Smoked Salmon

Smokin' has become a new hobby around the Vaccaro/Nassau parts. It all started when my dad's longtime friend gave him his smoker that he thought was too much trouble. My parents usually have a family dinner on Sunday nights and so dinner usually is a little more than a typical weekday dinner. The testing started with a turkey and some sausage. The next attempt was Ribs and then Salmon (and it is here that we struck gold) and dad has moved on to other items including chicken, pork and brisket.

When Jenny and Scott English moved to Texas we inherited a smoker from them and starting today have begun a smoking journey of our own. Now there is a benchmark Salmon...the one my dad made for Aitan's bris. Incidentally, there has been a disagreement between my dad and I about the Salmon. He thinks it was too salty, but to me the salt was part of what made it great. I keep drawing him back to the way people were raving over the salmon (literally, "oh, cute baby...who made the Salmon?"), but he won't hear it. So if we ever want to have it that way again, it's up to us. I seasoned it the first couple times so I had that part down, but getting the technique right, well, that was the challenge. Luckily it turned out!

As a side note, my parents neighbor also smokes salmon, and he even goes through an extra step of brining the salmon, but after having tasted his, I still prefer this simple method.

So, if you have a smoker and feel up to smoking some salmon, here's the technique:

Salmon Filet (doesn't seem to make a difference whether skin is off or on, but I prefer off)
1 part rock salt
2 parts brown sugar
Hickory wood chips
Hickory chunks

So, I mix the brown sugar (1/2 C.) and rock salt (1/4 C.) and spread on both sides of a skinless filet. Usually I do this while the man of the house is getting the smoker ready, so it never "seasons" longer than an hour, which is being generous.

Prepare the smoker according to manufacturer instructions. Using the chunks as fire (although this smoker is electic, so we didn't need them as fire). The woodchips are soaked to prevent burning and placed in a container above the heat to provide the smoky flavor. Bring the smoker to the appropriate temperature (about 180 degrees) and cook for about 2 hours.
When the salmon is done scrape off the rock salt and any fat that has risen to the surface. Serve hot, cold or room temperature.

I'm sure it never would have tasted so good without a little help from Ilan.

Malted Milk Cupcakes

I'm pretty sure this is the recipe Marilee sent me when I needed a good cupcake recipe for Ilan's baseball themed birthday party. When Kay made them for Marilee's shower I thought they were amazing...and asked for the recipe. Turns out I already had it!!

Ingredients
1 box instant chocolate pudding
1 package plain yellow cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Place cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, water, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds until the ingredients are well blended. Scape down the sides of the bowl and mix on medium and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Fill the cupcake liners with 1/3 cup of batter into each liner

Malted Milk Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter room temperature
3-1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
5 tablespoons ovaltine
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
whoppers

Whip butter, then add confectioners' sugar, malted milk powder,milk, and vanilla. Blend with mixer on low speed. Scrape down sides and mix on medium until fluffy.

Chop malted milk balls and sprinkle onto of frosted cupcakes.

Polenta with Broccoli Rabe, Sundried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

This is another yummy recipe from Cooks Illustrated. This is my second time making it. The first time we had so much polenta left over that I put what was left in a pie plate and we used it as a side dish for my whole family (parents and sister included) the next night and still had some leftover. This time I made 1/2 of the polenta (not reflected in the recipe) and it seemed just the right ratio for a hearty vegetarian meal. The great part is that it is really easy and only requires about a half hour in the kitchen. It is surprisingly rich and filling.

7 1/2 C. Water
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
Pinch baking soda
1 1/2 C Coarse-Ground Cornmeal
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
2 C. Grated Parmesan
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
6 cl. Garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 C. Sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 lb. Broccoli Rabe or Broccolini, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 C. Low-sodium Chicken Broth

Bring water to boil in large saucepan over med-high heat. Stir in salt and baking soda. Slowly pour cornmeal into water in steady stream while stirring. Bring mixture to boil, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to lowest possible setting (use smallest burner) and cover.

After 5 minutes, whisk polenta to smooth out any lumps, about 15 seconds. Cover and continue to cook, without stirring, until grains of polenta are tender and slightly al dente, about 25 minutes. Polenta will be loose, but will thicken as it cools.

Remove from heat, stir in butter and parmesan, and season to taste with black pepper. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil, garlic, red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, and salt in large skillet over med-high heat, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant and slightly toasted, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add broccoli rabe and broth; cover and cook until rabe turns bright green, about 2 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until most of broth has evaporated and rabe is just tender 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve over polenta, sprinkling individual portions with pine nuts.

