Sauteed Cod with Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, & Leeks

So...this meal was even better than it sounds! I'm a huge fan of cod (especially Alaskan - the kind I used) because I'm very sensitive to strong smells and flavors, and cod has a very light flavor of its own, unlike the infamous salmon.

So, while being very easy, I honestly just improv'd so I'll do my best to confer what I did hear so that you can get really really close to it :-)

Ingredients:

1. fresh bulbs of garlic
2. frozen crushed garlic (brand "Dorot" - from Trader Joe's)
3. fresh or frozen (thawed) Alaskan cod (at least one 4-oz fillet per person, or more)
4. russet potatoes (a bag is fine, will use at least 5-10 small/medium potatoes)
5. sour cream (I used fat free)
6. unsalted butter
7. fresh broccoli
8. frozen leeks (also from Trader Joe's)
9. extra virgin olive oil
10. vegetable stock cubes or bouillon (I usually buy these at Arabic or Indian markets, very hard to find in an American grocery store)
11. seasonings (dill, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, parsley)
12. 1 whole large lemon (per 2 people)

Instructions:

1. Broccoli - My wonderful sous chef took care of this one, but its simple enough
1. Clean fresh broccoli in cool water
2. Cut off desired amount of stalks (for us - as much as possible without making the florets fall apart)
3. Blanch/braise/whatever you call it the broccoli (saute it until slightly tender haha) in olive oil with freshly chopped garlic
4. Remove from heat once partially cooked and place in cool water (with ice if necessary, or in fridge) while preparing the rest of the dinner
5. *Once ready to use, finish cooking over medium heat until lightly tender (NOT wilted or soft)*
2. Mashed Potatoes
1. Peel and clean russet potatoes - number depends on how much you want left over or how many are eating
2. Dice into medium pieces for cooking
3. Bring large pot of water to a boil
4. Once boiling add salt, pepper, 1/2 frozen cube of garlic, tablespoon of butter, and diced potatoes
5. Cook until you can easily spear potatoes with a butter knife
6. Drain potatoes and place cooked potatoes into a large bowl
7. Add: another 4+ tablespoons of butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, remaining 1/2 cube + 1 cube crushed garlic and mash into potatoes
8. Allow to cool while cooking
3. Cod & Leeks (optional)
1. **allow leaks to at least partially thaw before cooking**
2. Use large skillet over medium heat
3. Place olive oil, diced garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, thyme (about 1/2 tsp), & rosemary (about 2 tsp) in skillet
4. Once heated, add 1 vegetable stock cube and stir to mix
5. At this point you should be getting a nice sauce bubbling
6. Add cod and saute until half cooked
7. Add leeks
8. Saute until cod is fully cooked and leeks are still partially firm
9. *Finish cooking broccoli*

Once the cooking is completed, plate cod, leeks, broccoli, and potatoes any way you like! Don't forget the lemon to squeeze a bit of yummy flavor burst over your cod.

***I know that the pic is not the MOST appetizing looking (in the pic...in real life it was beautiful!), it's because the caramelized seasonings took on a slight brownish hue...but BOY was this good!***

TACO SALAD

Okay, so this is an easy one...right? But often you find that its not like (for goodness sake) Taco Bell, or Chipotle, or wherever you indulge in your Mexican food fantasies. Ooops hunny, we don't have that, it'll be fine! Well, forget no more, and just follow the list below for a DELICIOUSLY filling (and certainly more preservative free) Mexican-at-Home night.

Ingredients:

1. ground something (turkey, beef, tofu or chicken - for the brave!)
2. shredded lettuce (can be bought in a bag already done - but I have a GREAT sous chef who deftly diced and shredded a head of iceberg by hand! much more lettuce for much less money)
3. tortilla/corn chips (I prefer TOSTITOS® Restaurant Style with a Hint of Lime Flavored Tortilla Chips - perfect burst of flavor!)
4. Salsa (any brand, any "heat", whatever you like best is perfect! For me? Pace Hot or Medium)
5. Taco sauce (the most commonly missed - again Pace for me, unless there's another good one on sale, HOT only for me here too!)
6. fresh limes
7. cheese (shredded "Mexican style" from the grocery store is perfect for this)
8. Taco Bell taco seasoning (for the meat)
9. sour cream (I prefer fat free = guilt free for using the whole tub!)
10. assorted seasonings (dill, cilantro, salt, pepper, parsley, etc..)

Instructions:

1. Cook the ground "something" that you chose with the Taco Bell seasoning (best I've found so far - incredibly flavorful), dill, cilantro, salt, and pepper until well done. It's NEVER okay to partially cook any kind of ground meat!
2. Drain the cooked ground "something" either with a sieve or in a bowl with paper towel
3. Shred lettuce if you purchased a solid iceberg head
4. Open everything up! (container of sour cream, jars of salsa and taco sauce, cheese, chips)
5. Now - here's the fun part -  decide what order you want to pile it up! I can tell you my favorite (from bottom layer *1* up), but obviously its a personal choice.
1. hint of lime chips
2. ground beef (my "something")
3. shredded cheese
4. salsa
5. taco sauce
6. shredded lettuce
7. sour cream 
6. Cut the lime in half and squeeze desired amount on top of awesome salad creation...yum!
7. ummmm....ENJOY!!!

So long....

So, while I did take a short break from cooking (i.e. eating out at every chance and gaining an unnatural amount of weight) with my new relationship with a healthy food police and domestic bliss...I've been cooking again :) Shoot! I didn't get a pic of Wednesday's pasta dinner, we ate it too fast! Oh well haha, as soon as I've got my pictures ready to go, I'll catch up with a few of my (I mean his!) favorites!

Happy eating!

A Review: Thai Kitchen Spring Onion Instant Rice Noodle Soup

Price: Food Lion in Raleigh, NC ~$0.80 with tax (online search tells me this is really good price; otherwise the average is around $1.15 per 1.16oz package)

Serving: I must say, when I opened the package, I could have sworn there was about a quarter of the amount of the usual "ramen noodles" package, and just knew it would be just a snack. Behold! It is actually the perfect serving for people that don't prefer to eat an entire package (or two) of ramen.

Flavor: First, the texture was great, and it cooked well in my unmeasured amount of super-hot water (I decided to forego the microwaving since I had use of a hot-water dispenser), classic rice noodles. I was surprised at the size of the flavor packet, but decided to use the entire thing since I've never had it. Also was an oil packet, typical to packaged thai soups, which I only used 1/3 of since I have a thing against a lot of oil in my food. Well, the amount of oil seemed sufficient for the bowl, and it turned out to be a good healthy soybean oil with chili powder which lent a great spiciness to the noodles. Overall it was very good, and I was quite pleased.

Worth the extra $0.60 more than traditional americanized ramen for people that like true delicate (not over-salted and non-specific) asian-inspired flavors.

The final score? Its a:

B+

A Great Roast

Okay, so this thing isn't going as planned...but what ever does, right?! SO Instead of following someone's genius culinary works, I'm going to...let's not call it creating my own, but this will be a collection of recipes (I've) tried & true, and only the exquisite yumminess will win out!

So, below is an entry (and same title) from my other blog (Finding Jessica is the name, in case you're interested in a taste of travel and crazy) with a completely made up recipe that I fed my hunny bumpkins with...and he loved!

High commendation :-)

 - - -

(05/02/11 original post date)

Thus, on a lighter note, I impart to my friends and readers that this saturday past, I baked a yummy roast for my dear, which he enjoyed (a high commendation, nothing ever seems to be tasteful enough for him :-) ) and which I have also enjoyed, having used NO recipe. It was a pot roast, about 3.5 pounds bought at my local grocery near Hilburn Avenue. I used one container of chicken stock (about 2 cups) and a generous splash of a good, inexpensive Pinot Noir (perhaps 1/2 to 1 cup), and cut up vegetables of his choosing (fresh uncooked carrots - 4 whole, potatoes - 4 whole russet, celery - 3 stalks, 1 onion).

