Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
Sitemap ·
Our Recipe Book ·
Steven's Recipe Book ·
Ann's Recipe Book ·
Meal Ideas ·
Copied Recipes
Random ·
Random Links
Home > pescatarian
All for 'pescatarian'
All sub pages for /_tags/pescatarian
Teriyaki Tuna over Spinach with Roasted Chips -- back to top
Tuna marinated then (sort of) seared. Chips again (yes...obsessed). They were not as good this time.
Tuna was really cheap from market. It was a bit fishy but not too bad. Used Kikkoman low-salt teriyaki sauce
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 111, 2010-08-05_184508
Grilled Mahi Mahi over Brown Rice with Broccoli -- back to top
I knew I wanted mahi mahi but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. I thought of making fish tacos but I didn't really have the stuff. So, I read a bunch of recipes and then basically disregarded them.
I wasn't sure what to for the marinade so I just started with some sriracha sauce and went from there. I ended up adding some soy sauce, some olive oil, a bit of sesame oil, some garlic (powder and minced), some onion powder, a tad of worcestershire, a tad of tabasco and finally some white wine. Strange, I know.
After marinating it for a while, I grilled it with the griddler and served it on top of [plain] brown rice with steamed broccoli on the side. It was very good!
Points:
Fish...3+1 for the oil and stuff
Rice...3 (1/2 cup dry per person)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 260, 2010-08-23_210540
Seasoned Grilled Tuna and Broccoli -- back to top
We needed something quick and easy and this fit the bill. We seasoned the tuna with Italian seasoning, rosemary, parsley, and garlic powder then used the griddler. I think I overcooked them a bit, but it was still good. I liked the seasoning mixture The broccoli was semi sautéed and semi steamed. They were a bit overcooked but I like it mushy sometimes. There was a mix of seasonings in this as well but I do not remember them.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 708, 2010-11-29_210524
Tilapia and Quinoa with Tomato. -- back to top
This worked out really well. It was a can of tomatoes with broccoli, peppers and a bunch of seasonings including crushed red pepper and other Italian seasonings. We put tilapia in as well but it got kind of broken up. It was still good though. We originally served the quinoa on the side but both Emily and I mixed it in.
It was really low in points and was pretty good. Also, it was easy and filling.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 828, 2010-12-24_155512
Sautéed Cod over Homemade Beet Pasta with roasted Beets and Potatoes -- back to top
This was a good meal largely inspired by this blog post but with some serious changes. The thing is that their pasta recipe calls for 7 egg yolks though we would have halved it anyway. And it just doesn't sound healthy at all. We made the concession of just using white flour but that was too much egg. So we used egg beaters. Also, even though we had beets (which we roasted later), we did not have time to roast them first so we used canned and then puréed them. Well, still, it all came together strangely. I had to play with the dough a lot to get it the right moistness but it was a very, very streachy dough. After letting it rest for about 35 minutes we started rolling and cutting.
This dough was okay to roll but it did not want to be cut. We had to manually tear the cuts apart. And it was still very, very streachy. I also thought it would all stick but thankfully, in the boiling water, it came apart. I used a lot of salt in the water which did add a nice flavor to the pasta. It ended up fine and tasted good.
We basically followed their lead on the cod but it came out a bit salty. Also, despite our best efforts, it stuck to the pan a little bit. It was thankfully not over cooked but it was salty. Meredith liked it more than I did. Also, we used chives as a garnish/side.
Meredith found a few recipes and made a white wine sauce sans cream/milk, etc. It was okay but very thin. I like the shallot and leak scraps in it. I though they were good even if the sauce was thin.
Finally, we combined the beets we were going to use with some purple majesty potatoes and roasted them with olive oil, garlic and seasonings. It was funny because they were very hard to tell apart until you were in a different light. They were also good.
I had an interesting observation when making this. I have noticed that every time I have made pasta (not including ravioli), the seemingly straight strands twist a lot after coming out of the water. If you look back, this is fairly evident from the pictures. Today, while eating, I remember reading a thing about different dough kneading techniques and one of the things they said about using the stand mixer (my preferred method), was that it creates twisted gluten strands. I wonder if that is what was happening in the pasta and the twists cause them to curl in the heat of the water. Of course, I could imagine the twists counter acting each other but maybe a trend prevails. Just a thought. Maybe next time I will just use the food processor and compare. In that case, it is fully kneaded in like 3 minutes which seems too fast but we will see.
