Coaching Cooking

And I didn’t even have to make it. Last week BK fixed me the most wonderful dinner. Having stopped at Whole Paycheck, he had some raw oysters and a thick slice of Ahi tuna, cut to oder at a little over an inch. He made a salsa of tiny tuna chunks, corn, and mushrooms to dip soy flavored rice chips into, and shucked the oysters. Meanwhile, he toasted sesame seeds and patted them onto the filet, then seared the tuna quickly on each side, slicing down the length of it. Oh, but it was good! One of the best meals I’ve had in a while.

Here’s a great recipe to add to your repertoire. This is one of my absolute favorite salads that I make all the time. It’s quick and easy and oh-so-delicious.
Necessary ingredients
half a head of lettuce
6-8 oz. lump crabmeat (previously frozen is fine)
ruby red grapefruit: half sliced and a quarter juiced
4 oz. goat cheese
1 T dry white wine or champagne
extra virgin olive oil
half an avocado, sliced thin
pinch of thyme, salt, & pepper
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I didn’t cook after my wine seminar Wednesday night; BK had dinner almost ready when I walked through the door. But luckily, since I started blogging, I take pictures of most of my favorite meals. The ones that end up getting eaten without wine used to just wither and fall by the wayside because I had no excuse to write about them. Now that I have a cooking blog, they are rehydrating, reheating, and replating.

This is one of those such meals, from back when I still lived in my little studio. The quick and easy menu? Seared tuna and fried rice. For the rice, I just heated up a cup of the instant kind in the microwave and let it rest. For the tuna, I hope you have access to a Trader Joe’s because that’s how I happened upon the major ingredients for the main dish. (more…)

Seared tuna, fried rice, Trader Joe’s

The other night I wasn’t sure what to have for dinner, but I had a feeling it would involve the bag of shrimp in the freezer. Other than that, I had a few items that needed to get used before they went bad. Sometimes I find that these thrown-together, clean-out-the-fridge meals turn out to be some of my favorites….

The shrimp
While thawing the shrimp (a third of the large bag) under running water for ten minutes, I microwaved a few pieces of bacon until crispy. Then I chopped the bacon into small pieces along with two green onions, including the leaves and some of the white part. When the shrimp are defrosted, get a skillet over medium-high heat, with a turn of olive oil. Add shrimp and then a turn of bourbon. Or two. Then toss in bacon and onions and cook until shrimp turn peachy-pink. This doesn’t take long. Then remove from heat and crumble a bit of blue cheese over the mix.
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thrown-together, clean-out-the-fridge meal

In my intro post I mentioned my mom’s cooking skills. One of my very favorite things she would make when I was growing up was salmon croquettes. You might call them salmon cakes or salmon patties, but they’ll always be croquettes to me. We would almost always have them with green beans and macaroni and cheese. When I passed along the recipe for the first time, I insisted my friend Michael serve those same sides or not make it.

So with the cold, rainy weather and Rachael Ray on the television talking about comfort food, I did a mental scan of my cabinets and knew exactly what I was making for dinner.

Recipe for Salmon Croquettes
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salmon croquettes, salmon cakes, salmon patties, comfort food