Roasted Salmon, Grape Tomatoes and Leeks with Sparkling Wine Sauce

 My only, only critique for this dish is longest title ever. It pretty much lists every ingredient in the recipe... I do understand, however, that each of the title ingredients plays a key role in the unique flavor. Why don't we just call it Gourmet Roasted Salmon? I think that fits.

Ingredients:
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 leeks, white parts only, cut into 1/4" rounds
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp. dried thyme
Salt and ground pepper
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets, skin removed
1/2 cup Prosecco sparkling white wine
1 tbsp mined shallot
1/2 cup fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a baking pan with shallow sides, combine the tomatoes and leeks. Add 1 tbsp of the oil, the thyme, 1/2 tsp salt and some black pepper.  Toss with your hands to coat the vegetables.  Roast until the tomatoes are wrinkled and the leeks soft but not mushy, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set aside.  Increase the oven temperature to 425.

3. In a medium ovenproof skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat.  Arrange the salmon in the pan, skinned side up, and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.  Using a wide spatula, turn the salmon.  Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the salmon is just translucent in the center where it is thickest, 4 to 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven as it is very hot.  Place it on the back of the stove.

4.  In a small, nonreactive saucepan, combine the wine and shallot and set over medium-high heat.  Boil until the wine is reduced to 2 tbsp, about 4 minutes.  Pour in the broth and boil until there is 1/4 cup liquid.  Off the heat while whisking vigorously, drop in the cold butter a few pieces at a time, blending them in before adding more.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Place a salmon fillet in the center of each of 4 dinner plates.  Spoon roasted tomatoes and leeks on either side and spoon the sauce over the fish.  Serve immediately.

The cookbook instructs that the left over Prosecco be used to toast the chef - cheers!

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Thai-Style Stir Fry

This is definitely a keeper!  Straight from the October 2012 Cook's Illustrated, it's another America's Test Kitchen winner.  Chicken, eggs, broccoli, and rice noodles tossed with the most flavorful sauce, you really can't go wrong.

The key in this recipe is LEAVE IT ALONE.  When I say without stirring or stirring once, I mean it.  I was very skeptical of this method, as I am an extremely impatient cook, and want to stir every 2 seconds.  By not stirring, you are allowing the flavors to really explode. It creates a few charred/browned parts, but this is key in flavor development. Trust me!!

Ingredients:

Chile Vinegar:
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 Serrano chile, stemmed and sliced into thin rings

Stir Fry:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut against grain into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 tsp. baking soda
8 oz. (1/4" wide) rice noodles (ATK recommends A taste of Thai Rice Noodles, straight cut)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp molasses
1 tsp fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
10 ounces broccoli or broccolini, florets cut into 1" pieces

Directions:

1. For the chile vinegar: Combine vinegar and Serrano in bowl.  Let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

2. Combine chicken with 2 tablespoons water and the baking soda in a bowl.  Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Rinse chicken in cold water and drain well.

3. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil.  Place noodles in a large bowl.  Pour boiling water over noodles.  Stir, then soak until noodles are almost tender, about 8 minutes, stirring once halfway through.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Drain well and toss with 2 teaspoons oil.

4.  Whisk together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, molasses, and fish sauce in a bowl.

5.  Heat 2 teaspoons oil and the garlic in a 12" skillet over high heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is deep golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add chicken and 2 tablespoons of the sauce, toss to coat, and spread chicken into an even layer.  Cook, without stirring, until chicken begins to brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Using tongs, flip the chicken and cook, without stirring, until second side begins to brown, another 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Push chicken to 1 side of skillet, add 2 teaspoons oil and the eggs to the cleared part of the skillet.  Using a rubber spatula, stir the eggs gently and cook until set but still wet.  Stir eggs into chicken and continue to cook, breaking up large pieces of eggs until eggs are fully cooked, 30 to 60 seconds.  Transfer chicken mixture to a bowl.

6.  Heat 2 teaspoons oil in the now-empty skillet until smoking. Add broccoli and 2 tablespoons sauce, toss to coat.  Cover skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.  Remove lid and continue to cook until it is crisp and very brown in spots, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.  Add broccoli to the chicken bowl.

7. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in now-empty skillet until smoking.  Add half of noodles and 2 tablespoons sauce and toss to coat.  Cook until noodles are starting to brown in spots, about 2 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.  Transfer noodles to bowl with chicken mixture.  Repeat with remaining 2 teaspoons oil, noodles, and sauce.  When second batch of noodles is cooked, add contents of bowl back to skills and toss to combine.  Cook, without stirring, until everything is warmed through, 1 to 1/2 minutes.  Serve immediately, passing the chile vinegar separately.

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Quinoa with Corn and Pecans

One of my absolute favorite features of the Best Foods Cookbook is the unique pairings of ingredients. I never would have thought to put pecans, corn, and BACON in quinoa.  I'm so thankful for creative, innovative minds such as Dana Jacobi (author of the cookbook)!  This was so quick and simple to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 tsp. canola oil, divided
1 strip bacon, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 cups cooked quinoa (recipe calls for red quinoa, but as you can see, I used standard quinoa)
3/4 cup frozen yellow corn kernels
1/2 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium high heat.  Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until it colors, 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Add the remaining 1 tsp oil to the pot.  Mix in the onion and cook, stirring often, until it is golden, 4 minutes. Add the quinoa, corn, broth, and cooked bacon.  Cook, stirring, until the pilaf is heated through, 3 minutes.  Off the heat, mix in the vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle on the pecans.

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Meatier Meatloaf

I don't like meatloaf, but I like this. It came from my monthly Cook's Illustrated magazine put out by America's Test Kitchen. Need I say more?

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
6 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1/2 slice hearty white sandwich bread, torn into 1" pieces
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound ground pork
1 pound 85% lean ground beef

Glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Directions:

*NOTE: This took way longer than I anticipated. I failed to see that it would take 75-90 minutes to cook, and then 20 minutes of sit-time before serving. Please learn from my mistake, and if you don't want to eat dinner at 10 pm, don't start it when I did.  Whoops.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  To prep the pan, fold heavy-duty aluminum foil to form a 9" by 5" rectangle.  Center foil on wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.  Poke holes in the foil with a skewer about 1/2 inch apart.  Spray foil with vegetable oil spray.

2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 10-12 minutes.  Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until browned, about 3 minutes.  Reduce heat to low; add 3 tablespoons broth and garlic; cook, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits, until thickened about 1 minute.  Transfer mushroom mixture to large bowl to cool.
3. Whisk eggs, remaining 1/2 cup broth, and soy sauce together in bowl.  Sprinkle gelatin over egg mixture and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.
4. Pulse bread in food processor until finely ground, 5 to 10 pulses. Add gelatin mixture, cooled mushroom mixture, parsley, mustard, pepper, and thyme to bread crumbs and pulse until mushrooms are finely ground, about 10 pulses.  Transfer bread-crumb mixture to large bowl.  Add pork and beef and mix with hands to thoroughly combine.
5. Transfer meat mixture to foil rectangle and shape into 9 by 5 inch loaf using wet hands.  Bake meatloaf until it registers 155 to 160 degrees, 75 to 90 minutes. Remove from oven and turn on broiler.

For the glaze:
6. While meatloaf cooks, bring all ingredients to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.
7. Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meatloaf; place under broiler and cook until glaze bubbles and begins to brown at edges, about 2 minutes.  Remove meatloaf from oven and spread evenly with remaining glaze; return to broiler and cook until glaze is again bubbling and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes longer.  Let meatloaf cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Hello?

Well, hello. Let me re-introduce myself. My name is Mikaela, and I'm that girl that used to share delicious, aboriginal recipes with you. That girl who used to be dedicated to the art of cooking and writing and used to narrate my kitchen adventures to you once upon a time.  Remember me?

That same girl, me, apologizes profusely if you are a regular bloggower (Blog follower - just made that up!).  Granted, I think I'm flattering myself a little too much to think I actually have "regulars". At any rate, I still am sorry for neglecting this simple little cooking journal for so very long.  And as a symbol of my remorse, please enjoy my favorite flowers:

Okay, okay, I know that's a weak apology. To embellish it a bit, I have many great excuses as to why I've been MIA for the last two months... ready?

1. The sun was shining.
2. My car exploded.
3. Mom and Dad are fantastic cooks.
4. Mac is a really busy genius.
5. All my energy is magnetized to my adorable pseudo-nephew.

No good? Ah, well, at least they're all true. Stories for a different day on a different blog, I suppose.

Confession: I went two months without making a real meal.

Also true.

The truth is, I've just been busy. So there.

So, to make up for it get ready for a bundle of recipes coming your way.  I mean it. Soups, breads, cookies, and the motherload of freezer-meal posts! Here's what you have to look forward to (in no particular order):

• Quinoa with Corn and Pecans
• Roasted Salmon, Grape Tomatoes, and Leeks with Sparkling Wine Sauce
• Turkey Meatball Chili
• Meatier Meatloaf
• Herbed Spaghetti Squash
• Pull-apart Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Bread
• Chai Cookies with Pumpkin Kisses

Stay tuned!

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