Avocado Pasta

When I first saw a pin for avocado pasta on Pinterest, my reaction was "No way."  Then I saw it it again, and then again.  Finally I decided that since I do love avocados, perhaps I should give it a chance.  So I followed the recipe.  I was surprised to find I liked it.   But it was a bit TOO avocado for me.  I know, I never thought I'd say that.  Yesterday I made it again but reduced the avocado to 1/2.  I also thinned it a little with some olive oil.  I happened to have lemon infused olive oil AND jalapeño infused olive oil so I used both - about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of each. And now I have a recipe I will use often.   It is extremely rich and 6oz will probably satisfy 2 people and still result in leftovers.  Especially if you add some shrimp or chicken to go with it.  Or in it.

Today I had my leftover pasta with some tuna and halved grape tomatoes.  The pasta had been in the refrigerator so I warmed it up just a bit (40 seconds) in the microwave before adding the new ingredients.  It was delicious.

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose

Not everything I cook is a soaring success and mostly I blog about the successes.  My first try with salmon this week wasn't my greatest creation ever but I'll write about it anyway because I think there is hope for the sauce.

I recently bought a container of herbs from Trader Joe's.  The pot includes mint, oregano and thyme.  The mint is growing like mad, so I wanted some ideas and turned to the web.  I found a recipe for cilantro mint sauce and decided to try it.  It consists of 2 cups cilantro leaves, a dozen or so mint leaves, a Serrano pepper, some oil, a little water and salt.  Just blend it all together to make a spicy, minty sauce.  The result was not bad at all.  I decided to marinate some salmon in the sauce and then bake the salmon, which I wrapped in aluminum foil.  The final product was fine but not great.  I served it up with some lentils & feta and a few slices of avocado.  A decent meal.  I have some of the sauce left over and I'm trying to decide where it might be more successful.

The next attempt at salmon was a spectacular success.  I love the sweet chili salmon that Whole Foods sells in the prepared foods department.  I don't love the cost though - $23.00/lb.  I decided I could make something just as good for about half the cost.  I travelled around the web a bit and found a recipe for Chili-Garlic Glazed Salmon.  I didn't have green onions but I did happen to have sweet chili garlic sauce that I add to many, many things for a little heat in the event I don't use sriracha.  I also have some orange marmalade.   Both should be staples in your kitchen.   And of course, I always have soy sauce.  I did not measure, I just mixed things in until I liked the taste. Then I broiled the salmon as suggested - a little longer in my case.  The salmon was so moist and sweet and spicy.  I outdid Whole Foods and will never spend $23/lb again.

I served my salmon with some homemade cucumber salad.  I marinated the cucumbers in a mix of rice vinegar, water and sugar.  I think the original recipe called for equal parts of all but I use a little more vinegar and a little less sugar.  You can add salt to taste and garlic if you like.  I heat the mixture to melt the sugar and make a more syrupy consistency.  I slice the cucumber very, very thin.  Think mandoline. Wait for the liquid to cool, cover the cucumbers and let them sit at least an hour in the refrigerator.  I can eat them plain, but I love them with salmon.

That concludes my salmon update for the week.  If you have thoughts about how I can use the mint & cilantro sauce, speak up.

P.S.  I did buy the salmon at Whole Foods in the seafood department (much less than $23/lb), so they do deserve some of the credit.

Spicy Lemon Shrimp

Another great find from Pinterest.  I probably need to work on my food photography skills because I guarantee you this looked much better in real life.  And, it was awesomely delicious.   I was working with this Spicy Lemon Shrimp Skewers recipe from the FoodNetwork.  I altered it a bit because I didn't have skewers and I was missing a few key ingredients.  I was shocked to discover that Whole Foods did not have fish sauce. They did have some lovely raw shrimp though so I forgave them.   I forgot to buy lemongrass which I know WF has but I wasn't about to go back to the store when I discovered I had forgotten it.  To replace the fish sauce, I used some soy sauce and a little anchovy paste.  Someone on the web suggested soy sauce and Worcestershire but I love anchovies and decided to go with the paste instead.  The shrimp were shelled and deveined by WF.  I marinated them the hour and them cooked them in a hot non-stick pan.  I served them with some avocado and rice.  So good!  So spicy!  Give them a try.

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta

If you like pasta and garlic and Parmesan, I think you'll really love this Creamy Garlic Pasta. The secret is cooking the pasta in the sauce. Saute some garlic in olive oil and add the butter, salt and pepper and then add your broth (I used vegetable stock).  Bring the broth to a boil and cook the pasta normally.  When the pasta is just how you like it, add the cheese, parsley and cream.  Voilà, you have a great, creamy pasta dish.

I used whole wheat pasta and thought maybe it would absorb more water so I used a bit less than the 1/2lb called for.  Turns out that wasn't really necessary, there was plenty of broth for some more pasta.  I also used cilantro instead of parsley because that is what I had in the house.  And, of course, I added some red chile flakes to the broth because that is what I do.

