Monday, August 31, 2009

Food Report/Week 1

Well here we are....week 1 of my adventure. Each week I will prepare 3 recipes from one of my cookbooks and report on the results (good or bad) here. If any recipe sounds like something you might want, let me know and I will pass it on. This week I made 3 recipes from 'The Food You Crave' by Ellie Krieger. Ellie is a nutritionist and has a show on the Food Network. Her recipes focus on health as well as taste. That's debatable!?

The first one is: Beet Salad with Watercress Drizzle
The beets are cut in medium cubes,(wear rubber gloves unless you want to look like an ax murder) cooked until just soft and placed on a bed of greens. The dressing is made of watercress, goat cheese, buttermilk, vinegar and salt and pepper. This is processed in a blender until light green. Drizzled over the beets and topped with lightly toasted almonds.
I love beets so this was a good choice. However, the drizzle left me a little flat. I like goat cheese and this was a waste of it's unique flavor. I expect I will doctor the leftover dressing (perhaps some salsa?) and use is as a dipping sauce for raw vegetables perhaps?

The second recipe is: Poached Salmon with Lemon-Mint Tzatziki
No more poaching for me!! My beautiful piece of salmon looked pretty sad after only 5 minutes in the simmering poaching liquid. The rich salmon flavor was pretty much gone. A terrible waste of salmon and the white wine in the poaching liquid. However, covered with the Tzatziki sauce is was OK. I like Tzatziki sauce and the mint added a nice fresh flavor. I used leftover salmon and the sauce in pita for lunch today. Better than the original dish. I will prepare it again but will grill or roast the fish

The third recipe was a big hit: Peaches with Balsamic Cherries
Very simple and very good. Bing cherries simmered in one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. When they are softened sliced peaches are folded in and cooked just until heated through. The recipe called for adding sugar, but both the cherries and peaches are in season and were plenty sweet. I could see this served over ice cream or pound cake....or both.

Guess that does it for this week. Since next weekend is Labor day, I will have 3 days to fill. Wonder what I will do? Stay tuned!!