I Love You More Than Food

Category: salads

  • Red Snapper En Papilotte + Endive, Apple & Red Cabbage Slaw

    Red Snapper En Papilotte + Endive, Apple & Red Cabbage Slaw

    [donotprint]red snapper en papillote with lime & thyme[/donotprint]

    Red Snapper Filets en Papilotte

    1/3 lb snapper filets, as many as needed (1 per person)*
    lime, sliced thinly
    thyme sprigs
    parchment paper
    *great* olive oil (optional)
    salt & pepper

    Begin by patting dry and lightly salting the filets. On a piece of parchment wider than the fish is long and twice as long as the fish is long, place the filet. Layer a few slices of thin lime on the fish, topping with some thyme sprigs and a dash of olive oil if you like. Top with pepper.

    Fold the parchment in half, with the filet sitting flat against the crease of the paper. Fold the corners in, folding down several more times. Fold in the other sides and tuck under to create an enclosure (the fish will steam). Repeat on remaining fish.

    Bake on a sheet (in case of leaking juices) for about 15 minutes at 350-400 degrees. Fish will flake away easily when done.

    *This recipe will work for any fish en papilotte; you may need to adjust cooking time for thicker fish and I think the method lends best to more delicate fish (ie, not salmon)
    [donotprint]
    red cabbage slaw with apples, endive, carrot, lime & red onion[/donotprint]

    Endive, Apple, Red Cabbage Slaw

    serves four

    1/2 small red cabbage, sliced very thinly
    1/2 medium red onion, sliced very thinly
    1 large carrot, shredded
    1/2 or whole apple of choice, cubed
    2 endives, sliced in 1/4 or 1/8 inch short strips (can use radicchio, etc)
    juice of 1 lime
    1 tsp walnut oil (or other mild oil)
    1/2-1tsp ground cumin
    salt

    Using a mandolin (ideally), slice the onion and cabbage. Slice the endives (or radicchio or other chicories), chop the apple and shred the carrot. Whisk the lime juice, cumin, oil and salt to taste. Mix everything together. Keeps well for 1-2 days, but best fresh.

  • Creamy winter citrus & crab salad

    Creamy winter citrus & crab salad

    [donotprint]Winter salad with citrus and creamy yogurt dressing

    [/donotprint]Creamy winter citrus salad with Crab

    For four:
    1 dungeness crab, picked for meat (or about 8 legs/1.25 lbs in-shell)
    2 small, tasty oranges
    2 grapefruit
    1 ripe avocado
    1/2 C pepitas (pumpkin seeds, raw preferably)
    3T plain greek yogurt
    1 shallot
    Juice of 1 lemon
    1 T good, mild olive oil
    bunch watercress
    bunch frisee

    Pick the crab meat and mince the shallot. Toast the pepitas in a hot pan, moving constantly for a few minutes. Zest the oranges and grapefruit a bit to get about 1-2 tsp of zest into a small bowl. Section the fruits by slicing the stem/flower ends off and cutting the pith away. Hold the fruit in your hand and cut* along the membranes to section the fruit out.

    Drain the excess juice into the zest bowl, and add the yogurt, shallot, lemon juice, olive oil and a bit of salt. Whisk together and let stand. Slice your avocado thinly and portion 1/4 for each serving. Dress the frisee and watercress in the creamy citrus dressing, and assemble the citrus segments, crab, avocado and pepitas on top.

    *If you’re afraid of doing this, watch a youtube video; if you’re still afraid, cut them in rounds instead.

  • A fine weeknight dinner for two – endive salad & filet mignon with marsala mushroom sauce

    A fine weeknight dinner for two – endive salad & filet mignon with marsala mushroom sauce

     

    filet mignon with creamy marsala mushroom sauce

    Sometimes you just feel like a good meal, and if you can cook, you know you can either make a much nicer one for less money at home, or something better than what you could eat out. So, when my gentleman asked me what I’d like to do that evening, I said, “cook.”

    For the Steak
    2 filet mignons of a size appropriate to you
    1/2 lb crimini or other meaty mushrooms, diced
    1/2 leek, sliced finely and sauteed in butter, set aside
    dry sherry
    leftover bechamel sauce or some cream if you’re desperate (or make a roux and add some milk and salt)
    butter

    Heat the oven to 375. Using a metal skillet (not non stick) big enough for both steaks, heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add 1-2 T butter, melting at high heat. Salt & pepper the raw steaks. Add to the pan, cooking on one side until browned (about 2 minutes). Flip the steaks, cook 2 more minutes and then without moving the steaks, put the whole pan in the oven. For medium/medium rare, it should take about as long as it takes to make the sauce (5-8 minutes).

    In a sautee pan of your choosing, heat 1-2 T butter until melted. Add the chopped mushrooms, cooking at medium heat until slightly shriveled and browned. Raise heat slightly and add 1/2 C sherry, cooking until mostly reduced. Add the bechamel sauce, warming and combining. Add salt & pepper to taste, keep warm.

    I served this with wilted spinach (zest of 1 small lemon, juice of same lemon, into a big, hot pan), and couscous (cooked in vegetable stock).

    endive salad with bleu cheese, bosc pear, candied lime walnuts

    For the salad
    2 endives, cleaned and trimmed into seperate leaves
    1/3 C candied walnuts (or plain ones, but why bother with going halfway?)
    1 bosc pear (or apple, etc), sliced thinly
    Blue cheese
    Juice of 1 lemon
    1-2 tsp walnut oil

    Whisk lemon juice and blue cheese together. Use a bit of heat if necessary, the dressing should be fairly thick. Add oil and salt & pepper. Taste and adjust. Dress the endive leaves and assemble on plates, alternating with pear slices. Add more blue cheese crumbles on top and place the walnuts into the salad.

  • Salmon Cream Cheese Wontons & Spicy Persimmon Slaw

    Salmon Cream Cheese Wontons & Spicy Persimmon Slaw

    home made salmon cream cheese wontons

    spicy persimmon cabbage salad

    Inspired by Wild Ginger in Cambria, CA, these wontons are tasty, filling finger food; the slaw helps to cut the fat and is a nice fall accompaniment. They’re also a really convenient way to use up any leftover wonton skins and leftover salmon.

    For 12-16 wontons

    Square wonton skins
    1/3 lb salmon, cooked (grilled, broiled, whatever)
    1/4 C cream cheese (I prefer Gina Marie from Sierra Nevada Cheese Co)
    1-2 tsp brown rice vinegar
    1/8 tsp five spice powder
    salt
    lots of safflower/sunflower/other high eat oil for frying

    Shred the salmon and mix with room temperature cream cheese. Add rice vinegar, five spice powder, and a pinch of salt to taste. Set aside for up to 2 hours or refrigerate up to 2 days ahead. Use 1T per wonton wrapper and moisten wrapper with spray bottle. Fold diagonally and seal, then bring end points together and seal. Fry at medium high heat, testing a piece of wonton skin first, until evenly golden.

    Spicy Persimmon Cabbage Slaw

    1/2 head cabbage, chopped somewhat finely
    1 persimmon, sliced thinly
    2 tsp gochujang or other chili paste such as harissa
    juice of 1 lime
    1/4 tsp ground cumin
    salt

    Whisk gochujang, lime juice, cumin and salt; toss cabbage and persimmon in mixture and let set 10 minutes before serving, or up to 1 hour.

  • Oven baked babyback ribs to fall off the bone all year long + mango slaw

    Oven baked babyback ribs to fall off the bone all year long + mango slaw

    Oven baked babyback ribs

    Rack of ribs cooked in oven babyback

    I know it’s barbecue season and all, but the nice little disc that distributes the heat on my gas grill pretty much withered away to dust all of the sudden, and I’m grill-less unless I want to bother with the whole charcoal thing, which most of the time just takes way too much planning.

    And so, after my latest grocery impulse buy–a rack of ribs–I had to come up with somethin’ new.

    Oven Baked Ribs

    1 rack (or more! hey! who’s to stop you) babyback pork ribs

    For the spice rub:
    1/4 C brown sugar
    1 T paprika
    2 tsp smoked paprika
    2 tsp chili powder
    1 tsp garlic powder
    2 tsp kosher salt
    1/2 tsp ground coriander
    1 tsp berbere mix if you can get your hands on some

    Mix it up and rub it on the ribs generously. Let sit overnight in the fridge with it on or at room temp at least 30 minutes.

    Make a loose foil packet for the ribs and bake at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.

    When rib meat is pulled away from bone, dress top in bbq sauce (store bought in my case) and stick under the broiler meaty side up for a few minutes until bubbly and caramelized.

    Mango Slaw

    Mango Slaw

    1/2 cucumber,seeded and sliced thinly
    1/4 mango, julienned
    1/4 jicama tuber, julienned
    1/8th head red cabbage, sliced thinly
    1/4 carrot, sliced thinly in wafers
    2 radishes, quartered and sliced thinly
    juice of 1/2 lime
    1/4 tsp ground cumin
    1 tsp walnut oil
    1 tsp sushi vinegar or other vinegar
    pinch salt

    Whisk together last 5 ingredients and add all other ingredients. This’ll be fine the next day too but I prefer it immediately.

  • 5 spice salmon & asian mixed vegetable salad

    5 spice salmon & asian mixed vegetable salad

    five spice salmon

    asian salad with fennel and broccoli stems

    Thanks to P for the inspiration.

    This dish is extremely quick to prepare if you have the right equipment (a mandolin or julienne tool) and 100% doable on a weekday. Took me about 15 minutes, healthy, tasty, and very presentable.

    For the Salmon

    1/3 lb salmon per person, fillet, non farmed
    5 spice powder
    berbere spice mixture or a bit of cayenne
    salt

    Salt the salmon, let sit for a couple of minutes. Dust the fleshiest side of the salmon in five spice powder and then top with 1/3 as much berbere or cayenne or other similar mixture.

    For the Asian Mixed Vegetable Salad

    2 broccoli stalks, trimmed and peeled w/ veg peeler
    2 radishes, quartered and sliced thinly
    1/4 bulb fennel, shaved on mandolin
    1/2 cucumber, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
    4 leaves butter lettuce, roughly ripped into 1-2 inch squares or so
    1 pink pluot, in 1/2 inch cubes
    1 dark plumb, in 1/2 inch cubes
    2T seasoned rice vinegar
    1T walnut oil or other fragrant nut oil
    1T sesame seeds or gomashi
    salt to taste

    Julienne broccoli stems (hopefully you have a mandolin type contraption to do this) and mix all ingredients together!

  • Microgreen Slaw & Miso broiled black cod

    Microgreen Slaw & Miso broiled black cod

    Microgreens SlawMicrogreen Slaw and Miso Broiled Black Cod

    Miso marinated fish

    For the slaw:

    1/2 fuji or other firm apple
    mixed or “rainbow” microgreens, washed & dried
    2 large red radishes
    gomashi or sesame seeds & coarse salt
    brown rice vinegar
    toasted sesame oil

    Julienne the apple and radishes. Whisk the gomashi, vinegar, and oil together to make a light dressing. Mix everything together just before serving.

  • Halibut with Fennel and a Roasted Beet Salad

    Halibut with Fennel and a Roasted Beet Salad

    Halibut with Fennel Recipe Photo

    1 head baby fennel (or half regular), with fronds
    1 piece fresh halibut, .5-.75 lb
    mixed salad greens
    juice of 1/2 lemon
    olive oil + macadamia oil if possible
    vanilla salt & pepper
    raw pistachios
    1/2 roasted red beet

    Heat oven to 350. Clean the fennel and cut off the fronds, placing the fronds on a parchment lined baking sheet in a pile. Add your fish skin down onto the fronds and top with 1 tsp olive oil, vanilla salt, and pepper.  NOTE: you may make your own vanilla salt by mixing sea salt with the core of 1-2 vanilla beans in a clean spice jar. The salt should be saturated, so you may  minimize the amount of salt you make at once. Leave the cleaned out beans in the jar with the salt, it will create a stronger aroma over time.

    Place the fish in the oven, you’ll be baking it 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. Should be opaque white and not jiggly when touched but the meat should not seperate when it’s done. Slice your fennel thinly from bottom to top, after removing the stiff core. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick pan on medium low heat; when heated, add the fennel, pepper, and vanilla salt. Toss occasionally until parts are golden and all is soft, about 15-20 minutes.

    Meanwhile, make salad dressing by combining 1/2 juice of lemon (or just scant), and 1/2 as much olive oil as there is lemon juice. Add a dash of macadamia oil or use it exclusively if you like. Add regular salt & pepper, and emulsify with a whisk.  Add your washed and drained salad greens, tossing. Add pistachios to taste and your 1/2 roasted beet in cubes (I had one leftover, you may omit it, probably not worth making on its own).

  • Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash and Pancetta

    Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash and Pancetta

    Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash and Pancetta Recipe Photo

    1 butternut squash
    6 spears asparagus (large)
    1/4 vidalia or other sweet onion
    1 large eggplant
    1 C quinoa
    2 C water
    1 slice 1/4 inch thick pancetta, cubed
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    Cube butternut squash, egglant. Dice onion. Section eggplant to 1/2 inch sections.

    Wash quinoa and combine with water in saucepan. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat immediately to low. Set 15 min until water absorbed.

    Fry pancetta in seperate pan, dry, adding to medium hot pan until crisp.

    Heat olive oil and onion to medium high. Once onion shrunk but not translucent or colored yet, add butternut squash cubes (salt & pepper at every stage). Let soften. Turn heat up, add eggplant cubes. Allow to color, continuing to toss occasionally.

    Add asparagus last. Let get bright green, turn off heat. Combine cooked quinoa with mixture, top with fried pancetta and serve.

    Wine: You could serve this with a light, bright wine like an Oregon Pinot Noir.