Category — Recipes

I don’t know why, but I can’t get enough fish lately. Just the other day in a post, I said I was not into frying fish … two days later – here I am doing just that, go figure! I dedicate this recipe to Tram Mai, the host of Valley Dish (weekdays at 4:30 on Channel 12). When I was on earlier in the month making sweet jalapeño mini corn muffins, Tram asked what could be done with the rest of the jalapeño jelly in the jar.  I stammered and said something stupid about putting it on cream cheese and serving it with chips – hey that’s good stuff, but it was a totally lame answer!  Since then, another guest has used jalapeño jelly on the show. So, Tram here’s another one, especially for you…

The recipe calls for self-rising flour. If you don’t have any handy and don’t feel the need to purchase a one-pound bag and then only use the one cup needed here, you can make your own. I’m not sure if you know just how much valuable information is on this blog. Let me tell you, a lot! If you look over to the left, you’ll see a “Tip Index” and that puppy is loaded with good stuff…. including the very useful “conversion and equivalent charts”  Check it out sometime, and if you want to make that self-rising flour now, CLICK THIS LINK and it will take you to the conversion chart… scroll down until you see “Flour” and there it is, easy as pie!

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This quick and delicious vegetable side dish just screams “Mediterranean” to me. I love every single distinct flavor here. I served this with the mahi-mahi from yesterday’s post, but it just as easily compliments pork or chicken as it does fish. And it takes literally, only about 7 minutes to put together, well OK – depending on your knife skills! So sharpen your chef’s knife and have a wonderful weekend!

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Easter is quickly approaching which means Lent is nearly over… and I have only posted one fish recipe… sorry! I’m not actually into frying fish at home… we’ll leave that to the church social halls. But with two Fridays left – including Good Friday, it’s not too late to get a fish recipe posted, so how about a little mahi-mahi and shrimp?

Contrary to popular belief the mahi-mahi is not related to the dolphin family of mammals. They are one of the fastest-growing fish and are carnivorous- feeding on crabs, squid, and mackerel. Mahi-mahi’s sweet taste and firm flesh make it perfect for poaching; along with halibut, swordfish, and salmon- just in case you are looking for a good substitute.

If you eat a lot of fish, a fish poacher is a great pan to have in your kitchen. Often thought of for cooking whole fish, it works wonderfully with fillets as well. If you are in the market for a poacher, you can check out this link or visit your local kitchen store. If you don’t have and are not interested in a poacher, no problem, a larger skillet with a tight-fitting lid will work just fine. And please don’t be intimidated or turned off by the long list of ingredients… the majority are either spices or items just dropped into the poaching liquid.

As a vegetable side, I made sautéed fennel and red peppers with capers and olives. I then used the fennel stalks in the poaching liquid and the fronds as garnish. I’ll be posting that recipe tomorrow, but in case you want to do your grocery shopping today here is the ingredient list: 1 fennel bulb, 1 small onion, 1 red bell pepper, capers, and Kalamata olives. And if you decide against this side dish, leave the fennel out of the poaching liquid – it is listed as optional.

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It is just now beginning to warm up here in “The Valley of the Sun”.  That means if we’re going to have soup, hot soup anyhow, it better be now!  I was inspired to make this after assisting a class last night at Barbara Fenzl’s Les Gourmettes Cooking School. Paula Lambert, of the Mozzarella Company, was the instructor and she made a Pea Soup with Minted Mascarpone. This mascarpone will be flavored with basil and orange in the place of mint, with a base of tomatoes instead of peas for the soup… just goes to show how versatile soup is.

Paula founded the Mozzarella Company in Dallas, Texas in 1982, and believe me, she is one talented bundle of energy and a laugh a minute!  Her delicious cheeses are available by mail order, check them out at this LINK, I promise, you won’t be disappointed!

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Mole – when most gringos think of mole, they immediately think “Oh, that Mexican sauce that has chocolate in it.” Not necessarily true, there are a wide number of sauces that are moles and only one of them contains chocolate. The word mole comes from the Nahuatl word “milli” which means “sauce” or “concoction”.  The most common or widely known mole in America is guacamole, meaning “avocado concoction”.

Moles can be black (negro), red (rojo), yellow (amarillo), and green (verde), to name but a few. Mole negro is the most labor-intensive to prepare. It traditionally has six varieties of chile peppers, seeds, nuts, spices, herbs, and chocolate.

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For the “end of spring break” brunch yesterday we had home fries, also known as breakfast potatoes, along with our frittata. I generally add diced red bell pepper to my potatoes, but since those were already prominent in the frittata, I left them out this time. Feel free to use 1 diced pepper in your potatoes though, you’ll just add and sauté it along with the onion.

Most recipes for home fries, such as these, call for the potatoes to be boiled first. I’ve found that this leaves the potatoes too waterlogged and they do not brown as well when later sautéed, so instead, I use the microwave to steam them… a far better end result! How long to steam them all depends on your own microwave, and you know it best, so use your judgment.

My microwave is, by far, the worst tool in my entire kitchen… as my kids say, “it sucks!”  Every single time they come home, they are shocked to see that it is still here. I do not know why I am so resistant to just go get a new one. I’ve had to purchase several in the last few years for the kids’ dorms and apartments, so why not just get a new one for myself? Maybe I feel I need to have just one thing in my kitchen that isn’t “all that.”  I mean, I am so fortunate to have all the latest and greatest and, in many cases, (because of the cooking school) more than just one of each of those latest and greatest…  Three KitchenAid standing mixers (all the big model); four Cuisinarts, including the new super-duper one; a Vita-Mix and two Waring blenders; more than two dozen silicone spatulas in every shape, size, and color; a dozen whisks… you get the picture. So if I have to suffer from an inferior microwave that literally takes twice the time to cook something, so be it!  I honestly don’t use it that much for actual cooking, more often than not, it is used to melt chocolate and butter or to soften something. Although it did take a full 17 minutes to get these potatoes tender! But if you have a “good” microwave, it may only take 6 or 7 minutes.

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Today is the last day of spring break… I am sad. Connor has been home all week and that has been wonderful. And after five days in Mexico, Marissa arrived home on Friday to spend the weekend with us, which always puts a smile on my face. But today, that is over… Marissa is getting ready to pack up her car and drive back down to Tucson for her last semester at UA and then I’ll drive Connor up to Flagstaff to finish off his freshman year. For the sendoff, we invited my dad over for Sunday Brunch. Nothing like eating outside in March on a gorgeous sunny but mild Arizona day! Today I’m sharing our frittata recipe… tomorrow the breakfast potatoes that accompanied it.

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Usually, I’m all about the candied pecans, but sometimes it’s nice to have the more natural flavor of the pecan come through. There is no better way to achieve that than to toast or roast them… and that is true for all nuts. Because when heated, the natural oils come to the front and the flavor just pops! Not only are we roasting the pecans, but also tossing them with a little butter and salt. And we’re doing the same thing to fresh dates. Because of a date’s natural sugar, the added butter and salt enhance the sweetness and it becomes its own little candy morsel!

The idea for this recipe came from my dear friend and colleague, Kim Howard. Kim told me about a pecan and date salad with a late harvest vinaigrette that she had at a restaurant. It just sounded too wonderful to not try and duplicate at home, so here goes…Kim, let me know what you think. I can tell you that my plumber, Larry of Lawrence Plumbing, loved it! He happened to arrive soon after I took the photo and right after Connor turned it down for his lunch… he wanted bagel bites… College boys, what the heck!?! But Larry was more than appreciative and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate him… if you ever need a plumber, let me know, because he is the best, promise!

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Friendships are amazing and wonderful things. Especially those which have lasted the test of time and/or distance. My longest-standing childhood friendships are with Jayne Meadows McKay and Sheri Wigodsky Thal, both of whom were neighbors and school friends. Jayne lived across the street and is the second of six kids and Sheri is the second of three girls and lived five houses down from me. After grade school, our friendships changed as we all moved on, but even so, when I see either of them, it’s like we were never apart… we just pick up where we left off. That truly is a beautiful thing!

Jayne in my childhood backyard before the first day of school in 1972

Sheri in front of my childhood home in the summer of ’75

Then there is Laura Galloway Heffron. Laura and I met during the first month of my freshman year at Saguaro High School.  We quickly learned that our birthdays are only a day apart and that we shared many of the same interests..so that was that, BFF’s for life! Laura’s parents and two sisters were truly my second family during those formative years and have always been such a true blessing in my life. Laura was my maid of honor and is Marissa’s godmother. Her sister, Mary Galloway Freeman, was one of my bridesmaids too. Shawna Galloway Reynolds is daughter number three and now all three girls, along with their own wonderful families, live only blocks from each other, along with their mother, Coleen, who is just down the street. I love and admire those four strong and beautiful women more than I can say.

Laura’s wedding in December 1986; clockwise from the beautiful bride- sisters Mary and Shawna, me, and Laura’s friend, Bernadine

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At 4:30 today I’ll appear on Channel 12 Valley Dish with Tram Mai, where we’ll be making my Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Potato Pizza, along with this Mint-Chocolate Shake. If you want your shake to be green, it’s important NOT to use green-colored mint chocolate chip ice cream, but instead, the more natural white ice cream. When blended, the green ice cream turns a lovely chocolate brown from all those chips! You’ll be using green food coloring to turn the white ice cream green. Either way, green or brown, this is one heavenly holiday treat! Now you can go to the “In The News” page on the left and watch the video of the show…

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