Confetti Fish & Rice

I love fish.  There was some great fresh fish on sale this week so I gave a new recipe a whirl.  Man, it was excellent.  It's a teriffic presentation and would be great for company!  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:
White fish
Grated carrots
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Onion or shallots
Any other fresh veggies you have on hand
2 Cloves garlic
2 teaspoons Minced ginger
2 Slices lemon (per slice of fish)
Splash of white wine

Directions:
Broil fish with butter and and salt/pepper for about 7 minutes.
Remove the fish from oven and top fish with remaining ingredients.
Create a pouch from parchment paper and place fish inside. Make sure to seal tightly so no air gets in or out.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until done.
Cut open pouch with a knife or scissors - enjoy the wonderful aroma as you open the package!


I generally serve fish with my standby rice:
Whole grain rice (not the quick-cook kind...the real deal)
Before cooking rice brown shallots and 2 cloves of garlic in browned butter and a splash of wine.  Cook rice in same pot with shallots and garlic according to directions on rice package.

Butternut Squash Soup with Cheese and Herb Bread

This winter has been out of the ordinary for North Carolina.  We've had a measurable snow (read: no school, no work, etc.) roughly once every two weeks. During our last snow/ice event I made an amazing butternut squash soup with cheese and herb bread.  Enjoy the recipes - they're delish.

Cheese and Herb Bread:

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano (I used a mix of Italian spices - threw in whatever I had on hand)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese 

Sprinkle yeast over water in large bowl. Let stand a few minutes, then stir and dissolve yeast. Add sugar, salt, margarine, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, oregano and 3 cups of the flour. Beat at slow speed for 2 minutes. Beat in rest of flour; cover the bowl with a sheet of wax paper and a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place 45 minutes, or until doubled in volume.
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one round, 2-quart casserole. Set aside.
Stir batter down for 1/2 a minute. Turn batter into casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese.
 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes. 

 

Butternut Squash Soup: 

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more for garnish (optional)
• Coarse salt
• 1 large butternut squash (about 4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Sour cream, for serving

In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and cayenne. Season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
 

Add squash, broth, half-and-half, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
 

Working in batches, puree in a blender until smooth. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt. Serve bisque with sour cream, garnished with cayenne, if desired.
   

Note: This would be excellent served with chunks of crab or lobster on top! 

 

To Freeze: Ladle cooled bisque (without sour cream) into airtight containers, leaving 1 inch of space; freeze up to 3 months.
 

To Reheat: Run container under hot water to release bisque. Heat with a bit of water, stirring occasionally. 

Thanks to Martha for the soup recipe

Loaded Potato Soup

I love loaded potato soup.  In my book, there isn't much better to brighten a bad day, to nourish a sick body or to warm up a cold rainy night.   I've looked for a great recipe for about two years.  My friends, I've found it!

Ingredients:
Enough potatoes to fill a 9x13 pan

10 slices of bacon with drippings
1 1/2 to 2 C chopped onion (I use a combo of shallots and onion)
1 1/3 C flour
12 C chicken broth 8 C chopped baked potatoes, skins on.
4 C heavy whipping cream (I use half whole milk and half cream)
1 tsp garlic or garlic powder (I use fresh garlic.  Use about 2 cloves)
3 tsp dried basil
2 tsp salt (I'd omit this if you use boullion & water rather than the chicken broth)
1 1/2 - 2 tsp black pepper
2 C grated cheddar cheese
1/2 C green onions to garnish

Directions:
Bake potatoes. Fill a 9x13 pan with potatoes, cover with foil and bake at 450 for 1 hour. This is the perfect number of potatoes. Allow to cool and then chop.

Fry bacon in a large soup pot. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.  Be sure to keep the grease in the soup pot...that's the good stuff!

 
Cook onion (and garlic if using real garlic) in drippings for 3-4 minutes, or until onion is tender. Add flour, stirring to prevent lumps.  It will look like you've done something wrong.  Keep whisking and it will turn into a nice dough-like consistency. Cook 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Add chicken broth gradually and cook until the soup thickens, stirring often. This step takes a while. 


Start adding spices while waiting for soup to thicken. Chop potatoes.

   
As the soup begins to boil or reaches desired thickness, reduce heat to simmer. Add potatoes and cream. Simmer to heat thoroughly. Add bacon and cheese until melted.

Top with cheese, green onion, bacon and sour cream.  Enjoy!

Homemade Marshmellows

If you've never tasted homemade marshmellows you're in for a treat!  After making these I don't think I'll ever buy the prepackaged kind again.

I made these marshmellows along with hot cocoa mix as Christmas gifts for hubby's extended family.  I even added some red food coloring in a swirl patter to add a little holiday spirit.  I also made them to top my orange sweet potatoes for New Year's Eve.  Stick them under a torch for a few seconds and they're perfectly crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.  Yum!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's original recipe.

Ingredients:
About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla (alternately: 1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract)
food coloring for tinting

Directions:
Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with confectioners’ sugar (make sure to coat the pan very well).

In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer.  This step will look like marshmellow fluff (remember, the stuff you ate on peanut butter sandwiches in 5th grade?).

As the fluff is mixing, beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.

Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Makes close to marshmallows.