I also caramelized some Crimini mushrooms while the pasta was cooking and then added the pasta to my pan with the caramelized mushrooms.  I could have added the mushrooms to the pasta but I thought by adding the pasta to the pan with the mushrooms, I'd take advantage of all the caramelized goodness in the pan.

This may become my default way to make pasta.  Next time I'll probably use this technique but also use some wine and whiskey à la Pioneer Woman.  And then, the next time use asparagus instead of mushrooms.  Or maybe artichokes.  You get the idea.

Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad

I made this Zesty Shrimp Salad over the weekend and it was so good, I made it again this evening.  The link points to the recipe but it is simple and once you make it, you'll be able to just throw the ingredients together.  Marinate some chopped red onion in juice from a couple limes and a little olive oil.  The recipe says to let that sit a bit to take some of the bite out of the onion.  Add chopped shrimp, tomatoes and avocado.  Some chopped jalapeno and cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.  The second time around, I didn't measure anything.  Just tossed in items until I thought it looked right and seasoned to my taste.  I also substituted little grape tomatoes for regular tomatoes because I like the sweetness. The last time I made this salad, there was enough for two days, so this time I left the avocado out and till add it when I serve it.  I don't like how the avocado gets mushy overnight.  This will definitely be on my menu often!  

Superbowl Hummus

I don't think this picture fully conveys how delicious this hummus was.  Just believe me when I say I loved it so much I made it twice.  The first time, I used the original recipe for Baked Asiago and Caramelized Onion Hummus Dip  (found on Pinterest) and it was delicious.  I would make one change; I like a little more tang in my hummus and decided that next time I'd use some Tahini instead of the sesame oil for that reason.

When I made the hummus the second time, I picked up some Jalapeno hummus from Trader Joe's instead of making my own.  This was also delicious.  The real secret is the caramelized onion.  Just chop up an onion and saute in 1T of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar until the bits are nice and brown. The sweetness is what makes the hummus so delicious.  That and the asiago cheese added first to the hummus and then sprinkled on top before browning.

I served my hummus with homemade flatbread.  I got the recipe from one of my favorite restaurants.  I had a basket of bread with my meal and the bartender let me know that how it was made.  Use flour tortillas and brush both sides with olive oil and any herbs that appeals to you.  I used some basil/balsamic dipping oil I purchased at Tastefully Simple.  Then I sprinkled Parmesan cheese on the tortillas before baking them until crisp - about 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

 Both the hummus and the flatbread will be regulars at my house.  Enjoy!

Orange and Rosemary Risotto

I tasted risotto for the first time in 2000 when my daughter made it for me at her first apartment.  She made  Champagne Risotto which was delicious, especially so because my girl made it in her own home.  I've loved risotto ever since and often order it in restaurants.

I got the recipe for risotto with orange zest and rosemary oil in my email from the La Cucina Italiana magazine site.  It sounded good and it turned out to be really, really, really good.   I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and I substituted 1 Cup of white wine (Ferarri Carrano Fume Blanc) for part of the liquid.  I added the wine first and used the broth/water mixture for the additional liquid.  I also did not cover up the zest with plastic or wrap the zest strips in plastic.  As you can see in the photo, I didn't really have stripes, I had chunks.  I didn't measure my rosemary oil or the cheese, just added what seemed like a reasonable amount.

This was one of the best risottos I've every had. The orange zest and rosemary combo is just amazing.  Make it, you'll love it.

Red Cabbage and Mango Slaw

I heard about this slaw on The Chew where they made it to put on BBQ Chicken sandwiches.  I'm not a big lover of chicken but I love fish and thought the slaw would go well with that too. I was correct.  I grilled some Wahoo (aka Ono) fish to have with my slaw and the meal was delicious.  If you haven't had Wahoo, it is pretty yummy, both in sushi and grilled.  I did marinate my fish in some olive oil, rice vinegar and garlic before grilling.

You can see from the picture that my slaw is kind of chunky.  It was good but I made it again later in the week and did a better job of shredding the cabbage and the mango.  Also, the riper the mango, the better, in my opinion.  I got my mango from Trader Joe's pre-peeled and sliced.  My first batch was not quite ripe enough.  The second batch, riper and shredded was even tastier.

Little Bites of Heaven

I apologize for the fuzzy picture but these little treats are all gone so I can't redo the photo. I will be making these again in various configurations and promise a better photo next time.  If I have gotten nothing else from Pinterest.com I got the recipe for these tasty, melt in your mouth, cheesy popovers.   I used this recipe for Gorgonzola Popovers but I used Brie instead of Gorgonzola.  I'm sure Gorgonzola will be just as good but I didn't have any.  I think almost any cheese would be good in these. Of course, I'm prejudice because I love cheese.  I also used snips of green onion because I didn't have parsley.  I may try it with parsley too but the onion was nice.

I always thought popovers would be hard to make but they are not.  Just mix the ingredients and put them in the mini muffin tins and then add a bite of cheese.  I guess the secret is in not opening the oven to check on them.  The whole process probably took me 30 minutes from start to beautiful golden bites of fluffy popover and melty cheese.  It took me a little longer to eat them but not much.  I did only make a half recipe and good thing because I probably would have eaten an entire batch.