Hoisin Glazed Salmon

This is such a quick, easy, and delicious glaze. I combined together several of the ingredients found in many different recipes. Some of the recipes left out one or more of the ingredients. So flavorful is this glaze that I will be using this on other fish such as halibut and even on shrimp.

Glazy, crispy, umami goodness.

Ingredients

2 lbs. piece of salmon, center cut with skin on
¼ cup Hoisin sauce
2 Tbs. light brown sugar
2 Tbs. orange juice
1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. grated ginger
1 medium garlic clove, grated
1 tsp. Coleman’s dry mustard
1 tsp. sesame oil

Whisk all of the ingredients together, with the exception of the salmon and set into the refridgerator to marry for about 1 hour. When ready to start your dinner, get your sides starting in advance. This is a really quick cooking recipe. Heat a grill pan or even better a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and start with skin side down. Baste salmon with half of the glaze and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Do not move salmon around or peek, let it sear to form a good crust. Flip and at this point the skin will be easy to remove from the flesh if you prefer. Baste again with remaining glaze, searing again for about 3-5 minutes.

  In the past I have made hoisin glazed ribs or pork roasts like the ones served at Chinese restaurants but never knew what else to use it on. If you have other ideas for using hoisin sauce, please pass them on. I would love to hear your take on using this wonderful condiment.

  I do want to apologize to all of you who frequent my blog for not being here again the last two weeks. I know you've heard it before; Life happens. First my brother came home from Dubai and we spent some time catching up, then helping him for several days, move some of his belongings from one home to his newly remodeled home. It was really great seeing him again. We can't wait for him to come home to stay! Then secondly I decided I was going to come down with a really nasty winter cold. So now I am back in the swing of LIFE. I can finally get out of the bed and move around without the ax I felt like I had sticking in the side of my temple. Carla

  

Thank you again for your dedication and kindness.

Michael and Carla

Beer Braising

I must confess. I have not done very much cooking with beer in my lifetime. I am now convinced that even though I am not much one for the taste of beer, I will do more cooking with it in the future. I have always been an avid user of wines in my cooking, however until I came across this recipe:  Beer-Braised Beef and Onions in my Feb. 09 copy of
Gourmet Magazine   (RIP), I had never realized  the full bodied flavor profile cooking with beer provided.  

Ingredients are simple.

Just be sure to brown your beef on all sides before braising.

Layering flavor here people.

Browned food tastes good to quote a Food Network chef.

BTB-Bring to Boil. Braise in oven .

Slice or shred.

ENJOY!

Ingredients

3 lb onions

1 (5-lb) boneless beef chuck roast, tied
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
2 (12-oz) bottles pilsner-style beer such as Budweiser
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Direcions
Halve onions lengthwise, then slice lengthwise 1/4 inch thick.
Pat beef dry and season all over with 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a wide 5- to 6-qt heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown beef on all sides, about 15 minutes, then transfer to a plate.
Cook onions with bay leaves and 1/2 tsp salt in remaining Tbsp oil in pot, scraping up brown bits from bottom and stirring occasionally, until onions are well browned, about 25 minutes.
Add beer and vinegar to onions and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Add beef and meat juices from plate and return to a boil.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Cut a round of parchment paper the diameter of the inside of pot (near the top). Set parchment round aside.
Cover with parchment round and lid and braise in oven until meat is very tender when pierced in several places with a meat fork, about 3 1/2 hours.
Transfer beef to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered, 20 minutes. Cut off string, then slice meat. Skim off fat from sauce and discard bay leaves. Reheat if necessary.
Serve braised beef with onions and sauce.

Additions/Omissions/Substitutions:

I decided to add Beef Base and mushrooms to punch it up a bit. After removing the roast I brought the remaining liquid to a boil and reduced to med high to reduce to a thickened sauce.

  This dish is well served on just about anything you could possibly think of putting it over, rice, noodles, toast or even on a bun as a sort of sloppy beef sandwich. It is all up to your imagination. However rest assured, you will enjoy this no matter what you pair it up with.
  I have to tell you I will be making  Pork Chops with Beer and Bacon Gravy that I recently watched on 30 minute meals from Rachael Ray. It looked wonderful. So I will have to let you know our thoughts on that one when we make it.
Michael and Carla

Shrimp Fra Diavolo aka Devil's Shrimp

  Fra Diavolo (Italian for "Brother Devil") is the name given to a spicy sauce for pasta or seafood. Most versions are tomato-based and use chili peppers for spice, but the term is also used for sauces that include no tomato, or that use cayenne or other forms of pepper. According to chef Mario Batali, the spicy sauce is an Italian-American creation and is rarely served in Italy. (Excerpt courtesy of Wikipedia)

  However if you search it a bit further you will find some very interesting stories including this info about Michele Pezza that dates back to 1771. There is great controversy as to whether or not this is truly an Italian dish as you can read here NY Times Article by Florence Fabricant .I have been making this dish with shrimp forever and just found this research to be utterly fascinating. I never knew all of this as I actually thought it was of Italian origin all these years. 

  My recipe for this spicy dish comes to you from Cooking Light Magazine - January 2010 .

Assemble your ingredients as this recipe cooks up fast.

Add oil to pan and saute shrimp and garlilc over med - high heat until shrimp are done. Remove from pan, set aside and keep warm.

Add a bit more oil and saute onion until softened. Add garlic, pepper, basil and oregano and cook stirring constantly for a minute to infuse flavors.Stir in tomato paste and lemon juice and cook until slightly darkened. More flavor infusing.

Stir in remaining tomatoes and salt. Cook until thickened.

Return cooked shrimp to sauce and cook until thoroughly heated.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked linguine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

3/4 cup diced onion

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.

2. While pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic and shrimp; sauté or 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon garlic, pepper, basil, and oregano; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste and lemon juice; cook 1 minute or until slightly darkened. Stir in crushed tomatoes, salt, and diced tomatoes; cook 5 minutes or until thickened. Return shrimp to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve over pasta.

I like to serve this with additional lemon wedges and parmesan. This is a very simple, light and very quick supper, about 20 minutes total and you can fire it up or tame it down to your heat preference.Serve with crusty bread and a caesar salad.

Michael and Carla