Archive for the 'recipes' Category

Almond Crusted Halibut

Published by Hal on June 22, 2008 in Fish Fry-day and recipes. 1 Comment

When we were on vacation a few weeks ago, we got a phone call from Stacie’s brother, Donnie. Donnie is currently in the military, stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska, and I’m sure you can imagine what kind of adventures one can get into when you’re in Alaska. This particular weekend, he went fishing and managed to catch some halibut. Thirty pounds of it.

Donnie wasn’t sure what to do with it, so he did the first thing that came to his mind–he shipped it home to his parents. Which was funny, because it’s really just his parents at home, with the occasional kid popping in for the weekend–hardly the crowd to feed thirty pounds of fish to! But, that’s okay, because Stacie and I benefited from two pounds of this easy to cook fish.

I made the first pound on Thursday, and it was definitely a treat. What’s great about halibut is its versatility and its mild flavor. I paired it with some crushed almonds, pan fried it, and served it along side some garlic and shallot snow peas.

Almond Crusted HalibutIngredients

  • 1 pound of halibut, cut into two pieces
  • 1/2 cup crushed almonds
  • 1/2 cup of flour or plain breadcrumbs
  • salt & pepper
  • vegetable oil

Directions

  1. Generously season the fish with salt and pepper.
  2. Combine the flour and the almonds, then dredge the fish in the mixture.
  3. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet, over medium heat and add the fish.
  4. Cook the fish for 5-7 minutes on each side, until the fish is cooked through. Serve immediately.

To make the garlic and shallot snow peas, simply heat some olive oil over medium heat in a skillet, and add a clove of chopped garlic and a chopped shallot. Cook until both are translucent, but not caramelized. Add the snow peas, and cook until heated through–but not too much, because you still want them crunchy.

That’s it–easy, simple, and great for tonight’s supper!

Sizzling Steak

Published by Hal on April 7, 2008 in recipes. 0 Comments

I sometimes just have a strong desire for steak. I’m not sure what’s up with that, or even why that is, but it’s true: I love steak. We discussed having Pizza tonight, but we didn’t. We took Layla on her walk, and then set off to the store for some much wanted hunk-a-beef. Mindful that we are on something of a tight budget for the next couple of months (we have several weddings to go to, and Stacie is in one of them; and, we both just bought computers this month :( ), we were careful about what we chose.

I’m not even sure which cut I chose, I just know it was about 6 oz of meat for each cut and the cut was red with not alot of fat but for a strip on the outside. We picked out two lovely potatoes to steam, and I picked up a box of kosher salt (I had run out and we walked by the display). Getting home, I unwrapped the lovelies from their package and set to work seasoning and setting. I opted for a gentle dusting of said kosher salt, a liberal crack of pepper, and a shake or more of onion powder and garlic powder, each.

I like my steak between medium and medium rare, and these were about 1/2 inch thick. That means I cooked these for about 4 minutes on each side, bringing the temperature inside to between 135 and 145 degrees when I took them off the heat (remember, meat will rise 5-10 degrees when it’s resting before you serve it). Coupled with the delicious potatoes, this was a superb meal. Would have been okay health-wise, too, if I didn’t add butter, sour cream, and cheese to my potato :( But, it sure was good!

One day, soon, I’ll find batteries for my camera. I really need to make that a priority, don’t you think?

Chicken and Biscuits Florentine

Published by Hal on April 6, 2008 in recipes. 0 Comments

So, what’s the worst thing a food blogger could do (besides not cook, or write about it)? Not have batteries in the camera to take a picture of the food s/he is writing about. Ooops.

Well, anyway, I don’t have pictures to share, but I thought I would provide the recipe anyway, just in case I forget (because I am prone to do that, now). I came up with this because I needed to use up a lot of things: I had a can of cream of chicken soup that we bought for some reason, and I had a ton of vegetables in fridge that were calling out to be eaten. I thought I might could do a chicken primavera, but then I didn’t haven’t enough farfalle pasta. I thought linguine would be too much. So I opted for rice. But as I was eating this with the rice, I realize that the chunkiness of the veggies and the sheer volume of the spinach was calling for something else–a biscuit! So, there you have it.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 3 ribs of celery, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
  • 4 chicken tenders, cut in to bite sized pieces
  • 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can of milk
  • 1 box of frozen spinach, thawed and very well drained
  • 1/2 green pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • salt and pepper

Procedure

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and a dash of salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and chicken, stirring just until the chicken is nearly cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the soup and milk and stir to combine. Then, add the spinach and stir to evenly incorporate everything. Once the mixture has come to a bubble, add the peppers. Spoon over a split biscuit and serve.

One final thing to note: I upgraded my WordPress installation tonight–if something doesn’t look right, please contact me at blog [at] commonculinarian [dot] com.

Super Sauerkraut

Published by Hal on April 1, 2008 in The Cook's Kitchen and recipes. 0 Comments

03duetschenacht

Continue reading ‘Super Sauerkraut’

Roasted Squash Soup

Published by Hal on March 14, 2008 in Hal's Hint and recipes. 0 Comments

Roasting Squash

How’s that for a post header, huh? One of my favorite things to do is to roast vegetables in the oven. There’s just something about the deep, rich flavor of roasted anything that is incredibly satisfying. Around this time of year, you can find all kinds of delicious things to roast: potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, squash…

We bought an acorn squash a few weeks ago, not really sure what we going to do with it, but it was on sale. We’ve had it for a few weeks, so I knew that I needed to use it–but what for? Suddenly, I had this great idea to make a soup! We’ve also been eating a little less healthfully lately (notice that there haven’t been any posts on Wednesdays for the last several weeks?), so a soup seemed to be a good choice, rather than some deep fat fried thing.

But, of course, it’s that time of year, so I’ve been working late and haven’t had time really to cook. Thus, my sous chef has been helping me out:

Peeling Acorn Squash

She tells me this is my blog, even after I’ve implored her to write about some of her trials and tribulations, so that’s why she doesn’t really post here. But, she’s working just as hard as I am in the kitchen, and she deserves some credit. So, there you have it!

Anyway, we bought this squash, and we’re making soup. I was just thinking of pureeing the squash with some chicken stock, but I’m glad I looked up a recipe–there’s more too it than that, but it’s still relatively simple. Just get a few basic ingredients together, and you’ll have roasted squash soup in no time!

Roasted Squash Soup

Adapted from Michael Chiarello.

Ingredients

  • About 3 pounds of squash (such as butternut, acorn, pumpkin)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup diced carrot
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Optional

  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds

Squash Soup OverheadProcedure

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Peel the squash and cut into 1-inch cubes.
  3. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. When the butter has melted, combine with the next six ingredients (do not add the olive oil).
  4. Toss the butter-spice mixture with the squash and spread in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.
  5. Roast in the oven about 45 minutes to an hour, until the squash is soft and has begun to caramelize (turn brown around the edges).
  6. When the squash has finished roasting, allow it to cool. When it has cooled, use a blender to puree the squash. Set aside.
  7. Meanwhile, heat a medium-large saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil.
  8. When the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, carrot and cinnamon stick. Stir continuously, allowing the vegetables to get soft, but not to brown–about 10 minutes.
  9. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes, then add the squash puree.
  10. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then discard the cinnamon stick and add the vinegar.
  11. Use a blender to homogenize the soup in batches. Once the soup has been through the blender, reheat it gently before serving.
  12. Add this point, add the half-and-half if you’re using it. Garnish with the cheese and seeds, if desired.

Yellow Tail RieslingSome observations: This soup is already really rich between the butter and the oil. You really don’t need the half-and-half–it’s creamy enough without out. Also, when you run the soup through the blender, fill the blender less than half way, leave the pour spout open, and cover the top loosely with a clean towel. This soup will expand to at least double while the blender is running and the soup is hot. Trust me! Finally, we served with with some white wine and it when perfectly–squash is a little on the sweet side, so go for a sweeter wine. We chose a Yellow Tail Riesling. Enjoy!

South-Western Inspired Chicken & BLT Salad

Published by Hal on February 25, 2008 in Frugal Friday, recipes and rotisserie chicken. 1 Comment

Stacie and I really like food, and I really enjoy cooking (that’s part of how this blog came about). But, sometimes I just don’t want to cook, or I say “the kitchen is a disaster after last night and we need to clean it before we can prepare dinner tonight.”

This, my friends, is how Stacie and I managed to spend just over $400 on going out to eat last month. Now, to our credit, we also spent about as much money on grocery food. But, of course, we hosted a large party at the beginning of the month… And, then, we had a $130 grocery bill Sunday–but $40 was because of meat; almost enough to make me go vegetarian, really! (I should also note that $400 is really easy to hit–neither of us have been particularly diligent about not going out during lunch, though we really should be bringing or eating leftovers. We’ll be watching it a little better in March).

