Sushi Night

My husband and I learned how to make sushi at home a couple of years ago. We debated about if we should take a class, but after finding out the price we decided to just wing it. We pretty much figured it out after watching a couple of tutorials on Youtube. I think you can learn how to do anything on Youtube and I mean ANYTHING!

You need some basic utensils and ingredients to get started. 

This includes:

A bamboo mat or sushi rolling mat

Plastic wrap (to wrap your mat in so the rice doesn't stick)

Nori (dried sheets of seaweed)

Sushi rice

Rice wine vinegar

A sharp knife 

 Non metal bowl or pan (we line a baking dish with a silpat mat)

Pickled ginger (You can make your own or pick up a jar at the grocery store)

Wasabi

Sriracha (not a common sushi ingredient, but we use it to make sauces)

Whatever ingredients you are using for your roll

We have a couple of favorite rolls. Mine is smoked salmon, wasabi mayo, carrot, cucumber and avocado. I know, it is the "Americanized" form of sushi, it is delicious though. My husband likes raw tuna, sriracha mayo, avocado, carrot, cucumber and cream cheese in his roll. 

Have you ever tried making sushi at home? 

Lavender Lemon Cookies

I adore ALL things Lavender. Lavender bath salts, lotion, chocolate, tea, etc.. After planting several Lavender plants in our flower bed this Spring, I felt compelled to incorporate this fabulous herb into a cookie. These cookies have a subtle lavender taste with a stronger lemon flavor. I did feel as though I was making a wonderful sugar scrub at one point when I was combining the lemon zest, lavender and sugar. I thought if the cookies don't come out, I could always use it in the bath. The house was filled with a wonderful fragrance while the cookies were baking. The smell is heavenly when you take them out of the oven. These are just perfect with a cup of hot tea.

Recipe Adapted from: Batter & Beat

Lavender Lemon Cookies:

3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest + 2 tablespoons juice
1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender
1-3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor, combine the sugar, lemon zest and lavender until the sugar looks damp and the zest and lavender are fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add to the sugar mixture; pulse to combine, about (10) 1 second pulses. Scatter the butter pieces over and pulse until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal, about (15) 1-second pulses. In a measuring cup, beat together the lemon juice, egg yolk and vanilla. With the machine running, add the mixture in a slow stream (should take about 10 seconds) and continue processing until the dough forms into a ball. 
Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, working it into a ball. Roll the dough into a cylinder, approximately 10" long. Wrap with tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from plastic wrap and place on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/4 inches thick rounds. Space cookies 1-1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. After cookies have finished baking, working quickly, immediately start cutting them into shapes with a cookie cutter (or you can omit this step completely). 

Note: This recipe yields approximately 30 cookies. I would probably double the recipe next time and maybe make my cookies a little larger.

Enjoy!

The Spice of Life

One of my favorite stores is the Savory Spice Shop in Austin, TX. This store has every type of spice you can possibly imagine.

The inviting aroma outside the shop beckons you to come inside.

Once inside, you are greeted with rows and rows of wonderful spices.

Customers are encouraged to smell and taste the products before purchasing. 

They have an assortment of sampler boxes that would make fabulous gifts. 

Wouldn't this "Best of BBQ" be great for a man that loves to grill?

How about this for the baker in the family?

In addition to spices, they have a great selection of extracts.

I've purchased this "Lake Barkley Fried Chicken Seasoning" and honestly it smells just like fried chicken.

They also have the hottest chile pepper known to man. The revered Ghost Chile. I was offered a smell or taste, but I wanted to still have my taste buds for lunch.

These would make great hostess gifts.

Check out their selection of Chile blends and Chiles. I never realized there was such a variety. I purchased a container of some Aleppo chilies and some New Mexican mild green chile powder. I'm looking forward to experimenting with these. 

If you don't have a store in your area, you can always order off their website at: Savory Spice Shop. 

Coq Au Vin

 I have recently challenged myself to move beyond my culinary comfort zone. For some reason Coq Au Vin seemed very intimidating to me. In French, it literally translates to "Rooster in wine". Maybe because it is a French dish or because of the whole rooster thing, I would always shy away from making this dish. After reading through a couple of recipes, I realized it was basically chicken cooked in red wine. Now that is something I am comfortable with. This is a very hearty and warming dish. The veggies, wine, slow cooked chicken and fresh herbs all meld together into one big pot of deliciousness.

 

Coq Au Vin:

4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

2 chicken breast, skin on, bone in

4 slices Applewood Smoked bacon

1/2 small onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks, diced

1/2 cup of button mushrooms, washed & chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup red wine (I used Merlot)

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon of fresh sage, thyme and rosemary

2 tablespoons flour

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a large Dutch oven on the stove. Add in 4 slices of bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon and add in chicken. Cook chicken, skin side down, for 5-7 minutes. Flip chicken and cook an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken and place on a plate. Add in onion, celery, carrots and whole garlic cloves. Cook for 4 minutes. Add wine, chicken broth and salt & pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and add in fresh herbs, mushrooms and tomato paste. Mix well. Add chicken back into the pot. Place in oven, without lid and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and pour 1/2 cup of cooking liquid into a small bowl. Add in flour and mix well. Add flour mixture into pot and stir well.

Note: I served my dish over egg noodles. Garlic mashed potatoes would work well too.

Enjoy!

One Year Anniversary in our new home

I promise this will not turn into a decorating/remodeling blog, however, I wanted to share with you some before and after pictures of our new home. Sometimes it is nice to look back to see how far you have come. Thank you to my dear hubby for all your hard work and for making our house a home.

Living Room

Dining Room

Potato Crusted Salmon with a Mustard Dill Sauce

 

My husband loves the potato crusted salmon dish that my mother makes. When I asked him what he wanted for dinner the other night he said, "Why don't you make the potato fish thingy". Of course it couldn't have been something easy like a turkey sandwich. This was my first attempt at making this dish. I can tell you the hardest part about it is trying to get the potatoes to stick. You are basically making hash browns on top of fish. I tweaked the original recipe to try to get the crust to stick to the salmon. I tried using a good binding agent, which fortunately, did not include super glue. Egg, flour, oil and mustard, along with a hot pan did the trick. Happy first day of Spring to you!

Potato Crusted Salmon:

  

4 medium Salmon fillets, skin removed

2 large potatoes, peeled and shredded (I used a food processor for this)

1 tablespoon flour

1 egg white

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

3-4 tablespoons butter

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large, shallow bowl combine shredded potatoes, flour, egg white, salt and pepper.

In another bowl, combine olive oil and mustard. 

Place salmon in the mustard/olive oil mixture, coating it on all sides

Place salmon in potato mixture, mounding and shaping potatoes on top of the salmon. 

In a large skillet (I used a cast iron), melt butter on medium high heat. Once skillet is hot and the butter is melted, add the salmon, potato side down. Make sure there is enough space between the fish to cook (I cooked 2 at a time). After 4 minutes, or once potatoes have started to brown, flip the fish and cook another 3 minutes on the other side. Finish baking in the oven for 3-5 minutes. 

Mustard Dill Sauce:

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in Dijon mustard, curry powder and heavy cream.  Whisk together to combine ingredients. Cook for 2 minutes. Add in fresh dill and remove from heat. 

Enjoy!

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

“Laughter is brightest where food is best.”
— Irish Proverb