Tag: Thyme

Matzo Ball Soup

One of my favorite parts of learning to cook is having the chance to learn about cultures through different foods. I love paging through cookbooks that contain recipes I’ve never tried and learning something about the history and tradition behind these recipes. In preparation for Passover, I was sent a copy of The New Jewish Table, written by Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray of Washington D.C.’s Equinox Restaurant. The cookbook takes traditional Jewish recipes and turns them into beautiful modern dishes.

Matzo Ball Soup

The cookbook is filled with a ton of re-imagined comfort foods, and is broken into seasons to make the most of seasonally available product. The last few pages of the book also has suggested menus for Jewish holidays. I hope to cook through the Passover menu over the coming days because it all sounds so delicious (besides the gefilte fish, sorry haha.)

 

The Grays’ have filled the cookbook with personal stories and notes throughout that give a family feel and a background to their traditions which is a really nice touch. Each recipe is also labeled by type of recipe to make it easy to keep kosher: dairy, meat, parve, or mixed. Todd Gray’s childhood traditions are also present throughout the cookbook and include a few nods to traditional Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. (I particularly liked these recipes because, well, what is more comforting that food from the Pennsylvania Dutch?)

 

This cookbook almost reads like a memory book and is filled with wonderful stories, photographs, and obviously recipes. The New Jewish Table would be great for someone who is interested in learning about Jewish traditions through food and those who have grown up with these traditions and are looking for a fresh update to their family favorites.

 

I decided to make the recipe on the cover, called “Not Exactly Aunt Lil’s Matzo Ball Soup.” The recipe is a more polished version of Ellen Kassoff Gray’s Great Aunt’s soup. It has noodles in it, but to make it for Passover, this version below has omitted them. Todd Gray’s spin on this traditional recipe turns a comforting dish into a truly beautiful dish. I altered the dish very slightly, but my version is below. To see the original recipe, be sure to pick up a copy of this cookbook.

This recipe falls into the “meat” category. It is also appropriate for Passover.

 

Ingredients:

Caramelized Shallots:

  • 2 cups chopped shallots
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

Matzo Balls:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
  • 1/4 cup club soda
  • 1 cup matzo meal
  • 1/2 cup chopped Caramelized Onions (above)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

  • One 3-pound whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (ask your butcher to do this for you)
  • 1 large yellow onion, quarterd
  • 2 celery ribs, chopped
  • 2 small carrots, chopped
  • 1 medium turnip, chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 bunch parsley, washed and blotted dry
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Garnish:

  • 2 cups finely diced carrots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup finely diced turnips
  • 1/2 cup sliced scallions, both green and white parts

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Wild Mushroom Farro Risotto

I’ve made a couple of farro recipes on this blog before and I just love it. If you haven’t tried it yet, I strongly suggest it. I really like it as a substitute for Arborio rice in risotto dishes; farro adds a nice bite to the creamy risotto that I just love.

So I was super excited when Tuscan Fields, a delicious brand of organic farro, gave me and 49 other bloggers the opportunity to not only try their farro, but to create a recipe using the farro in the hopes of winning a scholarship to the Eat Write Retreat conference this year which is being held in my hometown of Philadelphia!

The nutty flavor of farro would be perfect with the earthiness of mushrooms so I decided to make a wild mushroom farro risotto with Tuscan Fields’ Farro Perlato. I added a bit of bacon to really heighten the flavor of the risotto as well.

Ingredients:

  • 1 package Tuscan Fields Farro Perlato
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 2 large shallots, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried sage
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 lb assorted wild mushrooms
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
  • Fresh sage and thyme, chopped, for garnish

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Wine and Tomato Braised Chicken Thighs

It’s no secret that I love tomatoes. So when I was contacted to participate in a celebration of Pomi’s 30 year anniversary, I was more than happy to oblige. To celebrate, each month Pomi sends me a Pomi product and an ingredient that should be paired with the product in a recipe.

March’s package came with Chopped Tomatoes and the ingredient of the month was wine, so I loosely used a recipe from Eating Well as a base for a Braised Chicken Thigh recipe with Mushrooms, Peppers, and Onions. (Note: I used my Ninja Cooking System for this recipe but you can use a normal slow cooker as well. I have directions for both below.)

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 container of Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 bone-in chicken thighs (2 pounds)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 container sliced baby bella mushrooms
  • 1 large green pepper, chopped
  • 2 cups uncooked orzo

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Linguine with Spinach Herb Pesto

I love a fresh pesto, it brightens up any dish and just screams spring. I made Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach, and Burrata earlier this week and had some spinach left over. Cooking Light’s latest issue had a recipe for Linguine with Spinach Herb Pesto which uses spinach, basil, oregano, and time to make a creamy pesto sauce. How great does that sound??

Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces fresh baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 large garlic clove, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons organic vegetable broth
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (~1/2 a lemon), plus zest from 1/2 a lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated and divided (about 1/4 cup)
  • 8 ounces uncooked linguine

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Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

This may come as a surprise, especially coming from a food blogger, who is about to share a recipe for Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, but I had my first piece of bacon just a few years back. I’ve never been a big fan of pork products to begin with (I was an awfully picky child… sorry mom!) and swore it off all together after a trip to Switzerland where I couldn’t find anything that didn’t have pork/bacon/ham/sausage in it. But a few years ago, I finally started going back to eating pork, starting with bacon. And I’ve never looked back. Although I’m still not fully into pork yet, I have finally incorporated it slightly into my repertoire.

Hatfield Quality Meats contacted me last week to see if I’d be interested in trying some of their products. At first I was a bit wary but this was my chance to finally work with pork products and perhaps even like it! So I thought I’d jump in head first with a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin!

Hatfield’s pork products include bacon, tenderloin (marinated and regular), ham steaks and sausage and can be found at your local grocery store. I was sent a boneless pork loin filet, which has no MSG added and is gluten free, as well as thick cut hardwood smoked bacon, both of which I used in this recipe.

Ingredients (get all ingredients here):

Pork:

  • 1 (2-lb.) pork tenderloin
  • 1 tablespoon steak seasoning (recipe below)
  • 6-8 bacon slices
  • Fresh parsley, for garnish

Steak seasoning:

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme

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Duck Breasts with Cider-Farro Risotto

So, I found myself in the odd position of craving farro. Yes, farro. So after some searching, I came across a Cooking Light recipe that sounded fantastic. The recipe not only has farro, but it also uses apple cider (how autumnal!) AND it’s a risotto! I’ve never thought of using farro in a risotto but, better late than never.

 

 

Ingredients:

Risotto:

  • 1 cup farro
  • 1.5 cups fat free, less sodium chicken broth
  • 1.5 cups apple cider
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup chopped fennel bulb (1 small fennel bulb should cover you)
  • 3/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup water (if needed)
  • grated lemon rind from one lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Duck:

  • 4 6-ounce boneless duck breast halves, skinned
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

 

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Herb Infused Turkey Breast

I’ve got turkey on the brain with Thanksgiving fast approaching and I wanted to do a post that used turkey. But if you’re like me, you don’t have 15 people around to help me eat an entire roasted turkey. So instead, why not make an Herb Infused Turkey Breast?

This recipe for Herb Infused Turkey Breast is cooked using the Ninja Cooking System, I thought it was a fantastic alternative for a smaller Thanksgiving. If you don’t have a Ninja Cooking System, you can still make this recipe; you’ll just need a saute pan that is also oven safe.

Ingredients (get all ingredients here):

  • 1 5-6 pound turkey breast
  • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch disks
  • 1 onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, cut into ½ inch slices
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 1 lemon, juiced

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Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

My CSA share this week came with the most beautiful carrots. I am not the biggest fan of carrots but I don’t mind them mixed into a dish. These were too pretty to not use! Cooking Light had a recipe in its latest issue that sounded really intriguing: Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken. The dish is pretty simple to make, although it takes a good hour and a half so this is not a weeknight meal. But the presentation is definitely snazzy enough for company!
Ingredients (serves 2 heartily, or up to 4):
  • 2 slices center-cut bacon
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 bone-in chicken thighs
  • 2 bone-in chicken drumsticks
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • 1/3 pound potatoes, cut into equal pieces
  • 1/2 poundbaby bella mushrooms, halved
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 2 shallots, halved
  • 3/4 cup no-salt-added chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 3 thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 6 baby carrots with tops
  • 1 cup Champagne
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Continue reading Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

