What to do for dinner on hot summer days? Well, if you're like me, you refer to my Summer Super Fast Meals list [see extended entry]! I keep this list which I got from an article published in the NYT food section a long time ago. I've modified the entries over the years as I tried each recipe to make it more flavorful and appealing. They are all under 15 min from start to finish, it does not include eating. The assumption is that you either have these items at home or can pick them up on your way. Bon Appetit!

Update: Sarah K of Mountaineer Musings made a modified version of #41 with great and flavorful success and posts about it here. If anyone else tries any of these and likes them send me an email (see front page) and I'll link back to you from here. more...

Posted by: Michele at 08:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's my all time favorite dish in honor of Army Wife Toddler Mom's Birthday. Since I am a pesce-ovo vegetarian, I eat a lot of fish as that's my major source of protein. There are many people out there who don't serve fish to guests because (a) they don't want their house smelling fishy; (b) they don't like eating something that smells very fishy; and (c) they are intimidated by something they are unfamiliar with or that has only a little cook time [NOT AWTM for she is a great chef I'm told, by a culinary authority]. Well, this recipe is fool proof as this fish is neither fishy, nor very smelly, AND you can't go wrong with the cooking time. It can also be cooked on the stove with a grill type skillet [for us city dwellers} or in the oven with a grill type pan.

GRILLED SWORDFISH WITH ROSEMARY-WHITE WINE SAUCE

4 6-ounces swordfish steaks (each 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
6 tablespoons minced shallots
6 tablespoons dry white wine
2-4 minced garlic cloves
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into 8 pieces

Preparation
Prepare grill at medium-high heat. Brush fish with oil. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons rosemary. Season with kosher salt and white pepper.

Combine shallots, garlic, wine and lemon juice in small saucepan. Boil until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining rosemary. Add 1 piece of butter; whisk until melted. Place pan over very low heat; add remaining butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking until each piece melts before adding the next. Remove from heat. Season with kosher salt and white pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, grill fish until opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side on a grill. 5 min on each side on the stove or 6 min per side in the oven. Serve with the rosemary-white wine sauce.

I serve this with fluffy Thai Jasmine rice and grilled asparagus. Since presentation is a key component to serving good food, I create a pattern over the swordfish with the grilled asparagus. Go ahead, live a little and experiment. Folks, its to die for! This is soooo good it should also be posted as an over-achiever post at When The Smoke Clears, so that RSM can try it when he returns. It qualifies as an over-achiever post because this recipe first appeared in Bon Appetit Magazine in the mid 90's and I modified it after trying it, making it thus my own!

Comments are closed because the birthday girl deserves the comments not me.

Posted by: Michele at 11:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Today was a very strange day. Nothing went according to plan and it was one of the best holidays ever since all my friends passed on.

Since plans A to C fell through due to technical problems and illness, my son asked on Wednesday morning if instead we could volunteer at the homeless shelter and give out food as we had done once before. That so warmed my heart that I gave him a big hug and a big kiss. more...

Posted by: Michele at 08:41 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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As a public service to all of you who will be making monster turkey's for your loved ones, I will be posting recipes you can use with your leftovers. Here's an old time favorite recipe I used to make that everyone loved. And the best part, its a casserole!

HERBED TURKEY TETRAZZINI - Serves: 4

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 - 6 cloves of garlic - chopped, add only desired amount to your taste
1/4 cup fresh mushrooms sliced
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried whole tarragon
1/8 tsp pepper
dash of rosemary
dash of ground nutmeg
2-1/2 cups cooked thin spaghetti
1-1/2 cups turkey, cooked/chopped
2/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese or any cheese you have on hand divided in half
Optional: some people like to add 1/4 cup of celery to this dish its up to you.
Optional: as a garnish you can use chopped parsley and red pepper strips

Melt butter and then saute the chopped onions and sliced mushrooms in a large saucepan until shrooms are slightly tender and onions are translucent. Add the garlic and stir, but do not let the garlic burn. While stirring, add the milk, then slowly blend in the flour, stirring well for about one minute. Gradually add chicken broth and then let cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in parsley, tarragon, rosemary pepper and nutmeg and mix well. Stir in the cooked/drained spaghetti, turkey,
and half of the cheese, mixing well.

Pour into a greased 1-1/2 quart casserole bake at 350 for
20 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top and
bake an additional 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and pepper strips.

Posted by: Michele at 07:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Now that the weather has turned colder, and IÂ’m spending more time indoors, IÂ’ve been wanting to cook a lot. Now I donÂ’t post all that I cook because I donÂ’t want: (a) to make people jelaous, and (b) to seem more of an over-achiever than I really am, unlike other folks ; )

But this time I will, if only to help a blog-bro out. In his latest post, Gebiv, tells how disappointed he was in the Kung Po chicken he was given at his favorite Chinese restaurant that is under new mgt. Well, if youÂ’d really like to give it a try itÂ’s not really that difficult. I think youÂ’ll have a tougher time finding all the ingredients in your local supermarket than making this dish.

A little history though, before I start. This dish in China is really called “Gong Bao”. In the U.S. you can find this dish under the name of: Kung Po, Kung Pao and Kung Pow. You can make this dish with beef, shrimp or with Chicken. I’ve included the Chicken recipe and have cut it down from the 8 servings I used to make for my friends to 2. I’ve also indicated some alternative ingredients in the list.

Now, I know that when you at the list of ingredients youÂ’ll probably say to yourself thatÂ’s an awful lot of stuff to buy for one dish. Well, the good news is that IÂ’ll begin posting some of the Asian recipes that I learned to cook while living overseas so that you can use up those ingredients, because they are the staples of Asian cooking.

A word to the lazy and calorie conscious (I'm not linking you 'cause you know who you are) out there (lol!), this dish takes from prep to finished product about 45 min. and it is NOT low cal. If you tried doing that with dish youÂ’d eliminate the flavor so donÂ’t even try it.
more...

Posted by: Michele at 11:25 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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