Mustard Milanese with an Arugula Fennel Salad

I can take no credit for this recipe or this dish; it was all Seamus.

When I came home after going to happy hour with some friends and  could hear the crackling oil from the kitchen, I knew I was going to have something great for dinner. Seamus and I don't fry things very often in our kitchen, mostly for health reasons, but the more we do fry, the more I want to fry!

Seamus did a great job of frying this chicken. It was crunchy on the outside, and moist on the inside. The crust of the chicken itself was so flavorful that I would have just eaten little balls of fried crust on their own!

The salad and the sauce balanced everything out nicely; this dish was a treat to come home to!

Mustard Milanese with an Arugula Fennel Salad

Courtsey of Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perlman

Ingredients for the Chicken
2 Boneless, skinless chckien breasts
Table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Cup all-purpose Flour
1 Large egg white
2 Tablespoons smooth dijon mustard
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 Teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 Cup coarse, lightweight breadcrumbs, such as panko
Mix of vegatable and olive oil, for frying

Ingredients for the Salad
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 Tablespoons whole-seed or coarse Dijon mustard
1 Tablsepoon smooth Dijon mustard
1/4 Cup olive oil
5 Ounces baby arugula leaves
Small fennel bulb

Directions
Prepare chicken - On a cutting board with a very sharp knife, butterfly your chicken breasts, and slice them all the way though, so that you end up with four think cutlets. With a  meat pounder (not a tenderizer), pound your cutlets out between two pieces of plastic wrap up to 1/4 inch thickness. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

Grab three big plates, and line them up on your counter. Pour the flour into the first one. In a small dish, whisk together the eqq white, smooth Dijon, garlic, oregano, and lemon zest. Pour half o fthis mixture into the bottom of the second plate. In the third plate, spread out the breadcrumbs. Dredge each piece of chicken lightly in floud, then heavily in the egg white mustard mixtue, and generously in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with second peice of chicken, then refill egg white-mustard plate and repeat with final two peices of chicken. Arrange the breaded cutlets on a large tray, and chill them in the fridge for 1 hour, or up to 1 day (covered with plastic wrap). This helps the coating set.

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees.

Cook Chicken - Pour 1/2 inch of oil - use a mixture of olive and vegatable oil, or the frying oil of your choice - in a large pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Test the heat with a flick of water - if it hisses, you are good to go. Cook the chicken until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes on the first and 2-3 minutes on the second. Remove the chicekn from heat, and salt and pepper on both sides while draining on paper towles. Once it is drained, transfer the chicken to a tray to keep in the warm oven. Repeat with additional oil and remaining pieces of chicken.

Prepare Salad - In a small bowl, whisk lemon jiuce and mustards togeether, then whisk in olive oil in a thin stream. Pour three-quarters of this into a large bowl. Add arugula to bowl. Thinly shave your fennel bulb on a mandoline, or cut it as thinly as you can with a sharp knife, and add this to the arugula.

To Serve - Wehn you are ready to serve it, toss the salad. Arrange one piece of chicken from the warm oven on a palte. Drizzle a few drops of the reserved salad dressing onto the chick (you will thank me when you try it), and pile the salad on top. Season with salt and pepper, and eat immediately.

Roasted Eggplant with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce and Cumin-Crisped Chickpeas

Shea and I have been relying heavily on the internet for recipes recently, so this week we decided to break out some of our old fashioned cookbooks for new ideas. As you know, I love both the blog and the book written by Deb Perlman called "Smitten Kitchen". It seems like literally everything I make from her book or blog I end up loving, and this dish was no different.

I was worried that this dish might be too simple, especially considering the star of the dish, the eggplant, has almost no treatment to it at all. Just a little bit of oil, salt/pepper, and then roasted. While it was simple, it was still delicious. The tartness of the yogurt-tahnini sauce mixed with the saltiness of the chickpeas balanced out the earthy flavors that are so fantastic about a roasted eggplant. Yum, yum!

Roasted Eggplant with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce and Cumin-Crisped Chickpeas

Courtesy of Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perlman

Ingredients
1 3/4 Cup (from a 15.5 ounce) cooked chickpeas, drained, patted dry on paper towels
5 Tablespoons olive oil
Coarse or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Teaspoon ground cumin
3 Pounds small eggplants (Italian style eggplants if you can find them, 4-7 ounces each)

Yogurt-Tahini Sauce
1/3 Cup tahini paste
2/3 Cup full fat, thick plain yogurt
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Garlic cloves
1/2 Teaspoon table salt
About 1/3 cup cold water
2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leafed parsley

Directions
Crisp Chickpeas - Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Toss the chickpeas with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, and ground cumin. Spread them on a baking sheet, and roast on top rack for 30-40 minutes, rolling them around on the tray from time to time, until they are browned and crisp. I find that freshly cooked chickpeas crisp faster, so you may need less time for them to crisp if not canned.

Roast Eggplant -- Brush a large baking sheet or roasting pan with a generous tablespoon of oil. Halve the eggplants lengthwise, arrange them, cut side up, in one layer on the oiled sheet. Brush the cut sides lightly with a tiny amount of additional oil, and sprinkle them generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Carefully flip the eggplants so that their cut sides are against the pan, and roast for another 15 minutes, until they are bronzed underneath and tender throughout. If you are using large eggplants, you may need up to 5 minutes additional roasting time.

Make Yogurt-Tahini Sauce -- Whisk together tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and salt; the mixture will become very thick and stiff. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture is smooth, with a thick but pourable consistency. I find that about 5 tablespoons (a little shy of 1/3 cup) of water does the trick.

TO Serve - Arrange the eggplant sections, cut side up, on a large platter. Dollop each piece generously with yogurt-tahini sauce. Sprinkle with crisped chickpeas and parsley. Serve immediately, passing extra chickpeas and yogurt tahini sauce.

Galacian-Style Fish Steaks

This is a dish that Seamus and I have been making for the past several years. Seamus in particular loves this dish, while I have always thought it was good, but not great.

Everything changed this time though, because we substituted the flat leaf parsley for cilantro. As it turns out, I don't really like parsley, and I love cilantro. For me, this substitution made all the difference, and I now love this dish just as much as Seamus does!

Galacian-Style Fish Steaks (Merluza a la Gallega)

Courtesy of "Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain" by Penelope Casas

Ingredients
3/4 Pould potatoes, preferably red, in 1/4 inch slices
4 thin slices onion
6 gloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs parsley
Salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
7 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 hake or fresh cod steaks, about 1 inch think
1/2 teaspoons paprika, preferably Spanish style

Directions
In a shallow casserole large enough to hold the fish in one layer, place the potatoes, onion, 2 cloves of the minced garlic, parsley, salt, thyme, bay leaf, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the vinegar, and water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are about half cooked.

Place the fish steaks over the potato mixture and add some more water to barely cover the fish. Sprinkle the fish with salt, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes and fish are done. Pour off all the liquid from the casserole. Rome the skin and bones from the fish carefully, leaving 4 fillets.

In a small skillet heat the remaining 6 tablespoons of oil, then add the remaining 4 cloves of minced garlic and saute for a minute. Turn off the heat; add the remaining vinegar and the paprika. Pour over the casserole and serve right away.

Julia Child's Broiled Trout

I was not home when Seamus made this dish, so I don't have a lot of insight on how easy/difficult it was to make, or how delicious it tasted, but the photo sure does look yummy!

Julia Child's Broiled Trout

Courtesy of Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking by Julia Child

For salmon, swordfish, tuna, bluefish, shark, mahimahi, and so forth. Here you concentrate on browning the top of the fish; no need to turn it. Dry the fish, paint both sides with melted butter or vegetable oil, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a shallow pan that will just hold them comfortably. Pour around the steaks 1/8 inch of dry white wine or French vermouth and set 2 inches below a preheated broiler. After 1 minute, brush a little soft butter on top of each and squeeze on drops of lemon juice. Continue broiling about 5 minutes more, or until lightly springy to the touch - cooked through but still juicy. Serve with cooking juices spooned over.

As I mentioned recently, I have found myself to be in somewhat of a "bean phase". Black Bean soup is the perfect Fall dish because it is so warm and filling, and the touch of avocado in this dish really brightens up the soup to make it a great one.

The other stand-out point to this recipe is the addition of the Sherry. Shea and I realized that we both love to cook with Sherry on a trip to New Orleans when we realized that Sherry was the ingredient that gave turtle soup the delicious flavor that we always crave. The Sherry in this soup has the same effect, so enjoy!

Black-Bean Soup with Avocado Salsa

Courtesy of Food and Wine at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/black-bean-soup-with-avocado-salsa

1. 6 cups drained and rinsed canned black beans (three 19-ounce cans)
2. 4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
3. 2 tablespoons cooking oil
4. 1 onion, chopped
5. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6. 1/2 cup dry sherry
7. 1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
8. 2 avocados, preferably Hass, cut into 1/2-inch dice
9. 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
10. 6 radishes, halved and sliced thin
11. 2 tablespoons lime juice

1. Combine 3 cups of the beans and 1 cup of chicken broth in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat, add the sherry, and boil until reduced to approximately 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the bean puree, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, and the remaining 3 cups of chicken broth and 3 cups of beans. Simmer until hot, about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the avocados, cilantro, radishes, lime juice, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Mix gently. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with the salsa.

About a month ago, Seamus made a poached salmon recipe that we both loved. We had never poached salmon before, and after having such a great experienced, we vowed to do it again.

This recipe involves poaching your salmon in a delicious smelling poaching liquid full of carrots and onions (which we decided to eat with our meal). While we didn't have quite the amorous reaction to this poached salmon as we had to the previous one we prepared, this was still good enough to make again.

Poached Salmon with Cucumber Raita

Courtesy of Food and Wine at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/poached-salmon-with-cucumber-raita

1. 1 1/2 quarts water
2. 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
3. 3 tablespoons vinegar
4. 1 onion, sliced
5. 1 carrot, sliced
6. 9 sprigs parsley
7. 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
8. 1/4 teaspoon peppercorns
9. 3 bay leaves
10. 3 1/4 teaspoons salt
11. 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated
12. 1 3/4 cups plain yogurt
13. 1 clove garlic, minced
14. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
15. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
16. 2 pounds center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
17. 1/8 teaspoon paprika

1. In a large deep frying pan, combine the water, wine, vinegar, onion, carrot, parsley, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, and 2 1/4 teaspoons of the salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the cucumber and the remaining teaspoon salt. Let sit for 10 minutes. With your hands, squeeze the cucumber and discard the liquid. Put the cucumber back into the bowl and add the yogurt, garlic, mint, and ground pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Add the fish to the liquid in the pan and bring back to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, until the fish is just barely done (it should still be translucent in the center), about 4 minutes for a 1-inch-thick fillet. Remove the pan from the heat and let the fish sit in the liquid for 2 minutes. Transfer to plates and, if you like, remove the skin. Serve the salmon warm or at room temperature. Top with the raita and then sprinkle the raita with the paprika.

Warm Tortellini and Cherry Tomato Salad

I have to admit, this dish was not my favorite, but it was quick and easy. It is a very basic pasta salad that tastes about as basic as it is to make. I brought it with me for lunch for a couple of days, and by the end of the last portion, I was pasta-salad-ed-out.  Still, I thought I would add it to my blog in case I was ever invited to a pot-luck and needed something asap!

Warm Tortellini and Cherry Tomato Salad

Courtesy of Cooking Light at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/warm-tortellini-cherry-tomato-salad-10000001011332/

Ingredients

• 2 (9-ounce) packages fresh cheese tortellini
• 1 1/2 cups (1 1/2-inch-long) slices fresh asparagus (about 1 pound) 
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 4 cups trimmed arugula
• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) pregrated fresh Parmesan cheese 
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add asparagus to pasta during last 2 minutes of cook time. Drain.
2. While pasta cooks, combine vinegars, oil, and pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pasta mixture, arugula, and remaining ingredients; toss to coat.

Black Bean Burgers with Sriracha Aioli

Anyone who has lived with Shea and I over the years knows that occasionally we go into what we affectionately call a "bean phase". Basically, we both love beans and a couple of times a year, beans are a staple in our diet. So when I saw this recipe, a bean burger with a Sriracha sauce, I knew I would love it.

I made this recipe on a night that Shea wasn't home, so I have to admit I took a bunch of short cuts. The most obvious one is that I forgot to buy buns, so I decided to eat these little patties on their own. They turned out pretty good, but if I was going to make it again I would definitely eat it on a bunch (and maybe even add a fried egg!).

Black Bean Burgers with Sriracha Aioli

Courtesy of Cooking Light at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-burgers-50400000131064/

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns
• 1/4 cup canola mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 2 cups baby arugula

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Place beans in a large bowl; lightly mash. Stir in onion and next 7 ingredients. Divide mixture into 4 portions; shape each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
3. 3. Arrange patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 8 minutes; turn after 6 minutes. Add bun halves to pan; bake 3 minutes.
4. 4. Combine mayonnaise, Sriracha, and juice; spread over bottom halves of buns. Top each serving with 1 patty, 1/2 cup arugula, and top halves of buns.