Recipe #60 - Smoked Salmon Terrine w/ Dill and Capers

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I think it's about time for another appetizer! I found this one in a copy of Bon Appetit Magazine. I ripped out the article and have been carrying around with me for 4 months now. I finally had enough people in town to cook it for last weekend when my brother and his girlfriend came into town. 

Start by lining a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with  plastic wrap, leaving overhang. 

Using electric mixture, blend first cream cheese, onion, dill, capers, and lemon juice and chopped salmon in large bowl. 

Spread 1/3 cheese mixture evenly in pan. Top with 1/2 of sliced salmon, 1/3 of cheese mixture, remaining salmon, then remaining cheese mixture. Cover; chill at least 4 hours and up to 2 days. 

Turn terrine out onto platter. Serve with baguette slices or cracker. I toasted my baguette slices in the oven on broil to add a little crunch. You can start this one day ahead. Garnish the terrine with dill springs, capers, and red onion, if desired.

This recipe had a suggested paired cocktail recipe called "Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail". Though the idea behind it was clever, it was a little too orangey for me. And I'm not sure that went well with the salmon. I think if I made it again, I would have added a little more champagne and less orange juice. However, the salmon terrine was amazing. I'm not sure why it says to layer the cheese mixture like it does, because when you spread it on the toast it all mixes to together. If I make it again, I will probably just fold in the chopped salmon, stirring gently. 

Rating: 9 

Time: 45 minutes; plus what ever time you choose for refrigeration 

Serves: 24

Ingredients: 

For the smoked salmon terrine

4 8-ounce packages of cream cheese

3/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup drained capers

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

12 ounces smoked salmon slices; 6 ounces chopped, 6 ounces left sliced 

Toasted baguette slices or crackers

For the cocktail

1 cup fresh blood orange juice

1 cup Ciontreau or other orange liqueur

1 750-ml bottle of chilled Champagne or sparkling wine

Stir juice and Ciontreau in medium pitcher; cover and chill until cold. Divide amonge Champagne coupes. Garnish with each drink with an orange peel twist. 

Recipe #36 - Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata

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I was looking through a Self magazine and stumbled across a couple recipes that were featured on www.epicurious.com. So I headed over to the website to find that it has everything from quick & easy to gourmet type recipes. Unlike many other sites I've found, Epicurious seems to have taken the recipes a step further. Either by adding an extra ingredient for more flavor or by explaining the cooking process more clearly.

I enjoyed looking through the recipes. Inevitably, I found one that I wanted to try out: Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata.

To make the peperonata: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Toss bell peppers with 1 tablespoon oil, then roast in a 4-sided sheet pan in lower third of oven, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 35 minutes.

Stir together capers, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a medium bowl and set aside.

To make meatballs:
While peppers roast, soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about 4 minutes.

Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil with 1/2 tablespoon each of salt and pepper in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Cool slightly.

Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken pancetta mixture, bread and parsley. Form 12 meatballs and arrange in another 4-sided sheet pan.

Stir together tomato paste and remaining tablespoon oil and brush over meatballs, then bake in upper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Toss bell peppers with caper mixture.

Serve meatballs with peperonata. A nice accompaniment is garlic bread made from the remainder of Italian loaf.

Though I was discouraged when I had a hard time stomaching the smell of the ground raw chicken (it smelt sooooo different than raw chicken legs or boneless chicken), these really did turn out well. I've never cooked with ground chicken before. Ground beef and turkey, yes, but this was an entirely new experience for me.

I'm slightly shocked that I even pulled this recipe off. It was labeled as a "gourmet recipe" and had a difficulty rating of 4 out of 5 for culinary skills. There is no way I would have been able to do this 4 months ago. It's just proof showcasing how much I've learned with this challenge already.

Rating: 7
Time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
For the peperonata:
3 red bell peppers, cut into strips
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

For the meatballs:
3 slices Italian bread, torn into pieces (1 cup)
1/3 cup milk
3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped
1 small onion,  finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg
1 pound ground chicken
3 tablespoons finely shopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Recipe #18 - French-Style Tuna Melt

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This recipe I got from the Rachel Ray website. I watched the video online before I went grocery shopping. I liked the way she grated the garlic into mush instead of mincing it with a knife. It was much easier and, like she said, it saves you from having to bite into chunks of garlic. I like the bursts of garlic in some recipes, but I could see where it could be distracting in this one in particular.

First, I pre-heated the oven to 375F. Then combined the onion and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. 

In the same bowl, I stirred together the tomato paste, garlic, Herbes de Provence, pepper, and EVOO. Then I added the tuna, olives, capers, parsley and mixed to combine and broke up the tuna slightly. 

Side note: Herbes de Provence is a new spice I just learned about. It contains a bunch of different spices including: savory, fennel, basil, thyme flowers and other herbs. Supremely yummy. 

