My Thanksgiving Contribution

I'm not going to kid myself -- I'm not up to turkey status yet.  Nonetheless, I wanted to dip my toe into the water, so to speak, and make a Thanksgiving contribution at my mother's holiday dinner as well as my future mother-in-law's dinner.  So, I chose to make cornbread -- it's not particularly difficult, nor does it take a long time to make.  As I begin almost every culinary adventure -- I headed over to Google and did a search for "Best Cornbread Recipe" -- and this is what I got: Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread.  I followed the recipe to the letter (although I used an iron skillet instead of a pan) and got a beautiful result.

I can't wait to eat it share it with everyone!

Pollo Saltado -- The first of MANY Peruvian Inspired Dishes

I'm a lucky girl.  I was born in Peru and although I've lived in the US most of my life, I've always been surrounded by that culture.  The music, the customs, and most importantly - the food, God, the food.  Now I may be somewhat biased, but I honestly believe that some of the best cuisine in the WORLD can be found in my little country in South America.

 I could go on and on about the delicious meals like Papa a la Huancaina, Aji de Gallina, Ceviche (that's ours by the way, not Ecuador's), and the delectable desserts like Mazamorra Morada, Torta Helada, Alfajores and tons more... but I won't -- I'll get to the point. 

Today is the first day that I attempted to make a Peruvian influenced meal.  Lomo Saltado is a super traditional Peruvian meal that consists of sliced meat sauteed with onions and tomatoes and is served with rice and french fries.  Some people also put the mixture in a roll and eat it for breakfast -- something we did in our house on many Sundays.  Unfortunately, red meat has way more calories than chicken and since I'm trying to fit into a Monique Lhuillier wedding gown by April, I had to adjust.  I made the dish tonight with sliced up chicken instead.  I took this recipe, modified it a bit and replaced the meat with chicken.  And I've got to say, it was absolutely delicious.  And even M, who shies away from unknown foods, loved this as well.  Also, I've got a little extra in the fridge to put in a pita and eat for breakfast or lunch tomorrow! 

Pollo Saltado
3 Servings, approx 390 Calories per serving

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast (approx 14 oz) cut into 1/4 inch slices seasoned with salt and pepper
• 10 Campari Tomatoes, seeded and sliced
• 1/2 Red Onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup White Distilled Vinegar
• 1 tsp Aji Amarillo (Yellow Chili Pepper Paste)
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice

Directions:

1. Sautee chicken strips in Olive Oil until fully cooked (usually you don't do the same with red meat but with chicken, I didn't want to take any chances)
2. Remove chicken from pan and put aside.
3. In the same pan, saute the onions until they are transparent.
4. Add the tomatoes, vinegar and aji amarillo and cook until the tomato softens and vinegar and other juices reduce.
5. Add the chicken back into the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes. 

 Serve with rice (and if you're carb friendly, serve with fries as well) and enjoy!

Grilled Caesar Salad

I know what you're thinking.  The first time I read the name of this recipe, I thought they forgot the 'chicken' too.  But there's no mistake.  The recipe I'll be sharing with you today is for a delicious Grilled Caesar Salad -- courtesy of the folks at Taste & Technique.  It couldn't be any simpler and it's super-tasty.  Let me know if you try this and what you think.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 6):

•  1 large garlic clove cut in half
• 6 oil packed anchovies
• 3 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup water (or more, if needed to thin vinaigrette)
• 3 hearts of Romaine lettuce
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add garlic, anchovies, grated cheese, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, lemon, and pepper.  Process until fully blended and then scrape down the sides of the processor.
2. With machine on, slowly add olive oil.  If vinaigrette is too thick, add a small amount of water.  Transfer to a bowl with a pastry brush.
3. Adjust oven rack to top shelf and preheat boiler. 
4. Trim ends of Romaine hearts leaving the core intact. Cut in half lengthwise and place on baking sheet cut side up. 
5. Brush dressing over the lettuce making sure that it goes between the leaves.  Sprinkle pine nuts on top. 
6. Set sheet pan on top shelf in the oven and cook for 4 - 6 minutes.  The lettuce will start to wilt and brown lightly.  
7. Remove promptly from oven and sprinkle the Parmesan shavings on top. Serve warm.

