Saturday, May 31, 2014

This Week In the Kitchen

Every now and then it starts to feel like I'm in a cooking rut. That's when I get the urge to try all sorts of new recipes... and over the past two weeks I've tried quite a few. Most have been good, a couple have bombed, but here are three that stood out.

The other morning I was reading blogs and happened to stumbled upon a recipe for Avocado Cup Salads over at Smitten Kitchen. They looked so pretty and since I had most of the ingredients on hand, I couldn't resist. Besides Twin A, also an avocado fan, had the day off and this looked like a perfect lunch.


I made the Avocado Cup Salad with Black Bean Confetti and was very happy with the way it turned out. If I'd had a red or orange bell pepper, they would have been even more colorful. I added seedless cucumber instead of onions and topped it off with cilantro freshly picked from my new herb garden. The post at Smitten Kitchen also included a recipe for Avocado Cup Salads with Cucumbers, Radishes and Ginger-Miso Dressing. I'll try that soon.


We're back on the mussels kick. You might remember the Weekend Cooking post I wrote last fall about mussels. I'd never cooked them at home and was surprised at how quick and easy they were to prepare. This time I tried Ina Garten's recipe for Mussels in White Wine and it was heavenly! A loaf of crusty bread and some steamed broccoli made this a delicious meal. I followed the recipe exactly as written and would not change a thing. She suggests soaking the mussels in a flour/water mixture for a half hour, or until they disgorge any sand. I did that, but couldn't tell whether it made a difference or not.


Finally, we love fish on the grill and I'm always looking for new marinades or rubs. I tried a recipe for Grilled Fish Steaks from allrecipes.com after buying fresh swordfish without a definite recipe in mind. It's used ingredients I always have on hand and tasted great, too. This would work any variety of firm white fish... next time I'll use halibut.

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Weekend Cooking, hosted at Beth Fish Reads, is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.


28 comments:

  1. Yum - wish I had been at your house this week! Love the avocado salad cups (I eat half an avocado with my sandwich for lunch every day) and the mussels! Mussels are deceptively easy and you can go so many directions with them - and Ina's recipes never fail me!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog today - give crabs a try…like mussels, they are also deceptively easy! And - exactly - you could be eating chicken if you overdo them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah - I've only tried a couple of Ina's recipes, but they've been excellent. It's time for me to add her cookbooks to my collection!

      Delete
  2. WOW you certainly weren't in a rut this week!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jackie - LOL! I seem to go in streaks with the new recipes... may have gone a little overboard the last couple of weeks.

      Delete
  3. Everything looks great! I agree - wish I had been at your house! :--)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jill - If you ever get to central NY, there's always room for a couple more at our table!

      Delete
  4. I'm in a bit of a rut, right now. And feeling kind of rushed which makes it even worse. But I've seen a couple of avocado recipes recently -- it's been ages since I've had avocado. That would be fun and quick to try.

    Joy's Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joy - I bought a 'family pack' of avocados today, so I may be trying the other salad cup recipe very soon. It's such a quick and delicious meal.

      Delete
  5. I love avocado and that avocado cup salad looks awesome!

    Here's My Weekend Cooking

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vicki - I think you could put almost anything in an avocado and it would rase wonderful!

      Delete
  6. Love the avocado cup salad - I'm just waiting for one to ripen now.... Cheers from Carole's Chatter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carole - I bought another bag of avocados today... should have plenty of ripe ones by midweek!

      Delete
  7. I think I need to try that avocado recipe! It looks like a nice treat on a summer day. I haven't tried anything new lately but I plan to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vasilly - The avocado cup is really a perfect light lunch. Don't think you can go wrong no matter what you fill it with!

      Delete
  8. I love the Smitten Kitchen and Ina has never led me wrong! What beautiful meals! The avocado cup salad looks especially tasty and just plain pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katherine - I'm a fairly new fan of Smitten Kitchen, but have been very impressed with their recipes. Ina is amazing.

      Delete
  9. Drooling at the avocado cup salad and grilled fish especially. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jama - I'll definitely be preparing both of those meals again!

      Delete
  10. I want to try cooking mussels! I found a local fish market that carries them. Maybe I'll get a bag and give Ina's recipe a try.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janel - I can't believe I waited so long to try cooking mussels at home. I always though they were so fussy, but nothing could be easier!

      Delete
  11. I adore mussels, and these look fabulous. It's interesting to see Ina's suggestion of soaking them in flour and water. I've never ever done that and not found degorging them necessary, but then all the mussels I've had have been farmed rather than just harvested off the rocks, so maybe that makes a difference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Couscous & Consciousness - I never thought of that! They were farmed, so maybe the sand just isn't an issue...

      Delete
  12. No new recipes for us this week since it was a bit hectic, but I know my husband would LOVE the avocado cups. He's nuts for avocados.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andi - I ended up buying a family pack of avocados yesterday. We'll have those cups with dinner just as soon as they're ripe enough. Bet your hubby would love them!

      Delete
  13. That avocado, especially, looks amazingly good! But seriously, we'd loved all three dishes. I've never heard of soaking mussels in a flour/water mix, but I trust Ina Garten.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beth F - My thoughts, exactly! If Ina suggests it, there's got to be a good reason.

      Delete
  14. I need to try the avocado cup salad. I'm trying to get both my guys to eat avocado with little success!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stacy - Do all men hate avocados?? My husband wouldn't touch this...

      Delete

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Be sure to check back, I always respond. Due to a recent increase in spam, all comments are moderated.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails