Crusted Halibut

Spring and summer bring with them some great foods with one of my faves being fresh halibut!  We wanted to try something different.  My husband insisted that it had to have a crust, so I began yet another search for the perfect recipe.   Of course,  I liked aspects of two recipes, so I decided to combine them.  Here is where I started:

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/herb-crusted-halibut/ 

 

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/almond-crusted-halibut.aspx

 

What I actually did was by sight and without measuring, so I do apologize.  I combined panko crumbs with minced dill, minced Italian parsley, lemon zest,  very thinly sliced green onions (as I did not have chives), salt, pepper and toasted slivered almonds that we ground up finer than what I wanted but worked anyhow. 

 

The dipping order MATTERS!   Whenever I coat any type of protein, I dip it in all purpose flour then the beaten egg, then the coating mixture, so this is what I did.  We then pan fried the morsels in unsalted BUTTER and not oil.  The butter worked REALLY well with the halibut- yum!

 

This has to be my new coating mixture.  The flavours and textures are amazing.   The lemon stands out perfectly and is essential to the mixture.   Panko crumbs are way better than regular bread crumbs, in my opinion, so we so use those quite often to get a crunchier texture.  We would use this coating on many varieties of white fish, prawns, and chicken.  I am most looking forward to trying it out on some fresh pickerel!!!   We were amazed at how moist the halibut was compared to our usual method of cooking it on the BBQ wrapped in foil.

 

After a bit of a disaster in the kitchen last week, I was happy to see that I am back on my A game.   This recipe was definitely AWESOME! 

 

 

Coating Mixture

 

Halibut coated and ready to be pan fried

 

 

Dinner  - YUM!

Strawberry and Brie Bites

I have very fond memories of attending a strawberry festival in Saskatchewan for the summer solstice, about 16-17 years ago.   It is with great timing that I thought I should try out this recipe for fresh strawberries.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/strawberry_brie_bites.html

The recipe seemed easy enough, so I thought I should try making my own balsamic reduction.   Last week, I used a store bought balsamic reduction, so I thought I should scaffold my learning by making my own this time.  I ended up getting distracted, so the vinegar actually burnt (see photo below).  The smell was so bad that I am not sure I will try to make my own reduction for awhile.  There you have it....my first epic fail for this blog.

As far as the bites went.....it was an interesting journey.  I don't see how these would work.  I saw a few issues....the brie cheese stuck to the serving plate, the bites were not bite size leaving them very difficult and messy to eat, and I couldn't find a toothpick or skewer that were the right size and strength to hold it all together.

I won't be making these for an appy in the future.  I will simply serve my traditional fruit and cheese dessert....separately...fruit and cheese on a platter.  Still tasty...not as fussy and not as messy.

Balsamic Reduction:  Epic Fail

Watermelon Salad

I have heard people talking about watermelon and mint salads before, but I had never tried one let alone make one.  With all the watermelons in the supermarket combined with an invitation to a pot-luck bbq, I just knew I had to try a watermelon salad out on my friends.

This is the recipe that I chose to follow with one addition.  I had seen in another recipe that it is nice to drizzle a balsamic reduction on top just prior to serving it.  So, I brought a bottle of balsamic reduction along and allowed my friends to choose and provide feedback on the balsamic reduction.  Everyone seemed to like it better with the balsamic reduction.  (I used "Edible Gardens:  Garlic and Rosemary", although I think the "Edible Gardens: Fig and Fire" would have been amazing too.   The latter with anything is amazing...buy some if you see it and if you like a bit of heat!)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/watermelon-salad-with-mint-leaves-recipe.html

Wow!  Refreshing!  Tasty!  Delicious!  were some of the comments.  There is a great combination of sweet and salty with the watermelon and the feta cheese.  The addition of mint adds yet another dimension.  Then, once the red wine vinegar and balsamic reduction is added, magic happens!  The flavours just pop!  This is definitely a salad that you don't want to have leftovers with as it is not as great the next day.  Throughout the process, as salt is added to the recipe, one will notice a lot of water being released from the watermelon.  Just an observation, not good or bad, ...simply drain it.  I would bring this to a pot-luck again.  I can't see myself making it for dinner at home as it made a lot, and you don't need to eat a ton of it.  It would be best served along side other salads.  With summer just around the corner, keep this one in mind for one of your summer pot-luck events!

Watermelon Salad

Garlic Powder

Homemade garlic powder?  Why haven't we tried this before?   My husband and I decided to try making our own garlic powder after seeing some for sale at our local Farmer's Market.  Seemed almost too obvious....peel and slice some garlic cloves....let them dry out.....grind them in our rarely used coffee grinder and store the powder in an airtight container.  That is exactly what we did, but we allowed the sliced garlic to dry naturally outside in the sun.  Of course, you could use a dehydrator or oven as well.  Here is a site I found for those who like a bit more structure than what I just wrote:

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Garlic_Powder.htm

We amazed ourselves!   The garlic powder turned out awesome.  It is way more potent than store bought, so we have to use less.  Two cloves made enough to fill an average spice container that you find in all stores.  It does pack itself down, so store it loosely.  It would be a good idea to let the powder dry for a day or so before putting it into a container.  I am excited to try different varieties of garlic...maybe I will have to go to a garlic festival this summer!

How is it that in almost 40 years on earth that we never even thought to make this?  What else can we make....onion powder, ground cayenne?   We are pretty good at making our own seasoning mixtures, such as taco seasoning, jerk seasoning, etc.  We actually have some ideas in the works for gifts for Christmas as we like to do homemade treats as gifts.  Very economical if we make some of our spices, too!

After trying out homemade garlic powder, I am going to have a hard time using store bought garlic powder.  Isn't that the truth with most foods?!?

Before:  2 cloves garlic, sliced

 

 

After:  Homemade Garlic Powder!