Rock fish with Roasted Corn

This recipe is SO easy and was really delicious. The fish came out so moist and the sauce is just enough. It does have mayonnaise in the sauce, but you can't taste it. If you don't believe me, ask Kasey and Liz because they both don't do mayo and they loved it! Oh, and the corn is roasted and sweet. I could go on and on, actually. Definitely try this one! And if you don't dig rock fish, try tilapia or cod or some whitefish you do like.

Rock fish with Roasted Corn
Adapted from Rachel Ray

Ingredients
1/4 mayonnaise
2 tsp chili powder
4 rock fish fillets (about 1lb)
1 1/2 c frozen corn (or fresh, if you've got it)
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Directions
Preheat the broiler. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chili powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Grease a 9-inch baking dish with 1 tsp of mayonnaise mixture. Place fillets in the dish and coat with the remaining sauce. Top with the corn. Broil until the corn is lightly browned and the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve with a lime wedge.

Quinoa with Garlic, Pine Nuts, and Raisins

Quinoa is a really delicious high-protein whole grain that you can add anything to and serve alongside anything else. I made it as a side dish for the above fish recipe. Once you know how to cook it, you can switch up the recipe and add dried cranberries in stead of raisins, or maybe cilantro for a mexican spin, and even sun-dried tomatoes for italian. Really a great go to recipe friends!

Quinoa with Garlic, Pine Nuts, and Raisins
Adapted from Ellie Kreiger

Ingredients
1 c quinoa
1/4 pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 c fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 raisins
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Place quinoa in a pan and cook over medium heat until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add 1 3/4 c water (or use low-sodium chicken broth) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until golden, about 3 minutes then set aside. Heat olive oil and garlic in a skillet over medium heat, until golden, about 2 minutes.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Add the pine nuts, garlic oil, parsley, lemon juice, and raisins. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Working Lunch

Today I needed something easy, but tasty for lunch. I had recently bought baby artichokes at Trader Joe's so I decided to make two of those for lunch and a dip to go with. It was delicious and felt kinda fancy! I don't know why we don't use artichokes more often because they are good!

Steamed Artichokes

Ingredients

2 small artichokes (if you have large, adjust cooking time)
1 lemon
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 tsp basil, chopped
Salt and pepper

Directions

Clean artichokes: cut off bottoms so that the artichoke sits up, trim off any little leaves or tough ones.

Put artichokes into a pot and fill halfway with water. Salt water like you would if you were boiling pasta. Squeeze half of the lemon into the water and bring to a boil. Boil about 30-45 minutes depending on size of artichokes. To test if they're ready, try pulling off a leaf. If it comes off easily, they're done. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

For dipping sauce; mix mayonnaise, juice from other half of the lemon, basil, salt and pepper. Stir and enjoy with your delicious artichokes.

Penne with Goat Cheese and Roasted Butternut Squash

I've been taking a break from cooking lately, but was finally inspired today while watching Giada (who isn't?). As I think I've mentioned before, I'm obsessed with butternut squash lately, so it was only fitting that this got me off the couch and to the store. This is a great dish and would be great room temp for a potluck or bbq.

Penne with Goat Cheese and Roasted Butternut Squash
Adapted from Giada De Laurentis

Ingredients
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
Olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound penne pasta
1 cup (8 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1 packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions
Put an oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet, liberally, with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside. Mix the squash and onion together and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake for to 40 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

While the squash mixture is cooling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water. Put the pasta, goat cheese and 1 cup of pasta water in a large serving bowl. Toss until the cheese has melted and forms a creamy sauce. Add the squash and onion mixture, the walnuts and the basil. Toss well and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.

*To toast the walnuts, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven until lightly toasted, about 6 to 8 minutes Cool completely before using.

Lemon Bars

I've been staying in the Bay Area in California visiting family and my grandparents have a lemon tree in their backyard so I decided to make these lemon bars. I've made them many times before and they are seriously fantastic!

Lemon Bars
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill about 30 minutes.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Melon Salad with Lemon Mint Dressing

When I asked my aunt what she wanted on her menu, she said something melon. Because she's a vegetarian, I couldn't do melon wrapped in prosciutto and didn't want to serve wedges of cantaloupe or honeydew. I found this in my old binder of recipes that I must have printed years ago. This is so refreshing and came out really delicious. The plus side is that you use a simple syrup, so even if you didn't get the ripest melon it'll be sweetened up with the dressing.

Melon Salad with Lemon Mint Dressing

Ingredients

4 cups melon (I used 2 c each cantaloupe and honeydew), remove using a melon baller
1 bunch mint
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c water
1/4 c lemon juice

Directions

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat till just boiling and sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.

In a blender, combine mint, lemon juice, 1/4c of cooled syrup. Blend and top melon with desired amount of dressing. I didn't use all of it, so add some, taste it, add some, taste it, etc.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

The Barefoot Contessa is my favorite chef on the FoodNetwork. I have several of her cookbooks and I read them like a novel. The pictures are amazing and the recipes always delicious. When planning for my Aunt's party, I knew I had to make this because it would be easy to pull together and impressive to serve, not to mention super yummy!! The next time, I'll serve it with a crusty bread to soak up all the delicious buttery sauce on the bottom of the dish.

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 extra-large egg yolk
2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

Scallop Ceviche

This was probably the recipe that I was most excited about trying. I enjoy ceviche but had never dared to make it. This was AMAZING! It was so easy and delicious. The texture of the scallops is silky and the other ingredients give it a great salsa feel. Try this!

Ceviche
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 pound fresh scallops (when you buy them, make sure they smell like the ocean- not fishy)
1 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup diced avocado
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Directions

Pat the seafood dry and place in a glass bowl. Cover with the lime juice and let marinate until opaque, about 3 hours, refrigerated. Place the seafood in a clean bowl, and reserve the lime juice.

Add the remaining ingredients to the seafood, gently stirring to mix. Add reserved lime juice to taste. Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve.

Roquamole

I love guacamole, but this seemed like a fun twist on the classic. I really enjoyed it but got feedback that you really need to like blue cheese to enjoy this. Everyone who tried it said it was a really interesting and fun dip.

Roquamole
Adapted from Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

1 cup crumbled Roquefort or St. Agur
1/4 cup sour cream
2 ripe avocados
2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
1/4 cup jarred sliced pickled green jalapenos
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 bag blue corn tortilla chips

Directions

Crumble or mash the blue cheese with the sour cream in a bowl. Mash in the avocados. If they are ripe, a fork should be all you need. Roughly chop the sliced jalapenos and stir them into the mixture along with the finely sliced scallions. Arrange in the center of a plate or dish, dust with paprika and surround with tortilla chips. Dive in.

Salmon Mousse

So, my parents go to McCormick's in Beaverton several times a week. They know the staff and iced teas are already at the table before we've even got our napkins in our laps. Because they go so often, they have this 'frequent flyer' card so to speak. You put it on your table at the beginning of the meal and you get a special appetizer of sorts. My favorite appetizer they do is a smoked salmon mousse. It's delicious! I finally got brave enough to ask for the recipe. They had me write down my email address because the chef was busy, but he emailed it to me!

I served it at my Aunt's party and presented them just like they do at the restaurant. They were a big hit!

Salmon Mousse

4ounces of smoked salmon
4ounces of cream cheese
1bunch of chopped chives
1teaspoon of lemon juice
1pinch of salt and pepper
1/4cup of hot water

Instructions:

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. About two minutes. Then wrap it in plastic and place it in the refrigerator for about a half an hour to allow to harden. It is ready to serve.

Serves eight at two ounces per portion.