Book 117: Everyday Tapas | Fresh Salmon in Mojo Sauce

by Parragon Books

This was not only easy and delicious, but it's healthy to boot! What more can one ask for?

Salmon is my favorite fish, and this was a nice change from the ordinary. Normally we bake or grill it with a little olive oil, smoked salt, and some pepper.

As I mentioned above, this is healthy. The sauce has no cream, butter or mayonnaise. It is made up of olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, and white wine vinegar, processed in a food processor (easy part - no mincing of the garlic). If you have a choice between a small or large food processor, use the small! I was not paying attention to the volume of ingredients, and there really was not enough for the large bowl to get it all thoroughly mixed. I had to finish the sauce by hand.

When you purchase your salmon, ask your fish monger to skin and debone it for you. This will save time and less mess to clean-up later.

The fish is cut in half widthwise, and then again lengthwise in three-quarters of an inch pieces, and sprinkled with some salt and pepper. The fish is cooked for about ten minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) in a frying pan with three tablespoons of oil, until the fish is cooked through and browned on both sides.

Serve the fish drizzled with some of the mojo sauce, and place the remaining sauce in a small bowl to accompany the fish - it's really good - you will want more than just a drizzle.

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Click here for the recipe.

Book 105: Jerusalem

by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

I  originally went to the bookstore to purchase two books: Plenty from the same author as this book, and Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook by Joe Yonan. I love the Plenty cover, and I'm a sucker for a beautiful cover (this the reason I went to purchase Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single cook - and I am not single.)

However, Plenty is an all vegetable cookbook, as is Eat Your Vegetables mentioned above - so I decided on Jerusalem. A very good call. And I've only made this one recipe so far. I am so looking forward to several other recipes from this book.

These were incredibly easy to make and delicious to boot! Each time I had the book open to this recipe or had a photo of the burgers on the screen, my husband would say "those were really good".

I definitely will be making these again.

We had these awesome "burgers" for dinner (they are quite small - only a couple inches in diameter - the instructions even refers to them as meatballs, though they are a flat in shape, not round), served with a simple green salad. These would also make for a delicious hor d'oeuvre to bring to a party. You could even make them ahead. My husband said they were still just as tasty the next day; and the book mentions you can have them as a snack from the fridge.

The burgers are served with a sour cream and sumac sauce. Sumac was the only ingredient that was not readily available at any of my local grocery stores. But after a quick internet search, I discovered a small Mediterranean deli and market one city over. I was ecstatic to say the least - bring on more of these delicious recipes!

Yes, these are good. You gotta make em.

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The makings of the sour cream and sumac sauce. 

The raw meat patties where quite delicate. I had to reform some of them as I picked them up to place them in the pan.

Out of the frying pan, and into the oven to finish cooking.

How delicious does this look?

Book Ninety-Eight: Celebrate!

by Sheila Lukins

Everywhere you turn, there seems to be some new version of a "chip". There is the old faithful potato chip, sweet potato chips, kale chips, banana chips, and this one (so I believed), the tomato chip.

I would not go as far as to call these chips. The only resemblance is maybe their shape and size - but I'm sure the term is used lightly, as with kale chips - at least they are crisp. 

I would have never thought to try and make a "chip" from tomatoes due to their high water content - and I was right. The book does states that these do not get crispy like a chip, but they have a "snap" and a chewy texture.

Out of the five tomatoes, only four slices could be considered chewy and with a "snap", and looked to be disintegrated; to be fair, they were the ones with the best flavor.

I do love anything roasted, and when these tomato "chips" were placed on a rosemary cracker, spread with some delicious goat cheese (as suggested in the book), they were pretty darn tasty.

So forget about the crisp, crackly, crunchy texture of a true chip, and enjoy these for what they are: simply roasted tomatoes.

Success meter (1-3): 2 (I rated this a two based on the "chip" factor - otherwise they did have great flavor and makes for a wonderful appetizer.)

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The tomato slices drizzled with olive oil and dusted with sugar and pepper. Next time, I'll omit the sugar and sprinkle them with salt.

 This is one of the best "disintegrated" tomato slices..

I was able to scrape the disintegrated tomatoes off the pan, and I have to say they had the best flavor. Think - sun-dried tomatoes.

Book Eighty-Two: 365 Great Barbecue & Grilling Recipes

by Lonnie Gandara


              Cajun Firesticks with Fire and Ice Dipping Sauce


Saturdays are reserved for "date day" with the hubby. We do a bike ride, go shopping at our upscale market for something to barbecue for dinner and finish off the evening enjoying the lovely weather on the back deck.

This Saturday however Andy had "fun day" with his rock crawling buddies and I did a solo bike ride. But the barbecue is still on! As I write this he is on his way home and the chicken is marinating, the sauce is made and the flavors are melding.

Andy's toys.

This recipe is listed under the chapter Hot Beginnings (appetizer). I chose to serve it as a main course. Instead of buying chicken breasts and cutting them up I purchased one package of chicken tenders just under a pound and this turned out to be the perfect amount for the two of us.

The Fire & Ice Dipping Sauce lives up to its name! It was really spicy, but cool at the same time. Loved it! The recipe calls for two jalapeño peppers; which I recently read about here, that the older, wrinkled ones I would pass up in the store for the "fresher" smooth skinned ones are actually hotter. I used one wrinkled jalapeño and half of a serrano pepper that I had in the fridge; this added some heat to the sauce, where the coolness came from the yogurt and mint.

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This is my favorite Cajun spice blend.

It has no added salt. The others I have had

in the past were way too salty for my taste.

Spiced up and ready to marinate for a couple of hours.

The beginnings of a wonderful sauce.

I kept thinking of this as green goddess dressing though

I have never made or had it.

Ready for the grill.

Make sure to soak your wooden skewers in water

 beforehand so they do not burn.

Beautiful evening sky.

Zucchini Tart with Lemon Thyme and Goat Cheese

from Fine Cooking magazine




                                                    Zucchini Tart with Lemon Thyme and Goat Cheese



So simple. So sinfully good.

Success meter (1-3): 3+++

Simple tart dough made from flour, butter, salt, vinegar and cold water.

Using a mandoline gives you uniform slices and insures your zucchini will cook evenly.

Salted and sweating out the moisture.

Laptops make great magazine holders!

A simple filling of goat cheese, thyme, salt & pepper.

The recipe calls for lemon thyme. I have English thyme growing in my yard and it tasted fabulous. The instructions say you can add lemon zest if you don't have lemon thyme. Personally I do not think it needs it for the goat cheese has a tartness of its own.

Zucchini drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

I halved the recipe. I rolled it thinner than 1/4 inch thick and came out with an 8-1/2 inch tart.

I omited the drizzle of olive oil at the end. I felt it already had plenty.

This post was edited 6/26/2013.