posted
Bananas wouldn't be enough of a challenge. And this is supposed to be the Hatrack Recipe Challenge.
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posted
Sorry folks, I'm on the road and forgot to do this. Please submit your ingredients before Friday so I can get the list up before I head off again.
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posted
Yes! Main course (protein). We agreed that people should not submit the central ingredient (meat, tofu . . .) but this would be a variable and not subject to the 'you must already have it in your kitchen' rule.
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I'm in for the next round. I'm interested in seeing how everyone is going to incorporate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups into their entrées.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I haven't been playing, but that list was a challenge I couldn't resist. I made my dish tonight. I want to describe it but I'm unclear on the rules...am I supposed to wait a while for other people to make their dishes first?
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Sure you can play! I think it's OK to post your recipe. Generally people have been posting it whenever they get around to making it, either right away (like Super-dkw) or later.
I think it would be fun for people who didn't sign up and submit an ingredient to try to do the challenge, and share their take on it. Part of the fun for me (besides the creative challenge of it) is adding new ingredients or recipes to my repertoire. I never had turmeric in my pantry before, but since I've gotten it, it's been sneaking into a lot of different dishes. Last week, it was in our gefilte fish, where it got excellent reviews. And I never thought of treating rhubarb in a savory way, either, but it was a real revelation.
I'd love to see what you came up with.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Savory cabbage rolls with fruit & wine reduction sauce -----------------
2 cups Red wine (I used a nice Zinfandel because I knew I'd enjoy drinking what I didn't use in the recipe) 3 T Honey 1/2 cup Raspberries, washed 1 cup watermelon cubes (about 1/2 to 1 inch) 1/2 tsp dried Tarragon Sprinkle of nutmeg
2 leeks Handful of mushrooms Olive oil 1 lb sweet Italian sausage (in ground form, not links) 3/4 cup sour cream 8-10 crushed saltines
Dozen large washed Napa cabbage leaves.
Crush the raspberries. Combine with the wine, watermelon cubes, tarragon, nutmeg. Add a few washed outer leaf pieces from the base portion of the 2 leeks (the portion that is just a little too tough to eat). Use med-low heat and simmer until reduced by about half (30 min or so). Strain out the solids and return the liquid to the pan. Add the honey, and continue reducing over med-low heat. Reduce until it reaches a syrupy consistency.
While reducing the wine mixture, chop leeks and mushrooms and saute in a little olive oil. Add the sausage after the leeks begin to soften. Brown the sausage until just cooked. Drain excess fat if desired (I left the fat in, as it was fairly lean sausage). Add the crushed crackers and the sour cream and mix until combined.
Top a cabbage leaf with a generous spoonful of the meat mixture. Drizzle with the wine reduction, fold the leaf over, and eat. (Wine reduction can also be used as a dipping sauce if preferred.)
This would serve 3 to 4 people as a main dish.
----------------
My wife and I both enjoyed the dish. It was different. It had nice elements of spice, fruit, and savory sausage. The cabbage had a great crunch.
The reduction was very tasty. This was my first attempt at making a wine reduction. I would make it again as a glaze for poultry, or roasted pork. The raspberries added a nice tartness, and the watermelon was subtle, but present. I think it came through in the bouquet as well as in the flavor. The cooking helped it take on a squash-y character I've never detected in raw watermelon. I might experiment with a little more spice (black pepper might have been amazing), and larger amounts of fruit to find the right balance, but it was quite tasty as it was.
The sausage mixture was also good. The leeks and mushrooms kind of disappeared so I would use more of each next time. The sour cream and crackers helped it form a nice moist - but not liquid - consistency. It reminded me of stroganoff but with more piquancy.
In combination, the meat filling and the sauce were compatible enough to eat and enjoy.
Other thoughts on possible tweaks: The sweetness of the reduction was probably a bit more than necessary, so if I were to make these together again I'd cut back on the honey.
The rolls were a bit bland, visually. Could have used a colorful garnish - perhaps some julienned carrots or radicchio. Also for color, I'd probably add a diced red bell pepper to the sausage mixture.
posted
Watermelon Poached Salmon with Watermelon Slaw and Watermelon-Feta Salad
For the Pickled Watermelon Rind: A day or two before you start, cut yourself a nice wedge of watermelon. Maybe two nice wedges. Cut all the pink flesh from the rind, and eat it. Now take the watermelon rind and peel off the skin, cut it into strips and put it in a tupperware container, covered with rice wine vinegar. Keep this in the refrigerator for a day or two.
