Macadamia encrusted Mahi-Mahi and Rosemary White Truffle Potatoes

While I always love to cook, sometimes I am just in the mood to really 'bring it' in the kitchen arena and remind my husband just how good he has it, haha. So last weekend I made macadamia encrusted mahi-mahi, rosemary and white truffle roasted potatoes and a salad that was mind-blowing on its own. Here's how you can replicate this evening...

For starters, you'll need to get the potatoes started as they take the longest. I chose small/medium red potatoes and I cut them into four pieces per potato, so fairly sizable chunks - skin on, of course. I tossed them in a large metal bowl with a mixture of olive oil, pink himalayan sea salt, white ground peppercorns, some sprigs of freshly cut rosemary and white truffle oil. You can find white truffle oil at any high-end grocery/gourmet store...it is pricey, but I recommend buying a small bottle and rationing it out - so worthwhile for the richness alone. Anyway, once the potatoes are coated with the mixture, move them to a baking sheet and bake them at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Now take the fish steaks (ours were frozen and purchased at Trader Joe's - I recommend fresh obviously, but do what you can!) and after rinsing them, lightly salt and pepper both sides. In order to coat the fish, you need to first dip it in coconut milk. However, if you don't have coconut milk, you can make a substitution with regular milk whisked with powdered ginger - its a close second, taste-wise. Once they are coated with milk, roll the fish through the breading mixture (1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter, 2 tbsp wheat flour and 1-1 1/4 cups of freshly ground macadamia nuts, coarsely ground) and then place them on a baking sheet that is lined with foil. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is browned and crunchy.

As for the potatoes (which were cooking at a lower temp), you can leave them in while the fish cooks, but keep an eye on them to ensure they don't get TOO crispy, aka burnt. If they're getting done, just pull them out.

Served with a mixed green salad topped with crispy prosciutto and a homemade white balsamic vinaigrette and paired with a cucumber sake-tini. On a night like this, life was just GOOD.

- Melissa

Citrus-soy glazed Drumsticks

I am not a drumstick fan...unless it comes attached to a large turkey, that is - but sometimes they just seem like a bargain when I'm grocery shopping and so some of them come home with me even if I have no idea what will become of them. So this time, I tried a citrus soy glaze that really gave the skin and meat some real flavor and, as a result, I'm recommending it to you all.

For starters, combine 1/2 cup dry, plain sake (if need be, substitute rice wine vinegar), 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/4 cup orange juice, some freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/2-1 lemon), a pinch of brown (I use Splenda) sugar and 2 tsps freshly ground or grated ginger in a large bowl and whisk together. Place the drumsticks into the marinade and toss them a few times until coated. Save the remaining marinade and place the drumsticks in a stainless steel pan over medium heat. Let them cook on each side for a few minutes until the skin starts to brown, about six minutes total. PS - Add salt and pepper to taste while they are browning.

Next, add the remaining marinade from the bowl, reduce the heat slightly and let the chicken simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Continue to cook and rotate the drumsticks until the liquid has evaporated by 50 percent, then drain the liquid and sear the chicken for an additional few minutes until the skin is even darker. Be sure to cut a drumstick open to check the temp on the meat before serving - drumsticks can be tricky!

Served with mixed asian vegetables (frozen, oh, the horror!) and sliced sweet potatoes that were baked (for 45 minutes at 375 degrees) with cinnamon, chili powder and all spice in the oven.

- Melissa

Spicy Cashew Chicken (Pinterest Recipe)

It has been quite some time since I have posted here so I would like to formally apologize to my co-blogger(s) and to our followers.  Four months ago we added a little angel to our family and creativity, in the kitchen, has been put on the back burner for a while. 

