Ina Garten’s Asian Salmon and Crunchy Noodle Salad

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Asian Salmon and Crunchy Noodle Salad
These two recipes are from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa show on Food Network. I LOVE watching Ina’s show, but I am actually pretty surprised to admit that this is the first time that I’ve tried one of her recipes. For as many time as I’ve watched her show, that really is kind of unbelievable.
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So, the salad was an absolute success. I substituted whole wheat udon noodles for the spaghetti because, well…just because and I substituted black sesame seeds for the white ones because I think they’re prettier. I left out the parsley because it just didn’t seem “right” to me. If I had had some cilantro in the house, I would have added that, but I (strangely, for me) didn’t have any in the house, so I just left the chopped herb garnish off. Cilantro would have been really nice. This salad could easily adapt to whatever Asian (-ish) veggies you might have on hand: broccoli, water chestnuts, bok choy, snow peas, edamame, etc. It was delicious, as is, but wouldn’t have to be made exactly the same way. I also cut the amount of vegetable oil to 3/4 cup because 1 cup just seemed like SO much. I don’t like things that are really oily. My dressing may have been a little richer as a result (higher percentage of peanut butter), but it was perfect. Another 1/4 cup of oil would have been too much. If you’re calorie conscious, you could probably get away with leaving off the last 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the dressing (add some vinegar and a bit more oil and the remaining dressing would be GREAT on an Asian chicken salad). It was plenty “saucy.”
The salmon? Well…I think I did something wrong. I’m used to thinking of panko as being crunchy and this salmon, after being doused with the (delicious but waaaaaay too salty for my taste) sauce, was just, well…soggy. The flavors were still good and the amount of sauce that soaked into the fish itself was perfect, but the sauce-soggy bread topping was just too wet and salty for me, but Hubby loved it, so make of that what you will. Boy loved it, but he, too, scraped off the breadcrumbs.
So, the salad? A make-again. The salmon? Probably not in its current incarnation, but with some adaptations, maybe.

Escarole Soup with Meatballs

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Girl is home sick today, so I made this for lunch for the three of us.
Escarole Soup with Little Meatballs, adapted from The Sopranos Family cookbook
4 cups chopped escarole, thoroughly washed and spun dry
(about 1/2 of a large head)
chicken broth, 4 to 6 quarts (start with 4 quarts, but have more on hand)
2 cups coarsely chopped carrots
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for the meatballs:
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 large eggs
1 large garlic clove, minced or run through a press
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano is best)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil for browning, 2 to 3 Tbsp.
Mix all ingredients together, except for olive oil. Shape into balls about the size of a grape. Saute the meatballs (in batches) in the olive oil, in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, until they are lightly browned on all sides, but not cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, on a paper-towel-lined plated to drain and cool.
This is the same meatball that is used in this recipe, which it just so happens I made for dinner on Saturday night. I wanted the meatballs to be half pork-half beef, but could only find both meats in one-pound packages. I made a double batch of the meatballs and browned them all. We used half for dinner Saturday and I froze the other half (browned but not totally cooked through) for future use, so they were ready to go right into this soup.
8 ounces fideo pasta (or spaghetti, broken into small pieces)
extra freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread pasta in an even layer on a shallow baking pan and toast in the oven until golden. Set aside to cool.
In a VERY large stock pot, combine the escarole, broth and carrots. Bring to a simmer and cook until the escarole is tender, about 30 minutes, adding more broth, if necessary.
When the escarole is cooked, stir in the reserved browned meatballs and reserved pasta. Add more broth, if necessary. Cook over low heat, uncovered, until the meatballs are cooked through and the pasta is al dente (about 20 minutes). It may be necessary to add more broth as the pasta is cooking and absorbs some. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese over the top.
The verdict: The soup was tasty and VERY easy (because I already had escarole and pre-browned meatballs on hand) and is great for someone (Girl) who is not feeling well, but it was a little bit bland. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t GREAT, like the lentil soup last night was. If I make it again, I will saute a little minced garlic and chopped onion in the bottom of the pan before I add the carrots, escarole and broth. I think that would help it a lot. Maybe some chopped, fresh herbs, too. Don’t be afraid to be pretty generous with the salt and pepper, too – this soup really needs it.

