When you bring a new man into your life and say “I like to cook,” you better deliver. It always seems like a lot of pressure, even if you know you can make something great. I, of course, decided to take my chances and see what looked good at the store and wing it, rather than actually planning something ahead. Since my wonderful boyfriend had been traveling, I was going for healthy and not for a “man meal.” I decided that salmon was a good choice but I had to challenge myself with a method I hadn’t tried and a sauce I created with what was on hand plus two of my very favorite standbys: bruschetta (with help from Ali) and zucchini salad. I have to apologize for not having final photos, but I ended up a bit distracted trying to host and not burn my zucca! Such are the trade offs, right? All I can say is this is a meal you could serve for any occasion you are looking for something healthy and fantastic. Keep an eye out for the bruschetta recipe soon! Enjoy!

Kelly

 

Herb and Mustard Salmon

With Broiled Zucchini Salad

1 Lb Salmon – Boned

Handful of Fresh Herbs – Cleaned, Stemmed and Chopped

2 T Dijon Mustard

2 T Dry White Wine

2 T Olive Oil

1 Clove Garlic

Salt & Pepper

2 Zucchini – Sliced lengthwise

1 Tomato – Chopped

Mixed Greens

Juice of Half a Lemon

Olive Oil

Goat Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Combine herbs, mustard, wine, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender and pulse to create a paste. Lightly oil a baking dish and place the salmon in the dish, skin-side down. Cover with the paste. Bake at 350° for 20-25 min. Check for desired doneness and allow to rest about 5 min. While you make the salad:

Lay the zucchini on baking dishes and spray lightly with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Place under the broiler for about 5-7 min. Watch them carefully and turn once, halfway through. Allow to cook until very brown. Set aside while you toss the greens and tomatoes with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add desired amount of crumbled goat cheese. Place salad on the plate and top with several slices of the zucchini and your lovely salmon.

So you got yourself some San Marzano tomatoes to try out, now what? We took some bell peppers , onions and lots of fresh herbs, combined them with chicken and made a version of chicken cacciatore. Only missing the mushrooms, but if you have some, include those as well. The tomatoes were so silky, it made a beautiful sauce. With some crunchy bread to soak up the sauce, it was a wonderful meal. It really turned into more of a stew than your traditional chicken cacciatore, which turned out to be a great spin on it! This is a great fall dish, let us know how yours turns out.

Kelly

Chicken Cacciatore Stew

1 Bunch of various fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary)

4 Cloves of garlic

1 White onion, sliced

3 Bell peppers (red, yellow, orange), seeds removed and sliced

3 Carrots, sliced on an angle

3 Ribs of celery, sliced on an angle

1 28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, stem end removed and lightly crushed

1 lb. thin cut chicken breasts

¼ cup flour

2 T. olive oil

4 T. butter

Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add peeled garlic cloves and sauté until lightly browned. Add sliced onion, bell peppers and allow to soften slightly, then add carrots and celery.

Add prepared tomatoes and herbs and allow to simmer while preparing the chicken.

Place flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off any extra. Heat 2 T of butter in a pot. Place half of the chicken breasts in the pot and allow to brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

Remove the cooked chicken, set aside and repeat with the second batch. Remove the chicken and slice lengthwise. Wipe out the pot if need be and then add the pepper mixture and the chicken to the pot.

Allow to simmer about 10 minutes to meld the ingredients.

Serve with some good bread and enjoy!

Every once in a while we want to include some basic cooking skills; just in case you don’t already know. Some recent recipe recently called for peeled tomatoes and I thought I would share the technique. Why bother? Well sometimes you don’t want to chomp on the skin; like in a delicate salad, a refined bruschetta or silky tomato sauce. The technique: bring a pot of water to a boil. I like to take the core out first using a strawberry huller. I think it makes it easier to peel. Drop the hulled tomatoes in the boiling water for 10-30 seconds, depending on how thick the skin is.

You will see the skin begin to split. Pull out with a slotted spoon and immediately put in ice water or under cold dripping faucet.

The skin should easily come off in your hands.

Then you need to decide if you need the seeds or don’t want them. If you don’t want them, cut the tomatoes in half and slip your fingers under the seed packet and pull it out. If there is a pale vein in the middle take that out too. So you should be left with a filet of tomato. Then chop coarsely or proceed with whatever your purpose is. Bruschetta with basil, garlic and olive oil is hard to beat! If you want to save your fresh tomatoes to enjoy all year, try canning them. These are also great on grilled pizza; look out for that later this week!!

Mary