Miriam & the Salcakes

No, unfortunately this is not the name of the hottest epic tween rock band.  This is a story about Miriam, a single Jewish house wife who started a successful culinary business from scratch, and Salcakes, the first of hopefully many things Miriam’s cooking classes will have inspired. 

Now let me preface this by saying I was not feeling it when I was in Miriam’s cooking class.  Anyone who knows me, knows that there is a switch, and when this switch is flipped off, no good can happen.  It was a Friday night and an uncharacteristically busy work day for that time of year, so I was a bit worn when I set out with my coworker Al to try something new and awesome.  Al is going thru a rebirth, and I guess I am too in some ways, so we have been planning to try all the things we haven’t tried yet on our life’s to-do list. 

First we were greeted by Schmeal, a middle aged Svengali type in a brightly colored button down shirt and black pleated slacks.  He is Miriam’s son and business partner.  I have actually spoken to him before when their company ordered rental equipment from the company I work for.  After an awkward greeting we figured out that they had aprons for us, and hot snacks for us to nosh on while we got acquainted.  Then Miriam introduced herself, and threatened that we were going to have to actually cook…well, duhhhhh Miriam…I paid $75 to attend a cooking class.  One by one we watched them demonstrate each recipe on the docket, all the while we got to meet each of the characters that make up the colorful cast of Elegant Experience.  Then they broke us up into groups, where you get to try making one or two of the thing on the menu.  The biggest thing for me was that I had the wrong idea of what the class format was from the beginning.  I had expected to learn to try making each recipe in a hands-on way.  Disappointed…plus I was worn out from a long day of work & drama…not a good combo.

But then we got to eat and I actually changed my mind.  The eating part made up for most of it.  We talked to the people around us, and amongst ourselves.  As Danielle, Al’s sister, pointed out, it did have a vampire-ish feel to it with the red table cloth and candles, mini chandeliers centerpieces, dim lighting, and the hookah-lounge-ish Muzak playing in the background.  You are also surrounded by gift baskets which they also sell...  But it is fun when you get to eat all the stuff you saw them demonstrate.  This particular class was Steaks & Cakes…yummmm. Menu consisted of marinated grilled skirt steak, baked swordfish, sautéed asparagus, mashed potato biscuits, salmon cakes, and carrot cake.  How can you go wrong?

Well anyway, when all was said and done, even if I didn’t get to try anything new in the actual class, I did take a lot away from it.  I learned that whole wheat or multi grain crackers make delicious bread crumbs, how to make a cilantro chimichuri, and that the temperature of your butter matters.  Although I could not tell you what uses cold butter, and what uses warm, lol.

This past Sunday, I put one of Miriam’s recipes to the test.  For Easter dinner I made salmon cakes, aka  salcakes.   I tweeked the recipe she gave us, which was ripped off from Giada’s recipes, and here is what I came up with.  It was delicious!

Salcakes

1 lb.                        Poached Salmon, cleaned of fat, skin, bones, & blood line
1/4 cup                  Corn Kernels, rinsed & drained
1/4 cup                  Diced Red Bell Pepper
1/3 cup                  Scallions, bright green & white parts sliced cross wise & coarsely chopped
1 large                   Egg, beaten lightly
1/2 box                 Brenton Multi Grain Crackers , crushed (other crackers work well too)
1 tbsp.                   Whole Grain Dijon Mustard (or regular Dijon)
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
Olive oil & Butter, for sautéing

Creamy Mustard Sauce

1/4 cup                 Real Mayonnaise
1/2 cup                 Dijon Mustard
1/2 lemon            Juice of
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper, to taste

