Fishy Delishy

Last week Josh informed me that we were the recipients of some fresh little trout fillets from his Dad's recent fishing trip. My brain was buzzing with ideas. It occurred to me that the best thing I could make would be something that had been haunting me since I learned of it on this episode of Mexico One Plate at a Time- Ceviche. I searched through several recipes online, and remembering what I also saw on the episode, I came up with a general recipe. Josh forgot the fish that night, which was quite depressing after juicing 7 limes, but when he brought it home the next night I cut it all up in preparation. It was amazing to see the fish actually cook in the lime juice! I'll post my recipe below, and after some comments about how I came around to my personal version of this delicious Latin appetizer salad.

Jessica's Trout Ceviche
Recipe from me!











1/2 to 1 lb. fresh trout fillets, cut to 1" pieces
Juice of 6 or 7 limes
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded & diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 small onion, diced
1 small avocado, diced
1 1/2 Roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 jalapeno, seeded & ribbed, minced
Plenty of cilantro, well torn or chopped
Coarse salt

• Cover trout in lime juice in a plastic container with lid or Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours, allowing juice to cook fish.
• Drain and discard juice from fish. Toss all vegetables and cilantro together. Add fish and mix. Salt to taste. You can serve immediately, or refrigerate to allow flavors to mingle. Serve with tortilla chips, tortillas, or crackers.
  

My notes: A lot of the recipes I came across involved mixing a sort of dressing from olive oil & red wine vinegar. I did mix this dressing up, but I didn't like the taste of it, so I didn't use it. If you're interested in trying it that way, just mix equal parts oil & vinegar. The recipe I referenced the most used 1/4 cup of each. Also, the cilantro is a personal preference kind of thing. I love cilantro, so I used plenty of it. And I ended up using quite a bit of salt, because I over-soaked the fish a little bit and it helped temper the strong lime flavor that resulted. But overall I enjoyed this dish immensely. Josh liked it, but a big batch of fresh raw veggies, especially onions and peppers, really isn't his thing. It is however my thing, and thusly I ate the majority of it. I served this ceviche for dinner along with some tortilla chips, veggie quesadillas and Dos Equis with lime. Heaven.

Waiter, There's Something In My....

So, I didn't intend to wait a week to get this posted, but it's been a busy few days. This is my entry for the new-ish event, Waiter, There's Something In My... , which has been created by Cook Sister, thepassionatecook, and Spitoon Extra. This is just round #2, and the theme is Pie. Sweet, savory, hot, cold, as long as it's covered it counts. So, since I was leaving on Thursday I decided that the night before I would make one of Josh's favorite meals, Bolognese Pie with Biscuit Topping. I tweaked it so it would fit into the event guidelines, and it came out great. Not terribly photogenic, but delicious. Instead of dropping the biscuit dough across the top, I spread it over the entire casserole dish. And that's pretty much the only way this differed from the recipe, which was of course from Everyday Food. I might should have cooked it for a little less time with the dough being thinner, but it tasted delicious anyway. This is actually a leftover meal, using the remaining sauce from a dinner of Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce. I love it because I can freeze the leftover sauce, and then aside from picking up some zucchini, I have a meal I can put together pretty quickly at a later date.

Bolognese Pie
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4








For the Meat Base:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 lb. medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 3/4 chunks
4 cups leftover Bolognese Sauce

For the Biscuit Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the meat base: Heat the oil in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet, over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; cook, stirring, until golden and just beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in leftover Bolognese Sauce until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Cover to keep warm.
• Make the biscuit: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, thyme, and salt. Using a pastry blender, or fork, or your fingers, work in butter until pea-size clumps form. Stir in milk and cheese until dough just comes together.
• Spoon dough over beef mixture in 8 small mounds, about 1 inch apart. Bake until meat mixture is bubbling and topping is golden brown (a toothpick inserted in the center of a biscuit should come out clean), about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

My notes: Aside from adjusting this recipe to be a covered pie, I typically change up the cooking containers. I didn't have an oven-proof skillet when I previously made this recipe, so I typically heat the meat base in a skillet and transfer to an 8-inch glass casserole dish to bake. I now have a nice cast iron skillet that I could use, but I wanted to use the casserole dish to help ensure the innards of the pie would be well disguised.

Comfortably Rushed

So I still haven't had a shower yet this morning, but I've gotta get this entry posted to make it in under the Blog Party deadline. The theme of this month's Blog Party, hosted by Dispensing Happiness is Comfort Food. So, I thought about the foods & beverages that are comforting to me and I decided to go with grilled cheese, tomato soup, and peppermint tea. To fit in the appetizer guidelines I served my comforting sandwiches in the form of strips, and went with Tomato Soup Shooters as an accompaniment.

For the Grilled Cheese Strips I used Monterrey Jack and Extra Sharp Cheddar, with a layer of crumbled feta filling, sandwiched between two
slices of well buttered Sourdough Bread. I grilled them slowly over medium-low heat in my new-to-me cast iron skillet I got from the in-laws. They were cheesey, gooey, and very toasty. Mmmmmm.....


For the Tomato Soup I followed a recipe that I had jotted down while watching Everyday Food a week or two earlier. What follows is the halved recipe I wrote down, to avoid a ginormous amount of leftover soup.


Classic Tomato Soup
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves ???- lots I guess, ha.

1/4 stick butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
Coarse salt & pepper
1/8 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in juice

• Melt butter over medium heat. Add oil & onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and flour; cook, whisking, 1 minute.
• Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with your fingers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Puree 2.5 cups in blender and return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

My notes: I actually pureed all but about a cup of the soup. I like my tomato soup very creamy, so this is an act of personal preference.

For my comforting beverage, as I mentioned above, I chose peppermint tea. I love peppermint tea! It's so soothing when I'm not feeling well, or I've been out on a cold blustery day. It is definitely my go-to mug filler, especially since my stomach can only handle one cup of coffee a day. I can fill my belly with cup after cup of peppermint tea.


So, that's my contribution to the February Blog Party. I hope I did everything right, ha. These blog events are new to me so I usually go over any rules I can find a million times, to hopefully avoid making a fool out of myself and my fledgling blog. As I mentioned in th post below I'll be out of town for a few days, so when I get back I should have a post about the yummy dinner I prepared last night. Incidentally I'm hoping it will be my Waiter, There's Something In My...Pie entry.

Little Miss Muffins

Well, I'm finally remembering to get the muffin recipe in here. I've had a hectic night. I just finished packing for my trip tomorrow, I made dinner, and caught America's Ballroom Challenge on PBS (yes, I love ballroom dancing). I also taped tonight's episode of One Tree Hill which featured The Chemistry Set's tune, Into The Light. The Chemistry Set being my husband's band. They used the entire song! So awesome. Anyway, I believe I owe you good people a muffin recipe.

As I mentioned earlier I have no idea where I found this muffin recipe. Several google searches later I still have no clue. Although it bares some resemblance to many of the recipes that I came across none are a dead-match. If the owner of this muffin recipe comes across this page let me know so I can give credit where 'tis due.

Cranberry Orange Muffins
Makes a dozen
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for topping muffins
2 large eggs, at room temp
1/2 cup milk

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put the cranberries and orange juice in a small saucepan, bring just to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside to cool and plump.
• Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners or lightly brush with butter. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
• In a standing mixer with paddle attachment, or with a hand-held mixer in a large bowl, cream butter, orange zest, and sugar unti light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
• Fold the flour in 3 parts into the butter mixture, alternating with the milk in 2 parts, until just combined. Fold in the cranberries. Do not over mix. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins and sprinkle the tops with sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan on a rack.

My notes: I went the hand-held mixer way, which worked just fine. Also, although it's kind of 'duh' get your zest before you juice from the orange. I ended up using 1 1/2 oranges to get the 1/3 cup juice, although I just use the hand-held method of squeezing. You might be able to get more out of just one orange with some of those fancy devices they have nowadays. These muffins were really great. Light orange flavor, tart but not too tart cranberries, and the sprinkled sugar on top gave them a nice gleam. I enjoyed them with a nice cup of coffee.

Futile Recipe Search

So, I promised that Orange-Cranberry Muffins would be coming soon. The problem is I completely forget to do it while at home, where the recipe is. And despite the fact that I got that recipe from the internets, when I search for it here at work I come across no recipes matching what I made. And of course I wasn't clever enough to make a note of where I discovered the recipe. Sigh. If I could just remember to type the damn recipe up when I'm at home they'd be posted already. I even have pics people! So, despite the fact that I have that and another item to post (specifically for a blog event) I haven't put anything up on here in over a week. But, hopefully tonight I will be able to get that recipe up. And I'll finish up that blog event entry. And tonight I'll be making another blog event recipe, so I'll get that one up by the end of next week too. I'm going out of town tomorrow, and won't be back till Sunday, so there probably won't be any interesting cooking or baking adventures over this weekend.

I can tell you about the dinner I made Saturday night though. We had our friends over for a pre-Valentine's dinner. I went with some standby recipes, like Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon, and Roasted Zucchini with Thyme. I also made Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes for the first time. I was going to make the ones from Barefoot Contessa At Home, but then there was the whole potato peeling problem. I am TERRIBLE at peeling potatoes. They just go flying right out of my hands and into the trash. I wasn't crazy about using the Martha Stewart recipe because, truth be told, everything else I made was from Martha Stewart. But these taters didn't require peeling, and I only needed a handheld masher. So I went for it, despite the fact I had to buy said masher just for it. I'm glad I did though, cause these potatoes will definitely be making repeat appearances at my dinner table. And of course I didn't take a pic, mostly cause we were hungry. So this pic is courtesy of Martha Stewart, just like the recipe.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4




1 1/2 lbs. new potatoes, scrubbed
Coarse salt & ground pepper
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons butter

• Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are easily pierced witha knife, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
• Add buttermilk, sour cream, and butter; mash with a potato masher until creamy. Season generously with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Per Serving: 203 calories; 7.3 grams fat; 5.1 grams protein; 29.8 grams carbohydrates; 2.9 grams fiber

And just because the few of you who bother to read this have been patient with my laziness, here's a muffin teaser.

Sugar High Friday #28

Alrighty, to help me stick with my resolution to keep up this blog I decided to have a go at participating in some blog events. This will be my first entry in the monthly Sugar High Friday event, created by the Domestic Goddess and this time being hosted by Cardamom Addict. Not only is this my first entry in Sugar High Friday, but it's my first blog event entry ever. Hopefully I do everything right! So, on to the sweetness.

For round #28 Cardamom Addict has come up with the theme Sweet Seduction. Very fitting for the month of February, no? I was thinking, and thinking, rolling ideas around in my head. And then it hit me while I was re-reading my February issue of MS Living. The very first sight in the "Warming Winter Puddings" article was a delightful looking dish, called Eve's Pudding. Named so for the first lady of Eden and the inclusion of her weapon of seduction, the apple. Cardamom Addict mentioned several different angles to approach from- something you've made to seduce someone, something your planning to make to seduce someone, something someone made to seduce you, or something you wish someone would make to seduce you. In my mind this particular item falls into two of those catagories. I used the possibility of this delicious dish to help sweeten the deal when convincing Josh to take me to Ikea, so I suppose you could say I used it to seduce him. And then, there is the lovely thought of sharing this decidedly British dessert with Colin Firth, after he whipped it up for me. Remember how helpful in the kitchen he was in Bridget Jones' Diary? Before I get too distracted, let's get to the recipe.

Eve's Pudding
Recipe from MS Living; Serves 8 to 10














1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened,
plus more for baking dish
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Salt
1 3/4 pounds baking apples, peeled,
quartered, cored, and cut into 1/8" thick
slices
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
Heavy cream, for serving

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2" square baking dish; set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt ina medium bowl; set aside.
• Put apples, 1/4 cup sugar, the lemon juice, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl; toss to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons water over top; set aside.
• Put butter and 6 tablespoons sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. Mix until combined.
• Spread batter over apples, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until batter is cooked through and juices are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Spoon into dishes; serve drizzled with cream.

My notes: I (so, so, sadly) don't have a stand mixer. I used my regular handheld mixer up until the flour point, and then mixed with a rubber spatula from there. Also, my square baking dish happens to be 8", not the above-mentioned 8 1/2". I baked the pudding on a foil lined baking sheet, in case of any over-spill. None occured, so I imagine that 1/2" isn't all that important. Lastly, I also sprinkled a little cinnamon atop the batter with the remaining sugar, to add a little color, and because I love cinnamon. :)