Category Archives: cooking

Parchment-Baked Bluefish with Roasted Cauliflower

Here is a simple way to bake any fish in parchment or en papillote. The parchment paper pouch creates its own steam that cooks the fish in its own broth, resulting in very soft and moist meat and concentrated flavors.

Baked bluefish with capers, olives, onions and sage. Side of roasted cauliflower.

We begin with a bluefish fillet on top of a parchment sheet.

Some rock salt and capers.

Crush and pit some olives and chop coarsely.

Slice some lemon rounds and onions.

Arrange these ingredients on top of the fish.

Sprinkle some capers on top.

Add a lemon slice.

Drizzle some olive oil.

Doesn’t this look good enough to eat already?

How To Wrap Fish in Parchment Paper

Fold the parchment over the fish.

Fold the other side over.

Fold the corners into an angle towards the center.

Twist the ends and tuck them underneath the fish, creating a sealed pouch.

Set in a glass baking dish.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400C for 25 minutes.

In a separate dish, roast some chopped cauliflower pieces and onion slices drizzled with olive oil.

Each pouch makes one convenient serving.

Cooked to perfection.

This fish will have its flavors intact, and you won’t have a messy baking dish to wash!

Mustard Baked Chicken Drumsticks

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It’s hard to imagine that this sinful-looking dish may be achieved without frying. Using mustard as “glue,” this dish coats each piece of chicken with flavor and crunch, and all one needs is a good oven.

Served here with steamed broccoli and kale chips.

We begin with some chicken pieces.

Spoon some mustard into a bowl.

In another bowl, mix panko with the cheese.

Sprinkle some cayenne for a kick. Omit if you’re boringly anti-spice. Zzzz…:o)

Dredge mixture with butter and toss until everything is in small clumps.

Dip drumsticks into mustard. Make sure you have a generous coat.

Afterwards, dip into panko/cheese/butter mixture.

Arrange loosely in a greased baking dish.

Bake in a preheated oven at 450 C for about 45 minutes.

Here it is served with kale chips and steamed broccoli.

Mustard Baked Chicken Drumsticks

10-12 chicken drumsticks

1 cup Dijon mustard

1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third. Pat chicken dry, then toss with mustard until evenly coated. Stir together panko, cheese, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Drizzle with butter and toss.Dredge each drumstick in crumb mixture to coat, then arrange, without crowding, in a buttered large 4-sided sheet pan. Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

DJ Note: I used pecorino romano, a saltier cheese, so I cut the salt out and it turned out great.

As a bonus, this dish is also perfect for picnics because it tastes great even when cold.

Kale Chips

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Kale Chips are a quick and easy fix for a chip or snack craving.

Here I used it as a side to Mustard Baked Chicken.

Begin with a washed bunch of kale.

Remove the hard stems from the kale with a knife.

Cut up leaves into bite size pieces and toss in a baking pan.

Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt on the leaves.

Toss leaves around until completely coated with oil.

Bake at 350C for 15-20 minutes until crispy.

Crunch and yum. Healthy chips for the family to enjoy.

Crispy Salmon Fish Tacos

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Dinner under thirty minutes? Try something that pretty much just needs a few minutes’ cooking and some assembly.

This fish taco contains crispy pan fried salmon fillet, tomatoes, caramelized onions, red cabbage, cilantro, and cheese.

Boneless salmon fillets. Have I told you about the little known fish and seafood section of Fresh Direct? I’ll elaborate soon in another post.

In a small pan, saute one medium yellow onion in olive oil until soft.

Beat one egg in a bowl and set aside. Pour some panko onto a plate.

Dip the fish in egg, making sure to soak all sides.

Dip the fish in panko until completely covered.

Pan fry in olive oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side.

Sear skin on high for one minute to make it crispy.

Here we have two crispy salmon fillets, whole wheat tortillas and

Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese.

I also chopped up some red cabbage and cilantro.

Sauteed onions, chopped tomatoes and lime.

Fillings and wraps, Greek yogurt.

We were going to try this Conchy Joe’s Hot Pepper Sauce from the Bahamas

but sadly lost the battle. I used Frank Red Hot Chili Lime instead.

Smear some yogurt on a tortilla.

Put a piece of salmon, making sure to get some crispy skin!

Break it up into pieces with a fork.

Add your desired fillings.

Squeeze some lime juice and dash some hot sauce.

And you’re done! Light, healthy and a perfect combination of flavor and crunch.

Need I say it’s pretty too? It would be perfect if you have some orange juice from Orangina, visit their website if you want to try some. Delicioso!

Chicken Liver Paté

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Today we attempted to make a version of Frankie 457’s chicken liver crostini. I have an aversion to liver but tolerate it in paté and foie gras. I fell hard for Frankie’s chicken paté when we ordered their crostini so we decided to try making it with organic, free-range chicken livers from the Food Coop. This is a great creation with a nice hint of sage, brandy and lemon. Perfect over toasted baguette slices as an appetizer.