Grilling Peaches and Brats, with Sage Roasted Potatoes

My belly was very happy after a recent meal.  Here's how it happened:

During a conference call I'd downloaded a ton of recipes from a batch of 30 scallop recipes.  We'd made one and it was good.  I had more scallops frozen.  And, I'd not thought about the next few evenings dinners before that day so I kind of figured we'd try the scallops with chestnut sauce and maybe do tilapia sandwiches.  Not planning a meal ahead is rare for me.  I usually have all our meals planned out a week ahead.  During the same conference call I'd also downloaded one called Milwaukee dogs.  Brats with sauerkraut, Dijon mustard and Swiss cheese. 

Then, fate interfered.  My internet at my Greenwood office has always been lousy.  On cloudy days the modem just doesn't work well.  I'd left my modem in my Columbus office so figured I'd use my phone as a tether.  Well, that only works if you actually have a card to support it in your computer.  So, instead of spending the whole day in Greenwood, I did one meeting in there and drove back to Indy and did the rest via GoToMeeting.  And, I called Connie and said, "Please solve this problem permanently."  That meant that the next day he was in Greenwood with the folks to hook up real internet.  It also meant that he was going to be near Claus' Haus - the German meat market.  My mind immediately went to the Milwaukee dogs when he called and suggested that on the way home he'd stop and pick up anything I'd like.  I'd like brats, please. 

Now, on top of the brats, our friends Raquel and Steve had brought over some potatoes from their garden.  Amazing potatoes.  Lovely little reds.  Creamy.  Perfect.  I'd found a recipe on the New York Times website for sage roasted potatoes.  Connie adores fried sage.  I adore potatoes.  We were in business!

And, the peach truck had been here.  I'd texted my brother John to let him know that we were planning on heading there that afternoon.  He texted back that he was in line and was going to get me some.  I asked for a box since our friends Deb and Ken wanted to split a box.  Does John rock or what???? 

We had the makings of a perfect dinner.  Milwaukee dogs.  Sage roasted potatoes.  Grilled peaches with blue cheese and honey.  Connie tried the brats first.  YUM!  Then, he tried the potatoes.  WOW!  Now, since he's not fond of fruit, he saved the peaches for last.  His eyes pretty much rolled back into his head.  "Pretty good, huh," I said.  "That's an understatement," he said.  Then, he asked me to rate them.  First place went to the peaches.  Second to the potatoes.  Third to the brats.  But, seriously, if I had 100 points to distribute, they'd all be getting about 33!  He tried to cheat the system and give the peaches a 7 on a scale of 1-5.  LOL.

Here's a photo of the peaches, brats and buns coming off the grill:

Now, on to the recipes.

Milwaukee Dogs

Ingredients:

brats
Swiss cheese
sauerkraut
Dijon mustard
buns

Directions:

Heat the sauerkraut.  Grill the brats.  Just as they get done, slice them in half, move them to the cool side of the grill and put slices of Swiss cheese on them.  Toast the buns.  Schmear with Dijon.  Put the brats on the buns, top with sauerkraut and top with the other half.

Adapted from the Betty Crocker

Peaches with Blue Cheese and Honey

Ingredients:

peaches
blue cheese
honey

Directions:

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits.  Grill cut side down until softened.  Flip and put a knob of blue cheese in each cavity.  Grill until the blue cheese melts.  Remove from the grill and plate.  Drizzle with honey.



Roasted Potatoes with Sage

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, cut in half
1/3 c flour
1 1/2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced (I accidentally omitted this)
1/4 c chopped fresh sage leaves
1 T unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
12 fresh sage leaves
1 T unsalted butter

Directions:

Put a large cast iron skillet in your oven.  Preheat your oven to 450F.  Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. 

Put them in a saucepan of cold, salted water.  Put the saucepan on high heat and bring the water to a boil.  As soon as the water boils, lower the heat and simmer the potatoes for five minutes.  Drain them and pat them dry. Sprinkle the flour on a plate and roll the potatoes in it.  Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and pour in the olive oil, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the skillet.  Lay the potatoes in the skillet cut side down. 

Roast them for 10 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the oven and flip the potatoes.  It was at this point that I added the chopped sage leaves and forgot about the garlic.  You do NOT want to put the garlic now but you can add the chopped sage.  Roast another ten minutes. 

While the potatoes are finishing up in the oven, you need to fry the sage leaves.  Put a tablespoon of butter in a very shallow skillet (an omelet pan works well) and let it melt and get bubbly and hot.  Add the sage leaves in one layer.  When the first side is a bit brown, flip them.  They're easy to overcook so keep a good eye on them. 

When you remove the skillet from the oven, quickly add the last tablespoon of butter and the garlic.  Serve the potatoes topped with the sage leaves.

Adapted from the New York Times

Tabernacle Crush

Tabernacle Crush

It has been quite some time since I last added an entry to Kate’s blog.  However, tonight I have a little sense of urgency.  Why?  Because peaches are in season!  We got a case of peaches from the Georgia peach truck and have been eating peaches in many ways over the past week.  Kate made the most amazing grilled peaches with bleu cheese.  She is in the kitchen now making peach cobbler and peach avocado salsa.  She has a recipe for peach sangria for tomorrow.

And yes, for those of you who are always dying to ask, we do eat like this all the time.  Lucky guy, oui?

Today she found this recipe, Tabernacle Crush.  I have no idea as to the significance of the name.  It hardly matters.  As the bard said, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  This is a very light and refreshing drink and ought to be prepared at the height of the peaches’ ripeness, hence my sense of urgency.

This drink is delicious; however I would add some modifications.  The instructions say to slice the peaches and muddle them with basil and lemon juice.  When I do this recipe the next time, (yes, there will be a next time), I will muddle the basil in a cocktail shaker with the simple syrup and lemon juice.  I will then remove the basil leaves.  I will probably peel the peaches the next time and puree them in a blender.  I did serve the drink in a tall glass with ice, as called for, but I found that the peach pulp, the skins and the basil floated to the top and made it somewhat difficult to drink.  It also left the liquid in the bottom of the glass, making the end of the drink somewhat watery.  The flavors are spot on, though.  I love the more savory flavors of the basil, gin and Lillet playing against the sweetness of the peach and simple syrup.

I offer you recipe below.  I have doubled the ingredients, because a drink is always better when shared with one you love!  However, I offer the instructions without my modifications and leave it up to you to decide how best to prepare it.  I present to you the Tabernacle Crush, courtesy of foodandwine.com. 

TABERNACLE CRUSH

1 large peach, sliced

12 small basil leaves, plus more for garnish

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

3 ounces gin (we used Starlight gin from our friends at Huber in Starlight, Indiana)

2 ounce Lillet (I think Aperol or Campari might also work)

1 ounce simple syrup

Ice

Club soda

Scallops with Basil Cream, Farro with Swiss Chard and Hazelnuts and Buttered Beets with Pine Nuts

I cooked for three evenings straight and had a great time being home and getting to cook.  We'd been gone so much that I'd pretty much forgotten what my kitchen looked like.  About a month ago I started prepping for the two dinner parties.  Making lists of potential recipes.  Finding out what folks liked and didn't like.  Wednesday after work Connie headed to the grocery store and I headed to the kitchen.  And, proceeded to cook for almost three hours.  It was well worth the time and effort because we now have several new recipes that we'll make again.  A couple that will be go-to's. 

Wednesday evening was scallops with basil cream sauce.  Then, I had some Swiss chard in the front bed that I knew I needed to use.  (And, you can see the gorgeous lilies too!)

I found a recipe with farro and kale and figured the chard would be a perfect substitution.  The third dish was one that sold me on the cookbook - buttered beets with pine nuts.  We gave each and every dish a five.  The scallops were quick and easy and incredible.  Actually, the same description can be applied to the other two dishes.  Just amazing.

Thursday was catfish etouffee with a kale salad.  Both were good but not standouts like the night before. 

