Tag Archives: cookbook

Ginger Glazed Salmon

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Remember a couple of months ago when I went to the Flavors of Aloha event at Tommy Bahama?  At the end of our delicious meal we were each given the new Flavors of Aloha cookbook, and I finally decided to make the ginger glazed salmon recipe that I’ve had my eye on for weeks now (because, salmon).  Not only was this recipe incredibly easy, it was delicious too!

ginger glazed salmonThe key to this recipe’s success is getting really good salmon.  As I’ve mentioned before, I only get my fish at Santa Monica Seafood, and I always make a point to get sustainable wild fish. I hear it’s good for the synthesis of vitamins, and I lowkey hoped that one day I wouldn’t need my Proclear lenses. Lucky for me, Santa Monica Seafood happened to have some wild salmon on sale, so I jumped on it.

The original recipe in the Flavors of Aloha cookbook calls for hoisin sauce, but since I can’t have soy, I swapped in coconut aminos instead, which still yielded a tasty result.  The rest of the ingredients included diced ginger, sake (or rice wine), green onion and garlic.

From start to finish this took roughly 20 minutes, making it the perfect meal to whip up during the week when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking.

We had our salmon with some roasted potatoes, but I think the wasabi mashed potatoes from the Flavors of Aloha cookbook would be a wonderful side to the ginger glazed salmon.  And if you don’t like salmon, try it with ahi, halibut or even sea bass.

Ginger Glazed Salmon (serves 2, from the Flavors of Aloha Cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 salmon filets

1/4 cup coconut aminos

2 tbsp sake

2 tbsp chopped green onion

2 tbsp diced ginger

1 garlic clove, smashed

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Set your oven to a broil setting.  Place your salmon filets skin side up on a baking sheet.

ginger glazed salmonIn a small bowl, mix your ginger glaze and set aside.

ginger glazed salmon bowlPlace salmon in the oven for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the oven and flip over.  Add the ginger glaze to your fish and place back in the oven for another 4-5 minutes.

ginger glazed salmon filetsIf you want your salmon cooked a little further, I recommend keeping in the oven for another couple of minutes otherwise remove from the oven, eat and enjoy!

Tommy Bahama Flavors of Aloha

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One of my favorite things about dining at Tommy Bahama is their cool, Hawaiian vibe.  So when I was invited to attend the Tommy Bahama Flavors of Aloha event to celebrate chef Rick Rodgers’ new cookbook, I jumped at the chance to attend.

Flavors of Aloha is a cookbook exclusive to Tommy Bahama, and the recipes are all traditional Hawaiian-inspired dishes with a few unique twists here and there.  I’m personally a big fan of traditional Hawaiian cuisine, and loved how this cookbook paid homage to some of the islands’ signature flavors.

tommy bahama flavors of alohaOur evening started with a cocktail hour complete with leis, mai tais, and passed appetizers from the book.  My favorite appetizer by far was the Maui onion dip which was made with fresh onion, bacon and chives and served with taro root chips.

tommy bahama flavors of alohaSome of the other appetizers that were served included ahi poke in little cones, spam musubi (think spam sushi) and coconut shrimp.  I should also note that all these appetizers are in the Flavors of Aloha cookbook and can be found at Tommy Bahama restaurants.

Then it was time for dinner.  I had already informed the team of my food allergies so my meal was slightly different from everyone else but still quite delicious (also huge thank you to Orisi PR for helping me out!).

The first course that was served was a raw shaved papaya salad with chilled shrimp on top.  My lovely date for the evening Joelle was kind enough to give me her shrimp so I could taste part of the dish.

tommy bahama flavors of alohaI had a wedge salad with blue cheese and fresh tomatoes which was also quite delicious.

tommy bahama flavors of aloha For our main course, we were served two proteins: Kona coffee rubbed steak and grilled salmon.  I was served two pieces of salmon (minus the soy glaze) which ended up being quite fortuitous for this salmon lover.

