Salmon Chowder

                                               Recipe for Salmon Chowder

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

2 garlic cloves sliced or diced 

2 cups diced potato and/ or 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans

2 cups of small carrots sliced

2 cups of seafood, vegetable or chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh coarse-ground pepper or to taste

2 or 3 pieces of fresh or frozen salmon without skin (at lease a pound)

1 cup of heavy cream

2 cups of fresh or defrosted fresh frozen corn 

1/2 lb sliced baby bellas, or regular mushrooms

1/2 lb. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup thin fresh cut green beans

Melt butter in a heavy, large soup pot.

Saute mushrooms, when browning add onion, celery, garlic until wilted.

Stir in carrots, potatoes and/or garbanzo beans, broth, salt and pepper.

Bring to a slow boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in salmon, green beans and corn. Raise heat and add cream.  Keep stirring till blended.

Raise heat to just under boiling point and add cheese.

Cook until heated through. YUM!

Serve with fresh slices of French baguette or toasted Italian bread.

*This is a ripped-off recipe from Jane Brwonley which I, purist that I am, changed!  Thanks, Jane.

Spinach pie: possible update on an older recipe!

Spinach pie

Marie Callender deep dish frozen pie crust--they sell them two in a package at Publix in Florida and Fresh Market in Utah

Poke with a fork all over--don't need weights! and bake high 400 for 10 minutes about

(You can make your own, but it's added work and time!)

Fresh spinach (at least a lb!) sauteed with garlic, hot pepper and olive oil. 

When the spinach wilts, toss garlic and pepper and remove spinach from the water it kicks out and squeeze as much juice as possible out of it--I use paper towels and a sieve.

Chop afterward...you can use frozen, too, sometimes I use both.

ricotta 

two eggs

mozzarella

cheddar 

grated and/or shaved parmigiano cheese 

pine nuts 

a tablespoon or less of sugar (sometimes two packets of Splenda or a little Stevia)

seasonings: black pepper, nutmeg,

no salt because the parmigiano cheese is salty enough 

Top with seasoned breadcrumbs and dabs of butter

Bake high at 400 for 10 minutes and then at 375 for another 20-25 

I can't give you ingredient amounts because I do it all by eye and feel and usually make more than one. Sorry!

The other two I made that day I added cut up ham and salami and froze them for New Year's for Nico and my sister-in-law Donna.

Enjoy!

Rolled stuffed fresh flounder with scallops

I made rolled stuffed fillet of flounder tonight--I change it up every time. 

Tonight's was a stuffing made of:

olive oil 
capers 
black olives ct-up
pine nuts
chopped parsley 
seasoned bread crumbs 
cut-up scallops.  

Brown the fat rolls slightly in olive and herb, garlic butter--flatten them with the spatula a little.  Then fling in some vino, and when the alcohol burns off I add tomato sauce I have at the ready.  High heat, then low. Simmer till done.  Doesn't need much cooking if, beforehand, you toss the ingredients for the stuffing with a little butter in the microwave oven for one minute, stirring after 30 seconds.

Quiche: mushroom & asparagus

Ingredients for four mushroom asparagus quiche:

1.  4 deep dish baking tins--use your own dough or go easy on yourself and buy frozen Marie Callender's 

2.  sauteed mushrooms, onions, whole garlic cloves, bacon

3.  steamed asparagus (trimmed short and cut up into pieces)

4.  4 cups of milk plus some heavy dream, if desired

5.  8 eggs

6. variety of your choice of mixed cheeses: cheddar, mozzarella, parmigiano, Colby-jack, Swiss, and/or others

7. crushed black pepper, smoked paprika, if desired

Directions:

Bake the crust for ten minutes in a hot oven and cool.  

Fill the bottom with: mushrooms, onions, bacon, and asparagus pieces.  Remove garlic cloves.

Cover with cheese--be generous! 

Beat two eggs into one cup of milk (and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream) pour this mixture over the filled crusts

Grind some coarse black pepper on top, also some paprika

Place in a hot over (400 degrees), lower to 375 degrees and bake for 25 minutes or so

Things you may want to do:

Chop bacon and fry, then add chopped or sliced onions--set aside.  

Saute mushrooms in the leftover fat from bacon

If more fat is needed, add some olive oil or butter or both--your choice.

Use a hit of white wine after the saute stage and let this dry out over an intense flame.

Use salt if you must, but you don't really need it if you have used enough cheeses!

Be creative! 

Of course you can change the ingredients.  Leave out the asparagus, or make with different veggies--zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower-- all make lovely quiches.  

Chuck the bacon and use ham, or do it the meatless way.

Here's what I did yesterday...made 8 pizze rustiche!

I'm pretty sure the recipe is archived in one of my older blogs, but anyway, I change it all the time! So can you. 

Pizza Rustica

The dough is a sort of cookie dough--eggs, flour, butter, sugar, a pinch of salt and some iced water.

It takes a bottom crust that you'll need to bake for a few minutes.  You may use an egg wash for the top crust.

Basically the filling is a ton of ham, salami, prosciutto, soprassata dolce, Swiss cheese--all cut up, ricotta, eggs, a little sugar, loads of mozzarella, parmigiano--shaved, shredded and/or grated. Salt and pepper, if desired--I didn't use either this time.

You may use hard salami, soprassata piccante, Romano sliced cheese, Fontina, or any other great ingredient you want. It's a dense mixture...and the salty/sweet combo is great!  Mangia bene! Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts with pazazz and love~~

A  jazzed up recipe to my liking!

Halve and fry Brussels sprouts till edges begin to curl...or boil or steam whole
and then halve them. While hot, transfer to a bowl with:

1-2 teaspoons honey
1 TBS capers
1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (may use caramelized ones, if so desired)
2 TBS of red vinegar
1-2 TBS EV olive oil (may use butter, if you prefer! or both, if you're daring!)
salt, coarse ground pepper to taste...may add minced garlic and hot pepper instead of black to make zippy!

May add any of these to liking or leave out:
ginger, nutmeg or saffron

Mix and serve!

Spinach Pie and Zucchini quiche

Okay, Bakers--

These recipes are for you...
Figure out how much of each ingredient you want, or add your own, or delete what you don't like.

Happy Baking!


Spinach Pie:

deep dish pie crust baked for 10 minutes
chopped fresh spinach
ricotta
mozzarella
parmigiano cheese...grated or shredded
1-2 eggs
crushed black pepper
(may add ham or salami, if so desired)
mixed season breadcrumbs on top...try some smoked paprika (YUM!)
bake hot oven 375 to 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes


Zucchini Quiche

deep dish pie crust baked for 10 minutes
prosciutto, salami, bacon or pancetta (may also make without the meat)
sauteed zucchini and onions
cheddar cheese
parmigiano or Romano cheese...grated
mozzarella
with 2 eggs, and 1 cup of mixed cream and milk--make the custard
crushed black pepper
bake hot oven 375 to 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes