Pan seared cod with spinach and a hollandaise sauce
This Saturday’s Dinner Date loosely draws from My Wild Atlantic Kitchen, once again. My partner and adorable co-chef Carolyn Flynn was flipping through some potential options when she mentioned a Mousseline Sauce (a hollandaise based sauce) that went with a prawn and spinach pastry. My brain locked on the words ‘spinach’ and ‘hollandaise’. I had never thought to put hollandaise sauce on anything but tight pile of poached eggs, Canadian bacon and an English muffin. But a hollandaise sauce on a white fish what stuck in my head. So tonight, via our zoom link, we prepared our dinners. My take was a pan seared seasoned cod, served on a bed of wilted spinach, topped with a hollandaise sauce. I rubbed the cod with a pepper, onion powder,...
Beef Stroganoff 2.0
On a rainy, overcast day my body wanted some warm comfort food. Recently my kitchen has produced some great cold-weather meals including Chili, Guinness Beef Stew and Irish Fish Soup. Tonight I had a hankering for a classic comfort food that I haven’t made in years. Because I’m me…I wanted to elevate the traditional Beef Stroganoff. A bit. My version includes bacon, lots of white wine, tomato paste and a yet-to-be named processed cheese food. This whole meal was prepared in my 16″ iron skillet. First step was bacon. I had some in my freezer. So with a little olive oil , I cooked about 4 strips, cut in half. Put the bacon on some paper towel on the side. To the bacon drippings I added a thin-sliced sirloin (placed in the freezer while the...
Wild Atlantic Seafood Soup
For our weekly Saturday night dinner day, my pretty Irish lass suggested a meal from our favorite cookbook, My Wild Atlantic Kitchen. So we set our sights on Wild Atlantic Seafood Soup. I took a HUGE detour on this recipe for 2 reasons. #1, I live in a town with few options at the store #2, I don’t like fennel, star anise or tarragon I’ll run the recipe in full, but will note my departures with (*). Ingredients • 2 tbsp olive • 2oz butter • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped • 6 shallots, finely chopped (*used four) • 1 leek, washed and finely chopped • 1 fennel bulb, finely chopped (*used ½ if the bulb) • 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped • 1 tbsp tomato puree (*half a can of tomato paste) • 1140m1 / 2 pints shellfish stock (*I made my standard stock, water,...
Irish Pub Style Guiness Beef Stew
With the temperatures dipping into the 20s in both Colonial Beach I decided to go a heart warming soup/stew route. This recipe is a bit of a hybrid between My Wild Atlantic Kitchen and The Daring Gourmet. Irish pub-style Guinness Beef Stew • 6 slices bacon ,diced• 2 pounds beef chuck• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (with pepper, salt if you like,)• 2 medium-large yellow onions ,chopped• 4 cloves garlic ,minced• 3 medium firm red potatoes, cut into bit-sized chunks• 2 large carrots ,chopped in 1/2 inch pieces• 2 ribs celery ,chopped in 1/2 inch pieces• 1 bottle (1 pint or 16 ounces) Guinness Extra Stout• 1 cup strong beef broth• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce• 1/4 cup tomato paste• 2 teaspoon fresh thyme• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper• 2 bay leaves•...
Tikka fish with spinach and braised leeks
Our standing Saturday Night Dinner Date was virtual last week, and my kitchen partner and loving fiance, Carolyn Flynn suggested a couple NYTs recipes, Sheet-Pan Fish Tikka with Spinach, and for a side, Braised Leeks with Parmesan. It was a wonderful, tasty meal and the leeks surprised me by how tender and full of flavor they were. They absolutely will show up as a side-dish on future meals at my table. Here are the links. A subscription is required, but I find they $5 a month subscription well worth the cost. https://cooking.nytimes.com/…/1023493-sheet-pan-fish… https://cooking.nytimes.com/…/12667-braised-leeks-with… FISH TIKKA Ingredients Yield: 4 servings 1½ pounds firm, white-fleshed fish (such as cod, basa or halibut, cut into chunks)...
Don’s Chili
I have been fine-tuning my chili for decades. And next month (one assumes) the local brewery will be hosting their annual Chili Cook-Off. And I have every intention of participating. Yet…I’m about to post my recipe. I really don’t care about anyone copying it, I just want to share it. Tonight I made up my ‘small batch’ and had a good friend over to enjoy the meal on a cold night. Don’s Chili Grill 4 chicken thighs. Don’t worry about cooking them completely. Put on some wood chips to get a smokey flavor. Burn them a bit on the outside…it’s OK. Just don’t over-cook. Dice them in 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes. Heat up some olive oil, a few tablespoons. Dice up and onion and toss it in so it gets caramelized. Toss in a couple tablespoons on minced garlic and swirl, don’t let...