Giada's Salmon Al Cartoccio, or, Salmon Baked in Foil

I don't even know how to start this blog post. Should I start with the fact that I come from a salmon lovin' family? (I do). Or the fact that Nate hates salmon passionately? (He does). Or that I read somewhere that Omega-6 fish oils help prevent stretch marks? (I wish).

Ok, let's start here: I have an announcement to make. I'm pregnant! And by that, I mean, I am REALLY, REALLY pregnant. Like, eight and a half months pregnant. Surprise!

These days it's getting so I can't even do the dishes without my baby belly bumping into the counter, and there has been more than one picture where the belly has snuck into the bottom of the frame. Sneaky, sneaky belly. It's subversive, I tell you.

The reason we are cooking salmon today is today I was examining the baby belly in the mirror, and in one of those horror moments (cue the violins and the shrieking), I realized that a red angry line had snaked it's way across the bottom of the belly. Yep. That's right folks. I HAVE STRETCH MARKS. Well, I have one stretch mark. It's actually not even that big. It's actually only about 3mm long. BUT STILL. IT'S THERE. With six weeks left to go, I suddenly have visions of a tiger striped abdomen dancing through my head and the spectre of never being able to wear a bikini again (ha! Because I TOTALLY put my fat-tuesday-chocolate-cookie-loving tush in bikinis ALL THE TIME before I got pregnant. OR NOT.)

Anyway, back to the point. After some frantic "stretch mark prevention" googling, I learned that besides generously anointing the belly with bio-oil, drinking lots of water, and submitting to laser surgery, you can supposedly ward off stretchmarks by eating lots and lots of fatty omega-3 fish oils.

Friends, that I can do.



I bring you Giada's Salmon Al Cartoccio. So flaky. So tender. So flavorful. The first time I made this I was really skeptical about salmon and tomatoes together. Don't be. It's really good. And is the foil really neccesary? Oh yes it is. The salmon cooks by steaming in the foil. That's where the tenderness comes from.

So whether you need to ward off some stretch marks like me, or if you just want the health benefits of Omega-3's and lycopene, Mmm, this is a great recipe.

Giada's Salmon Al Cartoccio

Every time I make something to show you, I am always amazed by how simple it is. Is this really all that goes into this meal? You bet. So. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

You will need 4 salmon fillets (I used two and saved 1/2 the sauce for next time), 1 14oz can of FIRE ROASTED tomatoes, 2 shallots, 1/2 a lemon, olive oil, oregano, thyme, kosher salt, and cracked pepper. Like my decorative rug? It's hiding my dryer.

Start with this. You don't have to buy any particular brand, though I do like that this one is organic. I hear Hunt's makes some mean fire-roasted tomatoes too. Try them. They're the best.

Drain the tomatoes of excess water, and put them in a small bowl.

I love shallots. Use them if you can get them. They really do make this taste special.

Now chop those shallot up finely, and add them to the tomatoes.

Now it's time for some olive oil. Put in 2 tbs of olive oil.

Then add the juice of 1/2 a lemon. I love this lemon juicer. Does anyone know where I can find another one? Mine's wearing out.

Now add 1 tsp oregano and one tsp thyme.

And don't forget 1 tsp salt and some cracked pepper.

Now mix all that goodness up. You are done with the sauce!

Now take your salmon filet and put it on a piece of foil. Drizzle it with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Top generously with the tomato sauce. Mmmm..

Fold the foil up into little airtight packets and stick them in the over for 25 minutes.

Open carefully - It's hot!

Plate and enjoy!

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Oh internet, it is SO not fair. Here it is, March already, and I thought I had escaped cold and flu season. I thought I was golden! I haven't been sick once this entire winter, which if you take into consideration the fact that I work with children, is a minor miracle. UNTIL. TUESDAY. Because one brilliant student thought it would be a good idea to come to class sick and cough all over me. Boo.

And here it is, March, the birds are singing, the daisies are popping up, the sun is shining, and I am hacking and heming and feeling like a couch-bound lump of miserable. I can feel the sick sitting in my bronchials just waiting to lay me to waste. All I want to do is curl with a blanket and a cup of lemon tea and watch the Colbert Report all day long.

Oh, and eat this soup.

Can't forget about this soup.

I'm not quite that dead yet.



I think a good recipe shows off the flavors of the ingredients. When I was a kid my mom had this old battered red Betty Crocker cookbook from the 1960's full of truly horrible recipes. Everything, animal or vegetable, was rendered totally flavorless in the face of all the sugar, salt, vegetable oil, and shortening used in those recipes. I remember making sugar cookies out of one of the recipes and wondering how such good ingredients, tasty things like butter, flour, and sugar, could be made to taste so bland, so flavorless, so bad.

A lot of times, soup is like that. Until a few years ago, soup for me was the nasty salty stuff that came in a can, all salt and MSG and chunks of mushy bland stuff suspended in a viscous red sauce. Yuck. It makes you wonder how they manage to take live ingredients like vegetables and noodles and make them so dead and tasteless.

This soup is the complete opposite of that. This soup is bursting with fresh, lively flavor. This soup is alive. This soup makes me feel alive, even when I'm sick as a dog and languishing on the couch in a flu-induced stupor. After all those long months of winter, it's good to eat something fresh and alive.



Creamy Asparagus Soup
Serves 4 for lunch, or 6-8 as an appetizer
Tastes great with a grilled cheese sandwich

Part of why this soup is so good is because the asparagus really is the star of the show. This soup is simple, the recipe is straight-forward, and all the other ingredients work together to compliment and enhance the asparagus flavor. I adapted this recipe years ago from a recipe in Everyday Food. However, that recipe made a TON of soup (just, too much soup) and is crazy lemony. I like this version better.

So, lets get started! You are going to need all this stuff:
That is 1 lb Asparagus, 3 tbs butter, 1/2 and 1/2, 1 onion, and thyme. Oh, and also a lemon. Those pesky lemons are always sneaking out of the pictures. Otherwise, that's it! Isn't this simple? No-one would ever guess.


First, peel and chop up your onion.


Then melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Mmmmm, butter. Use real butter, I beg you. It tastes so good.


Once that butter is melted, add those onions. Wow, this is so easy, it's embarrasing. Stir those babies up, and let them saute on med-high heat for a bit.


MEANWHILE, there is TROUBLE IN PARADISE. Ok, maybe we don't need to be so dramatic. But see this? This is the ugly side of Asapragus. Specifically, the tough bottoms. We have to get rid of these. And it's so easy. just grab each spear and snap the end right off. Genius.


Now chop that asparagus into 1" pieces. But don't get too precise. No need to pull out a ruler. This is supposed to be EASY, remember?


Remember those onions? They should be starting to smell really amazing right about now. Once they start looking golden, you know they're done.


Add the asparagus, and mix it up. Saute for 5-6 minutes, until asparagus is bright green. There is something REALLY important happening here. It's called FLAVOR. Don't mess.


Add 2 cups of water. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Asparagus should still be bright green. Bright green means "still alive." When it starts to look dull green, it's been overcooked. Yuck. Asparagus is done when it's tender if pierced by a fork. Or just eat a piece. That's what I did.


Now take all that green goodness, and put it in a blender. Most people would say, do this in two batches so your blender doesn't explode and the hot contents burn you. But I like to live dangerously. Don't say I didn't warn you though.


Puree on high until smooth and creamy. Mmm.


Return the soup to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste, and 1/3 cup 1/2 and 1/2. Stir it all up.


And whatever you do, DON'T forget the lemon. The lemon is the magical ingredient that brings it all together. Forgetting the lemon would be tragic. So squeeze 1/2 a lemon into the soup.


Now stir it all up and taste. If if needs a little more salt, pepper, lemon, or 1/2 and 1/2, now's the time.


I think this soup goes perfectly with grilled cheese.


Or just eat it plain. And try not to lick the bowl. No, I change my mind, lick the bowl. Don't ever feel bad about licking the bowl. Life's just too short.

Enjoy!

Warm white bean salad with asparagus, feta, and bacon

Have you ever opened the fridge only to find the empty shelves staring back at you, the sad neon light blinking reproachfully? Most nights, that's my signal to pick up the phone and make a hasty call for some pad thai. Usually by the time I get to the point where I'm poking my nose in the fridge, it's too late for dinner creativity anyway, much less concocting something edible out or this and that, mad scientist fashion.

On the other hand, sometimes the grocery money is spent, the slush fund is spent, and it's too late at night to make a call for pad thai anyway. Which is how this salad was born. And may I say that it's crazy good? Maybe I should play mad scientist for often. Because really, this salad is one happy accident, and it's staying in my recipe book FOREVER.

One of the nice things about this "salad" is that it's so hearty: it really is a meal in and of itself, and it makes a great lunch. I also love the fresh asparagus. After a long winter (haha! I know, I know, I can hardly complain about "winter") of potatoes and rice and cheese and meat, it's so nice to eat something fresh and new.

Sometimes I put tomatoes in this... and sometimes I don't. Usually, this time of year, I don't. All the tomatoes you can get are mealy and white and totally disgusting. However, I had a box of them from Mexico, and they were really ripe and sweet, so... I put them in. They were delicious, by the way.



Beck's Favorite White Bean Salad with Asparagus, Feta, and Bacon

Feeds 2 for lunch, or up to 6 as an appetizer

There are three things that really "make" this salad. The first is the dressing. Without the dressing, this is not a salad, just a bowl of beans and asparagus. The other two things are the bacon and the feta cheese. They play off of each-other, and the beans, and the asparagus, and everything else. The whole really is greater than a sum of the parts. Please don't skip the bacon. Nate would be sad.

Ingredients
• 1 can white beans packed in water, thoroughly rinsed in a colander
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1/3 cup black beluga lentils (they have these at Trader Joe's pre-cooked, I imagine they probably have them at Whole foods and regular markets as well)
• 2 strips bacon, cooked until crispy, drained on a paper towel, and chopped
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (but if they're not in season and you can't get them, just skip them, OR maybe use sun-dried tomatoes, those are good too)
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (I like sun-dried tomato flavor)
• 1 tbs white balsamic vinegar, or white wine vinegar
• 3 tbs virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• cracked black pepper



Bring a pot of water to a boil. Chop asparagus into 1" pieces, and blanch in the boiling water until just tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain in a colander.


Combine rinsed beans, black beluga lentils, bacon pieces, asparagus, feta, and tomatoes in a large bowl.


In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, some black pepper, and a pinch of salt, until salt is dissolved. One tablespoon at a time, add olive oil, whisking constantly, until all is combined. Add a little more oil or vinegar as necessary, until it tastes delicious and you want to drink the whole bowl. Pour over the bean mixture. Toss to combine. Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Semifreddo

What can I say? I know it's only March. I KNOW. I am fully aware of the fact that very large parts of the country are probably covered in snow, or ice, or whatever it is that happens in places where it's cold. But here in California? It was 80 degrees today. It was a great day for ice-cream.

We went down to Seal Beach today where Nate was learning to surf. Believe it or not, not everyone who lives in California knows how to surf. Although we have lived here all our lives, we only just got around to the surfing, well, now. I, personally, hate the ocean. Ok, well I don't hate the ocean per se, I mean I like that it's there, I just don't see any point in going into it. It's wet. And it's cold. And it's salty. And there are fish in it. Ew.



This is Nate giving me the look that says, "I've been surfing for 4 hours, I will humor you with that camera for about 5 seconds woman."


Today happened to be the big "Polar Bear Plunge" event in Seal Beach. Apparently, this is a BIG DEAL. There were camera crews, a helicopter, photographers, sections of the beach roped off, a fire-truck, paramedics, tons of life guards on surf-boards, and of course, a huge crowd perched on the pier ready to cheer the swimmers on. At the signal, a crowd of participants dressed in bathing suits and costumes, some of them even waving plungers, rushed into the water and started jumping up and down in the waves. Polar Bear Plunge my foot. It was 80 degrees outside!


Time for ice-cream. This is meyer lemon semifreddo. Because even though it's cold everywhere else, ice-cream season is here for California!



Meyer Lemon Semifreddo

I'm not going to lie: I was totally inspired for this desert by these gorgeous pictures over at Canelle et Vanille. My goodness! Looking at those I think I've died and gone to dessert heaven. However, (and I know this is me being a stupid American), I can't even begin to figure out how many egg yolks 40 grams equals, and although I looked at two grocery stores (even the healthy ones which carry odd products!) I couldn't find glucose for the life of me. So I played around with this recipe instead.

OMG. This was so simple! And what a big payoff in terms of taste and texture! Why have I never tried this before? It's like eating a cloud! It's very different from traditional ice-cream; it's much lighter and fluffier. Two thumbs definitely way up.

This is my adaptation of the recipe from epicurious.com.


For this recipe, you need 1 3/4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, 1 1/4 cups white sugar, 7 large egg yolks, 3 mayer lemons (substitute regular lemons in you can't find meyers, but it WILL be more acidic.) and a pinch of salt. (I found that this time, my meyer lemons were VERY sweet and mild. Next time I might do halvsies with real lemons to get a tarter flavor and balance out the sweet).

First thing to do is zest those lemons. Then juice them.


Whip the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Transfer to another bowl, and refrigerate.

Combine eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in a heat-proof bowl (I use my mixer bowl) and whisk to combine.

Place the bowl over simmering water, and whisk constantly until it reaches 170 degrees, about 4 minutes. (I set a timer!) OR, if you don't have a candy thermometer, whisk until the sugar is dissolved into the egg yolks, and the mixture is hot to the touch.

Remove from the heat, and beat mixture on high for about 6 minutes (set a timer), until the mixture is cool, doubles in volume, and is pale and taffy-like.

Gently fold in 2 tbs of the lemon curd.

Gently fold in the whipped cream.

Mmmmmm.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Spoon semifreddo batter into loaf pan. Stick in the back of the freezer, and let harden for at least 8 hours, up to overnight.

To serve, remove from freezer and cut in slices. top with fresh berries, lemon zest, or almonds. Enjoy!