Local copy of recipe copied from comments
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1006, 2011-02-19_222259
Pasta-Tuna Creation -- back to top
We were going to order in, but decided to save the time, money, and calories. Plus, this got rid of more stuff in the pantry. I basically cooked whole wheat shells (about6 oz or three servings). Then I added a can of 97% fat free condensed chicken soup, a can of black beans, a can of tuna, and some steamed broccoli. Then I added a bunch of spices, some grated low fat cheese and salt. Stirred it up and made this. It was alright. A bit strange I guess and not overly flavorful but it got the job done.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1996, 2012-05-29_071541
Magic Dusted Tilapia and Butternut Squash fries -- back to top
I didn't feel like doing a lot of cooking so I took some frozen tilapia, put leftover magic dust form the other day on it and baked it in the toaster oven. I also made butternut squash fries. The mandolin had some trouble getting through the squash but it wasn't too bad in the end. They didn't come out very crispy but I still liked them.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2042, 2012-06-20_123833
Salmon Burgers with Onion Jelly and broccoli -- back to top
I wanted something easy though I still spent quite a while on the onion jelly. I basically supersautédandcaramelizedred onions and then added some balsamic vinegar a little bit of sugar. I put it on salmon burgers.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2054, 2012-06-24_233006
Salsa Tilapia and Pasta -- back to top
I made a really simple meal. I just baked tilapia with hot salsa for 30 minutes at 350. As a side, I made a small amount of the Plus type pasta with butter spray and Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle. Simple, easy, fast prep and relatively fast overall.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2095, 2012-07-05_082856
Salmon Burgers and Edamame -- back to top
I made salmon burgers and steamed edamame. It was fast and easy_!_I let the salmon burgers cook for about 4-5 min on each side. I think I like them more cooked. They taste less juicy, but have a better texture.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2141, 2012-07-25_224426
Kale and Tuna-Shrimp curry pasta -- back to top
First, the kale chips since they were better. I used dino/Lacinato/Tuscan kale. I cut off the stems but kept the leaves long. I used olive oil pam and and sprayed a tray, layed the kale on it, then pammed it again. I then sprinkled salt. Cooked them for 20 min @ 300°F. They really did crisp nicely, though I think they may have burned a bit. I like them a lot though they got rather "dust" as I ate them. I would definitely do it again. I wonder how it works with regular kale. Not that there is much to say about the kale, but I based it on this
I also made a rather awful tuna/shrimp/pasta concoction. I basically mixed canned tuna, canned shrimp (very tiny ones) and pasta with a lot of seasonings including curry powder. It was a dry higher-than-I-would-like point meal. Not to be done again without some improvement!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2161, 2012-07-31_140656
Salsa Tilapia and Roasted Broccoli -- back to top
As I have done a few times before, I baked some frozen tilapia and frozen shrimp with salsa on top. Despite doing the same amount of time as before (350 for 30), the tilapia wasn't fully cooked. So, I microwaved it for a bit and it exploded everywhere. Oh well, it was still pretty good.
I used a really, really, really hot salsa from the farmers market. OUCH! It was intense
I also roasted broccoli. Nothing special but it was very good.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2201, 2012-08-13_220936
Salmon and Roasted Cabbage -- back to top
First, the salmon. I used the technique discussed on 2011-12-25 involving both the oven and a cast-iron pan. I figures that since the fish was thin, I figured it would need less time. When I was transferring the fish to plate I dropped a piece on the floor. I guess the good thing about that was I could see that it was woefully undercooked. Back in the oven it went! (and the floor piece became mostly lunch and partially Gracie's dinner). Overall, it was pretty good. Nothing special. I think higher quality fish would have helped.
I made the cabbage from the recipe below but completely skipping the bacon. Basically, I quartered it, cut the stem out, and cut it again. The pieces didn't stick together too well. I liked it a lot, but I had higher hopes. I figured that since I LOVE roasted brussel sprouts, I would love this. Well, I did like it, but again, it wasn't out-of-this-world. I think next time I will try to shred it (and then have to mix it more in the oven). I want more smaller pieces.
