A dress(ing) for all occasions!

Please allow me to introduce you to a dress(ing) for all occasions! This is an anchovy dressing. And you will thank me for showing it to you... just trust me on this one!

I know, I know... I was scared of anchovies too. But after giving it a chance... well I'm no longer scared. I embrace anchovies!

Here's where I started... lots of ingredients. canola oil, garlic-infused olive oil, THICK "W" sauce, chili garlic sauce, salt/pepper, anchovy fillets, spicy mustard, a lemon, a clove of garlic and an egg.



But first let's take a look at these anchovies. They are packed in olive oil. It looks like there are about 10-12 in this jar. And yes, they smell like fish at first. The first few are a little tricky to get out of the jar... but once you get the first one out it gets easier.



Next I started assembling the dressing... food processor: check!

Add the anchovies, salt, pepper and clove of garlic.



And don't worry too much about getting small bits at this point, the more we blend the more everything will break down. But you can scrape down the walls of the food processor if you want...

OK, OK... I did too.

Add your egg and keep blending...





Next is the lemon juice (about half a lemon) and the spicy mustard...

What's next? Yep! Keep blending!



Place the top on and slowly stream in both oils while the blender is on full speed. This will create the beautiful emulsion you're looking for in a good dressing...



No need to turn the blender off. Go ahead and add the "W" sauce ('cuz I can never spell it correctly - no matter how hard I try) and the chili garlic sauce.



Give it a taste... if you want it thinner, add some water. Otherwise put it in a container with a lid and save it in the fridge until it's time to use it over meat at dinner time.

This will be good on anything grilled: fish, chicken or beef. OR --> you can dip shrimp in it! Mmmmm!!! Or, as Emeril suggests you can pour it over poached salmon.



Tonight we will have it over grilled halibut... it will go alongside some saffron risotto and grilled asparagus! Mmmm.... oh wait, I said that already!


Anchovy Dressing
Inspired by Emeril Lagasse, with a few tweaks by Lori Jean

Ingredients
4 anchovy fillets
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup olive oil, garlic-infused
1/2 teaspoon thick Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
Water, as needed

Instructions
In a food processor, combine the anchovies, salt, pepper, and garlic. Blend well. Add egg and blend. Add lemon juice and mustard, and blend. With the machine running, through the feed tube, add the vegetable and olive oils in a steady/slow stream, and blend to form a thick emulsion. Add the Worcestershire and pepper sauce, and blend to combine. Thin as necessary with water to desired consistency. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use. (The dressing will keep refrigerated for 1 day.)




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

blog tip...

Someone recently posted a blog on their site with tips for the home blogger. . .


The thing that stuck with me about her tips was that you should write your posts as if you're talking to your sister.


Well, I have a problem... I don't have a sister.


So, then I thought about talking with my close girlfriend.

But I think that poses another problem...

My blog would sound something like this, if it's anything like our phone calls...



Me: "Hey - did you see the weather report for the next few days?"
Her: "Yes! I'm so OVER this heat! When can we welcome Fall?!"

Me: "Do you want anything from Trader Joe's? I'm stopping by there on the way home."
Her: "Um... I just went a few days ago. Beat ya!"


::: break for her children screaming in the back ground :::


Me: "When do we get to hang out next?!"
Her: "Child of mine - when is your FATHER coming home?! He needs to keep me from strangling you!"

Me: "Like I said... when do we get to hang out next?!"
Her: "I'm not sure. It depends on whether or not you'll have to bail me out of jail."


So, I'm going to instead just keep going the way I've been going... maybe a little tweak here and there.

And that's all I've got for now... no cooking blog tonight. I didn't stop by TJ's on the way home afterall.



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

my favorite type of snack: salty and crunchy

For the life of me I can't remember where I picked up this idea... but it's a hit in our household!

Take a tray of Candiquik's vanilla candy coating, a bottle of salted peanuts and some pretzel sticks (or twisted pretzels - whatever works for you).



This literally takes 2 1/2 minutes...



The candy coating melts in 1 min, with a quick stir and then another 15 seconds, and another stir.



Then pour it directly over the peanuts and slightly crushed pretzels.



Press it out onto a lined cookie sheet... let it sit for a while and the candy coating will harden up in about an hour or two.

To serve it up, you just need to chip it apart real quick and serve up whatever portion won't make you feel guilty...



But if you go back for a second helping I won't tell anyone...



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Lunch on a day off...

There's something about a day off that just, well ... makes my day!

To celebrate... I made fresh guacamole!



Do I have a recipe for guacamole? NOPE!

It's different each time I make it. Today's "guac" had finely diced red onion, tomato and cilantro in it. I seasoned it with a very tiny pinch of kosher salt.


Sometimes I add seasoned salt and black pepper...


Sometimes I even add a touch of cayenne powder or a dash of hot sauce...


However, I NEVER EVER add lemon juice. It brings back bad memories of when I worked in a mexican restaurant and they over-loaded it with lemon juice (so that it wouldn't turn brown, I'm sure). But when you're eating it immediately there's no point in adding lemon juice... it just masks the good guac flavor.


Yes, all I had for lunch today was guac, a few slices of tomato and some cheese and chips. So, what?!


How do you like YOUR guacamole?



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Saffron...

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!" - Julia Child

And fun did I have today... I went on a scavenger hunt. For saffron...



Not that it's necessarily difficult to find. But I also didn't want to buy a large container and spend $20 on something I've never used before - my regular market had it for $19.59! Ouch... so, I found this small container (a little bit bigger than a Quarter) at World Market, for $4.99 (a product of India).



The saffron is very tightly packed into this little container. . .



And once you open it they just start falling out. . .



In a few days I will use this to make a saffron risotto... it will not be my first attempt at risotto. But it WILL be my first attempt at saffron risotto. I look forward to the experiment...



Click here for more about saffron . . .



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Sunday lunch...

Today I enjoyed my provolone panini and grilled asparagus as I sat down to watch a movie ("The Men Who Stare at Goats", from Netflix - hysterical so far, in a dark and very "odd" sort of way).



My movie continues and I am on the computer to do a little blogging, plan out the afternoon and the rest of the chores I have to do today, this week.... and when I'm going to run all of the necessary errands, etc.


We have house guests next weekend... and I'm looking forward to it! But I've got a lot to do between now and then.


First... I'll watch the rest of this movie and try to figure out what it's talking about ... but first I need to take the cookies out of the oven.


I love my life!!!




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Chicken Paillard with Garlic Risotto

From Dictionary.com
pail·lard  / [pahy-yahr, pey-] - noun
a scallop, esp. of veal or chicken, that is pounded flat and grilled or sautéed quickly.

I pounded out the chicken between two sheets of wax paper, with a glass. All it takes is 5 or 6 whacks and it's all ready. I just pounded the thicker end of the chicken breast until it was as thin as the other end. (This helps to cook the chicken fast and evenly.)

Then I salted the chicken slightly, dredged it lightly through some flour and placed into a hot saute pan with a tablespoon of garlic-infused olive oil. About 3 minutes on both sides until there's a nice crispy texture to both sides.





While the chicken cooked I started the risotto. Quick steps: butter and garlic-infused olive oil in a deep saute pan, add sliced shallots and saute until tender. Next add the arborio rice, making sure to coat each grain of rice with oil.

Following directions isn't usually my forte... but this time I followed the directions on the back of the arborio rice container.

EXCEPT, I went out on the ledge and added 1/2 cup dry white wine to the rice before starting with the chicken broth. And I'm not going to apologize for THAT rebellion!

Allowing the wine to completely evaporate first, then I started adding the chicken stock. 1/2 cup at a time... until all 3 cups of chicken stock had been soaked up... let the stirring begin!



In the meantime, I grabbed the wine bottle again... this time to deglaze the pan that the chicken had been cooking in. I also added a little bit of chicken stock for deglazing...



Next, I added a little bit of flour to start a roux. After allowing the flour to cook a little, I added the cream and kept whisking. Then I added a little more cream.



Then I added some green onions...



Then I put the chicken back into the sauce to re-warm slightly and coat the chicken.



Next step? Finishing off the risotto and testing it to ensure it was properly cooked and seasoned.



May I present... a wonderful dinner to come back to after a bit of a hiatus in the kitchen. It was a rather nice evening... I love time at home with my hero-of-a-hubby!



Quote of the day...

"The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit. " — Julia Child


enjoy your time in the kitchen...