Steelhead Trout: Baked in Exotic Herbed-Butter

Quick dinner today featuring steel-head trout baked in an aromatic butter spiked with Thai basil, coriander and mint. The fish takes 20-25 minutes to cook in a 375 C oven. Served with rice and a drizzle of coriander-lime brown butter. As for me, I had some fresh goat-cheese ravioli with fresh pasta sauce with lotssss of garlic and lotsss of basil.

Coriander-Lime Brown Butter

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tbsp fresh or dried coriander seeds
1 tsp lime zest
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Place the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter turns a golden brown color, and takes on a nutty aroma. Reduce heat and keep warm until ready to serve. When ready to serve, turn the butter up to medium heat and whisk in the lime juice. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, add the coriander seeds and zest, turn off the heat and spoon on fish and rice.

  

Portabella Florentine Lasagna

I had a huge craving for pasta today and decided to make a lasagna Florentine after rummaging through my fridge and found spinach and portabella mushrooms. The idea was simple: create a luxuriously rich and creamy Béchamel Sauce, make a savory mushroom and spinach filling and layer these divine assets between lasagna noodles and mozza cheese.  After baking for half an hour to have all the cheese and delious-ness melt together, I tossed up a quick salad so that I didn't feel too guilty with my indulgence.

I don't have a set recipe for my Béchamel Sauce but you can try following Chef Batali's recipe.

Portabella and Spinach Filling

1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large portabella mushroom caps, cut into bit-sized slices
3 tsp salt
3-4 cups fresh baby spinach, washed, spun dried and chopped
2 tsp nutmeg
Dried or fresh basil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet and add the shallots. Cook until transparent, then add in the garlic until aromatic. Turn heat to medium-high and add in the mushrooms and salt, stirring until mushrooms become tender. Lower heat to medium-low and add in baby spinach and stir until spinach is completely wilted but not soggy. Stir in nutmeg and basil. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Let cool and remove any excess water/juices. Stir in 1/4 cup of Béchamel sauce.

To layer the lasagna, just go sauce, noodles, filling, cheeses (mozzarella and Parmesan), noodles, filling, cheeses, etc., until you end up with noodles. Top with sauce and cheese. Bake in a 400 F oven for half and hour until cheese have melted and are golden brown. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.


**If you want real protein, chicken is the way to go. Just slice up some chicken and cook before adding in the mushrooms and spinach. If you have left over chicken, shred that up and add to the cooked mushroom/spinach filling. Easy Peasy.

Quick Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti

Just a very quick lunch I threw together using fresh mushrooms, cream of mushroom, some milk and whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Yum, yum, yum! Served with Parmesan and freshly ground pepper.

2 tsp olive oil 
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup of sliced button mushrooms
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
Spaghetti noodles, cooked according to packaged instructions

Heat oil in a skillet and add the garlic until aromatic. Saute in the mushrooms with a pinch of salt until juices begin to emerge. Add in the can of condensed cream and stir on low heat until it breaks into lumps, then add in water and milk. Stir and let the mixture simmer and reduce to a desired thickness. Season according to taste. Add in cooked pasta and a small ladle of the pasta water into the mushroom sauce, stirring until noodles are coated. Serve hot with Parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!

Comfort Food 101: Mac n' Cheese.

Today was a day that I needed some comfort since the skies were gloomy and I was home alone. As I rummaged through all the cupboards and shelves looking for something to munch on, my eyes fell on a bag of elbow pasta and the idea resonated in my mind as if a choir of prepubescent boys were behind me, heavenly singing, "macaroniiiii and cheeeeeese." I got to work right away, bringing a pot of salted water to a boil and cooking the pasta to perfecto al dente. I drained the pasta in a coriander, and using the same pot I used to cook the pasta, I melted 2 tbsp margarine and added the cooked macaroni, stirring until evenly coated under low heat. I added around 1/4 cup milk, stirred then added approx. 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Seasoned with pepper and salt to taste, I added 1 tsp of chili powder for some heat. And voila, done.

New Years Eve Dinner

Today, I prepared a seafood dinner for my family for New Years Eve. I bought ready-to-cook stuffed salmon from Costco and baked them in the oven. I made Irish Champ (coarsely mashed potatoes with scallions) and Bacon wrapped Scallops. I served all with a little dollop of creamy dill sauce.
As for myself, I bought  butternut squash ravioli from Costco and made a creamy, Bechamel sauce to go with.

Have a Happy New Year!

Stuffed Salmon with Champ, scallops and creamy dill sauce

Butternut squash ravioli with bechamel sauce

Stuffed Rigatoni

Made this for my dinner tonight. Rigatoni stuffed with a mixture of ricotta and broccoli. Baked in tomato sauce, parmesan and mozzarella. Mmmhhmmmmm!

Ricotta cheese and broccoli mixture

A layer of the stuffed rigatoni.

Dish before being baked.