Anyone else needing a sugar detox this month? Seriously, I think I've consumed more sugar in the past 30 days than I've eaten all year. I need a serious sugar intervention. I'm not about to take this sugar addiction lying down - it's time to get some healthy food into this body. My brother first told me about this recipe for Salmon Cakes from Giada. He described them to me over the phone and made them sound so good that I looked up the recipe for myself and decided to give them a try. (Thanks for the tip bro.) Salmon Cakes Salmon: 1 pound skinless salmon fillet Olive oil, for drizzling Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Patties: 1 large egg, beaten 1/3 cup (1/2-ounce) chopped fresh chives 26 saltine crackers, crushed, divided 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, plus more, as needed 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until the flesh is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool for 20 minutes. Patties: Using a fork, flake the salmon into 1/2-inch pieces and put into a medium bowl. Add the egg, chives, 1/2 of the crushed crackers, the corn, mustard, mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix gently until just combined. Form the mixture into 2 1/2-inch diameter patties, about 3/4 inches thick. (If the mixture is too dry to form into patties, add extra mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Carefully coat the patties in the remaining crushed crackers and refrigerate for 1 hour. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until golden and crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels. Turns out, my brother was absolutely right - these are delicious. My family gobbled them up and they were super easy to make. You could even make it with leftover salmon. Super easy and sugar free - Win, Win. I also baked a couple of the patties in the oven instead of frying them. They were really good baked too. They didn't get the nice crust from the oil but they were still really tasty. I'm think I'll be making these again really soon.
Ciao!
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One of the advantages of being a food blogger is that my camera is never far away. (Even when I'm in my car.) Mia and I were heading to the park for a morning walk when we passed these adorable bulls at the end of our street. (Yes, I just called a couple of half ton bulls, adorable.) But seriously - they were licking each others faces - what is cuter than animals kissing each other? I just couldn't help but pull over and snap a couple of pictures of these amazing animals. I love that these animals live at the end of our road. Even after 8 years, it's still hard for me to drive by without stopping to watch them for a while. That bull is totally sticking his tongue out at me! OK, that's enough bull for one day. (I crack myself up.) Onto the recipe of the day - Rustic Penne Shrimp Pasta in a Parmesan and Red Pepper Cream Sauce from jennystephens.blogspot.com. This is a super easy, make ahead meal that your family will LOVE. I was so confident in this recipe that I served it to my in-laws last month. Rustic Penne and Shrimp Pasta 1 pound of penne pasta 2 tablespoons of sea salt 1/4 pound of pancetta, thickly sliced & diced into cubes 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1 pound of shrimp, peeled 6 cloves of garlic 1 teaspoon of rosemary 1/4 cup of roasted red peppers, sliced 1/4 cup of white wine 2 cups of cream 1 cup of parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon of cracked pepper parmesan cheese fresh thyme or rosemary Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt and pasta and cook 2 minutes less than the directions indicate. Add pancetta to a skillet and cook until browned. Add garlic and cook until thoroughly cooked. Stir in Parmesan cheese and pasta. Spoon into a casserole dish. Top with more cheese, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove plastic wrap and bake, uncovered for 30 minutes at 400. Serve. Ciao!
I've decided that it's time to get myself in gear. My plan to eat healthier and exercise more - starts now! Yes, I know it's December and an overabundance of sweets surrounds me - but that is precisely the reason that I need to keep myself on track. My kitchen is absolutely bursting at the seems with cakes and cupcakes and pies and cookies this month which means ... I need to sneak in a few more walks so I don't wind up looking like a snowman. Mia is always ready to accompany me on a walk so we head to the park to walk off a few extra calories. Mia LOVES the park and she gets soooooo excited when she we pull into the parking lot that she practically jumps out of the car window.
We both had a great walk but Mia used far more energy than I did. I think she ran circles around me - literally - for the entire 2 mile hike. Exercise - check. Eat healthy - No problem. Check out this delicious recipe for shrimp stuffed flounder if your looking for something healthy to eat this month. It is elegant enough to serve at a dinner party and simple enough to serve your family on a busy weeknight. Shrimp Stuffed Flounder 2 Tablespoons butter 1/2 onion, chopped 1⁄4 cup celery, chopped 1⁄4 cup bell pepper, chopped 1/2 pound shrimp, uncooked 1⁄4 cup chicken broth 1 teaspoon Worcestershire 1 teaspoon fresh parsley 1⁄2 teaspoon dill 1⁄2 teaspoon chives 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) 1⁄2 cups soft bread crumbs 6 flounder filets 2 Tablespoons lemon juice Melt butter in skillet. Add onion, celery and green pepper. Saute until tender.
Serve. This fish went beautifully with a glass of Pinot Grigio.
Ciao! One of my favorite make ahead Christmas desserts are apple turnovers. The trick is to prepare them right up until you're ready to put them in the oven and instead of baking them - freeze them. Freeze them on a baking sheet until they are firm and then toss them into a freezer bag. You can pull them out of the freezer, place them back on a freezer tray and bake them frozen. (Add and extra 5 minutes to baking time.) Voila - freshly baked apple turnovers with no fuss! Mini Apple Turnovers 8 ounces cream cheese 2 cups flour ¾ cup butter 7 cups sliced apples 1 egg ¾ cups sugar 3 Tablespoons water 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
Cut into 4” circles using biscuit cutter.
Bake 18-22 minutes at 375. I would love to know what your baking this holiday season. Send me a comment and let me know.
Ciao! Sometimes, I like to bake my cake pops in the cake pop pan and sometimes I roll them by hand. I recently ran across this recipe for a Polka Dot cake while I was doing some research for a first birthday cake. Sounded like a match made in heaven to me, a first birthday party and a polka dot cake. Divide batter between bowls. I separated my batter into 7 bowls, measuring out a little more than a half cup of batter into each. Spoon batter into the bottom of the greased cake pop pan.
I ended up with some mini volcanoes they peeled right off of the pan. Remove clamps and top of cake pop pan. Remove pops from pan and place on wire rack to cool. Transfer pops to a ziploc bag and freeze until firm.
Cool in pan 10 minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. You can barely see the colorful cake balls poking through the cake while it cooled. I filled this particular cake with a whipped cream filling and frosted it with a swiss meringue buttercream. Decorate. Ciao!
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