Baked Perch with Horseradish

Baked Perch
A really nice tender juicy fish with a little kick from the horseradish.

Ingredients

Perch filets
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon horseradish


Topping
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped chives (or dried)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 scallion finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt 1/4 cup butter in baking dish. Add 1 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon horseradish. Stir to blend.
Dip both sides of the perch into melted seasoned butter. Place in same baking dish.

Make the topping in a bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/4  cup breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon chopped chives, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon pepper sauce.
Sprinkle topping over perch.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes till fish flakes with fork.

Roast Chicken with Pineapple Glaze

Roast Chicken with Pineapple Glaze
Ingredients
1 chicken for roasting
Salt
Pepper
Butter

For the Glaze:
1 can crushed pineapple
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash chicken and pat dry with a paper towel.
Brush chicken with melted butter and sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Bake in oven for 1 hour, brushing every 20 minutes.
Prepare the glaze by combining 1 can crushed pineapple, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard and 1 teaspoon soy sauce.
Pour over chicken. Return to oven for 1 hour more covered. Bake for another 15 minutes uncovered.

Tomatoes with Balsamic Dressing and Basil

Tomatoes with Balsamic Dressing and Fresh Basil
Ingredients

3 Fresh Tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Fresh basil

Directions

Wash 3 tomatoes, place in a bowl. Bring enough water to the boil so that the tomatoes will be covered. Boil water and pour over tomatoes. Leave for 2 minutes. Drain the water. Run cold water over the tomatoes. Peel the skin off tomatoes, cut out core and slice horizontally . Place in a pyrex dish.
Make the dressing by starting with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl.
Sir in 1 teaspoon sugar and mix oil and sugar together. Add 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, continuing to mix with spoon. Add 4 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper and 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Mix and taste. Adjust according to your taste.
Pour over tomatoes and top with sprigs of fresh basil.

Perch sauteed in Browned Butter

We bought some fresh perch recently, this is sauteed in butter that is allowed to brown first, so that the fish has a nice color when served.

Ingredients

4 filets of Perch
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
Lemon wedges.

Directions

Measure 1/2 cup flour and add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper and mix well together. Put this flour mixture on a plate and press the fish really well into the flour mixture on both sides.
Meanwhile in a skillet, put 1 tablespoon olive oil and 4 tablespoons butter, over medium high heat, melt the butter and let it become slightly browned. Add the filets and saute 3 minutes on each side. Serve with lemon wedges

Smoked Salmon Smorrebrod

Smoked Salmon Smorrebrod
(Open Faced Smoked Salmon Sandwich on Pumpernickel Bread with Horseradish Sour Cream)

This delicious refreshing sandwich is served at Bar Tartine in San Francisco, found this recipe in Bon Appetit. Easy to make, you can make the horseradish sour cream ahead and assemble the sandwiches a couple of hours before serving. I slightly changed the amounts. Really nice for a brunch.

Ingredients

1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons grated horseradish

2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Pumpernickel Sliced Bread
8 oz. Sliced Smoked Salmon
1 radish thinly sliced
Dill sprigs

Directions

Make the horseradish sour cream first. In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons grated horseradish, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Can be made ahead and kept in fridge covered until needed.

To assemble the sandwich:
Cut the slice of pumpernickel bread in half, spread the horseradish sour cream on bread, top with a slice of smoked salmon (I bought the packaged Scottish Smoked Salmon), a sprig of dill, a slice of radish and season with grated pepper.
Arrange on a platter, with lemon wedges and sprigs of dill between the sandwiches.
Can be made ahead up to two hours and kept covered in fridge.

A platter of smoked salmon smorsbrod, old fashioned British cucumber sandwiches and deviled eggs

Deviled Eggs recipe posted 1.25.13
Old Fashioned British Cucumber Sandwich recipe posted 8.19.12

Linguini with Garlic Cream Sauce

This dish is all made in one pot, I stumbled on the recipe on the internet but added ricotta to my dish. The original recipe was made without the ricotta and used angel hair or spaghetti, I'm sure it's just as delicious either way.
Thank you dear friend Linda Capria for pointing the way!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb  thin linguini
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (fresh)
2 tablespoons rictotta

Directions

In a large pot, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil, add 4 cloves garlic minced and cook for 1 minute.
Add 2 tablespoons butter and continue to saute until melted, stirring continuously.
Add 3 cups chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a rolling boil
Add 1/2 lb thin linguini and cook for 8 minutes.
Reduce heat, add 1 cup grated parmesan and mix until melted.
Turn off heat and stir in 3/4 cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons ricotta stirred into the cream first.
Add 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)


Very nice served with asparagus and portobella mushrooms.
I thought at first there was too much liquid in the pasta, but the pasta absorbed the liquid and turned out to be perfect.

Mloukhiyeh with Chicken, Rice and Pita Chips

Mloukhiyeh with Chicken, Rice and Pita Chips
My mother in law grew this a few times in her garden when a friend brought some mloukhieyeh seeds over from Lebanon, I remember it was quite a successful crop as we spent many weekends tearing off the leaves and putting them away in the freezer. She gave this recipe to me many years ago, it’s one of the family’s favorite meals.  I was interested to discover that  Kamal Al-Faquih’s book, Classic Lebanese Cuisine,  made it exactly the same way. A lovely light, refreshing but tasty dish.

Mloukhiyeh is a green leafy vegetable, sometimes called Jew’s mallow or jute mallow.  You can buy it fresh at the farmer’s market, but most people now buy the frozen chopped variety. Mloukhiyeh can be found in specialty stores (Samir’s in Syracuse). Served with chicken, rice, toasted pita bread and  onions.
This dish can be prepared a day ahead. The chicken, rice, mloukhiyeh, pita bread and chopped onions are all prepared separately.

Ingredients for the Chicken

chicken thighs 4 1/2 lbs(with skins)
4 teaspoons salt
1 stalk celery chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground coriander


Directions for Chicken

Rinse the chicken thighs first in white vinegar for five minutes. Drain . Next, cover the chicken thighs in a large pot with 12 cups water. Leave the skins on. Add 4 teaspoons salt. Place over high heat uncovered and bring to the boil, stir from time to time to make sure the chicken does not stick to the bottom of the pot. When it come to a rolling boil, skim any foam off the top. Add 1 stalk celery chopped, 1 cup chopped onion, 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, bring back to the boil and simmer covered for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from heat and place chicken in a pyrex dish to cool uncovered. Strain the broth and return all the broth to the pot.

After the chicken has cooled (about 30 minutes), remove the skin and break  the meat apart from the bone, don’t ever slice with a knife. Leave the chicken in chunks.

Ingredients for the Rice

1 cup rice
2 1/2 cups reserved broth (or Campbell’s Chicken Broth)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter


Directions for the Rice

In a pan, place 1 cup rice, 2 1/2 cups reserved broth (or use canned chicken broth), 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon butter. Bring to a boil, and simmer covered until rice is done.

Ingredients for the mloukhiyeh

2 packages frozen chopped mloukhiyeh (let it thaw a bit, if no time, cut the block up in to wedges)
2 tablespoons coriander
4 cups reserved chicken broth
1/4 cup garlic cloves with 1/2 teaspoon salt mashed
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped cilantro plus 2 tablespoons
3 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions for mloukhiyeh

In a saucepan, put 4 cups reserved chicken broth, slowly heat the water. Once the water starts to bubble, drop the mloukhiyeh in, you may have to shave it if its frozen in a block. Let the mixture come to a boil and shut the heat off and cover the saucepan.
Mash the garlic to a pulp with salt using a pestle or pulse garlic and salt in a food processor (much faster). Melt 2 tablespoons  butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic pulp and saute until the garlic begins to sizzle. Do not let it brown. Remove from heat.
Add 2 tablespoons coriander to the skillet. Mix well with the garlic and add to the mloukhiyeh. Next add 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Reheat the Mloukhiyeh stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Set aside uncovered.

Ingredients for the toasted Pita
2 slices pita bread

Directions for the toasted pita bread.

Cut the pita bread into 1 inch squares, do not separate the pita halves.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. On a baking sheet lined with silver foil, spread the pita squares and bake, shaking the tray from time to time for 10 minutes or until golden brown. These can be made ahead, but make sure they are completely cooled before storing in a container. I actually popped a couple of pita sections in the toaster and it was fine. Broke it up afterward.

Ingredients for the onion topping

1 large onion
Distilled white vinegar

Directions for the onion topping

Chop the onion finely, place in a glass bowl, cover with apple cider vinegar so the onion is floating in the vinegar.

To serve this dish, each item sits in it’s own serving dish, the guests layer the ingredients. So the chicken would be placed on a platter, the rice in a serving bowl, and the pita chips, the mloukhiyeh stew, and the onions all in their own serving bowls. Traditionally the pita bread would go first but our family puts the bread last  to avoid the bread becoming mushy.



The guests use bowls and help themselves to the rice first,

                                                                              then the chicken,

                                                            then the mloukhiyeh stew,

                                                                   then the onion

                                                               and lastly the pita chips.

Perhaps we all have our own method of layering, clearly David puts his pita chips before the onions and mloukhiyeh! It tasted really wonderful whatever way you put it in your dish.