The Monday Night Blahs

It's cold, snowy and Monday! We are in need of comfort food! I had planned on making Lentils with Chicken Sausage, but alas forgot to buy more lentils last week. So plan B: another favorite with some variations and it worked!
The men love this recipe but it in its original state is rather high in fat. So, in order to serve my waistline and my heart patient husband, I substituted the sausage for chicken sausage, used whole milk instead of whipping cream and skipped the mascarpone cheese. But by all means, try the original and enjoy:

Penne with Sausage, Peas and Mascarpone
Serves 6

3/4 lb. hot Italian sausages, casings removed
3/4 lb. sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

1 1b. penne

2 cups frozen peas
2/3 cup mascarpone cheese*

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Saute sausages in Dutch oven over high heat until brown, breaking into small pieces with back of spoon, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to bowl. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings. Add onion and saute until light brown, about 6 minutes. Add cream; boil 5 minutes. Add broth; boil until reduced to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Return sausage to pot.
Cook penne in large pot of boiling salted water until pasta is just tender but still firm to bite.
Meanwhile, bring sauce to simmer over medium heat. Add peas and mascarpone and simmer until peas are tender, about 6 minutes.
Drain pasta. Add to suce; toss to coat. Mix in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl; serve.
*Italian cream cheese available at Italian markets and some supermarkets. If unavailable, mix 6 tablespoons cream cheese with 5 tablespoons whipping cream.


This was a fun little salad that I threw together to add a little variety and brightness to a cloudy,cold day. Yes, I threw it together without a recipe! Unlike my daughter, Nora who doesn't always need a recipe, I do. Because I have had variations of this salad, I felt more confident to try and pull it off. It helped that I love all these ingredients and had them on hand.

Orange, Beet, Fennel and Pomegranate Salad

6 oranges,peeled & sliced
1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
6-8 beets, roasted(400 degrees for 50 min.)and cubed
1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds(Whole Foods is offering them already picked;in the fruit case)

Mix together with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Our Favorite Salmon Recipe

Yes, this past weeks fish night was a success. It too is a tried and true recipe, but this time I did not try any variations. The secret of its success is the mushroom ragout!! You really can have fun experimenting with different kinds of mushrooms(as far as your budget will allow; but remember they don't weigh very much). My experience is that the more rare varieties such as oyster, shitake, chanterelles make the more earthy and flavorful sauce. Now, to speak to the salmon: you can grill it(many a winter and even snow as not kept me from my 2nd oven!) or broil it.

Salmon Fillets with Wild Mushroom Ragout

Fish Pas

Oh, isn't it colorful! Spiced rubbed flounder topped with a tomato, cucumber and orange salsa, complemented by fresh green beans and rice pilaf! Oh, but behind this picture is a different story.

This recipe had been tried in its original form, but at the bottom of the recipe they suggest some variations, which I thought, why not? I decided to try the Old Bay Seasoning variation....well, I don't know what I was thinking, but I rubbed ever filet with the seasoning. We sat down to dinner only to discover that our mouths were quickly on fire. Before we knew it, we were scraping off as much of the Old Bay as possible and refilling our water glasses. So, as pretty as this looks, it didn't taste so good... Not a faux pas, but a fish pas!( The title came from my sister, Elizabeth)

Now for the recipe:

Spice-Rubbed Tilapia with Tomatillo, Black Bean & Mango Salad
by Leslie Pendleton

Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes surrounded by a papery husk. They’re common in Mexican cuisine, and their refreshing flavor is great either raw or cooked.

Serves four.

Ingredients
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 pound tomatillos, papery covering discarded, fruit rinsed and small diced

1 ripe medium mango, peeled, pitted, and small diced

1/2 cup small-diced red onion (from about a quarter of a large onion)

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Freshly ground black pepper

11/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt

4 skinless tilapia fillets (about 4 ounces each)(You can substitute flounder)

How to make:
Put a heatproof serving platter on a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 200°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the beans, tomatillos, mango, red onion, lime juice, 1/3 cup of the vegetable oil, cilantro, and a few grinds of black pepper; toss gently. Let the salad sit at room temperature while you cook the fish.

Mix 1/4 teaspoon black pepper with the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub both sides of the tilapia fillets with the mixture. In a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook two of the tilapia fillets until lightly browned and the flesh is opaque and cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the fish to the platter in the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining two fillets. Transfer the fillets to the platter, and spoon half of the salad on top. Serve with the remaining salad on the side.

Variations:

For a different spice combination, try rubbing the fish with Old Bay Seasoning. And for other salad combinations, try chickpeas or red beans in place of the black beans, and red tomato or cucumber in place of the tomatillo.

This recipe came from Fine Cooking, May 2006.

You can also access the recipe @ taunton./finecooking/recipes/tilapia_tomatillo_black_bean_mango.aspx

Tips:

• Buy yourself a good non-stick pan. I use All-Clad. It needs to be large if you have more than 4 people in your family or else you will be frying for a long time!!
• Buy yourself a splatter screen; it makes frying a heck of lot cleaner and easier.
• When they say a warm oven, they mean 200 degrees or less
• Costco has individual, flash frozen tilapia, salmon, flouder, mahi-mahi, ahi tuna in packages for under $15/package. Some of the packages have up to 12 pieces.

More with Less

So,to start this blog off, I want to first of all honor my dear husband for funding, encouraging and delighting in what has become more than putting food on the table for my family. Thanks Dennis!!


A little history on this recipe: Back 28 years ago, one of the first cookbooks I purchased was More-with-Less Cookbook. We were pursuing a simplier life with less sugar, more whole grains and even went as far as having a food co-op within our church. There are more than a few stories to tell about endless blocks of cheese being cut, honey by the gallons being poured and 50 lb. bags of this new thing called whole wheat!! Well, I had never heard of lentils until this cookbook. I can only say that it has stood the test of time and is one my husband Dennis's favorites. Peter still takes out the tomatoes though!


Baked Lentils With Cheese

Preheat oven to 375. combine in shallow 9x13 baking dish:

1 3/4 cups lentils, rinsed
2 cups water
1 whole bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon each marjoram, sage, thyme
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups canned tomatoes

Cover tightly and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and stir in:

2 large carrots, sliced 1/8" thick
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

Bake covered for 40 minutes until vegetables are tender. Stir in:

1 green pepper chopped(optional)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Sprinkle on top:

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bake uncovered for 5 minutes until cheese melts.

This recipe serves 6.