That being said, quick and easy meals have become the newest installment in our culinary handbook.  My wife has recently become engrossed with Pinterest and has been selecting meals from other "Pinners" that look easy and sound tasty.  I slightly modified this recipe tonight and man was it delicious!  Here is what you will need:

2 Chicken Breasts Cubed
1 Tbsp. Cooking Sherry
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (We use low sodium)
3 Tbsp. Oil
1 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
3 Green Onions, Sliced Diagonally
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1/2 C. Unsalted Cashews

For the Finishing Sauce:
4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (We use low sodium)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
4 Tsp. Sugar
2 Tsp. White Vinegar

Marinade:
Combine 1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce and 1 Tbsp. of cooking sherry in a bowl with the cubed chicken and allow to marinade.

In a small bowl, whisk together 4 Tbsp. of low sodium soy sauce, 1 1/2 Tbsp. of cornstarch, 4 Tsp. of sugar, and 2 Tsp. of white vinegar.  (MY advice is to add the cornstarch last or you will have a hardened clump to deal with.)

Drain the marinaded chicken and heat 3 Tbsp. of oil in a wok on high heat.  Add the red pepper flakes to infuse the oil (This will add to the heat but in a good way!).  When you start to see bubbles on the red pepper flakes, add all of the chicken.  Allow the chicken to sit for a minute before turning to get a golden brown color to it.  Turn the chicken, and add the garlic.  Cook the chicken until done and add the cashews.  Remove the wok from the heat and immediately add the finishing sauce, continually stirring.  The sauce will thicken almost immediately but keep stirring until the chicken is well coated.  It will have a "candied" look when it is complete.  Sprinkle with green onion and serve with some jasmine rice, enjoy!

- Chris

You can find the original recipe by following this link:
http://mommachelleblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/cashew-chicken-with-kick.html

Greek Shrimp Tapas Dish

So I was watching Bobby Flay (if you've seen my husband, you might understand my 'type' and why I am drawn to Flay...ha!) and he was doing a version of this dish and I couldn't grab a pen and paper quick enough to jot some notes. So while I made a few changes, I stayed pretty close and thus, credit to the Irish guy from NY for sure.

First things first, take some grape or cherry tomatoes and place them on skewers to go on the grill. (Remember to soak the skewers in water if they're wooden for at least 30 minutes before loading them with anything and putting them on the grill!) So put the tomatoes on the grill for about 2 minutes each side or until the outside is charred and the insides are warm and bubbly.

Next, take a large saucepan and get it HOT. Once it is is ready, reduce the heat to medium and add olive oil, one diced shallot, a little white wine and one diced head of garlic. After that softens a little,  remove the tomatoes from the skewers and place them in. Using a wooden spoon, you want to sort of smush the tomatoes down so that they break up a little and start to really cook.

Meanwhile, you want to take the clean and deveined shrimp (I used medium sized, frozen ones because I live in a fish-less state) and load them onto some skewers. I removed the tails as well at this point since I think its easier than doing so when they are hot off the grate. You want to cook the shrimp skewers for a few minutes each side until they start to pink. Don't cook them all the way on the grill.

Now, as the tomatoes stew away, you want to add in some key ingredients - none of which I measured admittedly, so I urge you to use good judgement and follow my eyeballing advice! Start with some paprika (a few shakes), some crushed red pepper (be wary, the spice is not meant to take over), some ground cinnamon (be generous), oregano (generous again) and some mint (if it is fresh, use less - if it is jarred, more).

When your shrimp are done, pull them from the skewers and toss them in too and reduce the heat to low. Then you want to take a lemon and zest the entire outside and then squeeze all the juice into your mixture. Keep stirring this for a few minutes and feel free to taste and add any spices you feel might not be represented. Ideally, you want to taste almost everything that went into this - which sounds crazy, but its deliciously true.

Lastly, you top the entire dish with a healthy dose of feta. To serve with the tapas, I took some whole wheat flatbread and sliced it into triangles, drizzled it with olive oil and then sprinkled it with pink Himalayan sea salt and toasted it on a cookie sheet at 325 degrees in the oven for about 7 minutes.

The meal was completed by a light mixed green salad and a lovely bottle of red wine (Meditrina by Sokol Blosser). Opa!

- Melissa

Twice-cooked Rosemary Garlic Potatoes

This is a dish that can really compliment any meat, from poultry to steaks, but I think I like it best when served with pork tenderloin...though I didn't see anyone complaining when I served it last year at Thanksgiving with Gabe the turkey. Just saying.

To start, you need to boil the potatoes (as if you were making potato salad) with the skins on. I tend to use red, but in the photo below I used a new and red mixture and it was still good. Meanwhile, while your water is coming to a boil, you want to take an entire head of garlic (two if you're serving a larger group) and divide it into cloves, then place it in a ramekin, pour olive oil generously and coat as generously - if not more so - with sea salt. Roast the garlic for about 10 minutes at 325 degrees, being careful to stir the cloves around and making sure the garlic NEVER burns. Once done, remove it from the oven and set it aside.

And back to the potatoes! Once they are fork-tender and the skin is just starting to flake off, remove them from heat and drain into a colander. After they have cooled a little, you want to mash/smash the potatoes until they are in chunks. This means doing it by hand with an actual potato masher or a fork if you're really tough - a mixer does not enter into this equation at all! Once you have them smashed up, mix them in a large bowl along with a little olive oil, some fresh rosemary sprigs broken up (I tend to use quite a lot), those pre-roasted garlic cloves and a spoonful or two of sour cream. Once the ingredient are all fairly blended, spoon into a pyrex dish or any oven safe cookware (sans lid). Then you want to bake them uncovered at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. I will stir them around at least once, but not more than that since I want the top to get crusty. The time can vary a little, depending upon whether you've had the stove on already, etc. So 40 minutes is the minimum whereas if I am starting with a  cold oven, its taken me closer to an hour.

They're just THAT good.

Again, serve them with what you like - they are a side dish that can go the distance!

- Melissa

Jalapeño Beer Brine for Pork Chops

So for starters, my apologies, I have no photos. The camera battery was dead and the pork was too good so we ate it well before the battery issue could be resolved. Sorry! But I digress, I used 2-inch thick, bone-in pork chops with this marinade/brine mixture and they were beyond moist and tasty.

First clean the pork and lightly season the chops with salt and pepper before setting them aside. Then, in a large covered dish pour in 1 bottle of Mexican beer (I used Corona, but Dos Equis would also work well), some lime juice, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, a little olive oil, 4 or 5 cloves of minced garlic, 1-2 tbsps of brown sugar splenda (your choice how sweet you want this vs. how spicy), and then 2-3 seeded and diced jalapeños (see previous parenthetical). Mix it altogether and then toss the chops in.

And that's it!

Then I let them soak for about four hours in a covered dish in the fridge before throwing them on the grill. I cooked them over a medium flame for about eight minutes a side, giving them a nice char. Served with peas and wild rice.

- Melissa

BALT...but T stands for Tuna

Hello! First off, allow me to apologize for the lapse in blog entries. Personally, I moved 1800 miles to a new home (thus making the name of our blog untrue - need to recalculate some milage) and my co-bloggers welcomed a daughter, so we've all been a little distracted to say the least. Rest assured, we've been eating well, but cooking 'new' dishes hasn't been on the agenda. But I finally have a couple newbies coming this week, so stay tuned!

This one isn't so much a recipe as a great suggestion or idea for fish lovers and those lucky enough to reside by the water...oh, how I miss my old home. But I digress. As the entry title states, this is a simple BALT, but rather than using tomato, we used ahi tuna for the 'T'. What's that? You don't know what the 'A' stands for? Why avocado of course!

You'll need to slightly sear your tuna steaks first. I recommend a high heat pan, some grape seed oil (to really get the sides seared well) a little soy sauce. Cook the tuna steaks a few minutes per side and and then slice them into thick chunks.

For a condiment, try mixing some mayonnaise with chili powder and wasabi paste until it is smooth.

Finally, crisp your bacon (we used turkey to keep it healthy, but real bacon is equally delicious obviously), slice your avocado and toss some lettuce on the toasted bread, layered with the chili mayo.

- Melissa