Crazy Englishwoman Cooks!

If you're looking for another way to liven up your salmon, try the following:

1/3 cup sake
1/3 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
1/3 cup miso paste
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs soy sauce
4 6-ounce salmon or sea bass fillets

Mix first 5 ingredients in shallow glass baking dish. Add fish to marinade and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.

Broil fish 6 inches from heat source until just opaque in center. Or simmer in skillet until cooked.

Serve with rice, noodles, salad... the choice is yours.

Several people have emailed me since Monday's post to ask where they can get cookbooks by The Hairy Bikers so here you go.

Get some good British cooking with:


Here's one of their latest:



And here's the original:

Last night's delicious and healthy dinner was courtesy of a recipe on Delish. You know how sometimes you see recipes and the photographs look amazing, but when you make it yourself... doesn't look so hot? I've been there too, but this dish looked as good as it tasted. Even better - because it was so full of flavor, hubby didn't even seem concerned that it was healthy!



Skillet Chicken and Green Chili Sauce
The recipe below is to serve 2.

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 drizzle olive oil
1/2 can diced green chilies
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With rolling pin, pound breasts to an even 1/2-inch thickness. (Incidentally, this is a great stress buster!) Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add breasts and cook 6 to 7 minutes or until browned on both sides and chicken loses its pink color throughout, turning over once. Transfer breasts to platter; cover with foil to keep warm.

To skillet, add chilies, tomatoes, broth, cumin, garlic, and any juices from chicken on platter. Cook 3 minutes to reduce sauce slightly, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro.

Quick and easy. Now add a salad or some veggies and you have dinner.

Last time I was in England, two years ago, my mother introduced me to a new cooking show, The Hairy Bikers. Dave Myers and Simon King travel from place to place on their motorcycles and explore the local cuisine. The episode I saw had them traveling through Turkey and cooking a traditional style feast.

Their latest show is titled The Hairy Bikers: Mum Knows Best, and they are biking the length and breadth of Britain, seeking out all those old British favorites. In tonight's episode they'll be looking at the traditional Sunday roast.

Luckily, all the recipes they collect are being made available on their website so I am downloading them for posterity.

Last night I tried a Curried Salmon recipe from one of the episodes. As I've mentioned before, we Brits have a love affair with Indian food and this recipe was definitely a keeper.

Curried Salmon

The amounts below would serve about 6 people, maybe more.

1kg Salmon Steaks/Salmon Fillet, cut into big chunks.
Spice Mix
2 ½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground peppercorns and coriander seeds
1 tsp Paprika
½ tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Lovage seeds (you can substitute celery seed or celery salt)
½ tsp flaked red chillies
2 tsp Turmeric
5 cloves Garlic – chopped finely
1 ½ in. Ginger, finely chopped
Small tin of chopped tomatoes
2 fresh tomatoes
1 or 2 green chili – deseeded and chopped
Tarka
4 cloves Garlic – chopped finely
1 tsp lovage seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup of freshly boiled water
Garnish
½ bunch of chopped coriander

Cut salmon into large chunks, place in a bowl. Add all the spice mix to the fish as well as 5 cloves of garlic and ginger. Gently toss the fish to cover with spices, then add the 4 cloves of chopped garlic, ginger, tomatoes, sliced tomatoes and chilies. Again toss gently to mix all the ingredients together. Leave aside for 10 mins.



Heat the oil and fry the lovage seeds (if you have them) until almost black. Add the cumin and fry for 5 seconds. Add the remaining 4 cloves of chopped garlic until slightly golden. Add the fish and cook on medium heat moving the fish around by moving the pan until oil begins to separate from spices. Add the hot water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 mins. Add the chopped coriander, remove from heat.

We served it with brown rice.



This was a delicious alternative to the usual grilled salmon and, as with all curries, you can make it as mild or as spicy as you like. You can see in the photos that I left the skin on the salmon - this is purely a personal preference so feel free to remove it.

Since I've lived in Kentucky for nearly 9 years now, I can only wonder why I have not done this before....

I found the recipe for Bourbon-Buttered Cornish Hens in an old issue of Kentucky Monthly, a magazine I often write for. Nic loves little game hens as you can have one each and feel very Henry VIII as you pull an entire bird to pieces. They do look very elegant on a dinner plate, I must admit. Of course the downside to such a small bird is that you have a lot of work for very little meat. Next time, I'll use the same bourbon basting on a larger bird.

The combination of bourbon and maple syrup in the basting leaves a wonderfully sweet tang. I used Buffalo Trace Bourbon, although obviously you are free to use whatever you have available.

Simply place the hens in a roasting pan and brush with a little melted butter. Put them in a 350F oven for about 1 1/4 hours. Mix some melted butter with a little maple syrup and some bourbon. Brush the mixture over the bird every 15 minutes or so as it is cooking.

I found this recipe in an issue of Prevention magazine and we tried it last night. Delicious! The addition of the chipotle peppers really gives it a boost. Nic had it with rice and I enjoyed it on its own. Leftovers tonight.

2 tbs olive oil
1 lb beef, cut into cubes
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup either stock or dark beer
2 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
12 oz mushrooms, any type, sliced
2 canned chipotle chile peppers in adobe sauce, chopped

Heat the oil on high and brown the beef. Put beef on plate.
In same pan, cook the onion until brown, then add the garlic and stir for a minute. Add the liquid and Worcestershire sauce. Add tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers. Cook and stir for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid is reduced. Return the meat to the pan, heat through and serve.

I spent the holidays touring through Mexico which meant a fabulous week of beans, rice, and tortillas. That was followed by the traditional Southern New Year's Day meal of hog jowls, cabbage, and black-eyed peas, and a birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Now it's time to eat a little more healthily and to drop a few pounds.

Luckily, this recipe is low fat and tasty. Plus, because it incorporates such ingredients as kalamata olives, roasted red peppers and artichokes, it feels more decadent than it is.

Mediterranean Chicken and Pasta (serves 4)

6oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, cut into quarters if not already done so
1 tbs olive oil
12 oz chicken, cut into pieces
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
7oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
3 cups cooked pasta
1/4 cup feta cheese

In a large skillet, heat the oil, then cook the chicken and garlic until brown. Add the artichoke marinade, broth and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the artichokes, peppers, and olives.

Serve over the cooked pasta, sprinkled with feta.

How easy was that!