Archives for category: Meals

Roasted Salmon and Potatoes with Herb Vinaigrette + Sugar Snap Peas

June 24, 2014 //

Roasted Salmon and Potatoes with Herb Vinaigrette

I found it annoying to buy a bunch of herbs and then only use 1/2 teaspoon of each so I used more in the vinaigrette. Additionally, I also found it annoying to use only half of a peeled potato so I used both and layered them a bit on top of each other. The potatoes took an extra 20 or so minutes to cook, but because this meal is pretty simple to prepare I didn’t mind a little extra cooking time.

I had quite a bit of the vinaigrette left over so I used it next day for a salad.

olive oil
1 1/2 medium-sized Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1 ts. Dijon mustard
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 ts. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 ts. finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 ts. finely chopped fresh thyme
1 TB. finely chopped fresh parsley
2 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each, skinned

Note: this recipe yields 2 servings, you could double the ingredients for 4 servings, but you might need two baking dishes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush shallow baking dish with olive oil. Arrange potato slices in a single layer in bottom of dish. Brush potatoes with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Baked 12-15 minutes.

While potatoes bake, whisk together vinegar, mustard, garlic and herbs in a medium-sized bowl. Slowly whisk in 6 tablespoons of olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside. Brush salmon fillets with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

When potatoes are done, remove baking dish and reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Place fillets on top of potatoes, skinned side down. Roast 12 minutes. Remove salmon from oven, and drizzle each fillet with vinaigrette. Serve.

Sugar Snap Peas

1 lb. sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
1 pat of butter
salt and pepper

Fill a medium saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Add sugar snap peas and butter to boiling water and let simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the peas are bright green but still crisp. Drain and season with salt and pepper.

Tags parsley, potatoes, rosemary, sage, salmon, sugar snap peas, thyme, vinaigrette

Categories Meals

Nancy’s Chopped Salad and Bread

June 24, 2014 //

Nancy’s Chopped Salad via Smitten Kitchen

When I was pregnant with Eliza the one thing I wanted more than anything else after giving birth was an Italian hero from our neighborhood butcher shop, Los Paisanos. After 9 months of avoiding cold-cuts I couldn’t wait to chow down on a giant sandwich loaded with salami, proscuitto, ham, and provolone cheese. For reasons that I won’t get into here my wish did not come true, but fortunately I have been able to indulge occasionally these last two years. Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen is right when she says in her blog post about Nancy Silverton’s Chopped Salad that it is basically an Italian hero without the bread.

This is a great summertime dinner, because you never turn on the stove, I enjoyed preparing it because you still get to chop a bunch of stuff, which is great therapy after a long day of work. It may not be the healthiest, but I cut back on the cheese and salami so in the end it really wasn’t too bad for us and was really, really delicious.

I served this with toasted bread which you could easily skip.

Tags cheese, chickpeas, iceberg lettuce, provolone, radicchio, salad, salami, tomatoes

Categories Meals

Roasted Salmon with White Wine Sauce and Sautéed Summer Squash and Spring Onions

June 20, 2014 //

Roasted Salmon with White Wine Sauce

I prepared the salmon the Pioneer Woman way, which is crazy easy. As the salmon finishes roasting you can prepare the white wine sauce, which is light but flavorful.

Sautéed Summer Squash and Spring Onions

2 zucchini – sliced
2 summer squash – sliced
1 bunch of spring onions (or 1 red onion) – sliced thin
2 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add zucchini, squash and onion. Saute for 5-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly translucent and browned slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tags chives, salmon, spring onions, summer squash, white wine

Categories Meals

Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze, and Arugula

June 16, 2014 //

Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze, and Arugula

This is decadent! It is pretty fast to prepare, but it is more of a weekend dinner because it feels so special. I was thinking about it hours after we finished dinner…

Tags arugula, balsamic vinegar, butter, Parmesan, steak

Categories Meals

Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta

June 10, 2014 //

Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta

Oh boy, is this good! The pancetta and cream give this dish a bit of decadence while letting two of spring’s best vegetables shine. I used linguine because that is what I had and it was fine.

Tags asparagus, cream, pancetta, Pasta, peas

Categories Meals

Whole Baked Trout with Cherry Tomatoes and Potatoes

June 4, 2014 //

Whole Baked Trout with Cherry Tomatoes and Potatoes

This dish isn’t for the squeamish. I love trout, and often order it if it is on a restaurant menu, but I rarely make it at home because you usually have to cook the whole fish. But, this recipe seemed so easy that I had to try it, and I’m glad I did. The potatoes and tomatoes were delicious and the trout cooked perfectly. I substituted rosemary for the oregano because it is what I had and it worked out great. While it looks impressive coming out of the oven I found it easier to remove the skin, tail and head from the fish before serving it. I told you that you had to be a brave cook!

Tags lemon, potatoes, tomatoes, trout

Categories Meals

Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce and Braised Swiss Chard

June 3, 2014 //

Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce

This recipe is for two, but you can easily double it. It may not be the most beautiful looking dish, but it is really tasty and pretty fast to prepare. I used half and half instead of cream because that is what I had and it was fine.

Braised Swiss Chard

2 large bunches of yellow or red swiss chard, remove thick part of the ribs and chop the leaves and smaller ribs into large pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
2 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and saute onion for about 5 or so minutes until it is tender and translucent. Add swiss chard and stir until it starts to wilt a bit. Turn heat down to low and cover the pot. Every 5 minutes or so stir the chard so it doesn’t stick. Cook for about 20-25 minutes until the chard is very soft. Remove cover and let the chard saute another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, dress with good olive oil if you desire.

Tags capers, cream, mustard, pork, shallots, Swiss chard

Categories Meals

Soy-Glazed Chicken Thighs with Asparagus and Scallions

June 3, 2014 //

Soy-Glazed Chicken Thighs with Asparagus and Scallions

This was delicious, although I wish I hadn’t made it on the first day we needed the air conditioner. Roasting chicken at 450 degrees definitely makes the kitchen hot!

The recipe calls for anise seed (aka fennel seed), but if you don’t have it I am sure the marinade would still be delicious. I made the marinade the night before to save time, but the chicken doesn’t need to marinate overnight. And, finally, I didn’t have much sauce at the end to pour over the chicken, but it was still amazing.

Tags asparagus, chicken, cilantro, honey, lime, poultry, scallions, soy sauce

Categories Meals

Penne with Shrimp, Feta, and Spring Vegetables

May 22, 2014 //

Penne with Shrimp, Feta, and Spring Vegetables

This is the ultimate one-pot dish. It is so light and lemony and a wonderful way to feature asparagus and snap peas. Start to finish it takes no more than 15 minutes to prep and cook.

Tags asparagus, feta, Pasta, shrimp, snap peas

Categories Meals

Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps, Garlic and Capers + Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

May 22, 2014 //

Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps, Garlic and Capers

You know I love this roast chicken recipe, but since it is the beginning of ramp season I was excited to try this recipe from The New York Times that has been pinned to my Pinterest recipe board for two years. The oven gets your kitchen pretty hot so don’t do it on a super warm day. If you can get your hands on ramps the recipe is definitely worth a try. They are so good cooked in the chicken juices. Yum!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

1 lb. fingerling potatoes
olive oil
1 TB. chopped, fresh rosemary (optional)
salt and pepper

Toss all ingredients together on a baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender and a little bit browned.

Tags capers, chicken, garlic, potatoes, ramps

Categories Meals

Roasted Salmon and Potatoes with Herb Vinaigrette + Sugar Snap Peas