Smoked Salmon Blini with Caviar & Dill

These were very good, not too complicated to make if you buy store made puff pastry and look quite pretty and sophisticated.  Some people might not like the idea of caviar but you could always make some with and some without. A great little appetizer for New Year's Eve with some champers!

I basically followed this recipe although instead of creme fraiche I had to use plain Greek yogurt as the store was sold out just before Christmas. I thought the yogurt was just as tasty and slightly better for you too.

For the record, I am calling these blinis but they in fact are not traditional blinis at all! From OChef: "Blini are small, yeast-leavened, buckwheat pancakes that originally come from Russia. Classically they are served with sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon". Also, one is a "blin" while 2 or more are "blini".

Barbecued Cod packets with Fennel, Sweet Pepper and Lime

A very simple and delicious way to make fish (and it keeps the smell out of the house!). You can use this method for a variety of fish and flavours.

Select your fish - a nice thick filet. Cut into personal sized portions. Place in centre of foil. Add the veggies and herbs/spices you would like...add some EVOO, salt & pepper. I also like to add either lime or lemon juice to fish. Wrap the fish into a little foil parcel. Place on the BBQ and grill for 12-15 minutes. When the fish is flaky it is done.

Last night I made cod filets with thin slices of fennel, julienned sweet peppers, lime juice, S &P and EVOO. Excellent!

Seafood Cannelloni

I had a craving for seafood cannelloni today...but with no recipe and a cranky 8 week old baby to tend to I created this one as I went along. The turnout was quite good so I decided to get back into the swing of things and finally post a new better than takeout recipe!

The ingredients are simple and things have to be these days with a young one to manage and much less time than I had before...

Ingredients & Prep:

• 1 box of oven ready cannelloni pasta (you may not use all of them)
  
• 1 bag of small peeled and cooked shrimp (use 1/2)
• 1 package of "crab" aka crab flavour pollock (use 1/2)
• 1 can of flaked pacific salmon
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 jars Alfredo pasta sauce
• 3 tbsps flour
• 2 green onions diced
• 1/2 fresh lemon (juice)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese for topping
  

Put salmon, shrimp and "crab" in the food processor and pulse until bits are broken down (about 4 pulses) but still has a nice texture. Put mixture in a pot and warm through on the stove with half the Alfredo sauce. Add wine, flour, green onions,lemon juice and salt/pepper. Continue to warm for a few minutes. Taste test.

Prep your casserole dish for cannelloni. Fill each pasta shell with mixture (once cooled) and arrange in dish as per instructions for your specific pasta. Add the remaining pasta sauce on top and Parmesan for topping.

Bake as per instructions on your pasta box.

Serve with fresh bread and a green salad!

Empty-the-Freezer Seafood Chowder

We are going away on vacation soon and I'm in the process of using up all the things in my fridge and freezer. This is going to be a week without a trip to the grocery store so I'm sure my posts will be sporadic at best!

Yesterday afternoon I thought I'd try and make a seafood chowder - without a recipe in sight! I had scallops and some cod and whipped up pot of chowder - I was truly surprised that it tasted so good! I had to use frozen scallops which is sort of a sin but they were in the freezer and had to be used up at some point! Use fresh if you can and have the budget for it. Let's see if I can remember what I did...

Ingredients & Preparation:

Serves 6 people or so

• 2-3 swirls in the pot of olive oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 package of frozen scallops (I used a bag of bay scallops, which are the small ones and I can't remember the weight.)
• 2-3 fillets of cod, cut into small squares (mine was frozen so I thawed it ahead of time)
• 3 cups organic chicken broth
• 3 small Yukon gold potatoes (I used 5 piccolo potatoes as they were in the pantry), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons of butter (this is not necessary but I added it for that decadence factor)
• 1 cup 10% cream
• 1 cup homogenized milk
• white pepper to taste (black pepper is fine too but white is my preference with fish dishes)
• fine sea salt to taste
• fresh parsley

In a large pot, sauté onion in some olive oil until translucent. Add scallops & cod fish and cook until done. As soon as the scallops are opaque they are cooked. Be careful not to overcook. Your fish should be done at the same time. Add the stock and potatoes and cook for another 12-14 minutes until your potatoes are tender. Add the butter, cream, milk, salt & white pepper.

Take half of your chowder and puree it in the blender until smooth (I added about 1 tablespoon of flour to make it a bit thicker). I pureed all of my potatoes as I don't like chunky chowder but this is up to you and what your preference is...

Add the pureed soup back in with the remaining soup in the pot and stir. Add some fresh parsley and serve with a big slice of crusty bread.

Prosciutto wrapped Cod

Before!

My husband and I love to eat seafood. I hadn't made cod in a very long time and wanted to make something quick and easy but yummy. I can't remember where I found the idea to wrap the cod in prosciutto but I have found a recipe that outlines the exact steps I made so it should keep you on the right track.

I served this with the Classic Risotto Milanese (below) and fresh asparagus from our local farmer's market (picture below before steaming). I had the leftovers (uncooked portions which I cooked and did not reheat!) the next day which I served on a bed of linguine with pesto and a green salad. It was just as delicious.

Ingredients & Preparation: (this recipe is from Healthy Appetite with Elie Krieger)

Serves as many as you want! Just buy enough fillets. This is for 4 people.

• 4 (5-ounce) cod fish fillets
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I did not add any extra salt as the prosciutto is very salty already)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ounces sliced prosciutto
• Cooking spray

Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Wrap 1 wide or 2 thin slices of prosciutto around each piece of cod. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and preheat it over a medium-high heat. Add the fish fillets and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the prosciutto is crisp and the fish is cooked through. Serve while hot!

After!

Baked Salmon with Lemon & Leek Cream

My friend Melissa inspired me to make this meal today! She was making salmon this weekend and I had one in the freezer so I decided to make this for our Victoria Day dinner. I hope we get our barbecue soon (we only just got grass in the yard) because I am growing tired of cooking fish in the oven. This fish would have tasted much better done on the grill but I didn't have that option. I didn't use a recipe so I am only going to be able to give you approximate measurements.

Ingredients & Preparation:

Salmon

• 1/2 wild pacific salmon (skin on)
• herbs of your choice
• fresh dill
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Dress the salmon as you like...I added a bit of lemon & herb seasoning, fresh dill, a drizzle of olive oil and some salt & pepper. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes covered in foil at 350F or until done.

Lemon & Leek Crème (the following is a variation of the sauce I made...this one is from Epicurious. The measurements will be better than my guesstimations!).

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 2-3 medium leeks, halved, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup whipping cream (I used crème fraiche)
• 1/2 cup of white wine (optional)
• salt & pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leeks; sauté 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until leeks are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to medium; add lemon juice and stir until liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Mix in cream (I used 1 cup of crème fraiche instead as I had no cream in the fridge). Simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Transfer mixture to blender (or food processor). Blend until smooth. Strain sauce into same saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible (I didn't need to do this as the sauce was quite smooth). Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper (I also added about 1/2 cup of dry white wine at this point as the sauce was too thick. I actually preferred the flavour of the sauce once the wine was added).

I served the salmon with a side of Israeli couscous. I added chopped red peppers & parsley for colour. I also added half a vegetable bouillon cube for some extra flavour.