I MAKE SALMON!

Ok, so my fave fish is Salmon, but I'd never made it before, and I was all "Naoms, why don't you make salmon?" That was an excellent question and so Salmon was made, by me.

How it's supposed to look:


How mine looks:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 jalapenos, cut into rings
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 cup apricot preserves

Directions

4 (4 by 4-inch) pieces parchment paper

• 4 cedar plank pieces, food service quality
• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skinned and boned
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (3-inch) fresh rosemary sprigs
• 1 lemon, zested

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small saute pan over medium heat, heat oil. When hot, add jalapenos and saute until caramelized. Add garlic, and before it begins to brown, deglaze with white wine. Next add mustard and apricot preserves and bring to a simmer. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes and let completely cool.

Place parchment paper on planks, add salmon, lightly salt and pepper, place a rosemary sprig on each fillet, and liberally apply cooled apricot mixture.

Place cedar plank on gas burner. When plank has begun to smoke, place into preheated oven.

Cook salmon until medium-rare; remove from oven and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes until serving. Garnish with lemon zest.

Conclusion;

Did not use cedar plank, cuz I don't have that. I also did not lemon zest it, because, quite frankly I don't see the point of "garnishing" anything. It was delicious. The first night, i was like hmm, fishy, so I left it in the oven a little longer and the second night I was like an animal, consuming it all uncivilized. Make this!

Stuffed Manicotti

I don't have a "mine" pic, but I made this last week and I want press for it.

I mean, this is basically how it looks...(SIKE) I wish, it did not look this good. But it was delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh spinach, stems trimmed and well washed or a 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
• Kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• 12 manicotti shells
• 3 cups marinara sauce, recipe follows
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese (about 1 pound)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese or a mixture of half Pecorino and Parmesan
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, and season generously with salt. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and season with salt, as well. Boil the spinach, uncovered, until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, (do not drain), and immediately plunge the spinach into the ice water. Drain and squeeze the excess water from the spinach, and finely chop. Alternatively, if using thawed spinach, simply squeeze, and finely chop.

In the same large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta shells until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cover the bottom of a 9- x 13-inch ovenproof baking dish with 1 cup of the marinara sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, evenly combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup of the Parmesan, the eggs, and the spinach. Season with the 1/2 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Spoon the cheese mixture into the manicotti shell and line them up in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining sauce. Scatter the remaining cheese on top and dot with the butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

• MARINARA SAUCE
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 medium onion, diced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 1/2 cups whole, peeled, canned tomatoes in puree, (one 28-ounce can), roughly chopped
• Sprig of fresh thyme
• Sprig of fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper to taste. Use now, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Conclusion:

LOVED IT!

A different recipe for fried rice

Here's how it's supposed to look:


Here's how mine looks:



Ok, so as you know earlier on in the blog I made fried rice. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I found a new recipe, that I LOVE!

Fried Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery with leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 lb fresh snow peas
• 3 stalks green onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups cooked rice

Method

1. Preheat large skillet or wok. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce to the beaten eggs. Add one teaspoon sesame oil to the preheated wok, and scramble eggs until set. Remove from wok and set aside.
2. Add the tablespoon each of sesame oil and olive oil to wok. Add onions, green and red peppers, snow peas, and celery to wok. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes longer.
3. Add cooked rice and carrots. Sprinkle in the 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Add more olive oil if necessary. Cook the rice for about 5 minutes, until heated through.
4. Add cooked eggs and green onions, and cook for 1 minute more before serving.

Conclusion:

So, I loved this. Love it, like I'll make it any day of the week and enjoy it. I did make some changes, I didn't use carrots, red pepper or peas. I added chicken and broccoli instead. Soo good, love it. LOVE IT.

July. 4

How it's supposed to Look and How what I made Looks:






Just to show how long ago I should have posted this, these meals are from July 4th. My friends, Oscar and Jasmine, my aunt and I had a bbq. It was super hot, so we spent most of the time in the AC running out to check the fire or put stuff on the grill.

I had several things I wanted to do. 1. Try this Italian chicken thing my friend's mom made at their BBQ last week. 2. FINALLY, make the tomato rice taste good. 3. Just get together with my buddies and eat. Which is always a fave passtime of mine. Below is what came of these goals.

