I love seafood..unfortunately, it is expensive, and not all that easy to make. That is why I have to sometimes "cheat" a little so I can still have it as part of my diet.
One of my favorite types of fish is salmon. I just think it has the perfect taste and texture, and can be prepared in multiple ways. Again though, it is not cheap, so as I said, I "cheat" a bit so I can eat it. I usually go to a grocery store and by a frozen bag of salmon fillets....not the highest quality, but in my experience it works.
What I do with it is pretty simple actually. First, you obviously need to defrost it. The fillets are usually small enough that they defrost in the fridge in 12 hours or less. Open up the sealed package for the fillet, and drain it. Set it aside for a second and melt a generous amount of butter in a small frying pan. Now, you can season the salmon just about anyway you like...there are two ways I usually go. One is to season it with lemon and pepper, or a lemon pepper seasoning blend. That is a nice light flavor and allows the salmon to stand well on its own. My more aggressive seasoning is to put garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and a little bit of chili powder on the salmon. That is a bit stronger, but still good
Now, put the salmon in the pan with the melted butter...be careful with it though. Salmon is delicate, and will fall apart easily. For the packaged fillets out of the freezer, I usually cook 3 minutes or so on each side. The general rule is 4-5 minutes for each inch of thickness for salmon. When you flip the salmon, I like to add bread crumbs to the pan. That will absorb up the butter, and make basically a scampi sauce if you add garlic to it.
The salmon is done when it starts to flake apart. When you take it off, you want it to be slightly under done, as the fish will continue to cook while you let it stand for 5 minutes.
-Matt
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Zucchini on the side
One of my favorite vegetable to cook with is Zucchini. You can do so many different things with it. It can be deep fried, used in a vegetable medley, or stands well on its own just pan fried or sauteed.
I was cooking for a couple friends last night, and one of my professors had given me a fresh piece of zucchini from his vegetable garden. What I did with it was very simple. First, I cut the zucchini into fairly thin strips (you can cut as thick or thin as you like), and layed them out on a cutting board. I put a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan, and set it down on the stove to heat up, I also drizzled a bit of olive oil right onto the zucchini to let it absorb in. You could always use vegetable oil if you don't have olive oil.
For seasoning, I put on a little salt, pepper, and a touch of garlic powder directly onto the slices, just to give it a little extra flavor. Then all you have to do once the oil in the pan is heated up is throw in the zucchini and let them cook until tender, maybe 5-10 minutes, or until tender. It all depends on how thick you sliced them.
Even if you decide to not go with any spices on it, the zucchini stands very well just cooked in olive oil. It is one of the easiest and most tasty vegetable to prepare.
-Matt
I was cooking for a couple friends last night, and one of my professors had given me a fresh piece of zucchini from his vegetable garden. What I did with it was very simple. First, I cut the zucchini into fairly thin strips (you can cut as thick or thin as you like), and layed them out on a cutting board. I put a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan, and set it down on the stove to heat up, I also drizzled a bit of olive oil right onto the zucchini to let it absorb in. You could always use vegetable oil if you don't have olive oil.
For seasoning, I put on a little salt, pepper, and a touch of garlic powder directly onto the slices, just to give it a little extra flavor. Then all you have to do once the oil in the pan is heated up is throw in the zucchini and let them cook until tender, maybe 5-10 minutes, or until tender. It all depends on how thick you sliced them.
Even if you decide to not go with any spices on it, the zucchini stands very well just cooked in olive oil. It is one of the easiest and most tasty vegetable to prepare.
-Matt
Monday, August 3, 2009
Chops in the Fridge
Well, I had a couple of pork chops I had defrosted a couple days ago in my freezer and was trying to figure out what to do with them. I am in the process of moving, so right now I wanted something extremely easy and fast, and wanted to clear out my cabinet while I was at it. What I decided on was using the garlic I had left and about half a stick of butter to make a sauce for the chops.
I very simply melted the butter at first, and chopped my garlic. However, DO NOT put the garlic in right away, in fact, forget about it for a while....if you put it in at the beginning it will burn to a crisp right away.
While I had the butter melting, I put on a pot of water to bring to a boil that I was going to use to make some pasta to go with the chops and the sauce I was making.
Now, as for the pork chops I went with a recipe I had used for chicken before. I made a breading based on bread crumbs since that works better for pan frying in my opinion than flour. What is important is to season that breading. You can do basically whatever you want. However, what I did was throw in a bunch of garlic powder and used some italian seasoning...each very cheap to get at any store including a dollar store. I took an egg and beat it, then coated the pork in the egg then rolled the chops I was making in the bread crumb mixture. Now, when you put the meat into the pan with the melted butter, make sure the heat is set to medium low...if it is to high at first, you will end up with a very burnt crust and an explosion of grease.
By this point, your water should be to a boil. Throw in the pasta (just about any type works), and after the chops are golden brown on one side, flip them over and do the same to the other. After that side is brown, then you can start gradually increasing the heat....I also suggest to flip rather constantly to make sure that one side doesn't burn. Also, at this point throw in the garlic...trying to keep it around the edge of the pans away from the more direct heat so it slowly cooks and simmers. If you want to add more butter at this point you can as well.
When the pasta is done, drain it, and put it back in the saucepan you cooked it in. The best way, since I have no clue how a real chef does it, to check if your meat is done is to cut into it. If you see any pink, let it pan fry for a little longer....if it passes the done test, take the pan and dump everything together into the saucepan and mix it together so the garlic butter sauce coats everything. Serve in a bowl and top it with parmesan cheese and you got yourself a cheap, easy dinner that takes about 20 minutes to prepare.
Also, realize that this recipee is great with not only pork, but chicken as well. I have also done it with sea scallops that were on sale at the store (without the breading) and that worked out great as well. As I will always say, feel free to add different spices ( you will learn just how important I think spices are!!) if you feel the sauce is too bland and make it your own dish. If you do make variations, make sure to post it in our forum section as I would love to try it out. Also post any other comments there that you like or disliked about the recipe.
Well, there it is, my first blog post. Hopefully it was a helpful idea, and I will continue to post my cooking recipes and tips as I ad more posts! Thanks for reading.
-Matt
I very simply melted the butter at first, and chopped my garlic. However, DO NOT put the garlic in right away, in fact, forget about it for a while....if you put it in at the beginning it will burn to a crisp right away.
While I had the butter melting, I put on a pot of water to bring to a boil that I was going to use to make some pasta to go with the chops and the sauce I was making.
Now, as for the pork chops I went with a recipe I had used for chicken before. I made a breading based on bread crumbs since that works better for pan frying in my opinion than flour. What is important is to season that breading. You can do basically whatever you want. However, what I did was throw in a bunch of garlic powder and used some italian seasoning...each very cheap to get at any store including a dollar store. I took an egg and beat it, then coated the pork in the egg then rolled the chops I was making in the bread crumb mixture. Now, when you put the meat into the pan with the melted butter, make sure the heat is set to medium low...if it is to high at first, you will end up with a very burnt crust and an explosion of grease.
By this point, your water should be to a boil. Throw in the pasta (just about any type works), and after the chops are golden brown on one side, flip them over and do the same to the other. After that side is brown, then you can start gradually increasing the heat....I also suggest to flip rather constantly to make sure that one side doesn't burn. Also, at this point throw in the garlic...trying to keep it around the edge of the pans away from the more direct heat so it slowly cooks and simmers. If you want to add more butter at this point you can as well.
When the pasta is done, drain it, and put it back in the saucepan you cooked it in. The best way, since I have no clue how a real chef does it, to check if your meat is done is to cut into it. If you see any pink, let it pan fry for a little longer....if it passes the done test, take the pan and dump everything together into the saucepan and mix it together so the garlic butter sauce coats everything. Serve in a bowl and top it with parmesan cheese and you got yourself a cheap, easy dinner that takes about 20 minutes to prepare.
Also, realize that this recipee is great with not only pork, but chicken as well. I have also done it with sea scallops that were on sale at the store (without the breading) and that worked out great as well. As I will always say, feel free to add different spices ( you will learn just how important I think spices are!!) if you feel the sauce is too bland and make it your own dish. If you do make variations, make sure to post it in our forum section as I would love to try it out. Also post any other comments there that you like or disliked about the recipe.
Well, there it is, my first blog post. Hopefully it was a helpful idea, and I will continue to post my cooking recipes and tips as I ad more posts! Thanks for reading.
-Matt
My first Entry: About Me
Hi, my name is Matt...I am a 24 year old college student/part time worker that along with sports and music, loves to cook and prepare my own meals. When I watch TV, a lot of the time when I'm not watching my Pittsburgh sports teams (Go Pitt and Pirates!!!), I am tuned into the food network, not only because I love food and preparing it, but because I am always looking for new ideas. The problem is, a lot of these meals require a lot of attention and time to make, and as a college student who obviously doesn't have a lot of money, finding some of the ingredients is tough. Time is also an issue when trying to juggle my work, school, and cooking schedule, so I don't have time to go to elaborate measures to cook.
Saying all that, I have learned fairly well how to improvise my way to get delicious meals that aren't going to kill your wallet. I am also sure, like a lot of you that are my age or any age for that matter, just go with the flow as far as measuring ingredients, adding what you want when you want in the portion you want without really measuring. That is the beauty of cooking...it is basically freestyle and just about nothing is wrong. I hope that through my blog I can share some of that with you, and maybe give you a couple of online cook book ideas as well in our product section that can help you cook in your limited time like I have been able to learn how to.
Learning how to cook at home, and coming up with your own creations might seem daunting, but trust me, it is rewarding, and a hobby that you will enjoy and will also save you a bunch of money on eating out! I hope you enjoy the amateur chef blog, and I also hope you will add your own unique recipes and tips as we go along.
Saying all that, I have learned fairly well how to improvise my way to get delicious meals that aren't going to kill your wallet. I am also sure, like a lot of you that are my age or any age for that matter, just go with the flow as far as measuring ingredients, adding what you want when you want in the portion you want without really measuring. That is the beauty of cooking...it is basically freestyle and just about nothing is wrong. I hope that through my blog I can share some of that with you, and maybe give you a couple of online cook book ideas as well in our product section that can help you cook in your limited time like I have been able to learn how to.
Learning how to cook at home, and coming up with your own creations might seem daunting, but trust me, it is rewarding, and a hobby that you will enjoy and will also save you a bunch of money on eating out! I hope you enjoy the amateur chef blog, and I also hope you will add your own unique recipes and tips as we go along.
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