Brian's Birthday, Fish and Chips, and Peanut Butter Torte

Brian's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. We both took the day off and we went to the zoo. Afterwards, we went to Central Market to find something to make for dinner. After annoying the fishmonger with our indecisiveness (He wanted to do something easy, I wanted something special), the fishmonger pointed out some North Atlantic Cod. It was beautiful and on sale. I said, "That would be great for fish and chips." But we did not have a deep fryer. We do now!!!

We came home and made amazing fish and chips (beer battered with Liberty Ale). We used Alton Brown's recipe.
Afterwards we had a Peanut Butter Torte I made. It was from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, which I finally purchased a copy for the library after reading about Tuesdays with Dorie for so long on the Food Librarian's site and others.

It was so incredibly rich, like a fluffy peanut butter cheesecake with chocolate ganache. After the fried food and this, we were both nearly ill. Brian seemed to be happy with everything and said, "I don't regret one bite."

Pesto and Pea Pasta with Salmon

Brian cooked the Salmon in a saute pan. He rubbed a bunch of herbs and spices on it before he cooked it in olive oil.

The pasta is:

Whole wheat penne

Frozen peas

Pesto (Classico)

fat free half 'n' half.

Brian Can Cook

I'm not mushy, but I am incredibly lucky to has a guy as great as Brian. I'm super-lucky that he can cook too. Here's a dinner he made:

Grilled Mahi Mahi and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes. I made the spinach - which was just spinach tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, nutmeg, honey, and thyme.

Here's another one he did: His Happy Office Day cake.


He wanted an over-the-top peanut butter and chocolate cake. I hope he doesn't mind me giving away his secrets, but it is a chocolate cake mix, mixed with peanut butter chips, topped with chocolate icing, and the crushed up nutter butters on top. Then he lined it with peanut butter cups, and decorated it with Reese's Pieces.

Moscow Mojito and Grilled Salmon, Wasabi Mashed Potatoes, and Sugar Snap Peas

Since the weather was perfect tonight, Brian and I decided to grill salmon steaks. While Brian we heating up the grill, I put together some cocktails. I cannot take credit for the name. I put together this drink (per Brian's direction, honestly), and he gave it the name of Moscow Mojito, or just now as I was typing this he re-named it the "Soviet Summer Special." So, here you go:

Moscow Mojito AKA Soviet Summer Special

To a rocks glass filled with ice, add:
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Limoncello
splash (about 1/4 oz) Lime Juice
3-4 mint leaves

Fill to the to the top with seltzer. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

(Darn - the photo was blurry!)

Brian marinated the salmon steaks with Soy Vey, lemon pepper, garlic granules, and salt. They were super-duper yummy!!!

For sides I made Wasabi Mashed Potatoes and Sugar Snap peas.

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

For 2 servings, boil 3 medium to large red potatoes. Cook until soft (I usually chop them up in chunks to make them boil quicker). Once you are able to stick a fork through them and pull it out easily, drain, and place in mixer bowl. Add 3 pats of butter and a little less than 1/4 cup half and half (or milk), about 1 and 1/2 tsp wasabi powder, salt and pepper. Mix until blended. Taste and adjust flavor.

The snap peas are super easy!

Sesame Snap Peas

Add desired amount of frozen snap peas to microwave bowl. Cook until fully cooked. Drain excess liquid. Toss with toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

The Friday Experiment

My mom's BD is coming up, so my sister and I decided that we would cook dinner at my place. She gave us the following criteria: No spicy Italian, no garlic. She suggested my Veggie Tacos. Then, she changed her mind and faxed me a recipe that she wanted me to make. I wanted to try it out first before I made it for her birthday dinner, so here it goes!

Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe (Spaghetti with Crushed Black Pepper and Pecorino Cheese)

Salt for the pasta water
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, or more to taste
1 pound spaghetti
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano, or more to taste

Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil.

Grind the peppercorns very coarsely, preferable crushing them in a mortar with a pestle or in a spice grinder.

Warm up a big bowl for mixing and serving the pasta - use some of the pasta water to heat the bowl, if you like.

Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Quickly lift it from the pot with tongs, let it drain for an instant, then drop it into the warm bowl.

Immediately scatter a cup of the grated cheese and most of the ground pepper on the pasta, and toss in quickly. As you mix, sprinkle over spoonfuls of hot water from the cooking pot to moisten and amalgamate the pasta and condiments - add more pepper or cheese to taste.

[originally appeared in ''Lidia's Italy" by Lidia Bastianich.]

It sounded like more of a side-dish pasta, so I decided I would make this to go along with it:

Balsamic-Glazed Salmon Fillets

6 (5 ounce) salmon fillets
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Coat a small saucepan with non-stick cooking spray. Over medium heat, cook and stir garlic until soft, about 3 minutes. Mix in white wine, honey, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
3. Arrange salmon fillets on foil-lined baking sheet. Brush fillets with balsamic glaze, and sprinkle with oregano.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 14 minutes, or until flesh flakes easily with a fork. Brush fillets with remaining glaze, and season with salt and pepper. Use a spatula to transfer fillets to serving platter, leaving the skin behind on the foil.

Any time I google a recipe, inevitably several foodie blogs will be amongst the search results. I'm not sure why, but I decided to google the pasta recipe to see if anyone else had tried to make it. Sure enough, I found this incredibly informative posting: Bad Home Cooking: Mistakes were made: Spaghetti cacio e pepe (with cheese globs). I had the exact same results! All the cheese basically stuck to my tongs, and I had to pull it off. I even warmed the bowl. I even watched Lidia herself make it on the Today Show! Now, it wasn't bad, it was pretty good, but it wasn't any different than when I was in high school and I'd cook up some pasta for lunch and throw some butter, cheese, and pepper on top. Nothing special at all. Definitely not good enough for a birthday dinner.

Now, I included the recipe for the salmon that I used as an inspiration, but I didn't follow the recipe. I did cover the pan with foil, and I did make it in a sauce pan, and I did use all the ingredients, but I just dumped them in and didn't follow the the recipe. I also used olive oil to saute the garlic instead of artificial cooking spray. Oh, and I used Red wine instead of white. And I used Ground Mustard instead of Dijon. And I used dried oregano instead of fresh. Wow, I think I made something completely different!

It was pretty good. The flavor was a little more delicate than I thought it would be - it would have been nice with a little more punch.

When I bought the salmon at Central Market, the Fishmonger asked me if I wanted the head or the tail. I paused for a moment and looked at the whole side of the fish and said "Head." He said, "I that that part better too." I had to fess up - I said, "Honestly, I don't know the difference, you're the first person to give me the option." He said the head side was flakier, and the tail was a more solid piece. He ended up giving me the pound of fish I asked for from the head side, and he through in a little piece of the tail for me to try. I have had tail meat before: my mom used to buy a that whole piece and sometimes I would be the one to get the tail. I just couldn't remember the different except that it is a thinner slice. I suppose I could taste the difference - the tail is slightly gamier, but it is but it is barely discernible. The texture is definitely different and it stays together better. I can't say I prefer one side of the other. But unless I'm grilling it, I will probably continue to buy the Head side unless I'm grilling it.

So, needless to say, we'll be having tacos for her BD.

Smoked Salmon Benedict

I love Brunch. Breakfast foods are some of my favorites to eat and certainly to make. They are so calorie-laden, but I never feel too guilty about it because I know I have the whole day to burn it off. One of my favorite Brunch restaurants in Breadwinners. I love everything they have, but I have a tendency to order the same thing because it is just so good: the Smoked Salmon Benedict. It is something I didn’t think would be too difficult to make, other than the Hollandaise sauce. So, last Sunday, I gave it a shot. I used the Hollandaise sauce from the Better Homes and Gardens checkered cookbook, and I only made 1/3 of the recipe. Here is the recipe:

Hollandaise Sauce

½ cup butter
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 TBSP water
1 TBSP lemon juice
Dash salt
Dash pepper (called for white pepper,
but I just used regular)

Cut the butter into thirds and bring to room temperature In the top of a double boiler, combine egg yolks, water, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add a piece of butter. Place over boiling water. Cook stirring rapidly with a whisk until butter melts and sauce begins to thicken.

Add the remaining butter, one piece at a time, stirring constantly until melted. Continue to cook until butter melts and sauce thickens.

Okay, so I made it perfectly, but waiting until poached eggs cooked did cause it to curdle a little. Just a little though, it was still good.

So the recipe for my version of Breadwinners Smoked Salmon Benedict is as follows:

Smoked Salmon Benedict

2 English Muffins, halved
4 eggs
4 tomato slices
8 oz package Smoked Salmon
Hollandaise Sauce

Lightly toast muffins.

Poach eggs. The way I poach eggs: Crack eggs into a shallow bowl. Fill a skillet ¾ full with water and bring to a boil. Stir boiling water with a wooden spoon to create a swirl. Gently pour eggs into the middle of swirl, careful not break any of the yolks. Boil until desired firmness of yolk – I like mine runny! Remove very carefully with a slotted spoon. Blot very carefully with a paper towel.

Arrange on each plate 2 halves of an English Muffin, place a couple slices of salmon on each half of muffin. Place tomato slice on top of salmon. Gently place one poached egg on top. Pour Hollandaise sauce over eggs.

I conquered! They turned out super good. I used Central Market’s Multi-grain English Muffins. They were really good, but very tough to cut. Brian suggested in the future I should add a little extra Hollandaise directly to the muffin to soften it up a bit – or use regular English muffins. The whole thing is fairly healthy too – well, all except the Hollandaise, but what would it be without that?