Then, Friday evening.  That was zesty hummus for an appetizer.  That's going to be a new family favorite.  It was so easy and so flavorful and SO beautiful.  Dinner was shrimp and mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce over Texas toast.  Alongside was a roasted carrot salad that was very complex and very tasty and a cucumber/beet/radish salad.  The cucumber salad was good but probably isn't one we'll make again.  If I'm going to have cucumber salad I want Christiane's cucumber/feta/herb salad.  It's killer.  I'll work on posting these recipes another day...

So, let's dig in on some recipes here:

Scallops with Cream and Basil
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

6 T butter
12 sea scallops
salt and pepper
1/4 c chopped shallots
1 t slivered garlic
pinch crushed red chile flakes
1/2 c dry white wine
3/4 c heavy cream
20 basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt 4T of the butter.  When it's hot, add the scallops. Salt and pepper them to taste.  Brown both sides of the scallops.  Remove them from the heat before they've cooked through.  Wipe out the pan and add the other 2T of butter.  When it's melted, add the shallots,  Saute until they're softened.  Then, add the garlic and the chile flakes.  Cook that for about a minute and don't let the garlic get too brown.  Add in the white wine and cook over relatively high heat until it's reduced by half.  Then, add the cream and cook the sauce down until it's reduced by half.  Once that's done, add the scallops and pan juices back to the pan.  Add half the basil after about a minute.  When the scallops are just firm, you're ready to serve.  Top the scallops with the remaining basil as you serve them. 

adapted from the New York Times

Farro with Kale or Swiss Chard
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

1 c pearled farro
salt and pepper
3 T EVOO
1/4 lb pancetta or guanciale, chopped (I omitted this but would add it next time)
4 shallots or 1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch Tuscan kale or 1 bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped (I thinly sliced the stems and sautéed them and added them in)
freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/3 c chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Directions:

Cook the farro as per the package instructions.  Drain it and set the pan aside.  Pour the EVOO into a large skillet and add the pancetta.  Use medium heat.  Once the pancetta is lightly browned, add the shallots.  When those have softened, add the garlic.  Cook for a few minutes then add the kale or Swiss chard and let it wilt.  Stir in the chicken stock and the nutmeg, lower the heat and let it simmer until the greens are just softened.  Combine the greens, farro, lemon juice and hazelnuts to serve.

adapted from Rachael Ray


Buttered Beets w Pine Nuts
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 beet
butter
balsamic vinegar
pine nuts

Directions:

Peel and grate the beet on the large holes of your grater.  Brown the pine nuts in about a tablespoon of butter.  Spoon the pine nuts out of the butter and add the grated beets.  Cook for a few minutes until they're tender.  Add a dash (about a teaspoon) of the balsamic.  Serve topped with the pine nuts.

adapted from A Fresh Taste of Italy

Thai BBQ Ribs

When we moved in here a year ago, everything from the old freezers got just thrown into the new freezers.  I couldn't find anything.  I knew I had some flat meals as Connie calls pre-made dinners.  But, they weren't anywhere easy to find.  It was a mell of a hess.  So, Sunday morning we got up kind of early and headed out to do our shopping.  I knew we were taking dishes to a family get together on Memorial Day, having guests over Tuesday evening for heavy appetizers and wine, having the quarterly neighborhood dinner on Thursday and going back to John and Pam's on Saturday after the service for Donald.  It was going to be a week of cooking and I needed a bunch of things.  Plus, I'd snagged a couple of new cookbooks on clearance at Half Price Books and there were a few recipes calling my name.  I carefully made out all the menus and grocery lists.  Sunday evening was to be salmon on the grill with roasted beets and pine nuts plus roasted radishes with anchovy sauce.  Except that we couldn't find salmon.  I'd gotten ribs to make Friday so those would have to substitute.  And, I'm so glad they did!!!

We got home from our shopping and I started unloading freezers.  Now, all the stock is together.  An entire shelf of homemade stock. 

I see a LOT of risotto in our future.  And, I've found the frozen spaghetti sauce and frozen stroganoff.  And, flat meals have been taken to the office.  Connie's happy to have a stash of chicken Caesar lasagna and chicken green bean casserole.  Vegetables are together.  As are fruits.  And, pestos (mushroom truffle and basil are two of the kinds...)  Meats are organized.  I now know where the ground lamb patties are.  YAY!  All of the shrimp shells and lobster shells for stock are organized. 

I am one happy camper. 

While the freezer was getting cleaned out, I started the ribs.  The recipe called for putting them in the slow cooker.  I knew that putting them on a half sheet, covering them with heavy duty foil and low and slow cooking them in the oven would have the same effect.   And, it meant not having to wash the slow cooker...  I made the initial sauce and slathered it on.  Quite frankly, it looked gross.  Four hours later when I took the ribs out of the oven I wished I'd used a deeper pan.  A TON of fat had cooked out.  It made a mell of a hess in the oven and on the floor.  So, that's the bad news.  The good news is that once I got the ribs on the grill and the bbq sauce on they looked amazing.  And, they tasted amazing. 

Alongside I made goat cheese mashed sweet potatoes and mojito watermelon.  The mashed sweets are super easy.  Peel and cube the potatoes.  Cook them in salted water until they're very soft.  Drain them and toss in a knob of butter.  Mash until that melts.  Add a chunk of goat cheese - maybe an ounce for two small sweet potatoes - and finish mashing.  Devour.

These ribs are right up there with the best we've ever made. 

Thai BBQ Ribs

Ingredients:

juice from one lime (about 1T)
1 T brown sugar
1/2 t cracked peppercorns
1/4 t ground ginger
2/3 c fresh cilantro, divided in half
2 Thai red chiles, divided (I used crushed red pepper - about 1/2 t)
4 lb pork baby back or spare ribs
1/3 c sweet chili garlic sauce
1/4 c BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays

Directions:

In the bowl of a blender put the lime juice, brown sugar, peppercorns, ginger, half the cilantro and one of the chiles.  Blend until smooth.  Put the ribs on a the bottom half of a roasting pan or another pan with relatively deep sides and slather them with the sauce. 

Cover with foil and bake in a very low oven (250F) for a couple of hours.  Heat your grill.  Mix the sweet chili garlic sauce and the BBQ sauce.  Brush the ribs with the BBQ sauce and grill them until the sauce has caramelized and you've got good grill marks.  Serve sprinkled with the remaining cilantro and pepper slices (if you used the real things...)

adapted from Kraft Food and Family

MOPS Dinner

There are times in everyone's life where you really wonder what curve balls are going to be thrown your way next.  In the last month and a half we've dealt with a house fire at a dear friend's.  She's an elderly widow with no kids and her closest relative about an hour away.  She's out of the ICU and in a rehab hospital.  Next step is a furnished apartment until her home is rehabbed.  Then, my mom's best friend was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer and died within about a month of the diagnosis.  Finally, my beloved father-in-law, Donald, died.  He's actually my brother John's father-in-law.  John married the girl down the street many years ago.  We'd grown up with Pam and her sister Debbie.  We'd all gone to the same church too.  So, I've known Donald since I was about six.  Since I didn't have a father-in-law or mother-in-law of my own, I adopted Donald and Pat.  Two of the most wonderful people in the world.  When I married Connie, they adopted him as part of the family too.  We've all always felt very lucky to be related to each other by marriage.  Connie and I had the MOPS (short for our family) Mother's Day and six birthday party on Mother's Day.  I took this photo of Donald sitting in Connie's chair. 

 

A couple of days after the party, he went into the ICU.  We knew it wasn't good and the odds weren't in his favor.  My brother, John, wrote the coolest memory.  He said not only did he learn how to do things by Donald teaching him but also by Pam saying, "That isn't the way my dad would do that."  He was right. This was a man who could do just about anything.  With a smile on his face and a great attitude.  Because the visitation and the dinner after the service will include others, it felt right to have dinner just for the MOPS.  I knew we'd have at best 90 minutes to cook before everyone got here so I tried to 1)make easy dishes and 2) make old favorites.

Pickle dip for Pat.  This was one I made for an exchange group.  I felt guilty because it's only three ingredients.  It's also fabulous so I got over the guilt REALLY quickly.

Salsa.  My former neighbor Sue's recipe.  She called it Mexicali Scoop.  It's become a family favorite.

Artichoke heart dip.  Sometimes the family does this cold.  I added extra cheese and nuked it.

Pork tenderloin with bourbon soy marinade.  No matter how many recipes I try, this remains my favorite.

Banana chutney.  Years ago I thought, "You know what would be great?  Banana chutney.  And, lo and behold, there was recipe in the Junior League cookbook called Back Home Again.  It's killer.

Lemony tortellini salad. From the Kraft magazine.  Really good even thought I left out the feta.  Partially because I wasn't sure who'd like it and partially because I forgot it...

Corn salad.  Connie really isn't fond of corn.  This, he loves.

Grilled Caesar salad.  If you've never grilled romaine lettuce, you need to start now.  Yes, I mean NOW.  All you do is cut the head of romaine in half lengthwise then brush it lightly with olive oil.  Grill it for just long enough to get some good burn marks.  If you want, you can also grill a basket of grape tomatoes, onion rings and avocado slices.  All of those get tossed with olive oil prior to putting them in the basket.  Then, grill for about five minutes.  Slice the lettuce and toss it with the veggies and your favorite Caesar dressing and you're good to go.

Mom's chocolate upside down cake.  A kidhood favorite.  Chocolatey, gooey, good!  Its
one of those deals that creates cake and sauce as it bakes.  Yummy chocolaty sauce.  I'm not a big sweet eater.  This, is an exception.  Well, except I still wouldn't eat this in the middle of the night!



Banana Chutney

Ingredients:

2 c peeled and chopped bananas (about 6)
1/2 lb onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 lb pitted dates, finely chopped
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c apple cider vinegar
2 T finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 t salt
1/2 t curry
1/2 c raisins (golden or regular)

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a large and heavy saucepan.  Allow the chutney to simmer until it's thickened.  That'll take about 15 minutes.

from Back Home Again



Mom's Chocolate Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:

1 c flour
1 t salt
3/4 c sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional - I usually leave them out)
2 T butter
1 square chocolate (is 1 oz of bittersweet chocolate)

for the topping:
4 T cocoa
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients.  Melt the butter and chocolate together over very low heat.  Slowly stir in the milk, vanilla and melted chocolate/butter.  Pour into an 8x8 pan.  Mix the topping ingredients together and sprinkle them over the batter.  Pour a cup of water over all.  DO NOT MIX!  Bake at 325 F for 45 minutes.  Best served warm.


Lemony Tortellini Salad

Ingredients:

1 9 oz package refrigerated cheese tortellini, cooked, drained and cooled
1 c coarsely chopped fresh spinach
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 c finely chopped red onions
1/4 c Zesty Italian dressing
1/2 t zest and 2 t juice from a lemon
1/4 t dried, crumbled oregano leaves (I used fresh)

Directions:

Mix the ingredients together gently and serve.

Dinner Parties!

One of the few cooking magazines I can't get via Texture (aka Next Issue) on my ipad is Kraft Food and Family.  I know.  Pretty much the last cooking magazine you'd expect me to subscribe to.  But I do because on occasion I find a gem.  It's easy to read through too.  This month I've found two gems thus far.  It seems that they've gotten on board the bandwagon of fresh ingredients, which is good. 

The first recipe we tried was for spicy grilled potato salad.  We left the office during a torrential rainstorm. It wasn't much better when we got home.  And, then poor Connie had to head off to the grocery in the same.  I stayed home and started cleaning up and prepping for a dinner party.  I'd read this recipe and another for blackberry glazed bbq chicken thighs on the way to work.  Let's just say that we give VERY few 2's out.  The chicken deserved that rating.  We also give out very few 5's.  The potato salad was a 4 pushing a 5.  It's super easy and super good.  And great leftover too.  I will note the recipe was to pop the potatoes in foil and grill them.  I decided to skip that and save time.  I don't think it made much difference since the potatoes were tossed with the dressing when very hot so they should have absorbed an equal amount of the dressing...

Then, the next evening it was time to get the rosemary roasted chicken ready to go and to keep getting ready for Saturday.  One of my very favorite bloggers and her delightful husband are coming over along with two of their best friends - one of whom happens to be a good friend of mine from high school and the other happens to be his incredibly wonderful wife.  Life gets in the way all too often so the six of us are behind on getting together.  Here's what the chicken looked like as I prepped it:

I was going through all the recipes I'd printed off looking for the gingered iceberg salad recipe when I ran across a recipe that'd be perfect for dinner.  Dean Fearings Texas Smoked Salmon Tartare.  It's a dish that's been inhaled at parties.  We had a couple of bags of smoked salmon.  And, I had all the other ingredients.  The night before I'd made the quinoa radish and snow pea salad.  All I needed to do was make a Greek dressing. Of course, in the magazine the recipe was written to use a Kraft Greek dressing.  I really prefer to make my own.  Usually the only store-bought dressings I'll use are a robust or zesty Italian as a marinade or a poppyseed.  It's so wonderful to have fresh herbs on hand again.  I headed to the herb garden and got a handful of oregano and basil and headed back in to make a dressing.  While I was doing everything else, I'd been using up the crepe batter from Mother's Day with the intention of freezing the crepes.   Then, inspiration struck.  What if I served the smoked salmon tartare with a couple of the crepes?  Perfect!  As was the quinoa salad.  I added a bit of chopped red onion on top but you could add pretty much any vegetable you'd like.  Or, for that matter, shrimp or chicken would be great in it. 

Now, I have to add in that the herb crepes were originally served with grated gruyere and thinly slice ham then napped with hollandaise sauce.  They're incredible that way.  But, they're also VERY versatile and would be perfect with many other fillings...  Mushrooms, chicken, shrimp, beef, eggplant...  And, you can use just about any sauce you'd like.

Well, now, since I've been gabbing about all these wonderful dishes it's probably time to share them...

Spicy Grilled Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 lbs small red potatoes, halved (I cut mine into 1/2" chunks)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c Zesty Italian dressing
1/3 c mayonnaise (the recipe called for Hot and Spicy so I added Tabasco Chipotle)
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 green onions, sliced

Directions (the way I actually made the recipe)

Cook the potatoes over medium heat until they're done.  Have a mixing bowl ready with the garlic and half of the Italian dressing.  As soon as the potatoes are done, drain them then toss them with the dressing mix.  In another bowl, combine the rest of the Italian dressing, the mayo and the Tabasco.  Toss that with the potatoes, bacon and green onions



Texas Smoked Salmon Tartare

Ingredients:

2 oil-packed anchovies, drained and coarsely chopped
2 t roasted garlic paste (I just used crushed garlic)
1 t ground cumin
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c sour cream
2 t fresh lime juice
one 1/2 lb piece of skinless smoked salmon cut into 1/4" dice
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/4 c finely chopped red onion
1 T capers, drained and coarsely chopped
1 T finely chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
4 dozen sturdy corn tortilla chips

Directions:

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mash the anchovies and garlic.  Add in the cumin, olive oil, sour cream and lime juice and mix well.  Fold in the other ingredients.

Snow Pea and Radish Quinoa Salad
makes 12 servings
photo is up top

Ingredients:

3 c cooked quinoa (one cup of uncooked)
1 c snow peas, cut into thin slices
4 green onions, sliced
6 radishes, quartered then sliced thinly
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 c Greek dressing
2 T finely chopped fresh mint (I omitted this and added finely chopped red onion)

Directions:

Toss the ingredients together and serve.


Herb Crepes
makes 12 crepes

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c flour
3 eggs
1 1 /4 c milk
1/2 c water
1/2 t salt
1/4 c chopped mixed herbs (parsley, thyme oregano, tarragon)
4 T unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Add the flour and eggs to your food processor.  Process just until the dough comes together.  Slowly add in the milk water and butter.  Pour the batter into a bowl and mix in the herbs and salt.  Make crepes using 1/4 cup of batter per crepe.  If you don't have a crepe pan, a small skillet with sloped sides will work well. 

Asian Halibut with Bok Choy and Eggplant with Peanut Sauce

My 99 cents find is managing to leave all the other cookbooks in the dust!  The Frugal Foodie Cookbook was published in 1999 by a couple who had a blog of the same name.  At one point they moved from BlogSpot to WordPress.  Now, all I can find is the old BlogSpot blog.  So, I'm hoping it's because they found themselves with wonderful, busy careers and a couple of kids and they just don't have time to blog anymore.  We've made two more dishes from the cookbook and both were clearly a five.  And, we've got a couple dozen more that I've listed to try.  Actually, I'm blogging instead of doing my grocery list for the week.  I like to have my menus and grocery list done by Friday but that wasn't happening this week.  A very dear friend had a house fire.  She's in the burn ICU and her house is going to need a lot of help.  Her brother is down in Louisville so we'll be the point people for heading there every day and checking out the progress.  She's doing better and may actually have her breathing tube out by today so she can talk.  It's going to be a long and rocky road!

Well, let's get back to happier news.  Like good recipes.  The most recent recipe was for a dinner party.  I managed to snap a photo as I was cooking the halibut but not as I plated it.  The goal was to get dinner on the table while warm :-)  Along with the halibut I made our new favorite salad - Endive with Blackberries and Blue Cheese.  For dessert - super simple angel food cake with frozen berries, whipped cream and toasted almonds.  I whirred the berries with a bit of liqueur in the food processor and added a bit of the same liqueur to the whipped cream.  But, the star of the show was the halibut.  This was a restaurant quality recipe.  And, shockingly, I made it almost as written.  I know, that never happens.  LOL  I'd not had the recipe handy when I made the grocery list for Connie.  So, I had him get a head of bok choy.  I used four big leaves instead of the baby bok choys.  And, we were out of lime juice so I subbed in lemon juice.  The recipe said four servings would run $27.  Wrong.  The halibut alone was $56.82.  But, it was worth every bite.

Halibut with Warm Mushroom Salad

Ingredients

6 head baby bok choy, leaves separated and washed
1/2 c water
4 T soy sauce
4 T white wine
2 t fresh ginger, minced
2 lbs halibut, divided into four pieces

for the mushroom salad:

4 T olive oil
6 c mixed mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 T white wine
1/2 c soy sauce
6 T rice wine vinegar
1 T fresh ginger, minced
2 T chives, chopped very finely
juice of one lime

Directions:

In a large skillet - preferably one that has a lid - lay the bok choy.  Let it steam uncovered for a few minutes until it's softened just a bit.  While it's steaming, make the sauce with the soy sauce, white wine and ginger.  Then, lay a piece of fish on each leaf or piece of bok choy.  Pour the sauce over, cover and steam until the fish is flaky - about 6 minutes.  In another skillet, heat the olive oil then sauté the mushrooms.  Make the dressing and set it aside.  To plate the dish, put a fish filet with it's bok choy in the center of the plate.  Scatter some warm mushroom salad over then pour on some of the mushroom salad dressing.


The other recipe we made was for Japanese eggplant with a peanut butter sauce.  Connie got kind of a funny look on his face when he started eating it.  I said, "What's up?"  He said, "This is turd sauce."  I'm thinking ooops, he really doesn't like this stuff.  Then, he goes on to say, "You could put this on a turd and it'd taste good."  Ok then, we have turd sauce.  I'm still laughing at that one!!!

Japanese Eggplant with Peanut Soy Sauce

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, cut lengthwise into 1 1/2" thick slices
2 T peanut butter (I used crunchy since that's what we have on hand)
1 1/2 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T sake (or dry white wine)
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t chipotle chili powder

Directions:

The recipe called for steaming the eggplant slices in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, then rinsing under cold water to stop the cooking.  Then, it called for mixing the sauce in a small saucepan on medium heat for five minutes.  I first tried grilling the eggplant and when that didn't work, I sautéed it.  Next time I'll steam it!