Korean Potato Banchan (Gamja Jorim)

To follow-up with the Korean recipes I've tried from Maangchi...This was the recipe who introduced me to the blog. I was craving the sweet and savory potato banchan they serve at Korean restaurants and googled it. I found maangchi's food blog. If you're ever uncertain about her recipes, you can see her cook them on a video. Very helpful!

2-3 medium sized potatoes
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
2tbsp soy sauce
1 tbs corn syrup
1 tbs sugar
half cup of water

1. Peel the potatoes, wash, and cut them into 1 inch dice
2. Rinse the potato using colander in running water to remove starch
3. Cut half onion into bite sized pieces
4. Heat the pan and add 1-2 tbs olive oil and pour the potato into the pan
5. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and sauté it until the potato look a little translucent, then add the onion and keep stirring it
6. Add water into the pan, soy sauce, 1 tbs of sugar, 1 tbs of corn syrup and mix it and cover and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the liquid is evaporated. Stir occasionally to not burn the potatoes, if it needs more water, add some.
7. When the potato is cooked, turn off the stove and add sesame oil and sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds.

I'm biased, because I love potatoes. Kevin is not a big fan of potatoes. In fact, he told me he was getting sick of potatoes. Breaks my heart. These would be great with Kalbi.

La Banquise

I heard about La Banquise a few years ago. I'll guess and say 2-3 years. It's basically what people in Montreal call the best poutine in town. I don't really know about that. I love poutine and it's the ultimate comfort food for me. I usually like the poutine at La Belle Province, specifically the one on Peel st.


La Banquise is a 24hr place that you can go for the classic poutine or special poutine. Sounds great doesn't it? So as I was saying, when I first heard about it, I wanted to go. But it was a bit out of the way and when I meet friends for dinner, poutine is not always our first choice. La Banquise is noisy and more of a fast food joint. People don't really stay and talk for 2 hours after the meal.


When my friend Christina was visiting from TO, I saw this as an opportunity to go. I mean, we gotta show outsiders what real poutine is. :)

For my first Banquise experience, I decided to try one of their special poutines. I chose the B.O.M. poutine. It's the classic poutine with bacon, sautéed onions, and mergues sausage. It was delicious! Christina has the Matty Poutine; classic poutine with bacon, peppers, mushrooms and sauteed onions. Rachelle had the Poutine Chouxxx; classic poutine with coleslaw. We were all pretty satisfied with our choices.

They also have burgers and stuff like that, but we didn't pay any attention to them. The poutines come in 2 sizes. We all ordered the small size and it was a pretty good sized plate. We saw some people with the large size and it's a giant bowl. Potato coma! I'd definitely go again if i'm in the area, but wouldn't make a special trip there. I'm equally satisfied with greasy Belle Province poutine near my work.

La Banquise / 994 Rachel East, corner of Lafontaine Park in Montreal / 514.525.2415

http://www.restolabanquise.com/

Easy Honey Garlic Ribs

When Kev and I started going out, he told me his parents gave him a crockpot. One of the first things we cooked with it was crockpot ribs...we used BBQ sauce and we also tried honey garlic sauce, which was delicious...the ribs were fall off the bones, but we didn't like the texture of slowcooked meat. So Kev decided to try the recipe on the bottle and we've been making ribs this way ever since. I have to admit that this dish is really easy because we used prepared sauce rather making it from scratch. This is a "I have time but am too lazy to cook" recipe, because it's super easy to make, just takes a while to have on the table.




Rach of ribs, cut into indivual ribs
1 Jar of VH Honey Garlic

1. Put ribs in a big pot and cover with water. Bring to boil and turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 40-60 min, depending on how many ribs you have.
2. Drain and set aside. Boil jar of sauce in the pot you used. Add cooked ribs and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Turn constantly to cover ribs with sauce. If you have a lot of ribs, you use 2 jars.

Kev and I love these ribs. They are even better the next day when the sauce marinates the meat. I usually serve these with homemade potato wedges or mashed potatoes.

Foie Gras Poutine

I think i can credit my brother for many of my food knowledge. The only foie gras I knew was the foie gras pâté I would see at the grocery store, which is the lowest grade of foie gras you can find. My brother is a food connaisseur in my eyes. My first time enjoying foie gras the way it was intended, was at Au Pied de Cochon. It's a popular eatery in Montreal, and best known for their duck-in-a-can, which I have blogged about. People say you have to reserve weeks ahead for a table. I have been to PDC twice and had the Duck in a Can both times. I kind of regret not trying the foie gras poutine.

