Pan Fried Halibut with Grilled Halloumi & Vegetable Salad

Hats off to Chatelaine magazine for their ongoing efforts to bring simple and delicious recipes to their readers consistently. I get a little giddy at the thought of each month's issue and try as many recipes as I can with solid results. I recently tried a grilled vegetable and halloumi salad from the magazine's June issue.  I've seen halloumi, a Mediterranean, semi-hard, unripened and brined cheese at a few grocers and figured it was time to try cooking with it. This recipe allowed the opportunity to do just that and offered another take on salad that is refreshing and loaded with ingredients that give you a full meal out of your salad. I paired the original serving with halibut fillets and used the leftover salad for lunches.

We are fortunate enough to have access to some decent not-so-domestic fish in Alberta, thanks to the miracles of modern-day logistics and market demands. Miracles are expensive however, so when buying fillets of fresh fish from your neighbourhood market, make it count!

Grilled Halloumi and Vegetable Salad

Adapted From: http://www.chatelaine.com

Ingredients

• 4 small zucchinis cut diagonally into 1/2" pieces
• 250g package of halloumi cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2 T lemon juice
• 2 T olive oil
• 540 ml can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 2 T chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 T chopped dill
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

If using a barbecue, preheat the barbecue to medium. If your barbecue is out of commission for the season like mine, get yourself a grill plate and make good use out of it. Just make sure to place one of your oven racks on the top level of your oven and preheat it to 500-550F. Brush the surface of the plate/barbecue with olive oil. Whisk 2 tablespoons each of olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside. Place the zucchini pieces on the grill for 3 minutes each side. Remove the zucchini and add the halloumi pieces, grilling for one minute on each side. I recommend testing your halloumi grilling time by grilling one piece first for a minute each side and then sampling it. If overdone, it will be very rubbery and will require less time.  Place a few of the zucchini and halloumi pieces on to a plate and add the chick peas, herbs and toss with the oil and lemon, salt and pepper.

Halibut with White Wine and Shallot Sauce

From: http://www.canadianliving.com

Ingredients

• 350 g (two fillets) of skinless halibut
• 1 t butter
• 1 t extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 t kosher flaked salt

Method

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Fry the halibut in the pan, turning once until the fish flakes easily when tested; about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm by tenting the halibut with aluminum foil. Add the wine and minced shallot to the pan on medium-high heat and allow to until the sauce is reduced to about 2 tablespoons; about 2 minutes. Place each of the halibut fillets on plates and drizzle the reduction over top.

Maple Beef Tenderloin with Chocolate Red Wine Jus & Leek & Potato Mash

Yes it tastes as good as it looks; even better actually. The recipe was a finalist in the San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef's Competition in Toronto. That I learned from the blog I pilfered this bad boy from. The recipe intimidated me at first, but it looked so good I figured that even if I didn't get it just right, it would be delicious.  As expected, I didn't reach the pinnacle of perfection here: the potatoes were a bit lumpy, I didn't have juniper berries for the beef marinade and my wine wasn't exactly a Meritage variety. I'll get there. At least I'd like try getting there and I'm going to enjoy the journey of making this again with all the right ingredients and a potato ricer, my father's secret for perfect mashed potatoes. At this stage in my culinary journey, I just felt fulfilled attempting it. Now I also feel fulfilled having eaten it!

Adapted: http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/

Serves 8 

Beef Tenderloin

• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 T chopped fresh thyme
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 kg of beef tenderloin
• Pinch of salt and freshly ground red pepper

Chocolate Red Wine Jus

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 leek, white and light green part, thinly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup of dry red wine
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 90g of dark chocolate (90% cocoa)
• 1 T red wine vinegar

Leek & Potato Mash

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 leek, white and light green part, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 t salt
• 625 g of Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup warm milk

Beef Tenderloin

In a large dish, combine the maple syrup, thyme and garlic. Add the loin, turning to coat evenly and let marinate for fifteen minutes. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper on all sides. Place the loin on a rack in a roasting pan, and roast the meat at 450F for ten minutes. Reduce the heat to 275F and continue cooking for one hour. Let stand for about five minutes before slicing. 

Chocolate Red Wine Jus

In a saucepan heat the butter on medium-high heat and saute the carrot, onion, leek and bay leaves, stirring occasionally for about ten minutes, or until softened. Add the wine and simmer for about five minutes or until reduced by half. Add beef stock and simmer for about ten minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve or cheese cloth into a clean sauce pan. With the sauce pan on medium heat, whisk in the chocolate and melted butter. Once blended, add the red wine vinegar and set aside. 


Leek & Potato Mash

In a non-stick skillet, heat a tablespoon of butter on medium heat until melted. Add the leeks, stirring occasionally and let cook for ten minutes. Stir in the parsley and salt and set aside. Bring the potatoes and thyme to a boil in a large pot of water. This should take about twenty minutes. Drain well and mash until smooth. Add the remaining butter and milk stirring well to combine. Finally, fold in the leek and parsley mixture so that it's all combined. Set aside and keep warm.

To assemble, spoon a few tablespoonfuls of the leek and potato mix onto a plate. Place the tenderloin slices on top and drizzle the jus on the side or overtop of the beef.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Port-Balsamic Glazed Cherries

This is one of those recipes I neglected to read from top to bottom before preparing it hours before consumption. I tried one an hour after having made the panna cotta and it hadn't set. I guess they weren't kidding when they tell you to refrigerate overnight. Anywho, this bad boy up top is a day-old sampler and it was ready to be eaten. 

Puddings make the top of my list for all-time favorite desserts. They are also the poster boys for comfort food, so I'm sure there's a connection there. This monologue is making me hungry for rice pudding. Better check the cookbooks.

