Famous Salmon

I had pinned this recipe on Pinterest awhile back. The name was interesting, "Famous Salmon", it just sounded so perfect. And it was! Now that C is in Aspen during the week, Miss F and I are free to indulge in as much seafood as we like. I have yet to convince her to try salmon, even though it is pink, she still isn't interested. She loves shrimp and crawfish, but I have yet to find a fish that she enjoys unless it is fried.  Anyone have any kid friendly fresh fish recipes?

Famous Salmon

1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried dill
2 tablespoons capers
1 pound salmon filet

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the juice, oil, mustard, garlic, cayenne, basil, dill and capers in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Place the salmon filet in a greased baking dish. Pour the sauce overtop of the salmon. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

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Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

I had to convert this recipe from A Hint of Honey to work with my bread machine. No matter how easy a recipe may seem, the bread machine is just so much easier for me to manage. Five minutes of kneading? No thank you!  Two of the good things about C being in Aspen during the week is that I can eat seafood for dinner every weeknight and that I can bake bread whenever I like (he hates the smell!)  I made this loaf at 10 o'clock at night.  I think it caused the most amazing night's sleep every.  I seriously dreamed of bread clouds...

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

1 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried)
¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 egg, whisked + 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
dried rosemary, for sprinkling

Add water, sugar, salt, rosemary, Italian seasoning, pepper and olive oil to the bread machine. Stir together. Add the flour and bread flour on top. Sprinkle the yeast over the flour. Run the machine on the dough setting.

Remove the dough and punch; form it into a round loaf. Place it on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel or parchment paper; cover; and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven with a pizza stone inside to 400 degrees. Once the dough has risen, gently brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with dried rosemary. Transfer the dough to the preheated stone and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

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Stone Crab

C and I took an amazing trip to Miami for a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary and to catch a Miami Heat playoff game. Ten years ago Miami would have been about clubbing and drinking...now I am all about the beach and eating. We were lucky enough to dine at Barton G and Ola for dinner, but our lunch at Joe's Take-a-way before the Heat game was equally memorable. I got the recipe for their famous stone crab sauce from Saveur and I was ready to recreate the experience at home.  My mom and I headed to the Kemah fish markets, where I knew I had seen stone crab on prior visits, but this time we visited five shops before we finally found some, I was about to give up.  Whenever I had gotten stone crab from the grocer, it has always been precooked.  And everything I ready on the internet seemed to suggest that is the only way it was sold, unless it was fresh off the boat.  Well...we got gfresh off the boat claws and I didn't realize it.   After a bit of a panic, we figured it out and dined on amazing crab claws, without the Miami prices.

Stone Crab

3 to 4 pounds stone crab claws, fresh or cooked

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons half-and-half
4 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon A.1. Steak Sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground 

black pepper, to taste

Is using fresh crab claws, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the stone crab claws to the boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. While the crab is boiling, prepare a large bowl of ice water, large enough to hold all the crab. After the crab has cooked, submerge each claw in the ice water bath and let sit for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the crab claws from the ice water and refrigerate until ready to serve.

If using pre-cooked claws, serve chilled with the sauce.

Whisk mayonnaise, half-and-half, mustard, Worcestershire, and A.1. sauce in a bowl until smooth; season with salt and pepper and chill. Serve as a dipping sauce for the chilled stone crab.

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Steak Fajitas

I love fajitas. C much prefers enchiladas, tamales and anything else served in a TexMex combo plate to fajitas. Recreating a combo plate is a bit beyond my cooking skills, so when we eat at home, fajitas are what I serve. I adapted this recipe from I Was Born To Cook. For whatever reason, flank steak is pricy around here. I can get NY strip, sirloin or beef tenderloin for cheaper than a flank steak. So even though flank steak is what traditional fajitas are made with, I decided to make them with steak. And it was amazing! The beef is delicious and tender. Miss F devoured hers, though she added black beans in her tortilla. C ate the meat without a tortilla because he is never a fan of store bought tortillas. One of these days I will get around to making my own, but for now, store bought works fine for me.

Steak Fajitas

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon cumin
½ fresh Jalapeno pepper, seeded, rib removed, diced

1 NY Strip
½ onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced

Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin and jalapeno. Pour the marinade over the steak, turning to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Wipe most of marinade off before cooking. Sprinkle with salt.

Heat a large grill pan for a minute. Add steak, frying each side for about 3-4 minutes for medium rare. Remove from pan, tent with foil and let rest.

Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan, mix with tongs until slightly tender.

Slice meat against the grain into thin pieces. Serve with shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, and warm flour tortillas.

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