Another way to cook salmon

So, I got home from volleyball today and I was exhausted. I wanted a quick dinner that was healthy but flavorful. I love taking a long time to cook (like I mentioned before, it's my favorite procrastination), but I also realized I should be taking this time to practice for real life (because let's be honest, med school is no where near reality) for when I come home and I'm exhausted but I still need to make dinner.

THUS; My salmon recipe.

I took this mix of spices that my mom gave me; it was an Indian spice mix - I think it was "Biryani" - but I think it's one of those things where who knows what's in it. But it was probably curry powder, cumin, turmeric - that kind of thing. I put some oil (half canola, half olive oil.. probably should use all canola since I pan fried my fish) and I put the spices into the oil and mixed it around. Usually I dip my fish in whatever spices/flour mixture I have. But this way, the fish picked up a very light layer of delicious spices, and the oil didn't really soak into the fish.

The salmon I used was frozen, but I had defrosted it from yesterday. I dried them off and gave them a light dusting of cornstarch (could use flour too) just so that it would get a nice crust. I put them into the pan, for about 5-6 minutes on each side. I tented them with foil when they came off as I finished my sides. It turned out, just beautifully. With the potatoes and broccoli, I was done in under 30 minutes.

I love cooking.

Btw, those are purple potatoes. They taste just like normal potatoes, but they were so little and cute (and on sale at Whole Foods) so I got them.

I also had a little avocado - but my veggies are dressed with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and some olive oil. I feel so healthy just thinking about it.

Oatmeal!

Wow. It's been a while since I've posted on here. Luckily Ladan is taking some initiative with the amazing post below....such good times.

I've been craving oatmeal for a while now. I will be trying to do oatmeal in my rice cooker. Apparently it's easy but it seems that everyone is talking about having a very large rice cooker so that the oatmeal can expand. We'll see if my little tugboat can handle the pressure soon.

Mission: steel cut oats, honey, dried cherries, and pumpkin spice.

The holidays: Eat, get fat, and be merry

I love food and I love the holidays. Luckily both go together, so it's like extra happiness. Jason and I have neglected our foodie duties, but my only excuse was we were too busy eating. You'll see what I mean....

The weekend after Cardio (my life is broken up into 3 week blocks that coincide with exams) four of us decided to hit up the Symphony to Rachmaninov it up. Me, JLiu, Joye, and Lee. We decided to eat dinner beforehand and quite spoiled ourselves at the Porch. (www.theporchrestaurant.com) I highly recommend it:

My meatloaf with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. Like. Heaven.

Joye's salmon!

Lee's... ribs I think? Whatever it was, it smelled great. There was silence for about ten minutes while we stuffed our faces.. we resurfaced to have a conversation after those first ten minutes of silence.

Jason will have to post his plate later :) We also decided to go for pecan pie and s'mores for dessert. We did NOT regret that at all. The pecan pie was possible the best pecan pie I've ever had. Some people may not like pecan pie because it's too sweet, or for me, it's just way too thick AND too sweet. I usually have one bite and then I'm done with it. This pie was so light and so fluffy and just sweet enough - the pecans crumbled down once you put your fork to it. I can't wait to go back and see what else they have to offer.

Our only beef with the place - no bread! We wanted to be happily stuffed going into the Symphony... our plates were definitely big, and I was full, but I wanted to be painfully full. That's the best kind. It's like you really got your money's worth.

New opera house in Dallas!

Afterwards, we went and got chicken and waffles at Victor Tango's.. we'll go back another time and get pictures. But really, pictures don't even do this dish justice.. breaded chicken and maple syrup aren't exactly the picture perfect combination. Add in gravy and I'm thinkin this dish got assembled in my stomach instead of on the plate. But really, somehow, it WORKS! And it's wonderfully delicious. Especially after a classy dinner and classy symphony.....

Now, on to........ THANKSGIVING!

Last year we had a great gathering for Thanksgiving dinner before all of us scattered to spend the holidays with our families. Again this year, it was potluck style, and no one held anything back. Kudos to JLiu for the pristine and delicious turkey! Looks just like on the Food Network...

Annnnd the sides.. my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the sides. Better yet, my favorite part of any meal is the sides. Usually when we go out to eat, I don't have a particular craving for anything. So I look at the sides. No sides = deal breaker. (see above meat loaf.. I just wanted the mashed potatoes.. meat loaf was an added bonus)

Mashed sweet potatoes

Cranberries (I think JLiu/Queezy?)

Potatoes au gratin (JoJoyce)

Mashed potatoes

Cornbread

(me and Huay)

The cornbread was supposed to have jalapenos in it, but they were not put into my basket at Kroger :(

Sweet potato gnocchi with honey sage brown butter sauce

(me)

Onion pancakes - Jerry

(who kept complaining that they were getting soggy bc we waited too long - but they were still good!)

Mmmmmacaroni and cheese with hidden squash

-Emily!

Stuffing by me and Huay.

I took parsley, green onions, one yellow onion, and garlic, chopped it up (well Huay did that!) and sauteed it. I took a box of stuffing mix and combined it with the sauteed greens. I had some beef stock left over so I added that. I also got the turkey neck from Jason and browned it, adding water as needed (it sticks to the bottom, even with oil). Then, I.... well, Huay picked out the bits of meat from the neck and we discarded the bone. Mixed it up with one or two eggs, put it in a pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is dry. Bake around 375 degrees. Broil for a little bit if you need the top to brown.

 

Uhhh... my first plate. Which I inhaled. And went back for seconds.

A feast isn't a feast without desserts.. and desserts we had!

Pumpkin bread pudding with Cool Whip (me)

[Not gonna lie.. towards the end of the night I just took a spoon to the Cool Whip. Don't judge me.]

Kudos to Raj for the cherry pie! I don't really like pie but this was really great. Especially the shot of pure sugar right on top. No wonder I was able to stay up til 4 am...

And I don't have a picture of Joye's brownies, but I'm pretty sure those were snacked on all night.

All in all, a successful second annual Thanksgiving eat-a-thon. We had a great thanksgiving dinner at home, but definitely not as many side dishes/desserts anddd .. it was way healthier. Which is ok, I think my body needed a break.

Looking forward to the good eats for December. :) Happy Holidays!! Enjoy a holiday latte... I'm all over the pumpkin spice latte......

Eat your heart out!

Cardio block was a little nuts - and since I stayed in Cali for the first few days of it, I was scrambling to catch up. Subsequently, my cooking was to a minimum - and I went NUTS after it was done. Also, my wonderful old friend from hs (working on a decade of friendship!), Shannon Triggs, came in town to visit. We made Shepherd's pie and sugar cookies for old times sake.

But before that: State Fair!! We went to the Texas State Fair in Dallas. It was also the day of the TX/OU game AND Emily's bday! We ate:

 <-- turkey leg!

-corndog
-fried smores (same as fried cheesecake - smores were wrapped in a pastry, then fried)
-alligator 
-fried peaches (battered) and cream 

<-- fried cheesecake

<-- chicken wings (Jerry, confused as always..)

Happy Birthday Emily!! Too bad we couldn't get the candles to light.. too windy.

The crew.

If you've ever made icing, you'd understand the frustration of having leftover icing with nothing to ice. If you've got this guy around, your icing will never go to waste.

Licking the remainder of the powdered sugar from the funnel cake.

We left pleasantly plumper than we had arrived. But definitely happy.

POST-TEST EXTRAVAGANZA!

So, I always bite off more than I can chew. This menu was no exception. But when I do something, I like to go ALL out. Luckily, like I said earlier, I had the best sous chef - SHAN!!

SO pumped to be in the kitchen. And reunited!

First up - butternut squash ravioli. First time I ever made pasta:

3.5 cups of flour + 4 eggs

I made a well in the middle of the flour and slowly incorporated the eggs into the flour until it came together into a ball. I had to add a few splashes of water because it was too dry. Then I wrapped it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge - we took a break to go Halloween costume shopping.

Then Shepherd's pie... Rachael Ray's recipe :)

 

Fried chicken, the healthy way. In the oven. I always overplan for food... a bit much??

 That's alot of chicken. 10 pounds to be exact.

This sink got filled twice. I think we used every pot/pan/dish in my kitchen. Twice. But the final product was soo worth it!

Jason brought some delicious pasta with asparagus and pesto. You can see it in the back right. Also: Joye brought some banana bread (in the back)!

Shout out to Joye for letting me put a batch of chicken in her oven :) Best neighbor ever!!

And the finale....... Halloween sugar cookies

Love it all. The cookie recipe was from my new cookie cook book - bday gift from Shan, thanks!!!

Can't wait to have another dinner party. I think the next one is Thanksgiving wooooo!!!

Fried Chicken? Or is it.....

Well, it certainly is chicken, but is it fried??

So, disregard those spots that are wet-looking.. I think I left it in the oven too long that the juices started flowing out and messing up my wonderfully delicious CRUST!

So, these are drumsticks with the thighs attached. I get them from Whole Foods, and these two bad boys cost me a little under $3. They also remove the skin for you, which is fanasteriffically healthy. And they weigh it sans skin.

I took one egg and lightly beat it with a fork in a shallow bowl. It looked a little thick, so I added a splash of milk (fat-free). Then I made my "batter" - none of this was measured:

-breadcrumbs (bought from the store, NOT seasoned.. adding your own is 100x better!)

