Pecan and cranberry crusted rockfish

I was after sole at the store today, but the rockfish fillets were on sale so I decided to give that a try instead. When I make sole I wrap it around bacon and asparagus and poach it in white wine, but rockfish is really different. So I worked with what I had, and this is what we got. We liked it. Rockfish apparentely doesn't have much flavor and I think this might work better with whitefish, but we did enjoy it quite a bit.

Pecan and cranberry crusted rockfish

Origin: me
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3-4

Ingredients
• 1 lb rockfish fillets
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp milk
• salt and pepper
• flour
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 cup pecans
• olive oil
• butter

Directions
1. Combine egg and oil in a shallow bowl. Beat lightly.
2. Combine pecans and cranberries in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
3. Mix flour, salt, and pepper to a third shallow bowl.
4. Dredge fish in flour, then egg, then cranberry and nut mixture until well coated.
5. Heat oil and butter in a pan over medium high heat. Fry fish 4 minutes to a side until browned on the outside and opaque on the inside.

I served it with lightly steamed asparagus over wild rice, a lemon wedge, and pomegranate seeds. It makes a pretty Christmas meal.

Gestoofde Runderlappen (Dutch stewed/spiced beef)

Our main dish for Sinterklaasavond.

Gestoofde Runderlappen (Dutch stewed/spiced beef)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-8 hours in a slow cooker
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
  ● 3 lbs round steak, cut into six pieces
  ● 1/2 cup butter or bacon drippings
  ● 3 medium onions, sliced
  ● 1 cup water or dark beer
  ● 3 tbsp vinegar
  ● 1/2 tbsp mustard
  ● 1 bay leaf
  ● 1/2 tsp whole cloves
  ● 5 peppercorn

Directions (my version):
0. To get bacon drippings, I fry the bacon that I'll offer at dinner as topping for the soup, salad, and potatoes, then remove it from then pan, drain, and let cool before I crumble it and set it aside. Now I have bacon drippings.
1. Pound meat and rub each piece with salt and pepper. Heat bacon drippings (or butter) in skillet until very hot. Brown meat thoroughly on both sides.
2. Remove meat and place in slow cooker.
3. To drippings add onions and fry lightly, then remove to slow cooker.
4. To slow cooker add water or beer, vinegar, mustard, bay leaf, cloves, and peppercorns. Cover meat and cook on low for 8 hours, medium for 6 hours, or high for 4 hours.

Summer salad with black eyed peas

I'm always looking for fun vegetarian meals to eat in the summer. In the winter we gobble up all kinds of vegetarian soups, stews, and casseroles, but that's not really summery, is it? So I did a few searches and found a few options, melded some, alterred others, and now I have a whole file of summer style veggie entrees. It looks like salad is the way to go! That makes sense to me, and the less time I can spend over a hot stove, or with the oven heating my already warm house, the better.

This recipe is a combo from several others scattered around the web. Some changes I'd make: next time I'd like to try the sun dried tomatoes not packed in oil, or maybe even fresh ones.

Summer Salad with black eyed peas

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
  ● 2 cups dry black-eyed peas (or about 2 cans)
  ● feta cheese, about 1 cup, crumbled
  ● 1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, about 8 ounces
  ● 1 cup Kalamata olives
  ● 2 green onions, chopped
  ● 1 garlic clove, minced
  ● 1 large bunch of spinach, washed, dried, and torn
  ● 1 lemon, both zest and juice

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the black-eyed peas and turn heat down to below a simmer. Cook uncovered until done, about 45 minutes. When done, pour into a colander and  wash with cold water to stop the cooking and cool.

2 In a large bowl combine spinach, feta, olives, onion, tomatoes, lemon zest, and garlic, and cooled peas. Toss to mix well. Squeeze lemon over top, to taste, right before serving.

Stuffed Italian pork tenderloin

I almost called this Italian stuffed pork tenderloin, but I'm neither stuffing Italians with pork tenderloin nor pork tenderloin with Italians, so I switched the order. It still doesn't sound right, but really it's better than the other way around. Calvin and I made this one together today. He helped me pound out the tenderloin (his favorite part, of course), spread the cream cheese, cut the peppers, crumble the bacon, and spread all the toppings.

Stuffed pork tenderloin, Italian style

Ingredients:
  ● 2 pounds pork tenderloin
  ● 6 oz neufchatel cheese, softened
  ● Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste
  ● ~1 cup fresh arugula
  ● 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  ● ~8 oz roasted red pepper (home roasted or from a jar, drained), chopped
  ● Olive oil

Directions:
1. Cut pork loins down the center without cutting all the way through, then open as though opening a book. Use smooth side of tenderizer to pound meat to an even thickness.
2. Spread cheese evenly over pork. Sprinkle with seasonings to taste. Top with arugula, crumbled bacon, and roasted red peppers.
3. Roll pork back up into original shap (leaving seam along long side). Tie closed with string where needed. Brush with olive oil to keep moist.
4. Place pork, seam side down, In baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until 150 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

I served this with tender thin green beens, sauted in olive oil and garlic and tossed with almond slivers, and with wild rice tossed with cherries.

Mtuzi wa Samaki

While traveling through Africa, one must eat, mustn't one? Calvin and I searched the internet today for recipe ideas. He wanted to experience foods from two different African countries, Kenya and Egypt. We started with Kenya, because as far as our travels go we haven't made it to Egypt yet.

Calvin made our Kenyan selection, Mtuzi wa Samaki, a curried fish dish that originated in Zanzibar before becoming popular throughout the east African coast countries. It turned out to be somewhat bland, but enjoyable. 

Mtuzi wa Samaki
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
  ● Oil -- 1 tablespoon
  ● Fish filets, cut into serving portions -- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds
  ● Salt and pepper -- to taste
  ● Onion, chopped or sliced -- 1
  ● Red or green bell peppers, chopped or sliced -- 2
  ● Garlic, minced -- 6-8 cloves
  ● Tomatoes, seeded and chopped -- 1 cup
  ● Coconut milk -- 1 1/2 cups
  ● Garam masala or curry powder -- 2-3 teaspoons
  ● Tamarind paste or lemon juice -- 1-2 tablespoons
  ● Salt and pepper -- to taste
  ● Rice, ugali, potatoes, or chapatti

Directions:
1. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet or pot. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Sear the fish fillets on both sides and remove to a plate. Do not cook through.

2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and peppers. Sauté until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes more.

3. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, garam masala or curry powder, tamarind paste or lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 6-8 minutes.

4. Add the fish fillets, cover and continue to simmer until the fish is cooked through, 5-10 minutes. Serve with rice, ugali, boiled potatoes, boiled cassava or chapatti.