The Fumbling Foodie

Mothers Day Postponed One Week

I had to work dawn til disk last weekend and so was unable to treat my Sweet Lady Wife to the Mother's Day she deserved. She was very understanding and supportive but I know I had to make up for it this weekend.

Breakfast: Blackberry-Stuffed French Toast

This is from Gwen Ashley Walters wonderful Cool Mountain Cookbook. I've made this before and it is my wife's favorite.

















Spinach Salad with Blue Chees, Pecans, and Creamy Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 shallot, minced
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 tblsp raspberry vinegar
2 tblsp rice wine vinergar
2 tblsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey

Blend raspberries, shallot, thyme, and all three vinegars in the blender.

Drizzle in the olive oil and honey.







Sear-Roasted Salmon with Roasted New Potatoes

This is my favorite way to prepare salmon. Sear it in the saute pan on the stovetop over high heat. Then put it in the oven for a few minutes to finish.

My Sweet Lady Wife likes these potatoes so well I think I could serve them and get forgiveness for any sin.















Dessert: Chocolate and Banana Crepes

Crepes are an easy favorite in the Fumbling Foodie household. Smear some Nutella on half the crepe, add some sliced bananas and fold the crepe in half. Drizzle a little Nutella on top and add a dollop of whipped cream.

Help, I've Fallen and Can't Get Up!

SO last night, my Sweet Lady Wife and I are with some friends, and upon learning that I'm going to make a salmon and dill souffle today, I explain that souffles are generally pretty easy and it's almost impossible for them not to rise. Me and my big mouth.

Fallen is probably not technically correct. It sure didn't rise like it normally does. It's not like I've never made a souffle before. I've made a few dozen without a problem. I've made this one before too.

To high up in the oven (There is a fan at the top of this oven)? Did I over beat the eggs? Was I too energetic folding the egg whites in? I dunno.

Time to experiment and figure it out, I guess.

Raspberry Tilapia

Tilapia is cheap. And plentiful. Not exactly the most exotic fish around though. It does have one thing going for it: I can always find it at Safeway.

I was surfing for Tilapia recipes the other day and found one at AllRecipes.com called Raspberry Tilapia. What I've prepared here is essentially the same with a few fresh raspberries tossed in for decoration.

The raspberry added an interesting element to the taste. We enjoyed it and would certainly eat it again.

Raspberry Tilapia
4 Tilapia filets
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a suitably-sized baking dish. Arrange the tilapia in a single layer in the bottom of the baking dish.

Mix the honey, vinegar, mustard, olive oil, and dill in a small bowel, then pour over the tilapia.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the fish is flaky

Baked Tilapia with Sliced Yams

We are trying to lose weight around here. My son has a six-pack for abs. Me? I've got a small keg.

So we are eating a lot of fish. Cyndi posted a great fish recipe the other day but I looked at it and decided that from a presentation perspective, I wanted the dish to have more color. Sweet Potatoes! I thought. I basically recreated her recipe using sweet potatoes instead of Yukon Golds. I also added some chopped dried Medjool Dates to add a sweet dimension.

Baked Tilapia with Sliced Potatoes

3 large Sweet Potatoes
butter for greasing the baking dish
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
2 tablespoons dried chopped parsley flakes
4 Tilapia filets
6 large dried Medjool Dates

Preheat the oven to 425F. Slice each date lengthwise and remove the pit. Chop the dates into 3/8-inch size pieces and set them aside.

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them approximately 1/8-inch thick. Toss them with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, half the garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt. Liberally grease a large rectangular (9 x 13) baking dish with butter. Spread the sweet potatoes over the bottom of the baking dish. Place the baking dish in the oven for about 15 minutes in the lower third of the oven.

Meanwhile, mix the parsley, remaining garlic, 1.2 teaspoon salt and a couple grinds of pepper. Use it as a rub for the Tilapia.

After the potatoes have cooked for about 15 minutes, remove the dish from the oven, place the tilapia on top of the sweet potato later, scatter the chopped dates over the fish, and drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil over the fish. Place the dish back in the oven on a rack in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork.

Our Last Weekend in the Rathole

This is our last weekend in this little two-bedroom apartment. The last meal I'll fix in this crummy kitchen. (And unlike the last meal I prepared in my previous house I am NOT sentimental about it.)

Closing on the new house is Wednesday. I CAN'T WAIT.

In the meantime, the current issue of Fine Cooking had a great cod recipe that was simple and it turned out great. This is one I would serve again.

Salmon Fillet Salad

A nice easy meal for a hot summer evening. Basically, a sear-roasted salmon fillet on a bed of greens with a couple of red bell pepper rings and quartered tomatoes for color. A few stalks of asparagus were added for variety.

The cucumber dressing was made as follows:

1 large cucumber, peeled, halved, seeds removed, then finely chopped
A couple of tablespoons of Miracle Whip
1 cup (approximately) of sour cream
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar

Lobster Mac & Cheese

Pasta, Cheese, and Lobster (with some shrimp and crab thrown in for good measure): It doesn't get much better than this. With all due respect Parker, this is the ultimate Mac & Cheese. Even my wife, who is not a fan of lobster, loved it. Rich. Creamy. Filling. Oh So Good. The Ultimate Indulgence in Comfort Food.

I learned to make this and half a dozen other lobster dishes during a special class at my favorite gourmet kitchen tools store in Glendale, AZ.

I confess though, I cheated. To do this right you need to start with a whole live lobster and make your own stock. I used this lobster base from Superior Touch. Warning: If you use this stuff, don't add salt to anything else. The second item in the list of ingredients is salt.