-poultry seasoning (no idea what's in it, it was on my spice rack, but most of them are the same)

-cayenne pepper

-paprika

-sesame seeds

-kosher salt (if it's good for Ina Garten it's good for me)

Just taste it occasionally (the best part of cooking!) to make sure it's what you want it to be - tasty. I dipped my chicken in the egg, giving it a good soak, then patted it down with my breadcrumb mixture. Some needed help sticking, so I added some light pressure.

Into the oven for 25-30 minutes on 400 degrees F.


How easy is that? I can't wait to have a dinner party and cook this for all my Dallas folk. You could easily multiply this recipe for lots of people without even breaking a sweat. The outside is perfectly crispy - you would think there's skin there, but there's not. AND it totally tastes deep fried. The juices seep out to make you think it's oil.. but it's not. It's heaven for a med student.. or anyone else for that matter.

Yay cardio block!! Love your heart!

Leftovers

I'm calling it leftovers because I forgot to post these last week. In any case, I made pesto this week. I've been wanting to make it for a while since it's really easy and can be used for anything. Here's the special kind that I make using pistachios rather than pine nuts:

- Basil

- Flat leaf Italian parsley

- Planters Pistachio lover's nut mix

- Lemon zest and juice

- Garlic (lots of it)

- Parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated

- Olive oil

- Salt and pepper

You just throw all of that stuff except the olive oil into a food processor and then slowly stream in the olive oil while the food processor is working. You can make it as thick or as thin as you like. I tend to sway towards the thicker side because I top the pesto with some more olive oil when I put it in the tupperware to keep the pesto from browning (although the lemon juice should take care of most of it).

The steak was bonus - I really just wanted the pasta. The pasta was whole wheat spaghetti and I just tossed the pesto with a little pasta water with the pasta and that was it. The steak was grilled and speaks for itself. My roommate grilled the steak and did an awesome job.

These are just skewers of shrimp and fatty tuna that I did on the grill very quickly for dinner the next day. There was also a side of oven-roasted zucchini. Nothing too spectacular here.

Pigs, eggs, and scones!

I went to a pig roasting this weekend with Matt in Berkeley. Actually, Oakland. They had a pit made from concrete blocks that had... charcoal in it, I think (some pretty big flames), and then these large flat grates, in between two, nested the little pig. And by little I mean huge - apparently it weighed in around 120 pounds, if I overheard correctly. This particular pig was particularly special because of its high fat content.. I thought all pig was fatty, but man, this one was ridiculous. Hopefully Matt can find some pictures to share. Ridiculous. (I did not have one bite, ew.)

On another note, hard-boiling eggs. The way I've always been taught (from the master of boiling eggs, my daddio) is you boil the water, and slowly drop the eggs in, wait a little while, and take them out. Sometimes, we Agharokhs have been known to forget about them until BOOM! They explode. Then.... you cut them and instead of a bright yellow yolk, it's got this weird, greenish gray halo around the yolk. The yolk is somewhat yellow but not bright like the sun in a little kid's crayon drawing.

Solution: Consult Martha.

In her book for home cooks, which I highly recommend, it has all sorts of practical tips that most cookbooks assume you know, because of course, as the home chef, you've been to culinary school. For boiling eggs (hard boil): put the eggs in a deep pot and cover with one inch of COLD water. Bring it to a boil on high heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, and cover it for 13 minutes. Voila! BEAUTY!

Umm, this should be on the cover of Food & Wine. The salad is just baby spinach, green bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, sharp cheddar, and avocados. Salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon, and you've got a dinner of champions. Heart healthy, ready to learn about EKGs. (eek)

Also, when I was in Berkeley, I made these chocolate chip scones:

When we went to Target to get supplies, I couldn't resist the orange sprinkles in the $1 spot for Halloween!

If you think you're not a baker because you have to measure out stuff... I beg to differ. True, you really should keep the proportions, but at one point, someone decided the proportions should change for one reason or another, because people like their baked goods different ways. I took a few recipes and melded them together to the supplies I had and the amount of fat that I wanted to incorporate. Enjoy!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1.25 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 stick of butter (unsalted!)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup half and half (slightly more if needed... it's your call!)

Chocolate chips (the recipe called for something like 1 cup.... yyeaahh I think used about 3 cups. Or so.)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut up the butter into small bits: about 1 cm x 1 cm or smaller, if you can. If you have a food processor this is so much easier, just put the flour mixture and butter chunks and pulse a few times until it resembles a crumbly mixture. Or do what I did, and use your hands to crumble in the butter chunks. Or a knife. The key is keeping the butter cold so it melts and leaves pockets in the pastry in the oven. I've had trouble with this but I think I finally got it. Add in the sugar and vanilla and chocolate chips. Add the half and half until the mixture comes together. Add more than I said if it seems too dry. Bring it into a quasi-ball and put it on a floured surface. Press it into a disc, about 1 inch thick. Cut out triangles and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Time to study!! :)

FAIL

Forgot to take pictures of Ladan's Birthday dinner at Celebration Market. Joyce has a lot of pictures of people, but none of the food.... You can't eat people.

Recovery plan: recreate their walnut-crusted chicken breast. I think it's going to be super easy.

jalapeno seared scallop

Jalapeno seared scallops. Marinated scallops overnight in cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, green onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. Seared them in a pan over medium to medium-high heat for about 3 minutes on each side depending on the size of the scallop. I transferred them to a plate to finish cooking with carry-over heat, covered with foil.

Asian cucumber salad. My mom has been making this cucumber salad for me my entire life. I realized she does this because it's super easy. 1 regular cucumber was peeled and cut in half length wise. Some of the seeds were scooped out to remove both the seeds and the extra water - but don't take them all out. I sliced them into half moons very thinly. Remember that the thinner the cut, the faster they soak up the dressing (recall diffusion properties). In a bowl, I mixed in sugar, rice wine vinegar, 2 diced up cloves of garlic, salt and white pepper. I added a little bit of lemon juice but this is totally optional - I had the lemon for the scallops. Using a spoon, I mashed up the garlic a little more while dissolving the sugar in the vinegar. I then added the sliced cucumbers into the dressing, tossed, tasted and placed in the fridge until the scallops were ready.

Quinoa. Quinoa is a grain indigenous to South America. The first time I had it was in Peru where they apparently use it in both savory and sweet dishes. I had this amazing morning porridge made from quinoa and milk. Anyway, quinoa is a whole grain that has complete protein and less starch than rice. You can find it at Whole Foods. I think it's a great substitute for rice and infinitely better than couscous (remember couscous is actually a pasta).

I think they turned out pretty well. Thoughts?

salmon part deux

Happy Friday, everyone!

I just got back from the Friday night interview dinner and realized that I forgot to post this yesterday. I made a grilled salmon again last night. Simply marinated with garlic, green onions, cilantro, salt, pepper, olive oil over night and then grilled. It was pretty good. I was prouder of my grill marks (see picture and be jealous) than anything else.

I think I need to start using a real camera rather than my iPhone to take these pictures. The quality just isn't that great for macro pictures, but it takes forever and a half to get pictures off my camera compared to my iPhone.

At any rate, the mission tomorrow: pan-seared scallops served with cucumber salad and quinoa. Until then, study...study...study...

Procrastination...

Anyone who knows me well knows of my favorite way to procrastinate: cook. Usually, I bake, simply because it doesn't require an extra trip to the grocery store. In high school when I couldn't drive, I would get bored at home and bake - we always had all of the necessary ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, etc., so I could always come up with some recipe to bake.

This time since I had groceries, I cooked. But I gave myself a time limit: 1 hr 30 min total, including eating time. I rounded up at just over an hour so I was impressed.

I learned from the Food Network that it is way too easy to make your own tomato sauce, so why buy it pre-made? Today, I made a pasta sauce with eggplant and mushrooms. I sauteed the eggplant with a little oil to get them cooked. I chopped up some garlic and one onion and let them go in another pot. Added a few squirts of tomato paste (I love tomato paste in a tube.. so inventive!) and the mushrooms, and then two cans of crushed red tomatoes. Then in went the eggplant.

Spice time: added some "pizza seasoning" - it smelled Italian - and Herbes de Provence - Giada from Food Network loves that spice, so I figured why not. Then some red pepper flakes for heat. Salted every step as I added something new, so it was perfectly salted by the end!

Chopped up some cilantro for garnish and boiled some pasta. Easy as pie, delicious and healthy. And quick!

 

Finally, just now, I was craving ice cream. As I explained to Matt, I refuse to go get ice cream alone. I feel like you should only eat ice cream socially. Otherwise you're an ice-cream-aholic and I'm sure there's a CAGE equivalent for that. So, I do what I always do.... go to the kitchen and see what I can make. The results...

 

 

I had some semi-sweet baking chocolate from when I had baked before; strawberries from when Affy bought me groceries. Melted up the chocolate in the microwave, and voila! Instant treat. 20 minutes later, I am back to studying! Food is always the best study break.....

(mis)adventures in chocolate sauce

To be honest, I forgot when we did this. But for some reason Ladan wanted to make cupcakes but didn't know what to do with the frosting. I suggested that we make some sort of chocolate ganache that we could dip the cupcakes in...unfortunately, epic fail. We did make a ridiculously cute Cupcake Man who had a Turkey Sidekick.....Yeah I heard it.