Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Saco River Dinner

The Elusive Maine Brown Trout
The Maine Brown Trout, also known as German Brown Trout, Brownie, Loch Leven Trout, and Swiss Lake Trout was first introduced to the United States in the 1800's.  One of the first areas of this country that it was introduced to was Branch Lake in Ellsworth, Maine in 1885.  The Brown Trout is often mistaken for landlocked salmon because of it's silvery coloration but the typical Brown Trout is a yellowish brown with large brown, black or reddish spots at it's sides.  

For years my husband has referred to this fish as "the elusive Brown Trout." In fact, it has been given that distinction by many Maine fisherman over the years.  It has been said that the Brown Trout is very clever and as difficult as they can be to catch, getting one on your hook is only the beginning of the battle.  The Brown Trout is clever enough to attempt a number of different strategies to escape after being caught.  It will actually try to tangle the line around different obstacles in the water and if that does not work; it will perform a variety of different acrobatics out of the water to escape.  My husband was lucky enough to win the battle with the Brown Trout in the picture above and I was all the more lucky to be able to enjoy my first taste of Brown Trout this season on Mother's Day this year.

Rather than focus on a specific recipe, I would like to talk more about the different ways of preparing and cooking this delicious fish.  I think a Mainer's first instinct would be to fillet the fish, dredge it through some flour or cornmeal and fry it up in a pan with lard, bacon fat or butter. There is nothing wrong with that long standing tradition!  It is an easy and incredibly delicious way to prepare this fish especially at camp when you have a bunch of hungry mouths to feed.  

A more sophisticated preparation would be to bake the trout in parchment paper.  This preparation is called Trout en Papillote.  It is not nearly as difficult a preparation as the name is to pronounce.  To prepare the fish this way, you simply cut two pieces of parchment paper large enough to cover the trout.  Score the fish on both sides by cutting small slits into the flesh until you feel the bone.  Place the fish on one of the pieces of parchment paper and add garlic, onions, lemon, herbs or anything else that you may desire to cook the fish with.  Drizzle some olive oil over the fish and place the second piece of parchment paper over the top.  Fold up the ends of both pieces of parchment paper to make a pouch and to seal the fish inside.  Cut a couple small slits in the top of the pouch and place into a small baking pan to cook for about 15 minutes.  

You can also poach a trout like you would a salmon by placing it into a large skillet on top of a bed of lemons, onions, and garlic with about 2 cups of chicken broth, water or white wine.  Season the fish with sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste.  Cover the skillet and lightly simmer the fish for 8 to 10 minutes.  This preparation is especially good served on a nice bed of greens or over a salad. Trout prepared this way is so light and mild tasting.  It is a great alternative to salmon if you are not a fan of the stronger tasting fish.

My personal favorite preparation for Brown Trout is as simple as the rest but the most flavorful way to prepare it in my opinion.  After the fish has been dressed (gutted), I stuff it with lemon slices, garlic and fresh herbs.  I score the fish on both sides and season with sea salt, cracked black pepper, more fresh herbs and drizzle with olive oil.  I place the whole fish, head and all, onto a piece of tin foil and wrap the sides of the foil up around it leaving a small opening for steam to escape. Then I throw the fish onto a hot grill for about 10 minutes or until the flesh becomes flaky and you can peel the skin off.  

You can eat every part of this fish including the skin and eyes.  It is mild and a little bit on the oily side; which only adds to the flavor in my opinion.  My personal favorite part of the fish is the cheeks.  Yes...fish have cheeks!  They are the tiny pocket of meat just below the eye.  The taste and texture of the cheek is similar to a scallop.  They are quite small on a brown trout but are delicious and should not be wasted no matter the size.  

Now that you have been  given a number of preparations to try, the only thing left to do is go out and catch yourself a nice Brown Trout.  I can promise you that it will be the only challenging part of the meal.  If your attempts to catch one fail, you can always visit your local fish market and buy a trout, salmon or any other fish and use one of these preparations on them just the same!

Enjoy!

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Super Quick Super Food Side Dish

Grilled Brussel Sprouts & Radishes
I am sure you all remember my very first Super Food Side Dish featuring brussel sprouts; well I am bringing back my favorite Brassica and paring it with another one of my favorites...the radish.  The radish is a relative of the brussel sprout, in fact, they are both part of the mustard family.  Vegetables belonging to the mustard family are called Brassicas or Brassicaceae.  The older name for Brassicas is Crucifers or Cruciferea meaning "cross-bearing" describing the four petals of the mustard flowers resembling a cross on the stem or the stalk of the plant.  It came as no surprise to me at all to learn that these two vegetables are in the same family.  I crave one equally as much as the other and it seems fitting to me that they are both cross-bearing creations sent to us from the Heavens!

This is a really quick and easy side dish to prepare with very few ingredients and since the grilling season is upon us, I decided to cook these on the grill tonight.  Here are the ingredients
1 pound of brussel sprouts, 1 pound of radishes, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, 1 clove of garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt and cracked black pepper.

In a large bowl, combine 1 pound of brussel sprouts, each cut lengthwise 3 or 4 times depending on the size, 1 pound of radishes, each cut in half, two tablespoons of olive, two tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette, 1 large clove of garlic minced, 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste.  Give all of the ingredients a good stir to thoroughly combine.

My Grilling tool
To cook my brussels and radishes on the grill, I am using my new grill Wok. You can find one of these in any kitchen store.  You can also use any kind of vegetable grilling basket or you can go really rustic and make a cooking basket out of tin foil.  Any of these tools will work just fine.

Turn your grill on to medium heat and grill the vegetables, stirring frequently, until both the brussel sprouts and radishes are nicely charred and are fork tender. Remove from the heat and serve them as a meal or with just about any main dish you are serving up.

Call me crazy, and many people do, but I love to serve this side dish in place of french fries or potato chips with a sandwich or a burger.  I adore the earthy and pungent flavors of both of these vegetables. They really compliment each other quite well.  The radish, that usually offers a little bit of a spicy note when eaten raw, can become surprisingly sweet when grilled or sauteed; which is perfect when paired with the nutty flavor of the brussel sprout.  I could go on and on about how much I love this dish but I think I will just let you get to the business of cooking it and trying it for yourself.


Enjoy!

Friday, May 8, 2015

Down East Asia

Grilled Sticky Sesame Asian Wings With A Homemade Asian Slaw 
The chicken wing served slathered in a hot chili sauce, now known as the buffalo wing, started gaining popularity in the early 1980's.  It is said that the popular bar/party food originated in Buffalo New York at an establishment called Anchor Bar.  That claim has been disputed over the years but there is little dispute about the fact that the dish originated in Buffalo, New York and gained still more popularity after the Buffalo Bills made 4 consecutive appearances to the super bowl from 1991 to 1994.  This gave Buffalo cuisine nationwide exposure and the buffalo wing became one of America's favorite super bowl party treats.  

Today, there are franchise restaurants that specialize in serving buffalo wings in a variety of different flavors.  Over the years, sauces other than traditional buffalo sauce have become quite popular.  These sauces have been influenced by Chinese, Japanese, Caribbean and Indian cuisines.  Tonight I have prepared a wing sauce that was influenced by Chinese cuisine.  It has a more subtle spicy kick to it than the traditional buffalo sauce but packs a whole lot of flavor in every bite.  Here are the ingredients for my sticky sesame Asian wings sauce.
Black vinegar, dark soy sauce, low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, Sriracha chili sauce, Maine maple syrup, Maine made honey, white pepper, Chinese five spice, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic and 1 lime.

Preparing the marinade
In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup of low sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of black vinegar, 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of Sriracha chili sauce, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, 1/3 cup of honey, a dash of white pepper and Chinese five spice to taste, a couple good pinches of red pepper flakes, 1 inch piece of ginger grated, 1 large garlic clove minced and the juice of 1 lime.  

Give all of the ingredients a good mix and pour 3/4 of the marinade over the chicken wings in a plastic back or a bowl and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 to 3 hours before cooking. Set aside the remainder of the marinade to use to baste the wings while cooking.

While the wings are marinating, it is time to prepare the Asian slaw.  Here are the ingredients for the dressing.
Shao Shing cooking wine, low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, Maine maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.

In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of Shao Shing cooking wine, 5 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, two tablespoons of maple syrup, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, two tablespoons of sesame seeds, and couple good pinches of red pepper flakes (optional).  Give the dressing a good stir and set aside to prepare the other ingredients.

First start by thinly slicing strips of green cabbage and red cabbage.  You will slice 1 cup of each kind of cabbage.  You can use a food processor for this but I like slicing the cabbage by hand to get the size and the texture that I am looking for.  I do this by rolling the leaves of the cabbage and slicing the roll into thin strips as shown above.
Add 1 cup of thin strips of carrots.  I use a vegetable peeler to make the thin strips but you can use a grater or a food processor for this as well

Next I add 8 to 10 ounces of snow peas which I thinly slice at an angle julienne style.

Once you are done slicing and dicing the vegetables, combine them all in a medium size bowl, pour the dressing over the vegetables and stir all of the ingredients thoroughly.  Set in the refrigerator to chill.

Now to cook the wings.  Tonight I have decided to grill my wings but you can also bake them or if you want to deep fry them, do not marinate them before frying.  Fry your wings first and then dredge them in the marinade after frying.  
If you decide to grill, turn your grill on to medium high heat and and thoroughly cook the chicken all the way through.  Each time you turn the wings on the grill, baste them with the reserved marinade until you have used all of it.  Once the wings are cooked remove from the grill and prepare to serve.


To serve, place the wings on top of a bed of the homemade Asian slaw on a large plate or platter.  Sprinkle sesame seeds over the wings (as much as preferred) and top with scallions, spring onions or any other topping you that you prefer.  Here I have topped my wings with scallions.  It is not what I prefer but they add the perfect touch for plating and presentation.  

I know what some of you are thinking...this is The Maine Harvest Table and I am featuring a dish that originated in a different State.  Well, that honestly is likely to be the case with a lot of my recipes but you will notice that I usually manage to sneak in some Maine made ingredients as I have in both of the recipes tonight.  