Scarborough Fair Cornish Game Hens with Risotto

Do you remember the first recipe you learned how to make? One that was probably so simple, but made you so proud when you had completed the dish? Mine (besides grilled cheese) was a chicken recipe my mom referred to as “Chicken a la Simon and Garfunkel” based on the lyrics in their song Scarborough Fair:
Are you goin’ to Scarborough Fair? 
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there, 
she once was a true love of mine.
I knew the song so I was able to help make dinner by seasoning the chicken and keeping my mom company while humming the tune to the song (which I have to assume was more of a distraction than a help.. I’m a truly awful singer and I’m sure that translates into a truly awful hummer as well).
I figured this was as good as any time to learn how to roast a chicken. So I settled on Cornish game hens seasoned and stuffed with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. I also made a “Scarborough Fair” Risotto to go with the chicken.
Ingredients: (I was making this for a family dinner but lowered the amounts to happily feed 2. Multiply as needed).
  • 2 Cornish game hens
  • 1 tablespoon each of dried parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (divided)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 lemon
  • 4 sprigs each of fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
  • 6 small shallots, divided
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup uncooked arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
  • 2 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Continue reading Scarborough Fair Cornish Game Hens with Risotto

Honey-Tomato Bruschetta with Ricotta

My CSA share this year has had plenty of tomatoes. Not that I’m complaining, I absolutely love them! But I’ve been running low on new inspiration for what recipes to use to highlight the tomatoes. I put out a request for yummy recipes that use cherry tomatoes on my Facebook page, and Katie H. suggested this Food and Wine recipe, which is a real winner. You slow roast the tomatoes to bring out the flavor and pair them with two types of honey and fresh ricotta cheese. mmm!
Ingredients:
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons clover honey
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
12 baguette slices, cut 1/2 inch thick on the bias
1 cup fresh ricotta (8 ounces)
1 tablespoon buckwheat honey
6 basil leaves, thinly sliced or torn

I wanted to go over the two different honeys used in this recipe. The tomatoes are tossed in the clover honey, which sweetens up the somewhat tanginess of the tomatoes. Clover honey is simply honey in which bees feed mainly on the nectar of clover plants.  Clover honey is mild, relatively inexpensive, and has a slight floral taste to it. The buckwheat honey is drizzled over the finished burschetta to bring out the flavor of the ricotta. Buckwheat honey is a darker amber colored honey that is produced by bees who feed mainly on the nectar of flowers on buckwheat plants. The flavor is similar to molasses and has a wonderful earthy flavor. (If you’re in the Philadelphia area, Bee Natural, located in Reading Terminal, has both honeys for sale).
This recipe is definitely not weekday friendly. You can roast the tomatoes beforehand and refrigerate up to 2 days to break up some of the time. Just bring the tomatoes to room temperature before serving.
To make, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with olive oil, clover honey, thyme leaves, salt and pepper.
Add the tomatoes to the baking sheet, turning them cut side up.
Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes or until they begin to shrivel. Allow to cool.
Preheat your broiler and add the baguette slices to a baking sheet. Broil for about 30 seconds on each side or until the edges of the bread are golden brown.
Add the ricotta to the baguette slices and top with the slow-roasted tomatoes.
Lightly drizzle with buckwheat honey and sprinkle with sliced basil.
I tend to be awfully impatient when it comes to making food, I want my meal prepared in under 40 minutes. So I’ve rarely attempt to slow roast, well, anything. But the flavor of a slow roasted tomato makes the wait time well worth it! (It also makes your kitchen smell fantastic)
The honey is a really nice addition and brightens up the flavors of the tomatoes. Creamy ricotta just finishes off the dish. The recipe is really simple (although time consuming) but would be a very welcome appetizer at any party.

Scallops Gratineed with Wine Garlic and Herbs

I am on a butter kick. Darn you, Julia Child, and your deliciously simple but butter-filled recipes. There are few things that change the taste of a meal as easily as really good butter. I’m talking full-fat, salted, hand-churned butter. Keep in mind, meals like this should not be a weekly staple. But my goodness are they fantastic as a treat. This recipe for Scallops Gratineed with Wine Garlic and Herbs is no different. I am obviously on a bit of a Julia Child kick at the moment as well which is well timed because her 100th birthday is coming up on August 15. Might I suggest making this lovely (but amazingly easy) recipe to celebrate? I made this as a meal for two, with a salad on the side. It would also make a wonderful appetizer, or just multiply as you see fit.

 

Ingredients:

  •  1/3 cup minced yellow onions
  • 1 tablespoon butter (I’m talking good butter, no substitutions here!)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 4 washed dry scallops
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup flour in a dish
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine (I used a Sauvignon Blanc)
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 1/8 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese (I used gruyere)
  • 1 tablespoon butter cut into 6 pieces
 Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
Continue reading Scallops Gratineed with Wine Garlic and Herbs

Ratatouille

With the influx of vegetables in my life from my CSA, I am swimming in quite a large amount of highly perishable produce. So to preserve (and use) a bunch of my CSA veggies, I decided to try my first hand at Ratatouille. I looked at a bunch of recipes online and they can get really quite complex! There are some that cook each vegetable separately to bring out the flavor of each, some that layer the ingredients into a beautiful casserole. Well, I’m making this on a weeknight after work. So this is one of the easier versions, a one pot wonder if you will. One day, I will make the other version, but tonight, I just want a delicious meal that I can freeze for later.
So what is ratatouille, besides a really cute kids movie? It’s basically a stewed vegetable dish, usually served with bread, or maybe egg noodles or polenta (something to sop up all the deliciousness). There are many different recipes for the dish, but most include eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and onions. The spices can range from thyme or marjoram to herbes de Provence.
I found this recipe on MarthaStewart.com and kind of messed with the ratio of ingredients, so be sure to check out the original recipe to see if that is more to your liking.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil (or enough to cover the bottom of your pot)
1 medium onion, chopped (I used a sweet onion)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 small eggplants,  cubed
2 large zucchini, cubed
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
2 yellow or bell peppers, ribs and seeds removed, cubed (use any color pepper you want)
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
Chopped fresh basil, for garnish

To make, add the olive oil to a Dutch oven or other large pot that has a lid. Heat over medium heat. While waiting to heat, chop your onions, garlic, eggplant, and zucchini.
I want to take a minute to discuss a method of cutting eggplant. I googled this just as I was about to make the recipe so it was new to me too and it worked quite well. I found the method on recipetips.com.
To cut the zucchini, remove the skin using a knife by cutting the zucchini into a square shape (or close to a square.)
Slice the zucchini into smaller square disks.
Stack a few of them, and cut into fours to make smaller squares. This doesn’t have to be uniform, you just want them to be the same general shape so they cook evenly.
Add the onions to the pot and stir occasionally. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the eggplant and zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Add 3/4 cup of water, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring once half way through. While waiting for the 5 minutes to pass, chop your peppers.
Add the peppers to the pot and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and thyme and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. The recipe said to stir often. I didn’t. I got distracted and walked away. Oh well.
Remove from heat and serve.  Top with a few slices of basil.
If freezing, leave the basil out and freeze.
For being vegetarian, doesn’t this look fabulously hearty?
I paired mine with day old bread which was a perfect amount of crispiness to go with the veggies. It may not be terribly pretty, but it was comforting and really flavorful.
I ate one serving and froze the rest for nights when I don’t have time to cook. I’m glad I did or I’d still be sitting here eating it!

Crispy Flounder and Roasted Tomatoes

These Lipman Tomatoes just keep on giving! This time around, I used their gorgeous cherry tomatoes. Cooking Light had a wonderful recipe in their most recent issue for Crispy Flounder and Roasted Tomatoes. Fish is a favorite of mine for weeknights because it cooks so quickly; this meal took me 25 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients: (this serves 2)
2 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
A few basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 (6-ounce) skinless flounder fillets
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While waiting for the oven to heat up, combine  the capers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the cherry tomatoes in an oven safe dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes.
When there is about 10 minutes left on the tomatoes, combine the panko, parsley, and thyme in a shallow dish.
Coat the fillets with the cooking spray and dredge the fillets in the panko mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat and add the fillets to the pan.
Cook for 3 minutes on each side.
The tomatoes should finish almost the same time as the fish.
To serve, add the flounder to a plate. Top with the tomato mixture. Add some fresh sliced basil.
I love how the cherry tomatoes burst in the oven while roasting.
The capers add a little saltiness to the whole dish which is nice. I think you only need 1 tablespoon of capers though, instead of 2.
I couldn’t really tell that there was thyme with the flounder but I loved the parsley flavor. If you’re a thyme fan, try upping the amount to get more flavor.
This was one delicious meal! With the exception of the flounder, the ingredients are things I usually have on hand anyways so this is a great last minute dinner.