Supper Club - Chocolate

It was my turn to host supper club this month. I chose a chocolate theme...surprise! It was rich. It was decadent. It was delish. The Menu:

Drinks:
Chocolate Cake Martinis
Chocolate Wine

Appetizers:
Chocolate Covered Bacon
Crostini with Pears, Gorgonzola and Chocolate

Sides:
Roasted Parsnip with Vanilla Chocolate Soup (The crowd favorite. Yum!!!)
White Chocolate Risotto

Main Dish:
Spice Rubbed Turkey Breast with Mole Sauce

Dessert:
Too Much Chocolate Cake






My inspiration was the birthday meal in the movie Chocolat. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any recipes for a chocolate gravy, so I tried a mole recipe, but it wasn't exactly what I was going for. I decided to give the gravy another go tonight, but this time making it how I would make any other gravy. I started with a roux, that I made from butter, flour and unsweetened cocoa powder. I then added chicken broth (but next time I think I'd just use the turkey drippings if there are enough) and a few sprigs of thyme and let it cook down a little before adding some semi-sweet baking squares. It was pretty good for a first try, but I am pretty sure that I have some more experimenting to do.

Since the parsnip soup was the favorite, I've included the recipe.

Roasted Parsnip and Vanilla Chocolate Soup

Prep Time: 35 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 5 min

Level: Intermediate

Serves:6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds parsnips (about 4 or 5 large parsnips)

1/4 cup canola oil (2 tablespoons to brush on parsnips and 2 tablespoons to brush on bread for croutons)

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick or 1/2 cup)

1 large white onion, chopped

2 quarts chicken stock (Make sure that it's stock and not broth)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (preferably from real vanilla bean as opposed to artificial flavoring)

Salt and pepper

1 epee loaf French bread

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1 cup vanilla white chocolate chips (recommended: Hershey's Premier White Chips)

1 cup heavy cream

1 fresh lemon or lime, halved crosswise (1/2 to squeeze into batch of soup and 1/2 to cut into wedges to serve to guests)

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel parsnips, and cut into 1-inch chunks, brush lightly with oil and place on a baking sheet lined with heavy duty aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Roast until the parsnips begin to soften (as tested with a knife blade) and until the tips begin to turn golden brown. This takes about 40 minutes. ( I have an electric oven and my parsnips were ready in 20 minutes so keep checking them) Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes while you start the other ingredients in the stockpot. (Leave oven on for toasting of croutons.)

Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large stockpot and gently saute the onion until translucent. (This takes about 10 minutes, but the more important thing is that they look translucent.) Add the chicken stock, slice open the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the pot and add along with the vanilla pod itself. Increase heat to medium, add the roasted parsnips, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, cover and let cook until the parsnips are completely tender, about 20 minutes.

Once you have the soup underway, toast the croutons in the oven which is already preheated to 400 degrees F. Cut the epee loaf into 3/4-inch thick slices. Brush the bread with oil and place on a foil lined baking sheet (important for cleanup purposes). Sift dark cocoa over the bread and toast briefly in the oven, just to make crispy. Remove and set aside.
Stir the white chocolate chips into the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes, to allow them to melt and to integrate flavors.

Remove soup from heat, discard vanilla pod, and stir in heavy cream. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. (Remember, when using an immersion blender, the blade end has to be immersed, or it will make a big mess.) Squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice into the pot and stir to combine. (Note: If you hold the sliced end of the fresh lemon or lime against your palm while you squeeze in the juice, the seeds are likely to stay in the rind.)

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh dill. Serve with lemon wedges and dark chocolate dusted croutons.

Mexican Seven-Layered Salad

Scott and I love to have salads for dinner in warm weather. Really, who wants to crank on the oven and eat something rich and heavy when it's warm out? Found this recipe in a magazine and bought everything this morning from the farmer's market, including corn that I cut off the cobb and par-boiled. While I don't think anyone in Mexico would recognize this as a Mexican salad, it was nice and fresh and very satisfying. Since it was just the two of us I didn't bother with the layering...just used bowls. Since I don't cook much with chipotle and would have no use for the leftover chiles, I am tempted to try it next time with chili powder and cayenne.

Dressing:

1/2 C. Mayonnaise

1/2 C. Sour cream

1 Tbsp. Lime Juice

2 tsp. Mashed Chipotle Chile in adobo sauce

1 tsp. Grated lime peel

Salad:

6 C. Torn Romaine Lettuce, Divided

1 C. Corn, cooked

1 C. Diced Tomatoes

1 Avocado, diced

1 C. Diced Orange Bell Pepper

1 C. Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 C. Diced Red Onion

1 C. Diced Pepper Jack Cheese

1 C. Coarsely Crushed Tortilla Chips

Whisk all dressing ingredients in small bowl. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes.

In deep 10-cup clear glass bowl or baking dish, layer half of the lettuce. Top with corn, tomato, avocado, bell pepper, beans, remaining lettuce, onion and cheese, spreading each to sides so layers will show. Spread dressing over top, covering chieese completely.

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours. Sprinkle with chips just before serving.