Cut the flesh of half a watermelon into chunks (save the rind). Put the chunks in a big bowl and smash them up with a potato masher. Then grind them up with a stick blender. I guess if you have a juicer, then juice it instead. Or if you have a food processor, process it instead. The thing is, you just want the juice. Strain out the watermelon slurry, reserving the juice and throwing out the pulp. Or you can eat the pulp. It reminded me of watermelon-flavored applesauce. Pour the juice into a baking pan (lasagna pan). Put a 2-pound salmon fillet in the juice, and let it marinate for a half hour. Throw on a half cup of raspberries and the sliced rounds of the white part of a fat leek. Sprinkle some kosher salt over the whole thing, cover tightly with foil, and pop it in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (check it after 20 to see if it is done, and cook it longer if need be. Better a little underdone than overdone, I think). Using a couple of big spatulas, remove the salmon fillet to a platter, and skim out all the leeks and raspberries, and strew them over the top. Cover the platter with Saran wrap, and refrigerate it.
For the Sauce: Strain the salmon poaching liquid (the watermelon juice) into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook it down until it is reduced to the consistency of canned tomato sauce. Throw in a half cup of raspberries and about a quarter cup of Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette salad dressing, and cook it down a little more, until the raspberries soften. Let it cool. Pour any liquid that the fish has shed off the platter, and pour the sauce over the fish.
For the Watermelon Cole Slaw: Trim the tough edge from the watermelon rind pickles, if you need to (some melons are tougher than others), and julienne the rind. Do the same with the un-pickled watermelon rind that you saved. Trim a small to medium fennel (anise) bulb of its stalks and leafy bits, and julienne the tender bulb, discarding the core. Slice 1/4 head of cabbage into shreds. Mix all these vegetables together with a couple of tablespoons of low fat mayonnaise and a couple of tablespoons of fat free sour cream (Breakstones is the only brand I've found that I like). Taste the slaw, and add as much of the pickle vinegar as you need to make it taste right.
For the Watermelon Feta Salad: Cut some of the watermelon into dice. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper, and scatter Lite Feta Cheese over the watermelon.
Serve the poached salmon cold with the two salads.
It's all about the watermelon! Flesh, juice and rind in the three parts of the recipe. If I had a watermelon with seeds, I'd have thought of a way to use them, too. This recipe is a little complicated, but I've never seen a pink salmon so pink as this one landed up.
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Tante, I think your dish was probably worthy of Iron Chef America. I'm not sure in which way I mean that (good or bad.) I'd have to eat it to be sure.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
Well, I tried two different things, but both were disasters, so I think I'll have to bow out gracefully.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
I'm planning to cook tonight. I'm making Grilled Alaskan Pollack Tacos with raspberry watermelon salsa. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
I made mine before the move and typed up the recipe, but it's on my computer which is in a box. I'll try to remember and retype. Mom took the pictures, so I can get to them on her computer.
I made corn-chip battered chicken with raspberry-watermelon salsa and marinated cabbage.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
The Tacos turned out terrific. I had neighbors over and everyone enjoyed them. I'll post the recipe and pictures in the morning.
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posted
Grilled Alaskan Pollack Tacos with Watermelon/Raspberry Salsa
Ingredients
1 lb Alaskan Pollack Filets Watermelon Raspberry Salsa Watermelon Raspberry Marinade 2 cups finely diced cabbage 1 cup sour cream 1 dozen hand made corn Tortillas
Salsa 1 leek 2/3 cup watermelon rind 2/3 cup watermelon flesh 1 Thai red pepper ½ cup raspberries distilled vinegar
Wash and slice white portion of the leek to produce ~ 1/4 cup of thinly sliced leek. Remove skin from watermelon rind. Cut watermelon rind and flesh into small (-1/4 inch) chunks. Chop red pepper. Combine leek, watermelon and red pepper, cover with vinegar and refrigerate for 2 days. After two days, add the crushed raspberries a
Marinade: Combine the liquid drained from the salsa into 2/3 cup canola oil. Whisk until you form good suspension and then pour over the fish filets.
Assembly: Allow the fish to marinate for ~ 4 hours and then cook on a wood barbecue until tender. Arrange 2 Tbsp of diced cabbage on a warm Tortilla. Place fish on the cabbage and top with salsa and sour cream.
As I mentioned before, I invited some neighbors to share in the experiment and all agreed it turned out terrific. My husband thought the salsa should have been hotter but the German faction of the group thought it was just right.
I'll post the pictures this afternoon.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
Sounds interesting. I like the way you used the rind, too.
Did you find that your watermelon rind was tough? For mine, the inner half was much more tender than the outer part, and I landed up trimming quite a bit so that the slaw wouldn't be too chewy.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Tante, No, my watermelon rind wasn't tough but then my watermelon had a very thin rind. If you look at the watermelon slices in the photo you can see what I mean. After I cut off the skin, there wasn't more than 1/4 inch of rind left so the question of inner half and outer half is kind of moot.
[ July 23, 2008, 05:37 AM: Message edited by: The Rabbit ]
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