Prosciutto-Wrapped Salmon

Wrapping prosciutto around salmon is the best way to make a dish that makes you want to slap somebody. The prosciutto is very easy to work with. It actually “shrink wraps” as it cooks, tightly sealing itself to the fish. I made mine with half a small potato and roasted brussel spouts.

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets (skin off)
4 slices of prosciutto
1/4 cup of grainy mustard
a sprinkle or two of sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

Meanwhile, season the salmon fillets with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Evenly spread the mustard on the top surface of each fillet. Tightly roll each fillet in a slice of prosciutto so that the end is weighed down beneath the salmon. The ends of the salmon will protrude beyond the prosciutto.
Place wrapped fillets on a baking pan, seam sides down. Bake until done - I like mine cripsy, about 25 minutes.

Quick Tuna Steak

Ingredients

	2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
	1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
	2 tsp olive oil
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
	1/4 cup(s) white wine
	3/4 pound(s) Fish, tuna, raw

Instructions

Combine wine, soy sauce and lime juice in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper; add steaks to pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side until steaks are medium-rare or desired degree of doneness. Transfer steaks to a serving dish, and keep warm. Pour mixture into pan. Cook 1 to 11⁄2 minutes or until reduced to 2 tablespoons, stirring to deglaze pan; pour over steaks.

Rye

Our dear friend Patrick had a birthday dinner a little while ago and we ventured out to Rye in Brooklyn to celebrate with a little surprise dinner. Dinner was so much fun (it always is when you have good company)!


We had a pre-fixe and many folks ordered the Beet Ravioli as their first course: roasted beets, goat cheese, baby arugula, roasted tomatoes, toasted pine nuts & fresh basil. I opted for the House Smoked Sturgeon.

The smoked fish came with boulanger potatoes, bacon, frisee & quail egg. This photo I found of the dish shows it with caviar. I didn't get any caviar. Also - I've never been a fan of frisee but I rather enjoyed it this time. (It looks like it should be living in a fish tank - or in a bed of coral in the ocean.)

For dinner, Curtis had the Meatloaf sandwich made of: duck, veal and pork, topped with crispy buttermilk onions. Curtis loved it. I didn't order this because it sounded really heavy. I took a bite - it was darn good.

Joe and Haney had the Roasted Chicken with sage butternut squash & pancetta risotto. The chicken was cooked perfectly. Very delish! A bunch of the girls ordered the Grilled Berkshire pork belly served with white beans and brussel sprouts. I admit - I'm a big fan of pork belly BUT it has to be cooked properly. I don't like eating fat - I trim it off of everything! (The texture grosses me out!) But proper pork belly can melt in your mouth like a BBQ cloud. Rye's pork belly was really meaty and the fatty part could have been cooked longer. I didn't eat all of it because it was too chewy.

For dessert - we had two choices: Chocolate Cake with pistachio ice cream or warm donuts & ice cream. Whenever I see warm donuts I usually order them. These donuts were dense, cake-like donuts. (I prefer the fried airy kind). They were good - but I took a bite of someone's chocolate cake and that was better. I was so tired and full after dinner - we took cabs out of Brooklyn back to the city (ha ha - LAZY!). Again, the food was okay (not sure if I left feeling there was something I'd definitely be back for), but the dinner itself was super fun. I love this group of people. They rule.

Happy Easter!

I know Easter is next Sunday, but if you're making a basket for anyone special there is really only one thing you need in your Easter basket...Cadbury! :)

Best way Broccoli

This is broccoli. The best way to prepare broccoli is to toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven on 400 for about 8 minutes. Then, squeeze a little lemon juice on top. I find myself craving this. Shout out to Tracy for making it for me this way last year. I don't cook it any other way now. Mmm...

Meatball Shop

We went to the Meatball Shop today for an early dinner.

The ordering system is different - you use a marker and circle the items you want off the lamented menu. I got the basic - 4 beef balls in sauce with a simple salad of arugula and apple. Curtis got the risotto as an appetizer (It was eh at best - there was really no flavor at all)

He said his sliders were good. I believed him. If you want to try a bunch of different balls, the sliders are your way to go...

The best part of dinner was the ice cream sandwich dessert! We split a chocolate chip cookie with mint ice cream - the mint ice cream was unlike anything I had ever had before. It was like eating a spearmint leaf! Overall rating = B-.

Good Morning, Frittata

Mmm...good morning!

I over did it on the scallions. Oops. Please follow the instructions and only use one. I used 3 and I wouldn't recommend it this way.

Ingredients

	2 spray(s) cooking spray
	1 small shallot(s), chopped
	2 large egg(s)
	4 large egg white(s)- make it healthy!
	1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
	1/2 cup(s) grape tomatoes, cut in half if large
	1/4 cup(s) crumbled feta cheese
	2 Tbsp dried bread crumbs 2 slices prosciutto (diced)

I don't own an oven proof skillet so I baked mine in a glass dish. (Typically, you would cook this on a skillet first and then finish off in the oven). But, despite that it came out just fine. Preheat oven. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Dice shallot set aside. Pour egg mixture into dish; top with bread crumbs and cook at 350 for about 30 min. Dice the prosciutto and crisp in toaster oven for about 4 minutes (on a 300 degree setting). Remove from oven and let sit for 1 minute; cut into 4 wedges. Top each piece with prosciutto. Yields 1 wedge per serving.

Greek Salad w/Chicken

This is super easy to make and healthy too. You will need:
2 tbsp. EVOO
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1/4 c Reduced fat feta crumbles
1/2 c cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 c diced cucumber
1/2 c diced peppers (red, green and yellow)
1/2 c fresh spinach
1/4 c diced scallions
3 oz chicken breast
1 tsp oregano
1tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a saute pan, heat 1 tbsp EVOO and then drop in chicken (cut up). Season the chicken with the oregano, salt, pepper and garlic. On your plate combine all the salad ingredients. I piled mine on one at a time. Dress with the left over balsamic and olive oil. Top with chicken.
YUM!