Tag Archives: entree

Eating, recipes

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What’s that? You’d like another pie recipe? How convenient!

I found this recipe at 101 Cookbooks. It’s incredibly good — and I didn’t even make it right. I strongly suggest giving it a try and, if you do, thawing the puff pastry correctly. And using bowls that the pastry will cover. I did neither, and the “crust” was more of a dumpling texture. But! Still delicious! It was mighty spicy, though. I’ll probably cut back a bit on the adobo next time.

Sweet Potato Pot Pies
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 to 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilies (or more to taste)
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 cups cold whole or low-fat milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 box puff pastry dough (allow 20 to 30 minutes to thaw)
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the oil, onion, garlic, sweet potato and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the adobo sauce and corn.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and cornstarch, then pour the mixture into the sweet potato pot. Leave the heat at medium-high for a few minutes to bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until the filling starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season with more salt to taste. Pour the filling into small ovenproof bowls, each three quarters full.

Cut a piece of puff pastry dough to fit over each bowl, with some overlap. Place the dough on the bowls and fold over the edge of the dish. Brush the dough lightly with egg white (this creates a golden crust).

Using a fork, poke a few holes in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape, and bake until the crusts are tall and deeply golden, about 15 minutes. Tip: Bake the potpies on a baking sheet lined with foil in case some of the filling bubbles over.

Serves 4 as a main course.

Eating, recipes

Salmon Croquettes with Remoulade

I’m trying to get back to trying out one new recipe each week. New Meal Monday this week turned into Nachos Supreme at the Mexican Place, but we did get around to our new recipe last night.

The recipe for Salmon Croquette with Remoulade was in Cooking Light sometime last year. The croquettes were a beautiful golden brown, but they tasted a little fishy to me (yeah, what was I expecting?). Rockford gave them a big thumbs-up. I didn’t have all of the ingredients for the remoulade, but I made do with what we had. We were missing the capers and the green onions, I think. And my “dash” of Tabasco was a bit much.

Overall, it was easy to make and pretty good. How’s that for a ringing endorsement?

Salmon Croquettes with Remoulade
For the remoulade:
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon capers
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of hot pepper sauce
For the croquettes:
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup crushed saltine crackers, divided
2 6-ounce cans pink salmon, skinless, boneless and drained
4 teaspoons butter

  • To prepare remoulade, combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl; cover and chill.
  • To prepare croquettes, combine 1/3 cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon mustard and egg whites in a bowl. Set aside.
  • Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onions and celery; cook 4 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly.
  • Combine onion mixture, yogurt mixture, 1/2 cup crackers, tarragon, pepper and salmon in a bowl; toss gently. Cover and chill 10 minutes.
  • Divide salmon mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Coat patties evenly with 1/2 cup crackers. Cover and chill 20 minutes.
  • Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heats. Add patties; reduce heat to medium. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
  • Serve croquettes with remoulade sauce.
    Serving size: 2 croquettes, 1 tablespoon sauce. Nutrional info: 273 calories; 9.1 grams fat; 3.2 grams fiber (6 Points)
    • Eating

    Dinner & a movie

    We had B and Rachel over for dinner last night and watched “Serenity” and had dinner.

    The movie was good. The dialogue seemed a little forced in places, but overall it was an enjoyable movie. We might have to borrow B and Rachel’s “Firefly” DVDs sometime.

    And again with the Cook’s Illustrated recipes …

    The meatloaf itself was great, but glaze with the recipe wasn’t so hot. The cider vinegar didn’t blend at all. I’m wondering if maybe our vinegar had gone bad. Does vinegar go bad? I thought that was the nature of the stuff. Anyway, I’ll be using my own mix next time.

    The magazine suggested crafting a special baking dish as follows:

    Fold heavy-duty aluminum foil to form a 10 by 6-inch rectangle. Center the foil on a metal cooling rack and place the rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Poke holes in the foil with a skewer (about half an inch apart). Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

    Meat Loaf
    3 ounces Monterey Jack cheese , grated on small holes of box grater (about 1 cup)
    1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
    1 medium rib celery , chopped fine (about 1/2 cup)
    1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
    2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
    1 teaspoon paprika
    1/4 cup tomato juice
    1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
    2 large eggs
    1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (powdered)
    1 tablespoon soy sauce
    1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers
    2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
    3/4 teaspoon table salt
    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    1 pound ground sirloin
    1 pound ground beef chuck

    Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread cheese on plate and place in freezer until ready to use.

    Heat butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until foaming; add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and paprika and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
    Reduce heat to low and add tomato juice. Cook, stirring to scrape up browned bits from pan, until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside to cool.

    Whisk broth and eggs in large bowl until combined. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, mustard, saltines, parsley, salt, pepper, and onion mixture. Crumble frozen cheese into coarse powder and sprinkle over mixture. Add ground beef; mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Transfer meat to foil rectangle and shape into 10-by-6-inch oval about 2 inches high. Smooth top and edges of meat loaf with moistened spatula. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf reads 135 to 140 degrees, 55 to 65 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and turn on broiler.

    While meat loaf cooks, prepare glaze. Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meat loaf with rubber spatula; place under broiler and cook until glaze bubbles and begins to brown at edges, about 5 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and spread evenly with remaining glaze; place back under broiler and cook until glaze is again bubbling and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more. Let meat loaf cool about 20 minutes before slicing.