Dill Salmon on the BBQ

My husband is obsessed with his bbq... Really obsessed! If it was up to him, he would bbq his toast in the morning. This recipe is a collaboration between the two of us; I dress it - he grills it.  I love using dill with salmon; a hommage to my danish roots and gravad lax, and the bbq adds a nice touch of smokiness.

You Need:
1 fillet of salmon with skin on
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup fresh finely chopped dill
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Mix the olive oil and chopped dill in a small bowl
Clean the salmon and pad dry it. Squeeze the lemon juice on it.
rub the olive oil and dill mixture on the skinless side of the fillet
Add salt and pepper to taste 

Cook on the bbq on direct heat for 4 minutes skin down and 3 minutes on the other side with closed lid. If your fillet is thicker than 1 inch give it a couple of more minutes on each side. 

If you have a long fillet that is thin in the tail end and thick at the head, it might be worth cutting it in half and cook the head end a little longer.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash & Sage Saute'

Butternut squash is one of my favorite autumn veggies great in soup as well as a side dish like this.

You Need: 
1 butternut squash 
3-4 tablespoons butter
Approx 15 fresh leaves of sage 
Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions: 
Peel and shred the butternut squash (I use the food processor for the shredding) 
Finely chop the fresh sage leaves
Melt the butter in the pan, when browned add the butternut squash and sage and saute' for approximately 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy

CHRONICLE CLASSIC: BEST WAY PUMPKIN PIE

Again, this is The San Francisco Chronicle's Classic: Best way Pumpkin Pie from former Chronicle  Recipe Editor Fran Irwin. This is a recipe I have used for years and I am sharing it with you because it is simply the best :)

You Need:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (freshly cooked - see earlier post)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk (one 6 oz can)
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
A 9 or 10 inch unbaked piecrust (see earlier post)
Lightly sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Instructions:

My daughter helping me with the pie

Preheat oven to 450 degrees f.
Combine pumpkin puree, sugar, salt and spices in a large bowl; blend well.
Add eggs, both milks and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into piecrust.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees f. and bake for 50-60 minutes longer, until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.

Serve at room temperature. If desired, garnish each piece of pie with lightly sweetened whipped cream

If I have any of the batter left over (depends on the size of pie I'm making), I always mix it with a bit of flour, 1teaspoon of baking powder and a bit of oil until it has the consistency of cake batter, then put in little muffin cups and bake with the pie for approx. 15- 20 minutes - presto - yummy pumpkin muffins :)

CHRONICLE CLASSIC: BEST PIECRUST

This is The San Francisco Chronicle's Classic: Best way Piecrust from Chronicle staff writer Lynne Char Bennett, adapted from the "Fannie Farmer Baking Book" by Marion Cunningham. This is a recipe I have used for years and I am sharing it with you because it is simply the best :)

You Need:

1 1/2 cups of all-pupose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
2-4 tablespoons of ice water
additional flour for rolling

Instructions:
Mix together the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the shortening and butter, and work it into the flour with your fingertips. Alternatively (and much easier) put it in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring lightly with a fork after each addition. Use enough water so the dough holds together.
Form the dough into a ball and flatten the top to form a disk. Wrap the dough completely in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 45 minutes-1 hour.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface between 2 sheets of waxed paper/baking paper until it is about 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches larger than your inverted pie pan.
Transfer the dough to the pan, then trim the edges to make about 1 inch overhang. Roll the edge under and crimp decoratively.
If the pie crust comes apart a little when you transfer don't panic; just patch it together (its not like anyone can see the bottom of a piecrust anyway..

If your filling recipe calls for a pre-baked shell, line the pastry with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny-side down. Fill with dried beans, rice or pie-weights. Bake in preheated oven 425 degrees f.  for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and beans. return the pie shell to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes longer, rotating the pan a couple of times, until evenly browned.

PUMPKIN PUREE

I always make my own pumpkin puree when making pumpkin pie - I just figure if you are going to the extent of making a pumpkin pie from scratch you might as well go all the way. This year I have been extra lucky in that my back yard was full of sugar pumpkins...
Remember; dont use the big pumpkins for baking instead go with a smaller sugar pumpkin. 
The puree is easy to freeze; just put in a ziplock bag and put in the freezer.

You need: 



1 Sugar pumpkin


Instructions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees f. 
cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all the seeds (which can be roasted if you fancy)
place pumpkin halves inside down on an oven tray with baking paper
cover pumpkins with foil 
bake for 1hr 15 minutes
let the pumpkin cool down, then scoop the inside (should be soft) out with a spoon. 
blend in a food processor or with a hand blender
pour over in a strainer and leave it there for 10 minutes to drip off excess fluid

freeze it, put it in the fridge for later or use immediately :)

CHANTERELLE RISOTTO

One of my favorite things about autumn is chanterelle mushrooms. They have such a unique earthy deliciousness and it is so easy to saute' them with olive oil, salt and pepper, add a little cream and a piece of bread and voila'; great little meal.
This risotto recipe I found in the San Francisco Chronicle from Staffan Terje and it is the first ever risotto I actually managed to cook well!  I have only made a few very minor adjustments to his recipe and really only because I was missing an ingredient and replaced it - and it came out great so this is the way I have made it since:

You Need:

(Serves 4 )

1/2 lbs fresh chanterelles
4 tablespoons lightly salted butter
kosher salt to taste
4 cups of  chicken broth
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
1 cup of Arborio rice
1/2 cup of dry white wine (I prefer Pinot)
1/3 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano + more to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: 

Clean the mushrooms (I normally use a little brush for this) and cut them into small bite size pieces. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the mushrooms and salt to taste. Cook and stir until tender approx 7-10 minutes, and set aside.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan, reduce heat and keep at a low simmer.

Heat the olive oil in a medium size heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent. Add the rice, stir to coat and cook for about 1 minute. season with salt to taste.

pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer - about medium-low, and start adding the stock 1 cup at the time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding the next cup.

After 10 minutes, add the mushrooms. Continue simmering and adding the stock until the rice is al dente and creamy, approx 20-22 minutes total.

Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and the Parmigiano Reggiano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more stock or water if the risotto becomes thick and sticky. The consistency should be loose, almost runny.

Put a little Parmigiano Reggiano on top  as garnish and serve

enjoy!

SWEDISH APPLE CAKE

I actually have to give my swedish mechanic some credit for this recipe. He did me a big favor and as a thank you, I wanted to bake something quintessential swedish and this is what I ended up with. It has now become a go-to recipe whenever I want something quick, easy and delicious.

Swedish Apple Cake

You Need: 

3 apples (I prefer fuji apples for this)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
7 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 cup all purpose flour
Breadcrumbs for the cake pan

Heat the oven to 350 degrees
peel and slice the apples into boats and put in a bowl & mix with brown sugar and cinnamon until they are all covered. 


Melt the butter and leave to cool down a little. 
In a new bowl, mix sugar and egg, add baking powder, flour, butter & mix

Grease a 9 inch cake pan and drizzle a little bit of bread crumbs in the bottom of the pan, 

Pour the cake batter/dough (has an in-between texture) into the cake pan 
Add the apple slices (you will probably have a few slices left over) and bake for 40 minutes

enjoy!

Me, Myself and Food

First of all, I would like to introduce myself: My name is Nina and I live in the bay area, CA - a place where it is difficult not to be a little food obsessed.
My first confession: until 5 years ago my recipe repetoir consisted of things coming out of a jar, spaghetti, cheese toasties and more stuff coming out of a jar.  It wasn't that I didn't love good, adventurous food; I just was not interested in making it. All this changed however when I had children. I knew I wanted to raise my children on a healthy, organic, well balanced diet - and that I wanted them to be adventurous real food loving children who you could take to a restaurant that did not contain the words chucky and cheez.
Therefore, when my oldest girl was 6 months old, I embarked on an excursion that was to have unknown consequences: a trip to Wholefoods! The unknown side effects of my newly chosen path was a self-imposed reeducation in food and what healthy food means to me (hint: it is not "fat free" or "reduced calorie" anything).
Now 5 years later, I stick to the edges of the supermarket; avoiding processed food (yes Wholefoods have loads of processed food too, albeit most of it a little healthier than most other stores), I make my own tomato sauce, jam, pie crust, pumpkin pure' etc, "white" food is more or less non-existent in my household and I love trying new and exiting recipes and tweaking them to fit my taste buds. I don't believe in diet food, I believe in moderation. I believe a stick of butter is better for you than a spoonful of I Cant Believe its Not Butter. I believe an apple is better for you than a glass of juice and that soda and anything else corn syrupy is the devils work. I love love love to bake sweet things, but as I also love love love eating them, I don't bake very often. I run a GMO FREE kitchen and think red wine and chocolate is an important part of well balanced life.

I guess this is the next step in my  acquired life as a foodie; blogging about good home made food made with fresh ingredients. Im starting this blog with my beautiful friend who is a long term foodie, one who have shared her knowledge and taught me so much about making good food, but I will let her introduce herself.  look forward to some of her "Im making it up as I go-recepies" she is amazing :)