Nothing fishy about marinated salmon

If you've been lucky enough to have a friend of Scandinavian descent bring gravlax to a party, you know how delicious marinated salmon can be. You may also have thought, "What a lot of work" or "I could never eat that much fish at home." Also, it may be hard to find fresh dill at certain times of the year.

A side of salmon is a pretty party dish, but a bit impractical for a weeknight dinner unless you regularly feed a dozen or so people a sitting.

But marinated salmon can be a blessing when you buy a fillet and find yourself invited out for dinner or an unexpected meeting demands your presence. When you get home, fix the smaller recipe below, and a few days later, slice, add bread and a green salad and you've got a light midweek meal.

First, the original recipe, for a whole side of salmon, filleted, from Trina Hanemann's "The Scandinavian Cookbook" (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008, 224 pages, $30).  My version for a half-pound salmon fillet is below it.

Marinated Salmon 
Serves 20-24

Ingredients
1 orange
1 lemon
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
10 ounces sea salt
1 side of salmon, filleted
For serving:
1 orange
1 lemon
Toasted bread
Green salad

Instructions
If you have a zester, use it to remove the zest from the orange and the lemon it will look fresh and tasty.  Alternatively, finely grate the zest from the fruit. Mix the zest with the sugar and salt.
Use tweezers to remove any pin bones from the salmon fillet. Spread the zest mixture evenly over the entire surface of the salmon, then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 days.
After 3 days, take the salmon out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap and wipe off the marinade with a paper towel. Wrap the salmon in plastic wrap and freeze for 12 hours, then take it out of the freezer and defrost it.
Before it is completely thawed, put the salmon on a board and cut it into thin slices with a very sharp knife. The traditional cutting technique starts diagonally at one corner of the salmon and works toward the center of the fillet.
To serve, remove the zest from the remaining orange and lemon and sprinkle it over the salmon. Serve with toasted bread and a green salad.

Lori K's little marinated salmon
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 pound salmon fillet
Crusty bread
Salad

Instructions
Zest the lemon; save the fruit. (Wrap it in plastic to keep it from drying out and put it in the refrigerator.)
Combine the sugar and salt in a clean coffee mill and blend until the sugar is superfine. Add to the zest.
Pull out with tweezers any bones left in the fillet. Spread the sugar mixture over the fillet and either put it in a covered glass dish, or wrap in plastic, and put in the refrigerator.
After three days, take it out, wipe off the marinade with a paper towel, rewrap it and put it in the freezer while you're at work. When you come home, take it out of the freezer to defrost. When it is almost defrosted, cut it in thin slices diagonally with a sharp knife and remove them from the skin.
Arrange on plate. Cut the reserved lemon in half, remove the seeds and squeeze over the salmon. Serve with crusty bread and salad.

Bean there, done that

Tuscany Bean Salad - photo by Lori Korleski Richardson

Young, tender rainbow chard, fresh from the garden
Photo by Lori Korleski Richardson

Tuscany is a food lovers dream. And one of its claims to fame is its bean dishes. Tuscany is so tied to beans that its people are known as "mangiafagioli" (bean eaters) in the rest of Italy.

One of Tuscans' favorite beans is the cannellini, sometimes called "white kidney beans" in American stores. That is a horrible misnomer: Except for the shape, cannellini beans have nothing in common with kidney beans. Not the color, not the texture and especially not the taste.

Even after cooking, cannellinis keep their shape, their firmness belying their tender insides. They have a pleasant nutlike flavor, and their mild taste makes them a favorite for minestrones.

They make a great salad, hearty enough to continue into winter when local lettuces are long gone. Keep a few cans around and you can have this salad until your chard freezes. And it's good without chard, after that. To make it a main-dish salad, add a drained can of tuna, or serve on a bed of prepared wheatberries.

Lori K's Tuscan bean salad
© 2012, Lori Korleski Richardson
Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side salad

Ingredients
1 can cannellini beans (or white Northern or navy beans), rinsed and drained well
1 small red onion, half, peeled and sliced thinly
4-6 young rainbow chard leaves, sliced and microwaved, covered, until just wilted, about a minute
1 tablespoon capers
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Arugula or wheatberries, optional

Instructions
In a bowl, combine the beans, onion, chard and capers, and tuna if using. Season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and toss to coat well. Chill.

To serve, put on a plate of arugula or chilled wheatberries. Serve.

Note: To prepare wheatberries, put 1 cup in 3 cups boiling water and cook until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and chill.

An apple a day ... straight from the oven

I've always loved baked apples, but haven't made them very often, being concerned about the amount of sugar, nuts and butter that are used to make them taste good. But lately, I've been cooking some for breakfast, and I am pleased to share that they don't really need any butter, much less sugar, and nuts are completely optional.

 You don't really need to peel their skins off, either, which saves prep time and gives you a little more fiber as well. Granted, they are a little tough and need to be handled with care while the apples are hot.

I cut the apples in quarters, pare out the seeds with a small knife, then cut each quarter in half again lengthwise. I put all the slices from three apples in a large gratin dish (mine is enameled cast iron), sprinkle them with granola, a little brown sugar and cinnamon, and add some Craisins.

Usually I do this all the night before, because I'm a bit foggy in the morning before the first cup of coffee kicks in. I turn on the oven to 350 degrees when I turn on the coffee, slip the gratin dish in as the oven is warming and set the timer for 40 minutes (allowing the oven to bring the cold dish up to 350 and then bake for 30 minutes. Your oven may take more or less time to preheat.).

When the apples look like they are about to collapse and the melted sugar and juices are bubbly, they are ready. Serve in a bowl, either alone or with a little milk. Delicious.

When the pan has cooled, add some water and let it stand until the sugar dissolves. It will then be easy to clean.

Shiver me vegetables!

The refrigerator is a wonderful appliance. It keeps our milk from spoiling, our meat from turning gray, our leftovers to live another day. But did you realize that not all your purchased produce belongs in there?

It's been years since I've thrown a tomato into cold storage for more than day, because there's no faster way to get one to become mealy and tasteless before its time. But according to food science writer Harold McGee, other vegetables prefer to be at least 10 degrees warmer than they would be in a refrigerator and are better left out on the kitchen counter until they are used. These include:

• Citrus
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• Beans
• Melons
• Eggplants
• Bananas

A few herbs, too, do better at room temperature. I usually wrap my basil, cilantro and parsley in slightly damp paper towels, put them back in their plastic bags and leave them on the counter. They seem to last slightly longer and don't turn to slime like they do in the produce drawer in the fridge.

If you are serious about cooking, you need McGee's "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen." It's a thick book, but well-written and packed full of good tips and information.

He also has a blog, Curious Cook, which is worth checking out. His latest post is on caramel.

The beginning of the end for Chili's

Chili's used to be a fun place that had consistently good food, Texas style. The nachos were made like a Texan would make them: big sturdy chips individually smeared with refried beans, meat, jalapeños and topped with grated cheddar. The margaritas tasted like they actually contained a good percentage of tequila. The baby-back ribs were tender and well-spiced, never slopped with a ton of sauce. They had some trendy items, sure (Awesome Blossom, anyone?), but you could always be sure of getting a good meal.

Somewhere along the line, and many out-of-state restaurants later, all that changed. The nachos began to look more like ballpark nachos. The offerings increased, but they weren't better. It seemed like they were more and more becoming a TGIF or Applebee's clone.

And now has come the kiss of death. Chili's is starting to offer pizza.

I've been to Italian/Mexican restaurants and I can tell you this: They either do good Italian and bad Mexican (usually) or good Mexican and bad Italian (sometimes). Most often it's a 50-50 split and both cuisines aren't very authentic or good.

I wish Chili's well, but pizza won't be bringing me back into one.

Photo from Nation's Restaurant News

Thank cod

Cod is an underappreciated fish, mostly because it's been inexpensive and plentiful in our lifetime. It has been close to being overfished, however, since it's the main ingredient in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich and the favorite fish of fish and chips.

For a fast dinner, it can't be beat, and you don't need to go out to get that speed, either.

For instance, including the prep time, last night's dinner didn't even take 30 minutes.

You will need:
Panko bread crumbs (Progresso makes them now, or use a Japanese brand)
Mas Guapo seasoning (masguapo.com, or use Lawry's seasoning salt)
Cod fillets (3/4 pound for two people)
Vegetable oil
Two ears corn
1 can artichoke bottoms (about 6)
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese (the kind in the can is OK)
Butter, salt and pepper to taste

The drill:

Heat oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and pat the fish dry. Spread out the breadcrumbs and sprinkle with seasoning. Dredge the fish in the crumbs until it is well covered.

Put the oil in a pan big enough to hold the fillets without touching. Heat to medium hot (about 375 degrees), then put the fish in, largest piece first. In another minute or two, put in the other piece.

Put the artichoke bottoms bowl side up in a broiler proof pan. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, then Parmesan. Put in the oven.

Chop off the ends of the cobs. At least one row of kernels should come off the end. Do not shuck.

After 5 minutes, turn the large piece of fish. Put the corn in the microwave and set to cook for 5 minutes. Turn the other piece of fish.

About a minute before the corn and fish are ready, pull out the artichokes and turn the oven to broil. Put the artichokes back in.

When the timer goes off, take the fish out of the skillet and drain on paper towels. Take the corn out of the microwave, grab by the silks end and shake out the cob (if the corn is fresh, all the silks will be gone, too). Take the artichokes out of the oven and serve.

You will have to use a bigger skillet if you are cooking for 4 or more, but no extra time; add 2 minutes for each extra ear of corn, more if the corn isn't that fresh.

Any questions? Leave a comment below.

DYI tahini

Say you are in some godforsaken place that doesn't have a can of tahini on the shelf. (Yes, such places exist.) Here's how to make it yourself, from Jane Brody:

Tahini

Ingredients
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoons water

Instructions
Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

Note: You can grow your own sesame; you can see it in the garden at Monticello. It does need good drainage, which may be hard to come by in clay soils. You can order seed from Sesaco Corp. (800-527-1024)