Alaskan Halibut in Parchment Paper

My sweetheart went to Alaska where he caught a 73 lb halibut! Needless to say he requested that I find a delicious way to prepare it, while maintaining its lovely mild flavor and flaky texture. So I decided that parchment paper baking would do the trick. The first time I served it, I blanched watermelon radish slices and baby carrots, and added a few chopped chives and shallots as well as thinly slice peeled cucumbers. I then drizzled olive oil and a splash of dry white wine on top of each filet, before twisting the ends of the paper closed. I baked the individual sized portions on a rimmed baking sheet at 350 F for 10+ minutes depending on the thickness of the filets. Be careful opening the packets to serve, as the steam can cause burns.

The second time I prepared the halibut in parchment paper, I used preserved lemons, finely minced with fresh sprig of thyme and the olive oil and white wine. Both versions were delicious and impressive to guests  too.

My fisherman, (tall at 6 ft 4in) and his big catch, the 73lb halibut. This was a BIG fish.

Spicy Hummus and watermelon radishs

Its been a long time since I posted but I'm back with another fresh appetizer, spicy hummus with a twist, namely using slices of watermelon radish instead of pita or other chips. The color pops and the crunch and slight peppery flavor of the pink flesh radish is a prefect match for the hummus. So this is gluten free and vegan friendly appetizer as well. I am currently living and gardening in the Eastern Sierra and our first efforts to grow vegetables at 7300 ft has exceed our expectations. The watermelon radishes grew so well and some so big that I was compelled to come up with another way to serve them, hence this combination.
These radishes are also lovely sliced thin then placed on buttered rustic bread open face with a little sprinkle of finishing salt.
 

Spicy Cilantro Hummus

Yields 2 cups (16 servings)

Serve with slices of watermelon radish (or pita chips)

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained           

1/3 cup tahini

1/3 cup lemon juice                                        

1 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic, halved 

¼ C up olive oil                                  

¾ cup chopped cilantro

2 jalapeno, seeded and minced

Directions: 

Place the beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor. Slowly add the oil through the feed tube.

Blend until smooth. 

Add more olive oil if it is too thick (slowly).

Add the cilantro and jalapenos, pulse for about 10 seconds.

Transfer mixture to a serving bowl

If you chill it,  bring it back to room temperature for full flavor.

Oh My, Its Orange MarmaladeTime!

In my part of the world, this time of the year is citrus time, BIG time. Like many of my neighbors, I have lots of lemons, oranges, and even grapefruit on my hands. So I thought why not make some marmalade to eat during the summer when the citrus is no longer in season? That and just maybe it's my Scots roots and heritage, or my boyfriend's request for his favorite spread for toast. I've found that one either loves or hates the amazing and slightly chewy bittersweet taste.
I've made 3 batches of 8 pts each and already shared a few jars with other like minded marmalade lovers. I'm going to tackle a Meyer lemon marmalade and will post the results and recipe if its successful. So take a try at this modified Alton Brown recipe for homemade orange marmalade. I use tangelos and Cara Cara varieties with great results.

Orange Marmalade

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 pounds oranges, 4 to 5 medium
• 1 lemon, zest finely grated and juiced
• 5 cups water
• 3 pounds plus 12 ounces sugar
• Special Equipment: 10 (8-ounce) canning jars with rings and lids, funnel, tongs, ladle, and 12-quart pot

Directions

1. Wash the oranges and lemon thoroughly. Cut the oranges into quarters and use the 1/8-inch slicing blade on your food processor to create slice. Removing the seeds.

2. Place the oranges into an 8-quart stainless steel pot. Add the lemon zest and juice and the water to the pot, set over high heat and bring to a boil, approximately 10 minutes. Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a rapid simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 40 minutes or until the fruit is very soft.

3. While the fruit is cooking, fill a large pot (at least 12-quart) 3/4 full with water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Place 10 (8-ounce) jars and rings, canning funnel, ladle, and tongs into the boiling water and make sure the water covers the jars by at least an inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the lids and leave everything in the pot until the marmalade is ready.

4. Meanwhile, place a small plate in the freezer. Increase the heat under the orange mixture to return to full boil. Add the sugar and stir the mixture continually, until it reaches 222 to 223 degrees F on a deep-fry or candy thermometer, and darkens in color, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. You may need to adjust the heat in order to prevent boil over. (I made this mistake on the second batch and it was a big mess on the new stove top) Test the readiness of the marmalade by placing a teaspoon of the mixture onto the chilled plate and allowing it to sit for 30 seconds. Tilt the plate. The mixture should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is thin and runs easily, it is not ready.

5. Remove jars from the water and drain on a clean towel. Place a canning funnel onto the top of 1 of the jars and ladle in the marmalade just to below the bottom of the threads of the jar. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used. The amount of marmalade may vary by 1 to 2 jars. Wipe the rims and threads of the jars with a moist paper towel and top each with a lid. Place a ring on each jar and tighten.

6. Return the jars to the pot with boiling water, being certain that they don't touch the bottom of the pot or each other. (If you don't have a jar rack, try a round cake rack, or metal mesh basket. Even a folded kitchen towel on the pot bottom will do in a pinch.) Add additional water if necessary to cover the jars by at least an inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Using canning tongs, carefully remove the jars from the water, place in a cool dry place and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours before opening. Once open, store in the refrigerator. Unopened marmalade will last for up to 6 months.

Asian Chicken Soup

The spring semester has begun and is in full swing, with schedule filled to the brim with 4 online and/or face to face lecture classes and 2 cooking classes. The “bee” , my nickname , is very busy once again. Unfortunately interfacing with 180+ new humans and their germs has meant I’m fighting something, a cold or flu bug. Even with all the tangerines, grapefruit, pomelos, and oranges, I have a seriously sore throat that has been lingering this week. So…the culinary remedy: namely chicken soup. This time the carcass for the broth was from clay pot orange chicken and had allspice, ginger and soy in the succulent leftover juices. This was my inspiration and as such the ‘recipe’ is a bit vague, i.e. no measuring cups were used. So I’ll list the ingredients and approximate quantities but feel free to increase or decrease as you see fit. Sometimes/often soup is made like a salad, with what’s on hand and inspiration.

Serves one sore throated person

INDREDIENTS:

3 cups of homemade chicken broth with some chicken bits included

¼ tsp of finely minced fresh ginger

1 small clove of garlic, minced

1 cup of home grown baby broccoli stalks, cut into uniformish sized pieces

Small hand full of whole wheat soba noodles (Trader Joes)

Dash of sesame oil

Soy sauce to taste and fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the broth to boiling with the ginger and garlic.

Add the broccoli stalks and soba noodles. Turn heat down to low and cover for about 4-5 minutes.

To finish, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds (or even better wasabi fume furikake rice seasoning, a mixture of sesame seed, horseradish, bonito, nori , mustard and more J)

A prefect snowy weekend dessert, Baked Apples

This pre-holiday weekend is a very snowy one here in the Eastern Sierras. We’ve had about a foot and half of snow in 2 days. This means using what you have in the frig and cupboard for meals. I had some apples, walnuts, raisins and immediately thought of the easy and delicious American classic baked apple. The results were yummy and eaten beside the fire, after we earned the calories shoveling the driveway and hanging the Christmas lights. Happy seasonal holiday eating!

Baked Apples

Use an ovenproof skillet. If you don’t have one them transfer the apples to a Pyrex baking dish when you put them in oven. Serve the apples with vanilla ice cream, if desired. Feel free to substitute pecans for the walnuts, and cranberry juice for the cider.

Ingredients

3	large (about 6 ounces each) Granny Smith apples
3	tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
2	Tbsp packed brown sugar
2	Tbsp dried cranberries or raisins , coarsely chopped
2	Tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2	teaspoon finely grated zest from 1 orange
1/4	teaspoon ground cinnamon
	Pinch table salt
2	Tbsp Triple Sec
1/3+	cup apple cider

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Peel the apples. Cut off the tops about ½ “ down from the top, save the tops. Core the apples. Dice the apple from the tops, removing the stem area. Combine 2 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, cranberries/raisins, nuts, orange zest, cinnamon, diced apple, Triple Sec and salt in large bowl; set aside.

3. Shave thin slice off bottom (blossom end) of apples to allow them to sit flat. Be careful not to cut through bottom of apple.

4. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in 10 to 12-inch nonstick oven safe skillet over medium heat. Once foaming subsides, add apples, stem-side down, and cook until cut surface is golden brown, about 3 minutes.

5. Flip apples, reduce heat to low, and spoon filling inside, mounding excess filling over cavities. Add the cider to skillet. Transfer skillet to oven, and bake until skewer inserted into apples meets little resistance, 35 to 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with maple syrup mixture in skillet.

6. Serve apples individually, pouring any sauce over the top. Top with vanilla ice cream if desired.