Friday Fish — Fish Taco Salad

25 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by More Time at the Table in Fish and Seafood

My husband is nuts for fish tacos and, in an effort to provide a more fun Friday night meal, I made them a couple of weeks ago. (I usually take Friday afternoons to create something gorgeous and time-consuming that requires a knife and fork to eat.) Fun to him means protein between big pieces of some sort of grainy holders or, alternately, anything that gets dipped or is spicy or is slathered in bacon and barbecue sauce. These tacos were so good that I then made them at work and brought leftovers home. While leftovers from work aren’t typical, they are when the weather is as it’s been for the last week.

(below: look closely–Tucker’s watching a doe in our yard)

Days of snow and cold drove us indoors where we were sustained by those leftovers followed by vats of barley soup I’d frozen ahead and no small amount of nightly red wine. When the tortillas were gone, I made a salad we maybe liked better than the tacos. Maybe. If you’re eating fish on Fridays for Lent or if you’re just looking for a tasty healthy dinner, try this salad. Even if it’s as cold at your house as it’s been at mine. You’ll have room for dessert if you do! Continue reading →

Friday Fish — Asian-Style Salmon on Fennel, Celery, + Onions with Ginger Asparagus

20 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by More Time at the Table in Fish and Seafood, Salmon

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Friday Fish is a big thing in Saint Paul, Minnesota where Dave and I lived for a few years and where Irish Catholics built the town. All year ’round, there are Friday Fish Nights at local restaurant-bars, but during the season of Lent, they sometimes become ALL YOU CAN EAT FRIDAY FISH, including at the iconic Groveland Tap,which was just 1/2 block down from our old house. Currently the all-you-can-eat fish is just over $11 and includes slaw and fries. Beer’s extra. Sigh.

If, by chance, you’re interested in Lent, you might like to visit my day-by-day Lenten Journey, “Praying in Saint Paul.” There is a post for each day in the season. For a particular day, click the word CLASSIC in upper left corner and then click on SIDEBAR; the list of each of the 40 days will appear at left.

Stop in at The Groveland Tap: Fairview/St. Clair — Saint Paul, Minnesota

Living in Colorado Springs, I don’t see this, but perhaps I don’t know where to look. If I showed up at a bar near one of the big Lutheran or Catholic churches, maybe I’d see a good fish fry. I’ll keep my eyes peeled. In the meantime, I thought I’d serve up fish each week of lent just because. This week salmon caught my eye at Whole Foods, where you can buy individually cryovaced (sp?) packages of salmon fillets for a really good price. Wild salmon is out of season, so if this is how you get your salmon fix. (Skip most farmed salmon for health reasons; we’re encouraged to eat it only on the rare–uh–occasion.) Our regular grocery store often has a side of frozen wild salmon, as well and that’s a bargain at $11.99 per pound. See if yours has this good deal.

Belated note: Upon further investigation, it looks like TONY’S BAR on Tejon in downtown Colorado Springs is serving Walleye and a Draft for $9.95 on Friday nights. Go Tony’s! I love Walleye, mid-western girl that I am. BTW: I think Tony’s is closer to the Methodists and UCCers than to the Catholics or Lutherans. (below: courtesy Tony’s)

Anyway, try my….

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Chinese/Lunar New Year Dinner: Just Make These Hot or Cold Sesame Noodles

16 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by More Time at the Table in Chicken, Chinese, Chinese New Year, Noodles

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Rosie and Tucker

If you’re wondering how the French cooking class turned out, see the post before this one; I added a few pics from the class so you could be part of it all. Cook that meal!! It was such a fun day. Many thanks to a great group of students. Come back soon.