So, I’ve been looking at making some of the food that we enjoy when we go out to eat. There have been two amazing salads that are sort of the same thing, one from Chili’s, the other from a local pub here called “Yogi’s.” The Chili’s version is called a South Western Cobb salad; it’s not a true Cobb salad, since the cheese isn’t marbled. That’s fine with me, however, because I don’t really like marbled/moldy cheese. The Yogi’s version is called a Yucatan Salad. Basically, it’s a romaine based salad with black beans, corn, avocado, salsa, and cheese. Delicious.

So, knowing that Stacie and I spent a small fortune on food last month, tonight I decided to recreate this favorite from these two restaurants. But, not before I watched this:

Yes, that’s exactly right :) This “salad” is probably a loose interpretation of the word, but it was still pretty tasty. And, it’s definitely better than a taco salad. So, I’m okay with it. Again, this is probably an occasional treat (unless you leave out some of the bad stuff), but just as tasty and definitely cheaper than the restaurant version.Big Salad FrontIngredients

  • 1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
  • 1/2 cup of tomato salsa, pico de gallo, or 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 8 slices of bacon, crisped and crumbed
  • 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar, or blended, cheese
  • 1/2 cup of thawed, frozen corn kernels
  • 1/2 cup of drained and rinsed black beans
  • 1/2 cup of rotisserie chicken, shredded
  • 1 avocado, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 3 medium eggs, hard-boiled

Procedure

Layer half the lettuce on a dinner plate. Then, in rows, layer half of the remaining ingredients. Repeat for the second serving. Toss and serve with your favorite dressing.

It won’t get me a mention in a Bud Light commercial, but darn it, it was a valiant try!

Southern Style Biscuits

Published by Hal on February 24, 2008 in Just Baking and recipes. 0 Comments
Biscuits
Click the image for a larger picture!

There’s nothing that starts your day better than a good Southern Style biscuit. And, nothing better to end your day really. Biscuits are a versatile bread for nearly any meal, and most everyone likes them.

They don’t really take very long to make, but people insist on buying ready made biscuits from a can. Sure, these biscuits are convenient, but have you looked at the ingredient list? Real biscuits have only six basic ingredients: flour, butter (or shortening), baking powder, salt, sugar, and milk. Who knows what the rest are?

Another problem I have with biscuits from a can is the cost. These five ingredients cost me as much to buy as 1 can of biscuits, but I can make 3 or 4 times as many from those ingredients, they’re bigger, and they taste better, too!

Of course, though I love biscuits like no other, I don’t really make them all that often–between the flour and the butter, these are not the most figure friendly of pastries. However, for an occasional treat, they are just fine.

So, this morning, I decided to make this treat (and, have a real home cooked breakfast to go along with it–bacon and scrambled eggs!). It’s very simple, and takes only an extra 10 minutes, plus cooking time. I promise, the extra effort is well worth the end result.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of all purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 and a half sticks) of unsalted butter, cut into a small pieces; if you use salted butter, omit the salt above.
  • 1 cup of milk

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Stir together the dry ingredients until they are combined. Using a pastry blender, or a couple forks, blend in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. You can also perform this step in a food processor, using the pulse option.

Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture and pour in the milk. Stir with a fork, just until the mixture is combined. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the mixture 5-6 times, until everything has come together.

Split Biscuit with Jam
Click the image for a larger picture!

Flatten by hand, until the dough is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (about the width of your index finger). Do not roll the dough, because you’ll risk creating gluten strands, which are not good for the flaky texture we’re going for. Using a lightly floured 2 1/2 inch round, cut biscuits out from the dough and place on a baking sheet. If you place the biscuits together, they will rise higher; if you place them apart, they will develop more crispiness on the outside. The choice is yours.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown on top and done inside.

If you have leftover dough after cutting your biscuits, you can reshape and cut again–try to work the dough as little as possible, to avoid creating gluten and making a tough biscuit. This recipe yielded me nine, slightly larger than 2 1/2 inch biscuits. Serve with butter, jam, or even sausage gravy!