Adapted from: http://www.redshallotkitchen.com

Serves 6

Panna Cotta

• 1 cup of milk 
• 1 packet of unflavored gelatin
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• oil

Cherries

• 1 lb frozen cherries
• 3/4 cup of port
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 T balsamic vinegar

Method

Brush six, 3/4 cups with the oil. If you are serving the panna cotta in the same dishes you are setting them in, skip this step. Pour milk into a medium bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk, letting it sit for five minutes until it softens.

Heat the whipping cream and sugar in a heavy saucepan, mixing until the sugar dissolves. Bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add it to the milk mixture. Add the vanilla and mix well. Working in two batches, pour the mix in a blender and pulse three times for a few seconds each. Pour the mix into the cups, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to two days.

Stir cherries, sugar, vinegar and port in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium and let simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool down to room temperature. 

Spoon the cherries and sauce onto the panna cotta and serve.

Glug, glug, glug

Praise the beer! We love our beer, and we love that other Edmontonians love beer too. This gives us a few options such as Sugarbowl or Public House and since Public House is the newest kid on the block, it was time for a visit. Actually this was my second trip, but I was pleased to see favorites like Erdinger Dunkel, Leffe and Hoegaarden make an appearance. These beers are by no means difficult to find anymore, but finding them on tap is a real treat. Combine this with a plate of shibs aka shank ribs and you've got yourself a merry little Friday.

It's also time to throw a belated shout out to Devine Wines for their superb wine tasting events. I typically like my wines cheap and easy (ahem), but Devine Wines has done a fabulous job of educating us average joes of the merits of all wines. Their charcuterie and wine event this past Thursday exposed guests to the combination of dry sherry, Riesling and neutral reds with cured meats. I can only assume you plan on butchering, salting and drying them yourself.  Check out Devine's upcoming list of tastings from the very exotic to the very affordable: http://devinewines.ca/event

Rib Eye Steak with Burgundy-Mushroom Sauce & Potato-Parsnip Latkes

My primary reason for leaving the house on what turned into an eight kilometre journey was to get groceries for this evening's meal. There wasn't anything on our menu that required a special trip, but we hiked over to a distant grocer in order to pass Duchess, my favorite bakery. After loading up on raspberry-chocolate brioche, I was ready to tackle our remaining errands. What a rough life. 

The parsnip latke recipe was the first discovery of the morning and sent me on a search for a beef dish of some kind to accompany it. Once I found the steak with burgundy-mushroom sauce, I opted for sauteed spinach to round out the meal. 

As far as preparing the spinach is concerned, simply sauté 1 tablespoon of minced garlic or about two cloves in a soup pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil for two minutes. Add a bag of baby spinach and stir well to coat the oil and garlic mixture over all of the greens. Once softened, removed from heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Thumbs up with respect to this threesome. 

http://eclecticrecipes.com

Rib-Eye Steak with Burgundy-Mushroom Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 Rib-eye steaks
• 1 small container sliced mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cup red wine (Burgundy or a Cab will do)
• 2 T butter
• 2 - 3 T olive oil
• kosher or sea salt and pepper, or steak seasoning to taste 

Method

Bring steaks to room temperature on the counter. Preheat a large skillet. Season steaks with salt and pepper or steak seasoning. Drizzle pan with olive oil and add steaks to pan.

Brown steaks on each side, cooking just shy of desired doneness. Turn heat to low. Remove steaks from pan and add mushrooms, butter and garlic. Saute until mushrooms have softened. Add red wine and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce by half. Add a splash more of wine and add steaks back in to pan turning and covering in sauce. Serve immediately.

http://smittenkitchen.com

Potato-Parsnip Latkes with Horseradish and Dill

Yield: About 18 latkes

Pancakes

• 1/2 pound (about 1 large) Russet potato
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 pound parsnips (about 2 large or 4 medium)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 T chopped fresh dill
• 1 t table salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil for frying

Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/2 t table salt
• 1 T freshly grated or prepared horseradish
• 1 T chopped dill

Method

Preheat: Oven to 250 degrees. Line one large or two smaller baking sheets with foil and leave them in the oven until needed.Peel vegetables and grate them on the large holes of a box grater or (my preferred method) using the shredding blade of a food processor. If using the food processor, I like to lay the vegetables sideways in the chute, in an attempt to get the longest strands of vegetables. This creates latkes that look like little piles of mops, which is my goal.Transfer shredded vegetables to a lint-free dishtowel or square of cheesecloth, and wring out as much liquid as possible. Let stand for two minutes, then wring again. Wetness is the enemy of crisp, light latkes, so we want to get rid of as much as possible.

Transfer wrung-out vegetables to a large bowl. Add lemon juice. In a tiny dish, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and any herbs or additional seasonings and toss with vegetables, evenly coating the strands. In the same tiny dish, whisk your eggs and then stir this into the vegetable-flour mixture, evenly coating the strands.

Heat a large, heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Once skillet is hot, add 3 tablespoons oil and heat oil until shimmering. If you’re unsure, you can flick a droplet of water onto the oil; if it hisses and sputters, you’re good to go. Using a fork or your fingertips gather spoonful-sized mounds of battered vegetables and drop them onto the heated skillet. When golden underneath, 3 to 4 minutes later, flip pancakes. Cook on the other side until nicely bronzed underneath, another 2-3 minutes, and transfer to paper towels briefly to drain pancakes, before transferring them again to a tray in warm oven. If latkes cook too quickly or slowly on the stove, adjust the heat accordingly. Add more oil if needed (you want to keep the pan at that 3 tablespoon level), being sure it is heated before adding more pancakes to the skillet. Repeat with remaining batter. I like to keep the latkes in the oven for at least 10 minutes to ensure they’ve cooked through before serving them. Mix sauce ingredients in a small dish.  Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve: Warm with a dollop of the sauce.