I was happy with the meal though. Lots of food for very few calories.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2281, 2012-10-01_220756
Salmon Burgers and Sweet Potatoes -- back to top
An orange meal! The salmon burgers were from Trader Joes. They weren't anywhere near as good as the ones from Costco. They had less flavor and cooked out a lot more fat.
I also made sweet potatoes like I do hash browns. I microwaved them for a bit, then I used a sauté pan.
Overall, it was a pretty mediocre meal
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2322, 2012-10-17_131121
Tuna Salsa pasta -- back to top
I wanted something quick and easy. I do not remember everything I did but I made a sauce with salsa, garlic and tuna (for flavor and protein. I added the pasta and used some of the water to incorporate it. I aslo added two wedges of laughing cow
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2825, 2012-11-09_101429
Tilapia and Beets -- back to top
Somehow I forgot to take a picture. I made tilapia in the oven with a sauce from Trader Joes (garlic and eggplant). I have always had issues cooking tilapia from frozen in the oven since it takes longer than I expect and I have to microwave it. So I defrosted it in the microwave first.
It was pretty good and pretty easy
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2918, 2012-12-20_123152
Patatas Bravas and Mahi Mahi -- back to top
Meredith and I made this at her place. We made patatas bravas. We used the regular recipe for the sauce. Or at least we used it to inspire what we made. We didn't have anything but smoked paprika. Both hot and sweet but only smoked. We also used a bit (or too much really) of cayenne. We wanted to rush the potatoes a bit so we microwaved them for 5 minutes first the roasted them for about 25.
One different thing we did was to use paprika and other sauce-related seasonings on the potatoes. I do not know what difference it made, but the entire meal was extremely good. A tad spicy but very good. The potatoes were a mix of different kinds, including purple.
We also made a Mahi Mahi thing that came frozen and pre marinated. It was coconut and something but I do not recall what. We cooked it in the pan since we were using the oven already for the potatoes.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2951, 2013-01-04_082029
Buffalo Cauliflower and Salmon Burger -- back to top
I used the extra head of cauliflower to make buffalo cauliflower like we did for the party, using that recipe. I added a bit of spicy ranch powder to the batter. I also ended up needing more water to get a good texture as it was way too dry at first. I also used white whole wheat flour. I do not know what, if any, affect that had. I also used melted olivio instead of oil (and less of it I think)
They were still not very crispy, but they were good. I also made a salmon burger, and between that and a_whole head_ of cauliflower, I was rather full from the meal.
I also used non-stick aluminum foil, which I am beginning to really like. It doesn't have a chemical or oily feel, yet things really do not stick.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3108, 2013-01-28_081158
Seared Salmon and Green Beans -- back to top
I made salmon again using the stove+oven technique I talked about here following the same technique and the same timings. I used salt, pepper and a bit of 21 Seasoning Salute. It was extremely good. Maybe a tad bit overdone, but very good never-the-less.
I also made green beanson the stove with Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle. I put it on them and let the pan heat up. At a certain point, I added a little bit of water and put the cover on it. Then I kept tossing it as needed. There was some seasonings burned on the bottom of the pan but the green beans came out very good! I really liked them though I hate snipping the ends. I also had a perfect amount left for lunch the next day.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3131, 2013-02-05_185943
Tilapia, Asparagus and Spinach + Arugula salad -- back to top
This was a rather boring meal. I cooked Sweet and Sour tilapia (purchased frozen at Whole Foods) in the pan. In the mean time, I steamed asparagus. Finally, I had spinach and arugula salad with fat free french dressing. I didn't calculate the points but it has to be ridiculously low
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3155, 2013-02-12_200501
Teriyaki Mahi Mahi and Brussel Sprouts -- back to top
This was a pretty simple meal. I bought frozen teriyaki mahi mahi from whole foods and I baked them at 400 for about 20 minutes. I also did brussel sprouts at 400 for 30-35 minutes (see this post). Overall, it was quick, easy, and healthy. Though the mahi mahi was a bit over-cooked and somewhat fishy. Also, the brussel sprouts came out mushy, but I like them that way. While it was pretty good, it didn't really make very much as much of the weight of the fish was the marinade.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3173, 2013-02-19_101235
Seared Salmon and Kale Chips -- back to top
I made the pretty standard seared salmon and pretty standard kale chips. I used Montreal Chicken seasoning on the salmon. This was also the first time I used salmon I bought from frozen. It didn't make any difference I guess. I wasn't sure if/how it would hold up to this cooking technique.