To make the salcake patties, flake the poached salmon into chunky pieces & smaller flakes, but don’t turn to mush.  I have my local fish market poach the salmon for me for simplicity, freshness and cleanliness.  Then add the diced red bell pepper, corn kernels, and chopped scallions.  I try to make these three things to be in similar sized pieces so the flavors are evenly distributed – about the size of a corn kernel.  Lightly toss the ingredients to blend with two forks by lifting the mixture from the bottom of the bowl and lifting the ingredients up and letting them fall back together.  Then add the egg, mustard, & cracked black pepper (about two turns of the mill for my taste), and a LIGHT sprinkling of sea salt…the crackers will have salt on them too, so you don’t want to overdo it.  Toss with the fork again to blend all the ingredients thoroughly.  You want to keep in mind that the salmon should stay kind of chunky.  Then start to add bread crumbs – I like a mixture of fine & chunky pieces.  Add about two handfuls to start & mix by tossing with the two forks.  Then add more as needed to make it thick, but not too thick.  As most of you know I am an ‘eye-baller’ so it’s hard for me to describe what’s enough… but you wants there to be more salmon & vegg than bread crumbs, but enough to bind it all together and give it body.  If you are not afraid of eating raw egg (and I am not), taste the mixture, if it is not delicious as is, then adjust your ingredients accordingly.  Put the mixture in the fridge to cool for 30 min. to an hour.  Then you can make your sauce. 

To make the sauce is so easy it’s stupid.  Mix ¼ cup of real mayonnaise & ½ cup Dijon mustard, squeeze in the juice of  ½ a lemon, two turns of the pepper mill, and a LIGHT sprinkling of salt to blend the flavors.  Simple, creamy, tangy, delicious.  Spoon out into a nice serving bowl, cover, and let chill in the fridge until ready to serve.  Pour any water that collects on the top off & remix with a spoon before serving.  I haven’t tried olive oil or light mayo yet, but I will next time…or maybe greek yogurt.    

When the salmon cake mixture is done cooling, take it out of the fridge, and set up a shallow bowl or large dish with the remaining bread crumbs & preheat your oven to 350*.  Crumble more crackers if needed.  Form the cakes into a patty that would fit nicely in the palm of your hand, and about an inch thick, or a little thicker.   Or, I like to make mini salcakes so you can have a couple, and people can snack continuously during an appetizer or cocktail hour.  Once your form the patty, coat the outside in extra bread crumbs and set out on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. 

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Heat a large, heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat & put in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and a pat of butter.  When it starts to bubble briskly place the salcakes in the pan to brown each side.  Work in batches, and don’t crowd them in the pan so they are all pressed together.  After the first batch, let the pan cool a little, wipe out the burnt crumbs and used oil, and start again for your second batch.  You are not trying to cook them thru, just brown and crisp both sides & place back on a baking sheet, lined with fresh parchment paper.  When all are done place the baking sheet(s) in the oven to finish, about 7-10 minutes for minis, or 10-15 minutes for larger cakes.  They don’t need to really cook that long, just heat evenly thru and firm up the egg in the mixture.  Serve with wedges of lemon & the sauce on the side. 

Fantastic!      

V-day My Way

It was Valentine ’s Day, so naturally I was in the mood to use a sharp blade over and over in a very intentional and premeditated manner.  And so I embark on a food exploration that ends in something I like to call, salsa burgers with black beans and sliced avocado. 

The victims of my stabbing rampage were onion, garlic, tomato, jalapeno, cilantro, red bell pepper, lemon juice, black beans, adobo seasoning, black pepper and mushrooms left over from Monday’s dinner.  I probably should have used my mini-prep food processor, but it has stopped working well and smells like a live grenade every time I need to run it for more than a few seconds.  So I chop…all except the mushrooms and the beans.  I chop it until it is a mushy even pureed texture, then I added the mushrooms and chopped some more, while folding them into the mush.  Finally, I added the black beans, which I had previously rinsed clean, so as to eliminate that smelly black crap it comes canned in.  At this time I also add a generous dousing of adobo.  Then I coarsely chopped the beans into the mash and folded the mixture over and over with the large blade of my chopping knife, mashing the beans further until I have a pile of blended veggies that I mixed into the ground beef to create the ‘salsa burger.’  There is something stress-relieving about taking the time to really cut things up.  I molded two big round patties of meat mixed with the salsa mash into two patties and covered them in sesame seeds before placing them in the pan, and then in the oven to bake.

 
Black beans…this was not a comfort zone for me.  So I sauteed the remains of the veggies  and cilantro that I started cutting for the mash, and deglaze with water when done to make a broth to simmer the beans in.  I throw the remaining beans into the simmering veggie broth and watch them simmer.  This made me smile as I had imagined that all the those little black beans were the heads of my ex-lovers drowning in veggies.  Morbid, I know.  There are two more things to cut – the lemons (in ½), and the avocado (in ½, and then each half the short way into thin slivers).  I squeezed one whole lemon into the beans, and then put ½ the other lemon on my plate for later.  I fanned ½ the avocado slices out on my plate, put the burger in the middle, and filled in beans all around the side and sprinkle with the last remains of the the cilantro.  If I wasn’t being so healthy, I would have smothered it in sour cream too, but it’s not that kind of party.  The end product was really good...ah, sweet satisfaction.  I would have preferred a date, but I don't know how well my need to cut things on V-day would translate to dating.   

The next day I will go out and buy the same12 roses that were $17.99 on v-day for half price and they will be beautiful. 

These are the actual day-after-valentines-day-roses.  TWO dozen roses for $9.99.  And yes,  that is my blender.  I plan on picking up some vases at the yard sales this summer. 

Mushroom & Sage Sparkly Chicken Goodness

This is a new go-to recipe for me.  It seems so much more fancy than the things I grew up cooking, yet it’s super simple, and hard to mess up – perfect for the ‘kitchen klutz’ that is me.  When I say it’s hard to mess up, that means that when I’ve made substitutions or left an ingredient out it’s has always been good anyway.  I find the combination of citrus and sage makes for a hardy rich flavor with a bright sparkly finish.       

This serves about 2, I would double for 4, etc.

2 boneless chicken breast ( I use 1 breast per person unless I have a big eater on my hands, then adjust).
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, garlic…you can also try tyme or herbs de provence on the chicken instead of garlic
1 large shallot
1 bunch parsley
1 container of fresh crimini or shitake mushrooms (or both!)
1 bunch fresh sage
1 cup dry vermouth or sauvignon blanc or chicken stock
1 lemon

1.  Wash boneless skinless chicken breasts and pat dry.  Dry well.

2.  Pound to an even 1/4 - 1/3 of an inch, OR like me, press flat, and start cutting on a diagonal until you have many little thin pieces of chicken (these pieces will brown nice, cook fast and evenly).

3.  Then prep the herbs & veggies.  Peel and roughly chop the shallot into small but sturdy pieces (too small and they will burn fast).  Pluck the leaves only (NO STEMS) from the parsley & rinse and dry, do the same for the sage (NO STEMS).  Chop the parsley and sage separately, and roughly chop to the same size as your shallots.  Brush dirt from the mushrooms, remove stems and thickly slice.  Rinse the asparagus, cut the bitter fibrous bottoms off the stems, and lay flat on a baking sheet.  Cut the lemon in half. 

4.  Preheat the oven to 500*

5.  Heat a large heavy-bottom skillet (or I use a shallow stainless steel sauce pan because it’s what I have and it heats evenly) with olive oil in the bottom.  Let it get nice and hot, until the oil is thin and watery looking.  Pour off most of the excess oil before adding the chicken with tongs, one by one flat into the pan.  Don’t crowd it so it browns.  Work in batches if all chicken doesn’t fit. Sprinkle ckicken with salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you like (tyme, herbs de provence, or garlic).  Don’t let the pan burn, but let the first side brown before you flip or lift.  The chicken will naturally release from the pan when it’s brown if using stainless steel like me.  Turn heat down a smidge if  looks like it’s cooking too fast.   Flip the chicken and remove from heat just before you think it will be done – try to keep it warm.  It will continue to cook on the plate.

