Wednesday

Salmon Chowder



i'm always on the lookout for a new salmon recipe so i was really excited when i found this one while flipping through the cookbook i gave my dad for christmas this weekend. this is the first time i've used salmon in a soup and it was really good. i served the soup with savoury cheese, garlic, and chive muffins. here are the recipes...

...recipe from The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups: Recipes And Reveries
1/2 cup butter
2 onions, diced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup flour
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups fish stock
1 pound salmon fillet, cut into small chunks
2 cups half-and-half
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in your soup pot over medium heat and saute onions until transparent, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots and celery, cover, and cook about 10 minutes more.

Once the vegetables have released their juices to form a buttery slur, add the flour, stir well, then stir in the potatoes and fish stock. Increase the heat, bring to a simmer, then decrease the heat to medium-low.

Once the potatoes yield easily to a spoon, about 20 minutes, add the salmon and half-and-half and return to a gentle simmer. Cook for a 5 minutes longer, or until the fish flakes off at the touch of a fork.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

...recipe for muffins slightly adapted from Muffins Fast and Fantastic
1 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 ounces butter, melted
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons fresh chopped chives

1. Grease muffin tins. Preheat oven t0 400 F.

2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, garlic powder, and grated cheese.

3. In another bowl beat egg and stir in milk, butter, and chives.

4. Pour all the wet ingredients into dry. Stir until just combined.

5. Spoon into tins. Sprinkle tops with extra cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool for several minutes to make removal easy.

Oreo Mint Ice Cream

my new ben & jerry's cookbook arrived in the mail this weekend and i was anxious to give one of the recipes a try. the oreo mint was really good. it tasted a little bit like girlscout thin mint cookies. most of the recipes in the book look really easy to make and really delicious. i'm looking forward to trying more! maybe next time i'll remember to get a picture before digging in!

Sunday

Chocolate Olive Oil Cakes



i've been wanting to make these cakes for awhile and just haven't had a chance to. so last night i finally got to make them. they were delicious, but really rich. they were good served with whipped cream. here's the recipe...

...recipe from Little Cafe Cakes
3/4 cup fruity extra virgen olive oil
1 cup raw sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder

for the sauce:
1 cup dark chocolate pieces
1/2 cup extra virgen olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 175 C. Grease and flour 12 muffin tins.

2. Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla until creamy.

3. Mix together the flours and cocoa powder and fold into the first mixture.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tins and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothepick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool a little before removing from the tins. Serve with the sauce poured over the top.

for the sauce:
Melt the chocolate with the olive oil in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir until smooth.

Friday

Black Bean Quesadillas



i made these quesadillas last night for dinner. they were really good with the fresh salsa. they were also really easy to make and i got to use my new panini press again! here's the recipe...

...recipe my own creation
8-inch flour tortillas
shredded cheddar/monteray jack cheese
1 large can black beans, drained
onions, diced
ground coriander
ground cumin

for the salsa:
1 avacado, peeled and diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 orange pepper, diced
2 limes, juiced
olive oil
salt and pepper

Mix all the salsa ingredients together and let it sit while you make the tortillas.

Mix together the beans, diced onion, ground coriander, and ground cumin. In the center of one tortilla place a small clump of cheese, then a couple of spoonfulls of beans and then a little more cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Grill in a panini press until the cheese is melted. Serve with the salsa and sour cream.

Thursday

Vanilla Ice Cream



yesterday i made apple pie with homade vanilla ice cream. the ice cream was made with a real vanilla bean and it was delicious. it was as good as breyer's vanilla ice cream, which is my all time favorite vanilla ice cream. the recipe for the vanilla ice cream was the one that came with my ice cream maker. you can find the recipe here. this recipe added crushed cookies at the end i didn't because i just wanted a plain vanilla.

Wednesday

Lemon-Rosemary Roasted Chicken



...recipe slighty adapted from American Bistro
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, coarsly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
1 chicken, cut into pieces
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 sprigs fresh thyme

1. Carefully slide your fingers under the skin of the chicken and put the thyme and rosemary sprigs under the chicken skin. This will only work for the larger pieces of chicken. Mix the marinade ingredients together. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the marinade to baste the chicken with. Put the chicken in ziplock bag with the marinade and marinate for 2-4 hours.
2. Bake at 425 for 50-55 minutes. Baste halfway through the cooking time with the reserved marinade.

Thursday

Panini Press



i also got a Hamilton Beach 25450 Gourmet Panini Press for christmas, which i'm really excited about. it has been great for making lunches. today for lunch i made roast beef with horseradish sauce, provolone cheese, and asparagus on multi-grain bread. it was really good and very easy to make.

Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze and Garden Vegetable Saute



this is what we had for dinner tonight and it was delicious. the recipe for the salmon is here. it was really simple to make. the sauted vegetables went really well with the salmon. they were also really easy to make, but it took a little bit of time to cut them all up into matchsticks. here's the recipe....

...recipe slightly adapted from American Bistro
4 carrots, peeled and cut into mactchsticks
1 yellow squash, cut into matchsticks
1 zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1/4 pound slender green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Immerse the carrots in the boiling water for 1 minute and remove with a slotted spoon. Set aside. Immerse the yellow squash and zucchini in boiling water for 30 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon. Set aside. Immerse the green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain. Set aside,

In a skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Saute onions until soft and lightly browned. Add the carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, and green beans and saute for about another 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper and mix well.

Wednesday

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream



for christmas i got an ice cream machine and i've been dying to try it out and i finally got the chance today. i started out by using one of the recipes that came with the machine. i had really great results. the ice cream was delicious! i'm looking forward to trying some other flavors. here's the recipe...

...recipe from cuisinart instruction/recipe booklet
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

1. Combine cream, milk, and chocolate in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until mixture almost boils and chocolate is melted, about 5-8 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
2. Meanwhile beat yolks, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until light yellow and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons of the warm cream/chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Gradually add the yolk mixture to the warm cream/chocolate mixture, stirring continuously to prevent the eggs from curdling. Cook over low heat until slightly thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Cool completely. Either place the mixture in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight or chill over an ice bath for 30 minutes if you wish to make the ice cream right away.
4. Stir gently and pour into the freezer bowl. Turn the machine on and let mix until mixture thickens, about 25-30 minutes. Add the chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm, about 2 hours.