Baked sole with asparagus (and a lot more)

This one has a short story behind it. Calvin and I, shopping this morning without a full shopping list, found ourselves listening in on a conversation between a customer and the man working the seafood counter at Whole Foods. You wouldn't think it could be all that exciting, but it turns out that the man working the seafood counter at Whole Foods used to be a chef. A chef who worked mostly with seafood. Apparently Whole Foods pays him more than whatever restaurant he left who knows how long ago. We like seafood, and there's no doubt it's good for you, so Calvin and I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and came home with something I'd never fixed before and had no idea how to prepare—sole filets—and a short description of how an ex-chef working the seafood counter at Whole Foods might prepare it. The words I heard were butter, chives, bacon, feta, flour, salt, pepper, and asparagus. A few internet searches later and this is what I came up with. My own concoction, even. Jon said it was good, so we'll be trying it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I had to guess on the cooking time, so I took an average from other recipes. I think it may have been too long, so I'll check into that next time.

Baked sole with asparagus

Ingredients:
  ● 4 sole filets
  ● 4 strips turkey bacon
  ● 1 cup feta cheese
  ● flour
  ● salt & pepper
  ● 1 bunch asparagus
  ● dry white wine
  ● 4 cups water

Directions:
1. Heat medium pan over medium-low heat. Add bacon and saute until golden brown, turning once. Remove from pan and set aside. Keep drippings in pan.
2. At the same time, in a medium sauce pan bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and add 12 asparagus spears. Simmer for 1-2 minutes to blanch, then remove stalks from water immediately and set aside.
4. Rinse sole filets and pat dry. Dust with flour, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn over and repeat. Lay one strip of bacon on top of each filet, then sprinkle each with ~1/4 cup feta. Lay 3 asparagus spears at one end of the first filet, then roll filet around asparagus, bacon, and feta. Place seam side down in a small glass baking dish. Repeat for each remaining filet. Pour enough wine into baking dish to cover bottom. Spoon a little wine over each filet. Bake, covered with tinfoil, at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until fish is flakey and opaque.
5. When fish has 5-10 minutes left to bake, reheat bacon pan then add enough wine to just barely cover bottom and deglaze pan. When wine starts to simmer add remaining asparagus spears saute until fork tender. Do not over cook. Serve alongside fish. Brown rice and pomegranates are good on the side.

Oktoberfest

What is October without Oktoberfest? There was an interesting recipe in our local newspaper a few weeks back, so we saved it for just the right time, and tonight we takled German cooking.  Well, sort of.  The recipe called for coarse ground mustard, so I settled for one that looked chunky and had a picture of a guy wearing lederhosen on it (hard to go wrong there, right?) It also called for sauerkraut "not from a can," which, because I know nothing about sauerkraut, made me laugh because we don't buy anything in a can. On the other hand, "fresh sauerkraut" is an oxymoron, isn't it?  I came home from the local organic market with sauerkraut in a glass jar shaped like a barrel, ha ha ha.  Also, the recipe called for two small local red apples.  We got large organic green apples in our delivery, so that's what I used. The dinner was fantastic. I think the caraway seeds added just the right touch. 

Oktoberfest sausages and applekraut

Ingredients:
  ● 1 tbsp butter or canola oil
  ● 1 large onion
  ● 1 tbsp brown sugar
  ● 1-2 large fresh (red) apples, washed, cored, thinly sliced
  ● 1/4 cup German or micro-brewed beer
  ● 4 cups sauerkraut (not canned)
  ● 2 tsp caraway seeds
  ● 6 freshly made German sausages, i.e. brats, knocks, or weiswurst
  ● course ground mustard

Directions:
1. Prepare grill to high heat or heat oven to 350. Oil rack and grill sausages, or cook in pan, 20-30 minutes, or until done, turning to cook evenly. Do not pierce sausages while cooking as that will cause them to lose their savory juices and become dry.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saute pan heat oil over medium-low.  Add onions to pan and saute with brown sugar and pinch of Kosher salt for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Raise heat to high, then deglaze pan with 1/4 cup beer.  Stir, let reduce a minute, then add sliced apples to the onion mixture. Simmer an additional 10 minutes. Stir in rinsed sauerkraut and caraway seeds and cook until heated.

4. Serve sausages over applekraut, passing mustard.

And just a side note, or tip: if you have trouble when trying to evenly and thinly slice an onion, fancy cooking catalogs, like Williams-Sonoma or Pampered Chef, sell fancy tools that will help you hold the onion in place while you are slicing.  Those tools always reminded me of fancy forks, so that's what I use.  I first trim the ends off the onion, then peel it, cut in half lengthwise and remove centers, then I stab one half right in its middle with a fork and use the fork to hold it in place while I make even, thin slices moving inwards from each outside edge.  Works like a charm (bad picture, though. That doesn't really look like a thin slice, does it).

Kitchen sink chili

It's not quite chili season yet, but the weather earlier this week sure was misleading.  After spending the better portion of Tuesday standing in a chill rain making our daily round of the construction sites in the neighborhood, Calvin decided that chili was perfect for a chilly day (in fact, he got a real kick out of saying that...over and over and over again).  I think it's a mark of my increasing maturity (be nice, now) that I was able to pull this off thanks to a well stocked kitchen, or at least a well stocked garden:  dried beans in the cupboard, several plants full of ripe tomatoes, onions from the garden as well, and a strange variety of fresh veggies needing to be used in the fridge.  This, as you can probably tell from its eccentricity, is entirely my own recipe.  Imagine.

Kitchen Sink Chili

Ingredients:
  ● 2 cups mixed dried beans
  ● 2.5 quarts water, plus more
  ● 1 large onion, chopped
  ● 3 lbs tomatoes, chopped
  ● 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  ● ~4 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped
  ● ~2 parsnips, chopped
  ● ~4 stalks bok choy (white part only), chopped
  ● 1/4 tsp salt
  ● 1/2 tsp pepper
  ● 1 tbsp chili powder
  ● 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
1.  In a large pot combine beans and 2.5 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit for 1 hour.
2.  Drain beans, then cover with fresh water, bring to a low boil, and simmer for 3 hours, adding water if necessary.
3.  Add tomatoes, garlic, parsnips, and spices, then simmer for 20 minutes.  Add bok choy and celery and simmer for additional 20 minutes.  Serve hot, topped (optionally) with cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.

The joy of this recipe is that you can substitute anything you think sounds yummy for anything you think doesn't.

Edamame bread salad

Mmmmm...it's garden fare time!  This is a great meal for using up the beans and tomaotes you have erupting from your gardens, and also a vegetarian dish with lots of flavor and a good side of protein.  The recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens, athough I've lightened it up a bit and added a tad more basil than originally called for, of course.

Ingredients:

  ● 3/4  cup feta cheese
  ● 1/2  cup Greek yogurt or plain low-fat yogurt
  ● 2  Tbsp. snipped fresh basil
  ● 1  small clove garlic, minced
  ● 2  12- oz. pkgs. frozen soybeans (edamame)
  ● 1-1/2  lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed
  ● 2  cups yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
  ● 12  slices crusty country bread, toasted
  ● Fresh basil leaves
Balsamic Dressing:
  ● 1/4 cup olive oil
  ● 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  ● 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  ● 1/4 cup fresh basil, lightly packed

Directions:

1. In food process combine feta cheese, yogurt, basil and garlic.  Blend until creamy and season with salt and pepper as desired. (If you don't have a food processor you can mash the cheese and yogurt together with a fork then add the remaining ingredients and stir).  This may be made ahead.

2. In saucepan bring 8 cups lightly salted water to boiling. Add soybeans and green beans and return to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, covered, 6 to 8 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool (speed up by rinsing with cold water.  Add tomatoes to bean mixture and drizzle 1/2 of balsamic dressing mixture (see below); toss to coat.

4. Spread feta mixture on bread slices; place slice on serving plate; mound bean mixture on top. Drizzle remaining dressing; top with fresh basil leaves.

Balsamic Dressing: In blender or processor combine 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, and 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves; blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe shown here with gazpacho soup on the side - another garden great!

Bulgur salad with grilled shrimp

We're always looking for new things to try, especially things that are fresh, include grilling, and/or can help us fill in our vegetarian menu collection. While this is not a strictly vegetarian meal, it at least fits the "eating less red meat" bill for us at least. Plus shrimp is one of Calvin's favorite foods, so this is bound to become a summer favorite around here. It was pretty yummy.

Bulgur Salad with Grilled Shrimp (from Healthy Cooking, by Taste of Home)

• 1 cup bulgur
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 8 pieces green onions, chopped
• 1 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, minced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp fresh gingerroot, minced
• 1-2 tsp coriander, ground
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined

Place the bulgur in a medium bowl, add boiling water, stir, then cover and let stand for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed; drain if necessary. Add cucumber, onions, parsley, and mint. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, ginger, coriander, salt and pepper. Pour over bulgur mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill.

For the shrimp, the recipe just called for grilled shrimp. We bought fresh frozen (hilarious) shrimp, already shelled and deveined (who wants to do that part anyhow?), and thawed it in the refrigerator. Before grilling I sprinked the shrimp with some paprik and salt and a spritz of lemon juice, then placed them on skewers. We grilled them over medium hot coals (organic wood charcoal) for 1-2 minutes per side, which meant cooked through and slightly blackening on the outsides.

Serve shrimp hot and salad cold. Now, I have seen recipes that call for topping with fresh mint leaves, mixing some feta, or serving over a bed of baby arugula (Bobby Flay in particular has a very similar recipe with some extra finishing touches that look devine), so we'll probably play with this a bit in the future.