Another cheat: When I was taught this recipe, we used fontina and grated it. Instead, I used an 8 oz package of a pre-grated mixture of Mozarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, and Romano.

Lobster Mac & Cheese

2 Tablespoons Lobster Base (or three cups lobster stock)
8 oz grated cheese
2 uncooked lobter tails
1/4 - 1/3 pound medium shrimp, shelled and de-veined
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
8 onces shell pasta
1/2 can crabmeat

If using lobster base, add it to 3 cups boiling water. stir until combined, then let simmer for 30 minutes.

Drop the lobster tails into a pot of salted boiling water. Let cook for 4 minutes. Remove the lobster tails, let them cool. After cooling a bit, remove the meat from the shells. Chop the lobster meat into 1/2-inch sized chunks.

Put a pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. When boiling, add the pasta. Cook untul al dente.

While the pasta is boiling, saute the shrimp until just barely still translucent at the edges. Remove from the heat and let them cool a bit. then chop the shrimp.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. When the foam has subsided, add the flour and whisk well until combined. Add the lobster stock or base mixture. Add the cream. Mix. let cook 2-5 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and the mixture is well-blended.

The pasta should be done about now. Drain, then combine the pasta, sauce, shrimp, lobster, and crab.

Serves 4

Creamy Chardonnay Shrimp Pasta

So I was having a lunch meeting in one of my favorite spots. They make a great ham and pineapple pizza but this time I wanted to try something different. I spied this on the menu:

Chardonnay Shrimp Pasta

Shrimp sauteed with garlic, basil, onions, fire-roasted red peppers, Roma and sun-dried tomatoes over rotelle noodles in a creamy chardonnay wine sauce. Topped with applewood smoked bacon, parmianno reggiano and parsley.

It was pretty good except for the sauce - no cream. As I sat there eating it, I couldn't help but think how much better this dish would be with a cream sauce. I thought to myself, I can do better.

I have to tell you, the Fumbling Foodie is more of a 'recipe follower' than a real chef, but with something as simple as this, I thought I could figure it out. With my Sweet Lady Wife out of town, I figured this would be the perfect opportunit to experiment - When you fail alone, no one hears you scream. (On the other hand, if you fail badly enough no one is there to call 911 for you either.)

I will share the technique for roasting red bell peppers taught to me by Chef Rodney Jankowsli: Set the pepper on the grill over high heat and turn it every couple of minutes so all sides get thoroughly blackened. Take it off the grill, put it in a paper bag, and let it cool for 10 minutes. It's easy to then peel the skin off. After that, cut it open remove the seeds, and cut it into inch-long strips.

Daves Creamy Chardonnay Shrimp Pasta

1 lb penne, rotella, or other pasta
3/4 lb shrimp, cleaned peeled, and deveined.
1 roasted red bell pepper per the above instructions
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-8 oz chopped pancetta or bacon
1/3 cup choped fresh basil
2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and coarsly chopped
4 oz julienned sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chardonnay
1 cup cream
1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cop chopped fresh parsley

Start a large pot of salted water boiling. When it boils add the pasta.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, brown the pancetta. Remove it from the pan and set it aside. add a little olive oil to the pan if necessary. When it's hot add the garlic. When you can start to smell the garlic add the onions.

Saute the onions until translucent. Add the chopped & roasted red pepper. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add the Roma and sun-dried tomatoes. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and basil. Saute until the shrimp have almost lost their translucency.

The pasta should be done about now. Drain and rinse it, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Place the pasta in a large bowl. Add the reserved pasta water. Add the mixture from the saute pan.

Deglaze the pan with the chardonnay. Reduce to about a tablespoon. Add the cream. Reduce by half. Add to the pasta mixture and the cheese and toss to coat. Add the parsley and serve.

Serves four

Summer Southwestern Meal

OK, so what do you do when the outside temperature is 197 in the shade? Grill, of course!

I made these kabobs with just large shrimp (16-20 count) and mild Italian sausage.

Inspired by a recipe in Vegetarian Southwest by Lon Walters, I made these polenta-stuffed peppers. The original recipe called for adding mole (a Mexican spicey chocolate sauce), but being German, I have a very conventional view of chocolate so we skipped the mole. (I still think Belgian chocolate is the best)

Polenta Stuffed Peppers

2 Red Bell Peppers
2 cups cooked polenta
4 green onions, green part diced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 of a 4-ounce can diced mild green chilies
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Reheat polenta in a saucepan, adding a little water if necessary. I used a tube of pre-cooked polenta found at the local Sprouts market. The objective is to get the polenta to the consistency of a thick milkshake.

Add the green parts of the green onions, cumin, pine nuts, chilles, and 3/4 of the cheese.

Cut the tops off the red bell peppers and clean them out. Fill with the polenta mixture. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F. Top with the remaining cheese and let make long enough for the cheese to melt.

Rouxbe.com

Have you discovered Rouxbe?

Rouxbe (pronounced roo-bee) offers online step-by-step video recipes. I've watched several of the videos and I gotta say they are good. In fact the whole site is realy well done. (Disclaimer: I had the identical idea a couple of years ago but did not have the resources to execute on it.)

The dishes are noteworthy. The videography is great. The naration is flawless. After watching a recipe you can download a print version. You can leave comments on recipes. You need to sign in and register. You'll have your choice of two types of memberships:

• Paid Subscription
• Free subscription offset by targeted advertising

I really liked it a lot. As a test, I prepared Pancette-Wrapped Halibut, which is halibut wrapped in pancette slices and then sauteed, The halibut is then placed on a bed of sauteed cabbage with a dijon-cream sauce (Which was out-of-this world!) I won't steal Rouxbe's content and repeat the recipe here, but here is a photo of the finished product: