I made dinner Monday, but it was hot dogs and baked beans, so not exactly cooking. But it was easy and good. Those hot dogs hit the spot. Tuesday was rough and long. It was just me and the girls, so I really didn’t want to cook a lot or go to the store. So I just stopped by our favorite Chinese place and picked up dinner. The best idea since buying that extra bottle of wine “just in case.” It wasn’t a bad week, just long and draining. Well, I’m glad it is the weekend! I was glad to stop by the store and pick up ingredients for dinner the next couple of nights. Oh, and a few bottles of wine “just in case!”

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Chicken- Cook however you want. Or you can take a shortcut like I did on a Friday afternoon and pick up a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store.

Homemade Pasta- In the food processor, use 4 eggs and add flour until it firms up. Pull apart your dough a few sections at a time and roll out in pasta machine. Cut rustic long noodle shapes – You could just use fresh (like Burtoli or your favorite dried pasta)

Cream Sauce-
Melt 1/2 cup of butter and then stir in 2 cups of heavy cream. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
Add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Add until mixed through.
Blend 1/3 of your favorite jarred pesto and cook 3-5 minutes. You could make your own. It is very simple. Garlic, basil, salt, pepper, olive oil. But like the chicken, it just saves time to buy the jarred one. I usually make homemade pesto in the summer when I have plenty in my garden. The deer and squirrels ate my herbs. Boo.
Add to your pasta and chicken. Plus, you should have some leftover for another time.

Homemade Marinara 10/12/13

Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pasta

Hey ya’ll! I know you want a quick dinner. I know you reach for the prepared mixes and sauces. There are some great ones out there, but they cost you money. I know we are always trying to save some money, right? Here is a way. Make your own sauce. This is a marinara sauce. I have made my home made sauce tons of times, and they are always kinda different depending with what is in my fridge. This is tonight’s homemade marinara sauce…

1 onion chopped
1/2 garlic head; peeled, crushed, and chopped
1 whole stalk of celery roughly chopped
The rest of my trifecta of peppers chopped; red, yellow, and orange
Cook all these for 20 minutes
Add at least 3/4 of a bottle of red wine and a few tablespoons of tomato paste
Add 2 28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes; 1 peeled, 1 crushed
1 can of tomato sauce
add oregano, basil, 2 tablespoons of sugar and Worcestershire sauce

Cook for at least 2 hours. The longer the better.