A tip-top Asian cook, I’m not. Dave has always been the wokker in our kitchen. (Is “wokker” a word? I fear not. Maybe it’s “wok man?”) But in recent years, as his work load keeps increasing, he often defers to me for a little blast from China, Viet Nam, Thailand, etc., or a reasonable melange from a couple different lovely Eastern cuisines. He and daughter Emily always insist they must go out for a Chinese lunch alone because “Mom doesn’t like Chinese food.” (Whatever the reason, daughters and dads should have lunch alone.) There’s nothing farther from the truth. I just don’t like greasy Chinese food or huge bowlfuls of deep-fried whatever the nugget it is covered in slimy-sweet orange sauce. Now I’ve really got your tastebuds going, right? I’d just rather make it in my own kitchen unless I’m near a fabulous restaurant I’m sure of. (In Colorado Springs, I’ve been to really few, but am partial to Saigon Cafe downtown or Bhan Thai on Centennial.)

If I have to say what my favorite Asian dishes are, I’d have to go with noodles or soup… or soup with noodles even. The comforting heat and fresh herby fragrance wafting up from the plate make me swoon. This combo noodle-chicken-vegetable dish arrived on our table after I’d seen a very popular, though couple-year old BON APPÉTIT recipe for Sesame Noodles with Chili Oil and Scallions and was dreaming about something scrumptious for Chinese New Year Dinner. At first I didn’t pay close attention to the amounts of Szechuan pepper plus crushed red pepper, nor did I (silly girl) read the COMMENTS, which indicated a “too much vinegar” feeling. (Not at all for us.) No tears here, I loved the idea, knew we couldn’t stomach all that heat once I read the recipe thoroughly, and wanted a much more rounded dish at any rate. Here’s what I came up with… We ate it warm for dinner, and then ate off it for a couple of days cold. You could have very happy lunches. Heaven. (above: Rosie and Tucker hoping for a piece of chicken) Continue reading →

French 3-Course Meal to Make at Home: Think Chocolate!

09 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by More Time at the Table in Chicken

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On occasion, or when someone requests it, I teach a short course on making a simple French or Italian meal at home. Sometimes it’s quiche and salad, complete with learning how to make a crust and vinaigrette from scratch. For the Italian cooking session, it could be learning to make your own pizza and/or crostata. Other times it’s something like this soup-fricassee-mousse meal where all my food fantasies merge into one happy morning/afternoon and lunch or dinner. Soup, chicken, chocolate, paired wines: what more could you want for a short French menu class or for Valentine’s Day at home?

NOTE TO READERS: I’VE INSERTED 2/14/15 CLASS PHOTOS INTO THIS POST, WHICH WAS WRITTEN BEFOREHAND.

This Saturday’s class is full. I might repeat it if enough students are interested. Let me know if you are by leaving a note in the Comments, on fb, or via email. I’m currently looking at a 3-month series at home beginning next September — one Thursday night or one Saturday per month focused on basic French menus. I’ll keep you posted.

For those enrolled in this Saturday’s Valentine class, here are recipes and a few basic instructions with photos. I’ll have the whole deal printed off for you–no need to copy and paste from here. We’ll take some photos together and I’ll replace these as needed or make another post just for grins and giggles.

Bon appétit, mes amis! I can’t wait to cook with you. Continue reading →

Frozen Pot Roast Slow-Cooker Dinner in 4.5 Hours + Leftover Beef-Vegetable Soup

02 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by More Time at the Table in Beef, Pot Roast, Slow cooker

≈ 1 Comment

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Horseradish

If you wanted a slow cooker pot roast recipe, I doubt you’d look here. (I don’t do a lot of slow cooker.) Maybe you wouldn’t look anywhere; you’d just put your meat and vegetables together into the pot with your wine, broth, or herbs and turn it on. That’s what I do on the occasions I make this meal. I decided to blog it, though, because I had such good luck getting a big frozen piece of meat cooked and on the table quickly using a slow cooker. No more excuses if you’ve forgotten to unthaw your meat and the morning has disappeared; you can still make a great no-watch meal in a short afternoon. The rest of the time is yours to take a bath, watch the dogs sleep, read the paper, garden, call your daughter, or binge-watch Downton. So put this one in your back pocket for when you need it…

(Below: Right after the Super Bowl. All worn out.

TRY THIS:

FROZEN POT ROAST SLOW COOKER DINNER with horseradish, carrots, and onions IN 4.5 HOURS