SALMON WITH ORANGE-CHILI HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

This was truly an amazing hollandaise sauce. It came together is a very interesting way. Our Food Matters Project recipe for this week was chosen by Sandra of Meadows Cooks. Sandra chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Japanese Spiced Roasted Beets. The recipe has you make a blend of pepper, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest and chili powder. You toss it with roasted beets or as Mark suggests, parsnips, potatoes, or squash. I made the spice blend but I didn't have "chili powder" in the traditional blend you find in markets but I did have California Chili Powder. I'm not sure what kind of chili was used but my blend was really spicy! I couldn't see it working with vegetables. It was spicy but had a great orange taste from the zest. I had planned on serving it on potatoes but I knew it wasn't going to taste good and I was serving it with a beautiful piece of baked salmon. So I went into rescue mode and I kept thinking about hollandaise. This blend was screaming "add me to hollandaise sauce". So I did and my husband declared this the best sauce I have ever made! In keeping with our healthy way of eating I only put a schmear of hollandaise on the side but let's just say... his was swimming in it.

I winged this recipe but here is what I did. Sliced orange under the salmon, coated the salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper and topped the salmon with sliced orange.

Baked in a 350~ oven for 20 minutes.

I made my fool proof hollandaise recipe which is Julia Childs recipe and you can find it here. Instead of adding the cayenne pepper I added a tablespoon of the spice blend here, 2 tablespoons orange juice and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

This was (as I said) a rescue, if any of our members have leftover spice blend I highly recommend adding it to hollandaise. If you just want an amazing hollandaise sauce skip the blend and just add orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice and real chili powder or 1 pureed chipotle.

CHILE RELLENOS

These are not your typical Mexican battered, deep fried and delicious chile rellenos. These are your non-greasy, healthy, and even better tasting chile rellenos.

I love making chile rellenos this way. Start with fresh poblano chiles (sometimes called pasilla in stores but if they are a deep green and wide in the middle they are poblanos).

 

Char them on a grill or gas flame and put them in a plastic or paper bag to steam. After about 20 minutes peel the skin off, cut the stem off and pull out the seeds and pith. I stuff them with a slice of jack cheese and put them in the fridge until lunch or dinner. When you are ready to eat just microwave them for about a minute (until the cheese melts) and serve. I love them this way, especially this time of the year when poblanos are growing in my garden and the Farmer's Market is overflowing with fresh peppers. You really get to taste what a chili should taste like. When I want to make these a little less rustic, I serve them with a Red Chili Sauce and a Avocado Cilantro Cream Sauce. Put your sauces in squeeze bottles and get artistic with your designs.

GRILLED POBLANO PEPPERS

Grill whole poblano peppers over a gas burner or grill until skins are charred. Immediately put them in a plastic or paper bag and close for about 20 minutes. Peel the skin off, remove the stem, seeds, and pith. Stuff each chili with a slice of jack cheese. Heat in oven at 350~ or until cheese has melted, or microwave for a minute until cheese melts.

Arrange on a plate and garnish with Red Chili Sauce, Avocado Cilantro Cream Sauce, and some chopped cilantro on top.

RED CHILI SAUCE

2 red bell peppers, seeds and membranes removed, chopped

1 shallot, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

1-2 red chilis, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chicken broth

Fresh lime juice (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

Combine all ingredients except lime juice and salt in a medium sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour into a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve and season with lime juice and salt. Pour into a plastic squirt bottle.

AVOCADO CILANTRO CREAM SAUCE

1/2 avocado

1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

1 serrano chili, chopped

1 cup sour cream

2 TBSP. chicken broth

Fresh lime juice to taste (about 1/2 lime)

Blend cilantro, garlic, and serrano in a blender until smooth. Do not use a food processor.

Remove from blender, season with salt and lime juice. Pour into a plastic squeeze bottle.

ROMESCO SAUCE

 This delicious red pepper and nut sauce originates from Northeastern Spain. It's simple to make and is great as an accompaniment for fish, meat, vegetables, or even spread on a slice of rustic bread. I'll be using it to go along with a Chard and Potato Spanish Tortilla that I'm making tonight.

All you do is throw some almonds (I used marcona almonds) in the blender or food processor with some chopped red bell peppers, ripe tomatoes, garlic, parsley, and sherry vinegar. Give it a whirl and it's good to go. I added a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper to zip it up. This sauce is so good I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful.

ROMESCO SAUCE

1/2 cup blanched almonds (I used Marcona almonds)

1 large red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped

1 garlic clove

1 packed cup fresh parsley

2 TBSP. sherry vinegar

dash or two of cayenne pepper

Combine the almonds, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, parsley, and vinegar in a food processor or blender. With machine running, slowly add the remaining 2 TBSP. oil; puree into a thick paste, adding more oil if necessary to keep the machine running and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Recipe slightly adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook.

MAKE-AHEAD GRAVY

This make-ahead gravy is great. I usually make it once a year at Thanksgiving and keep it in small jars in the freezer. I love to have it on hand for roast turkey breast or my favorite Cajun Turkey Meat Loaf.



Turkey wings are covered with quartered onions and roasted in the oven for 1 1/4 hours. The smell will put you in the Thanksgiving spirit immediately.

When the wings have browned they go in a stock pot and simmer with broth, carrots, and thyme for 1 1/2 hours.

After simmering you remove the wings and strain the contents through a strainer into a saucepan. At this point I refrigerate the sauce overnight to solidify the fat. It makes it really easy to remove the next day.

Flour is whisked into chicken broth until smooth. It is gradually added to the turkey stock until the gravy has thickened. You add a little butter and pepper at the end and  your gravy is done.

I adjust the seasonings when I'm ready to serve it by adding salt,  herbs (sage is good) or anything else that will compliment the dish you are serving it with.



MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY



6 turkey wings

2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

1 cup water

2 quarts chicken broth, divided

3/4 cup chopped carrot

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 TBSP. butter

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400~. Arrange a single layer of turkey wings in a large roasting pan. Scatter the onions over the top of the wings. Roast in the preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours or until wings are browned.

Place browned wings and onions in a 5 quart stockpot. Add water to roasting pan and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the water from the pan in to the stockpot. Stir in 6 cups broth, carrot, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove wings from the pot and place on a cutting board. When the wings are cool, pull off the skin and meat. Discard the skin and save the meat for another use. Strain contents of stockpot through a large strainer into a 3 quart saucepan. Press on the vegetables to extract any remaining liquid. Discard the vegetables and skim the fat off the liquid. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour into the remaining 2 cups chicken broth  until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the simmering turkey broth; simmer 3-4 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Stir in the butter and pepper. Serve immediately or pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.

Recipe from Allrecipes.com