Citrus Fish with Bell Pepper Couscous

So while I was cooking the power went out. Thank goodness for gas stoves. At first I was like, crap, how the heck am I going to cook my fish thoroughly? Then I realized I had a gas stove. Go figure, I'm a blond. In the pic above, I'm not sure if you can see the steam rising from the ground or not - it was 90 degrees and after it rained, well, it's not even 70.
Secret ingredient: Tabasco. It makes your fish not smell like fish. Seriously.

You can use any kind of fish, they had a special on salmon, so that's what I got. Really you should use halibut, but I'm not picky in Indiana. In Minnesota, yes, I'm picky. So gather your ingredients, but don't forget salt & pepper.
Juice & jest your lemons & limes into a small dish (just large enough for your fish, tonight I cook for me only.)

Some people drink wine whilst they cook. I drink Beer.
Limes are hard to juice every once in awhile. Take your frustrations out on it, the lime will comes to its senses sooner or later.
Mmm... limes....
Then add the fresh thyme to the bowl, about 2 tbsp. Add approximately 2 tbsp olive oil to the mixture and then toss in the fish. Let marinate about 15 minutes.
Chop your cucumber. Trim around all the sides like above. One can't cut and photograph at the same time you know.

Cut your bell pepper the same way. Aren't the insides kinda pretty? I only used 3/4 of a bell pepper because I had 1/4 of it in a salad yesterday.
I wish I had a yard to grow bell peppers. Oh, well.
Chop them - but not too small. You want good size chunks in your couscous. Chop 4 green onions too. Then put into pretty dishes. Or not. Actually, next time I won't. Now heat up a medium size sauce pan on the stove, add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat over medium. As soon as the oil smokes throw the green onions and bell pepper into the pan. Cook for 4 minutes.
Don't add the cucumber yet. Add 1 1/4 cup chicken broth, heat to boiling.

As soon as it boils, turn off the heat, add 1 cup couscous and your cucumber. Cover and let sit while the fish cooks.
Put your fish into a medium skillet - over medium heat. You can add olive oil if you want to, but remember its been marinating in it, so you don't really need too much more. Saute skin side down first for 3 minutes.

I'm messy, I'll have much cleaning up to do.
Ta da! Not anymore! My mother-in-law bought us one of these things from Ikea, works wonders when you're a messy cook like me.

During the last three minutes of your fish cooking, grab a fork and fluff your couscous. I ate some of it out of the pan. When the husband's away... the wifey will play... in the kitchen that is...

This is adapted from Rachael Ray's May 2008 magazine. Yum!

Citrus Fish with Bell Pepper Couscous

3 tbsp evoo

1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (didn't have, didn't use)

Juice & peel of one lemon and one lime

Segments of orange, chopped plus the grated peel (eh, don't like oranges, didn't use)

1 tbsp tabasco sauce

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

4 pieces mahi-mahi, halibut or roughy

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups couscous

1. In a shallow dish combine 2 tbsp evoo, parsley, lemon juice, orange juice, lime juice & peels, hot sauce and thyme. Season with salt & pepper. Add the fish and marinate for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat a grill pan to medium. In a medium sauce pan add 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and scallions ( I also used cucumbers) season with salt & pepper and cooked until softened, 3 - 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the couscous, turn off the heat, cover to keep warm.

3. Grill the fish until cooked through, 3 - 4 minutes on each side.

4. Fluff the couscous, add the orange sections and mix.

Enjoy!

PSH

Cinnamon Squares - Cake or Quickbread???

Above: 7:30 am, Monday morning

Another one of Dorie Greenspan's Recipes from her book, Baking From My Home To Yours.

It was alright - I mean, who could go wrong with chocolate and cinnamon? But I've had other cinnamon bread/cake recipes where there's the cinnamon and sugar mixed in with cream cheese with a cream cheese frosting - and oh, those are SO good. So this is a bit different. I brought it to work for a thank you gift and it was gone by noon.

My suggestions:

Mix the sugar filling with cream cheese or 1/3 fat cream cheese. Mix with hand mixer until blended thoroughly. Then use as directed.

Cinnamon Squares

For the cake:
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tbsp plus 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp instand espresso powder
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick plus 2 tbsp butter, unsalted, melted & cooled
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped or Mini chips

Frosting:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 1/2 tbsp butter, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or Pam (I used Pam with flour, and that stuff makes a difference!). Line the bottom with parchment paper (I skipped, no point when you're using Pam and don't have money to buy parchment paper anyway, right?).