I was at the grocery store when I picked up a package of foie gras...certainly not the same quality as I could get at PDC I'm sure, but it was half the cost. So I bought it and found the recipe for PDC foie gras poutine online.

For the Foie Gras Sauce:

• 200 g (7 oz) fresh foie gras
• 6 x egg yolks
• 600 ml (2 ½ cups) PDC poutine sauce (available at the restaurant, or use store-bought poutine sauce)
• 50 ml (¼ cup) 35% m.f. cream

For the Foie Gras and Presentation of the Poutine:

• 4 slices slices fresh foie gras, 100 g (3 1/2 oz) each, 2 ½ cm (1 in) thick
• 400 g (14 oz) cheese curds
• 4 x white-fleshed potatoes (cut into French fries)
• Oil for frying (2/3 tallow and 1/3 peanut oil)

1. For the Foie Gras Sauce: Set aside 100 ml (½ cup of sauce for final presentation of the poutine. In a saucepan, bring the PDC poutine sauce to a boil.
2. Mix the egg yolks, foie gras and cream in a food processor at high speed.
3. Slowly add the 500 ml (2 cups) of hot poutine sauce to the mixture.
4. Pour into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until the sauce reaches 80°C (175 °F).
5. Remove the sauce from the heat. Stir for 30 seconds more. Keep warm.
6. For the Foie Gras and Presentation of the Poutine: Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F). In a very hot pan, sear the foie gras slices until they are golden brown. Transfer the slices to a baking sheet and finish cooking in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Cook the fries in the oil until crisp and place them on top of a mound of cheese curds in the middle of the plate.
8. Place a slice of seared foie gras on the fries and smother in the foie gras sauce.
9. Decorate with a few dabs of regular poutine sauce and serve immediately.
   

The dish was surprisingly easy to make. I have never handled foie gras before and I was honestly a little bit grossed out by how greasy and fattening it was. The piece I bought was small and I only had enough for one portion, which was actually perfect because Kevin was not home for this. So I estimated how much to use for the sauce and how much to sear to put on top of the poutine. I used about 2/3 of the piece for the sauce. My seared pieces were pretty small so I didn't need to cook them in the oven (step 6). And since I cut down on the ingredients on the recipe, it probably wasn't exactly the way it should be. I was simmering the sauce and trying to get it to reach 175 F, I stopped at 160F because the foie gras sauce was getting grainy from being overcooked. It lost its creamy texture. The poutine was still quite good, and would love to try the real PDC version. In the meantime, my $10 foie gras poutine was good enough. My favorite thing about the foie gras poutine was actually the seared foie gras on top. They were perfectly cooked and browned and absolutely delicious!

Au Pied de Cochon/536 East Duluth, Montreal/ 514.281.1114

http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/

More recipes from Martin Picard: http://www.foodtv.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=111324

Sheperd's Pie (aka Poor Man's Pie)

The last time I had sheperds pie was quite possibly 10 years ago when I was in high school. The idea of making sheperds pie came from Kevin. Sometimes when I put together the weeks menu I will ask him what he wants to eat. And he asked for sheperds pie. I've never made it from scratch before, so I wasn't exactly sure how to make it. For the longest time I seriously thought the dish calls for cream of corn and not just sweet corn bits. So I looked online for my answer...it's just regular corn, but most of the recipes I found had carrots and peas in it, which I found weird. So I decided to make it with just corn. I didn't think I needed a recipe, so I didn't bother writing anything down. Here's what I did:




Ground beef
1 can of sweet corn bits
3-4 medium yellow potatoes
milk
butter
Mrs. Dash seasoning
garlic powder
salt and pepper
Worcestshire sauce
soy sauce

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Boil potatoes until tender. Mash with butter and milk until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Brown the beef on medium-high heat. Add the last 5 ingredients or use whatever seasoning you want...
4. Add corn into the meat mixture.
5. Assemble the pie. Meat mixture with corn and mashed potatoes on top.
6. Broil until the top is browned.

The dish came out good, but a bit bland. When Kevin first saw the finished product, he said it looked like the sherperd's pie from a box. I'll take it as a compliment. He ate it without complaint. Also a good sign. I, on the other hand, am used to mixing it with ketchup. In highschool, everyone ate their sherperd's pie with ketchup. I've gotten used to it and it doesn't taste right without it. Perhaps next time i'll use more spices in the groung meat to give it some flavour.

Sweet Potato Poutine

Ahh Poutine! The ultimate comfort food. I've made poutine at home before, but I must admit that it wasn't from scratch. I used cubed mozza, frozen fries, and canned gravy. Sacrilege!!! I know. This is my very first time making everything from scratch...well...except the cheese curds. Those are store bought. lol

I got the idea to make poutine with sweet potato from Kevin at Closet Cooking. I get a lot of cooking ideas from him. He's very talented. For this recipe, I bought 2 huge sweet potatoes and I never knew how much sweet potatoes shrink when they cook... I also had a hard time cutting beautiful sweet potato wedges, so I had weird shapes. Wedges, strings, half moons...it was a circus of sweet potatoes. And sweet potatoes, especially the large variety, are extremely hard to cut. Kev saw how much trouble I was having and asked if i needed help. It didn't take him long to abandon me with the unfinished task.

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

• sweet potatoes (cut into wedges lengthwise)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven at 375F. Toss the sweet potato wedges in the oil, salt and pepper to coat.
2. Place the wedges on a baking sheet.
3. Bake until golden brown and tender, about 20-30 minutes.

For the Gravy:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
2. Mix in the flour to make a roux.
3. Mix in the beef broth and simmer until thick and smooth.
4. Mix in the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
   

Assemble: Place the sweet potato wedges in a bowl and top with the cheese curd, add gravy on top to melt cheese a bit.

Kev wasn't a huge fan of this because he's not a big fan of sweet potato. I love it. I kept tasting the gravy while it was simmering and I just kept adding pepper into it. The sauce ended up being spicy, which is a not a bad thing. The simple gravy recipe is also good with roast chicken.

Potato, Spinach, and Salmon Patties with Garlic Dill Cream

I can't remember who sent me the recipe for this, but it was a recipe in the NY Times. I've never made any type of patties before, but the potato, salmon, and spinach mixture sounded great and the sauce sounded even better. I love dill! So when Rachelle came over to our place for dinner, I decided to try it. The last couple of times she came over I made salmon fillets, since she doesn't eat red meat. I wanted to make somethign different. I had to alter the original recipe because I didn't like having to fry it in oil. I wanted to bake it for a healthier version. So here's the recipe and the changes I made.






FOR THE POTATO SALMON PATTIES:
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups mashed potatoes, chilled
8 ounces cooked salmon fillet, flaked To save time, I used canned salmon
2 1/2 cups 1 cup panko or bread crumbs to put in patties, and more for coating
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Note: For the first 3 ingredients, you don't have to use the amounts exactly. You can use whatever amounts you like.

FOR THE GARLICKY DILL CREAM:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive or vegetable oil for frying.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible. Place in a bowl and add potatoes, salmon, 1 cup panko, 2 eggs, salt and pepper; mix well to combine.
2. Place remaining bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl. Place remaining eggs in a second bowl and beat lightly. Place flour in a third bowl.
3. Form spinach mixture into 3-inch patties, about 3/4-inch thick. Dip each patty into flour, tapping off excess, then the egg, letting excess drip into bowl. Coat evenly with panko crumbs. Transfer patties to a large baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Bake in oven for 15 min or until browned.
4. Meanwhile, make dill cream: In a mortar and pestle or with the back of a knife, mash garlic and salt together to make a paste. Stir it into the sour cream or yogurt. Add dill and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.
5. Heat 1/4-inch oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; if using olive oil, you don’t need to use good extra virgin oil. Cook patties in batches, turning once halfway through, until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot, with a dollop of dill cream.

Rachelle and I enjoyed this a lot. The recipe made about 18 patties. Kev was a bit indifferent about it since he's not crazy about dill. These patties may be small, but they sure are filling. I froze half of it because I didn't want them to go bad and it was just too much. I think a person can eat maybe 3 patties + a sidedish. 4 patties if eaten alone. When I made the frozen leftovers, the defrosted patties were a mess. They tasted fine, but were much harder to handle. I'd suggest making these as appetizers if you're having a lot of guests.

♥♥♥ Valentine's Day Dinner ♥♥♥

For Valentine's Day, we decided to stay home for dinner. We didn't feel like going to some fancy restaurant. So for weeks, I thought of what to make. I wanted something that we didn't have too often, but something that wouldn't take me forever to make. I originally wanted to buy filet mignon and make it at home, but was afraid i'd ruin a perfectly good piece of meat by not knowing what I was doing. I've never cooked steak. Usually Kevin grills it on the BBQ or he cooks it on the skillet. I'm not sure why...I asked Kev what he wanted for Vday dinner and he came up with the idea of making duck. I decided to make garlic snails and crème brulée french toast.

The idea of the snails came to me when I was at the dollarstore during lunch break. It amazes me all the things the store carries. I noticed escargots plates. So I did some research about how to prepare snails. To be honest, I didn't know where to get snails...when I read online that I could get them canned, I decided to give it a shot. Even if I knew where to find fresh snails, I probably wouldn't even know how to prepare them. So canned and pre-cooked snailed was the best. When I posted this picture on my facebook, I had a few people ask me if it was hard to make. And it wasn't, especially not with canned snails. It took me all of 12 minutes to make...where 10 minutes was in the oven.





1 can of giant snails
Shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2-3 tsp garlic, minced
parsley flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350. Open can of snails and rinse under cold water. Drain and put aside.
2. On low heat, melt unsalted butter and add minced garlic
3. Add some parsley flakes in the garlic butter
4. Remove from heat source and toss snails in the garlic butter.
5. Place garlic on escargots plate and drizzle each snail with some of the garlic butter.
6. Cover plate with shredded cheese and bake for 10 min, until cheese is melted.

The result didn't quite look like what I expected it to be. I expected the cheese to be a bit browned, but it taste just like the restaurant. The canned snails didn't taste like it came from a can at all, and the snails really were giant! They were twice the size of the snails we usually get at restaurants. The can of snails was $1.99 for 14 snails. It's a great deal considering how much we pay for escargots gratinés when we eat out.

********************************

I've actually made this duck breast recipe before. Last year, Kev and I went to Knowlton for a weekend and they are known for their Lac Brome ducks. We had a nice package deal with the hotel that included a 3-course duck dinner with our choice of wine. After coming home from the weekending trip, we wanted more duck and I had found a recipe on their website. I will post here the original recipe from the site, with my corrections.

2 duck breasts (magrets), 18/20 size (1 package)
45 ml (3 tbsps.) each ~ honey and Dijon mustard
375 ml (1-½ cup) oil 1 Tbsp of oil
Salt and pepper to taste
5 ml (1 tsp.) curry
30 ml (2 tbsps.) green onions, finely chopped

1. With a sharp knife, score the breats in squares on the skin side. Set aside.
   In a bowl, mix the honey, mustard, curry, salt, pepper and onions.
2. Add oil and stir until it resembles a vinaigrette.
3. Put the breasts into the marinade and leave them in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, turning them from time to time.
4. Remove breasts from marinade and sear them on the skin size on a very hot grill.
5. Finish cooking in the oven (350F) for 8 to 10 minutes until pink inside

The first time I made this, I followed the recipe exactly...with the 1 1/2 cup of OIL! I remember it being a complete mess when I seared the skin on a skillet. It was nasty and oily. This time I reduced the amount of oil by a lot. It was much better and less oily. Depending on the thickness of the duck breast, i'd suggest cutting your duck breast to see how rare the duck is. I baked mine for 10 minutes and it was still quite raw. I put it back in the oven for an addition 5 minutes for medium rare doneness. It was delicious. I boiled the remaining marinade and served it with the duck. I served these with simple roasted potato wedges (Preheat 400, season wedges with salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake for 30min)

*************************************

This recipe was found on allrecipes.com. However, I was greatly disappointed when I made this. Don't get me wrong, it ended up tasting quite good, but the preparation was annoying. The instruations given in the recipe were terrible. Luckily, I managed to save it and even had leftovers for the next day.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
6 French bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brandy-based orange liqueur (Grand Marnier®) -optional
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in brown sugar and corn syrup, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Remove crusts from bread, and arrange in the baking dish in a single layer. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, orange brandy, and salt. Pour over the bread. Cover, and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight one hour is enough.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the dish from the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature. Place the bread on a baking sheet sugar side up.
4. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffed and lightly browned.
   

Important notes i'd make for this is to make sure that the egg mixture only covers the bread. Discard the excess egg mixture or pour them in ramekins to make custard. I poured all the micture in and it was too much. My breads ended up floating to the top and the brown sugar mix would detach from the bread, that's why my bread doesn't look like creme brulee at all. I had followed the recipe instructions and after 35 minutes in the oven, it was still a soggy mess. I finally took it our and moved my soggy bread onto a baking sheet and baked it for an addition 15-20 minutes. They ended up being crispy on the outside, but fluffy in the center.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day with great food.

Part I: Sweet Potato Samosa

For our Indian feast, I looked online for some fusion indian food...during my search on naan bread, i found a recipe for Sweet Potato Samosa...it's absolutely not authentic, but it sounded interesting. So I printed it out.

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon dry onion soup mix
ground cumin to taste
curry powder to taste
20 wonton wrappers
sesame oil for brushing

1. Simmer sweet potatoes with a little water until very soft. Drain, and mash with butter, milk, onion soup mix, cumin, and curry powder.


2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).


3. Place about 3/4 of a teaspoon of the sweet potato mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper. Brush the edges with sesame oil, fold into a triangle, and press the edges to seal. Place the samosas on a baking sheet.


4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then turn over, and bake for 5 minutes more.
   

At the grocery store, it just so happened that they ran out of wonton wrappers...so we ended up buying egg roll wrappers, which are thicker and bigger. We doubled the filling recipe and it smelled so yum. We pop it in the oven for the time indicated on the recipe...and they came out sort of baked, but they still had the powder film on top...we tried one and...yep, they're not done. The wrappers were chewy and tasted like dough. We finally decided that since we were frying papadums, we'd just fry the samosas. They fried up nicely, but probably tripled the fat intake. Despite the oiliness, even though we placed them on paper towels, they were pretty good. Even Kev liked them. I'd make this again when I find wonton wrappers and try the baked kind.

Le Boeuf Gourmand

For our two-year anniversary as a couple, Kev and I wanted to eat out, but didn't know where to go. Our original plan was to eat somewhere in the old port and then rent a horse drawn carriage for a tour. That didn't end up happening, because by then, Montreal had its first snow fall with freezing rain. Since Kevin would be out bowlingwith his co-workers for their x'mas party, he asked me to look for a restaurant near the plateau. So I did. I found this French bistro that looked affordable and had pretty good reviews, but the earlier reviews were horrible. We figured that maybe they changed chefs or something because all the new reviews were great. Their specialty is the Steak-Frites. The Steak-frites is served with either soup or a fresh salad for $18.90. The steak is thinly sliced. The feature that stands out most about Le Boeuf Gourmand's steak frite is the revolutionary top secret sauce they use. They claim it is made with 18 ingredients.


Quickly after ordering, a hot tray was put on our table. I had read reviews, so I knew what it was for. They don't put your entire 8oz of steak on your plate. Only half is on the plate and the other half is on a plate placed on the hot tray, where a candle is supposed to keep the rest of your steak warm (it didn't).



We started the dinner off with the soup. Our choices were the Citrus Carrot soup or their cream of vegetable soup. She highly recommended the Citrus Carrot soup and told us that it was so popular that they had to make it all the time. So we took that...I quickly remembered that I'm not a big fan of citrus in my food. I can do citrus juice, just not in my food. Kevin did not seem to mind it. The steak-frites arrived warm, but not piping hot, which I couldn't quite understand, because we were the only table in the entire restaurant. The secret sauce was good, but is mainly butter. The hot tray failed to keep the rest of our steak from getting cold and the sauce congealed. The fries were okay, not the best i've had. But they were salty and satisfying. We decided to skip the dessert because I had bought some pastries to eat at home, which we didn't.


The bistro was too brightly lit. Kevin said he didn't think it was a very romantic place, and he is right. If they had dimmed the lights, we might have been able to stomach the utter cheesiness of the decor. The entire time we were there, we were the only customers.


It wasn't so bad, i've probably had much worse dinners in my life, however, I might not repeat this place. It was a bit of a disappointment for such an occasion.


Le Boeuf Gourmand/ 3666 St-Denis corner Cherrier/ 514.849.8910

New Year's Eve Dinner: Honey-Ginger Salmon with Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans and and Roasted Sweet Peppers & Potatoes *phew*

For New Years Eve, Kev and I decided to stay home for dinner. We've just been busy with friends and family for Christmas that we feel tired and neglected. I know we're physically together all the time, but it's not the same. For NYE, I really wanted to make something new, but still simple. I didn't want to slave in the kitchen all evening. With all the turkey we've been having, I was craving fish or seafood...and of course, a lot of veggies. So I looked up recipes on my favorite recipe site; allrecipes.com. I love it because I like reading the reviews. There's always tips on how to improve recipes. I'm constantly on that website, even when i'm not really looking for something to make within the week. I took a look at my recipe book today and found a salmon recipe that I had never tried, but saved. I really liked using honey as a marinade on the chicken I had made before, so why not on salmon?




1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 green onion, chopped
1 (1 1/2-pound) salmon fillet

1. In a large self-closing plastic bag, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, orange juice, honey, and green onion; mix well. Place salmon in bag and seal tightly. Turn bag gently to distribute marinade. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes (I marinated overnight).
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
3. Remove salmon from marinade, shake off excess, and discard remaining marinade. Grill for 12 to 15 minutes per inch of thickness, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

I'll admit, I wasn't too sure aboutt he salmon, but it came out nicely. It tasted very nice. However, I think I might use a bit less orange juice the next time I make it. I also added some dehydrated garlic slices, along with the garlic powder. I forgot to buy fresh garlic, I thought I had some in the fridge. Reviews recommended using fresh garlic.

For the side dish, I really wanted vegetables. Not just for me, but for Kevin too. He refuses to eat veggies. It's impossible! In one of the reviews from the salmon recipe, someone said they served their salmon with Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans. I'm not quite sure why they are Japanese style...just because of the sesame? Really?!? Well...anyway...I decided to give it a try. This is the original recipe.

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound fresh green beans, washed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Warm a large skillet or wok over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in canola and sesame oils, then place whole green beans into the skillet. Stir the beans to coat with oil. Cook until the beans are bright green and slightly browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in soy sauce; cover, and let sit about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

I didn't have any sesame seeds at home, so I just omitted it. I want to say that the recipeis asking for a lot of oil. I'd cut down on it. I also added a bit of sugar and probably cooked it longer, which is why it looks burned, but it might just be the suagr caramelizing. These were reallly good, despite their appearance.

In addition to the green beans, I had a craving for some sweet potato. So I just roasted them with the sad looking orange pepper in my fridge and some onions. Originally I wanted to make it the same way as I did with the roasted regular potatoes & carrots from previous post, but wasn't sure if Thyme and Rosemary spice would be too strong. I wanted the salmon to be center stage. So I kept the roasted dish simple.

• 1 1/2 Orange sweet Pepper, chopped
• 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
• 2 Sweet Potatoes, cubed
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat to 400F. Mix all ingredients. Pour everything on a baking sheet (with foil or parchment paper) or greased casserole dish. Bake for 20 min. Take out, move them around. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Bake for another 20 min. Peppers and onions will shrivel, but don't let it burn.

These were yummy, except i used a little too much olive oil. Next time i'll be careful.

The dinner didn't turn out 100% like I wanted it to, but it was still quite good. We had enough salmon and roasted sweet pepper & potatoes for lunch the next day.

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

In my previous post, I said I served the Salmon with lemon and herb top crust with some roasted potatoes and carrots. It's such a simple recipe, but my only complaint is that it takes a while to roast. The first time Kev had it, he thought i used frozen home potatoes. It's a relatively healthy side dish...When I made it with the salmon, Rachelle really liked it.

3 potatoes, cubed

1 red onion chopped

2 carrots sliced, medium thickness

Olive oil

onion powder

salt & pepper

dried thyme

dried rosemary

1. Preheat to 400F. Mix all ingredients. Pour everything on a baking sheet (with foil or parchment paper) or greased casserole dish. Bake for 20 min. Take out, move them around. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Bake for another 20 min. Carrots and onions will shrivel, but don't let it burn.

It's a really easy side dish to make. And it's really hard to mess up. You can add pretty much whatever spice you like. Maybe some cayenne pepper to spice it up? Or make it a garlic potato...i've been in a thyme phase. So I just use it in prettu much everything these days.

