Fish For Dinner

I suppose it's cheating but around here a fish dinner goes down a bit easier with a little pig for flavor. Tasty but not pretty this is pan seared fresh halibut with a chorizo butter vinaigrette of sorts. Usually I prefer the Spanish style dried chorizo but in a pinch the fresh sausage more Mexican style can really make a dish sing. Simple. Two pans no waiting. In a large non stick skillet I sautéed the fillets until cooked through and golden on each side along with some precooked flattened baby potatoes for crisp golden skin. In a second skillet I fried the chorizo in a mix of olive oil and melted butter until cooked through and then splashed in a couple TB of sherry vinegar (off heat). The fish layered onto of the potato and the chorizo flavored it all raining down messily overtop. Not pretty but this plate was clean soon enough.

Something Different With Cauliflower

Pizza, pasta, burgers, salad, stew. Snore.

I needed to shake up dinnertime a bit.

Chorizo (the dry Spanish style) is one of may favorite ways to add unexpected flavor to otherwise everyday meals. I use it the way Southern cooks use slab bacon. Not exactly as the star but instead as a crucial supporting player. Tonight I sliced up chorizo and sautéed it (well the oil was actually pretty deep) in olive oil along with thinly sliced red onions and a couple minced cloves of garlic. I cooked the mixture just until the half-moon slices of chorizo were starting to color and the oil was taking on a reddish hue. Then I mixed in one drained can of garbanzo beans, a bit of dried oregano and a pinch of crushed red peppers. I gave everything a good stir and then poured the contents of the pan (oil and all) over cauliflower I had broken into florets and spread out on a baking dish. I tossed the cauliflower in the oil so everything on the baking pan was nicely coated and popped the tray into the oven for 25 minutes at 350º.

Our dinner was a tasty, assertive combination of flavors -- not quite Spanish and not quite california -- just right over steamed balsamic rice dusted with sweet Spanish paprika.

Clams A New Way

We harvested another couple hills of potatoes and I wanted to make something special for James. He loves clams. He loves potatoes. He loves sausage. The obvious answer was steamed clams with chorizo and potatoes. I started by rendering cubes of chorizo (the dry Spanish not fresh Mexican kind) in olive oil along with sliced garlic. When the oil was tinted red with the sausage's paprika I added in cubed potatoes, and a mixture of red wine (I usually use white for clams but we had an open bottle and it's a flavor james likes so I decided to try it) and brought the liquid up to a boil. I let the potatoes cook for about five minutes and then added a handful of chopped parsley, a pat of butter and the clams. I covered the pot and let the clams steam while the potatoes finished cooking. Clams in red wine, a new house favorite.

Clams Clams Clams

I am so sick of beans I had to take a day off. So I stirred up a family favorite -- steamed manilla clams. For today's version I sautéed thick cubes of chorizo and Jamon Serrano in olive oil along with a sliced onion. over low heat and partially covered for about 5 minutes. Next I added in chunks of fingerling potatoes (about 3/4 inch) and a couple crushed dried chiles and let the pot continue to cook, still partially covered for about 10 minutes. I added in 1/2 cup or so of white wine along with a couple of chopped roasted peppers and let the potatoes steam, covered until they were just about tender. Next came a splash of chicken broth (I didn't have quite enough wine for the broth) which I brought up to a boil. I added in the washed, purged clams, covered the pot and steamed for 7 minutes until all the shells had opened. All this dish needed was crusty bread to sop up the delicious broth.

Clam genius strikes again.

Herbed Polenta

Right now I have two dinner goals. I am trying to work down our pantry -- use things we have in the house, and find dishes that work for my diet and with a little embellishment work for James too. Tonight, thinking of the mound of now off limits( for me) dairy in our fridge I decided on a creamy polenta. I had a recipe from Osteria Stellina ready to adapt. First I gathered a mix of fresh herbs -- 3 sprigs of thyme, about 2 TB rosemary, 1/4 cup of parsley, and about 1/2 TB fresh sage all chopped together waiting to flavor James' dinner. I melted a TB of butter in with 2 TB of olive oil and added in 1 chopped onion. I cooked the onion over medium heat until it was translucent and soft but not colored (about 4 minutes). Then I added 4 cups of water, 1/2 of the herb mixture, S&P, and brought the mixture to a boil. I stirred in 1 cup of polenta and allowed the pot to boil for just a minute or two until the polenta had started to thicken and then reduced the heat to low (so the mixture was just bubbling) and cooked -- stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes I poured in about 1/2 cup heavy cream, the rest of the herbs and a handful of chopped raclette (I went for something easy melting) cheese. I stirred for a few minutes more until the mixture was soft and creamy.

