Good Eats

Eons ago, when traveling around the country with an entertaining expert for one of our clients, she prepared this recipe on a TV show. We’ve been making it at our house ever since, and it’s hands-down our kids’ favorite salmon dish. Serve it up with sticky white rice, sauteed spinach or glazed carrots. An easy and delish supper! 

Marinated Salmon

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
8 tsp melted butter (or margarine)
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp liquid smoke (essential!)

4 salmon fillets

Mix ingredients well and marinate salmon fillets for at least 30 minutes. Bake at 350 ’til done or grill. Reduce marinade and pour over.

Notes:  1. Now, don’t be judgin’ the photo…I never claimed to be a food photog or stylist.  2.  We shared this recipe with our friend Lee last weekend, who was worried about cooking a special Valentine’s dinner for his girlfriend. He just sent a note confirming success: “I managed to not mess it up b/c Shameeka, the girl I’m dating, loved it!” 

Who knew such a great recipe would come off an ad for GLAD Wrap? This is one of our absolute favorite pasta salads (and for our parent friends- yes, it passed the teenager test). We sometimes double the recipe if it’s for a bunch of folks. Enjoy!

Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables

1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 pound eggplant, peeled and diced
4 plum or plain tomatoes, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed through a press
4 ounces feta cheese crumbles
1/4 cup chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 pound cellentani (corkscrew) pasta

1.  Heat oven to 450. In large bowl, combine squash, eggplant, tomatoes, red onion, oil, salt and pepper.  Toss. Spread vegetables in a large nonstick or foil-lined baking sheet coated with a little oil. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Stir in garlic; cool. Transfer vegetables to large bowl. Cover with GLAD wrap (ha, gotta give ’em their plug). 

2.  Combine cheese, parsley and oregano. Refrigerate vegetables and cheese mixture overnight. 
3.  Cook pasta; drain and rinse under cold water.
4.  Toss pasta with chilled vegetables, then cheese mixture. Serve immediately or chill to enjoy later.

Well, peak margarita season may be over but we’re featuring this libation anyway. First tried this drink at one of Arielle’s and my favorite restaurants in Atlanta. I raved about it so much that night the server actually whispered the recipe in my ear. Now we’re not sayin’ who said it…or exactly where it was said…but we are sharing the secret with you here. Happy Friday!

MMMMMMMMARGARITA
4 oranges
2 limes
1 lemon
Powdered sugar
Lime wedge
Your fav tequila
A little Cointreau (optional)

Squeeze all the fruit and combine juices; pour into tall glass. Add 2 heaping tsp of powdered sugar and shake or stir vigorously. Then add tequila to taste (we sometimes add a little splash of Cointreau, too) and pour over ice. Yummo!

The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 6-7, 2010
‘Consider This’

A growing number of top kitchens across North America and Europe are harnessing hay’s comforting, pastoral quality in their dishes. They’re using it to lend grassy, autumnal, haute-barnyard goodness to whole poached hams, for smoking veal chops and sweetbreads, as a smoky and strangely familiar seasoning powder for meats and fish and even to flavor whipping cream for dessert. Many professional kitchens source their hay from egg and meat producers; for obvious reasons it’s worth finding stuff that’s fresh, organic and unused. Fergus Henderson, the London-based nose-to-tail pioneer and co-chef behind St. John Bar and Restaurant, suggests home cooks get it at the pet store. Chances are it’s the only ingredient du jour you’ll ever find next to the Friskies.  Read more…