Tag Archive for: Citrus

I am a huge fan of stir fry; you can prep ahead of time (or even freeze in the marinade), it is a great way to clean out the fridge, it is usually healthy and everything goes in one pot! This is one that BF has been loving lately. This is a take-out-at-home kind of meal that will leave you satisfied for Chinese without all the extra fat. I usually add peppers to this, but it would be a great beef and broccoli substitute also. The sauce is sweet and salty and the cornstarch help to reduce everything to nicely cover the beef. I have not tried it with other types of meat, but I am sure that would be great too. As a freezer meal, I usually freeze it with the soy and cornstarch and freeze the sauce in a separate bag to be added at the right point. Flank steak is a great cut of meat that tends to be relatively inexpensive. It can be tough, so marinading it really helps. I have also found that the cornstarch really gives this a bit of extra help making it super tender. I like to cook the meat on pretty high heat (even though it can cause a bit of smoke and splatter) but I think it helps to sear the meat and keep it juicy on the inside. I did find a great tip last week: if you cut the steak when it is partially frozen, you can get super thin slices. A really good knife is on my wish list, but that is how I make due with what I have! This originally came from Guy’s Big Bite on the food network and I have tweaked it a bit over time. Try it out for an easy week night meal!

Kelly

Tangerine Beef

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 pound flank steak or tri-tip, cut in thin strips on the bias

1 bell pepper cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons chili sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice (sometimes I cheat and use tangerine juice from Whole Foods)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

3 scallions, chopped

1/4 tangerine, zested

In a plastic bag combine the soy sauce and cornstarch and mix well. Add beef, cover, and let marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

Mix the sherry, hoisin, honey, chili sauce, soy sauce, and tangerine juice in a container and shake until combined.

In large pan or wok, heat oil on high. Add the ginger and beef and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. I like to do this in batches to get a really good sear, but you can do it all together if you have a great big pan!

Then add the veggies followed by the sauce mixture.

…and cook for another 2-5 minutes on medium heat until sauce thickens. See the bubbles?? J

Serve over brown rice and garnish with scallions and tangerine zest. Enjoy!

Cooking is a creative outlet for me and I probably make much fancier at home meals than most people, but not usually this fancy. This dish is special. It all started with me trying to find a way to use up the last bit of champagne in our fridge from a spontaneous celebration. After a night of sitting in the fridge, champagne is not particularly drinkable, but it is perfect for cooking! We still had some Alaskan salmon in the freezer brought home to us straight from the source…the gift that keeps on giving. That with some salad and bread to sop up the wonderful sauce made for the perfect date night in. This is my riff on beurre blanc but certainly not typical. By replacing the vinegar with extra citrus you get a bright sauce. Most of the time you would strain this sauce, but I left the shallots which added some texture. I also cut down the butter by about 75%. You still have a rich sauce, but without 3 sticks of butter. I am sure French cooking purists would not call it beurre blanc, but this is my show! This would be a perfect holiday meal and may be repeated in our house for New Years. Put this sauce on anything and enjoy!

 

Salmon with Champagne Citrus Beurre Blanc

1 + pounds of salmon (about ½ pound per person)

2 finely chopped shallots

1 clove finely chopped garlic

2 cups dry Champagne or white wine

Juice of 1 lemon, 2 tangerines, and 1 orange

1/2 stick of butter, cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Kosher salt

 

Preheat oven to 400°. Season salmon fillet with salt and pepper place in a baking dish. Cook for 12 minutes then turn off the heat and allow to stand in the hot oven for an additional 3 minutes.

Prepare the sauce while the salmon cooks. Add 1 T butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the shallots and garlic cook until soft and fragrant.

Add the wine and bring to a boil allow to reduce by half, stirring frequently. See the pretty bubbles from the champagne?? Add the citrus juice and simmer about 10 minutes until reduced by about half and it begins to thicken.

Reduce heat to low; gradually add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring after each addition, until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place sauce on the plate and top with salmon. Garnish with more sauce. Serves 4.

We are in the middle of a cold snap here in Colorado and I have been craving comfort food. There are so many ways that you can do comfort food, but I was looking to change things up a bit. So, I thought maybe risotto would be a good start; I have made this Orange Risotto before and loved it. When I saw shrimp was on sale, I thought I would do a complementary orange glazed shrimp. I love how this came out spicy and sweet with tons of flavor. It really complemented the risotto perfectly, though it could easily go with lots of fresh veggies or rice. (I know many people oppose serving dairy with seafood, but I liked this combination, you could always leave the cheese out of the risotto in this case.) There are lots of options for this one, but it was FAST and super tasty!

