Not much to say here. Here’s what we had for lunch today. Apple pie from Whole Foods was dessert–and I’m warming that up now.
Photos
Vegetarian Sandwich
Well, I haven’t really been doing a lot of cooking the last week (made several homemade sourdough pizzas, but those just all look the same in photos). Here’s a sandwich I made for Ann’s birthday last week. Fresh Big Sky Bakery bread (a Birmingham bakery), fresh veggies and blue corn chips. It is pretty similar to a sandwich that we got frequently at Ketabies–sp?? (later the Highland Market and now Rojo).
The sandwich is pretty simple: fresh sprouts, tomatoes, shredded carrot, walnut pieces, Swiss cheese, raisins and Ranch dressing between two slices of good wheat bread. Simple and delicious.
The Cahaba River National Wildlife Preserve
A trip to Bibb County last week netted a few good photos of the Cahaba River and the changing fall colors.
Pan-Seared Trout with Capers and Butter
Cooked some wonderful trout last night. Pretty simple, really. (recipe below) Served with fresh spinach sauted in a little olive oil with chopped garlic and new potatoes roasted with garlic, fresh rosemary and a splash of olive oil.Seared Rainbow Trout
2 10-ounce trout filets
salt and pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
canola oil (or olive oil, but I was out of everything but extra-virgin–not good for frying)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons capers, drained
juice of 1 lemon
1 shallot, chopped (optional)
chopped fresh herbs (I used about a tablespoon each fresh flat-leaf parsley and fresh chives)
Place trout, skin side down, in a shallow dish. Season trout with salt and pepper. Sprinkle lightly with flour (you’ll shake much of the flour off before cooking).
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add approximately 1 tablespoon oil to skillet and place fish into skillet, skin side up.
Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients (butter through fresh herbs) in a small bowl.
Cook trout for approximately 4 minutes on medium to medium high. Turn, placing skin side down. Top of trout should be a golden brown. Add butter sauce to skillet, pouring some over trout and some around. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Eggplant, Mushroom and Pepper Pasta
A quick, toss-together meal last night of sauteed eggplant, garlic, red bell pepper and yellow onion along with some fresh herbs (basil, oregano, and parsley) tossed with penne pasta and finished with a little white wine and fat-free half and half–yes, I know, not the best thing in the world, but it seems to work pretty well in small quantities. Topped with a bit of quality Parmesan cheese. Would have been better to have used bacon drippings instead of the olive oil and finished with a healthy toss of chopped crispy bacon, but I’m trying to be a little healthier.
Sourdough Pizza…again
Another pizza. I’ve decided that cooking mushrooms first (as I did here) really adds another layer of flavor to the pizza. Although wild mushrooms would have made this even better, plain button mushrooms did the trick here. Cooked with garlic and red bell peppers in a little olive oil and finished with a splash of white wine and chopped fresh thyme, parsley and oregano, these added a nice texture to the pizza that also had fresh mozzarella, feta and, on Ann’s half, pine nuts. The dough is basically the same as my traditional recipe. I’ve been tinkering with it a little–adding several tablespoons of cornmeal, adding a splash of olive oil and changing the ratio of types of flour, but overall, I think the original recipe is still the best. The wetter the dough, the better it seems to rise and create the kind of crust I want, but the harder it is to work with (particularly getting it from the pizza peel to the pizza stone for the initial baking).