Then I divided the tuna mixture between the two slices of bread, transferred to a baking sheet and topped with cheese. Then I toasted them in the oven for about 10 minutes (or until the cheese is melted and the tuna heated through).

I made this one on the first Friday of lent this year. I absolutely loved it. It was light and fresh, great for a midday meal. This was the first time I've use or even had brioche bread. Bread very rarely surprises me, but I was taken aback by the sweetness of this one. It reminded me a lot of the Hawaiian bread that I usually serve with spinach dip. I much prefer the taste of brioche now. 

Time: 45 mins
Rating: 7
Ingredients:
1/2 red small onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 garlic clove, finely grated or minced
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
Freshly ground pepper
1.4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 can line-caught or Italian tuna (6 ounces)
1/2 cup Nicoise (oil-cured) or Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped 
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped, a small handful
2 slices thick-cut brioche bread
1/2 cup Gruyere cheeses, shredded

Recipe #17 - Red Snapper with Raw Puttanesca Salsa

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The original name of this recipe was Halibut with Raw Puttanesca Salsa, but halibut is not in season at the moment. I had to choose between red snapper and flounder. The red snapper was slightly more pricey ($22/pound) but I wanted to try it.

Preheat grill pan or outdoor grill to medium-high to high heat.

The recipe said to make the salsa while this fish cooks, but it took a little longer than I expected and the fish cooks pretty quickly. So my recommendation is to make the salsa first.

In the bottom of a medium bowl, combine anchovy paste, grated garlic, red pepper flakes, zest and lemon juice and whisk in 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add capers, olives, parsley and tomatoes. Toss and season with black pepper, to taste.

Raw Puttanesca Salsa

Coat the fish in extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook fish for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until firm, cooked through and evenly marked. Char bread on the grill 1 minute on each side.

Red Snapper

Serve bread topped with lots of salsa and fish. I also paired it with a Knoxville wine from Blue Slip Winery called Pot Blanc. It was my favorite wine from the Silent Art Auction & Wine Tasting event I hosted for St. Jude back in September.

Sides: Pot Blanc Wine and Charred Rye Bread

The idea behind the wine was instead of throwing out all the extra different white grapes at the end of the season, the lady threw them all in to a pot and made this spectacular semi-dry wine with the perfect amount of sweetness that complemented the red snapper flawlessly.

Wa-la!

I also made the mashed red potatoes from Recipe #15 as a side.

Time: ~1 hour

Rating: 8

Ingredients:

4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets

Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling plus 1/4 cup

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 (1-inch) thick slices crusty bread

1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste

2 to 3 cloves garlic, grated

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 lemon, zested and juiced

3 tablespoons capers, run your knife through them

1/2 cup pitted black olives, chopped

1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or cherry tomatoes, quartered

Recipe #14 - Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Caper Yogurt Sauce

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Seattle is known for their fresh salmon. When I visited Seattle in October for a website design class (and to visit Forks), I went to Pike's Place Market, which is known for their fresh fish. I bought an entire Alaskan King Salmon, had it cut up into half pound filets, and had it FedExed here.  So, every month or so, we take some outa the freezer and throw it on the grill. Fortunately, we still had some left for this recipe. 

There are three parts to this recipe: the salmon, the patties, and the sauce. 

Salmon: I had to cut the skin off this salmon, as the recipe recommends. Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until the flesh is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

Patties: Using a fork, flake the salmon into 1/2-inch pieces and put into a medium bowl. Add the egg, chives, 1/2 of the crushed crackers, the corn, mustard, mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix gently until just combined. Form the mixture into 2 1/2-inch diameter patties, about 3/4 inches thick. (If the mixture is too dry to form into patties, add extra mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon at a time,) Carefully coat the patties in the remaining crushed crackers and refrigerate for 1 hour. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until golden and crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels.

Sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, capers, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Arrange the salmon cakes on a platter and serve alongside the sauce.

I served Recipe #13 - Mediterranean Salad and Pita as the side. They complimented each other well, with the citrusy base. The yogurt sauce was de-licious. I could have eaten it by itself. Actually, I did. I even dipped the pita bread in it after everything else was gone. It had a very bold, piquant flavor that took me by surprise. The lemon zest def made it's presence known.

It's weird putting together these recipes not knowing what to expect at the end. It's like a gamble every time. I could use the same ingredients in different proportions and have a completely different taste. I like it.

Time: Accumatively - 1 hour 30 mins.
Rating: 9
Ingredients:
Salmon:
1 pound skinless salmon fillet 
Olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Patties:
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup (1/2 counce) chopped fresh chives
26 saltine crackers, crushed, divided
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed 
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
3 tablespoons mayonnaise, plus more, as needed
1 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Sauce:
1/2 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper