Pip's Plate

I’m back with more recipes. I’m finally feeling like cooking again and I was dead set on having salmon for dinner last night. (Even though the tilapia looked mighty good.)

I’m starting to explore a way of cooking that is somewhat new to me. Although I feel like I’ve done this in the past, I’m now doing it more intentionally- working with one ingredient and building a meal out of it. That’s how this recipe came to be.

I was in the grocery store last night at the fish counter picking out some salmon when I looked over at a small refridgerated section and realized we definitely needed some hummus. I asked D to go over and pick out some Holy Land hummus (my favorite) and pita bread.

Then I thought, “Hmm…what if we cooked the salmon with hummus on top of it?!” And we did. And it was excellent. This recipe is for 2 people, but to increase it, just buy 6 oz of salmon per person and then increase the spread to accommodate the amount of fish.

Hummus Feta Salmon

12 oz fresh salmon fillets

2 oz Holy Land garlicky hummus (or some other variety of garlicky hummus, or plain hummus with 1 minced garlic clove)

2 oz crumbled Greek feta cheese

2 t chopped fresh herbs (use whatever you have on hand- mint, tarragon, basil, thyme, any of those will work well)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare a baking sheet and place the salmon on the sheet. I like to put aluminum foil on my baking sheet when I buy fish with skin on it. This way when I take it out of the oven the skin stays on the aluminum foil and I get fish with no skin. (However, if you like salmon skin, which is VERY tasty, then don’t do this.)

Combine the hummus, feta, herbs, salt and pepper.  Spread over the salmon. Bake the salmon for about 15 minutes for medium and about 20 minutes for cooked through.

Server with steamed broccoli for a complete and healthy meal.

This was the most memorable Valentine’s Day. In fact, I could only remember what I did last year after thinking about it for a while so my record isn’t that great. Maybe what I mean to say is that I’ll remember this Valentine’s Day.

My boyfriend made a fabulous meal for me last night. We had basil egglplant soup which was unbelievably yummy. In fact I don’t really care for eggplant that much, but this pureed version with carrots and pesto was very good.

He also made grilled red snapper with  an avocado paprika wine sauce. The sauce had a little oregano and and sour cream in it too. He rounded the meal out nicely with a bottle of Sonoma Cutrer which was perfectly buttery to match the avocado sauce and the basil soup.

This was definitely the best meal he’s made and it was better than any meal we could have had last night at any restaurant.

It just goes to show how a home cooked meal is one of the most enjoyable aspects of life.

This is one of my favorite appetizers to make. It’s easy, healthy, and delicious.

Steamed Pork Dumplings

1/2# ground pork

1 1/2 t grated fresh ginger root

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small carrot, grated

1/2 c grated purple cabbage

1 T tamari

1 1/2 t sesame oil

1 egg beaten

salt + pepper

optional spicy version: add 1/2 t Sriracha

40 wonton skins

Boil water in a large pot with a bamboo steamer on top.

Mix together pork through salt + pepper. Put some warm water in a small dish. Lay out wonton skins on flat surface. Spoon about 1-2 t of pork mixture onto wonton skin. Wet your finger and run it along the edges of the wonton. Grab two opposite ends of the wonton and pull them up and connect them (the water will bind it together). Then grab the other two ends and pull them up and bind them with the other 2 sides. It will create a sqaure with a fluted top.

Place prepared dumplings onto bamboo steamer. Steam for about 12-15 minutes.

Serve with a teriyaki or sesame/ginger/soy dipping sauce.

If you’re looking to pair this with wine, try a Gewurtzaminer or Riesling. Those wines match very well with Asian foods.

I’ve recently added some new links to my sidebar. Check them out – you’ll enjoy yourself:

Ladies Love TK – a hilarious blog of storytelling, food and life

Delicious:Days – a German blog (in English) about delicious food and some serious photography

Smitten Kitchen – a food blog with enticing photographs and wonderful recipes

This makes about 4 servings. It’s good with a little sour cream and avocado on top. I’m certain this will be the first of many chili recipes since I have a hard time recreating any that I like. This one was particularly good so I will record it here. It’s fairly spicy too…so leave out the crushed red pepper and hot sauce if you like it less spicy.

Chipotle Chili

6 slices turkey bacon (Wellshire Farms is the best), diced

1 medium onion, diced

3-5 garlic cloves, minced

olive oil for sauteeing

2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (use also 1 T sauce)

1-15 oz can whole peeled tomatoes with juices

1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1-15 oz chili beans, rinsed and drained

4 c veggie or chicken stock

1 t crushed red pepper – optional

a few dashes hot sauce (I prefer Cholula) – optional

zest of kaffir lime

In a large stockpot cook bacon until crispy in olive oil. Add onion and garlic – sautee till fragrant, about 2 min. Add chipotles with sauce and distribute throughout bacon, onion and garlic. Add tomatoes with their juices – make sure you crush up the whole tomatoes into smaller pieces. You can easily do this by crushing them in your hand over the pot.

Add beans, stock, red pepper and hot sauce (if adding). Mix well and bring to a boil. Add zest of kaffir lime. Reduce to simmer – allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Here is an easy recipe that works really well with leftover chicken. I bought one of those all natural rotisserie chickens from the grocery store for this dish. Just make sure the chicken is shredded.