Kind of a boring meal I guess, but it was relatively fast, very easy, and low in points!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3199, 2013-02-26_194549
Baked Cod and Steamed Asparagus -- back to top
I made a very simple meal. I sprayed apiece of cod with pam, sprinkled it with McCormick chicken Seasoning, garlic powder and pepper, then baked it for 25-30 minutes at 400. I think I overcooked it a bit since it was a tad chewy, but not too bad. Still, it was pretty good and extremely simple! Nothing out-of-this-world, but definitely good enough.
I also steamed asparagus (cut into thirds) and sprinkled it with parmesan cheese. I bought the skinnier ones since they tend to be more flavorful. I do not know if it was the asparagus, cooking time, etc, but this was probably the most flavorful asparagus I have ever made. I didn't do anything special; it was just really, really good! And also very simple.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3288, 2013-03-19_101508
Seared Salmon and Kale -- back to top
Standard seared salmon with the stove-oven technique. I do not know if I just had my timing perfect, or if it was the fish (from TJ's, frozen), but this was the best salmon I think I have ever made. I used sandwich sprinkle on it as well, which was good, but I'm not sure it added too much flavor.
I was also going to make kale chips but I opted for just sautéing t instead.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3355, 2013-03-26_194819
Salmon Burgers and Curry-Roasted Cauliflower -- back to top
I wanted something pretty hands off and fast since I was also cooking for a friend. I made the regular curry-roasted cauliflower. I think I should have split it into two pans. Even after removing the foil, I feel like it may have steamed a bit too much. They were kind of soft.
I also made salmon burgers (from Costco) in the grill pan. I used light, whole-grain english muffins as bread. As a side note, I am no longer planning on buying Arnold's Sandwich Thins. The english muffins have very similar nutritional specs but are a lot more flavorful, and bigger. I like the extra crunch form the nooks and crannies. I put out all kinds of toppings for the burgers. I went with hoagie spread and BBQ sauce.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5760, 2013-04-26_111606
Mahi Mahi and Kale Chips -- back to top
I wanted to make a very light meal. I cooked mahi-mahi in the oven at 400 for about 25 minutes. I think that was too long. It got kind of dried out and lost flavor. I'll do less next time. And I made kale chips. The interesting thing with them was that I still had leftover kale so I tried microwaving them on parchment paper. It seemed to work. I got kale chips from the microwave as well.
Extremely low points. It was about 8 oz of fish (raw) for 4 points and nothing (or just a bit) for the kale.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5770, 2013-04-30_073023
This was a very, very special meal that had a lot of requirements. I needed to make something that was very fast and/or could be prepared earlier; I needed something Meredith loved; and I needed something that felt special. I ended up going with tuna tataki (link to earlier post). I prepped the sauce earlier and we just did the tuna when we were ready. It came out okay. We were distracted and talking on the phone while making it and I forgot to coat the tuna with some of the sauce fist. Still, it was pretty good (even though the presentation kind of failed).
I also purchased a red-velvet cupcake; a fruit tart; and a salted carmel tart for dessert. We just ate the cupcake and saved the others
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5778, 2013-05-02_093001
Buffalo Cauliflower and Zucchini plus Cod -- back to top
I made buffalo cauliflower but I also did a zucchini and a few pieces of jalapeno. It was pretty good though I don't think it was incredible. I had made a batch of batter (but with extra water) and I ended up making another half batch. I basically winged it with adding Franks Red hot, garlic powder and ranch powder. I like how the batter hardens around it and pools a bit. I used Smart Balance (melted) instead of oil to make the sauce. Maybe I made too much sauce so it didn't crisp up nicely.
The zucchini worked pretty well and I would definitely do it again. The pepper was okay. I want to look into other batter recipes that may work better.
I also had miso-soy cod from Trader Joes. It was very good and easy enough to make in the microwave.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5811, 2013-05-15_210848
Seasoned Cod; Asparagus; Thai Coconut Rice; Candied Tomatoes -- back to top
The fish and the asparagus was the easiest and most regular part of this meal. We roasted asparagus in the oven. I am not sure how long. Meredith did it. And for the fish, we just sprinkled it with Penzeys singapore seasoning and microwaved it for 3:30. Of course, the fish popped a bit and made a mess but it was simple enough. Not amazing but we were in a hurry since everything else in the meal took so long.
Meredith did most of the work on this so I do not know all the details. She followed the recipe below but I'll let her comment on the changes I forget. We improvised a way to steam it with a frying screen. So it was a rather loose seal. And we kept having to refill the water. We used red thai rice. We thought it would be sticky but it wasn't really. We also strained off a bunch of coconut milk stuff after it was added since it was too much. We used champaign mangos which were really good.
Meredith had found this recipe but I was put in charge of making it. I halved the recipe since it seemed like it would just make way too much and that was an insane amount of sugar. We also used grape tomatoes (and more than 24) instead of cherry tomatoes. But, on the note of cherries, we also dipped them in the candy coating.
I followed the (halved) recipe pretty closely but I forgot that the temperature jumps very quickly at the end. I pulled it off the burner around 315 instead of 305. We thought it tasted burned but actually, according to Exploratorium it should have just been into the caramelization. Maybe I used too high of a temp throughout and it got a burned taste from that. Either way, they weren't incredible. Certainly an interesting idea but once you get past the crunch, it is just tomato-like. It was also stressful as we didn't realize it was truly candy making until we committed to it. The mess was pretty bad too and I thought there was no way we would ever get that pan clean, but it turns out that soaking candy stuff in hot, soapy water is sufficient
Thai Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice (from The Kitchn)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Candied Tomatoes (from Serious Eats)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5818, 2013-05-19_101420
Cod and Sugar Snap Peas -- back to top
I had cod but I was going for really fast cooking so I again turned to the microwave. I used the auto setting on fish. I thought it was overcooking it because it was going for so long but when I opened it to look, it wasn't finished so I let it continue. I have to say, I was extremely impressed with the auto settings on this microwave. It cooked it really nicely. The fish didn't pop as it did last time and it was cooked nicely. The seasonings were salt, pepper and Penzeys sandwich sprinkle.
I also steamed some sugar-snap peas and topped them with spray butter and cheese
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 5862, 2013-05-21_105948
Cod with Zucchini (and other failures) -- back to top
This meal basically failed. First, I tried to make roasted tomatoes. I didn't do much so I tried to do them in the toaster oven. Towards the end of cooking, I changed it from bake to toast so it would get the top a bit crispy. Well, most burned. And those that didn't burn, stuck. So much for that,
The zucchini slices were more or less fine. I used the crinkle blade on the thickest setting. I didn't see that you could do it on the setting smaller, so I'd do that next time. But many slices were uneven leading to some burned spots. Really, just nothing special.
Finally, the fish. I bough this fish a week ago on a Sunday, and froze it on a Tuesday. When I froze it, it smelled a bit fishy but not too bad. When I defrosted it, it smelled fine. I decided to cook it in the microwave since it worked well last time. I used the auto setting for fish and decided to trust it. First of all, it was overcooked. Very chewy and springy. Not very good by any means, but, about half way through eating it, I got a chemically smell. I tried to eat some more but I couldn't push past the strange smell. I threw out this piece and what I was planning for lunch tomorrow. I made salmon burgers instead (not pictured).
Oh well. I guess sometimes the meal just has to fail.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6174, 2013-06-04_095755
Baked Salsa Cod and Green Beans -- back to top
I made a pretty simple meal. I baked (defrosted) cod topped with hot salsa for 20-25 minutes at 350. And, I also made green beans with blackened Penzeys sandwich sprinkle.
After my failure last time with the cod, I didn't want to microwave it so I baked it. I actually bought it this time at Target and I was pretty happy with it. I got the baking time and temp from their recipe. It was very good though a bit overcooked. I didn't mind that too much since the salsa gives it a lot of flavor and sufficient liquid.
The green beans were pretty standard. I gave them more time in the pan at a lower temp so that I didn't have to add water and steam them at all. I think that made a big difference. That was made easier by the fact that I didn't make my usual gross amount of them. The spices got nicely blackened on them
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6208, 2013-06-25_195401
Sautéed Mahi Mahi Tacos -- back to top
Meredith and I made fish tacos (it was a week ago so I may not remember everything).