While the polenta cooked I whipped up a vegetable topping we could share. To a non-stick skillet barely coated with a spray of olive oil I added sliced mushrooms, chili peppers, garlic, and salt and covered the pan over medium low heat to let the mushrooms color and cook down. I added a bit of broth and a large bunch of escarole, covered the pan again and let the greens steam on top of the mushrooms. For James I sautéed thin slices of chorizo in fruitty olive oil for a drizzle on top. Herbed polenta with sautéed mushrooms and escarole with chorizo oil.

You could call it pantry driven Euro-fusion or, just what James had for dinner.

Clam Standard

I don't know why I ever follow recipes. James loves clams. By now I really know what he likes but I like to try new things, I figured James love clams, James love potatoes how wrong could a Bon Appétit recipe go? I think the crucial turn was following the directions and instead of adding the chorizo at the beginning with the oil and onions and peppers adding it with the clams and missing out on all that extra flavor that comes when the chorizo crisps in olive oil. I should have skipped the red pepper (James isn't a huge fan of peppers and this time of year they are sort of bland anyway) and added some chili peppers at that same step. next time it'll go something like . . . sauté thinly sliced onions (2), chopped garlic, crushed red chiles and chopped chorizo (good sized chunks so it stands up to the potatoes' cooking time) in olive oil, covered, about 5 minutes until the onions are soft. Add in 1 lb potatoes peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks. Sauté over medium heat, partially covered for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are starting to brown and the potatoes are almost fully tender. Add in 3/4 cup of white wine, bring to a simmer, add in clams, a knob of butter and a handful of chopped parsley -- cover and cook for about 6 minutes until the clams have opened. All in all it was an okay dinner (good thing I had a batch of extra gooey brownies standing by) but not up to our "clam standard."

Quick And Tasty

Not too pretty and certainly not gourmet.

After working late I whipped up a super fast taco dinner. I combined fresh chorizo sausage (removed from the casings) with boiled potatoes, dried oregano, chopped chipotle chiles, minced garlic, sweet paprika, chopped cilantro and a drizzle of cider vinegar into a chunky mix (kind of a chorizo hash mixture). I fried the mixture in hot oil in a skillet -- letting the meat mixture get crispy on the bottom before turning. The seasoned meat went into warm tortillas with slices of fresh onion and avocado.

Not too pretty, but pretty delicious.

Shrimp With Chorizo And Garbanzo Beans

Simple and delicious this a classic Spanish flavor combination. I went ahead and followed a recipe I saw on Food and Wine's web site except that I used fresh chorizo -- that's what we had, instead of the dry cured Spanish style so I added a good pinch of Pimentón (Spanish roasted paprika) while I sautéed the bits if sausage (1 link removed from the casing) in olive oil over medium high heat. Next I tossed in 2 chopped scallions, 1 chopped clove of garlic, 1 cup of cooked chick peas, about 1/2 pound shelled shrimp, and 2 tsp of tomato paste. I gave that all a good stir for about 1 minute and then poured in 1/2 cup of white wine and cooked over low heat until the shrimp were just cooked through. I finished the dish with a pat of butter melted into the sauce and served with crusty bread and rice to soak up the sauce.

All James said was, "Mmmmmmmm."

Think of Something Quick

Driving home, nothing in the fridge, where will "food from nothing" take us today.

Hmm I think there's some bread in the freezer. Hmm I think there's a jar of beans. Chorizo in the fridge? We always have eggs. Done.

I warmed olive oil and sautéed chorizo and chopped onion with a few cloves of garlic and a sprinkle of roasted paprika. In went a jar of beans to simmer in the flavored oil and an egg to poach in the tasty red fat. Two slices of toast, a sprinkle more of paprika and . . . "this looks like something I like," said James.

I've gotta go shopping.

Breakfast for Dinner

My otherwise bare cupboard is overflowing with eggs. Including a super giant spectacular one from Connie -- a double yolker. So I had to find a dinner dish to highlight sweet Connie's efforts.

I cooked up some sliced chorizo (kitchen magic I swear) and let the fat render with some sliced garlic and chopped shallot until the chorizo was crisp and the pan tinged with red. In went Connie's pride (sorry honey I broke one yolk), lightly fried and I served the whole package over a toasted flat bread sprinkled with roasted paprika.
Thanks Connie!