Frank Hofer's Blog, page 4

Lemon Rice

2 cups cooked rice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 TBL white wine

Pinch salt

Heavy cream to cover

Combine ingredients.

Sauté over high heat until creamy, but not dry.

Add more cream if too stiff or dry.

Serve with Poached Salmon with Orange-Ginger Sauce.

Minted Cucumbers

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned

Pinch of Salt

1 TBL butter

1 TBL fresh mint, chiffonade

Place cucumber in sauté pan with a pinch of salt and butter.

Sauté quickly until slightly limp but still crunchy.

Add the mint and shake the pan gently.

Serve immediately.

Spinach, Mushroom & Watercress Salad with Chutney Dressing

12 1/2 oz Major Grey chutney

1 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup whole grain mustard (Grey Poupon works)

1/4 cup sugar

4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced fine

2 cups peanut oil

Spinach leaves, washed and stems removed

Sliced mushrooms

Watercress

Sesame seeds

Grated hard-cooked egg

Place first 5 ingredients in a food processor and mix well.

Add peanut oil and process lightly, pulsing on and off, until just blended.

Toss the spinach leaves with a little dressing to just coat. Arrange on plates.

Toss sliced mushrooms and watercress in dressing. Mound in center of spinach.

Garnish with sesame seeds and grated egg.

Coffee Cake

Batter

1 white cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cup sour cream

2 packages instant vanilla pudding

Filling

1 tsp cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix batter.

Mix filling.

Grease and flour an angel food cake pan.

Pour 3/4 batter in to cake pan.

Sprinkle 3/4 of filling on to batter.

Finish with remaing batter and filling.

Bake 55 – 60 minutes at 350.

Chicken Brochette Indonesian

1/2 cup finely chopped pineapple

1/2 ts grated ginger

1 TBL lime juice

2 TBL soy sauce

1 TBL sherry

1 tsp flour

1tsp softened butter

Chicken breasts cut in to strips

Butter for cooking

Chopped peanuts

Mix the first 5 ingredients. If you’re feeling brave, you can marinate the chicken in a bit of the sauce, but limit it to about 15 minutes. If you over do it, the acid in the sauce will start cooking the chicken and make it tough.

Heat the sauce and finish it by stirring in the flour and softened butter. Cook until thickened.

Place the chicken on skewers and cook in hot butter until browned on all sides. Place on a bed of rice and top with sauce. Top with chopped peanuts. Serve with condiments below.

Carrot Salad

Raw carrots (about 1 per person) julienne

1 TBL sugar per carrot

Splash of white wine vinegar

Drop of oil

Salt

Pepper

Mix and add hot water to cover. Let cool.

Diakon Salad

Same as carrot salad, but substitue diakon for carrots.

Chutney

1/3 cup diced red apple

1/3 cup diced pineapple

Splash oil

Fresh ginger to taste

Curry to taste

Splash white wine

Salt

1/2 tsp sugar

Sauté apple, pineapple, and oil. Add remaining ingredients and water to cover half way. Simmer until syrupy.

Onion/Raisin

Small boiling onions, peeled and left whole

Splash oil

1 TBL sugar

Water to cover half way

Raisins

Bring first four ingredients to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until liquid is evaporated. Add the raisins. Shake to glaze but not browned.

Basic Lasagna

Lasagna noodles, cooked

Mozzarella cheese

Ricotta cheese (can substitute cottage cheese if you don’t like ricotta)

Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350.

Make several layers of noodles, sauce, and cheese. Bake for 45 minutes.

Sauce

1 pound ground beef

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium onion

2 TBL olive oil

1 lb 12 oz can Italian tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

2 cups water

1/8 tsp cayenne

1 tsp sugar

Pinch of basil

1 bay leaf

salt to taste

Brown first 4 items. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer together until they reach the proper consistency.

Parchment Fish Fillet

Fish fillets

2 TBL butter

1/2 onion, sliced

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 tsp thyme

1 bunch spinach, washed and chopped

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 tsp beau monde (Spice Islands brand)

1 beaten egg

Preheat oven to 450.

Sauté butter and onion until golden.

Add garlic, wine, and thyme. Reduce until almost dry.

Add spinach, mushrooms, and beau monde. Cook until all liquid has evaporated.

Cut parchment paper in to heart shapes. For each serving place 1 fish fillet on buttered parchment paper. Top with 2 TBL spinach filling. Sprinkle with beau monde. Brush the edges of the paper with beaten egg. Fold over parchment and seal, folding edges interlocking.

Bake at 450 for 10 to 15 minutes.

Killer Vegetable Lasagna

Cheese Sauce

2 TBL butter

8 oz cream cheese

2 1/2 cups milk

2 TBL corn starch

3 oz blue cheese

Melt the butter and stir in the cream cheese in a 2 quart sauce pan. Gradually whisk in milk and corn starch. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Stir in blue cheese until melted. Set aside.

Filling

2 TBL olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

16 oz ricotta cheese

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

2 packages (10 oz each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

8 oz lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add next 5 ingredients. Sauté 8 minutes or until tender.

In large bowl combine the mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and the ricotta cheeses plus salt. Stir in spinach and sautéd vegetables.

Pour 1 cup cheese sauce in to a 13x9x2 inch pan. Layer 1/3 of the noodles, 1/2 of the vegetable mixture, and 1 cup cheese sauce. Repeat once. Top with remaining lasagna noodles, cheese sauce, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes.

Poached Salmon with Orange-Ginger Sauce

2 – 4 salmon fillets, approximately 5 oz each

Salt

1 TBL lemon juice

1/2 cup white wine

Water

Place salmon fillets in a buttered saucepan and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Add lemon juice, wine and enough water to cover.

Simmer until the salmon is just opaque.

Remove from pan, blot dry, and blanket with orange-ginger sauce.

Orange-Ginger Sauce

1 TBL finely chopped fresh giner

1 tsp orange zest

Juice from 1 orange

1 tsp lemon juice

1 TBL white wine

3 TBL poaching liquid

2 TBL butter

Combine everything except the butter and reduce over high heat to concentrate.

Remove from heat.

Whisk in butter to blend.

Serve with Lemon Rice.

More Inspiration from the Pacific Northwest

I love my trips to the Pacific Northwest. I’m convinced that all of the talk of rain is a rumor that the locals spread to keep people away from their own version of paradise. Sure, it looked like this as I was landing, …

Seattle from the sky, on a cloudy day.

 

but by sunset I had an awesome view of Mount Rainier from my hotel room.

 

Mount Rainier

 

When in the Seattle / Tacoma / Olympia area, I tend to eat a lot of seafood. The first night we ate at Indochine in Tacoma.

 

Indochine Restaurant in Tacoma Washington.

We started with spring rolls and Coconut Prawns. The spring rolls were great, but the prawns could have used more coconut flavor and 30 seconds less time in the frier.

Coconut prawns and spring rolls from Indochine

I had The Black Sea for dinner. The sauce was amazing and the seafood was perfect. Probably the best thing I have eaten in months.

THE BLACK SEA Indochine reinvents Spanish paella with Black Thai Rice and coconut milk. Clams, fresh fish, shrimp, calamari, and scallops are tossed with sweet shallots in kala masala. Nutty, textured,teeming with flavor.

My coworker had the Crying Tiger Beef Salad. He ordered it Thai Hot, but they must not have believed him, because it was more like 1 star hot when it came out.

CRYING TIGER BEEF SALAD Fiercly seasoned beef seared in lime juice, nam pla, garlic and habanero. We add basil, cilantro and lemongrass to cool the heat. May still induce tears.

Day 2 lunch was Duke’s Chowder House. I had the sampler of all of their chowders.

Chowder sample from Duke’s Chowder House.

My coworker opted for the fish taco with a side of chowder.

Fish Taco and Chowder from Duke’s

Duke’s has a nice wrap-around deck and a great view.

One-footed seagull at Duke’s.

I wonder what the story is with the One-footed seagull. Was he a pirate? A thief who lost his foot for a crime he committed? Had he narrowly escaped some predator or trap?

View from Duke’s

Alternate view from Duke’s.

We also made a trip to Tim Tup Thai while we were in the area, which is always worth the drive.