Long & Convoluted

[cjs]

I almost overdosed on cooking the last two days!!! Didn't think it could happen - but, I'm pooped!! But, some good did come out of it - found some more great dishes!!!

The salmon was from a neighbor who wanted me to do something with it; the crab, another neighbor gave us two (of the 16 they caught), and the sirloin had been thawed out for two days - what's a cook to do????

Crab & Corn Fritters
Ray’s BoatHouse restaurant in Seattle

2-3 qts. canola oil for frying
1 cup a.p. flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup crabmeat
1/2 cup each: corn kernels, diced red bell pepper & diced green onions

Heat oil to 350 F.

In mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, white pepper, granulated garlic, cayenne pepper and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, butter, crabmeat, corn, bell pepper and green onion and mix well.

Add to dry ingredients and mix with a fork until just combined. Do not overmix.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into hot oil Cook until fritters are golden brown and fully cooked on the inside, about 3 – 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. sambal oelek
2 T. water
2 T. Thai fish sauce

In a small bowl, whisk together everything except the fish sauce. Then add fish sauce and stir just until combined.

These fritters are just delicous and especially with the dipping sauce!

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Lorraine sent me a c.d. that is just a hoot -
Will have a lot of editing to do if I don't have this info correct - but, everything is in French and I barely got thru one year of Latin in high school.... The chefs are (apparently?) David Emmanual Fafard and Jean-Francois Boily, from Toronto, and because they so inspired me, I only managed to get thru one recipe on the c.d. –

Le Saumon
dans le Papier Journal
Salmon wrapped in Newspaper

It looked so fun (and tasty), I headed for the freezer and neighbor Christine's salmon that she gave me months ago to 'do something' with! This is what I copied from the sub-titles -

Bake the salmon at 400 F. for 20 minutes per pound of salmon 'roast'

Sprinkle with sea salt and fill cavity with something - the boys used pesto.

Soak four sheets (with no color) in some water

Wrap the salmon up tightly and lay on a baking sheet

Place in the middle of the 400 F. oven for 1 hour (I cut my 'roast' to 3 lbs.); remove from oven and let rest before unwrapping.



I made this in the a.m. and did not make any kind of sauce to present this dish with, so it's not a really pretty presentation - but, it was delicious and Roy and I picked at it for nearly an hour!



I have to say after all the tasting we did between the salmon and the fritters, dinner was not looking too good, but I had sirloins thawed out for a couple of days and had to use them. So, went ahead and made the Gingered Tomato Chutney to go with the grilled steaks - instead of Roasted Dijon potatoes I had planned, we ate MORE of the fritters with the steak!




The chutney is from Cuisine at Home, issue #65 - I liked it very much, Roy could not stay out of it!


for one cup chutney:

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved, divided
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 T. white wine vinegar
2 T. fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp. garlic, minced
3 T. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. jalapeno, seeded, minced
salt to taste

Simmer 1 cup of the tomatoes, onion, sugar, vinegar, ginger, and garlic in a saucepan over med-high heat, stirring often, 12 minutes.

Add lime juice and tomato paste, return to a boil, and simmer 3 minutes or till thickened to jam consistency.

Stir in remaining tomatoes, jalapeno, and salt. Set chutney aside. Grill the steaks and top them with the chutney. Roasted Dijon Potatoes are good to serve with this dish.

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Today is Friday and now it's time to put the rest of the salmon in the oven for Marlene's Oven Smoked Salmon - it's been brining with brown sugar, kosher salt, and liquid smoke since last evening - but, this is the only cooking I'm doing today!!! Going to a movie and out to dinner tonight!!


WHEW!!! That was a marathon, exhausting, but fun...

[Roxanne 21]

Great looking recipes there and reviews!!! Our favorites are just what you mentioned----nice images, too!!!! Sure wish I could contribute the way you do!!!

Have you rested YET!!!

Now, if you will be so kind--explain that "newspaper" wrap thang???? PLEASE!!! It seems so simple as almost ridiculous---REALLY NEWSPAPER???? I don't know as I would trust the papers here BUT ya never know---

[pjcooks]

Jean that all looks so good. I bet those fritters were delicious-somehow the combo of seafood and corn just always works. So what's the story behind the newspaper? It does look like it would be fun, though, to try.

I've already added the chutney to my list, I'm gooing to have a marathon chutney day coming up soon.

I hope you've rested up by now, time to move on to the next in the queu!

I've spent the week cooking, too, the kids now have lots of lunches done up in the freezer. Back to work for me Monday morning, I know I'm working in the kitchen, but so far, noone's told me which kitchen-yikes- but I'll Kronos in and find someone, on their time, of course

PJ

[cjs]

yeah, I'm rested up - in fact, it's kinda boring around here, only the salmon smoking.....

PJ, when you get a minute, will you tell us just what your job entails -you're throwing me with what you said about now knowing - "noone's told me which kitchen-yikes-" ??

I have you pictured in an academic kitchen somewhere cooking for the students/faculty....

[pjcooks]

Sorry, Jean, guess I left out a little info~

"In furthering the academic mission of the University, the decision has been made to close the Faculty Dining Room, to provide much needed space for the Humanities Dept."
Hey, that's my job!

So, that was in May. Because I'm contracted, they found another position for me, Cook One- basically a prep cook.

Nothing I haven't done before, but I'll miss my old job. I had a lot of different things to do, and I loved the fact that I could combine front and back of the house in one job. Now I'll be working in the kitchen for the catering dept, cold prep, throwing frozen cookies on a tray, etc etc, no customer interaction: The bright side is that I will still be fully benefited, a rare thing in food these days. And, I am contracted for 76% of the year, which means the school year.
So, I have no right to complain, but I'll sure miss my customers.

(And it's all Craig Bensons' fault)

PJ

And, "which kitchen"-my kitchen has been ripped out for classroom space, so catering has been "borrowing" other dining hall kitchens across campus until we get our own. Yup, lots of lugging....