Herb-roasted salmon, potatoes, carrots, and sugar snap peas

Now that vacation is over it's back to cooking for ourselves! Last night was too nice not to break out the grill, so burgers were on the menu. Tonight it was salmon with roasted vegetables. This recipe is tasty, healthy and requires every mixing bowl in your kitchen. The sauce has quite a kick and would be great as a stand alone dip. Now, on to the recipe . . .

First, the salmon is marinated in an oil, lemon juice, garlic and coriander mixture.

A quick sauce is then made from yogurt, thaini, oil, lemon juice, garlic, lemon peel and an herb mixture of chives, dill and mint.

The vegetables are mixed with oil and coriander and roasted until tender. Finally, the salmon is roasted as the vegetables finish cooking.

Herb-Roasted Salmon, Potatoes, Carrots, and Sugar Snap Peas
Slightly modified from Bon Appetit
Serves 4

2 green onions, chopped (we used chives from the garden!)
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice, divided
2 cloves minced garlic, divided
1 tsp grated lemon peel, divided
4 6-ounce salmon fillets
1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 Tbsp tahini
12 ounces fingerling potatoes, halved (we used baby yukon golds)
1 bunch baby carrots, trimmed
8 ounces sugar snap peas (we used snow peas)

Toss green onions, dill and mint in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel and half of coriander in a separate bowl. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper and add to the marinade. Let salmon marinate for 15-20 minutes. Mix yogurt, thaini, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 garlic clove and 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel in a small bowl. Stir in half of the herb mixture.

Position one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven; preheat oven to 400. Brush two large rimmed baking sheets with oil. Toss potatoes, carrots, remaining coriander and two tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Spread potato mixture on one baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on top oven rack until almost tender, about 20 minutes. Put the potatoes cut side down for best results.

Arrange salmon on second oiled sheet. When the 20 minutes are up, toss the snow peas in the remaining marinade, then add to the potatoes. Transfer the potatoes to the lower oven rack and place the salmon on the upper rack. Roast until the salmon is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer salmon to plates. Mix remaining herb mixture into vegetables. Serve with salmon and yogurt sauce.

Back from vacation!

Hello loyal readers (Mom, Dad, Erin, Morgan)! We're back from our vacation to the Midwest full of baseball, museums and zoos. Oh, and hot dogs. Speaking of hot hogs, here is the famous Chicago Dog! Yes, there is a hot dog buried underneath those onions, peppers, pickles, relish and celery salt. Despite the fact that this is a Chicago tradition, it was quite difficult to find at US Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. It was also impossible to eat. Despite these obstacles it was really good - even if I wasn't allowed to add ketchup (according to the signs, this is strictly forbidden).

Next up is the famous Chicago deep dish pizza, in this case from Giordano's. I am a New York pizza person, but this was actually way better than expected. The massive amounts of dough, cheese, sauce and toppings were filling, but not overwhelming.

The next stop was Blueberry Hill, a burger place in the Delmar Loop section of St. Louis. Here is the famous hickory burger, covered with spreadable cheddar cheese and grilled onions. The cheese was terrible, but the rest was really good, including the local Schlafly Summer Lager.

Other highlights included St. Louis-style ribs in Chesterfield, Missouri and a great burger at Sobelman's Pub in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Now, back to catching up on a week's worth of TiVo . . .

Spicy beef in lettuce wraps

There's been way too much baking on this blog recently, so let's get back to some real food! This recipe is great if you have just emptied the dishwasher and have plenty of clean serving bowls. I think we ended up using at least 5 or 6 for all of the components. The lettuce wraps are a nice departure from the usual tortillas or taco shells and the spicy beef marinade/sauce is balanced by the addition of the mild sliced vegetables.

The meat is thinly sliced, then marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and rice vinegar. The steak is then broiled while the marinade is allowed to boil for a few minutes and used as a sauce.

Many accoutrements would work well inside the lettuce wraps, including carrots and onions. We chose bean sprouts and thinly sliced red peppers and scallions. For some added spice I topped each wrap with some Sriracha.

