Honeyed Ginger Salmon

Yes, I know, I made something healthy. Don't be disappointed, it still has honey and brown sugar and oil and... it's healthy but not THAT healthy!  Phew!

Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 pounds raw salmon fillets
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

Optional Garnishes:
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 green onion, sliced

 
Directions:
Whisk oils, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar, and brown sugar together. Pour over salmon and marinate, refrigerated, for about 45 minutes or up to overnight.  Try not to skimp on the marinating!  It really locks in the moisture and flavor.

Preheat the broiler and place salmon on a sheet tray or cookie sheet.  Place pan directly under the broiler.  Drizzle some of the remaining marinade over the top of the salmon and cook for 8-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.  I left mine in there probably a little longer than I should have, hoping for a more toasty glaze on the outside.  Be careful not to overcook it, as that would make it dry.

Remove the fish from the oven and drizzle with honeyed ginger glaze.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, if desired, and serve.

Honeyed Ginger Glaze
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Simply mix above ingredients together and pour over warm salmon as soon as it is removed from oven.  Yum!

Spring Tasting Dinner

I had this party quite some time ago and never got around to posting it.  This was a twelve course tasting menu with paired cocktails.  It makes me tired even typing that out...  gosh, I used to have a lot of time on my hands before I decided to start my own business!

This was all small plates, each one paired with a drink.  It took about 5 hours to serve all of these courses!  It was a lot of fun to create an experience like this for my guests.

Goat Cheese Truffles with Toasted Brown Sugar Pecans

paired with

Drunken Carbonated Grapes

I thought this pairing was particularly inventive; a drink that is edible!  The sourness of the pinot noir, nuttines of the pecans, and creaminess of the goat cheese went very well together.  Carbonating the grapes was especially fun, you can read all about it should you dare in the post for the recipe!

Mesquite Smoked Pork Carnitas Tostada

paired with

White Peach Sangria

This appetizer is one of my favorites to make; the flavors are intense and you can customize it endlessly (mini tostadas, tacos, crostini, etc).  And you can say the same for sangria; a couple of bottles of wine, some fruit and/or exotic juice, and voila, a sparkling and delicious drink!

Another thing that I really enjoy about making small plates or a pairing party like this one is the ability to showcase different global cuisines.  I love cooking (and therefore eating!) many different types of food: Asian, Mexican, Italian, etc, and it's fun to be able to pull those flavors together to create a really interesting and complex meal.

Shanghai Chicken Drummettes

paired with

Cucumber Saketini

Come on... how cute are those cucumber saketinis????

Mexican Street Corn Bruschetta

paired with

Jalapeño Margarita

This is another go to recipe (hey, when you're planning 12 courses, you have to stick to some of what you know!). Not only is it a great vegetarian option, which is key when entertaining a large group, but the flavors are intense and it is easy to prepare. This is especially yummy in the summer, when the corn is so sweet it seems to melt in your mouth.

The jalapeño margarita might sound strange, but the spiciness really adds something, and it's particularly good when paired with other spicy flavors.

I tried to alternate the courses between flavor profiles to really keep this interesting, and made sure to have basically at least one dish from every food group; chicken, beef, seafood, pork, veggie, bacon (yes, that's a food group!) 

I made the crust for these mini pizzas square purposely so that they would fit on this platter.  Talk about detail oriented, ha ha.  Or do they cal that OCD?

Mini Chorizo and Roasted Red Pepper Pizzas

paired with

Mango Mojitos

Another important thing to keep in mind when planning a meal like this is color.  I like to use vibrantly colored foods that are as attractive to the eye as to the tummy; and if the food itself is not particularly aesthetically pleasing, you can always add a colorful garnish or sauce!

Butternut Squash & White Cheddar Mac n Cheese "Sushi rolls"

paired with

Cherry Infused Bourbon with Chocolate Covered Drunken Cherries

This link will take you to my original recipe for these rolls, but I did make some small changes to it.  As you can see from the photos, I used penne pasta instead of regular elbow macaroni, to give the rolls a floral appearance.  To continue that theme (and the theme of spring), I rolled strips of bacon into "roses" and pressed them into the center of the mac n cheese rolls.

As far as the changes to the recipe, I added 2 cups of cooked butternut squash and swapped out the regular cheddar for white cheddar, giving it a smokier and richer flavor.  Yum!  Toasted garlic bread crumbs on top!

Bourbon!  I think cherry and bourbon go really well together, it's one of my favorite flavor pairings.  For this recipe, I infused the bourbon a couple of days in advance, then drained the cherries and coated them in chocolate.

Smoked Gouda & Caramelized Onion Potatoes Au Gratin

paired with

Sparkling Manhattan

I love these mini ramekin dishes.  They look adorable for savory or dessert dishes, and how nice is it to be able to serve something in the dish it was cooked in?!

The day after this party, I had about one of each drink left over in the fridge, just waiting in their pretty little serving glasses.  I had a lovely time finishing them off while cleaning up, ha ha.  It's always smart to allay the pain of doing housework by getting a little buzzed!

Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon with Port Wine Sauce and Fried Basil

paired with

Pomegranate Cosmopolitan

 

This picture doesn't show the proportions very well, but this is a bite sized piece of tenderloin that I cut to make look like a tiny filet.  The original recipe was for a meal sized portion and I pared it down to make appetizers.