Grilled Striped Bass with Bacon Vinaigrette Red Smashed Potatoes and Sauteed Butter Thyme Mushrooms

Grilled Striped Bass with Bacon Vinaigrette Red Smashed Potatoes and Sauteed Butter Thyme Mushrooms. Whew. By the time you say the title of this post you could have cooked most of this meal. Fish is a perfect weekday choice because it is so darn quick to cook up. I managed to make all parts of this meal in 40 minutes which was awesome! If you wanted to cut the time for this meal even more, you could doctor up some of those refrigerator mashed potatoes from the supermarket, but I really like home made mashed potatoes so I went for it.  No one is surprised to hear that this menu comes from my trusty Cooking Light.
Ingredients:

2 (8-ounce) striped bass fillets
salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 slices center-cut bacon
2 large shallots, finely chopped and divided
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound red potatoes
2 garlic cloves, halved
1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 (8-ounce) packages presliced baby bella mushrooms
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Begin with making the mashed potatoes. The original recipe has you peel and cube the potatoes. I really like the skins of potatoes so I altered the recipe to be smashed instead of mashed. Feel free to check out the original recipe here if you’re not into the skins. Add the potatoes and the halved garlic cloves to a large pasta pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil.
While waiting for the water to come to a boil, prepare your other ingredients. Chop the shallots and fresh thyme. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 cup of the chopped shallots to the pan. Cook for about 1 minute.

 

By now your water will hopefully be boiling. Reduce heat for the pasta pot and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Go back to the saute pan. Add a 1/2 teaspoon salt and the mushrooms to the pan, stirring occasionally. Cook for 13 minutes or until the mushrooms are brown and the liquid has evaporated.

While waiting for the two to cook (and if you have room on your stove), add another saute pan over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove from heat and add to a paper towel. Reserve 1.5 tablespoons of the drippings in the pan. Crumble the bacon.

Add the crumbled bacon and 2 tablespoons shallots back to the pan, cooking over medium heat for 1 minute stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar, Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon sugar.

Back to the mushrooms. Add the wine to the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until the liquid almost evaporates.

Stir in the thyme and cook for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

 

Drain  the pasta pot and return the potatoes and garlic to the pot. Mash using a potato masher or a large fork. Add the milk, 1 tablespoon butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and mix to combine.
We haven’t abandoned the Vinaigrette! Take the mixture and slowly add the olive oil to the vinegar mixture, stirring constantly to get an emulsion.

 

Last but not least, we have the bass. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and add to the grill pan skin side up. Cook for 4 minutes. (You can set your table during this time).

 

Flip the fish and cook for another 4 minutes.

Serve drizzled with the bacon vinaigrette.

 

Multi tasking at its finest! I hope my directions made sense. It’s not nearly as confusing as it sounds. You kind of bounce around between things based on when you have the opportunity to do so.
So whoever thought of the idea of bacon vinaigrette is one awesome person.  It was smoky and slightly tangy. I actually put some on my mashed potatoes as well (which I highly suggest).
This was my first time having bass and I really enjoyed it. Despite doing a whole lot of nothing to cook it, the fish was flavorful and had almost a buttery taste to it.
The mushrooms were awesome as well! I added a bit more fresh thyme once it was on my plate for a little more flavor and some color.
Sorry my photos are so crummy. First, it’s not exactly the most colorful meal I’ve ever made. Second, the smell of bacon made my antsy. I needed to eat this ASAP 🙂
I hope you’ll forgive my lack of photography skills due to the calling of bacon.

 

Pecan Crusted Halibut with Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes

I have a confession. Despite cooking most nights a week (and making leaps and bounds over the past year and a half as to what I am able to cook) I still struggle to pull an entire meal together at one time, i.e. a protein and two sides. Unless it is a one-pot kind of meal, I tend to just make the protein and be done with it, or I make a huge batch of the side and have that as my dinner. So with Cooking Lightt’s April issue including 40 Meals Under 40 Minutes, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to tackle making an entire meal. I used their Hazelnut-Crusted Halibut with Roasted Asparagus and Roasted Red Potatoes as a base for this meal – Pecan Crusted Halibut with Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes.
Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 (6-ounce) halibut fillets, skin still on
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 lemon wedges
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 2 handfuls of small potatoes (I used red, fingerling, and purple) – Very scientific, I know

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