The chicken I simply call Italian Chicken:
Via Barbra Sabater

The breasts marinating:





Ingredients:
1. 4 Chicken Breasts (or how ever much you need)
2.A bottle of Italian salad dressing


Directions:

Cut the chicken breasts in slices, taking your chicken breasts from 4 thick slices to 8 lean slices of chicken. If it is still too thick, beat it until it is a nice, tender and lean. Soak it in Italian salad dressing and marinate it over night or for at least four hours. Then put it on the grill, for 20 minutes or until cooked.


Me looking awful, cutting an onion:





Tomato Rice:
via Allrecipes.com

Required Ingredients

* 1 can of whole tomatoes (drained)
* ½ a small white onion (roughly chopped)
* 2 garlic cloves (halved)
* 1-¾ cups of chicken broth or water
* 1-½ tablespoons of olive oil
* 4 whole tomatoes (unpeeled)
* 1-½ cups of rice (medium-grain)
* 2 carrots (scraped and chopped into ¼ inch pieces)
* 2 serrano chilies or 2 jalapenos (slit lengthwise nearly end to end)
* ¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley
* ½ cup of a 10-oz. Box of frozen peas
* Salt


Instructions

* Combine the canned tomatoes with onion and garlic and blend in a blender. Blend the tomatoes smooth to equal 1 cup.
* Heat the broth/water until it is steaming and then lightly oil the tomatoes.
* Grill the tomatoes enough to char their skins. When the tomatoes have cooled, remove the peels and chop them.
* Take a 3-quart saucepan and heat olive oil in it over a medium flame. To this add raw rice and stir regularly during a cooking period of 5 minutes.
* Add the tomato mixture and carrots, and stir for a few minutes. Let it cook until it looks somewhat dry.
* After this, add the warm broth or water, chilies and parsley and stir the mixture thoroughly.
* Cover the pan with a lid and place on a range burner or a cooking grate of charcoal or gas grill (indirect, medium flame).
* Cover this for 15 minutes or until the liquid is almost absorbed. Then add peas and grilled tomatoes, and stir with a fork. Cover the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
* When done, gently fluff the rice with a fork. Remove the chilies and use it to decorate the top of the rice and serve.


Pasta Salad Via Oscar Nunez
Ingredients:
12 oz of Pasta (a box)
A Can of tuna Fish
Diced Green peper
Diced Red pepper
Onions
Mayonnaise (depending on taste)
Black Pepper
Salt

Directions
*Cook the pasta in boiling water with a pinch of salt.
*While pasta cools, dice the peppers and onion and mix it all together
* Mix the tuna with the peppers/onion mix and pour in with pasta
*Add Mayonnaise to the pasta and mix
*Keep cool until ready to eat.

BBQ Chicken:


Ingredients

1. BBQ sauce
2. Chicken wings
3. Paprika
4. Garlic powder
5. Adobo all purpose seasoning

Directions:
*Season the chicken with paprika, garlic powder and adobo
*let stand overnight in the fridge (or for at least 4 hrs)
*Make sure the grill is hot
* Put the chicken legs on the grill and start cooking
* After 10 mins (or when half-way cooked), apply BBQ sauce with a cooking brush.
*Let stand for for 5 mins
*Apply more BBQ sauce
*Let stand until completely cooked.




Conclusion:
It was GREAT! I FINALLY, FINALLY! Got the tomato rice right. I had to pour some water in, once the tomato sauce was sucked up, because it still was a bit hard, but once the water was in there, it was pretty amazing. I enjoyed dinner so much and was so pleased. Oscar made the pasta salad, he made it very light and there were complaints that there should have been more mayo, but there was no evidence of that, as the food disappeared. The Italian chicken was a big hit, but I didn't like it! LOL, i'm not a fan of white meat and after biting into it I realized, "wait, you know, I think it was dark meat she made." So I should have grilled bonless thighs, instead of chicken breast, UGH! Whatever, next time. Everyone else loved it and while I enjoyed the taste, I fine all white meat a bit dry, everyone else stared at me like I was insane and asked "you call this dry?" as they chomped down on my chicken. All in all a meal, well made.



My Sister happy after her meal