The fish was mahi-mahi. We mixed together some flour, salt, pepper and seasonings. I_think_ it was cajun but I'll confirm with Meredith and come back. We then put the sliced fish into the mix, covered it, and shook to coat. This let us get a nice coating without using much flour. We sautéed that on the pan until it looked done.
We also made a roasted corn side/topping. We microwaved the corn in the husk for 1 min 30 sec then put it in the broiler to brown. We cut off the kernels and Meredith mixed in some salted butter (only a little), and some Chesapeake Bay Seasoning (aka fake Old Bay). FInally, she added some feta. The stuff was good, though a bit salty. I thought it made a nice topping.
We also warmed the tortillas in the oven (wrapped in Al foil) while the broiler was on. Note for next time to leave them in the oven for less time. They got too cooked. If I want to be really good, I should warm them on a dry pan but that takes too long. The microwave with a wet paper towel would work fine too.
Other toppings were:
We forgot cilantro. We'll have that next time
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6468, 2013-08-10_112042
Sous Vide Tilapia and Sautéed Kale -- back to top
I made tilapia using my new sous vide setup. Actually, the setup isn't for sous vide but it should work. I do want to do some real tests, but in the mean time, I just cooked tilapia from frozen. I started with the water pretty warm, put the fish in, and let it go. However, I only set it to low and when I checked on it a while later, it was not at temp. I was afraid the fish was at the "danger zone" for too long so I tossed it and tried again with it on warm
A few things. The first is that I am unsure of this setup. It blew past the set temp and took a very long time to come down. I do not know if it is a mixture issue or that fact that it may be too strong of a source. I'll investigate. (see the photo below. I'll comment later on making it but it's for beer)
The other thing is that this is simply a piss-poor test of the system. It is pretty boring fish with absolutely no seasonings. I just wanted something fast and easy.
The fish came out pretty well. It was warm when I ate it but that is likely after I plated it. It seemed fully cooked and certainly not overcooked.
I also made sautéd kale. Pretty standard. I just added some salt, pepper and dried onions.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6681, 2013-09-19_203308
Seared Salmon and Roasted Kabocha Squash -- back to top
I made dinner for me, Meredith and Emily. First, I made seared salmon using roughly my usual technique. I didn't have cast-iron so I used a stainless steel pan and I added a bit of coconut oil. I took them out of the oven a bit too soon making it slightly undercooked but still very good. Also, the skin came off a bit in the pan as you can see (they are a bit broken). I then took the skins and fried them in the leftover coconut oil and they came out really crispy and good. I could have probably done with less coconut oil (or none).
And I made a Kabocha squash. I followed the instructions from NomNomPaleo, but really, all I did is as follows. I cut the squash into wedges with the skin on. Then pam the squash and the tray and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. I cooked it for 30 minutes at around 400 flipped at the 15 mark. However, the temperature was probably not exact since the oven isn't exact and I upped it at the end for the salmon.
On Emily's suggestion, I ate the whole thing, skin and all! It was so good. The squash had an amazing flavor and the skin was even really good! I would do this again. It was also so simple!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7062, 2014-01-05_214405
Seared Salmon, Roasted Crispy Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus -- back to top
Meredith and I made an easy dinner. We started with the crispy roasted potatoes I have done before, but with purple majesty potatoes. As I noted the last time, I used a lower heat. I did 450 but kept the 20 minutes. However, I only did the other side for 6 or so. I again just did half-moons since you have to turn them halfway and this helps. They were in fact rather crunchy, though I thought maybe a tad dry.
We did the salmon the usual way on the stove then oven. And, since the oven was already cranked up, we just did the asparagus for 5 minutes with the smoking salmon. That actually gave them a bit more flavor. The 5 minutes at 500 was perfect for "normal" people, though I prefer them a bit more cooked. The salmon came out dry. I do not know if I went too long, the fish was thinner than I am used to, or this was lower quality salmon but it was far from as good as it often is when I cook it this way. Oh well.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7228, 2014-02-06_191211
Homemade Tuna Sushi and Bahn Mi Garden Rolls -- back to top
We took two Vietnamese dishes and combined them. We used Meredith's Mushroom Pate, sliced cucumbers, Meredith's pickled carrots, sliced jalapeños, cilantro and Pan-Seared Tofu.
The Tofu was based on Kenji's Method (from Serious Eats). You use boiling water to get more water out of the tofu. Then you press the tofu and finally, pan-fry/sear it. You do not marinate it but after it is cooked, you can then put it in the sauce. We used a mixture of TJ's Soyaki (aka Soy Vay), sriracha and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The tofu was very good.
The rolls themselves were good. Some were better and more tightly rolled than others but they were all flavorful. The mushroom pate got kind of lost in them which is unfortunate since it's so good. A tip Meredith discovered is to put down on the bottom whatever you want to be most visible.
We made tuna, avocado and cucumber sushi. We found that at The Fresh Market, they will sell you still vacuum and frozen sashimi grade tuna for a really amazing price! You just have to ask for the still-frozen stuff. We used that and it tasted fine. No fishy flavor at all. Very clean but flavorful.
Cutting it was kind-of a nightmare. It wasn't clear which way the grain went and we forgot whether or not you are supposed to cut along it or against it. Still, we managed to get the 7ozpiece sufficiently cut.
More details on the rice below.
We made the sushi rice using Alton Brown's recipe (also below). The recipe worked well enough. Some layer of rice burned on the bottom but we carefully scraped off of it to avoid the burned flavor. Otherwise, the only change was to go a bit light on the salt since we (a) had less rice and (b) were using a different and potentially more fine salt.
It came out very flavorful but way too sticky. As you can see from some of the pictures, we had a lot of trouble getting a thin layer on the nori and did not have a great rice coating. I need to read up on how to spread it and/or look at other recipes. I did really like the flavor though.
We forgot to buy wasabi so we served with sriracha (which we also had out for the rolls). And soy sauce. We also had some peanut sauce from Whole Foods that wasn't very good. I mixed in a bit of sriracha which helped a little but not much.
Sushi Rice (from Alton Brown)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7444, 2014-02-16_120721
Yam Tuna (Thai Tuna Salad) -- back to top
Meredith and I made Thai Tuna salad from the recipe on page 54 of Pok Pok.
We stayed pretty true to the recipe. We doubled it with the only changes being:
At first we were worried that it would be too fish-saucy from the smell, but with it all mixed in, it was actually perfectly good. The meal itself was delicious. Probably one of the better things I have ever made with canned tuna.
Recipe from PokPok. Local copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 8038, 2014-07-29_213547
Broiled Trout and Roasted Broccoli-Arugula Soup -- back to top
Meredith and I made a quick meal of roasted broccoli (and arugula) soup with trout.
Meredith had read about a broccoli-arugula soup and we decided to do something similar but with roasting it (as we did for this recipe). We really didn't follow any recipe and just winged it. We roasted a good amount of broccoli on 400 for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, we sautéd an onion, added some garlic and then added the broccoli and water. We used about a gallon of water and used Better Than Bouillon to taste (a good amount).
It still needed some flavor so we added a good bit of smoked paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. Finally, we decided to add some smoked salt but accidentally poured a whole bunch in. Thankfully, we were able to skim a lot off before it mixed and the end product wasn't too salty.
Right before blending it, we added a large bunch of arugula. I am not convinced I could really taste the arugula but it adds nutrients. The dominant flavor was the broccoli with an accent of smokiness.
The trout was a pretty simple affair. We got two fish's worth (about 1 lbs) and broiled it butterflied with the skin on the bottom and some lemon and fresh thyme (from Meredith;s garden) on top. We broiled it for about 5+ minutes but should have stopped it at 5 minutes. It was a bit overcooked but not too bad. (this was also for dinner the next day).
We topped it with some fried capers using the method from Smitten Kitchen in this post. (I am not copying it below since it was pretty simple). Basically, drain and dry the capers then fry them for 5 minutes or so.
This page was converted from Wordpress with a custom script by Justin Winokur. Most links and images should still work. However, if any links are broken, see the HTML (or Markdown) source to try to deduce the intended destination.
Original WP Post ID: 8871
Original WP Pub Date: 2014-09-24_214032