6.  Drizzle a very little bit of oil on the asparagus, a dash of salt & pepper.  Put the asparagus in the oven. 

7.  Now you should have a pan full of yummy golden brown crust in the bottom of the pan.  Add a splash of olive oil and let heat.  Add the shallots, and stir and heat until clear-ish.  Then add mushrooms and some of the parsley – like two big pinches or a small handful.  If you work in batches you can brown the mushrooms, but I usually just throw them all in at once and let them steam.  Once the bottom or the pan starts to turn darker brow, deglaze with vermouth, wine, or broth and scrape up all the crusty goodness into the mixture.  Bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer.  Squeeze the lemon into the pan, add the sage (same amount as parsley), and let simmer until reduced.  I don’t measure herbs, but I’ve learned to eyeball it through trial and error.  I always say, “add as much as you want to taste.”    

8.  While the sauce simmers and reduces, turn the oven onto broil, and let the asparagus brown. 

9.  Divide the chicken onto each plate, and pour the hot sauce over each (should help reheat the chicken).  Remove the asparagus, and divide among the plates.

10.  Serve! Eat!  Enjoy!

Please try this, and let me know how it comes out!!!

The Gender Reveal

Me:  "I'm going to my cousin's gender reveal party this weekend." 

Friend:  "What was your cousin before?"

No my cousin did not have a sex change!  She is pregnant and as always on-trend in the dirty Jerz with her Gender Reveal Party.  It was actually A LOT of fun.  This is how it works...

The office that does the sonogram determines the sex, but they don't tell you.  They give you a print out of the sonogram in a sealed envelope, and then call the bakery that will make your cake and tell them what color to make it inside - pink or blue.  So the parents don't find out the sex of the baby until they they cut the cake in front of everyone else.  We all took votes on a board my cousin made that would show if you thought it would be a boy or a girl (first time I ever guess right).  I voted for a money bet, but they didn't want to do that (shrug).

IT'S A GIRL!!  My first niece, due in July!  The picture above says everything...

complete Nick's statement from the picture above:  "S-H-?-?" 

Needless to say, I think he wanted a boy!  Oh well, better luck next time Nick!

Success!

Oh yes, some days the stars align and all comes together in just the right way.  Last night I completed the Baked Jerk Chicken recipe, and I’m not going to lie – I completely get off on cooking something new when it works out…afterglow and all.  Not only did the chicken bake to perfection, all the dishes made and brought were a perfect compliment. 

The side dishes were great, and I will try to get the recipes from the girls for these dishes.  First we had a peach mango salsa to get the juices flowing & some rum punch and Red Strip beer for cocktails.  Jen made a raw vegetable slaw with a spicy citrus ginger dressing that was cool, fresh, and sparkly.  Kate made savory sweet yellow rice with mago and cilantro.  These incredibly refreshing sides balance the heavy savory spiced chicken.  Dessert was a whipped cream & rum tower of fruity, nutty, gingery goodness.  The best part, of course, is the company!  There is no substitute for lively conversation, laughter, and the company of great people. 

So I finally got the chicken in the oven at 6…the recipe said to bake for 1 hour, 20 minutes at 350*, then broil to crisp the skin.  However, I baked the chicken at 375* for 30 minutes, and then 350* for the remainder of the time, and I never broiled it.  I did this because I didn’t want to burn it by accident in the last 5 minutes.  The skin was crispy and brown, and the meat was fall-off-the-bone good.  When all was said and done, it smelled so good that we got right to eating and I forgot to take a picture!  All that was left was two breast pieces and a lot of bones when I finally remembered to document it.  Once I got the pic, all I hear is Tara say, “now can I get back to making love to my chicken?”  Life is good.     

Here is the link to the recipe I used from allrecipes.com for this mouth watering baked jerk chicken…

Perfect Baked Jerk Chicken

Changes I made:  1.  quadruple the spice rub mix.  2.  choose loose chicken parts according to the crowds taste, but 1 whole chicken is not enough for 6, especially if everyone wants dark meat, or white meat. 

I think the rest is spot on.   

Look what you did you little JERK!

