Sunday Brunch Part 4 – Minted Watermelon and Pineapple Stuffed Celery

May 27th, 2009

This is not a complicated brunch dish but it does offer a new taste sensation and a unique stuffing for celery. One of the blogs I follow is . . . thrice shy written by a high school classmate of mine. Sharon recently wrote about a simple appetizer of watermelon sprinkled with fresh mint and thought the combination was wonderful. It sounded good to me too so I tried the idea for this brunch. It turned out to be a very refreshing addition to some of the richer dishes on the menu and the mint and watermelon are indeed compatible.

An appetizer I have been making for years is Cream Cheese, Pineapple Spread. I usually serve this on crackers, but it is an excellent stuffing for celery. As a matter of fact, I like it better on the celery.

CREAM CHEESE, PINEAPPLE SPREAD

1 cup pecans, chopped
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 large can crushed pineapple, well drained
1 Tbls onion chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and serve with crackers or stuff in celery.

Printable recipe

Chinese Chicken Salad

April 9th, 2009

It is Barefoot Blogger Thursday and today’s recipe was chosen by McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen. Visit her blog to see the changes she made to this delicious dish. I have to say, I thoroughly loved making this chicken salad. What’s not to like about succulent chicken, fresh asparagus, red pepper strips and scallions in a tasty sesame, peanut dressing. And I enjoyed doing it in my Lake Lure kitchen.

It has taken us awhile to get the computers up and running. Reception is not good here in the mountains. Our original computer port was in the garage apartment up the hill from the cottage. We have been staying there while much of the construction has been going on. Now that we have moved permanently to the cottage, everything had to be dismantled and brought down the hill. I am not technically inclined, so I waited patiently (Ha!) while David cussed and wired. I took the time to sit on the deck and enjoy the beautiful Spring display all around me. Florida is wonderful, but the soft greens, pinks and whites of a changing landscape are breathtaking. Here is a view out the sliding doors to the water.

I did make a few changes to the recipe. After reading so many reviewers who said the chicken salad was too salty, I added just a pinch instead of the 4 teaspoons called for. Also I used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts because that is what I had and there were just the two of us. I also halved the dressing and cut back on the peanut butter. The changes worked perfectly and we enjoyed a lovely lunch on a warming Spring day. Thank you McKenzie for the perfect choice of Ina’s recipe.

CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

8 split chicken breasts (bone in, skin on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound asparagus, ends removed, cut into thirds diagonally
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted

For the Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large, bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers into strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the shredded chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.


Printable recipe

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

March 29th, 2009

This has been my recipe of choice for grilled salmon for years. It came from Hot off the Grill by Bobby Flay. Bobby Flay has a way of combining ingredients that sing with flavor. We were fortunate to eat at Mesa Grill when we were in New York and I have to say, we had one of the best meals ever. For the two of us, I bought a 1 1/2 pound piece of center cut salmon and we had leftovers which I used to make the Barefoot Contessa’s Salmon Salad served on a bed of lettuce. I will include that recipe also.
SALMON WITH BROWN SUGAR AND MUSTARD GLAZE
8 salmon fillets, 6 ounce each
3 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tbls honey
2 Tbls butter
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbls soy sauce
2 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbls ginger, finely chopped
2 Tbls oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Melt the brown sugar, honey and butter in a small saute pan over medium high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger. Let cool. Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush salmon with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the salmon skin side down ( I had the butcher remove the skin ) on the grill. Coat the flesh of the salmon with the brown sugar mixture. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once after 5 to 6 minutes. ( We cooked it a little longer )
If you grill a whole fillet of salmon, you will have enough to make the full salmon salad recipe. I halved all of the ingredients and used what salmon I had left.
BAREFOOT CONTESSA’S SALMON SALAD
2 pounds cooked salmon, chilled
1 cup small-diced celery ( 3 stalks)
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
2 Tbls minced fresh dill
2 Tbls capers, drained
2 Tbls raspberry vinegar
2 Tbls good olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Break the salmon into very large flakes, removing any skin and bones, and place the salmon in a bowl. Add the celery, red onion, dill, capers, raspberry vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Season to taste. Mix well and serve cold or at room temperature.

St. Patrick’s Day Cabbage Roll Soup

March 17th, 2009


Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone. In honor of the occasion I have made my friend Maxine’s cabbage roll soup. This is not a typical St. Patrick’s day dish by any means. As a matter of fact it’s origins are in Eastern Europe I am sure. But cabbage is associated with St. Patrick’s Day, so it seemed fitting that it could be served to celebrate this day.

