Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup

I admit it, I've been on a bit of a soup kick lately.  I don't usually make soups, but I've realized this is because The Husband and I largely do not agree on soup styles.  He's big on stews and the like, and while I can eat a bowl of those, I cannot eat the leftovers.  Well, with him gone, I can make whatever soups I want! When I was home for the holidays, my mom made a batch of this and I fell in love.  It's delicious, thick enough to suit my taste, thin enough to drink from a mug, and oh so healthy, with no cream.  What's not to love?

Ingredients

3 T butter
5 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, diced
5 carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cubed
14 oz whole tomatoes (canned works well enough)
8 c stock (I used turkey, veggie or chicken would also be fine)
1 c cream sherry
splash bourbon
1/2 c fresh basil leaves
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
dash cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the garlic, onions, carrots, celery and butternut squash in the butter for about 10 minutes.  Add stock, sherry, and bourbon.  Boil, then reduce heat to medium.  Simmer until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and puree with an immersion blender.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

Oven Roasted Pork Chop with Fruit Salsa over Mango-Eggplant Risotto

So really, I have been cooking.  I've just been incredibly slow on the blogging front.  And I started having trouble with some of my photos, which just won't do.  And yadda yadda yadda.  Enough on the excuses.

This recipe I made for me, not for The Husband.  Sometimes he's very adventurous - I was so proud the other day in Charleston when he ate and enjoyed a pesto-based pizza!  But other times, not so much.  Pork chops are one of his boring things.  He thinks they should be grilled with bbq sauce.  Period.  End of story.

Well that just wasn't going to cut it for me.  I had a mango that needed to be used.  I had an eggplant that needed to be used (by the way, expect a lot of eggplant recipes, I'm swimming in them!).  I was going to use them!  And boy am I glad I did!  The meal even got a tolerable "I guess it's okay but BBQ sauce is better" from The Husband as he cleaned his plate.

The mango really added an interesting flavor to the risotto.  The sweetness was subtle, but the way the mango interacted with the chicken stock and the eggplant was - to my mind - quite fantastic.

Ingredients

Fruit Salsa

3 small heirloom tomatoes, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 peach, diced
1/2 mango, diced
1 cayenne, minced
handful of fresh cilantro
juice from 1/2 lime

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Let sit for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Pork

Pork chops
juice from 1/2 lime
splash of white wine

Loosely wrap chops in tinfoil with the lime juice and the wine.  Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through.

Risotto

2 T evoo
1/2 c rice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 eggplant, diced
1 quart chicken stock
1 cayenne, minced
1/2 mango, diced
1/2 c white wine

Heat the oil in a saute pan.  Heat the chicken stock to a simmer in a separate pan.

Add the rice and garlic to the saute pan.  Stir until the rice becomes transparent.  Add the eggplant and cook for another minute or two.  Add a ladle of hot chicken stock to the pan, stirring constantly.  When the stock is nearly evaporated, add another.  Continue in this manner, always stirring constantly until the rice becomes tender and creamy.  At this point, add the cayenne and mango, and then the wine.  Stir and cook a minute or two more, then serve hot.

Chocolate Cups with Bailey's Mousse

A few weeks ago, my mom sent me this link for Easter Egg Balloon Cups.  I thought they were pretty cool looking and wanted to try them out.  But there was so much more potential here than to just fill them with little chocolate eggs.  What to use...

Bailey's Mousse.  It's perfect.  Light and fluffy, combined with the crunch of the chocolate, and Irish creme goes so well with chocolate in any setting.

I did have some trouble with my balloons being too large.  I just pulled them out of the junk drawer, but you'll be better off going to get the little water balloons, I think.

For the bowls...

Ingredients

1 lb semi-sweet and milk chocolate
small water balloons

Temper your chocolate. Pay close attention to the temperature of the chocolate, this is important!

Cool chocolate slightly, then dip in balloons.  Two dips should be plenty.  Put balloons on parchment lined tray until set, then refrigerate.

For the mousse...

Ingredients

1 c whipping cream, divided
1/4 c chocolate shavings
1/4 c Bailey's

In a double boiler, stir 2 T whipping cream with the chocolate shavings until melted and smooth.  Cool to room temperature and whisk in the Baileys.  Whip the remaining cream until soft peaks form.  Gently fold the whipped cream into the Bailey's mix, then refrigerate to set, about an hour.  Spoon into chocolate cups and enjoy!

Berrymisu

Who doesn't love tiramisu?  Well, my mom for one.  And many people who do not like the taste of espresso.  Now, I'm actually one of those espresso-haters, so I was a tiramisu-hater for the longest time.  Until my friend made tiramisu using the Best Recipe Ever.  Seriously, if you make tiramisu any other way... well, you shouldn't.

However, sometimes I'm in the mood for some mascarpone-cream goodness, but not for the traditional espresso and chocolate.  So I took tiramisu and gave it a fruity twist.  This is a great change for a hot summer and the sweet cream and tart raspberries complement each other perfectly.

Ingredients

1 c peach nectar or other sweet fruit juice

6 T brandy

6 large egg yolks

3/4 c granulated sugar

Pinch of table salt

1/2 c heavy cream

16 oz mascarpone cheese

6 oz raspberries

2 sleeves ladyfingers (more if you get the smaller kind)

Combine 2 T brandy with the fruit nectar in a shallow bowl.  Set aside.  Put egg yolks, sugar and salt in the mixer.  Beat at medium-high for four minutes.  Egg mixture should be pale yellow and frothy.  Add the cream, stirring well.  Hold bowl over a pot of simmering water.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for five minutes or until the mixture reaches 160.  Pour into another bowl and cool to room temperature.  Back in the mixer, add the mascarpone and 1/4 c brandy to the egg and cream mixture.  Beat at medium or medium high for about 3-4 minutes, until smooth and thick.  Puree 4 oz of the raspberries and stir them into the mascarpone mixture gently.

Dip the ladyfingers one at a time into the fruit juice, rolling quickly (2 second total!).  Line the bottom of the pan with dipped cookies.  Spread 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture over top.  Sprinkle on the rest of the raspberries, pushing them gently down into the cream.  Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers and another layer of cream.

Cover and refrigerate.

Better Beer Batter

I have but recently made a fantastic discovery: Panko bread crumbs.  They are magic!  Today, I used them with beer batter to fry up some leftover salmon.  To die for!

Ingredients

1 T cornstarch
1 c flour
1 1/2 c ice cold beer
2 c panko bread crumbs
oil for frying
fish, cut into bite-sized pieces

Blend the cornstarch, flour and beer together to make a batter.  Heat oil to between 325 and 350.  Dip fish into batter, gently roll in bread crumbs, then fry for about 60 seconds per side, depending on the size of your pieces. Drain and enjoy!

Pork Chops with Tequila Sauce

Yeah, so, about that picture.  As I plated, I took a bunch of shots.  With no memory card in my camera.  So you get stuck with the picture of the leftovers.  Doesn't look as pretty but still tastes delicious!

This recipe is all about the sauce.  I absolutely loooove this sauce.  I first discovered it as part of an ahi recipe (which, of course, I can no longer find).  It was nice on the ahi, but I thought it would go better with pork and boy was I right!

I roasted this baby on the Traeger.  If you happen to be unfortunately Traeger-deprived, I'd recommend searing your chops and finishing them in the oven with the beer.


Ingredients

4 pork chops
pepper, garlic seasoning
1/2 bottle of beer

2 T soy sauce
2 T sesame oil
dash of hot sauce
dash of garlic seasoning
dash of lime juice
2/3 c tequila

Rub the chops with pepper and garlic.  Make a little boat out of tinfoil and put the chops inside.  Add the beer.  Smoke around 220 degrees until done.

Meanwhile, heat the soy sauce and sesame oil in a skillet.  Add the hot sauce, garlic, and lime juice.  Carefully pour in the tequila and simmer until reduced by half.  Spoon over the chops and enjoy!

Pecan Pie Cookies and Bananas Foster Pastry

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, each month the HH6 club puts out a cooking challenge.  The challenge for March was to come up with a concept dish for an MRE.  For those of you who do not hail from the military world, an MRE (meal ready to eat) is a box of portable, lightweight rations designed to support military members in locations where chow halls aren't readily available. 

MREs are not (despite some misconceptions) dehydrated or freeze dried.  They are actually preserved using a variation on the canning technique.  The pouch containing the food is not plastic, but more thin layers of aluminum which can be sealed airtight and processed the same way you would process canned fruits or veggies.  While this yields a significantly heavier ration (due to water content) than dehydrated or freeze-dried food, it is quicker to prepare and can even be eaten with no preparation at all if time is an issue (and in combat, it certainly could be!).

Since MREs are more canned food than backpacking food, there are actually a lot fewer restrictions in the food composition than you might otherwise have.  For example, you can have larger pieces of meat than if you were dehydrating the food first.  Still, canning tends to work best with "saucy" type things.  Rice is notoriously difficult, though apparently the military has figured that one out already!