Spicy Beef in Lettuce Rolls
From the Family Circle cookbook
Serves 6

1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
4 cloves minced garlic
4 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
1.5 lbs top round steak
1 bunch scallions
1.5 cups bean sprouts
2 red peppers, thinly sliced
1 head Boston lettuce

Whisk together soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic, sesame oil and pepper flakes. Slice beef into 2-inch wide strips and add to marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Cut scallions into 2-inch lengths, then cut each piece again lengthwise. Place scallions, bean sprouts and red peppers into separate serving bowls. Separate lettuce leaves and place in a separate serving bowl.

Heat oven to broil. Transfer beef to broiler pan rack and pour marinade into small saucepan. Broil beef for 5-6 minutes, turning over halfway though. Bring marinade to boil for 3 minutes, then pour into a small serving bowl. Assemble wraps and eat!

Oatmeal Craisin chocolate chip cookies

Craisins are apparently my new favorite food. They are basically dried cranberries coated with sugar, with a raisin-like consistency. You can eat them directly out of the bag, but they are great on salads, trail mix or baked into cookies. We had a ton left over from Passover and I've been snacking on them pretty much every day.

On Sunday afternoon, as my wife and I were on the porch relaxing after a day of yard work, I happened to notice a recipe on the back of the Craisins bag. Realizing that we had all of the necessary ingredients (well, almost) we whipped these together for an evening snack. I say "almost" because the original recipe calls for 2/3 cup white chocolate chunks. We had less than 1/3 cup of regular chocolate chips, but I don't think the cookies really need the extra chocolate. They are sweet enough, especially when you get a Craisin-filled bite! Here's how to make them . . .

Beat the brown sugar and softened butter together until the mixture is light and fluffy.

After adding the egg and the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, and oats) the Craisins and chocolate chips are folded in.

The dough is dosed out by teaspoonfuls, leaving about an inch or two between each cookie.

After about 10 minutes in the oven the cookies are allowed to cool on a rack.

Oatmeal Craisin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Modified from the back of the Craisins bag
Makes about 30 cookies

2/3 cup softened butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 ounces Craisins
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter mixture in 3-4 additions, mixing well between additions. Add Craisins and chocolate chips, then drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Passover charoset cupcakes

Making a decent Passover dessert (where flour is forbidden) is hard enough. Making a Passover dessert for someone who is also allergic to milk products (as was one of our guests) is nearly impossible. These cupcakes fit both bills, and aren't half bad! My coworkers loved them and didn't even notice the lack of flour, milk or butter.

The recipe starts with charoset, the traditional Passover mixture of apples, dried fruits, nuts, ginger, cinnamon and grape juice or wine. Since it's only made once a year we mix up a huge batch and eat it as a snack for weeks.

The cupcake batter is quick and simple, until the addition of the beaten egg whites. These are folded in slowly and carefully, making sure not to deflate the batter.

The batter is dosed out and topped with a spoonful (or two) of the charoset.

Here's what they look like just before popping them into the oven.

And here they are fresh out of the oven! The charoset on top cooks slightly, intensifying the fruit flavors.

The smell of these cupcakes in the oven had our cat, Cinderella, ready for the Passover seder!

Passover Charoset Cupcakes
From cupcakeproject.com
Makes about 16 cupcakes

5 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup safflower oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 1/4 cup matzo cake meal (not matzo meal)
About 2 cup charoset (I'll post our recipe soon)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix egg yolks and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine oil, lemon juice and zest. Add matzo cake meal and oil mixture to yolk and sugar in alternating doses (we added about 1/3 at a time). Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the batter until well blended. Carefully fold in remaining beaten egg whites. Fill cupcake liners about halfway with batter and top with a spoonful of charoset. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Momofuku crack pie

Do you ever eat an apple pie and think, hey, this would be great without all those pesky apples? Well, that's pretty much the idea behind Momofuku crack pie - an oatmeal cookie crust filled with, well, filling. Take a look at the central ingredients - sugar, brown sugar, salt, milk powder, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract and egg yolks. That's it. No redeemable healthy fruits or nuts. No crumb or pastry topping. Just tons of the most deliciously unhealthy stuff imaginable.

Not surprisingly, this pie is awesome. It has a buttery, caramely, slightly salty taste. Despite having no binder, it manages to somewhat hold together, as long as its served chilled or at room temperature. Topping with some powdered sugar matches nicely and helps to cut through the sweetness (UPDATE - Ok, this doesn't seem to make much sense, but there is something about the powdered sugar that really makes the pie that much better!). I know it sounds weird and time consuming, but it's totally worth it (not to mention much cheaper than the selling price of $44 at Momofuku Milk Bar). On to the recipe!

