Herb Crusted Mahi Mahi Fillets

For two:  

Ingredients: 
2 small Mahi Mahi fillets
(I took one frozen fillet from Costco, defrosted it, and sliced it into two small fillets.)
(Honestly, any competent whitefish would probably do.)

1 small tomato, cubed
1 medium shallot, sliced
  (Or dice some onion)
3 leaves of fresh basil, chopped

1 slice heavy bread (homemade?)
3 or 4 sprigs parsley
⅓ cup shredded Parmesan

salt & pepper

olive oil. 

Optional: 

a couple of garlic cloves, halved lengthwise

a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme

a tiny bit of hot (habañero or cayenne) pepper.

Instructions: 

Defrost fish. Bring it to room temperature. Rub/brush with olive oil. Salt & pepper to taste.

Heat a skillet (cast iron is fine) to medium high. Add olive oil. Optional: add garlic halves and thyme sprigs to the oil and stir gently for several seconds. Add fish to (seasoned) oil: sixty seconds only on each side: the goal is color, not completely cooking. Remove from frying pan to a baking tray, lined if you prefer. Preheat oven to 350º.

Add to the hot frying pan: diced tomatoes and shallots. If you used the optional garlic and thyme, consider mashing the garlic now and removing the thyme sprigs, and stripping them of leaves. Re-add thyme leaves to the pan when the tomatoes are partly done, with the chopped basil. Remove from heat. Optional: add a touch of hot pepper here. Just a touch.

Mix bread crumbs together with parsley and Parmesan cheese in food processor until they’re mixed well and small pieces.

Divide the tomato-shallot salsa among the fish fillets. Layer generously. Cover with bread crumb mixture. Press bread crumbs onto the fish, and add a little more loosely on top.

Bake at 350 for 5 – 7 minutes. Finish by broiling for 2 or 3 minutes to get a nice brown top.

Northwest Potato Apple Soup

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon (1 oz. total), chopped

½ teaspoon olive oil

¼ cup sliced celery, plus leaves for garnish

¾ cup diced peeled Yukon Gold potato

1 medium (or two small) tart apple, peeled and chopped

½ onion, peeled and chopped

2+ cloves minced garlic

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

About 1 tsp chicken bouillon

1 cube (1 TBSP) frozen or fresh pesto

4 – 6 fresh sage leaves, minced

1½ cups apple cider or juice

1 TBSP flour stirred into 1 cup milk

3-4 oz gruyere cheese (or substitute cheddar & parmesan) shredded.

Plus some more for garnish

Optional:

Enough hot pepper to give it some bite.

Celery seed for garnish

Instructions:

In a large cast iron pan over high heat, stir bacon until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.

Add oil to pan; when hot, add onion, celery, apple, and garlic. Stir often over medium heat until onion is very limp and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

Add potatoes, chicken bouillon, and apple juice; bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes mash easily, 25 to 30 minutes.

Add flour-milk mixture and stir in. Add the cheese and stir in. Cook, stirring often, an additional 8 or 10 minutes until cheese is entirely melted and flour is cooked. Adjust seasoning during this time.

Serve and garnish. Goes well with homemade sourdough bread.

Sourdough that Works

Ingredients:

·         A batch of sourdough starter. Feed it for a couple of days. Get it growing well.

·         The goal is about four cups of flour, with enough water to make a good dough.

·         2 TBSP of olive oil.

·         1 TBSP sugar.

·         1 tsp salt.

·         2 TBSP gluten.

Mix it all together well. Really well.

I kneaded this by hand for another 5 minutes or so, and formed it into a bread loaf. It looked too big, so I cut off a small bit, and made two.

Pans: coat the insides with oil, and dust (heavily) with flour. Set the dough in it to rise for 8 or 12 hours. Then into a hot oven for 25 minutes.

 Best sourdough I've ever made. 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream:

For the Ice Cream: 

Ingredients: 

¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa powder

⅓ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar

pinch salt (oops. Forgot this.)

2 cups Half & Half

½ TBSP vanilla extract

For the Cookie Dough: 

½ package Nestle Toll House cookie dough

    (I used Ultimates Turtle Cookie Dough)

Powdered sugar.

Cut the dough into small pieces.

Roll into little balls (pea to marble size).

Coat in powdered sugar to keep separate.

Freeze for at least an hour before using.

Directions: 

·         Mix the ice cream ingredients together. Alternate stirring and waiting (no cooking, no cooling) every few minutes until the sugar dissolves (might take 20 minutes).

·         Load it into your ice cream maker and fire it off.

·         When you’re just about ready to take it out of the machine, drop in the cookie dough balls, one at a time, letting them mix evenly into the ice cream.

·         Freeze for an hour or two (or more) before eating.