Lasagna is a Weekend Food!

Last Thursday I was done with work relatively early.  Early enough in fact, that I thought it would be the perfect time to try out Tyler Florence's Ultimate Lasagna recipe.  A recipe that my mom endorsed.  Given that her lasagna is to-die-for, I thought I'd give it a try.  Don't let the 'Easy' difficulty level fool you though -- this dish is no joke. 

So, at 5:30pm I began with the sauce -- which had quite a long list of ingredients, mostly herbs.  These herbs were supposed to be processed but since I don't have a food processor, I chopped them as finely as I could with my trusty Wusthof chef's knife.  (Note to self: Register for food processor!)  I browned the meat, added the veggies, herbs, and tomatoes and let it simmer for a little bit.  Then I mixed up the filling ingredients.  Finally, after all that, I put big pot of water on the stove to boil.  I'm not sure exactly how, but by the time I did this, it was already 8pm and M was starting to parade around the kitchen with his hunger face.  At the rate I was going, the lasagna wasn't going to be finished until at least 9:30.  So, as much as I hated to do so, I made an executive decision and ordered a pizza pie.  As much as I wanted to conquer lasagna, I didn't want to starve my fiance in the process.  I decided I'd finish the lasagna but then freeze it until sometime this week.  So, while it came out exceptional-looking, I still haven't tasted it.  Although, if it tastes how it smells, it will definitely be worth the wait.

So, what's the lesson learned here folks? Lasagna is a 'weekend food.'  Only make it when you have several hours to burn -- and even then, only when you have a food processor because mincing veggies and herbs by hand is quite time consuming.  I think M & I are eating it tomorrow night.  I'll let you all know how it goes.

Update:  After all of that work, I hate to report that I was 'eh' about the lasagna.  I suppose I should have read the reviews on the recipe site and left out the cinnamon - it was really overwhelming.  And even aside from that, the sauce wasn't all that tasty (next time, I'm definitely sticking to my parents' meat sauce recipe.)  I should also mention that the measurements in Tyler's recipe are not precise at all.  All you really need is one box of lasagna noodles -- I had to throw away an entire second box because I followed the recipe.  So unfortunately, I have to declare this recipe a failure.  (Sorry Tyler, I usually love your work.)

At some point in the future, I'll try to make lasagna again.  Hopefully, the next time, it will be a success. 

If you're still interested, here is Tyler's Ultimate Lasagna Recipe:

Fish Novice

Growing up, we hardly ever ate fish.  The funny thing is, my parents liked it and I liked it, but my sister was horrified by the smell and would complain so much when they cooked it, that they eventually stopped making it altogether.  As a result, I was actually really nervous about cooking it last night.  Even more so when I unwrapped the salmon and the smell hit me like a ton of bricks -- it was not pleasant.  After donning a pair of makeshift freezer bag gloves (note to self, buy latex gloves), I got started on this recipe I found on allrecipes.com -- Healthier Grilled Salmon I -- which was really easy and quick.  I made 3 minor changes - I used raw cane sugar instead of brown because that's what I had, I used Lite Soy Sauce, and I used Polamers Ready to Use Chopped Garlic instead of mincing a clove.  I grilled it on my new All-Clad Double Burner Grill from Williams Sonoma (my new favorite kitchen item) and believe it or not -- the smell was not an issue.  I plated it up with a bit of brown rice and much to mine and M's surprise, it was actually pretty good. 

Here is my modified version of this recipe.  Let me know if you try it out and what you think:


Healthier Grilled Salmon I

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1-1/2 lbs. salmon fillets
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon Polamers Ready to Use chopped Garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons Lite Soy Sauce
• 1/3 cup Raw Cane Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 13 X 9-inch glass dish, stir together lemon juice and zest, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and olive oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish flesh side down in mixture and refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Preheat grill for medium heat.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. 

Enjoy!