A larger test - a weeks worth of new recipes? Be still my heart!
Friday December 29...
I'm beginning to realize what a crazy idea this is. There are a whole lot of new things to try in a year, and that means I have to try a new menu about every other day. Yikes. Not just one item but 3 or 4 new dishes per menu.
I started looking them over this week. We are still on our diets so no pork and little beef, and no pasta, so you can imagine it cuts our choices down.
And looking over some of them I changed them because I will not eat anything that tastes of licorice (fennel, anise). I just cant bring myself to do it.
So theoretically, this week's menu includes:
As for the ingredients, I for one have never had celery root, the thing I replaced for the roasted fennel. But I do like celery so unless it is difficult to cook, it should be a good substitute. I'm not sure Kroger has it, so there is that.
Tomorrow I embark on the journey of getting all the stuff required to make these recipes.
Saturday, December 30th
Well grocery shopping didn't go as planned. I found arugula but I didnt find endive or escarole. I gave up on the fancy salad and bought a mixed baby greens box instead. I think you would do the same.
Today's menu is the Sea bass. Unfortunately even though they had it, it was more than 27 dollars a pound. There was no way I was spending 54 dollars on just 2lbs of fish. I dont care HOW good it is. Would you?
So, I replaced the seabass with a white fish, comparable in color - cod. It was in the fish section of Kroger, not frozen, so it should be good.
Also no Isreali couscous nor tomatillos. So we will have to improvise. Maybe a red salsa instead.
So today's actual meal is:
I'm beginning to realize what a crazy idea this is. There are a whole lot of new things to try in a year, and that means I have to try a new menu about every other day. Yikes. Not just one item but 3 or 4 new dishes per menu.
I started looking them over this week. We are still on our diets so no pork and little beef, and no pasta, so you can imagine it cuts our choices down.
And looking over some of them I changed them because I will not eat anything that tastes of licorice (fennel, anise). I just cant bring myself to do it.
So theoretically, this week's menu includes:
- Arugula salad, Roasted wild striped Bass, and roasted celery root with tomatillo salsa verde.
- Roast chicken with onion gravy, broccoli hache (a french word meaning diced), mashed potatoes.
- Shrimp and scallop stew, israeli couscous (larger than regular), and winter salad.
- Turkey chili, cheesy pepper quesadillas, romaine and dried cherry salad
- Red wine pot roast with root veggies and chocolate mocha gooey butter cake.
As for the ingredients, I for one have never had celery root, the thing I replaced for the roasted fennel. But I do like celery so unless it is difficult to cook, it should be a good substitute. I'm not sure Kroger has it, so there is that.
Tomorrow I embark on the journey of getting all the stuff required to make these recipes.
Saturday, December 30th
Well grocery shopping didn't go as planned. I found arugula but I didnt find endive or escarole. I gave up on the fancy salad and bought a mixed baby greens box instead. I think you would do the same.
Today's menu is the Sea bass. Unfortunately even though they had it, it was more than 27 dollars a pound. There was no way I was spending 54 dollars on just 2lbs of fish. I dont care HOW good it is. Would you?
So, I replaced the seabass with a white fish, comparable in color - cod. It was in the fish section of Kroger, not frozen, so it should be good.
Also no Isreali couscous nor tomatillos. So we will have to improvise. Maybe a red salsa instead.
So today's actual meal is:
- Mixed baby green salad, Roasted cod, and roasted celery root.
Let's see how this plays out...
The first thing that needed doing was getting ready to make the fish. The way this dish works, you put the vegetable on the bottom, cover it in wine, and then put the fish on top, cover it in foil and let it cook at high temperature.
So I grabbed the celery root:
... and chopped off the celery ends. Yes that's what that is. I put those in some water to use later. Pretty cool eh?
Then I cut off all the brown hairy stuff (the root hairs) and cut it into bite sized pieces. I rinsed these in case some dirt remained.
Then I put these on the bottom of the baking dish.
Next I opened some leftover champagne and poured it over. I didnt have white wine, but this was close enough.
Then I laid the fish so that it was the same thickness all the way through - folding the skinnier piece.
I covered the dish with foil and set the oven to 425F.
Next I grabbed some whole wheat english muffins to make a bruschetta.
I cut up the garlic, then the tomatoes.
I placed the garlic and some olive oil on the muffins, then added tomatoes and chopped up a cheese stick (I didnt have shredded mozzarella and since this was a spur of the moment crunch added to the meal, it didnt really matter). Note: I made two with no tomato and no cheese, for the kiddos.
Somehow after getting the oven partially there, it got turned off. Did I mention I have kitchen gremlins? Well I do.
Turns out the acid in the tomatoes and the sulfur in the garlic plus the low heat of the oven being turned off, created blue garlic.
Look it up, its ok to eat, just weird.
https://io9.gizmodo.com/cooking-garlic-the-wrong-way-can-make-it-turn-blue-1724738684
Here's a picture:
BLUE!
So after discovering the oven was off, I naturally turned it on (and swore a bit).
Once it went to 450, I put in the fish and the bruschetta. I set two timers because bruschetta needs like 7 minutes and the fish needed 20.
Once it was done I pulled out the bruschetta and let the fish finish cooking.
When the fish beeped (well the oven did that) I took that out and made the salad:
I put down baby spring mix, added shaved parmesan (I took a block of parm, took the vegetable peeler and peeled off cheese until it looked like enough). Then I cut up the last two campari tomatoes and added a Tbsp of lemon jice and two Tbsp of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
I mixed all this together and added croutons.
Here the fish is, all done.
The problem is the celery root was NOT done. It was sitting in all this wine/oil/fish juice but it was hard. Oh no.
So I took the fish off, moved to a plate, and stuck the glass dish into the microwave for 5 minutes. Not elegant but it solved the problem.
I'm thinking maybe we pre cook it in the micro for 5 mins before adding the wine and fish next time? Not sure, will have to think on it.
In the end the food was great, the fish was perfect, the celery root is creamy and soft and tastes like celery but mildly so.
It didnt need tomatillo salsa at all, except maybe for color. But I think a finish with some fresh parsley across the fish top would make it pretty enough.
Here are the recipes, as is. The one that makes the cookbook will likely be a bit more polished. :)
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
Directions
The first thing that needed doing was getting ready to make the fish. The way this dish works, you put the vegetable on the bottom, cover it in wine, and then put the fish on top, cover it in foil and let it cook at high temperature.
So I grabbed the celery root:
... and chopped off the celery ends. Yes that's what that is. I put those in some water to use later. Pretty cool eh?
Then I cut off all the brown hairy stuff (the root hairs) and cut it into bite sized pieces. I rinsed these in case some dirt remained.
Then I put these on the bottom of the baking dish.
Next I opened some leftover champagne and poured it over. I didnt have white wine, but this was close enough.
Then I laid the fish so that it was the same thickness all the way through - folding the skinnier piece.
I covered the dish with foil and set the oven to 425F.
Next I grabbed some whole wheat english muffins to make a bruschetta.
I cut up the garlic, then the tomatoes.
I placed the garlic and some olive oil on the muffins, then added tomatoes and chopped up a cheese stick (I didnt have shredded mozzarella and since this was a spur of the moment crunch added to the meal, it didnt really matter). Note: I made two with no tomato and no cheese, for the kiddos.
Somehow after getting the oven partially there, it got turned off. Did I mention I have kitchen gremlins? Well I do.
Turns out the acid in the tomatoes and the sulfur in the garlic plus the low heat of the oven being turned off, created blue garlic.
Look it up, its ok to eat, just weird.
https://io9.gizmodo.com/cooking-garlic-the-wrong-way-can-make-it-turn-blue-1724738684
Here's a picture:
So after discovering the oven was off, I naturally turned it on (and swore a bit).
Once it went to 450, I put in the fish and the bruschetta. I set two timers because bruschetta needs like 7 minutes and the fish needed 20.
Once it was done I pulled out the bruschetta and let the fish finish cooking.
When the fish beeped (well the oven did that) I took that out and made the salad:
I put down baby spring mix, added shaved parmesan (I took a block of parm, took the vegetable peeler and peeled off cheese until it looked like enough). Then I cut up the last two campari tomatoes and added a Tbsp of lemon jice and two Tbsp of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
I mixed all this together and added croutons.
Here the fish is, all done.
The problem is the celery root was NOT done. It was sitting in all this wine/oil/fish juice but it was hard. Oh no.
So I took the fish off, moved to a plate, and stuck the glass dish into the microwave for 5 minutes. Not elegant but it solved the problem.
I'm thinking maybe we pre cook it in the micro for 5 mins before adding the wine and fish next time? Not sure, will have to think on it.
In the end the food was great, the fish was perfect, the celery root is creamy and soft and tastes like celery but mildly so.
It didnt need tomatillo salsa at all, except maybe for color. But I think a finish with some fresh parsley across the fish top would make it pretty enough.
Here are the recipes, as is. The one that makes the cookbook will likely be a bit more polished. :)
Roasted Cod with Celery Root
Ingredients
·
2 Celery roots (tops come with them)
·
1 cup dry white wine
·
1 3/4 pounds Cod fillets (each about
1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
·
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
·
Coarse salt and freshly ground
pepper
Directions
1.
Preheat
oven to 450 degrees. Using a sharp knife, peel and cut celery root into bite
sized pieces. Arrange in the bottom of a 9-by-9-inch glass pan. Stick in the
microwave for 5 minutes. Pull out the
root and pour wine over it. Lay fish fillets on top; drizzle with oil, and
season with salt and pepper.
2.
Cover
pan tightly with foil. Bake until fish is just cooked through and opaque
throughout, 20 to 25 minutes. Divide fish among serving plates.
Spring Mix Salad
Ingredients
·
2 handfuls of spring mix greens
·
2 campari tomatoes cut in quarters
·
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
·
Coarse salt and freshly ground
pepper
·
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, thinly
shaved
·
Butter Garlic Croutons from a bag
·
1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon
juice (about 1 lemon)
Directions
1.
Toss
together greens, tomatoes, and cheese in a medium bowl. Drizzle with lemon
juice and tablespoons oil. Season with
salt and pepper. Toss in croutons, and serve.
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