apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I recently read an article about the mental health healing effects of Omega 3 fatty acids found in Salmon, walnuts, makarel. As a result I have been preparing salmon like it is going out of style.

Today I made pecan crusted salmon

Grind cup of pecans, mix with minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cayene pepper. Dip salmon filet in olive oil. Cover with pecan mixture.

satute one side on the stove top. Put in 450 degree over for 4-5 minutes.

Omega 3's are always welcome in my house!

I found some homegrown leeks at the community market last week, along with local spinach-garlic fettucine. So I made braised leeks with garlic, wine, and chicken stock last night. It was the first time I had ever braised a vegetable like that, and it was delicious! Very green, warm, soupy, tangy.

I know we talked about Passover recipes, some - anyone got Easter recipes? Easter always makes me think of my Slavic family side - sausage, lamb, sweet yeast breads, horseradish, and my mom's completely over the top angel-food cake covered with green coconut and bowed under the weight of many, many jellybeans.

I am cooking brunch for some people on Sunday - any Easter brunch traditions/plans?

Last night I tried a poppy seed bar recipe I got off the internet. It was okay, but I think if you really like poppy seeds you will love it. The recipe called for 1.5 cups of seeds!! But it did have a nice 'fresh' taste with the use of lemon zest and juice.
I found it at cooking.com and here is the link.
http://www.cooking.com/recipes/static/recipe4909.htm

I bought 2 bunches of fresh, slender asparagus at the market - wondering how to cook them, roasted,then drizzled with balsamic? Any ideas?

Leeds,
My boyfriend and I have been doing a pan-roasted version courtesy of Cooks Illustrated, with sliced browned garlic and shaved parmesan cheese for a garnish, oh sooooooo good:)
Also good with green beans.
Enjoy your asparagus:)

Leeds - I always go for the olive oil, salt, pepper, lemom juice and into the grill pan (or outdoor grill). Like Sarah I tend to throw garlic and parmesan on there. I'm a fan of crispy asparagus so I don't keep it on the grill too long.

Yay! a new thread!

inspired by a recent recipe here, I made the following for dinner last night:

Whole wheat organic penne pasta
topped with fresh baby spinach (sauteed breifly in hot olive oil and garlic)
topped with a pan fried egg (medium)
and shaved parmesan cheese
sprinkled with my new pink sea salt.

DELICIOUS!

The dish was a lovely blend of simple flavors, and the salt was allowed to stand out as an accent - bright little sparkles in the bites without tasting salty.

:)

I tried a Barefoot Contessa recipe the other day that called for roasting thick aspargus at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. It was way, way too long. I like firm, slightly crispy asparagus too, and this made it mushy. Next time I would try five minutes and test every couple minutes from there. I ate it with a fried runny egg on top.

Poached eggs are everywhere in the food-blogosphere these days - something in the air.

gee, thanks guys! I think I'll do a combination of all-roast lightly with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic & maybe topped with an egg, why resist the trend? pasta & spinach also sound good...I'll figure something out where I can use as many of these components as possible (not forgetting the Parmesan & sea salt)!

Faith:

Easter-time always gets me on a lamb kick as well (and I'm not even Christian!). My favorite lamb recipe of ALL time is one that was published in Bon Appetit in the early 90's. I had lost the recipe and searched for it for years. It was the first thing I looked up when I discovered Epicurious (click my name for link to recipe).

I haven't committed to making this dish yet this year but I certainly would if I was hosting an Easter event.

Pardon me while I co-opt the question.

As a birthday gift, I was given five tins of what looks like good quality escargot - inside joke, I've got the oddest friends ever. Since there's a limit to how much garlic, butter, and mushrooms a guy can take, I'm looking for unusual recipes to try. I've done them in a risotto and in stuffed mushroom caps, and that pretty well exhausted my escargot knowledge. Any suggestions for the remaining cans?

Bonus points for spring-ish recipes!

i had some en croute at a wedding. there was some sort of cheese involved, although not enough to really identify it. perhaps parmesan. maybe mix up the herbs a bit, try some herbes de provence or something?

there's a restaurant that my friends and i love to go to and hang out in the lower east die
the drinks are fab, the bartenders are HOT, but the big draw is the escargot en croute
the chef is from the ivory coast and the escargot is in a kind of spicey sauce
here's how they describe it
Ragout D' Escargots Escargots in tomato and pastis sauce. Served in pastry shell
it is PHENOMENAL
i'd go with something a little french, a little african.... think spice route and enjoy!
i have weird friends (and family) too
my mom always gives me pickles in my easter basket ;-)

Andrew, check this 'fresh' recipe for canned escargot..
http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=3348

I went wine shopping yesterday at TJ and came out with 6 bottles for $26. Here's what I purchased:

Blace Mountain Pinot Grigio - $5.99
Charles Shaw Merlot - $2.99
Charles Shaw Cab - $2.99
Terra Australis Shiraz - $4.99
TJ's Coastal Cab. - $4.99
TR's French Market Cab. - $3.99

Haven't opened any of them yet but I've had the Charles Shaw wines (better known as 2 buck Chuck - here it's 3 buck Chuck) and liked them for what they are - nothing special but definitely drinkable.

anne,
we'll be looking for a fully annotated report
next week
!

especially if you open anything up
and think you shoulda got a case of it

anyone not new to TJs (like NYers) have the lowdown?

sara kate
I wonder if we might have a button link
along with "recipes" "products" "stores"
to the open threads

we got a good thing going here!

That's a good idea, Guido! Maybe add a couple keywords or tags next to each thread to just give the gist of what was discussed. Like this one would be escargot, roasting asparagus, Easter - or something like that. :-)

guido,
..did you post something about cooking with saffron a while back? What did you make? I have some I bought 6 ms. back that I'm wondering what to use in (aside from paella - claro!)
wonder how long they will keep- indefinitely in a glass jar occurs to me. could be wrong. Does anyone have experience with this?

I was gifted with saffron a few months back
and it's still waiting to be fish stew
with fennel

maybe I'm waiting for the fennel to come in . . . ?
I have a bad habit of forgetting about the
precious bits stored away . . . jeez.

I have blank spots too sometimes. I think you wanted to make something unusual with the saffron, like rice pudding...no? Could be I'm wrong. Oh well, I found this recipe for Saffron Orzo w/Asparagus & Prosciutto:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/107938
This way I get to use some asparagus. I'm thinking of using soppressata instead of prosciutto, it's what I have at the moment.

ha. not me.
I'll be deliriously happy to get the fish stew made!

The Body wasn't turning up on Amazon or Pandora
is that someone local?

hmmm, I hate being wrong! ;)

No,it was The Show. click on my name. Haven't checked them out yet (have to from home), but I'm going a rec. Far as I know they are Canadian, urban, hip hop kind of style. Let me know if they are good if u check.

Anyone know when I can expect to see asparagus at the NY greenmarkets?

Does anyone have a great/ simple recipe for bread pudding?

The cafeteria at work makes a great one.. and I'm just dying to try some at home.

genevive
my mom says about a week or two, fingers crossed!

new_to_at
Usually homemade is better, right? For a basic one it's bread, milk & eggs & sugar. Easy to make, you should try it!
This is a simple one that I've made:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/1832

Just wanted to offer KUDOS to Grant who sometimes posts. He maintains a fab cooking blog:

http://wellfed.typepad.com/

I love the pictures because it clues me into whether I'm on target or not!

I finally made the Apple Crisp recipe and it was GREAT.

leeds,

gee thanks... I do see these recipes online, but nice to see them validated :-)

will try it one of these days soon and let you know!