Holiday Remembrances and the New Year
Turning 40 is harder on the mind than it is on the body.
You have half a lifetime of memories and hopefully, most of
them are good. We all have a few regrets, happy moments, one
BIG happy moment - for me it was getting married, and things
we wish we could have done better. When people are turning
40, do they all wonder what more they might accomplish? Do
they hope to find someone just starting out on his/her
journey to teach what they have learned despite the way they
responded when someone tried to teach them?
I have to believe that there is always going to be
someone out there wanting to learn and, maybe even carry on
where we must eventually leave off. Someone who could
improve upon what we've accomplished and then later on be
willing to teach the next generation to carry on after us. I
know, too much existential philosophizing for one article,
hmm? So I’ll cut to the chase and bring on the food.
Growing up in South Carolina introduced to and spoiled me
with all the fresh seafood.
Shrimp, salmon, and crab were the main staples and wound
up on more than a few dinner/holiday tables. While I have
never caught a salmon, I have caught shrimp, crabs, shark,
and a few barracuda during fishing trips with family and
friends. Fresh salmon was never in short supply until I
moved to Louisiana. I adjusted quite quickly to crawfish,
triggerfish, shrimp, and escolar.
Holiday tables with an array of unimaginable sweets were
fine, but I still liked the seafood dishes more. Here are a
few seafood dishes to help you enjoy the rest of this year,
provided you can find some good salmon around town. If not,
feel free to substitute your favorite local flavors any way
you choose and have a safe and happy New Year!
Smoked Salmon
Serves 3
1/4 Cup (½ dl) + 2 Tbsp cornmeal
1/2 Cup (1 dl) corn
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 Tbsp chives, chopped
¼ tsp baking powder
9 large pepperoncini, chopped
¼ tsp salt
2 oz (60 g) smoked salmon, chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ Cu(½ dl) + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
Sour Cream
3 tsp cream cheese, softened
Chopped red onions
In a small bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking
soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together egg,
buttermilk, and cream cheese. Chop half the corn coarsely
and add to buttermilk mixture with remaining corn, chives,
pepperoncini, salmon, and dry flour mixture, blending well.
In a non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat and,
working in batches, drop batter into skillet (size to be
determined by you). Cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until
golden brown. Transfer cakes to ovenproof platter and keep
warm.
Serve with sour cream, onions, and/or lemon slices, if
desired.
Shrimp Scampi
Serves 6
2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
¼ Cup (½ dl) fresh basil, chopped
3 tbsp butter
¼ Cup (½ dl) lime juice
1 Cup (2 dl) sun dried tomatoes, sliced
½ tsp salt
8 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ tsp pepper
½ Cup (1 dl) white wine
Melt butter in large skillet over high heat. Add sun
dried tomatoes and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Remove from the
heat, add wine, basil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Return
to heat and add shrimp. Sauté 2-4 minutes or until shrimp
are pink.
Arrange cooked pasta of choice in the middle of 6 plates.
Arrange shrimp around pasta. Spoon sauce over pasta and
shrimp and serve immediately.
Salmon Tartar with Ginger and Sesame
Serves 6
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp scallion, minced
1 Tbsp wasabi powder
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
6 oz (180 g) smoked salmon, chopped
1-½ tsp ginger, peeled, minced
1/4 Cup (½ dl) cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cilantro, minced 2
strips dried seaweed
Mix lemon juice and wasabi powder together. Mix in salmon,
cucumber, cilantro, scallion, sesame seeds, ginger, and
sesame oil. Shape into 1-1/2 inch thick patties. Moisten
ends of seaweed strips and wrap around sides of patties,
pressing ends to seal seaweed. Cover and place in
refrigerator 4 hours to overnight. Serve with crackers
around the side of the plate/platter.
Something Holiday-ish
Make something holiday-ish. How often do friends and family call us, invite
us and we ask, “ what we can bring?” The
answer we get 9 times out of
10 is, " Oh, just something holiday-ish."
You know in the back of your mind,
however, that everything and anything evenly
remotely considered holiday-ish
has already been made and\or thought of. What
can you possibly bring that
would not only be holiday-ish, but different?
I am walking through the grocery store, looking
through the produce section
for something holiday-ish and different. Well,
Christmas inevitably brings to
mind red and green. I pick up a red bell pepper
and some fresh chives. Now
the garnish is complete, but what about the
rest of it? Portobello mushrooms
have the texture of a steak when cooked, so I
put two of those in my basket.
Marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and
Italian seasonings, then
warmed slightly, the portabella mushrooms will
be a perfect starter.
Holidays usually bring stuffed turkeys or hams,
so, I considered stuffing
the mushrooms. Mashed potatoes make a good
mushroom stuffing and Peruvian
Blue potatoes add a dash of color as well. Lo
and behold, the grocery store
actually had Peruvian Blue potatoes. Now we
have something in the middle of
the plate. Now for the outside. Snow peas and
red bell pepper, sautéed in
olive oil, garlic, and sesame seeds will add
color and make a unique statement
for a holiday dish, but something is still
missing.
EUREKA!!!! This still needs a meat of some sort
for the perfect compliment,
different, but yet still a holiday-ish plate. I
pass by the meat counter. I don’t
choose beef (too dark), or chicken (too much
poultry if turkey is being served),
or pork (if ham is being served), then I hit
the seafood section. Scallops are
still a bit pricey these days, lump crabmeat
falls apart if heated by itself, and
frog's legs just don't "fit".
Again, EUREKA!!! Large shrimp, peeled, deveined,
and with the tails left
on, sautéed with the snow peas and red bell
pepper will fit perfectly here.
From the produce section, to the seafood
section, to the cashier, a dish has
been created that is light, colorful, and, yes,
even holiday-ish. Something
has been made that no one else could possibly
have thought of. This dish will
make a lasting impression on friends and
family, and may allow you to host next
Year’s Christmas event and pass them this
challenge, "Make something Holiday-ish."
Bon Appetit!
Smoked Salmon Quesadillas Serves
(Serves 8)
4 oz (120 g) goat cheese
4, 8-inch (20 cm) flour tortillas
1 Tbsp horseradish
4 oz (120 g) smoked salmon, sliced
2 Tbsp sour cream
Chopped Dill - garnish
2 Tsp fresh dill, chopped
Mix together cheese, horseradish, sour cream, and dill in a
medium bowl.
Season cheese mix with salt and pepper to taste. Over
medium-high heat,
cook 1 tortilla at a time in a heavy skillet, 1 minute per
side. Transfer
to work area. Spread 1 tablespoon cheese mixture over
tortilla. Top with 1/4 of
the smoked salmon. Sprinkle with chopped dill. Repeat with
remaining
cheese, salmon, dill, and tortillas. Broil in oven 1 minute
before serving.
Cut quesadillas into wedges and arrange on platter.
Teriyaki Tuna
(Serves 6)
1-1/2 lb fresh tuna steak
1/4 tsp ginger, grated
1/4 Cup (½ dl) lemon juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp oil
Cut fish into serving size portions and place in shallow dish.
Set aside.
In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients and
mix thoroughly. Pour over the fish
and marinate for at least 1 hour; remove fish and drain well.
Save marinade.
Place fish on a broiler rack 3 inches (7-½ cm) from the heat
source. Broil for
10-12 minutes basting with marinade and turning once during
broiling. Serve
on a heated platter; garnish with parsley, if desired.
Linguini with Scallops and Peas
(Serves 6)
2 Cups (4 dl) green peas
2 Tbsp butter, in bits
3/4 lb linguini
Saffron Butter Sauce (see recipe below)
1-1/2 lb sea scallops, rinsed
In boiling salted water, cook peas for 5 minutes or until
tender. Drain
well. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and
transfer to a
large skillet or wok. Arrange scallops in a steamer over
boiling water, season
with salt and pepper, and steam, covered, 2-3 minutes, or
until just cooked
through. To the pasta, add the butter, peas, and adjust taste
with salt and
pepper. Heat the mixture through, over low heat, tossing to
combine
flavors. Add the scallops and saffron butter sauce (recipe
follows). Toss
to mix well. Serve immediately.
Saffron Butter Sauce
Serves 6
1/4 tsp saffron threads, crumbled
3 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp shallot, minced
3 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
5 Tbsp butter, in pieces
In a small heavy saucepan, combine the saffron, shallots,
vinegar, and wine.
Simmer the mixture until it is reduced to about 2 tablespoons.
Stir in the cream
and simmer the mixture, whisking occasionally, until the
liquid is reduced
to about 2 tablespoons. Season the mixture with salt and
pepper. Reduce heat to
low and whisk in the butter, 1 piece at a time, but
overlapping slightly to
keep sauce from overheating. Remove from heat, from time to
time, as the
butter is whisked in. Remove from the heat and season to taste
with salt and
pepper. Use with pasta, seafood, or both.
Turkey Leftovers
Cooking a whole turkeys can be both fun and hard work. Of course, if you get
a turkey with the little red button that tells you when it’s done, it
helps, but the old fashioned way works, too. Poking a skewer in the thickest
part of the thigh or breast to see if clear juices run out is the "old chefs
tale" of checking. When dealing with a turkey over 20 pounds, how do you
know how much your family and friends will eat? How do you know how much
leftovers you are going to have to send home with them and/or pack and
freeze for later?
Creativity with leftovers can prevent the "ho-hum" days of turkey reheated
in the microwave for dinner. Turkey salad sandwiches can be a bit old after
4-5 days and frozen turkey a year later is nothing nice to even attempt to eat.
Most chicken and shrimp recipes go well with turkey. Be it tetrazzini with sherry
and linguini pasta or a simple stir-fry with vegetables of choice, soy sauce, and
sesame seeds over rice, turkey lends itself well to many dishes. Paella, a
combination of fowl and seafood with rice, would be a welcome change from
the ordinary meal at the dinner table. Stop thinking of leftovers as a chore
smilar to cleaning house. See your leftovers in a whole new light and as a
way of flavoring up the dinner table after the holidays.
Enjoy these leftover suggestions and, again, walk through the grocery store
to see what jumps out at you to jazz up your leftovers. Bon Appetit
Turkey Stir-fry
Serves 4
1/2 Cup (2 dl) Italian dressing
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Cups (4 dl) broccoli florets
2 Tbsp water
1/4 lb snow peas
2 tsp arrowroot
2 Cups (4 dl) slivered, cooked turkey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Cups (4 dl) sliced mushrooms
Hot cooked rice
Mix dressing, soy sauce, water, and arrowroot; set aside. Heat oil in wok or
sauté pan over high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, broccoli, and snow peas.
Cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables start to wilt. Add turkey and
dressing mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Serve
over hot cooked rice.
Turkey-Rice Medley
Serves 4
1 Cup (2 dl) rice
2 Cups (4 dl) diced cooked turkey
A little water
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 Cup (2 dl) frozen peas
½ Cup (1 dl) roasted red peppers
3/4 cup Italian dressing
In a large saucepan, cook rice according to package directions, omitting
salt and reducing water by 1/4 cup. Remove rice from heat and stir in peas
until thawed. Add dressing, turkey, celery, and peppers. Toss gently to mix
thoroughly.
Spoon onto serving platter and serve immediately.
Turkey Paprikash
Serves 4
2 Cups (4 dl) mushrooms, sliced
2 Cups (4 dl) diced cooked turkey
1 onion, sliced thin
2 Tbsp water
1-1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 Cup (1-½ dl) buttermilk dressing
2 Tbsp margarine
In skillet, sauté mushrooms, onion, and paprika in hot margarine until onion is
tender, stirring frequently. Stir in turkey and water; cover and heat 2-3 minutes,
until turkey is hot. Remove from heat. Stir in dressing until well combined. Do
not heat again.
Serve over hot cooked noodles.
Mediterranean Chicken/Turkey and Spaghetti
Serves 8
1/3 Cup (2/3 dl) olive oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 Cup (½ dl) fresh lemon juice
1/2 Cup (1 dl) red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small yellow squash, shredded
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 small zucchini, shredded
1/2 tsp oregano 1
½ - 1 Cup (1 -2 dl) green olives, quartered
1 lb boneless chicken breasts/turkey
1/2 Cup (1 dl) chicken broth
1 lb spaghetti
2 tsp cornstarch
In a small saucepan, cook olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings until just bubbly.
Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, mix chicken or turkey and olive oil mixture. Marinate
30 minutes. Prepare spaghetti according to package directions; drain well. In a large
skillet, heat oil. Add chicken/turkey mixture and red pepper; cook until chicken is slightly
pink or turkey is heated through. Add shredded squash and olives. Cook until hot. In a
small bowl, blend chicken stock, cornstarch, and salt. Add to chicken/turkey mixture.
Add to hot cooked spaghetti and toss to mix well.
Serve immediately.
EclecticCooking.com 