BAKED HERB TROUTS

Another easy yet delicious meal for dinner.. I saw those beauties on sale at Safeway's.. I know my DH likes it, so I grabbed 1 of the few packages left. They were cleaned and gutted, too bad they were not deboned, so I tried to debone it myself.. my DH doesn't like to eat fish with bones on.. I tried my best to do it, I used my fillet knife,  I finally took out all the bones (well, most of them), it did not look good though, but I've tried my best.. as for me I like eating whole fish, with the head on..one of  the fun of eating fish is sucking fish meat of their bones, fish head is the best part and ooh.. the belly part, soft and fatty, my favorite parts.

I remember when I first came and lived here, we went to the Asian stores, they sold salmon belly, ooh I thought I found heaven there, I bought it and made soup with it... much later I found out that my DH and people here don't eat fish belly or fish heads, it was nice of him though, did not say anything when I bought those salmon belly haha

So here is my easy recipe for Baked trouts.. I can;t recall where I got this recipe, I know it's from a magazine I read at the library and because it's so easy, I was able to memorize the ingredients, most of them. I used our homegrown herbs.. those herbs survived the freezing winter.

oops.. pardon the fish eyes.. :)

- 2 trouts, clean and pat dry, I like mine whole
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp of roasted garlic oil ( I bought it at Ross, it's good for salad dressing and meat marinating )
- lemon zest from 1 lemon (large)
- lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (large)
- fresh rosemary, chop
- parsley, chop
- salt and black pepper

How:
- mix melted butter + garlic oil and lemon juice
- mix lemon zest + parsley + rosemary in a bowl
- place fishes on a greased baking pan, spread open and season both side with salt
- pour some of the butter mixture all over the fish then sprinkle with herbs mixture, fold fish closed
- bake fish in a preheated oven, 350'F for about 15 minutes, pour some more butter mixture on the fish then broil for a few more minutes
- pour the rest of butter mixture on the fish, garnish with some sliced lemon and parsley

I served it with brown rice and coleslaw, I used my homemade lemon marmalade + lemon juice concentrate for coleslaw dressing, it was good.. today we had very lemon lemony meal.. tangy and yummy

for our late supper tonight, I had cut some papaya, I'd serve it with sprinkle of lemon juice and sugar.. yum2.. oh I still have bunch of lemons left.. wonder what else to do with them

BRAISED PORK CHOPS

I did not like eating pork chops before, esp pork loins, they are too lean for my taste, hard to swallow :) I like the fatty part of pork meat. But last weekend when we were at store I saw some pork chops on sale, it was on a really good price, about $6 for 4 thick cut of pork loin chops, so I grabbed them though I had no idea what to do with them.

Today I knew I was going to sit for a few hours on my couch to watch my new found favorite shows, Castle, started at 2 pm, so I thought about cooking something easy for our supper meal, a meal that I could let it simmer while I was glued in front of my TV... and I chose to do my pork chops, I saw I had some onions, celery, carrots and lots of tomatoes,  I remember I saw a cooking show showing how to braise pork chop, so I decided to give it a try, it turned out so good, tangy and the pork was fork tender, it changes my mind about pork chops.. well a bit, it'd be much better if I used country style pork ribs with more fat on the meat.

Here is the recipe:
- 4 pork chops, pat dry, season with salt on the both sides
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 big carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 big tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup of wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup of tomato ketchup
- 2 cup of water or broth
- black pepper and salt (if needed)
- 1 tsp of sugar

How:
- heat a deep pan with 2 tbsp of oil, sear the chops on both sides, until all brown, set aside
- discard some of the oil, add in onion, saute for 1 minute, add garlic, carrots and celery, stir for 2 minutes, then add in tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, tomato ketchup, black pepper, cook until fragrant, add in water or broth, bring it to boil, then add the chops back, cover and simmer for 90 minutes, stir and flip the chops occasionally, take off the lid, give it a taste, add salt if needed, add sugar, cook uncovered with medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce reduced, take out the chops with the veggies and sauce, leave some sauce in the pan

- meanwhile, chop 1/4 head of cabbage in thin strips, add into the pan with sauce, saute until cabbage wilted, add in 1 cup of cooked orzo or rice ( I have cooked orzo from making my soup the the day before), stir until all well blended

ready to eat... we ate on a coffee table in front of our TV while enjoying our show... Castle

Today it's about cabbage.. I've been wanting to make this Stuffed Cabbage since a couple of weeks ago.. I read it in a Cooking Forum I join, some of the members made it for their dinner, their meals looked so good and I was interested in trying it. I  bought a big head of cabbage for it, but I ended up making some other meals using that cabbage, so yesterday I determined to cook it soon, we went to the store to get another head of cabbage, I had ground pork in my freezer and other stuffs in my fridge, so I was good for the prep.

This morning after a big breakfast (biscuit, cheese and bacon), I was thinking what to do, either squeezing lemons for lemonade or making this stuffed cabbage.. so when my DH went off for his bike ride (poor him, almost a week did not have his bike ride due to the freezing weather and very windy days), I had at least 2 hours for myself and I decided that was the right time to make my

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Galumpkis)

I browsed around the net for the recipes, lots of them, and various names for them too, I'll just call it STUFFED CABBAGE, and like usual, I'd do it my way 

Ingredients:

- 1 head of cabbage, carefully cut off the center core of the cabbage 

- 1 big pot of water, bring it to boil, carefully drop cabbage in it, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the leaves tender, then peel leaf one after another, repeat boiling leaves if needed, cut the center part of the leaves

- for the fillings:

- 1 lbs of ground pork (any meat you like, beef, chicken thigh, shrimps)

- 1/2 onion, diced

- 1 green bell pepper, diced

- 1/2 cup of fresh mushroom, finely chopped

- 2 cloves of mince garlic

- 1 egg

- 1 cup of cooked rice

- 1/2 cup of bread crumbs (plain or seasoned)

- chopped cilantro

- salt and pepper

For the sauce:

I used canned pealed tomato, chili seasoned or  Ragu, Prego or any tomato sauce will do, I added 1 tsp of sugar 

Method:

- heat a skillet with 2 tbsp of oil, add onion, stir for 1 minute, add bell pepper, mushroom and minced garlic, saute until all soft, set aside

- in a bowl, combine ground pork + rice + egg + bread crumb + onion mixture + cilantro, salt and pepper, mix well

- add 2 tbsp of meat mixture on a cabbage leaf, fold both sides over filling, starting with stem end, roll tightly.. repeat with all the leaves until all done

- grease a big casserole pan, line cabbage rolls, pour tomato sauce on top of them, cover and bake for 1 hour in 350'F

Topping: 1/2 cup of sour cream mix with 1/2 cup of the cooked tomato sauce, pour over the stuffed cabbage rolls.

For 12 to 14 medium size rolls.. I consider them as one dish meal, 2 rolls foe me and I'm stuffed.. though my DH needs 4 rolls and 2 baked potatoes :) 

Beef Shanks in Worcestershire sauce

We bought 2 pieces of Beef Shanks on impulse the other day.. I did not have any idea what to do with them.. they were on sale, so I grabbed 2 packages of them and let them sit in my fridge for a few days. I saw some braise meat shows on the TV, so today I tried it with my way, with whatever I had in my fridge and I must say, even though it doesn't look too good but it tastes so good, causes me want to write down the recipe for my future reference

So here it is:
- 2 pieces of bone in beef shanks or other meat cut, short ribs, ox tails, all good for it, lightly coat the meat with cornstarch + salt mix, set aside..
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- coarsely chopped mushroom (about half cup)
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp of wine vinegar
- 1 cup of meat broth or water
- 1 cup of wine (optional)
- 1 tsp of sugar

Method:
- heat a pan with a bit of oil, add the meat, sear both sides, set aside
- saute onion, bell pepper, garlic and mushroom until soft, add in the meat
- pour in wine, continue cooking..
- add the remaining ingredient except sugar
- bring it to boil, then cover and simmer in low heat for about 2 hour, stir occasionally
- cook until the meat tender, add in the sugar, uncover and cook for another 30 minute, by now the liquid is reduced
- give the last stir, set the meat on a plate, pour some of the sauce on, reserve a bit of the sauce in the pan

For side dish, slice cabbage in 1 cm, add into the pan with sauce, stir until the cabbage are soft, add salt and black pepper if needed.

It's good with steamed white rice

For 4 servings

Playing with my pasta maker

I've never thought I'd be able to make my own noodles before.. it;s hard to get a good fresh noodles from the stores and I like eating noodles, no store sells good cooked noodles as well, so I have to find a way in order to be able to eat good noodles, in Indonesia good noodles are every where, large variety of them, all of them are delicious depend on your taste, even some roadside vendors sell good and delicious noodles too (if you don't care about their cleanness and hygienity). One of my options to be able to eat the good noodles is to make my own noodles and the crucial equipment to do it is to have a PASTA MAKER... my friends have KA ( Kitchen Aid ) and they told me how easy it works, but for me KA is way too expensive and I'm not sure if I'd use it often, so it's not worthy for me to spend hundreds of dollars (yes.. I'm cheap :))

So after dragging my feet for a while I finally put this  MANUAL PASTA MAKER on my wishlists for Christmas and birthday, rather than getting stuffs I don't need. My parents in law bought it for my birthday this month.. YES..  and on my birthday I tried it out, I made some RAVIOLI and noodles, it works like magic (well.. it needs a hard work, after making it I don't need my hands and shoulders work out for the day :)) , I like it, I like the pastas I made.. mmh.. they are delicious, worth my time and my energy

my free style ravioli

I'm going to share my Ravioli recipe today.. I made Salmon - spinach - mushroom - cream cheese ravioli.. first the ingredients for the dough

- 3 cups of flour
- 3 to 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp of oil ( I  used Canola)
- a few tbsp of water (if needed)

I used bread machine for kneading, after it forms a ball, let it sit in a bowl, cover with damp clothe, if kneading with hands, mix well all ingredients, if too dry, add water, knead until the dough is not sticky anymore, form a ball and let it sit in a covered bowl

Then roll into a thin sheet, I roll the sheet with #7 for a few time, then #6 for 3 times, and #3 for another 3 times, cut in rectangle 5"x 3", add 1 to 11/2 tsp of the filling in the middle, brush the edge with water, then fold and secure with pressing a fork around the edge, toss in a container filled with flour, make sure it covered with flour to avoid them sticking.. 1 recipe is for about 2 dozen of ravioli

DH helped me with rolling the sheet 

those were made months ago with a borrowed pasta maker

as for filling:
- 8 oz of salmon.. microwave for 3 minutes, then flake into fine flakes
- 4 oz of room temperature cream cheese
- 1 cup of frozen spinach (squeeze dry)
- 2 oz of finely chopped mushroom
- 1 tbsp of finely chopped onion
- mix well all the ingredients

italian sausage + spinach + cream cheese filling

Cooking the pasta:
- boil a big pot of water, add some salt and some oil (if needed, to avoid them sticking), add ravioli into the boiling water, not to crowd them, boil 8 to 10 minutes, remember, fresh pasta cooks faster than dried pasta. drain them in a strainer, then arrange them in a plate, in a small bowl, melt 4 tsp of butter, pour over the ravioli then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, or we can serve it with tomato or cheese sauce

with cheese sauce

with meted butter and Parmesan cheese

For the noodles.. using the same dough, I roll #7 for 4 times, then #3 for 4 times, then cut with the Spaghetti cutter, cook in boiling water for 5 to 8 minutes, add all the topping we like.. aah it will be in another post :)

SATE AYAM AKA CHICKEN SATAY

Satay is a popular dish in Indonesia, so many kinds of them, every region has their own satay, different spices in different ways, some of them come with peanut butter sauce, some come with sweet soy sauce.

Today I'm going to share the common Chicken Satay, I made it several times with several ways and finally I stick on this one, so simple, so tasty and so moist.

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs of chicken thighs (boneless and has some fat on ), cut in 1/2 x 3/4 inch size
- for marinating sauce: - 2 tbsp of canola oil, 2 tbsp of sweet soy sauce (can be substitute with 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 2 tsp of dark brown sugar), 2 gloves of finely minced garlic, 1 tsp of coriander powder, black peppers, salt if still needed, gently massage the meat with the sauce in a big plastic bag
- let it chill overnight in the refrigerator

- meanwhile also soak the wood skewers in cold water for overnight
- skew the meat evenly, not too thick, save the remaining juice
- heat the grill (it tastes much better if we grill it on a charcoal grill, the smokes add more flavor)
- add 1 tbsp of oil into the remaining juice, brush on the meat before put on the grill
- brush with the oil again before flipping them, grill until the meat are done

Serve with peanut sauce

for peanut sauce: 1 full tbsp of natural chunky peanut butter, add 1/2 cup of milk, 1 tbsp of mayonnaise and 1 tsp of hot chili sauce, mix well, sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice before serving

for about 40 skewers

SALMON PATTIES

So here is my first post in 2013.. I know.. I know.. I still haven't finished with my last post of 2012 yet, but I can't wait to write this down.. I'm in my writing mood.. for Salmon Patties :)

A friend and her family are coming to visit us later this week, I've planned to cook some yellow rice for us, we are the big fans of Indonesian/Malay foods, so yellow rice will be a good idea, but I still want to cook some local foods for our husbands, so (do I sound like Anne Burrel? she uses a lot of SO :) )  they can enjoy our luncheon as much as we do..

Fresh salmon was on sale at Safeway's, I bought 1 fillet, about 2 lbs, so (again? :)) I thought of baking salmon casserole, but then I changed my mind, decided to make some salmon patties, I know my husband loves it, it's one of his comfort foods that his mom cooked it a lot when he grew up, usually on Fridays..

This is one of a few dishes that I memorize without a need to look around the net  (and I was surprised that I haven't posted the recipe in here yet), it's easy and not many other ingredients, and it's a good idea for cook ahead meal as well

What we need:
- about 2 lbs of salmon, bake until almost done, then flake it with fork or 2 cans of canned salmon, drain the juice and flake it, get rid of the chunky bones
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 stalks of green onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup of lemon juice
- salt, pepper
- 2 eggs

What we do:
- mix all the ingredients until well blended
- form 3 inches in diameter and 2/3 inch in thickness patty
- heat about 1/2 inch oil in a nonstick pan
- slowly put the patties in the hot oil, reduce heat to medium
-cook for a few minutes, flip over, cook for another few minutes, until golden brown
- drain off the excess oil by putting them in a cookie rack

For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp of mayo + dashes of tabasco + 1 tbsp of tomato ketchup, salt and a bit of sugar, mix well

For about 15 patties