The fried basil on top was a nice addition and is very simple to do; simply slice the basil leaves into long strips and fry in hot oil for just a few seconds, then place on paper towels to remove excess oil.  The basil adds a fresh, earthy flavor to the dish, and the fried texture is a pleasant surprise.

These drinks came out looking so icy cold!  For this effect, I dipped the wet rim of each glass into water, and then into powdered sugar, and repeated.  Brrrr!

I think this was about the point that the party started to get a bit rowdy, which will explain why the quality, and quantity, of photographs declines after this point!  A crowded kitchen and hungry, drunken people can really get in the way of good food photography!

 

Butter Poached Lobster Medallions with Champagne Garlic Sauce

paired with

Citrus White Wine Spritzer

What can I say about champagne and butter poached lobster? I think anyone with taste buds would agree that it's a great combination.

And then there were desserts!  Three courses of them, naturally.  Wouldn't you be disappointed if there were any less?!

Mixed Berry Tiramisu

paired with

Blueberry Ginger Bellini

Blueberry and ginger go amazingly well together!

Serving this many drinks (12 courses x 20 people = approx 240 glasses!) was sure to exhaust even my prodigious tiny glass collection so in advance of the party, I went miniature glass hunting and came upon these adorable mason jars.  I thought they would be perfect to serve a drink or dessert in and I've even used a few to give gifts of homemade jam.  Home Goods is the ultimate resource for affordable little finds like this.

Gooey Chocolate and Caramel Cakes

paired with

S'mores Shooters

  

I love these tasty little shooters!

Bittersweet Chocolate Glazed Espresso Brownie Bites

paired with

Strawberry Daiquiri Jello Shots

This is similar to a normal brownie, a bit less sweet with darker chocolate and a hint of coffee flavor.  What really makes this dessert special is the tiny chocolate covered coffee bean on top.  Plus, bonus, it looks cute!

And finally, the most adorable jello shot cocktail ever!

One of the best compliments I've ever gotten on a recipe was on this one. One of my guests said, "think about the incredible effort, detail and time Leah put into making this tiny dessert, just so we could all enjoy 30 seconds of exquisite flavor that we'll never forget." It was a very sweet comment!

I knew the night was a success when each and every guest was able to stick it out until the final course, which I served around 1 am. Definitely my most ambitious and challenging event to date, but lots of fun to create and plan (yes, I'm crazy!).

Here are some random pics from the party.  Cheers!

 

Bread Wreath

 

I made this over the holidays and am a bit tardy posting it.  It actually wasn't as difficult as it looks.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out
2 1/4 cups bread flour
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon rapid-rise yeast

Directions:
Mix flours, salt, yeast and 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water with a wooden spoon to make a wet and sticky dough.  Cover and set aside in a warm place until almost tripled in size, 2 to 3 hours.

When the dough has risen, divide it in half and transfer one piece to another bowl. Cover both bowls and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator, sprinkle each piece with flour, and then shape into 2 smooth balls.  Using floured hands, pick up a ball of dough and poke thumbs through the center to make a hole. Place on parchment, then gently stretch the dough from the center to make a 9-inch-diameter ring with a 5-inch hole in the center.  Sprinkle with flour.  Repeat to shape the other ball of dough into a ring. Let rest, uncovered, about 15 minutes.

Holding scissors at a 45 degree angle, make deep cuts at 1 and 1/2-inch intervals all the way around, pulling the cut sections away from the center as you go to make "leaves." Let rest, uncovered, until plump, about 15 more minutes.

I made two loaves; the first looked ugly, the second looked nice.  It might be worth practicing and then starting over, but it really wasn't difficult once I got the hang of the recipe.  The biggest thing I did wrong the first time around was rolling the dough too thin, which made it difficult to cut.

I drizzled my loaf with butter (optional) and sprinkled it with kosher salt (also optional!).  If I make this again, I'll probably try a sweet version, such a cinnamon sugar, or maybe a garlic one... Mmm.

Bake each loaf until the bread is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

Spicy Red Beans and Rice

This was an easy weeknight dish to whip up.  I used turkey andouille, to make it a bit more healthy, but you could use standard pork sausage with the same results.

Ingredients:
1 pound turkey or pork andouille, sliced 
5 -6 slices bacon, cooked and roughly chopped or crumbled
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (15 1/2 ounces) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (13 ounces) stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
3 cups cooked white rice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp and set aside on paper towels to drain.  Using the same pan, brown the sausage.  Add the onion, garlic and red pepper and cook in the bacon fat until soft.  Next, add the beans, chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, spices, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf and add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the beans over the rice or mix them together before serving.  Sprinkle bacon pieces over and serve.  Enjoy!

Note:  These were the basic measurements I started with, but I like things spicy so I ended up adding more heat... as noted by the color of the rice, ha ha.  Make it as hot as you can stand!

Triple Sub Party

 

I thought this would be a good time to post this, with the Superbowl coming up!  I got this idea from the Food Network magazine.  One of the subs is my own recipe, and two of them are from their mag.

Recipes:

Big Ol' Beer Brat Sub

Chicken Teriyaki Sub

Spicy Skirt Steak Sub with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream

Gooo.... team!  Ha ha.  I don't really watch sports, so I'll just root for the meat and cheese to win.  They always do.