I love serving this dish as a light meal on a hot summer night as well as a party snack during the super bowl or at any other fun gathering.  The Asian slaw can be served as a side with a number of dishes or added as a topping to a gourmet sandwich.  I have even added it as a topping to a hot or cold noodle bowl.  It is extremely versatile and delicious.  It is one of my favorite go to super food side dishes.  I just love it and I hope you will too!


Enjoy!

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Friday Night Special - Tacos With A Twist

Beef Short Rib Tacos with Grill Fire Roasted Corn Salsa and Spicy Quick Pickle Cabbage
It's Friday night and I am treating my husband to his favorite Mexican dish...the beloved Taco!  Oh but this isn't just any taco my friends, no...this is a taco with a twist.  While I think that the pre-packaged taco kit served with hamburger, tomatoes, shredded lettuce and Mexican seasoned cheese in a bag is delicious; I really do not consider it to be an authentic Mexican dish.  It is the easy to make at home in a box version of a taco; which is perfectly fine and pleasing to the palate but tonight I am kicking it up a notch and serving a more authentic style taco.

I am not an authority on Mexican cuisine by any means.  I have not studied it nearly as much as I have studied other cuisines nor do I eat it as much as others, but I certainly do enjoy it whenever I get the opportunity and I have spent some time experimenting with my own Mexican dishes over the years.  While doing some research on the taco, I was interested to learn that the original use of the word means "plug" or "wad" used to fill a hole.  I suppose this means to fill a tortilla or taco shell but the first thing that came to my mind was to fill a void, to fill a hole in the stomach and by doing so, feeding the soul.   It can be interpreted in a number of ways but I think I like my version of it best!

For the taco dish I have served this evening, I have gone all out and made everything but the tortilla from scratch.  It may seem a little labor intensive but each of the recipes in this dish are pretty simple.  Let's start with the preparation of the short ribs.

Here I have a little over a half pound of short ribs and my homemade taco seasoning.
The recipe for the seasoning is as follows;

1 tbls of chili powder
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper

This makes a pretty good amount of seasoning.  whatever you do not use can be stored in a plastic bag or sealed container for later use.

Thinly slice your short ribs across the grain and then place the slices of meat into a bowl.  Sprinkle the seasoning over the meat and toss or stir so that each piece of meat is thoroughly covered with the seasoning.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the bowl into the refrigerator while you prepare your other ingredients.

 Next, we will prepare the spicy quick pickle cabbage
The ingredients are red cabbage, green cabbage, serrano peppers, rice wine vinegar, salt, sugar and water

First start by slicing both the red and green cabbage into long thin strips.  I used about 1/4 of the large green cabbage and half of the small red cabbage in the picture above.  Then I slice the serrano peppers into good size rings and add to the cabbage.

For the quick pickle brine
In a measuring cup, add 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar, 1/4 cup of water, 1 tbls of salt and 1 tbls of sugar.

Place the cabbage and pepper mixture into a small bowl and then pour the brine over the cabbage and peppers.  Give the mixture a good stir then cover and set in the refrigerator to pickle.

Making the salsa
The ingredients are 3 ears of corn, 1 pint of sweet cherry tomatoes, 1 jalapeno pepper, two cloves of garlic, 1 15.5 once can of black beans, sea salt, cracked black pepper and a 1 teaspoon of vinegar.

In a small food processor add the cherry tomatoes, the jalapeno pepper, two garlic cloves, a teaspoon of sea salt and cracked black pepper and a teaspoon of vinegar. Chop the ingredients in the food processor until all of the ingredients are well blended and you have a nice chunky consistency. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator

Next, you will place your ears of corn (still in their husks) on the grill for about a half hour or until you are able to easily stick a fork into the corn.  

*** Note - Before grilling the corn, soak the corn in their husks for a half hour.  Soaking the corn will prevent the husk from burning or catching on fire and it will also help to steam the corn while cooking on the grill.

When the corn is done roasting, remove the husk and then shave the kernels off the cob by running a sharp knife down around the entire cob until you have removed all of the kernels.  

Add the corn kernels along with the black beans to the tomato, jalapeno and garlic mixture.

Cooking the short ribs
First prepare a quick mixture of 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 1 tablespoon of water and set aside.
In a large pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and then add the thin slices of short ribs.  When the short ribs are cooked to about medium rare, add the mixture of corn starch and water and stir until the sauce starts to boil and thicken.  Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

To serve this dish, I like to spread all of the ingredients out on a platter so people can build their taco to their liking.  You can add as many toppings to your taco platter as you wish.  Here is just one example of how to build this platter.

Everyone has their own unique way to build a taco.  I like mine with a small layer of short rib, then a good spoon full of corn and black bean salsa, a pinch of the spicy quick pickle, a dollop of sour cream, a few leaves of cilantro and finally a nice squeeze of lime juice.

This is really fun and festive meal to serve to your family or for a group of people at a gathering.  It is a tasty and satisfying meal and you will be sure to impress your friends and family with this amazing taco platter.  

I really enjoyed preparing this dish for all of you and for my husband of course.  I know you will enjoy preparing it for your family and friends as much as I do!


Enjoy!