MREs used to be, to put it plainly, awful.  In recent years as the preservative technology has advanced, they've become quite edible - though the menu choices are still fairly boring.  Click here to see the 2011 entree list.

See why we want to spice it up?

Here's a picture of the contents of a Beef Ravioli MRE.

Included:

Beef Ravioli
Beef Snack Stick
Vegetable Crackers
Jalapeno Cheese Spread
Toffee Cookies
Chocolate Chip Toaster Pastry
Orange Flavored Electrolyte drink mix
Acessory Pack
          o Xylitol chewing gum
          o Water-resistant matchbook
          o Napkin / toilet paper
          o Moist towelette
          o Seasonings, including salt, pepper, sugar, creamer, and/or Tabasco sauce

A common complaint about MREs stems from a very significant lack of fiber.  Most MREs are lucky to contain less than half the fiber that they ought to.  I plan to address this with my concept MRE.

Concept MRE: Mardi Gras Edition!

Chicken Etouffe
Whole-grain Cajun Rice
Wheat Crackers with Maple Pepper
Hard Aged Cheddar slices
Pecan Pie Cookies
Bananas Foster Pastry
Hurricane Flavored Electrolyte drink mix

Yes, we're going with the Mardi Gras theme here!  Let's break it down a bit.

Chicken Etouffe

I already blogged this recipe here.  It's fantastic and flavorful (unlike most MREs!), but not overly spicy.  I don't know anyone who doesn't like etouffe!  Traditionally you would see shrimp etouffe.  Apart from my undying hatred of shrimp, I went with chicken because eating canned meat is moderately less pleasant than eating fresh meat, but eating canned seafood is just plain nasty.


Whole-grain Cajun Rice

It's not etouffe if you aren't eating it over rice.  Plus, it's a great way to sneak a few veggies in, not to mention the fiber from whole grains.  I mentioned earlier that canning rice is very difficult, but since the MRE gods have already figured this one out, I'll leave the logistics to them.


Wheat Crackers with Maple Pepper

MREs already feature crackers quite regularly.  Seems like it would be pretty easy to just use wheat instead of white (with more fiber to boot!), and maple pepper sounds odd but is to die for on crackers.  See a fancier version here.


Hard Aged Cheddar Slices

Away with that nasty faux-cheese spread!  Dairy products are not recommended for canning by the FDA, but a good hard cheddar can (and is!) aged for years in parafin.  It'll last as long as the MRE will, and will just get better as time goes by.

Pecan Pie Cookies:

These tasty little treats are hand-held, durable versions of the traditional southern dessert.  A little chocolate brings out the flavor and you'll never notice the wheat flour - but you'll get the fiber!  Hat-tip to allrecipes for the base.

Ingredients (makes 6-8 cookies)

Cookie

3/4 c flour
1/4 c wheat flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 c brown sugar
6 T butter
1/2 egg
1 t vanilla

Filling

2 T butter
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 T honey
1/2 t vanilla
1 t dark rum
1 t cocoa powder
1/4 c chopped pecans

Melt the butter.  Stir in the sugar, honey, vanilla, rum, and cocoa.  Once all the ingredients are blended, mix in the pecans.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

Whip the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla, then slowly beat in the flours and baking powder until dough forms.

Spoon dough into cupcake tins.  Use your fingers to form the dough into a "cup" running about 1/4 to 1/2 inch up the walls of the tin.  Fill each cup with 1 t filling.  Bake 13 minutes.

Bananas Foster Pastry
This recipe is the only one that would need to be significantly altered before being incorporated into an MRE.  However, since they already include various flavors of toaster pastry, it should be easy for them to make a bananas foster version.

Ingredients (makes 3)

1 sheet puff pastry
2 bananas
1/4 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c tuaca or other fruit-flavored liquor
1/4 c dark rum

Cut the pastry sheet into nine squares.  Preheat oven to 350.

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the brown sugar and cinnamon, stirring until well dissolved.  Add the liquor and carefully flambee until the alcohol is burned off.  Add in the bananas and cook for 5-10 minutes.  Remove bananas and slice thinly.

Grease a sheet pan.  Lay out three squares of puff pastry.  Place 3-5 (depending on thickness) slices on each sheet of puff pastry.  Spoon over some sauce, then cover each with another sheet of pastry.  Add bananas and sauce again, then cover with the final slices of puff pastry.