So tonight it’s my turn to host the Dinner Club.  I had so much trouble deciding on a theme, but that’s just me, I can over think an omelette if you let me.  Anyway, I decided on an Caribbean Island theme  since it was supposed to be cold this month and I thought a little taste of summer would be nice.  I also wanted to do something I’ve never done before, so Jerk Chicken was what I landed on.  After debating whether to haul out someone’s grill or bake it, chicken or pork, kabob or stuffed I decided on a baked Jerk Chicken recipe I found online that called for a dry rub instead of fresh herbs and chicken on the bone. 

I’m so used to cooking for 1, that cooking for 6 got my wheels spinning.  I ended up buying three huge breasts, and a pack of thighs and drumsticks.  I cut the breasts in half since they were so big to have 6 pieces of white meat, but I think this kind of seasoning is best on dark meat.  It took me awhile to figure out how to coat all the chicken, but I also had to make 4x the spice mixture to coat all the chicken.  The author of the recipe was talking about saving the extra, but I hardly think I could have coated 1 chicken with the recipe she gave, never mind all the chicken I bought.  I would also not save anything that had raw chicken tossed in it!  Although a little salmonella would aid my diet, I doubt it would make me more attractive (LOL).

The breasts are seasoned a little differently than the other pieces so I will be interested in how they taste.  I used clove instead of allspice on the breasts, and I forgot the salt – which I sprinkled on after.  Luckily I was not convinced I did not have allspice, and found it, so that I could copy the recipe exactly for the other pieces.

Here are some prep pics from last night.  I can't wait to see the final product!  I hope it's good, many of theses seasonings are really off my map.  I hate sweet meals, and this calls for brown sugar, but what the hell.  It sure smells good!

 this is 2x the recipe for the spice mix - definitely not enough

I wish I could just cut the fat off my thighs with scissors

after this it gets covered and put in the fridge until tonight...TO BE CONTINUED

Damn you, anise basil!!!!!!

So last night I was super exhausted at the end of the day and forced myself to cook since I had only had a cup of lobster bisque for lunch and nothing else that day.  Monday is chicken night on my menu, so I made a simple sauté of breast meat, and then proceeded to prep & assemble my veggies:  a bag of mixed dried mushrooms, a bag of frozen spinach, grape tomatoes, red onion, and basil.  First I sautéed the onions in the brown crust left from the chicken sauté, then deglazed & cooked down the tomatoes & mushrooms (after softened) & basil.  However, when I was rinsing and slicing the basil I could not understand why it smelled like really strong licorice.  I checked the package…sure enough, America’s Choice Fresh Basil...no other info on package.  I smelled the basil over and over.  Since I have a cold and a lot of head congestion I figured maybe I just had no sense of smell.  Like I when you are sick and everything tastes like mustard.  Like I said I was tired, and famished, and decided to just continue, added the spinach & lemon to the other veggies, plated the both, took my picture, and hoped for the best.  Figured, maybe it will taste good when all is said & done. 

Well, it didn’t.  I had the PERFECT chicken sauté, and I could not taste anything but licorice.  The mixed mushrooms I bought, the tomatoes, the spinach – everything!  It was complete licorice domination.      

I had never heard of basil that tastes like licorice, and assumed that they boxed the wrong herb in the basil container.  So I turned to my trusty friend Google, and asked if basil ever tastes like licorice… Google connected me with a couple of sources about basil and it’s different types.  I am aware of two already, sweet basil (which I use for cooking), and holy basil (which I use for seasonal depression in pill form).  I have also heard of lemon basil, but never had it.  Anyway, it turns out lemon basil, cinnamon basil, and Thai basil, all of which have unique flavor profiles, all share a unique chemical to that is also found the flavor it is name after.  For example, Thai basil, a.k.a. anise basil, tastes like extremely strong licorice because it contains anethol, wich is the exact same chemical that make anise smell like black licorice. 

Anyway, I have never been a real fan of anise, and now probably never will be.  So, buyer beware!  Like a good third date, smell that shit before you put it in your mouth, and trust your instincts.  If it smells wrong, it ain’t right.

At least it looked good J