Kelly

Orange Glazed Shrimp

1 Pound Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined

1 Cup fresh squeezed orange juice

2 Cloves Garlic thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons Shallots, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon Meat Magic (you could substitute your favorite seasoning salt, but I love this one)

Cayenne

Splash Vermouth

Salt & Pepper

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

 

Heat 1 Tablespoon butter and 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook until lightly browned around the edges.

Make sure the shrimp are clean and dry, then add them to the pan.

Cook about 1 minute on each side sprinkling with meat magic on both sides, then remove from the pan.

Add vermouth to deglaze scraping the drippings off the bottom. Then add orange juice seasoned with remaining spices.

Simmer to reduce for about 5 min. Add final tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper; incorporate when the sauce coats the back of a spoon, add the shrimp and toss in the sauce.

Allow to cook another 2 minutes. Serve over orange risotto (or rice and veggies).

When it comes to Chicken Piccata, recipes vary a bit on the details, but the basics are simple. Think chicken breasts, lemon and capers. This is absolutely one of my favorites and this is a recipe that has evolved over the years. Some people prefer to bread the chicken while I prefer just a seasoned flour coating. Some people prefer to pan fry the chicken in just olive oil and add butter to the sauce later, I think using both butter and olive oil to fry adds some depth and a lovely golden color. Many recipes choose either chicken stock or white wine, I like to use both. Sometimes I adjust it based on what I have on hand, but this is my favorite combination. I tend to like the sauce a bit more on the tart side. One other note: I buy chicken cutlets that have already been prepared by a butcher to save time, but you can buy boneless breasts and butterfly them or pound them to the thickness you like. Enjoy playing with this recipe!

Chicken Piccata

1 Package Chicken Cutlets (5-6 cutlets)

4 T. Flour

Salt

Pepper

1/3 c. Chicken Stock

2/3 c. White Wine

2/3 c. Lemon Juice (Freshly squeezed, about 2-3 large lemons)

2 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped

2 T. Capers

6 T. Butter

4 T. Olive Oil

Fresh Parsley, Chopped

Add flour to a plate and season generously with salt and pepper. Dredge the cutlets in the seasoned flour and set aside, making sure to shake off any excess flour.

In a large skillet, melt 1 1/2 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil over med high heat.

Place two or three cutlets in the pan (making sure not to crowd them) and cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side.

Remove from the pan and cover with foil while cooking the next batch.

Wipe out the bottom of the pan before adding another 1 1/2 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil and repeating with the next batch of chicken. When the chicken is cooked, wipe out the pan again and add 2 T. of butter plus 1 T. olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly brown. Add the wine, lemon juice, stock, a pinch of salt and pepper, bring to a simmer.

While the sauce is cooking, make beurre manie by mixing equal parts flour and softened butter (1 T. of each) which will make a paste to thicken the sauce.

Add half of the beurre manie to the simmering sauce and add more as needed. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon when ready, 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the sauce to finish the cooking (about 5 minutes), turning several times to coat evenly.

Add capers. Adjust seasoning as needed. Add the chopped parsley just before serving.

Serve with some good bread to sop up the sauce!

Risotto is one of those beautiful comfort foods that can compliment a variety of meals or can be a main dish. Sometimes it can be a little bit rich so it works well with lighter foods. This is a version that has just the right amount of freshness that comes from the citrus. It will definitely be a staple in our house from now on!

Risotto with Orange Juice

(Courtesy of Lidia’s Italy)

3 oranges, with bright, unblemished skins
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup onions, minced
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
2½ cups arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
5½ cups chicken stock, or canned chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt, or as needed
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
freshly ground black pepper

With a vegetable peeler remove the rind from two of the oranges, being careful not to include the white part- it is very bitter. Cut the rind crosswise into thin strips. (There should be about 1/2 cup lightly packed.) Juice the oranges and reserve the juice. (There should be about 1 cup.)

In a heavy, wide 3 to 4-quart casserole or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and shallot and cook them until golden, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil. Toast the rice until the edges become translucent, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the wine and orange rind. Stir well until the wine is absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of the hot stock and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the stock has been absorbed. Continue to add hot stock in small batches, just enough to completely moisten the rice, and cook until each successive batch has been absorbed. When all the stock has all been added, begin adding the orange juice in the same manner. Stir constantly and adjust the level of heat so the rice is simmering very gently while adding the stock and juice until the rice mixture is creamy but al dente. This will take 16 to 20 minutes from the time the wine was added.

Remove from the heat. Beat in the butter first until completely melted, and then the cheese. Adjust the seasoning with salt, if necessary, and pepper. Serve immediately, ladled into warm shallow bowls.