filo wrapped coho salmon

So the mussels (below) were the appetizers as part of our seafood extravaganza. And the filo wrapped salmon was the entrée. It was quite possibly one of the fastest proteins I have ever prepared...with the goat cheese it was pretty rich. Tasty but rich. Next time I think I would cream together the goat cheese with a little bit of honey dijon or something like that to cut the richness just a bit. What I did love was how beautifully the filo turned out. I am always apprehensive to work with it, for fear of drying out or tearing, but then whenever I do, always a happy surprise!

(Lighting in the picture is horrible!)

Ingredients
2 coho salmon fillets - personalize size, de-boned and skinned
3 Tbsp crumbled herb goat cheese
1 lemon 5-10 thin garlic chives
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 sheets filo paper
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F
2. Lay one sheet of filo out. Cover the other with a damp cloth/paper towel to ensure that it doesn't dry out.
3. Brush top half of the sheet with melted butter.
4. Flip bottom half of sheet up onto the top, brush with butter.
5. Pat salmon dry, season with salt and pepper.
   
6. Place de-boned and skinned fillet on with 3 inches from the end of the sheet.
7. Top salmon with half of the crumbled cheese, 1/4 of the chives - chopped up into small pieces, and some juice from half of the lemon.
8. Fold top, bottom and short side of the filo ont the salmon, and then fold the salmon along the long side of the filo.
9. Brush outer filo with butter.
10. Repeat for second fillet.
11. Place packs on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown - approximately 20 minutes.
12. Garnish (if you would like to!) with the other half of the lemon and remaining chives
    

Best served with a fresh light garden salad!

Serves 2.

chorizo mussels

Every summer I have a few seafood kicks. Living on the west coast, there is an abundance of delights from the sea. A few months ago there was the Spotted Prawn Festival in Vancouver...fresh fresh fresh meaty prawns, cooked simply either steamed or grilled and a little garlic butter - delish!

Today after work I wondered down to Granville Island, visited our favourite fish shop and picked up a few pounds of mussels and wild coho salmon fillets...and out of it we had a tasty summer seafood fest.

Here is our appetizer: chorizio mussels - the heat was delayed, using fresh chili's would have a stronger intense heat, the chorizo was more subtle.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 diced yellow onion
1 Roma tomato diced
3 cloves diced garlic
1 pinch salt
1 large chorizo sausage, sliced
1 Tbsp chili flakes
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup vegetable stock
2 lbs mussels, cleaned - only use tightly closed mussels
1/3 cup heavy cream
4-5 basil leaves

Lots slices of crusty bread

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot (I used a dutch oven)
2. Add to garlic, onions and salt to the pot, sauté until they begin to sweat, do not let brown
3. Add chorizo sausage and chili flakes, sauté for about 2 minutes, stir occasionally
4. Add tomatoes, allow to warm through
5. Add white wine and vegetable stock - bring to a boil
6. Add cleaned mussels, cover and let steam for approximately 5 minutes
7. Once the majority of all the mussels have opened, remove from heat.
8. Transfer mussels to a large bowl, leave sauce in the pot.
   
9. Add heavy cream, bring to simmer and allow to thicken - about 2 minutes.
10. Take all but one leaf of the basil, tear and add to pot, stir and pour into bowl with mussels.
11. Garnish with remaining leaf.
12. Serve with bread - use it to absorb all the tasty broth
    

NB: Only eat the mussels that have fully opened - the other's should be tossed.

crab wonton crisps

A friend of mine is getting married and we had a bridal shower for her this weekend. I love the opportunity to try new things at such gatherings, though I am sure most people prefer to try something new when it is just them - and not 15 other people! C'est la vie.

I love crispy wontons as an appetizer, and crab is tasty! I also love quick appies that can be prepared the night before, and then assembled just before needed. This is a combo of several different recipes I have tried over the years, and thought worked out pretty well - AND they look fancier than they actually are!

Ingredients:
24 square wonton wrappers
2 x 6 oz cans of crab, drained
4 oz softened creamcheese
3 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
cooking spray

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
   
2. In a medium sized bowl combine: crab, creamcheese, 2 green onions, Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
   
3. Spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
4. Gently place a wonton wrapper in each cup, and press down.
   
5. Divide crab mixture, evenly amongst the 24 cups. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through.
   
7. Top with remaining green onion slices. Serve warm.

You can make filling the day before and then bake just before they are needed.

cedar plank grilled salmon

The husband of a good friend of mine loves to fish and loves salmon. I would say if there was one meal that is his specialty to make, it is grilled salmon. His wife (my friend) makes a tasty-tasty lemon dijon sauce to top it. She was kind enough to share her recipe, but of course I can never just leave well enough alone! So below are directions for our version of cedar plank grilled salmon based on the deliciousness of theirs!

Grilled Salmon Ingredients:
cedar plank (for grilling)
water to cover plank
1/3 cup coarse salt
1 & 1/2 lbs fillet of salmon (we like the skin on)
a drizzle of olive oil
1/3 yellow onion thinly sliced
1/2 lemon thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh dill salt pepper

Lemon Dijon Sauce Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons yellow onion, minced
1 & 1/2 lemons juiced
4 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 green onion thinly sliced
3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions

1. In a large roaster pan place cedar plank, cover with water, add coarse salt. Allow to soak for 3 hours.
2. Once cedar is fully soaked, prepare salmon.
3. Pre-heat grill (ours is gas) to indirect medium high (about 425 F)
   
4. Rinse off salmon (if it hasn't been done already, debone fillet)
5. Place salmon on board, drizzle with olive oil, flavour with salt and pepper. Place dill, onion and lemon across the top of it.
6. Place plank over indirect heat, allow to cook for about 20 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temp of 134 F.
7. While salmon is cooking, make Lemon Dijon sauce: heat butter and saute onions and garlic, don't brown.
   
8. Add Dijon mustard, lemon juice (sans seeds!) and honey. Whisk together and allow to thicken.
9. Once the sauce is brought to a gentle simmer add green onions and dill, allow to simmer for 2-3 min
10. Remove sauce from heat.
11. Once salmon is done, remove from heat, serve fish right on cedar plank. Serve Lemon Dijon sauce on the side.

We served this with wild rice and a fresh salad... a great summer meal! Serves 4.

sushi salad

I have a handful of recipes that I have planned to blog about for a while...but the month got away on me, there should be a few more coming after this one!

We love sushi! But sometimes we don't feel like going out, let alone taking the time to make it (even if everyone makes their own). This is all the goodness of sushi, with way less time. The best thing is that you can add whatever you like to it. If you LOVE spicy tuna, you could top the salad with spicy tuna sashimi - yum.

Ingredients:
salad:
1 cup uncooked sushi rice
1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp white sugar
1 portobello mushroom
1 tsp sesame oil
1 handful snap peas chopped
1 carrot julienned
1 avocado diced
1 red pepper julienned
1/3 of an English cucumber julienned
1/2 cup edamame beans (about 2 cups pods, boiled in water for 6 minutes - cool and seperate beans and pods)
1 cup crab
1 sheet of nori crumbled to top
sesame seeds to top

vinaigrette:
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp wasabi (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Combine first amount of rice wine vinegar and sugar in a microwaveable bowl and heat for about 20 seconds, enough to dissolve sugar.
3. Once rice is cooked, mix the sugar/vinegar in, and allow rice to come to room temperature.
4. Meanwhile, slice up portabello mushroom, fry up in first amount of sesame oil.
5. Once rice is cooled, add all the veggies and crab or any other protein you want to add.
   
6. Top with sesame seeds and crumbled nori.
   
7. Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients.

I personally thought this recipe was best when fresh - day of, I didn't love it the next day as a left over. We had it with chicken terriyaki and miso soup, an easy homemade sushi dinner.

coconut + prawn red thai curry sauce + barley risotto

Over the last few weeks of January, when the restaurants are quiet after the holiday rush, to get everyone back out spending money and hitting the town over 180 restaurants participate in Dine Out Vancouver. A three week smorgasboard of choice in restaurants ranging from the pizza joint down the road to high end restaurants like Lumiere (formerly owned and operated by Chef Rob Feenie) or Raincity Grill. Menus all include a 3 course dinner, and come at three level of prices $15, $25 and $35. This year we hit up four restaurants as part of the promotion. Every year we go to the Cannery (yum!) and then add a few restaurants that would not be part of our usual dining experiences.

At the Cannery this year we had a delicious dinner of sautéed Black Tiger Prawns, served over coconut barley risotto, with sweet basil and red Thai curry sauce. I love risotto on any day, so this was fun and unique twist. I tried to reproduce it to the best of my abilities at home, it turned out pretty well. Just be aware that barely has a totally different texture than regular arborio rice.

** picture to come (we ate it before we could take the picture!)

Barely Risotto Ingredients
* serves 2 or 3
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 minced shallots
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 handfuls of pearl barely*
1/3 cup cooking sherry
4-6 cups low sodium chicken stalk

Coconut + Prawn Red Thai Curry Sauce Ingredients
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 minced shallots
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 red pepper julienned
1 handful of snap or snow peas cut in half lengthwise
2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste **
6 oz coconut milk
12-15 prawns
juice from one lime

*sorry I never measure risotto, my rule of thumb is one handful per person when used as the main course)
** this may be too spicy for you, start with one and add more if you want more heat.

Directions:
Bring stock to low simmer. Heat up oil in fry pan. Sweat the onions and garlic on medium heat, carefully so as not to burn the garlic. Add the barely, essentially you are toasting the grains and opening it up to absorb the liquid. Once the barely has toasted for about one minute, add sherry. Once liquid has absorbed/evaporated, slowly add hot stock to pan half a ladle at a time. Stir the barely often (I didn't find it as finicky as arborio rice).

Once barely gets close to being done it will be soft, shouldn't be crunchy! (about 15-17 minutes of adding stock/stirring and repeat), in a second sauté pan, heat oil, add garlic and shallots, sweat for about 2 minutes, add the red peppers and sugar/snap peas. Just as peppers begin to soften, add the curry paste, coconut milk and stir to combine. Add prawns, cook until they turn pink (not too long or you over cook them and they get rubbery!) as you finish squeeze the juice of one lime into the pan to freshen up the flavours.

Serve by scooping barely risotto onto a plate and then a scoop of the coconut curry, veggies and prawns on top. Enjoy!