Lentil Soup with Italian Sausage and Escarole

Well, it’s only the first day and I’m already off the schedule…
I decided to flip Monday and Tuesday, so we had this lentil soup for dinner tonight. It was absolutely wonderful; all four of us loved it. I served it with Baby Bam croutons (cut your favorite bread into appropriately-sized chunks, drizzle with melted butter and/or olive oil to lightly coat, sprinkle with Baby Bam, bake at 250 degrees – 20 to 30 minutes – until crunchy.)
Note: If you live in Austin: Escarole is difficult to find at most stores. My in-laws’ farm grows it (seasonally), or it is also available at Central Market. I haven’t seen it elsewhere.
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Lentil Soup with Italian Sausage and Escarole
Some things came up early in the day today and I knew that I would be getting home (and hence, starting dinner) later than I planned, so I prepped the veggies and sliced the sausage ahead of time and put them in containers in the fridge. I also pulled all of the other non-perishable ingredients (stock, vinegar, olive oil, bay leaf, etc.) out and set them by the stove, so that when I got home, I would be able to get right to work. So, from the time that I started to the time we hit the table, this dish took about 35 minutes. Perfect!
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Browning the Italian sausage meatballs
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Sauteeing the vegetables (my kitchen smelled AMAZING when I threw this in the pan)
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Chopped escarole, waiting for its turn in the soup
I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. Girl ended up coming home sick today, and will likely still be sick tomorrow, so I plan to use the leftover 1/2 head of escarole (the head that I bought was HUGE) to make her some escarole and meatball soup. We’ll plan to have the salmon for dinner tomorrow and fish makes her miserable. Normally, I would just tell her to “get over it”, but since she’s not feeling well, I’ll probably give her a pass…stay tuned for that recipe.
In case you haven’t used lentils before, this is what they look like before they’re cooked; they’re VERY small.
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Lentils are VERY easy to cook, are VERY inexpensive, have a mild flavor that nicely absorbs the taste of other ingedients in the dish. Lentils are LOADED with iron, fiber and folic acid, so they are a WONDERFUL food for pregnant women. If you haven’t tried them before, give them a go.
Here are two other great recipes to get you started:
Lentils with Bulgur and Onions from Gourmet magazine

Salmon with Lentils and Mustard-Herb Butter
, also from Gourmet magazine

Fabulous New Food Blog

Holy moley, boys and girls! In the course of some idle searching today, I came across a wonderful new (to me, anyway) food blog that you MUST go check out. It’s called Smitten Kitchen and you can check it out by clicking here.

Holy moley, boys and girls! In the course of some idle searching today, I came across a wonderful new (to me, anyway) food blog that you MUST go check out. It’s called Smitten Kitchen and you can check it out by clicking here.

Menu Planning

I don’t always plan menus a week at a time, but instead just usually have a folder of recipes that I’d like to try in the next couple of weeks and then will decide, day by day, which one to pull out and then thaw (and/or shop) accordingly, each morning. The good news, though, is … Continue reading “Menu Planning”

I don’t always plan menus a week at a time, but instead just usually have a folder of recipes that I’d like to try in the next couple of weeks and then will decide, day by day, which one to pull out and then thaw (and/or shop) accordingly, each morning.

The good news, though, is that when I see a recipe I know I’m going to try soon, I’ll grab the non-perishable ingredients that are necessary for it, so that I have them on hand. Yes, I do end up having to grocery-shop just about every day (and yes, I hate shopping, too), but I usually only have to grab two or three things each time. I usually do one “gigantic run” about every week to ten days, for non-perishable and staple-things.

I do find it nice, though, when I have the time, to actually plan out menus in advance. It gives me the ability to look ahead and see which nights will be busy and can prep some things in advance, as I’m cooking during the week, so that I can have less work to do on those busy nights. Sometimes, if I have one cooking-at-home night, but know that the next night will be insane, I’ll make a casserole that can be prepared ahead, so that it’s ready to go for the next night. Baked ziti is a great one for this. I won’t tell if you use bottled sauce – just use a good one – although I usually make my sauce in advance and have it ready to go in the freezer when I need it and it’s not that troublesome. Baked spaghetti casserole is another one that’s make-ahead friendly.

Anyway, to make a long story short, this week and actually am planning menus ahead and thought I would share them with you, in case you want to play along at home.

Yes, I know, this menu is a little heavy on soups, Italian greens, orange winter vegetables and Asian noodle salads, but, hey, that’s what I felt like…

Monday:
Smoky-Spicy Turkey Tamale Pies (double the recipe, which specifies two servings)
Fresh Orange Sorbet

Tuesday:

Lentil Soup with Italian Sausage and Escarole

Wednesday:
Asian Salmon and Crunchy Noodle Salad from Ina Garten’s show this morning
I may or may not make the accompanying Lemon Yogurt Cake with Blueberry sauce, depending upon how much time I have. We happen to have a lot of desserts already in the house right now (thanks, Girl Scouts!)

Thursday:
Golden Winter Soup with Gruyere toasts
(I will add a little poblano pepper, as the online reviews suggested.)
Flaky Blood Orange Tart with Salted Caramel Sauce
I already have this prepared and frozen and will bake it and make the sauce that night. I made it with Cara Cara oranges instead of the blood oranges, which I may regret. The color is not as impressive and I’m afraid that the Cara Caras will be too sweet. We’ll see.

Friday:
Grilled Chicken Thighs (with very simple seasoning, maybe just some Baby Bam, because the gnocchi are VERY rich and flavorful and I want them to be the star of the show)
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Saturday:
Garlic-Miso Pork Chops with Orange Bell Pepper and Arugula
and some sort of soba noodle salad that will likely be a combination of these:
Chilled Soba with Tofu and Sugar Snap Peas
Cold Soba Noodles with Vietnamese Pork (without the pork)
Sesame Soba Noodles with Cucumber, Bok Choy and mixed greens
Soba Salad with Soy-Wasabi Vinaigrette

Sunday:
Marinated London Broil, sliced and served atop a mixed green salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Cauliflower Soup with Pecans and Rye Croutons