First Sourdough Bread

TRADITIONAL SOURDOUGH BREAD

Here’s a good theory. This is what it's supposed to be like. 

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups fresh sourdough starter

3 1/3 cup flour

1 to 1 1/2 cups water

Scant tablespoon salt

Instructions:

Mix sourdough starter, flour, and salt together. Add 1 cup water, then more as needed to make a moist bread dough.

Knead dough until it passes the “window pane test.” That is, a small piece of dough will stretch between four fingers thin enough to allow light to pass through without breaking.

Split the dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf.

Place in a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inches), proofing basket, or on a board. Cover lightly with a towel and proof 4-24 hours. While a second proofing period is not required, if desired, punch dough down after 4-12 hours, reshape, and proof again.

Slice an X shape in the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife or razor blade to allow the loaf to expand during baking without splitting in unexpected places.

Bake at 400°F for 30-60 minutes, depending on loaf size, or until the internal temperature reaches 190° to 210°F.

Use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bottom or side of the loaf.

Cool before slicing.

Here’s my first real-world experience with Sourdough:

Ingredients:

A big batch of fresh sourdough starter (this was pretty moist).

Lots more flour: a couple of cups at least.

1 to 1½  TBSP water

Oops. Forgot the salt. Need to remember the salt.

Instructions:

Mix sourdough starter and a cup or two of flour together in a blender with a bread hook. Add a tiny bit of water because everybody knows you add water to a dough.

Knead dough and keep adding flour trying to thicken the dough. It kept getting thicker, but never formed the ball I’m used to; this was stickier than oobleck.

Split the dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf.

I used a loaf pan; buttered the pan lightly. Not going to do that again. I covered the sticky dough with plastic wrap and let it rise on the warm back porch for 10+ hours. It raised nicely, but when I removed the plastic wrap, it tore the top off the loaf, and the remainder fell an inch or so.

I baked at 375°F for 40 minutes, one at a time, in the toaster oven. Sprinkled some flour on the second one. Didn’t help.

Results: Meh. I wasn’t impressed. The flavor surely needed the salt, and the crust (all sides) was rock hard while the inside was kind of spongy. Came out of the pan nicely, though.

Next time:

• Remember the Salt.
• Don't chicken out on adding flour and water: work pretty hard to get this to “bread consistency.”
• Forget the loaf pan. Use a flat tray: shred bread.
• Bake it hotter. 425° - 450°. Maybe bake in the barbecue.
• Use some whole wheat or rye flour. White is boring. 

Basil Custard Ice Cream

We first tasted basil ice cream in a castle in Germany. We had to have more! So I found some recipes and combined them.

Here’s the theory:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole milk

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

½ cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

½ cup well-chilled heavy cream

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

an ice cream maker

PREPARATION

Bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, then remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender (reserve saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute.

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 1 minute. 

Add milk mixture in a stream, beating until combined well. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and registers 175°F on thermometer (do not let boil).

Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cold, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in cream and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.

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Now here’s what I actually did. The result was delicious, but it was yellow (from the yolks), not green!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups half & half

½ cup finely chopped fresh basil

½ cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

1½ cups more well-chilled half & half

PREPARATION

Bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, then turn heat down and let it simmer 30 minutes. Transfer to a food processor (save the saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute.

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with a whisk until thick and pale, about 1 minute. Add some of the milk mixture in a stream, beating until combined well.

Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon (do not let boil). Warning: this may be quick. Taste regularly to make sure it’s yummy. Add the rest of the half & half. Taste some more.

Refrigerate the mixture for half an hour or so. Freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least an hour.

Results: Really, really good.

Serving Suggestions:

·         Grille some nectarines (perhaps in a honey/cayenne rub?), and serve with the ice cream.

·         Sprinkle fresh raspberries on top, maybe a sprig of fresh basil beside. 

Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream

I love peanut butter on bananas.
So I thought I'd try peanut butter & banana ice cream.

Peanut Butter Balls
In advance: 
1/2 cup or more of peanut butter,
A couple of tablespoons of butter

A couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar or honey.

Mix it all together.
Make little balls, either by spooning onto a plate full of powdered sugar (so it doesn't stick), or by using a (greased) ice cube tray for tiny ice cubes.
Freeze these balls/cubes for several hours ahead of time.

Ice Cream ingredients: 
2 cups half & half, well chilled
4 over-ripe bananas

1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 – 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, to taste

In a blender, combine the ingredients until the sugar is dissolved.

Turn machine on, pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let mix until thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes. Then add peanut butter balls, mix well, then freeze for a couple of hours. Thaw for 10 minutes or so before serving. 

This is pretty darned good, flavorful but simple. Worth remembering.