St. Pat's Leftovers with a twist.

I always make corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes for St. Pat's...we're Irish, so it must be done!  This year, Aidan really helped out. He peeled the potatoes, helped boil them, mash them, and then cut up the cabbage and helped steam/saute it for me.  It was a family effort! :)


When the leftovers are heated up, I am never thrilled with the cabbage day-old alone. It needed some umpf, so I combined it with leftover carrots from a great roasted carrot recipe.(see below)


I had leftover mushrooms unused, so I chopped those up, threw in the carrots & cabbage and re-sauteed with a bit o' butter in a pan. The flavor was great and it was colorful, too.

The Chili-Roasted Carrots recipe is good enough on its own. Here's the recipe for that one:

Chili-Roasted Carrots

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chili_roasted_carrots.html
From EatingWell:  September/October 2009Roasted with chili powder and cumin then tossed with cilantro and lime juice, these carrots are bursting with zesty flavor. Serve them with simple roast chicken or pork.
4 servings, about 3/4 cup each | Active Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds carrots (10-12 medium), cut into 1/4-inch diagonal slices
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Preparation

1. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450ºF.
2. Combine oil, chili powder, cumin and salt in a medium bowl. Add carrots and toss well to coat. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the carrots, stirring once, until tender and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Toss the carrots with cilantro and lime juice. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving : 161 Calories; 8 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 23 g Carbohydrates; 2 g Protein; 7 g Fiber; 455 mg Sodium; 750 mg Potassium

Easy & Delicious

• PAN ROASTED ROSEMARY CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS (Tyler Florence)

This is such an easy recipe, but so delicious.  It's one of my favorites.

Ingrediients

• 1 (6-ounce) boneless chicken breast with wing attached, with skin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 fresh white mushrooms, halved
• 2 shallots, halved
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the chicken on both sides with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Place a cast-iron or regular ovenproof skillet on the stove over medium heat. Drizzle the pan with the oil and lay the chicken in the hot fat, skin-side down. Cook for about 5 minutes until the skin begins to set and crisp. Throw in the mushrooms, shallots, and rosemary. Stick the whole thing in the hot oven and roast for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked, and the mushrooms and shallots are soft and roasted.

The last thing to make is a quick sauce using the flavors left in the bottom of the skillet. Take all the stuff out of the pan and arrange on a dinner plate to keep warm while preparing the pan sauce. Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered chicken fat and return the skillet to the stovetop. Stir in the water and lemon juiceand cook over medium heat, scraping up the flavors with a wooden spoon. Cook the liquid down to a syrup, about 5 minutes. Drizzle the pan sauce over the dish, season with salt and pepper.

Brown the chicken in an oven-proof skillet.

Add rosemary, mushrooms, shallots (I used green onions instead here because I had them around the house)

This is the end result, with a little brown rice. 

Parmesan-Macadamia Nut-Crusted Hoki

So, when we were in Waikiki, we dined at Duke's Canoe Club on the beach, and I had this dish but it was made with Opah (moonfish), fresh from the Pacific that morning.  It was the most delicious fish dish I'd ever had.  When we went to Duke's in Huntington Beach for New Year's, I had it again and even talked my best friend into it, too.  We had yet another delish meal. 


I found the recipe online from the Waikiki exec. chef and thought I'd try it at home. We can't get fresh Opah here, at least not without paying an astounding price, so I opted for Hoki from New Zealand. 


Hoki, the internet tells me: "Hoki is a type of fish in the hake family, found off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia. The fish are known by a number of other names, including blue grenadiers, blue hake, whiptails, whiptail hake, and New Zealand whiting. The fish have dense white flesh which is rich in omega-3 acids, making it a good dietary choice"  


It's a much tinier fish than the Opah, and not as pretty:

 This one's the Opah.

This one's the Hoki.

Anyway, I followed the recipe from their chef, and it was pretty good. Not Duke's, but very nice for a seafood dinner at home.  Macadamia Nuts are 'spensive, too, so it's a treat only now and then, but you could possibly do this with walnuts instead. 

Here's the recipe  by: Executive Chef Mike Wong of Duke’s Canoe Club Waikiki

Ingredients

4 (6 oz size) opah (moonfish) fillets
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup panko (Japanese flour meal)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted macadamia nuts
3 tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil


Season fillets with salt and pepper.  Combine remaining ingredients except olive oil; coat fillets with mixture.  In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Sauté fillets until golden brown, about 4 minutes on both sides. 


Lemon-Butter Wine Sauce with Capers
In a saucepan, heat 1/4 cup dry wine, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons chopped chives, and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Cook until liquid reduces to half. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream; simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 1/2 cups softened unsalted butter, a little at a time. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup capers, and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Makes about 1 cup sauce.


Give it a shot. Aloha.

Steelhead Teriyaki & Lemon Parsley Rice

Steelhead Salmon was available this week, so I took a few filets and readied the teriyaki & sesame.  Put a few T of sesame oil in your roasting pan, set the filets skin side down, brush with teriyaki sauce and some sesame seeds, and roast at 350 for 12 minutes. 

Underneath, just some long grain rice with lemon butter and parsley for my base.