Grilled Salmon with Fresh Lime Cream

Many thanks to my friend Ronda for sharing this recipe. Would have taken a photo but it just doesn't always happen when I'm trying to get two hungry little people and a busy husband to the table. This wasn't a huge hit with the kids but they both tried. Paul declared it a winner though.

Also, I'm thinking I could bake this salmon in the winter when I don't feel like messing with my grill.

Grilled Salmon with Fresh Lime Cream

Salmon
1 tsp grated lime peel
1/4 c lime juice
2 tbs honey
1 tbs fresh dill or tsp dried
2 tsp canola or soybean oil
1 1/2 lb salmon fillets cut into 6 pcs
1/2 tsp salt

Fresh Lime Cream
1/3 c fat free mayo
1 tsp grated lime peel
2 tsp lime juice



Arrange salmon skin side up in 8 in glass backing dish, pour marinade (in smal bowl mix lime peel lime juice, honey dill weed and oil) over it and turn to cover all sides cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20-30 minutes or more.

Brush grill rack with oil& heat grill for direct heat. Remove salmon from marinade sprinkle with salt and place on grill skin side down grill. Cook over medium heat 10-15 min until done.

Mix lime cream ingredients with wire whisk serve with Salmon
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Turkey Burgers with Sour Cream Guacamole

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• Palmful chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons, half a palmful, cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander, half a palmful
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 ripe avocado
• 4 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 red leaf lettuce leaves
• 1 ripe tomato, sliced
• 4 whole grain buns

Directions

Combine bread crumbs, meat and beans with 1/2 red onion, spices, 2 cloves of garlic and grill seasoning. Form 4 big patties from the meat and bean mixture then heat 1 tablespoon oil, a turn of the pan, in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 7 to 8 minutes on each side. (I wanted to cook these on the grill so I wrapped the patties in tin foil to keep them from falling apart.)

While burgers cook, combine avocado with garlic, lime zest and juice, jalapeno and red onion. Mash to roughly combine, then stir in the sour cream.
Place burgers on buns with lettuce and tomato and top with sour cream guacamole and pepper co-jack cheese.

Delicious.


Adapted recipe, original is courtesy of Rachael Ray

Greek-Style Beef Kabobs with Tzatziki

Oh poor neglected recipe blog. We are cooking, really we are. I promise. Good stuff too. This one has become my new "company" recipe for summer. Pretty easy and super tasty. Sorry there is no photo, trust me, it's good.

Also, I have served this with a Greek style salad (tomatoes, onion, feta) and pitas and made sort of a make shift gyro out of it. Pita chips would make a good side dish as well.


GREEK STYLE BEEF KABOBS

2 small lemons
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T olive oil
1 T fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 lbs thick cut sirloin steak
bamboo or metal skewers

Grate the peel of one lemon and add 1 tsp of grated peel to a large ziplock plastic bag. Next, add 1 TBS lemon juice to bag. Also add garlic, oil, dill, oregano, salt & pepper.

Cut steak into chunks about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Add to bag with marinade. Seal bag and mix ingredients to combine. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

Thread steak on to skewers and grill 5 to 6 minutes on each side.

TZATZIKI

1/2 English cucumber peeled and grated (I used a regular one, just scoop out the seeds)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
16 oz Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBS fresh dill
1/4 tsp black pepper

Grate cucumber and mix with 1 tsp salt. Place in a strainer over a bowl and let stand for 30 minutes. Lightly press cucumber in strainer to remove as much liquid as possible; discard liquid.

Place cucumber in a small bowl and add 2 TBS lemon juice. Stir in yogurt, garlic, dill, pepper, & remaining salt. For best results refrigerate at least 8 hrs or up to 2 days to blend flavors.

2010 Schnucks Cooks

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake [wedding cake trial # 4]

As an intern at an interior design firm, I have found that the best way to find out if people enjoy a recipe is to bring the finished product to work. yes, i know employees at any work-place will eat about anything (especially if they forgot to make breakfast or pack a lunch) but I feel as though my most recent bundt cake recipe was definitely genuinely a "winner" at the workplace. I set the cake out at work around 9:00am and it was devoured by 4:00 [people at work are super busy so it is actually impressive.]. I was amazed. I think its  safe to say that this recipe was a winner.

Serves 10

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
2. In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and eggs. Whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Using a rubber spatula, fold in apples. Spoon batter into a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan, and smooth top. Bake until a tester inserted in cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes; invert onto rack to cool completely.
3. Make the Glaze: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and enough water to form a thick yet pourable glaze. Set rack with cake over a piece of wax paper (for easy cleanup); drizzle cake with glaze, and let set before serving.

This recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart at Marthastewart.com: Apple-Cinnamon Bundt Cake and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

Corn Sausage Soup

Every year for Valentine's Day Mom gifts each of us with a book. Sometimes it's a novel or a book of poetry, but last year I think we all got cookbooks! Yeah! I received the Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook. Having been a resident of the frozen tundra for seven years, the recipes I discovered in it's pages were a nice treat and even my husband (who rarely enters the kitchen unless it's to graze the fridge) enjoyed scanning the pages for diners & cafes he'd been too.

Soup is pretty important when you need something to warm you up, which is often when you live in a state that has snow on the ground from November to April. This recipe is adapted from the one used at the Amherst Cafe in Amherst, WI. Pick up the book and check out page 44 to read the story behind the soup.

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 T flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped onion
1 large pepper chopped, the original recipe calls for green but I used yellow.
1/2 pound smoked kielbasa or polish sausage, sliced. this time I used turkey sausage
2 T chopped fresh parsley
salt, pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste
1 can ( 14-16 oz) chopped tomatoes, undrained I use rotel or the kind the comes with chilies. I like the spice!
1 can (15oz) corn, undrained or 2 cups frozen corn. I use the frozen kind.
1-3 cups water or chicken stock, divided. I always use stock.

Begin by making a roux. This is magic stuff. You know the stuff that makes soup thick. Fat, plus flour plus heat. Heat the oil in a over medium heat in a large soup pot. Whisk in the flour & cook, stirring often, until the roux turns golden brown. Somewhere between three and five minutes. And really, stand there and stir and watch. I have burned roux or let it get too dark more than once.

When the roux reaches the magic color, stir in the onions and continue to cook & stir until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Next stir in the pepper, sausage, parsley, salt, pepper & cayenne. Add undrained tomatoes, corn with half of the liquid from the can, and one cup stock. Bring to a simmer & reduce heat and simmer slowly. Add more stock as the soup cooks to reach desired consistency.

This soup is a quick one and I have chopped up the veggies & sausage during nap time and thrown it in the pot just before supper. I have also made it and let it simmer on the stove for over an hour which gives it time to develop more flavor. And gave me time to add more and more cayenne!

Enjoy filling your belly with this taste of Wisconsin!

No Knead Bread

Over the Christmas holiday Abby raved about the recipe she was using for no knead bread. I asked her to share here but it didn't happen. I stumbled across this recipe this week and gave it a try. I've yet to try some the dough that has been sitting in the refrigerator but expect it to be as wonderful as this loaf was. It was some seriously tasty stuff and I was amazed that Leah, who usually leaves a nice little pile of crusts on her plate, gobbled this stuff right up!

Really, I'm convinced there is something magical about this bread. It was just too darn easy. . . . or maybe it was just the magic of having the smell of fresh baked bread filling the house or enjoying it for snack time smeared with raspberry jam and washed down with espresso on a foggy winter afternoon.

oh and can you believe I took this picture with my iphone!

3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast (2 packages)
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons kosher salt, depending on your saltiness preference (or half as much table salt)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
6 1/2 cups flour (In the bread pictured, I used 3 cups white, 3 cups whole wheat
Cornmeal

Pour the water into a large bowl or plastic container, then sprinkle in the yeast, salt, and vinegar. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flours, and mix until there are no dry patches. Cover it with plastic wrap or a shower cap and let it rest and rise at a warm room temperature for at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours.

At this point, bake it or refrigerate it for up to two weeks to bake later. To bake it: sprinkle some flour across the surface of the dough and use a knife to cut off a piece that's about a third of it; refrigerate the remaining dough. Turn the dough in your hands to stretch its surface, pulling it under to create a taut, rounded top and a gathered-up bottom.

Sprinkle a pizza peel or wooden cutting board heavily with flour then lightly with cornmeal, put the loaf on it, sprinkle the top with flour, cover it lightly with a dish towel, and let it rest for 40 minutes (if you're using refrigerated dough, increase this rest time to 1 1/2 hours).

Half an hour before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450, and put a heavy, covered pot inside to heat. I use a Corning ceramic baking dish with a glass lid, I know other recipes call for using a dutch oven, but this worked just fine for me.

When the dough has rested, use a serrated or very sharp knife to slash an X across its top. Then take the heated pot out of the oven and put the loaf in. Don't worry if it doesn't go in exactly right, it will come out okay. Be careful not to burn yourself!

Bake the dough for 25 minutes, covered, then remove the cover and bake another 15 minutes. At this point it will be wonderfully brown and crusty!

Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies

Really, we HAVE been cooking & baking since September. I know we have!! I keep forgetting to post. Here's the first recipe we tackeled at our house for the holidays. Please note that you have to press HARD to get these to look like squares & stars. The first tray I cooked looked like little circles & stars with puddles of jam on them. They still tasted great though. Thanks to Every Day Food for the recipe and a random blogger for the photo of nice cookies since mine didn't look that great!

8 oz bar cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups jam, jelly or perserves

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter & sugar until light & fluffy. With mixer on low, add flour & salt; beat until combined.

2. Divide dough into 3 portions: flatten each intio a disk. Roll each disk to an 1/8 inch thickness between sheets of parchment. Stack dough (still in parchment) on a baking sheet; refrigerate 20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375. Mix egg yolk with 1/2 tsp water. Working with 1 dough sheet at a time, peel off parchment. With a 2 1/2 inch round or 2 inch star cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Spoon 1/2 tsp jam into center of each and brush exposed dough with egg wash. Shape cookies and arrange, 2 inches apart on parchement lined baking sheets.

4. Bake unti cookies are light & golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks.

SHAPING COOKIES: When using rounds of dough, firmly pinch edge or form 4 corners. If using star-shaped dough, fold points over to center and press lightly to seal.

Nutter Butters

Since I have been in Rome I have been dealing relatively well with change. However, I have not been adapting very well to not having peanut butter. Not only do I miss plain old peanut butter out of the jar, I also miss fancy peanut butter treats such as these delectable goodies. I made them for Ryan's graduation party and since then, I have been dreaming of devouring them again. Thus, I hope that someone will make them so that I can live vicariously through you. Enjoy.

FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 pound (4 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Jif

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
2½ cups quick-cooking oats

FOR THE FILLING:

¼ pound (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Jif

1 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar.

1. For cookie dough: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down bowl twice.

2. At low speed, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Add peanuts and oats, and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop 2 inches in diameter, place balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets at least three inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

3. For filling: using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth.

4. To assemble cookies, spread a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) on underside of a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat.

Yield: 24 large cookies.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is a family favorite, especially with Iowa-grown (and maybe New York) corn. It is great with chips. Lee brought it to work for his birthday treat. Abby and I decided all posts needed pictures, so post one if you make this.

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans of white corn or fresh or frozen corn to taste
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can green chilies, chopped
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
2 bunches of green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup Italian dressing

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

In a quest to use up the peaches, I made a batch of these for the kids. It was a bit amusing trying to do it with my mini-prep food processor but I got the job done. It's made for an easy thing to throw at my kids at 6:30 when they demand breakfast. Oh and it says berries in the recipe but the peaches and blackberries worked just fine.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Crust and Topping:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
2 1/2 cups quick-cook oats
2 tablespoons apple or orange juice

Filling:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups (18 ounces) fresh blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


1. Heat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan.

2. Add the flour, light brown sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine, then add the butter and pulse five or six more times until coarse crumbs form. Add the oats and pulse two or three more times.

3. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and set it aside. Add the juice to the remaining mixture and pulse three or four times until it's just moistened. Press this mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan using your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup.

4. For the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Add the fruit and lemon juice and gently toss the mixture using a rubber spatula until the fruit is coated. Distribute the filling over the crust.

5. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the filling. Bake the dish until the top is golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours, then cut the sheet into 16 bars. Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container.