To make the cake:

Stir 2 tbsp of sugar, 2 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and the espresso together in small bowl (this is where I recommend combining the cream cheese).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt and remaining cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and gently whisk until you have a homogeneous batter. Now, fold in the butter with a light touch just until absorbed. The butter will make it all shiny and fabulous.

Scrap half the batter into the 8 inch pan and smooth on top. Sprinkle the chocolate over the batter, then dust with the cinnamon & sugar mixture. Cover with the rest of the batter and smooth the top again.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (I recommend 38 minutes exactly in my gas oven) or until the cake is puffed and pulls away from the sides. Cool to room temperature.

For the frosting:

Make while cake is ALMOST all cooled. Melt the chocolate and butter together. Combine until shiny and frost cake. Cut into 9 squares. I actually let people cut their own cake squares. It worked well at work.




Above: After work at 5:15. I was hoping for at least one corner left. Oh well.
PSH

Finally. No More Broken Computer.

The old computer was horrible. Junky. Temperamental. Horrible. Old. Heavy. Whatever, it totally had a mind of its own. This is the new machine:

And so the new saga of the new machine has started... I shall now become a better blogger.

Maybe. We'll see. I don't think that a computer in general can improve your writing skills if you don't have any to begin with.

Confession:

I write restaurant reviews in my spare time about this small town that I live in for visitors to understand that the Jungle Room is not actually a place to eat at and Billy's isn't too bad especially the burgers and sitting on the porch (have you seen the commercial for Billy's Chicago Place... hilarious... "I've got the beer if you bring the girls!"). At least I'm honest. Oh, and almost every time I've been to the "really, really good" breakfast place on Kirkwood that's next to Pizzeria Uno, my eggs have been cold and the sausage has been like a squishy mattress. Gross. The wait is way too long to be worth cold eggs and squishy sausage.

Coming this weekend:

Cinnamon Squares (Yes, Dorie Greenspan's that disappeared at work like no tomorrow)

Pasta (Cheapo style, yeah, I'm still poor)

Cheesy Quesadillas with Black Beans

Maybe something with Roasted Red Peppers too. We'll see what's at the Farmer's Market after I get my car aligned at 8 am tomorrow morning. Where's my Bimmer Man when I need him?

PSH

Back From Vaca Taco Meat...

So I get back from vacation - my car is still at the shop getting aligned and I need food. Taco meat. And yet I still don't check the fridge to see if I have everything (you'll see in the images below). I love taco meat - mostly because it's pretty versatile and you can incorporate it into a lot of recipes, like enchiladas, regular tacos, add it to tomato sauce for a mexican pasta dish, etc... We're poor so I come up with a lot of crazy meals.

Chop half an onion and some garlic. I had a really juicy onion. I wanted to eat it raw it was so juicy, but I didn't. I just chopped it.

And chopped it more.

Throw it into a medium sized pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter over medium heat - but maybe use a larger pan if you're going to use more than half a pound of ground beef or turkey. Otherwise your meat will just steam and it won't taste very good.

These are the spices that I put into taco meat. I also use hot sauce too - today I didn't because I didn't want it too spicy. I wanted to make enchiladas tomorrown with the rest of the meat and also black beans. Use 1 tbsp of each except for the coriander - 2 tsps, and only 1 tsp black pepper. Don't forget to also season with salt - I forgot to add that to the picture too, just 1/2 tsp is fine!

After the onions sweat for about 5 minutes, that's when I throw all the spices, garlic and my half pound of ground turkey into the pan. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon or one of those cool spatula thingys - you know, the ones that are $3.99 and different colors at Target. Personally, I'm now getting more into the wooden spoons. Kroger had them on sale, buy one pack of utensils, get one free and I just couldn't resist.

I'm a messy cooker - no wonder why I am ALWAYS cleaning our ugly stove. Blech. Brown the meat for however long it takes you - normally 7 - 10 minutes.

Prep everything else you need while browning the meat. We don't have lettuce or tomatoes. It looks like my tacos will be pretty bare... oh, well. I like cheese anyway.

SECRET INGREDIENT: Worchestershire sauce. 3 squirts of it to be exact. If you don't like it, don't add it. Also - add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chicken stock and dump that into the pan with the meat - don't be shy. I'm a messy cooker, so if it splashes, that's what paper towels are for!

Grate your cheese, however much you want to use. I use a lot. Probably 2 -3 tbsp per taco. I mean, I really mound it on!

And then eat the butt end of the cheese. And enjoy it while the taco meat still simmers away.

Then build the taco. Mine is pretty bare. No lettuce, no tomatoes. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I don't have them in stock in my kitchen right now. I'll go to the store later today.

