Eli’s Asian Salmon

I love soy sauce marinades on salmon, and this recipe (Barefoot Contessa at Home) was no exception.  I could not find fish sauce at the grocery store (my limit is now to search at two grocery stores for any given ingredient, and then find a substitute), so I just added more oyster sauce instead.  You’ll see it here served with sauteed spinach, to which I added some soy sauce and sesame seeds to fit the Asian theme of the meal.

This particular piece of fish was caught by my brother in Alaska, and lovingly delivered to our home by his awesome wife and children, who are visiting before their big move to Hawaii next month.  My brother and I are only 16 months apart in age, and I’ve known his wife since we were kids at church camp together.  Many of my late-night cooking adventures have been with them, and I credit my brother with being my first guinea pig in the kitchen – he would eat anything, but then give an honest review.  I kind of hate that they live so far away, but at least we have great places to visit wherever they live.

Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Buttercream

This is even better than it looks.  It’s my first attempt at a jelly roll-style cake, which have always been intimidating to me, but it really wasn’t that difficult.  It also surprised me how little fat is in the cake itself, which of course is undone by the gobs of mascarpone filling.  I made this to use up some of the surplus canned pumpkin that I bought in the fall, with an impending pumpkin shortage threatening the grocery store shelves.  Pumpkin is one of those things that I think even Martha Stewart buys in canned form, and it’s also a vegetable that my toddler will consistently eat (in pancakes, mostly).  It’s full of Vitamin A and fiber, so I figure it’s better than no vegetables at all.  The threatened pumpkin shortage had me in a panic, envisioning toddler vegetable shortages, so I stocked the shelves while the getting was good.  As it turns out, a person can only make so many pumpkin pancakes before going a little nutty, especially when their intended recipient throws them on the floor for the dog.  Pumpkin pie is fine (and a favorite around here any time of year), but this roulade is really something special.  It’s not nearly as difficult as it looks, and the baking time is only 10 minutes, so it would actually make a nice summer dessert, too, when you don’t want the oven to heat up the house for too long.

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Szechuan Noodles

This recipe (The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook) may look intimidating with its long list of ingredients, but most of them are probably in your pantry already if you make Asian food.  My husband I both love the sweet and spicy interplay of peanut butter, garlic, ginger, and vinegar, and it’s delicious as cold leftovers as well.  Because it’s meatless, it’s easy enough to make this on the weekend and then eat it for lunch for the rest of the week.

Not Your Mama’s Ginger Cookies

These have crystallized ginger in them, which makes them a little fancy.  But they’re still soft and chewy enough to be pleasing to even the pickiest of toddlers, who may or may not sneak a taste test before they leave the house to serve as a hostess gift.

Ultimate Ginger Cookie, Barefoot Contessa at Home, pp. 192-193

Indonesian Ginger Chicken

This recipe (The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, p. 125) calls for two whole chickens, but I just use whatever bone-in, skin-on chicken I happen to have on hand (usually whatever is in the freezer from the last grocery store sale).  It makes quite a bit of marinade, so if you’re only cooking for a few people, you could freeze some uncooked chicken in the marinade for another time (although I wouldn’t recommend re-freezing previously frozen, thawed chicken).  This time, I used a package of chicken thighs, and it was delicious.  I’d made this years ago, but had forgotten how easy (and good) it was.  The picky toddler even ate some, and as you can see, we ate it with rice and green beans on the side.