Sunday, November 30, 2008

My First Rerun - I'm on Vacation

If this auto-post thing works like it should, then right now I'm away in the Caribbean on a 7-day cruise! I didn't want to just leave and not post - but that the same time my mind was soooo focused on this beautiful weather that I couldn't even focus on cooking!

Enjoy your week and look for great pics when I get back to Chicago on 12/8!
-Darius

btw - if you have Twitter - follow me. There's a link on the right side of this page. I'll Twit as often as I can only becasue I'm now terribly addicted!
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So, you can probably tell (with the abundance of salmon dishes) that salmon has been on sale recently. You're right! It has been...thus, the reason why my mind is going bananas with salmon dishes.


Try this on for size...a parmesan crusted salmon steak, over a bed of creamed spinach risotto, surrounded by a lemon scented brodetto and basil oil. Sounds complicated, right? Trust me...it's not. Most of all I'm staying true to who I am - it's quick, easy, and can totally me added to our repitoire of everyday cookin!


Parmesan Crusted Salmon Steaks
- 3 medium sized salmon steaks
- 1/4 cup of cornmeal
- 1/4 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil


Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pat the steaks dry. Season with salt and pepper. Combine cheese and cornmeal mixture. Once well combined, dredge fish. Heat an oven proof skillet to medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add oil. When oil begins to waft, add fish skin side down until golden brown. The fish won't be cooked all the way, that's okay. Turn the fish over and place in hot oven for about 4-5 more minutes, or until fish is completely cooked on the inside.


Creamed Spinach Risotto
Risotto
- 1 cup of Arbollo rice
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper

Creamed Spinach
- 5 strips of thick cut bacon, cut into small pieces
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- ½ cup of heavy cream
- ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper to taste

Direction:
Risotto: In a sauce pot, combine rice and 2 cups of chicken stock. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until cooked (about 10 minutes). Add cheese, salt, and pepper, and combine well.

Creamed Spinach
- Cook bacon and onion together until onions are translucent and bacon is browned. Add 1 cup of chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Add spinach. Once mixture comes to a boil, add cream, cheese, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to a simmer, mixture will thicken.

Once creamed spinach is done, combined with risotto and serve.

Lemon Scented Brodetto
- ¼ cup of chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons of onion, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- the juice of half a lemon

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the mixture begins to boil, immediately turn off heat and serve.


Isn't this beautiful - it was on sale - more beautiful, right?
















I'm in love with this pic. This is what would bring the world peace.















Bacon & onion...deglazed with chicken stock...yummo!
















The start to something good - creamed spinach risotto















And aerial view...to show proportion - thanks for catching this Nik (I love her!)













The final plating!















Let's not forget to watch this:


32 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A gorgeous combo! That dish looks mighty tasty!

Have a great vacation!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

spinach risotto, bacon, simply lovely... i'm passed an award to you... have fun with vacation... :)

Anonymous said...

ooops, that's I not I'm... :)

Christo Gonzales said...

auto post - 7 day cruse- you are asking for a headlock-----

Anonymous said...

Wow, this blog is dope! Chakita didn't tell me you knew how to throw down like that. I can't wait to see the YouTube series.

Snooty Primadona said...

Woo Hoo! A man after my own heart.

I love salmon. Check!
I love parmesan anything. Check!
I love creamed spinach & risotto, especially together. Check!

Excellent all the way around. Can't wait to give it a try. Hope you have a wonderful, relaxing time on your cruise. I'm a jealous wreck, but I'll get over it. Eventually.

You are such a creative cook and I can't wait to see what you surprise us with next. Meanwhile forget all about this blog stuff and have the kind of fun that dreams are made of! Then, get yerself back because we need you...

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Have a wonderful trip, how could you not! Great taste combinstion with salmon and parm. It looks fantastic too!

Jan said...

Wow - on a cruise ah?!! Lucky you - we have SNOW here today it's freezing! Have a great time.

Adrienne said...

This looks REALLY good. You just made me REAL hungry! LOL

kay-shawn said...

Hey Ma mehn! Long time! I've been MIA myself for a while but I'm back now.

Finla said...

Have a fabulous holiday.

Colleen said...

Another delicious-looking meal! Hope you are having a great vacation!

Unknown said...

umm, i'd like to be on vacation too. but i'd take this instead :)

Laquita said...

WoW - Another great one I can almost smell and taste through the computer - or maybe that's because I'm starving :o) Have a great vacation - I'm now following you on Twitter - I'm also addicted...lol

Emeka Amakeze said...

Not again! You're not going to make me salivate again. Ok, may be this one time.

Emeka Amakeze said...

Not again! You're not going to make me salivate again. Ok, may be this one time.

RealHustla said...

I hope you're enjoying the food on your cruise. Last time I went I wasn't that impressed. The lido deck buffet was better than what was in the dining room.

Spinach risotto. Mmmmmm.

Mrs Ergül said...

salmon is my favourite! But it's never on sale at the fishmongers!

Lori Lynn said...

Whoo, love salmon, this sounds amazing.

Hope you are having a great time. Seems a lot of bloggers have shipped off to the Caribbean! Maybe you'll cross paths?? How's the food onboard?

Maria Verivaki said...

have a good holiday!

dessex said...

anything with salmon I am all in

Christine said...

Ooh, cool, you got auto post to work!

Great dish. I like basic recipes with twists, like the parmesan crust and how you made the risotto.

Have a great vacation, Darius!

Mrs Count said...

Have fun on your cruise! Enjoy the yummy food! I'm sure you'll come back with all these new ideas, lol.

Jennifer said...

Looks amazing as usual. Enjoy your vacation!

Anonymous said...

Risotto really is the best, isn't it? A much overlooked side dish.

Can't wait to see what you do on youtube. I have been trying to get my channel up and running as well but there never seems to be enough time in the day.

Happy Vacay!

Anonymous said...

Spinach risotto sounds fantastic.

Have fun on vacation!

Fitness Foodie said...

You are certainly aloud a vacation. Enjoy! The food looks great and if it is worth a repeat it must taste amazing.

Anonymous said...

dang...Darious, you must be a natural born cooker. Cos I dont even think a damn culinary art school can teach shit like this....



hope your trip is going well :( but I wasnt invited...

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

Don't you just LOVE the auto-post feature? I need to use it more often. I'm in the mood for salmon now. salmon, grits & eggs. Straight up country breakfast. Mmmm

Anonymous said...

I love different ways to make salmon! This looks great.

Erin said...

Welcome back from your trip! The pictures look like it was fantastic... and what a great time of year to escape to warm weather. Yeah, I'm pretty jealous!

This salmon looks great! It's my fav type of fish, and you're giving me all sorts of idea on ways to prepare it :)

Jeanne said...

Parmesan crusted salmon steaks?? I'm sold!