Fold it like a burrito. The cheese will melt, the meat will warm the salsa and you'll be in heaven, except for the lettuce and tomatoes. Dang. Oh, well it was a pretty good lunch for not having much in the kitchen!

Taco Meat -

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 tbsp of the following:

paprika

chili powder

cumin

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp to 1 tsp salt

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup chicken stock

3 squirts worchestershire sauce

Sweat the onions for 5 minutes in a medium sized pan over high heat with 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil or butter. Add the meat and all the spices, garlic. Brown meat for 7 - 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and worchestershire sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Then use for tacos, enchiladas (add black beans to the mixture), quesadillas, any sort of hot taco dip, mexican pasta dishes, etc...

PSH

Fake Snicker's Squares

I finally made these - after staring at my book for 3 days straight, I got the courage to go to the grocery store (during move-out time in a small college town, us townies don't leave home for at least 4 days straight to avoid the crowds) and purchase everything that I needed.

Except for dulce de leche. I don't think anyone has heard of it here!

Snickery Squares
(Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours)

For the Crust:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the filling:
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
1 1/2 cups peanuts

(I completely skipped this, as I don't like caramelizing ANYTHING, so I just dumped the peanuts in the kind of ice cream topping that immediately hardens when touching a cooled surface. Easy enough.)

For the topping:
7 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Godiva chips)
1/2 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss all the crust ingredients into food processor except for egg & butter. Pulse a few times, then add the butter, pulse 12 times. Add the egg and pulse until dough forms, take out just before it turns into a ball. Press into an 8x8 pan and back for 15 - 20 minutes.

Filling:

Caramelize the sugar & water. Put the peanuts in, caramelize then let cool. I just dumped them into a bottle of the hard caramely stuff and then topped with a little caramel sauce. Whatever - it tastes great!

Take the pan out of the oven with the crust. Break the peanuts into pieces, dump about 3/4 of them over the crust. Pour the dulce de leche (or in my case, caramel sauce) over the peanuts. I refrigerated for an hour - just to cool so I could spread the chocolate topping.

Topping:

Melt the butter & chocolate in microwave or a double boiler, whatever's easier for you. Pour over peanuts and then smooth - top with the rest of the caramelized peanuts.

Let refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. If you serve it hot, it'll just melt all over the place.


PSH

Saturday Pancakes

Making pancakes is pretty fun on a Saturday morning. I'm used to Finnish pancakes, but I've just begun to like flipping them. I'm not so GREAT, but that's ok! They taste amazing!

Saturday Morning Pancakes
(Adjusted from the Bisquick Box)

2 cups Bisquick
1 1/2 cups Milk (I use buttermilk if I have it on hand)
2 Large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove OR ground nutmeg (SECRET INGREDIENT)

Combine everything in a large bowl. Stir until combined well - you want lumps, but not big lumps, otherwise your pancakes will be a little gritty. A little smoother than cupcake batter.

Drop by the 1/4 cupfuls into a large greased HOT (heat up on medium-high, then drop the temp down to medium once you start dropping the batter into the pan) skillet or cast iron skillet. You can use pretty much any pan - just make sure it's been "Pammed" or thoroughly greased. Use bacon fat if you want to.


Now for the hard part - knowing when to flip. That's why my batter is a little more runny. When the edges begin to look dry (almost like they're done, but not really, they're still really white, see above), slip your spatula underneath and look how brown it is. I obviously like really dark pancakes. You can make them however dark you want to.

Slip the spatula all the way under, lift gently and flip, but not too fast otherwise the uncooked batter will spatter all over the pan.

And most people say making pancakes is easy.

Whatever. These are so good that you'll start eating them out of the pan and you won't even need syrup.

If you want to reheat - Freeze, then put on a cookie sheet into a preheated 375 degree oven for 5 - 10 minutes until warm & you can smell them.

PSH

No Husband For The Summer

My Bimmer man leaves pretty soon for his internship. Sadly, I'm not only excited for him to get a taste of what his future career will be like, but I'm excited for me to be alone - to cook and bake exactly what I like! I'm a person that needs a fabulous sense of self to be with another person. I need my alone time - 12 weeks is pushing it, but whatever, it's a paid internship!

I've invested in used baking books. I'm not going to be doing Tuesdays with Dorie, I'm too poor to buy ingredients every week. I will however, make a few recipes throughout the summer to bring to work and to enjoy a slice or cookies or whatever at home.

Now, I just need to find a few great springform pans.

PSH

I Started Taking Pics...

Of food - I couldn't believe that I actually had time! For those of you who are wondering why they're blurry - I used my lensbaby, it's a little hard to focus with two hands while you're also trying to cook! These pics go along with my 7 layer dip.

PSH