Fish Tacos

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This is so good and if you use frozen panko-breaded tilapia, it’s crazy quick.

4-5 piece of panko-breaded tilalpa from Costco. (Sorry – can’t remember the brand)
cumin powder
cayenne powder

Sprinkle a pinch of cumin and cayenne on the fish and bake as directed. When you remove them from the oven, slice them into 1/2″ slices.

Meanwhile, put together the avocado relish and yoghurt sauce, and warm the tortillas.

Avocado relish:

1/2 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup jalapenos
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup diced avocado (can add more if you like)
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp salt salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Mix all gently.

Mayo sauce:

1 1/2 Tbsp plain yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 lime, juiced
dash hot sauce (can use Tabasco or Sriracha)

Mix together.

corn tortillas
diced cabbage
1 bunch cilantro, diced
Mexican cheese (not taco cheese)

While fish is baking, wrap tortillas in foil, pop them in the oven for 5-6 minutes and assemble avocado relish and mayo sauce.

On a plate, place a warm tortilla, and fan out one fish fillet on each tortilla. Top with a spoonful of Avocado relish. Add a spoonful of cabbage, a sprinkling of cilantro and cheese. Drizzle with mayo sauce and serve. Sooo good.

Flattened Chicken

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My neighbor Rachel told me about this mouthwatering way to cook chicken and let me borrow her “Mad Hungry” cookbook that the recipe came from. I liked it so much I ended up ordering a used copy of my own, though I do make this dish slightly differently than the cookbook. Just chalk it up to laziness and the “it still tastes good” excuse.

1 whole chicken prepared as explained below.
salt and black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Heat oven to 400.

Lay chicken on its breast. Using a kitchen shears, cut out the backbone. Push down hard on both sides of the chicken until you kind of “split” the breast. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil in a cast iron skillet on medium/high heat. (Watch so it doesn’t start smoking.) Lay the chicken breast side down and cook it for three minutes. Flip it over and pop the skillet into the oven. Bake it 1 1/4 hours.

Remove chicken from pan and let sit for 10 minutes while you make the sauce. If there is a lot of chicken fat, you can remove most of it and save it for another time.

Add butter, garlic and lemon juice to pan, scraping up as much of the browned on bits as you can. Cook 2 or 3 minutes. Add remaining olive oil and red pepper flakes.

Cut chicken into pieces, lay on a platter and pour pan sauce over the top.

Tangy Chicken Tacos

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These tacos use all green ingredients and have flavors that remind me of Salsa Verde. They are delicious.

If you are lucky enough to have a Mexican grocery store nearby, you can easily get tomatillos, serrano pepper, cheese and good fresh corn tortillas.

I often use Asadero cheese or Queso Fresco, but most grocery stores sell shredded Mexican cheese, and I use that sometimes, too. (Do not use Taco cheese, which is seasoned, as it will really drown out the other flavors.)

If you can’t get tomatillos, I’ve read that you can use green tomatoes and a splash of lime as a substitute.

Be careful with the serrano pepper – they are 5 times hotter than a jalapeno. You can also substitute a jalapeno for the serrano.

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1 serrano pepper, diced
1/2 lb. tomatillos, rough diced
3/4 cup cilantro, rough chopped
corn tortillas, warmed
1 1/2 cups Mexican cheese, crumbled or shredded
2 cups romaine lettuce, rough chopped
1 cup chicken broth
limes

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper and saute 5 minutes. Add onion, cumin and pepper, and cook for a few minutes until onions are soft. Add tomatillos and chicken broth. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Check salt and pepper and sprinkle with cilantro.

Serve with warm tortillas, cheese and lettuce and fresh lime.

These would also be good with Shrimp. Just remove the shrimp from the shells, and add them 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Chicken with Mushrooms, Thyme and Wine

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1 1/2 lbs. chicken cutlets (Can also use boneless, skinless thighs, flattened a bit)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp fresh thyme or 2 tsp dry thyme
1 lb. button mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan on medium heat. Mix flour, salt and pepper. Dredge chicken cutlets in the flour, shake to remove excess flour and place in frying pan. Brown both sides, and remove from pan. Check to be sure the chicken is cooked all the way through. If you’re using cutlets, they cook really quickly, but thighs might take a bit longer.

Add Thyme and mushrooms to pan, and saute 6 minutes. (Can add a bit more oil if you need to.)

Add wine and chicken broth and cook 3 more minutes, scraping any browned bits from the bottom. Return chicken to the pan, and let cook 2 or 3 minutes Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Asparagus Dijon

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I have to admit that asparagus is not one of my favorite vegetables. If by chance it gets overcooked and mushy – yeccch! It is not a pretty picture. But Kumy loves this recipe and I like it too.

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces (Keep the thick bottom pieces separate)
1 Tbsp butter
splash of dry white wine
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 cup half n half
1/8 tsp kosher salt
couple of grinds of black pepper

Heat butter and wine in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the thicker, bottom parts of the asparagus, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add the more tender, upper parts and saute another 7-8 minutes. (I like to stop at this point unless the bottom stems are still really hard, because of my aforementioned aversion to mushy asparagus.)

Mix mustard, sage and half n half in a bowl and pour over asparagus. Gently toss the asparagus in the mustard sauce so it’s warmed up a bit. Check seasonings and serve.

Grean Apple Mulberry Jam

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Maya and her friends were Beatles fanatics starting in middle school and referred to themselves for a time as “The Grean Apples” and later just “the Gaggle.” We gave the girls pretty much carte blanche to cook in our kitchen.  One day they got a wild hair to make Mulberry Jam, after picking a bucket of mulberries from Elmwood Park. Each girl got to take a couple of jars home and they had a blast making it.

3 lbs. mulberries
1/2 cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar
1 pkg liquid pectin

Wash berries. Put into a large pot and mash gently. Heat on low heat for 15 minutes, covered. Add sugar and lemon juice, and bring to the boil. Stir in the pectin, and keep at a boil for one minute, stirring constantly.

Pour into prepared jars and seal. Read more here about how to make jams and jellies.

Salmon & Spinach in Parchment

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I got this recipe from EveryDay Cooking. The original recipe used salt instead of soy sauce, but we like it better with soy sauce and a little Sriracha sauce.

8 cups baby spinach
1 Tbsp grated orange zest
3 oranges, peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick
4 skinless salmon fillets (They say 1.5 pounds total, but we like a little bigger piece.)
2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled with a spoon and cut into matchsticks. (1/4 cup)
1 Shallot, thinly sliced
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
Parchment paper

Mix ginger, shallots, oil, sriracha, soy sauce and pepper in a large, flat bowl. Marinate fish in it for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, take a nice big piece of parchment for each fish, and put 2 cups of spinach right in the middle. Divide zest and oranges on top of the spinach. Lay fish next. Drizzle remaining marinade on the fish.

Bring the two long edges together and start folding them down over each other. You’ll end up with a long, relatively flat tube. Take the open ends and fold them underneath carefully – don’t let the marinade dribble out.

Bake at 350 for 18 – 20 minutes. If the fillets are smaller, bake them for 16-18 minutes. Open one packet to make sure the fish is cooked and flaky and serve in it’s packet. Serve white rice on the side.

Hot Mini Sandwiches

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My neighbor Kate brought this to the block party and it was so good.  I’ve taken it for staff appreciation snacks and other events and it’s always demolished.

2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, diced up
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Bread or rolls (I often buy whole wheat dinner rolls which come joined together.)
Brie or Swiss cheese
Turkey ham or real ham

Heat butter in a skillet. Add onions and saute until onion is soft and brown. Add mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Stir

Carefully cut the entire package of rolls in half horizontally. Try not to pull the individual rolls apart. It’s okay if some break apart, but easier to reassemble if they’re together. Slide the bottoms into a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Spread half the mustard mixture on the bottom section of rolls, then layer sliced cheese and turkey ham slices over the top. Spread the rest of the mustard on the top half of the rolls, and carefully place them back on the turkey ham. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake sandwiches at 350 for 10-15 minutes until the bread is nice and toasty, and the cheese is melted. Serve warm with a sharp knife to cut through the sandwiches.

Thai Coconut Chicken Casserole

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This is a great quick supper. It’s delicious and so colorful. Red Curry Paste is available at Asian Markets, and online. It may even be in some regular grocery stores.

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 can light coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth, heated in a small pan or a microwave until just boiling.
1 – 2 tsp Thai Red Curry Paste. (I use Mae Ploy.)
1 cup jasmine rice (regular rice is fine, too.)
2 red bell peppers, chopped and sauteed
8 oz. green beans, trimmed and sauteed

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add oil to a saute pan and saute chicken until browned on both sides. Cut into smaller pieces and place in an oven proof pot. Add all other ingredients except for peppers and beans. Cover and cook 25 minutes at low heat.

While chicken and rice are cooking, add more oil to the saute pan and cook veggies for a few minutes until soft, but not mushy.

Remove chicken and rice from oven, top with peppers and beans, and serve.

Kumy’s Spicy Rustic Spaghetti Sauce

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Kumy first made this Spaghetti sauce in August of 2011 and he’s made variations ever since.  It’s a spicy, rustic sauce that’s delicious on pasta.

1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
5 small tomatoes, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper seeded, and cut into four pieces
pinch of Sage
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp Thyme
3/4 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Parsley

Heat oil, and add garlic in. Saute garlic for a couple minutes and add the chopped tomatoes and all the rest of the spices. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve over pasta sauce with Parmesan cheese.