Barbeque Chicken Sandwiches w/Blue Cheese & Carmelzied Onions

makes 4 sandwiches

1 rotisserie chicken or 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/4 cup brown ale (try Newcastle or Bell’s)

3/4 cup barbeque sauce ( I like Kowalski’s brand BBQ sauce – all natural w/out any wierd ingredients and it tastes really good)

roasted garlic bread, sliced (if your local bakery carries this kind of bread, great! otherwise any rustic style loaf of bread will work)

4 oz blue cheese (my favorite of the moment is Oregon’s Rogue River blue cheese – a raw milk cheese)

1 medium onion, sliced

1 T evoo

Heat 1 T evoo in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute 1-2 minutes, till fragrant. Reduce heat to med-low or low and cook onions till carmelized.

Meanwhile, combine the chicken, brown ale and BBQ sauce in a small saucepan; heat over medium heat till thick and the flavors have combined (about 5-8 minutes).

Slice blue cheese and place on slices of bread. Divide onions among the slices, then top with BBQ chicken. Place the other slice of bread on top. Enjoy!

Of course brown ale will go well with this quick meal. To round out the meal, serve with sauteed broccolini and tomato basil soup.

This was unbelievably yummy. It’s one of the best dishes I think I’ve made and I definitely need to share it! I made it with a Bilberry Reduction – it might need a little work but it was pretty tasty with the fish. You could use this recipe for just about any fish. Serves 2

Lemon Walnut Crusted Tilapia

3/4 c toasted walnuts

zest of 2 lemons

1 T fresh sage, chopped

1 egg

2/3 pound tilapia

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Process the walnuts till very fine. Combine walnuts, lemon zest, and sage. Lightly beat egg in a separate bowl. Dip the fish in the egg then in the walnut mixture. Bake the fish for approximately 10-15 minutes – will vary depending upon thickness and type of fish.

Bilberry Reduction

1 1/2 cups Bilberry Nectar (I used Bionaturae brand – I was looking for blueberry nectar, but could only find bilberry. It tastes a little like blueberries and raspberries, so it worked well.)

juice of 2 lemons

1 T fresh herbs

1/2 cup sour cream

In a sauce pan over high heat, reduce the bilberry nectar and lemon juice by half. Turn the heat to low and add the herbs. Wisk in the sour cream until combined smoothly. Turn the heat to medium and closely watch the sauce. It will start to bubble and get thicker. When it is to the consistency you desire, turn the heat off and serve over the fish.

Menu & Wine Pairing

We had this meal with some potato croquetas w/ saffron aioli and sauteed broccolini. It goes really well with a soft red wine with low tannins. Oregon pinot noirs are an excellent choice, but any pinot would be nice.

I spontaneously made this for dinner last night and it was really good. I used a premade pizza dough from Pampered Chef (all you do is add water and knead the dough) and it worked really well. Just make sure to follow the guidelines for the dough you use. This particular pizza cooked for about 20 min in a 425 degree oven. Times and heat may vary.

Butternut Squash Pesto Pizza

1 pizza dough

1/2 c pesto (recipe follows)

10 oz butternut squash (I used Cascadian Farms frozen butternut squash, but you can also roast your own if you have more time)

1/4 chopped onion

1 c Pecorino Romano – grated (you can also use Parmesan Reggiano if you can’t find pecorino – any salty, hard Italian cheese will work well)

Pesto

1/4 c toasted walnuts, chopped

5 garlic cloves

2 cups packed basil leaves (you can also add spinach and/or arugula if you like)

1/4 c Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

olive oil

S&P

Blend the first 4 ingredients in a food processor until processed, but not pureed. Stream in olive oil while processing to create the right consistency (it should be smooth but not runny – spreadable).

Roll out the pizza dough onto your baking surface (I prefer to use my pizza stone to get even cooking). Spread pesto over pizza dough. Top with squash and spread out over pesto. Top with onions and cheese.

Bake pizza in a 425 oven for about 15-20 minutes – again, cooking times may vary.

Spinach is one of my favorite foods. It’s extremely versatile, but my favorite way to prepare it is sauteed. There are many ways I prepare it, but here are 2 of my favorites:

Lemon Garlic Spinach

1 bunch spinach, cleaned and trimmed

2 cloves garlic

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Sautee garlic till fragrant – about 1-2 minutes. Add spinach – using tongs – flip the spinach from underneath over on top to distribute the garlic and olive oil. The spinach does not take long and you don’t want to over cook it. Saute it till bright green – about 1 min then juice the 1/2 lemon over the spinach and saute 1-2 more minutes.

Serves 2-3

Sesame Soy Spinach

1 bunch spinach, cleaned and trimmed

extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1T sesame seeds

2T tamari (or soy sauce)

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Sautee garlic till fragrant – about 1-2 minutes. Add sesame seeds and sautee another 1-2 minutes. Add spinach – using tongs – flip the spinach from underneath over on top to distribute the garlic, sesame seeds adn olive oil. Saute for about 1 minute then add tamari. Saute another 1-2 minutes. Serve.

Serves 2-3

This salad is so good we take it camping with us every year and it’s usually the first thing to go. It’s a great dish to entertain with all summer long – especially with fresh cucumbers from your garden or your local farmers’ gardens. Remember, the measurements are in my head, so play around with this recipe to make it yours.

Greek Cucumber Salad

3 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced

8 oz goat feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 c kalamata olives, chopped

1/2 red onion, sliced

2T fresh mint, basil, or oregano (or a mixture of the 3), chopped

fresh lemon juice

extra virgin olive oil

herbes de provence

grape tomatoes (optional – I don’t really care for tomatoes, but if you like them they work well in this salad)

Combine cucumbers through to fresh herbs. For the salad dressing, mix together equal parts fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil; add herbes de provence to complete the dressing (if using 3 T lemon juice and 3 T olive oil, approximately 1 T herbes de provence should be good). Add S&P to taste.

For other variations, try using fresh fennel, garlic, and grapefruit.