Our Mothers and Grandmothers made cabbage rolls – at least mine did. About ten years ago I asked my Mother to show me how she made her cabbage rolls and we spent a memorable afternoon boiling and rolling cabbage around ground beef and rice. The rolling had to be just so, with the edges tucked and sealed before being placed in the pot atop shredded cabbage to protect the leaves from burning. My Mother’s hands were as deft and sure as mine were clumsy and hesitant. And I learned more than making cabbage rolls that day.

Maxine’s Grandmother also made cabbage rolls. Over the years she has adapted the recipe into a soup using the same ingredients that her Grandmother used, but simplifying the process. The first time I tried this soup I loved it. It has delicious meatballs in a fragrant and flavorfull cabbage soup, accented with raisins and a sweet and lemony taste. Maxine, thank you for sharing your recipe with us.

MAXINE’S CABBAGE ROLL SOUP

For the Soup:
1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup raisins
5 cups water

For the Meatballs:
1 pound ground chuck or round
2 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup bread crumbs

In large dutch oven saute onions and garlic in small amount of olive oil till soft. Add salt and pepper. Add shredded cabbage and lightly saute till soft. Add tomatoes with their liquid, tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, raisins and 5 cups water. Stir to blend.

Mix all meatball ingredients. Form cocktail size meatballs from mixture and add to liquid. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Enjoy. Serves 4 to 6.

Printable recipe

You say Manhattan. . .I say Minorcan

March 10th, 2009

There has been a long standing debate over Manhattan and New England clam chowders. Some love the creaminess of New England chowder and others are convinced that the tomato based chowder is the only way to go. There is another kind of chowder known only to a small segment of the population – known only to St. Augustine Florida in fact. The key to this version of chowder is the datil pepper which is grown exclusively in St. Augustine.

A group of Minorcans were brought to Florida in 1768 from their native Island of Minorca, off the coast of Spain to work the indigo plantation in New Smyrna Beach. They suffered great hardship for nine long years under the cruelty of the plantation owner and finally escaped to St. Augustine in 1777. They had brought their own spices, seeds, and cooking traditions with them and when they were free to plant their own gardens with the datil peppers, and fish the ocean waters, Minorcan clam chowder was born.
The datil pepper is a little bigger than a jalapeno pepper and is hotter, but not as hot as a habenero pepper. You can substitute any pepper you want in the recipe but you can also order datil products here . The jar of pickled datil peppers that I used was from a local market that is not set up for delivery out of state.

I served my Minorcan Chowder with the most remarkable rosemary flatbread I have ever eaten. It was easy to put together and bake and tasted like a homemade cracker – crisp and herby. If you make nothing else from this post you have to try this recipe. It came originally from Gourmet, but I saw it on the Smitten Kitchen website. Thank you, Deb. It was easy to handle, which was a surprise to me because the directions have you rolling it thinly on parchment paper and then transferring it to a hot baking pan. Yeah, sure. Well it worked!
Added note here. I just re-read the recipe on Deb’s blog and you are supposed to leave the dough on the parchment paper when you put it on the baking sheet. I didn’t do that because parchment paper is good only to 400 degrees, or so I thought, and this bakes at 450. It lifts easily from the parchment paper if you want to place it directly on the baking sheet.

There are many recipes for Minorcan Clam Chowder and I combined ideas from several of them. Hope you agree that Minorcan Clam Chowder is a contender in the ongoing debate over the best chowder in the world. What is your favorite chowder?
MINORCAN CLAM CHOWDER

1 Qt. chopped clams with juice (or 3 cans chopped clams with juice)
4 slices bacon, diced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 potatoes, chopped
3 datil peppers, seeded and chopped ( This was enough for a medium heat)
1 28 0z can of diced tomatoes
1 14 0z can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound shrimp, cut in halves

Fry bacon until crisp in dutch oven. Remove to drain. Saute vegetables in bacon drippings until tender. Add datil peppers, both cans of tomatoes, chicken broth and clams with juices to pot and simmer until potatoes are tender. You may have to add a little water to thin chowder. Stir in shrimp near end of cooking time. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a sprinkling of bacon.

Printable recipe – Crispy Rosemary Flatbreads
Printable recipe – Minorcan Clam Chowder

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