Apple and Pear Galette

Published by Hal on February 24, 2008 in recipes. 0 Comments

galetteI used to love watching “Martha Stewart Cooking,” when it was on Food Network. As much as some people really don’t like her, I think that she knows her stuff–and she’s kind of matronly, in some strange way. One of things I remember very well from her show was a special on a fall-fruit galette. I don’t remember the exact recipe, but it doesn’t matter as the concept is pretty simple:

A galette is a simple, rustic pastry. The concept is really basic–make a pie, but don’t put in a pie pan. The result is a tasty treat, similar to a pie, but perhaps less hassle. Presentation-wise, it’s spectacular since you can let the fruit really stand out. Here’s how I made this one:

Ingredients

  • One 9-inch pre-made pie crust (the kind that is sold in a roll, not in a pie-pan)
  • 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
  • 2 Bosc pears, peeled and cored
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice

Procedure

Cut the apples and pears into quarters, then into slices. In a large bowl, mix together the apples, pears, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degree. Roll out the pie crust onto a large cookie sheet. Pile the apples and pears into the center and fold up the sides of the tart. If it looks a little rough, that’s okay–this is a rustic pastry.

Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and flaky. Serve alone or with ice cream or creme fraiche.

Make sure that you use a Granny Smith apple, or some other tart baking apple. These apples have a higher pectin content, meaning that they won’t brown as quickly when cut and the juice that cooks out will gel up better than with other types of apples.

Easy Chocolate Raspberry Torte

Published by Hal on February 14, 2008 in recipes. 0 Comments

Oh, no! Today’s Valentine’s day, and you don’t have anything prepared! You could make Spumoni Cookies, but that takes a while, and you don’t have time. Besides, you only have a cake mix and some chocolate pudding mix on hand–how can you possibly make a delicious dessert?

This recipe comes courtesy of the grad student/young professional minister at our church, and it’s perfect for the last minute dessert, when you have very few ingredients:

chocolatecake01Easy Chocolate Raspberry Torte

Courtesy of Tim, yanked shamelessly, but at least it’s credited ;)

Shopping List:

  • 1 box of chocolate cake mix of your choice (make sure you have cooking oil and eggs to make the mix, ie read the box)
  • 1 package of Jello instant pudding and pie filling mix – chocolate or Devil’s food.
  • 1 package of frozen raspberries. Make sure you let them thaw!

First, bake the cake. I like to use Devil’s Food or Triple Chocolate Fudge, both
from Betty Crocker. I suggest using two 9 inch round pans. Don’t forget to
grease and flour the pans before baking; it helps keep the cake from sticking
to the pan.

Second, make the Jello mix.

Third, add about 1 cup of the raspberries to the Jello mix, if you like, you can
also crush or mash the raspberries before adding to the mix.

Fourth, when the cakes are done baking but before they have completely
cooled, remove one cake from the pan and place it on a serving dish. Cut
small slits all over the top of the cake. Use half the raspberry jello mix to
cover the bottom cake. Then place the second cake on top and cover with
remaining raspberry jello mix. You can even use some of the remaining
raspberries as garnish (decoration).

If you don’t like raspberries you can substitute cherry pie filling (drained)
instead.

Prior to serving or displaying you easy masterpiece, try nuking it for 30
seconds.

You can also serve it a la mode.
Enjoy!

I should note that when you look at the picture above, you’ll see that I didn’t exactly follow directions–I purchase gelatin instead of pudding, because I’ve had a cake similar to this before, where you used gelatin poured into holes poked in a cake. Oops. It doesn’t matter, because it was still yummy! Just substitute a box of raspberry gelatin for the pudding and proceed on your merry way. It’ll be even better once the gelatin sets in the fridge. Yum! Otherwise, you’re looking at the pudding mixture to take the place of frosting in this cake, so it will look very similar to a standard two-tier cake, but with pudding & raspberries instead of buttercream.

Spumoni Cookies

Published by Hal on February 13, 2008 in Just Baking and recipes. 1 Comment

10spumoniI never made a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, and, really, I still don’t. My wife is just the same way. To us, it’s just a made up holiday, heavily marketed by Hallmark to make people feel guilty for being single. That doesn’t mean I don’t try to do something special for my wife; in fact, for our first Valentine’s Day, I made her a delicious dish of aromatic pistachio rice with apricot marinated chicken pieces. Usually, we’d rather opt for “just-us” time, over a candle-lit dinner in our own home.

So, this year should be no different, at least in terms of making something special. I’ve just really started getting into baking, and I’m learning more and more each recipe I try. In this formative phase, I usually just stick to a recipe as written. But, with a basic recipe as a foundation, it’s easy to come up with something unique and delicious. Inspired by the Valentine’s Day holiday, I came up with this delicious, pink cookie, reminiscent of Neapolitan’s cousin. Continue reading ‘Spumoni Cookies’

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