Once everything was cut (oven preheating to 350F) I placed all vegetables and liquid into a large, disposable roasting pan (spreading  the vegetables around the perimeter) and added some olive oil (about a quarter cup) salt, pepper, seasoning salt to the vegetables. Once this was done I rinsed the roast of all excess blood to prevent a distasteful coloring to it (in my opinion) and added the meat to the center of the great pan. I then spooned the mixture of vegetables and liquid over it a number of times, and added a bit more seasoning (of the same above) as well as some dried rosemary (about a tablespoon) and a final splash of the Pinot Noir on top (my favorite wine grape, by the way). I then removed vegetables from the top of the roast to prevent their not being cooked in the liquid.

 - - - - Then we went to see Beastly at the dollar fifty theater on Blue Ridge Road, leaving the food to cook. I rather enjoyed the movie, whichever Olsen twin was in it is making a slow comeback, and the tattoos were beautiful. - - - -

Once back home (about 2 hours later, short movie) I prepared some cabbage (first time for this too) with honey cured ham ( I recommend uncooked, as I didn't realize when purchased that mine was cooked, and therefore didn't lend as much of the ham flavoring), seasoning salt, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar. I really played this one by ear, being perpetually afraid of over-salting and having quite powerful taste buds myself, I prefer to add salt to the finish than be doomed with a salty dish. I must say that the cabbage turned out well, though with a slightly less savory and more vegetable flavor due to the ham being both cooked and cured. Perhaps hamhocks from the farmer's market next time...I saw one booth that was approved by some society or other for humane killing. Kudos.

All in all, a lovely meal, and really tasty leftovers. Think my tongue is still recovering from tasting the meat broth before taking it out...I always forget that I don't feel heat in food until too late, and I had thoroughly burned myself without feeling it until after...don't taste from a spoon out of the oven! (Most people already know this.)

Oh, total cook time for the roast about 3 hours, with the last about half hour at 300F down from 350F. Yummy. Cook time longer or shorter depending on relative size of meat (mine about 3.5 pounds).

Any questions about my recipe, need exact quantities of spices, etc? Feel free to comment and I will reply!

Enjoy!!!



:-)

OMG

So...I can't really believe I'm going to be doing this, but I figured, everyone needs something in life that they focus on because they enjoy it and for no other earthly reason...right?

And then I figured, I'm not following a person, per say, at least not just yet, but if Julie could spend a year discovering the secrets of Julia Child's cooking mastermind...perhaps I could spend...a year?...discovering a genre, or country, or company, or cook (though my favorites I fear do not usually bother printing books and tend to cook freestyle...I just LOVE that show where there is a star lineup of cooks and a challenger chef gets to challenge one and they have to cook with a secret ingredient...dang I'll write the name when I think of it!)...well, why can't Jessica!

So...my favorite cooks...

Paula Deen (I'm a southern girl, okay!)
Rachel Ray (also makes good dog food)
Ted Allen (brings the science back in)

IRON CHEF AMERICA! That's the name of the show! OF these greats my favorites of all time are Mario Batali (italian) and Masaharu Morimoto (japanese)...sooo, I thought I'd try my hand at some authentic Italian, its my favorite food group, so to speak.

Well, I found a great Italian Cookbook at the flea market  which I wrote about earlier in angelicfinesse.blogspot.com but I was thinking...if I do this, I need to use someone I like! So, I NEED YOUR INPUT!!!

Here's the deal, I list the book options (all Mario's of course) and please leave a comment with the number or name of the book you think I should pick, deal...???

1. Spain… A Culinary Road Trip

   
   by Batali, Mario and Paltrow, Gwyneth
   Published: 10/20/2008, 256 pages, ISBN: 9780061560934 

2. Mario Batali Simple Italian Food

   
   by Batali, Mario
   Published: 11/1/1998, 288 pages, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780609603000

3. Molto Italiano

   
   by Batali, Mario
   Published: 5/2/2005, 522 pages, Hardcover , ISBN: 9780060734923

4. Molto Gusto

   
   by Batali, Mario and Ladner, Mark
   Published: 4/6/2010, 288 pages, ISBN: 978006192432

All right people, get on your google and let me know what you think!