Baby Greens Salad with Caramelized Nectarines, Candied Pecans and Blue Cheese

This salad is very common but I think what makes it especially good in the summer is the addition of fresh caramelized nectarines that are in season now. Here is the recipe I use:

Ingredients:

2 cups of baby greens
2 nectarines
1 tablespoon of butter
1.5 oz of blue cheese
1/4 cup of candied pecans

For dressing:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Slice nectarines into thin half moon slices. On medium heat melt butter in a pan, add nectarines and let them fry on each side until they develop a nice brown color. This takes about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool. 20 minutes should be enough.

2. In a large bowl combine baby greens, nectarine slices, pecans and blue cheese. In a separate bowl combine oil, vinegar, sugar and mustard. Whisk all ingredients together and add salt to taste. Add dressing to the salad as you are about to eat and toss.

Zucchini Pancakes

This year I am growing zucchini in my yard and few already popped up. I grilled the first one but with the second one I decided to make my childhood favorite-zucchini pancakes. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini, 10 inches long, 1 and 1/4 lb, grated finely and extra water drained
2 eggs
1 cup of white flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Olive Oil for frying

To serve:
Sour Cream
Fresh chives
Salt

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl combine zucchini, eggs, flour and salt. Mix with a whisk.

2. Preheat the pan on medium heat for about a minute. Pour one tablespoon of oil in a pan and using a a large spoon add the zucchini batter.  I aim for a palm size pancake or a smaller. Let pancakes fry on each side until golden brown and cooked through (about 4 minutes). Reduce the heat to medium/medium-low so not to burn the cakes. Repeat the process until all batter has been used. Add more oil as needed.

3. Serve pancakes with sour cream, chopped fresh chives. Salt to taste.

Rabbit Leg Confit

Few weeks ago I took upon myself making the rabbit leg confit following the recipe from the Girl and the Fig cookbook Plats Du Jour. The recipe is not for a beginner. As with other recipes that I have made from this book I had to guess few times since some instructions were missing or not clear.

I bought two whole rabbits from the Rain Shadow Meats Butcher Shop in Seattle. The recipe required only rabbit leg quarters but the store would not sell me just the legs. They cut the rabbits for me though. The other constraint was the amount of duck fat I was able to find. Not much, so I supplemented with the chicken stock. The cooking process is similar to making the duck confit. But rabbit is not as rich. Still dish came out tasty. Here is how I made it.

Ingredients:

4 rabbit leg quarters

1/2 lb of duck fat

2 cups of chicken stock

2 sprigs of fresh thyme, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, some whole and some ground

1/2 of large yellow onion, thinly sliced

8 slices of prosciutto

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

For the sauce:
1/2 cup of red white
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1 whole black peppercorn

2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

Preparation:

Day 1: Rinse the rabbit legs in cold water and pat dry. In a small bowl combine thyme, onions and peppercorns. Generously rub legs with salt (about 2 tablespoons) and then with the thyme-onion-peppercorn mixture. Place in a glass bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight.

Day 2: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Take the rabbit legs from the fridge and wipe them clean with a damp paper towel. Assemble the legs in the ovenproof dish in one layer. Pour chicken stock and distributed duck fat on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 2.5 hours. Take the rabbit out, let cool for about an hour. Remove the rabbit from the duck fat and transfer into a fridge to chill completely. This will take about 3 hours.

2. When you are finally ready to cook the rabbit preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Take the rabbit out of the fridge and wrap each leg with prosciutto (2 pieces per leg should be enough, even 1 would do).  Pour two tablespoons of olive oil in the ovenproof skillet and on medium high heat sear rabbit legs (the top side down) wrapped in prosciutto for about 3 minutes until prosciutto starts getting a nice brown color. Transfer the skillet into the oven and let bake for about 10 minutes until the rabbit has fully heated through.