Bake for 20-30 minutes.  You may have to turn the tray to ensure even browning.

Serve with icecream, drizzle with any remaining sauce.

Hurricane Flavored Electrolyte drink mix

Come on, if they can make orange and lime flavors, they can make hurricane flavors!  Heck, I'm pretty sure Jello had a hurricane flavored mix a few years back.

Foodie Fun

Yes, that is a half bottle of 1964 port that I bought for The Husband's birthday.  1964!  Barrel aged for 40 years, bottle aged for almost 10!  Further, the year 1964 has a certain significance to any Alaskan.  Commence drooling. 

Additionally, that is a half round of O'banon goat cheese wrapped in grape leaves that have been soaked in bourbon.  I finally made it to Fromagio's, the relatively new cheese store in south Anchorage.  It's super awesome!  The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, happy to help you out and answer questions.  I didn't know what I wanted and the selection was overwhelming, but all I had to do was mention a few other cheeses I enjoy and they whipped out a selection of samples for me.  I came home with some nice cheddar too, but the goat cheese was the clear winner.

More drooling.

Anyway, the point of this post (that's a lie, I just wanted to brag about the port and cheese) is a bit of an update.  You may have noticed that the blog got a little face lift.  The most important part of this face lift is just below the title.  Yes, I have tabs now!  My kick in the butt for finally getting tabs was joining the HH6 cooking club.  Basically, once a month I will be doing a cooking challenge along with the other fine ladies of the HH6.  If you want to know more, click the tab!  We get our first challenge Monday.

ps. The moose is just there for cuteness.  My mom made it!

Chicken Etouffe and Mulled Cider

Merry Christmas!  This was our Christmas Eve dinner, thanks to The Husband for finding the cookbook.  Usually you expect Shrimp Etouffe, but I am not a shrimp fan, so chicken it is.

Ingredients

Brown Sauce

2 c beef stock
Burgundy wine to taste
Beef base
brown roux (flour, butter/margarine blend)

Combine first three ingredients in a medium pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 30-60 minutes.  While this is simmering, make the roux by melting 1 c of the butter blend and adding 1 c of flour to the melted butter.  Whisk constantly to ensure that the roux doesn't burn.  If the roux burns, throw it out and start over.  Continue whisking and cooking the butter and flour (adding more flour as needed) until the roux darkens to a reddish milk-chocolate color.  At this point, remove roux from heat and continue to stir.  Add a little bit of stock to the roux to help cool it down (be careful!).  Remove stock from burner and begin whisking in the roux until the sauce thickens, a little at a time.  Adjust consistency with more roux or more wine.  Simmer for another hour to blend flavors.


Etouffe

1/4 c butter
1 T garlic
1/2 T parsley
1 c diced celery
1 c green onions
1 c chicken stock
1 c diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 t hot pepper sauce
2 t thyme
2 T garlic
black pepper
1 c brown sauce
1 chicken breast, cut into slices

Melt butter with garlic and parsley.  Add in celery and onions and simmer until celery is half cooked.  Add stock, tomatoes, bay leaves, hot pepper sauce, thyme, garlic, and pepper and reduce heat to simmer until sauce thickens.  Remove bay leaves and add brown sauce.

Meanwhile, brown the chicken in a skillet with salt and pepper.  Add to the sauce and cook until chicken is done.

Serve over rice.

Mulled Cider

In a crockpot, combine cider with 2 sticks cinnamon, 1/4 c cranberries, 1 orange (sliced and studded with cloves), and a dash of ginger and cayenne.  Cook on low for several hours.

Tiramisu Cheesecake

I've recently discovered the deliciousness of cheesecake. So this weekend, with the craving full on me, I decided to make one. A few weeks ago we'd had a fantastic mascarpone cheesecake at Crush. Since I have such a love affair with mascarpone anyway, I decided to go that route. This recipe isn't quite perfect, I've still got a few kinks to work out. Despite that, it's quite tasty!

Ingredients

8 oz mascarpone
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
2 T brandy

12 ladyfingers, crushed
2 T melted butter
1 T espresso
2 T sugar
2 T cocoa powder

Chocolate shavings

Take the cheeses out of the fridge so that the can warm to room temperature. Meanwhile, mix the ladyfingers with the butter, espresso, sugar, and cocoa powder. Take this mixture and press it firmly into the bottom of a 6-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and cool thoroughly.

Meanwhile, whip the cheeses and sugar together until smooth. Add in the port and egg yolks, reserving the whites. Whip the egg whites and fold into the cheese mixture. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 until done, roughly 1 hour. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly. Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for another hour. Once it has cooled, top with shaved chocolate and refrigerate at least overnight.

Pear Compote

It's Christmastime again! The Husband and I were alone for Christmas this year. We're still in the process of modifying and creating our own traditions for Christmas, especially when it comes to food. So we had a bunch of experiments and this was dessert.

Now, The Husband is a very dedicated chocolate fan. His desserts are chocolate desserts. As you can see, this clearly does not have any chocolate in it. Well - he scarfed this stuff down so fast, I thought the world must be coming to an end!

Really, this is a fantastic dessert. The flavors are perfect, the colors are pretty and best of all, there is leftover syrup to drizzle on ice cream the next day!

Ingredients

1/4 c red wine (I used a pinot noir)
1/3 c water
1/2 c sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 slices lemon
2 pears, peeled, cored and quartered

Combine the wine, water and sugar in a saucepan until well blended. Add the cinnamon, lemon, and pears. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until pears are tender. Remove pears and chill. Strain and reserve the sauce, also refrigerate. Serve chilled, with vanilla ice cream.

Milk and Cookies

At the class six the other day we made a discovery: gingerbread schnapps. Unable to decide if this would be horrible or fantastic, we bought a bottle to find out. The Husband put on his bartender hat and came up with this baby. He made it two ways, one with the Godiva and one without. He prefers the former, but I prefer the latter! I named the drink Milk and Cookies or (with the Godiva) Chocolate Milk and Cookies. Delicious!

Ingredients

2 parts whole milk
1 part vodka
1 part gingerbread schnapps
1 part Frangelico
2 parts Godiva liquor (optional)

Manila Clams in White Wine

Today was a day of random food purchases to jump-start my cooking bug. I didn't really cook dinners at all last week, which is pretty typical for me the first week the Husband is gone. So today I decided to have fun. The first thing I picked up was a spaghetti squash which I promptly named "Sam." I was planning on using Sam tonight until I went to New Sagaya and saw the tank full of manila clams. "HAH!" I said to myself, "the husband is GONE, so I can have all the clams I want!"

Now, I like clams, but I've never cooked with fresh clams before, only canned. So this was a new thing for me. Thanks to recipezaar.com for helping me out with my first ever fresh clam cooking experiment.

As a note, I'm trying to become more aware of dietary restrictions in my cooking. I'm sure that many of you are more knowledgeable than I on these topics, so if I mislabel a dish, please let me know!

That said, this dish is gluten free and dairy free.

Ingredients

manila clams (~1 dozen per person)
fresh basil, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
crushed red pepper
ham or prosciutto, thinly sliced
dry white wine
olive oil

If needed, scrub the clams to remove any exterior dirt. Soak in cool water until ready to use. In a pot at least twice as large as the amount of clams you have, saute the ham in olive oil until crispy. Remove ham and drain. Meanwhile, add the basil, garlic, and crushed red pepper to the pot and saute about one minute. Add wine to cover the bottom to 1/4 inch and bring to a boil over medium heat. Drain the clams and add to the pot. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Discard any unopened clams. Spoon the remainder into bowls and top with the ham slices.

Beer-roasted Pork Loin with Root Vegetables

Beer and pig. Two of the best things known to man, here combined in a sensation for the taste buds! Absolutely fabulous, the pork comes out juicy and tender and my husband even ate all of his vegetables! The basic pork recipe comes from the Food Network, but I've made several changes.

Note: I did not much like the sauce, so I did not include it in the recipe. I will keep experimenting to make a good beer sauce, but for now, try a gravy. I also did not include the ciabatta recipe. While the bread came out tasty, it did not come out as ciabatta. So I shall have to try again.

Ingredients

Pork loin
2 bottles amber beer
2 T butter
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t cumin
1/4 t allspice
1/4 c mustard (mix of honey and Dijon)
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of horseradish sauce
2 T oil
salt
pepper
garlic and wine seasoning
1 T oil
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1/2 onion, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
8 small red potatoes, halved

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the diced onion and sautee until the onion begins to brown. Add the garlic, cumin, and allspice. Pour in the beer and bring to a boil. Mix in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish. Simmer another minute or two, then remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add pork to marinade and refrigerate. Marinate 12-24 hours, turning every few hours to ensure that the pork is evenly coated.

Preheat oven to 425 and slice the vegetables. Layer in the bottom of a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic and wine seasoning.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Remove pork from marinade and pat dry. Rub with salt and pepper and brown in the skillet. Lay on top of the vegetables and bake 1hr or until a meat thermometer reads 150 degrees.

Poached Halibut with Mornay Sauce

If you haven't noticed, I'm still working my way through all that fish I've got! This is another one from "Just for the Halibut," but I've taken a few liberties myself. It came out absolutely delicious!

Poached Halibut

Ingredients
3 c water
1/3 c white wine
1/3 c chicken stock
1 t rosemary
1 t sage
halibut fillet

Blend the first five ingredients in a pot or large skillet and bring to a boil. Simmer for about five minutes before adding the halibut. The broth should just cover the fillet. Return to a boil, then cover and lower heat to simmer for roughly 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Carefully remove with spatula.

Mornay Sauce

Ingredients
2 T butter
2 T flour
1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 c half and half
Worcestershire sauce
cayenne
1/4 c fresh grated Parmesan and asiago cheese
salt
pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan until frothy. Stir in the flour until smooth and bubbly. Add the stock and simmer until thickened and smooth. Stir in the half and half and, continuing to stir constantly, add a dash of Worcestershire and cayenne. Blend in the cheese and once it has melted add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over fish.

White Wine Halibut and Risotto

I've had a friend visiting me here in Alaska and yesterday we took a halibut fishing charter. The sport catch limit is currently two per day - three of our four were smallish, but the other was pretty darned big! So I now have a freezer full of halibut. To celebrate, I made my signature white wine halibut, but jazzed it up with my first attempt at a risotto.

White Wine Halibut

Ingredients
1/4 c white wine
1 T oil
1 t oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb halibut, cut into two steaks
salt and pepper
zucchini, sliced
lemon, sliced

Preheat oven to 400. Mix the first four ingredients together. Set aside. Line a pan with foil. Rub the halibut gently with salt and pepper and place in this pan. Layer zucchini and lemon slices on top of the halibut, then pour the wine mix over the fish. Bake 15 minutes or until flaky.

White Wine Risotto

Ingredients
4 1/2 c chicken stock
1/4 c white wine (warm)
1 1/2 c rice
2 T oil
dash of garlic, onion, rosemary
1 T lemon juice

Set the stock to simmer in a pot. Meanwhile, saute the garlic, onion, and rosemary in the oil in a pan. Add rice and saute about 2 minutes or until translucent. Add one ladle of the stock to the rice, stirring constantly until absorbed. Continue to add the stock in ladle fulls, stirring. Once the stock is absorbed, add the wine and stir until absorbed. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Chicken Marsala

This one's for my husband!
Not your traditional Easter dinner, but with only the cat and me here, tradition is out the window. Typically I serve this dish with rice, but I couldn't completely abandon the mashed potatoes on Easter, so you get two recipes for the price of one today!

Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, pounded flat
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t oregano
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c butter
1/2 c marsala wine*
1/4 c cream sherry

Mix flour, salt, pepper, and oregano. Meanwhile, bring the oil and butter to a boil in a skillet. Dredge the chicken in the flour mix, then brown in the oil 2 minutes on each side. Carefully add the wine and sherry. Cover and simmer 5 minutes on each side.

*the marsala you chose will make or break this recipe. Don't buy the cheapest thing out there!

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are my favorite. They are one food that I will not compromise on - you won't find me sneaking veggies into them, or worrying about how healthy they are. That said, mine are not the most unhealthy out there either! For me, the ultimate mashed potatoes are smooth and fluffy. None of those chunks!

Peel and cube baking potatoes. Boil until soft and strain. Place butter or margarine into a bowl - I usually use about 1/4 c for every three or four potatoes. Now, here's the trick: press the cooked cubes of potato through a potato ricer, into the bowl. Add some salt and pepper and a dash of skim milk into the bowl, then quickly blend with a whisk. Don't use a hand mixer, and don't overwork the potatoes. This should only take a few seconds, and you will have perfect potatoes every time.

Chocolate Irish Cherry

Who doesn't love a good dessert drink? This is one of our favorites.

Ingredients

2 parts Bailey's
2 parts Godiva Chocolate-Caramel liquor
2 parts brandy
1 part Chambord
1 part butterscotch schnapps
1 graham cracker, crushed
water
chocolate shavings

In one shallow bowl, pour a thin layer of water. In a second, the crushed graham crackers. Dip the edge of a martini glass first in the water, then the graham crackers.

Meanwhile, mix the first 5 ingredients in a shaker, then strain into the glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings.