Asian Grilled Salmon and Broccoli

This was adapted from Helene Siegel's Chinese Cooking for Beginners (1992). Always looking for a good Salmon recipe.

Ingredients for Marinade (for 4 salmon fillets)
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1/2 cup Lemon juice
1/4 cup Plum sauce
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice

Other Ingredients:
2 Salmon Fillets (around 1 1/2 lbs) cut into 3" slices with skin.
Cooking Spray
2 tbsp Peanut Oil
1 tsp Garlic, chopped
1 can Water chestnuts, sliced
3 Broccoli heads, florets only
1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce

Directions
1. Combine all marinade ingredients and mix with a whisk until blended.
2. Add all but 1/4 cup of the marinade to the fish and let sit for 30 to 60 minutes. Reserve the 1/4 cup marinade for the sauce.
3. On a grill pan, lightly coat with cooking spray and then heat on medium high temperature. Cook salmon around 4-5 minutes each side (flesh side first, skin side second).
4. Meanwhile, in another pan, heat peanut oil over medium high heat.
5. Add Garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the broccoli and cook for around 1-2 minutes. Add the water chestnuts and cook for around 4 more minutes.
6. Add reserved marinade and the Hoisin sauce.

Serve with the Salmon over rice.

Chicken Satay

This was adapted from a few recipes that I found in Thai cookbooks. The recipe that is closest came from Young's Simply Thai Cooking from 2003. The main part of the recipe is really coming up with the marinade. The rest is pretty easy. I was thinking a long time back that I would write a book called "Satay." It was going to be a fiction work that basically followed all that can happen when you are working on perfecting marinade for Satay. I thought about it like this: "A lot can happen while you are perfecting a recipe". Well that did not happen, so I thought I would better get this recipe out there!

Ingredients for Marinade
2 tsp Black Pepper, ground
4 tsp Ground Cumin
2 tsp Ground Coriander
2 tbsp Chopped Garlic (or three cloves)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp Peanut Oil
3 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tsp Fish Sauce

Other Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts cut into thin strips - between 1/8" and 1/4" thick
12-15 metal or wooden skewers (if you are using wood - soak for 15 minutes in warm water).

Directions
1. Combine all marinade ingredients and mix with a whisk until blended.
2. Add the sliced chicken and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 12 hours.
3. Thread the chicken onto the skewers and cook on a grill pan or a grill press (like a Foreman Grill). If you are using a Foreman Grill, you can cook them around 4 minutes. If you are using a grill pan, cook for 4 minutes on the first side and then 3 minutes on the other side.

Enjoy with <a href="http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/coreyrecipes/archives/2012/02/thai_cucumber_s.html">Thai Cucumber Salad</a> and peanut sauce (I have used jarred.

Thai Cucumber Salad

This was adapted from a recipe that I found a few years back. Sorry I forgot what book this came from (pretty lousy for a librarian), but hey! I do love this dish and it is great when I make Satay or any Thai meal. And it is super easy!

Ingredients
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 cucumbers, peeled, quartered and cut into 1/8" slices
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions
1. Combine vinegar, water and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves and then remove from the heat to let cool.
2. In another bowl, combine the cucumbers and red onions. Pour cooled vinegar mixture and mix gently.
3. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

Warm Tuna Niçoise

This was adapted from a recipe on the excellent EatingWell site. The recipe first was in Eating Well Magazine in September/October 1991. This is a definite keeper as we both loved it!

Ingredients
5 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar, divided
3-4 tbsp olive oil, divided
Kosher salt & ground pepper to taste
8 oz green beans, cut to 2-3" long
8 oz tuna steak, cut into 1/4” thick slices
2 tsp chopped garlic (around 2 cloves)
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup roasted red pepper, cut into thin strips (adjust to taste)
2 tbsp capers, rinsed
12 Kalamata Olives (pitted) and cut in half lengthwise
1/2 tsp Lemon juice (adjust to taste)

Directions
1. Place cleaned and cut potatoes in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam until tender (around 10 to 15 minutes).
2. Transfer potatoes to a serving bowl and then add the green beans to the steamer and cook for around 6 minutes.
3. In the serving bowl, add 1 tbsp red-wine vinegar and 1 tbsp olive oil to the potatoes and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. When beans are done, add them to the serving bowl (with the potatoes) and gently toss again (adding salt and pepper if wanted).
5. In a saute pan, heat around 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sliced tuna and cook until browned on each side (around 2-3 minutes per side). Place tuna in bowl with potatoes and green beans.
6. Add remaining 1 1/2 tbsp oil to the pan. Add garlic and anchovies and saute, stirring for less than a minute until garlic starts to brown.
7. Add remaining 3 tbsp red-wine vinegar and broth to the pan, and bringing it to a boil. Stir continually for 1-2 minutes and then remove from heat. Add mustard into the sauce and mix thoroughly.
8. Pour sauce over the potatoes and green beans, gently tossing. Then add red peppers, capers, olives and lemon juice and toss gently.

Enjoy!

Baked Ocean Perch with Green Beans

Adapted from a recipe from the Orca Bay Seafood site (though it is not working now). We liked this a lot, though it was not on our quick repeat list. I suppose you can say we did not love it, but we would eat it again. I love the way the beans came out and it has got to be good for you and low-fat. We served this with bread - might be good with rice or quinoa. Next time, I think I will use crushed tomatoes and will add lemon to the mix. Will tweak that and try it again.

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - finely chopped
2 tsp chopped garlic (increase to taste)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 14oz can Petite Chopped Tomatoes, with liquid
6-8 oz green beans, cut into pieces no longer than 2-3 inches
4 Ocean Perch fillets (around 3/4 lbs)
1 tbsp capers, drained
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add chopped onions. Sauté for around 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add garlic and cook for around 1 minute.
4. Add wine, thyme, oregano, tomatoes and green beans to pan and bring mix to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, for 5-6 minutes.
5. In a oven safe casserole dish, place around 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place the perch fillets in a single layer and then sprinkle the capers and olives on top of them. Pour the rest of the sauce and green beans on top of the fish.
6. Place in the oven for around 15-17 minutes.

Serve with bread, rice or quinoa.

Mediterranean Pasta

Made this amazing dish tonight and it was fantastic! A definite keeper. This was adapted from a Rachel Ray recipe. This serves around 3-4.

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp chopped garlic (or two cloves)
3/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (divided)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp capers
12 Kalamata olives, cut into thin strips (or halved - but pits removed)
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 5 or 6 oz can tuna in water, drained
1 12-14 oz pound box of penne (whole grain or equivalent). You can also use shells

Directions
1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for around 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup chopped parsley and cook for an additional minute. Add the dried oregano, dried basil, capers, olives and the canned tomatoes (with liquid). Add kosher salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
3. Mix in tuna and remaining parsley and remove from heat.
4. Place pasta in a serving bowl (when done) and cover with sauce. You can add more parsley if you like.

Enjoy!

Piccata-Style Chicken With Rice

Adapted from a recipe in Prevention's quick and healthy low-fat cooking : featuring cuisines from the Mediterranean (1993) by Jean Rogers. The original recipe is on page 161. This was simply fantastic!

Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tbsp Thin sliced Almonds
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut in half diagonally (so no piece is too thick)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups Quick-cooking brown rice (I used Minute Rice)
1 tbsp dried Parsley
1 1/2 cups Chicken broth
1/4 cups Lemon juice
2 tbsp Capers (rinsed)

Directions

1. Over medium heat, gently toast the almonds in a saute pan for 4-6 minutes and then remove from heat.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat and cook the chicken until lightly brown (around 4 minutes per side).
3. Add rice, parsley, broth, lemon juice and capers to the pan and bring to a boil.
4. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for around 10 minutes. Then remove from the heat and leave covered for an additional 5
minutes.
5. Add toasted almonds and enjoy!

Chicken Stir-Fry with Green Beans and Broccoli

Adapted from a recipe for Emeril's Chicken Stir-Fry with Green Beans from the Food Network. This was wonderful served with brown rice.

Ingredients (serves 4-5)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, very thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick
6 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp Asian spice blend
1/4 cup peanut oil
3/4 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed and longer beans cut in half
3 crowns broccoli, trimmed with stems no more than 1 inch.
2 tbsp (or cloves) minced garlic
1/2 cup walnuts, broken into small pieces
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
Chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 6 tablespoons of the soy sauce, and Asian spice blend. Toss to coat and let sit for 10 minutes or longer (up to 3 hours).
2. In a large wok or saute pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the chicken (along with some of the marinade mixture) and stirring constantly, cook until browned, 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the beans and broccoli to the pan and stir-fry, around 2 to 3 minutes. Note - if you add more veggies (always a good idea) - add time to this stage.
4. Add the garlic, walnuts, hoisin sauce to the mix and cook for 1-2 minutes longer
5. Remove from the heat and serve immediately, over rice rice. Garnish with green onions.

Fantastic Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Adapted from a recipe from this one via Allrecipes.com. This reheats very well and is great for lunch! I love what the paprika provides.

Ingredients (serves 6-7)
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 large onion, cut into thin slices
2 cups beef broth
10 red potatoes (around 2.5 lbs), cleaned and diced with skin on
8-9 carrots, sliced into 1" pieces (bite sized)

Directions:
1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat and mix thoroughly.
2. On top of the meat, add garlic, bay leaf, paprika, (additional salt or pepper if desired) Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, and carrots.
3. Cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours. (The low setting is ideal here).

Chicken, Shrimp and Sausage with Saffron Rice

Adapted from a recipe from Real Simple. This reheats very well and is great for lunch!

Ingredients (serves 6-7)
4 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper (adjust to taste)
1 chicken breast, cut in half and sliced 1/4 inch thick
16 oz Polish Kilbasa, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white wine
2 14.5-ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth or 4 cups chicken broth
24 saffron threads, crumbled
2 cups long-grain white rice
3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup frozen peas

Directions:
1. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil. Season the chicken with some of the salt and pepper and saute in a wok or large saucepan over medium-high heat for around 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan.
2. Heat remaining oil in the pan and add Kilbasa. Brown on both sides, about 5 minutes total.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
4. Add the cooked chicken to the pan along with the wine. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the broth, saffron, remaining salt and pepper and rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Stir the shrimp and peas into the rice, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.