3. While rabbit is cooking make the sauce. Combine red wine, pepper and thyme in a small pot and reduce by half over high heat. Strain the wine to remove the pepper and thyme. Pour wine back into the pot and add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook on high heat until the sauce is reduced by a little more than half. Take of the heat and stir in the cold butter. The sauce came out a bit thin. So need to try something thicker next time.

4. To serve I roasted potatoes and carrots and made a green salad. All in all meal came out delicious.

Mother's Day Weekend at the Alderbrook Resort and Spa

This year for Mother's day I decided to spend a weekend at the Alderbrook Resort and Spa with my husband and our toddler son. I have heard many good things about it and it is rated as one of the top hotels in the Pacific Northwest.


Another reason I chose this place is its proximity to Seattle, which is a big plus when traveling with a toddler. Just under a two hour trip can be divided between a ferry ride from Seattle to Bremerton (1 hour) and then a 40 minute drive in a car.

The resort meets its price-based expectations: located right on a hood canal, clean, modern design with a cabin feel in the lobby, helpful staff, great views and all fixtures are working in the room. The restaurant serves delicious premium food: steaks and seafood.

This is the only resort that I have been to so far that is designed with families in mind 100%. There is a spa, a golf course, boats and other water activities plus the gym, great quality food and children are everywhere. There are craft stations for kids in the hallways of a hotel plus a small playground. We went on a few short nature hikes (1/2 mile) right outside the resort.

 

The drawback is that resort is in a middle of nowhere. There are no stores or restaurants nearby so unless you want to eat every meal at a restaurant and your kid likes the selections they offer you better bring your own water, milk and food. Of course, my husband complained that the mini bar in the room did not have beer. The problem was solved by going to the restaurant to get it and bringing it back to the room. I would go back and I highly recommend this resort to families.

#alderbrookresortandspa #northwesttravel #kids #mothersday

Black Cod with Rub with Love

Black cod is one of my favorite fish and I make it at least twice a month. This is the recipe I use most of the time. It is quick and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 4 oz fillets of black cod
4 teaspoons of Tom Douglas Salmon Rub with Love
Olive oil spray
Salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425F. Rub flesh side of each fillet with a teaspoon of a rub and salt. Spray the oven proof skillet with an oil spray and on medium high heat fry black cod fillets flesh side down for about 30 seconds. Rub has sugar, which can burn fast. Flip fillets over (skin side down) and transfer into the oven. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until fish is cooked. Serve with roasted vegetables and/or some starch.

#blackcod #cookingfish

Washington Arboretum Azaleas are starting to bloom

This past weekend I strolled through the Azalea Way in the Arboretum. Azaleas are just starting to bloom so with this nice warm stretch of weather this week the flowers should be in full bloom pretty soon. Here are few pictures I took.

Baking Madeleines

I love Madeleines with a cup of cappuccino. Few years ago I found a recipe for these buttery cakes on AllRecipes.com and have done it a few times with slight modifications. This morning I made them again for Easter. Here is the recipe I used.


Ingredients:

2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
lemon zest of one small lemon
1/4 cup of butter plus more for buttering the pan

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Butter the madeleine pan and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a microwave - about 45 seconds, cover with a paper towel to prevent butter explosion! Let butter cool at a room temperature.

3. Using a hand mixer beat eggs, vanilla and salt in a large bowl until light. Continue beating the eggs and slowly add sugar. I stopped once all ingredients looked incorporated together and there was a bubbly foam on top.

4. Add flour, spoonful at a time, into the egg mixture and gently fold. Patience is the key in baking. Take your time. Then grate lemon zest over the bowl. Add melted butter that should have cooled off by now into the bowl and gently stir. Spoon batter into the madeleine molds. Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes, or until cakes are golden.

5. Using the tip of the knife loosen the madeleines from the pan, transfer on to a cooling rack and let cool. I plan on serving them with fresh strawberries and yogurt on Easter and just have them with a cup of coffee.