First, a giant oatmeal cookie is made - this will be crushed to form the pie crust.

The cookie crust is composed of rolled oats, brown sugar, sugar, butter and an egg.

The final step in the cookie-making process is the addition of the rolled oats. The cookie dough is then spread on a large baking pan and cooked for about 20 minutes.

The edges of my giant cookie were a bit burnt, but the rest was perfect. This is the half remaining after I made the crust - it tastes pretty good on its own as well.

After the cookie has cooled, it is broken up and mixed with butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor. Then the crust is pressed into a pie tin (or in my case, a Pyrex dish) and set aside while the filling is made.

Making the filling is extremely simple - just whisk together sugar, milk powder, butter, heavy cream . . . oh, and a crapload of egg yolks. Hey, I didn't say this was healthy.

The filling is poured into the crust and baked, first at 350, then 325. After the final cooking stage, my pie was still very jiggly, so I left it in there for another few minutes. From all the blog posts I've read about this pie, the actual cooking time is variable. If I made this again I would probably add at least another five minutes (even after a long cooling period the filling was still a bit too gooey).

Here is what the pie looks like when "set."


Momofuku Crack Pie
From Momofuku for 2

Cookie ingredients (enough for 2 crusts):
2/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup rolled oats

Heat the oven to 375. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture, then stir in the flour mixture until fully combined, and then stir in the oats. Spread the mixture onto a 9-by-13-inch baking sheet (it might not fill the entire pan) and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

Crust ingredients (for 2 crusts):
Crumbled cookie for crust
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together). Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus a scant 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tsp milk powder (non-fat dry milk)
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup plus a scant 2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 egg yolks

Heat the oven to 350. Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla. Finally, gently whisk in the egg yolks. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells. Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown, about 12 minutes (it really won't look done, but the pie will set after some time in the fridge). Remove the pies and cool on a rack. Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. Serve cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Lime and honey glazed salmon with basmati and broccolini

Any hardcore fan of Top Chef knows that broccolini is to be avoided at all costs, especially if you happen to be cooking on an airplane. However, my experience would indicate that it seems relatively safe at sea level. Broccolini looks pretty much like what it sounds like - small broccoli. It has a stalk about the width of asparagus and a small broccoli-shaped floret. The flavor is, not surprisingly, broccoli-like, but maybe a bit more mild, especially when raw. Introduced to the US in 1998 from Japan, broccolini is actually a cross between broccoli and kai-lan, or Chinese broccoli (thanks, Wikipedia!).

This recipe is a great one (or two) pot meal, coherently combining fish, rice and vegetables. The lime sauce pairs well with all three components and even works as a dip for snacking on the raw broccolini while you wait for the rice to cook. On to the recipe . . .

First, trim the ends off the broccolini and saute some shallots in olive oil until starting to brown.

Add the rice and broth to the skillet and bring to a boil. At this point, transfer the mixture to an oven-safe dish. Cover and cook until the rice is almost cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper and cut into portions.

Once the rice is almost cooked through, nestle in the salmon and broccolini, topping with a bit of the lime sauce. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked to your liking.

Top everything with more of the lime sauce and enjoy!


Lime and Honey Glazed Salmon with Basmati and Broccolini
Slightly modified from Bon Appetit
Serves 2

1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp lime peel
2 Tbsp honey
4 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3/4 cup brown basmati rice
2 cups chicken broth
2 5-6 ounce salmon fillets
1 bunch broccolini, bottom inch trimmed

Preheat oven to 450. Whisk lime juice, lime peel, honey and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside. Heat oil in ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. (We use a non-stick skillet for this step, then transfer the ingredients to a Pyrex dish before placing it in the oven.) Add shallots to skillet and saute until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice, then broth and bring to a boil. Cover skillet tightly with lid (or the Pyrex with tin foil) and bake about 15 minutes. Rice should be almost cooked through and most of the broth should be absorbed. If not, keep cooking until you reach this stage.

Remove skillet from oven and sprinkle rice lightly with salt. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper and place on rice. Tuck broccolini in around rice, with stems anchored in rice. Add 1 tablespoon lime mixture over each piece of salmon. Bake about 12 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through. Drizzle remaining lime mixture over fish and rice.