Beef Stew

A few weeks ago, my boss told me I had a few more personal days left that i could take before they get cancelled out Jan 1st. So I decided to take a long weekend. While Kev was at work, I had time to think about what to make for dinner. We have this pack of stewing beef that Kev's parents had given us a while ago. We didn't quite know what to do with them. So I looked up online for a stew recipe. The recipe i found actually didn't even have the veggies in it. So I tweaked the recipe as I usually do and took some advice from reviews of this recipe. I've never made stew before and the only stew i've ever eaten is my mom's. That day, I had a lunch/shopping date with my friend Judy. So I didn't want to rush home to make this...knowing that stew takes a lot of simmering. So Kev's slow cooker from the 80s (from his parents') saves the day. This thing is so old that i'm sure it'll burn down the condo one day. lol The very first time Kev and I used it, we stayed home...just so we could watch it.

1lbs Stewing Beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of beef broth
1 pack of onion soup mix
2-3 potatoes, cubed
1-2 Carrots, sliced or cubed
1 Onion, cubed
2 stalks of celery, chopped
salt & pepper
dried thyme
garlic powder
onion powder
cayenne pepper

***Please note that vegetables should be cut into big chunks as to not turn to vegetable mash in the slow cooker.

1. Brown meat, this is supposed to keep the juices in the beef when being slow cooked.


2. Put Potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions at the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the meat on top.


3. In a bowl, mix mushroom soup, beef broth, onion soup mix and pour it on top of everything in the slow cooker. Set on medium heat and cook for 6-8 hours.


4. Before serving sprinkle the spices and mix.

To begin, I just want to mention that i'm actually a bit fuzzy about how much beef broth I put in. since mushroom soup was a bunch of goop, I was afraid my mixture wasn't liquid enough, so I improvised and used beef broth to thin out the soup. I wouldn't recommend adding much more salt into it since the Onion soup mix gives it enough saltiness, but I think I added a little bit for taste. I served it on rice. Kev wasn't raving about, but asked me what I put it in. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. But I think he didn't mind the recipe. By now, you probably know that i always use the same old spices...i guess everyone has their base cooking style. My mom's is soy sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar. lol I'd also like to emphasize that it's important to put the veggies at the bottom so that the liquids will cook it properly. I didn't know because the recipe I used doesn't have veggies in it. So I had put it on top of the meat and after 6-8 hrs of cooking the veggies still weren't quite done. So I have to cook it on the stove top for an hour before Kev got home. And since the veggies are at the bottom, it would be wise to cut your veggies in big chunks so they don't disintegrate in the soup.

Note about the picture: I took the picture the day after our dinner...the stew is actually cold (right out of the fridge) in the pic. I simply forgot to take a picture of the stew and only remembered to do so when I wanted to write a post about it.

Chunky Cream of Potato Soup

I'm carb queen. I'm pretty sure that if I gave up carbs, i'd lose a lot of weight, however, I just love carbs too much...One of the ultimate comfort foods for me is a nice bowl of potato soup. It's just sinful. One of my favorite places to have potato soup is at Baton Rouge. Last week, when Kev and I were trying to decide what to have for supper, I had suggested a soup dinner. Kev was hesitant because he was afraid it wouldn't be filling. Potato soup is extrememly filling. I just had this for lunch in a tupperware of about 2 cups of soup and i'm about to fall into a coma. I can hardly eat the celery sticks i brought in. Finally, that night, we didn't have soup dinner. we had steak. So the other night I decided to make it while he had his leftover char siu from Chinatown. I found the original recipe online, but tweeked it a little. This is the first time i've made my own potato soup.

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cup of water
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 small carrot, chopped
2 garlic bulbs
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk/half & half/ cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley/ dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt (more if needed)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
dash of garlic powder
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese / cheddar
bacon bits (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, onion, carrot, celery and broth + water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender; lightly mash.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir into potato mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add parsley, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add bacon optional.

When I made the recipe, I only had one can of chicken broth in the pantry. It's about a bit over a cup of liquids. So I topped the required 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth with water, but the liquids hardly covered the vegetables that need to be tender enough to mash. So I added an extra cup and half. Knowing this would make the soup more bland, I had to add more salt. At this point, it's taste over health. I'll try a healthier version of this soup on my second try. I added dried thyme to the recipe for more taste and a dash of garlic powder. I also chopped some garlic and probably added more celery than needed. The result was absolutely delicious. I had co-wrokers try my soup and one said it's restaurant quality and another said i should open my own restaurant. LOL I'll call it Carb City. LOL

Blue Potato

A couple of weeks ago, I made a dill potato salad. Two weeks later, I made something that required dill weed, but then i found myself with some leftover dill weed in my fridge and I didn't know what to do with them. So I went out to buy some potatoes. Instead of buying a 5lbs bag of potatoes that would take us forever to finish, I decided to indulge in those little bags of new potatoes. I figured I wouldn't need to peel them and it would save me time. I had a choice of regular yellow new potatoes, new red potatoes, or a bag of what they called "mixed gems". It had a mixture of yellow, red, and blue potatoes. I've never bought blue potatoes before. The putside of the potato was a very dark blue/purple...I figured it's the same thing as red potatoes. The color must only correspond to the skin and not the flesh.



When I got home, I got to work. I rinsed my potatoes and I had a pot of water waiting to be boiled. When i got to one of the blue potatos, I cut it and I step back for a moment. The flesh was purple (or blue). It tasted the same as any other potato, but felt a little more dry and mealy than the red and yellow ones. It made an interesting presentation for my dill potato salad.



So I proceeded to google "Blue potato" to find out more about this vegetable. The potato is know by many names, one website called it All Blue. Most authorities suspect All Blue originated in the US or the UK (Scotland) in the late nineteenth century. It is also known as Congo, Blue Marker, Russian Blue, British Columbia Blue, McIntosh Black, River John Blue, Sharon's Blue. Also, probable synonyms: Blue Congo, Congo Blue, Purple Congo, Nova Scotia Blue, Himalayan Black. Black Russian, Davis Purple, Eureka Purple, Fenton Blue, and Purple Mountain. It is believed to be originated from South America. They’re an heirloom variety which means they’re not genetically modified.



All Blue is by far the most widely grown of all blue/purple-fleshed varieties. In Great Britain and Europe, it is well known as Congo and Blue Marker. It is popular in Scandinavia, especially in Finland, where it is served mashed with sour cream. Terra Chips uses it to make its famous blue potato chips. Many references state that All Blue yields small tubers, and indeed these are commonly found in supermarkets. However, if allowed to grow to maturity, All Blue easily produces large, oblong tubers quite suitable for baking and mashing. All Blue is currently being studied in Europe and North America to determine its capacity to fend off human disease and aging with the antioxidants in the natural blue pigments of its flesh and skin.

Carb-fest: potatoes

Kevin and I had half a sack of red potatoes in the fridge that were starting to...not look too good. There's really only one way we eat potatoes on a regular basis: mashed. But we don't have mashed potatoes very often either...we have it occasionally when we have ribs. So I had to find a way to use up all the potatoes or count our losses. Being someone who doesn't like to waste, I wouldn't let Kevin throw away good potatoes...the term "good" used loosely. The potatoes were starting to look pretty damn sad.

So, when Kevin was out with friends the other night, I got to work. I decided to make two dishes, because it seemed like a lot of potatoes to make just one. I decided on making Kevin's aunt Sherry's scalloped potatoes, and dill potato salad.




Scalloped Potatoes

• Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• thinly sliced onions, then chopped
• grated mild cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper
• parsley flakes
• cayenne pepper
• garlic powder
  

1. Preheat over to 400 F degree.


2. In a baking dish, drizzle olive oil. Make one layer of potatoes, sprinkle all spices, one layer of onions, one layer of cheese. Repeat layers if you wish.


3. For each layer, you should bake in the over for 20 minutes. I did two layer, baked for 40 minutes. Some ovens run high, please check on your potatoes, it might be burning.

Creamy Dill Potato Salad

• Potatoes cubed
• dill weeds, chopped
• Plain Yogurt
• garlic salt
• cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• green onions/shallots chopped
• onions, chopped into small pieces
• dried Thyme
• 1 hard boiled egg, chopped

1. Boil potatoes until tender
2. Boil one egg
3. Once done and drained, mix potatoes with all ingredient. Chill in the fridge and serve. Voila! Facile non?

For the Creamy dill potato salad, there's no measurements. Use your best judgment...don't overload on onions and shallots. Be generous with spices. I was quite happy to receive a few compliments about my Creamy dill potato salad. I had no recipe for it. I just used whatever I had. I had planned on using mayo, but decided to use up my plain yogurt and it worked out well. I'll admit I wasn't too sure about it.