online cooking group - week three: cider-glazed salmon

as i am currently reading this book by molly wizenberg, i thought i would give a few of her recipes a try.

sliced spring salad with avocado and feta (i realize its not spring, but i am ok with that)...

burg's potato salad...

cider glazed salmon...

ingredients:

- 1 T unsalted butter

- 1 medium shallot, peeled and halved lengthwise

- 2 cups fresh unfiltered apple cider

- 4 salmon fillets (i only used 2 since they seemed a little big and we had plenty of sides)

- salt

- 1/2 cup heavy cream (i used half and half)

Directions:

in a large, heavy skillet, combine the butter, shallot, and cider.  place over medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer.  simmer for 5 minutes, then remove and discard the shallot.

Place the fillets gently in the pan.  spoon a bit of the liquid over them, so that their tops begin to cook.  cover and simmer very gently.  the fillets will cook for 8 to 10 minutes per inch of thickness.  transfer the cooked salmon to a platter, and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

to prepare glaze, raise the heat under the pan to medium-high, add a pinch of salt, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid is reduced by about two-thirds.  it should be slightly thickened and should just cover the bottom of the pan.  reduce the heat to medium, and add the cream.  stir well to combine.  boil, stirring frequently, for a few minutes, until the mixture darkens to a pale golden caramel - like those brach's milk maid caramel candies, if that helps (i think this is extremely helpful) - and is reduced by one-third to one-half.

place salmon fillets on 4 plates and top each with a spoonful of sauce.  it should coat them like a thin, loose glaze.  serve immediately.

note: if you'd like to make this for only 2 people,  halve the amount of salmon, but not the sauce quantities.

all in all i would say this week was a half success.  i got my kids to eat fish, but not necessarily to be totally excited about it.  lucy was clearly downing hers with water as the entire bottom of her glass was full of salmon bits (too much detail here?).  i cannot say my kids would exactly cheer if i said i were making this again.  pete liked it, but definitely prefers the way we usually make it with onions, capers and lemon.  he did, however think this was an excellent kid option as the sauce takes away a bit from the overly fishy taste and is somewhat sweet due to the cider.  if your kids like salmon or are at least open to it, i definitely think this recipe is worth trying.  i liked it, at least...  as for the rest of the meal, pete, jack and i liked the potato salad, finn wouldn't touch it and lucy carefully picked out all the scallions and then enjoyed it.  and, as for the salad, i really liked it.  pete didn't care for the radichio, which apparently lucy didn't either because she said she liked the salad, "except for the purple stuff."  i think i might try this salad next time with just some mixed greens.  it might be more of a crowd pleaser that way...  oh, and the boys wouldn't try the salad, so no reviews there.  that pretty much does it.  my long rambling review of a mildly well received meal.  it could use some tweaking, but i am glad i tried it.  i think less picky kids would love it just the way it is.  would love to know how it goes for anyone else who tries it...

and for anyone interested in checking out the rest of the online cooking group, here is the site - raising foodies.

online cooking group - week two: butternut squash soup

i used a combination of this recipe (from the barefoot contessa) and general tips from my sister-in-law christine to create this delicious butternut squash soup. my ingredients are going to be a little all over the place, so this might be a good recipe for someone who likes to wing it, not for someone who needs to follow exact directions (the ina garten recipe might be better for you). i will do my best though...

ingredients:

2 T olive oil

2 large onions

2 butternut squash

2 apples (i had gala on hand...)

1 T thyme (or seasoning of your choice)

salt and pepper, to taste

about 2-4 cups water (or chicken stock)

heavy cream or half and half (i didn't have either, so i just stirred in a little extra sour cream to each bowl when i served it to make it creamier)

optional: honey, spinach, bacon, sour cream, lemon
Directions

Warm the olive oil, onions and thyme in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks. (next time i might try baking the squash and then scooping it out, as i found it a little hard to peel it... turned out fine, though, so either way).

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Here I also threw in a few handfuls of spinach. (I find soup is an excellent way to get vegetables in my kids). Christine usually serves it with spinach on top, but i knew my kids wouldn't go for that, so i thought i would try this out.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add enough chicken stock or water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Here i would have liked to add some half and half or heavy cream, but didn't have either. I did add a bit of honey and some lemon juice. then seasoned it with salt and lots of pepper (pete added even more pepper when it was served... it really is good if you make it peppery). then i served it with a little sour cream and bacon pieces on top.

my whole family loved it. we had a decent amount leftover, but who doesn't love something easy for lunch the next day? i made little chicken salad sandwiches to go with it, which my kids always love, thus i found it to be a relatively easy and all around pleasing meal. any time you don't have to convince your kids to take "a few more bites" i would say it is a success.

so, i am going to make this week "soup week" on pots and peter pans and encourage everyone to share a favorite soup recipe. you don't have to make it this week if you don't want to and don't feel like you can't share just because you don't have pictures. throw down the recipe and be done. that is all the inspiration the rest of us need.