tommy bahama flavors of alohaFor the grand dessert finale we were served either pina colada cake or my personal favorite, the vanilla creme brulee in a PINEAPPLE.  I packed up the pina colada cake for the Englishman, but the creme brulee was all mine.

tommy bahama flavors of alohaA big thank you to Chef Rick Rodgers and Orisi PR for hosting such a wonderful event!  I can’t wait to dig into the Flavors of Aloha cookbook and create some of the recipes for myself.  And make a return trip to Tommy Bahama for some more creme brulee.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina from Avec Eric

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One of my favorite things to do is collect cookbooks.  I love the photography, I love the chefs, and I love trying new recipes.  But lately life has been busy and my poor cookbooks were beginning to get dusty.  I felt it was high time I make a recipe from one of my beloved books, so I decided to make Bistecca alla Fiorentina from Avec Eric.

Avec Eric is French chef Eric’ Ripert’s cookbook based off his PBS show of the same name.  The book follows Ripert’s many culinary adventures and has recipes that are made with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients which I love.  Plus, he signed my book so obviously we are best friends.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina Avec EricOf course, some of his recipes require more exotic ingredients from his travels such as conch and octopus, but when I saw the recipe for Bistecca alla Fiorentina, I knew it would be perfect to make.  I also paired the steak with some roasted potatoes and mushrooms that were also recipes from the book.  His original recipe called for Porterhouse Steak, but since it was just me and the Englishman, we decided to get smaller cuts of meat and got NY Strip Steak instead which was the perfect amount for the both of us.

Avec Eric bistecca alla fiorentina finalI loved making this dish – it was delicious and satisfying, and just as good as anything you would find in a nice restaurant.  Plus, it inspired me to get out of my cooking rut and start trying new recipes!

Bistecca alla Fiorentina (from Avec Eric)

Ingredients:

2 NY Strip Steaks (about 1.5 lbs total)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 Tablespoons Cracked Black Pepper

6 Lemon Peel Strips (from 1 lemon)

2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Drizzle your olive oil on both sides of the steaks and rub each steak with garlic and season with cracked pepper.  Cover and refrigerate.

*Note: The original recipe recommends grilling the steaks.  Since we don’t have a grill, below is the method we used.

Place your steaks in a fry pan or cast iron skillet and cook each side for 5 minutes (20 minutes total for all 4 sides).

Avec Eric Cooking SteakPut the fry pan in the oven to let the steaks finish cooking.  Depending on how well done you like your steak, I would leave in the oven for roughly 10 minutes for medium well.

Remove steaks from oven and place a tablespoon of butter on top of each steak.  Let the steaks rest for five minutes, then enjoy!

We had our steaks with a wonderful Pinot Noir from Gresser Vineyard in Oregon along with some grilled mushrooms with garlic-rosemary oil and rosemary potatoes (both also from the Avec Eric cookbook).

Avec Eric Full DinnerThis was a wonderful meal that required minimal ingredients and was easy to make.  I’ll definitely be referencing Avec Eric for more recipes in the future!

What’s your favorite cookbook?  Any new ones I need to get?

 

Love at First Sight

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It’s no secret that I love cookbooks, but when I found out the True Food Kitchen one was available, I had to get my hands on it.  My mom and I dined at True Food Kitchen this past weekend, and by the time the meal was over, I had the cookbook in my hands and was pouring over it.

Aside from the beautiful photography and the excellent recipes, this cookbook also has lots of useful information, such as the True Food Pantry, which lists out some of the main ingredients True Food uses in their recipes and what the health benefits of each ingredient are.  The book is divided into 9 different course sections including breakfast, appetizers, drinks and pasta to name a few.

I’ve already earmarked some of my favorite recipes from the restaurant (Chicken and Farro Salad anyone?) and can’t wait to try a few new to me recipes such as the Bison Chili and the Summer Vegetable Casserole.  There’s also a Parsnip, Carrot and Zucchini bread I have my eye on for making next weekend.

If you like good food made with fresh, natural, ingredients, I highly recommend getting this book.  You can get it at any True Food Kitchen restaurant or order it off of Amazon.com.