Fresh and Simple Cod and Tomato



Yummy. Served here with Tuscan cabbage.



Get good fish, the fresher the better. I like cod, but any firm fish would do (Chilean sea bass, tuna, halibut,  or large salmon).  Think chunks. 

(serves 4)

• 1 ½ lbs fresh cod
• Extra virgin olive oil (you’ll about ¼ C)
• ½ jalapeno seeded and minced fine
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1  C cherry tomatoes, halved
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

• 1 T fresh basil, chiffonaded (sliced thin)
• 3-4 green onions rough chopped







Fresh cod ready for the oven.



Preheat oven to 425 F.

Pour a coating of olive oil (a couple tablespoons) in a medium baking pan large enough to take the cod without overlapping.  Sprinkle with jalapenos, garlic and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper.  Drizzle with remaining olive oil.

Bake 15 minutes or until done to your specifications.  I like it no more than 15 minutes.  If your filets were especially thick, then you might need more time.

Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with basil and green onions.  Drizzle the drippings over and serve.

Great with bruscetta (or simple riced potatoes) and Tuscan cabbage.

Peach and Mint Sunday Chicken

When I was in college, my roommate Pam was the orchestrator of most of our meals.   There were four of us girls in a two bedroom apartment, and we organized ourselves into cooking/shopping and cleaning teams.   We had $30 per week to spend on groceries (don’t  try to figure this out, but suffice it to say we were very frugal and this was a long time ago). We fed ourselves everyday (and our boyfriends at least once or twice a week) on this budget.   To this day, I have Pam’s mom’s recipe for chicken to be served on a Sunday—and we had it during the weekdays even, it was so good (Pam’s Mom’s Sunday Chicken).  It was a tasty sauté/bake deal with cream of mushroom soup, raisins and some other yummy ingredients that were easy for a bunch of 19 year olds to assemble.  Today, though, I think I have my own Sunday chicken recipe. (Maybe No. 1 son will bring it with him to college so it can be “No. 1 Son’s Mom’s Sunday Chicken”).

Chicken Licken Licks Your Chicken!  Use your homemade peach preserves to boost the flavor of this dish. 

Chicken

·         1 cut up fryer (buy a whole one and cut it up yourself.  This way you save money and can put the back and other parts aside for a scrumptious stock.  Directions coming in a future post!)

Brine:

·         3 C peach nectar or juice remaining from canned home peach preserves (that’s what I used)

·         ¼  C canola oil

·         ¼  C apple cider vinegar

·         ½ C dry white wine

·         2 t lemon pepper

·         2 t diced fresh mint

Fry coating

·         1 C flour

·         1 C chick pea/garbanzo bean flour

·         ½ C cornstarch

·         1 T smoked paprika

·         2 T salt (kosher)

·         1 t ground cumin

·         1 t crushed red pepper flakes

Other ingredients

·         1 C peanut or canola oil (for frying)

·         4 T mint chiffonaded into thin strips (use more or less to taste)

·         4 T butter

·         1/3 C peach preserves/jam

·         ¼ C peach brandy (if you don't have it, don't worry, just skip it)

Mix up brine ingredients and pour over cut up chicken in a glass or plastic container.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken midway through to evenly coat.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine the fry coating ingredients and put into a paper bag or a plastic gallon bag. 

Get half your oil (1/2   C at a time) shimmering hot in a medium saute pan.   You will add oil into the process as it appears needed. 

Remove each piece of chicken from brine (keep the brine!),  shake it to get excess moisture off, dump into the fry coating bag and shake vigorously (you can do 3-4 pieces at a time).  Place gently into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.  This will have to be done in batches. Hint:  cook the thighs and drumsticks together and do them for about 5 minutes per side or more. They take longer to cook than breasts and wings, which should get about 3 minutes per side.  You’re not cooking through, just browning.

Once all the pieces are browned, put into ovenproof dish(es) and into your preheated 350 F. oven.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the thighs are no longer pink.  Set aside to rest on stove top or warmer oven and cover with foil while you make the sauce.

Meanwhile, take about 2 C of the brine (about half) and put into a saucepan and reduce to about 1 C.  You might need to skim off the scum (because the chicken has released some blood into the marinade earlier).  Once reduced, add jam and brandy when the brine is hot and boiling.  Keep it moving for a minute or two to evaporate the alcohol.  Take off heat and incorporate the butter to thicken.  Pour over chicken.  Sprinkle with fresh mint and serve.

Goes good with roasted vegetables and classic blue cheese iceberg lettuce wedge.  It would also be awesome with cornbread.

Enjoy!

Sinfully Good Hoisin Marinated Pork Tenderloin

This recipe is really not so much born out of inspiration as it was out of leftoverization.  I had this really nice pork tenderloin and no particular plan for its glorification on the dinner plate.  The grocery store was having a sale, so I actually bought several of these and froze them for future  use.  Scrounging through the fridge, and looking that kimchi eye to eye, I realized I had the makings of something tasty possible. 

Hoisin sauce is made from soy and wheat.  It is a rather thick sauce, almost like a paste.  It is sort of sweet, and for a long time, I assumed that there was fruit in it.  But that was before I read ingredient labels.  Now that I do read the labels, my life is so much more marinated with information. 

I got so enthused with making this that I forgot to take pictures, and there were no leftovers except for sauce.  Number 1 son said I should not include a picture of the sauce because it looked like what his friend Luke puked up on our livingroom carpet once.  Ha, I scoff at puke. And since I am the one who has to clean it up most of the time, I declare that this looks nothing like what Luke left on the carpet.  (Hey! this blog is for fun, not profit!)

Here's the picture (of the marinade):


The marinade!

  RECIPE

1 pork tenderloin

Kimchi to serve on the side
   (see previous blog post:What's Going On? Kimchi)

1 C  beer (whatever you like)

Marinade (below)
2 T olive oil to brown the meat

               

Marinade
3 T hoisin sauce
1 T fish sauce
1 t soy sauce
1 T rice wine or apple cider vinegar
1 T sesame oil
1 T minced fresh garlic
1 t fresh ginger (use the tube!)
1 t sesame seeds
2 t Chinese Five Spice Powder
¼ t red pepper flakes

Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over tenderloin.  Let marinate for 1-4 hours.  Remove pork from marinade (reserve the marinade).  Brown the tenderloin on all sides in the olive oil, about 3 minutes per side. Put into a baking dish/casserole dish/ or cast iron frying pan (all the better if you browned your meat in this!).  Add 1 C beer and the rest of the marinade.  Cover with lid or foil.

 

Bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes.

Remove and let rest for 10 minutes.
While it is resting, you can reduce the marinade if you want it thicker by boiling it on the stovetop.

Serve over white sticky rice (Japanese style)—prepare according to package directions.  Drizzle hot marinade over it all.  Put kimchi on the side or mound it on the top.  Serve with a crispy salad for more veggie action.  Yum.