Almond-Crusted Cod

I had this recipe earmarked for a bit, and finally got around to it recently.  I've been working through a bag of almonds, and keeping an eye out for cod in the Morton Williams freezer...  Everything else should be sitting around your kitchen.

The Recipe

1 lb cod filet
1/2-3/4 cups almonds, crushed
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp seasoning of choice
salt & pepper

Lay the cod out on a baking sheet.  Mix the butter, almonds, herbs and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and lay evenly on the top of the cod.  Cook for 10-15 minutes at 500.

Notes

I wasn't totally happy with the cooking time from the original recipe.  By 10 minutes the almonds were almost burning but the cod seemed underdone.  So I left it in a little longer.  I don't think you really have to worry about the almonds being overdone, though - you want a nice toasty flavor!

Here's the finished product with orange-tomato broccoli - the secret ingredients for the night were almond and thyme.

"Creamy" Potato Leek Soup

(courtesy of Alex Jamieson of The Great American Detox)

*This is a lovely soup remarkable for it's creamy texture and luscious flavor all achieved WITHOUT cream or dairy of any kind!!!  The secret lies in the Yukon Gold potatoes--a favorite of the famous Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and his Wonder Dog King...

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 leeks, white and light green parts washed and sliced into 1/4'' slices

2 cups chopped yellow onion

1/2 tsp sea salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 lb.), peeled and cubed into 1/2'' cubes

4 cups vegetable stock

2-3 tsp fresh rosemary

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a 4 qt. pot over medium heat and add the oil.  

Add the leeks, onion and sea salt and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion begins to turn translucent. 

Add the garlic and stir well.  Cook for 1 minute more.

Add the potatoes and vegetable stock, cover, and bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for 20 minutes.

Remove the soup from heat and use an immersion/stick blender to blend the soup in the pot OR ladle the soup into a blender, 1 cup at a time.  Blend the soup with the fresh rosemary until smooth and free of chunks.  Pour smooth soup into a heat-proof bowl and continue until all the soup has been blended.

Transfer the blended soup back to the original soup pot and warm over low heat until heated through.  Serve hot.   

NOTES:

If once were not concerned with adhering to the Detox plan, once could potentially add some super crispy bacon and bring the soup to a whole other level...

Cod & Fennel Chowder

I'm always on the lookout for good, easy seafood options, and appreciate simple, one-dish recipes.  And there are chilly winter days that are just right for soup.  This recipe fits all those criteria, with paleo options if that's what you're looking for.

Recipe

2 fennel bulbs, fronds & core removed, chopped
1 onion chopped
1 pint cream (coconut creamer for paleo)
1 qt stock
1 - 1 1/2 lb cod, cut into chunks
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 lb bacon, chopped
salt & pepper

Crisp up your bacon in a large soup pot, then remove but leave in that grease.  Next, in goes the fennel and onion until soft.  Then add the creamer and stock.  Once it simmers, add in your cod and cook for about 10 minutes.  Squeeze in the lemon juice, sprinkle in some salt and pepper, and top with the bacon.

Notes

This was not a premeditated dinner.  I actually went to Morton Williams for some red meat, but saw their usually unimpressive seafood cooler had a bunch of cod as the day's special.  So I fired up the mobile Internet, recovered this recipe, and went to work.  Things looked grim, though, when I went to the produce section and there was no fennel.  The only thing that looked like my very vague conception of raw fennel was labeled anise.  Back to the smartphone!  Wikipedia calls fennel and anise "similar-tasting"; I also figured that, if either one is good enough for the anise swallowtail, who am I to discriminate?  Onward!

The grocery store was the trickiest part.  Otherwise, the recipe was pretty simple.  The fennel-onion saute seemed to take a while; not sure if it needed that long since you want it kind of crisp in the chowder.  I also figured the whole thing was (over-)done when the cod chunks started to fall apart.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I love that sweet potato hash, but it was a revelation to me that you can just pop sliced sweet potatoes in the oven and pull them out soft and tasty like 20 minutes later.  Here are two ways to get some nice additional flavors in there:

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dry mustard

Cut the sweet potato into fries, not more than 1/2 inch wide.  Toss with oil and spices, then put on a baking sheet.  Cook at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato
about 1/2 lb bacon

This time cut the sweet potato into slightly smaller fries; the original recipe I went off of says pinky-finger width.  Then cut the strips of bacon in half both ways.  Wrap each piece of bacon around a fry; if you have extra sweet potato you can put it in the tray to soak up bacon renderings.  Cook about 15 minutes at 425, then broil to crisp up.

Paleo Beef Stew

Paleo Beef Stew

INGREDIENTS:

-1 lb. stewing meat

-2 tbsp paleo cooking fat (olive oil, coconut oil or bacon fat)

-4 cups beef stock

-1 cup onion, chopped

-1 cup celery, chopped

-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

-2 bell peppers

-1 28oz. can diced tomatoes

-1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

-1/2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

-sea salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, combine the onions, celery, carrots and bell peppers, as well as the cooking fat.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the beef to the saucepan, followed by the tomatoes, beef stock, rosemary and thyme.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cover the saucepan and cook for about one hour, allowing the stew to simmer.  Stir a few times during the cooking process.

Remove the lid and cook uncovered for about 45 minutes.  If the mixture is too thick at the end of the cooking process, you can add a little bit of water or stock.

NOTES:

*THIS IS SO EASY AND HEARTY AND DELICIOUS!!

Also:

*I opted for mushrooms INSTEAD of celery--good choice

*I didn't put bell peppers in...I just wasn't feeling it...

*I don't finely chop my herbs, I like to see and really taste them

*And I probably doubled or even tripled the amount of herbs that I put in...

Avocado Cucumber Soup

My inaugural paleo-month dish was this absolutely DELICIOUS raw, creamy avocado soup with a surprising amount of zest due to--Dan's favorite--CUCUMBER!

*BUT, I must preface the recipe...I had to alter things slighty based on a few...issues...

NOTES:

I couldn't open the jar of coconut oil so I used extra-virgin olive oil.

I am an idiot and couldn't find green onions at the store so I left them out.

I don't like celery so I left that out as well.

And I garnished with blackberries instead of parsley, BECAUSE I CAN.

ALSO, you can definitely add whatever spices you want to jazz it up; chili powder, garlic, etc...

INGREDIENTS: (serves 2-4)

∙ 2 organic green onions

∙ handful of organic Italian parsley

∙ 1 organic cucumber

∙ 2 organic celery stalks

∙ 2 organic avocados

∙ 2 tbsp of organic coconut oil (melted, but not heated, at room temperature)

∙ 2+ cups of water (fluoride free is best)

∙ sea salt

∙ organic black pepper

Directions:

1. Chop green onions and parsley. Set aside.

2. Dice cucumbers and celery. Set aside.

3. Peel avocados and remove seed. Then add to a container for blending.

4. Blend avocados, onions, parsley, cucumber, celery, coconut oil and water.

5. Add spices and blend again. Taste and make adjustments. Add more water if necessary.

6. Pour soup into 2 bowls and garnish with parsley. Serve and enjoy!

Pan-Fried Sole

After a few disappointing recent spins with Rachel Ray, it was time to turn back to my Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook.  Classy lady that she is, she calls this recipe "sole a la grenobloise."  I'm not a fan of snooty French names, especially for a recipe that doesn't call for anything out of the ordinary.  "Pan-fried sole with lemon-butter-caper sauce" is a bit wordy, though...

The Recipe

4 fillets sole (skinless)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp capers
1 lemon, skin & rind removed and cut into thin circles
salt & pepper

Heat the oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium high in a skillet.  Put the milk in a small, shallow bowl, and the flour in another with some salt and pepper added.  Dip the fish in the milk and dredge lightly through the flour, then place in the skillet.  Cook for a couple minutes each side, until golden brown and cooked through.  Remove to a serving plate.

While the fish is cooking, heat 2 tbsp butter in another skillet, then swirl in the capers.  Remove from heat and add lemon.  Once the fish is done, pour the sauce over and eat.

Outcome

My first attempt was near-disastrous.  Neither nearby grocer had sole, so I ended up with perch.  It had skin that I left on, which curled up the fillets in the pan.  On top of that, I took a slice out of two fingers instead of the old lemon I was working on.  It still turned out to be a pretty solid, tasty meal, even eaten with one hand...  Definitely worth another try, and I'll get a good pic of the real fish, done properly, without worrying about bleeding over my phone.

Update: And here it is, blood-free!