Author Archives: Janis Chanin

Smoked Salmon Burgers

18 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Dinner, Fish, Healthy, Lunch

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Smoked Salmon Cakes

I created this recipe after buying waaaaaay too much smoked salmon at Costco (because who doesn’t love a deal?!).  I don’t love crab cakes so I experimented with using salmon instead.  I ended up with a winning recipe!

Smoked Salmon Burgers
Yield:  4 servings
Time:  30 minutes active, 60 minutes total

Burgers:
2 cups diced smoked salmon (deboned and skinless)
2 eggs
¼ cup low fat mayo
3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. breadcrumbs
2 tsp. smoked paprika
a dash each of salt and freshly ground pepper
½ of an onion, minced
5 stalks of celery, finely diced
¼ cup red bell pepper, finely diced
¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill
¼ cup scallions, diced
4 tbsp. canola oil
4 hamburger buns (could use hard rolls, ciabatta rolls, Kaiser rolls,… whatever you fancy)

Dressing:
¼ cup low fat mayo
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill
a pinch of freshly ground pepper

1.  In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs.  Stir in the mayo, mustard, and lemon juice; whisk until smooth.

2.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.  Pour into the egg mixture, beating the two mixtures well to combine.

3.  Stir in the onion, celery, bell pepper, dill, and scallions.

4.  Gently fold in the smoked salmon.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or overnight).

5.  In the meantime, prepare the dressing:  Whisk together all dressing ingredients until evenly combined.  Set aside.

6.  Carefully form patties roughly 4-inches in diameter.  Heat canola oil in a skillet for a minute or two.  Gently place the patties in the skillet and fry over medium heat until golden brown and lightly crispy, about 4 minutes.  Flip and cook on the other side for another 4-5 minutes, until cooked through.

7.  Spread the dressing on both sides of the cut hamburger buns.  Place smoked salmon burger on buns and enjoy!

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Garden Breakfast Strata with Sausage

15 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in Breakfast

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Garden Breakfast Strata with Sausage

The beauty of this recipe is that everything can be prepared the day ahead of time.  All that’s left to do the next morning is preheat your oven, pop it in, and wait!  It makes for a very convenient breakfast for busy holiday mornings or when entertaining weekend guests.

Garden Breakfast Strata with Sausage
Yield:  8-10 servings
Time:  40 minutes active, 2 hours 40 minutes total

1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
¾ of a bunch of asparagus
16 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow or white onion
2 Ciabatta rolls or ½ a baguette (roughly 8 cups when diced into ½-inch cubes)
3½ cups shredded Jarlsberg cheese
10 eggs
3 cups skim milk
¼ cup Dijon mustard
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
a dash each of salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil

1.  Cook the sausage in a sauté pan over medium heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Once fully cooked, transfer to a metal strainer to allow the grease to drain off.  Set aside.

2.  Cut the tough ends off of the asparagus spears and discard.  Dice into 1-inch segments.  Blanch the asparagus by dropping the pieces into boiling water for one minute.  Immediately transfer the asparagus to an ice bath to stop them from cooking further.  After a few minutes, drain the water and remove the ice cubes.  Set aside.

3.  Sauté the mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until dark brown (about 8-10 minutes), stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

4.  Dice the bell pepper and onion into bite-sized pieces.  Sauté over medium heat in a tablespoon of olive oil until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

5.  Chop the bread into ½-inch cubes.  Set aside.

6.  Spray a 9×13-inch (3 quart) baking dish with canola oil.  Place half of the bread cubes in the dish.  Sprinkle half of the sausage over the bread, followed by half of the asparagus, half of the peppers/onions, and all of the mushrooms.  Top with roughly 1½ cups of the shredded cheese.  Layer on the remaining bread, followed by the rest of the asparagus, peppers/onions, and cheese.  Gently press down to lightly pack all of the ingredients into the baking dish.

7.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs.  Whisk in the milk, mustard, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Pour this mixture over the ingredients in the baking dish.  Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour, preferably overnight.

8.  Bake at 325°F for one hour until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

Garden Breakfast Strata with Sausage

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mint Julep Cupcakes

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Boozy, Dessert, Holiday

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Mint Julep Cupcake

In honor of the upcoming Kentucky Derby, I bring you this festive recipe for Mint Julep Cupcakes!!  I had never really celebrated the Derby prior to last year when my husband and I attended a party hosted by our friends.  The party was a benefit for Boston Cares, complete with door prizes (a trip to Aruba and tickets to a Red Sox game to name a few), tons of great silent auction items to bid on, and of course placing fast-paced bets on the horses as an auctioneer announced the celebrities of the day!  We had an absolute blast celebrating in our seersucker and huge fancy hats…all the while sipping on mint juleps.  With the event approaching this year, I pulled out my craft supplies and began decorating my oversized, floppy white beach hat with ribbons, bows, feathers, and glitter.  And then I got thirsty for a mint julep…cupcake!  I devised this recipe and boy is it a winner!  The cake is super moist and has a fabulous hint of honey thanks to the Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey.  You may want to make a batch of these to celebrate the Kentucky Derby this weekend.  Enjoy one as you cheer on the winning horse!

Mint Julep Cupcakes
Yield:  about 12 cupcakes (or 40 mini cupcakes)
Time:  40 minutes active;  60 minutes total

Bourbon Cupcakes:
1½ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey (or Wild Turkey American Honey)
1½ cups skim milk
1 large sprig of fresh mint (roughly 15-20 leaves), rinsed thoroughly

Mint-Bourbon Frosting:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
4 to 4½ cups confectioner’s sugar
½ tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
2-3 drops of pure mint extract
2 tbsp. Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey (or Wild Turkey American Honey)
¼ cup of mint-infused milk (see step 1 of cupcake recipe)
fresh mint leaves, for garnishing

1.  Place the milk and mint sprig into a medium sized saucepan.  Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  This will infuse the milk with the flavor of the mint.  Set aside and allow to cool.  (Note:  This step can be done a day or two in advance.  Store the mint-infused milk in the refrigerator.)  [You will need use 1/3 of a cup of this infused milk for the cupcakes and another ¼ cup for the frosting.  Enjoy any leftovers!  It’s a great base for hot chocolate!]

2.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line cupcake pans with liners (12 wells for regular sized cupcakes or roughly 40 wells for mini cupcakes).

3.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

4.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars.  Add the vanilla and eggs.  Slowly drizzle in the bourbon.  Whisk together.  Add 1/3 of a cup of the mint-infused milk.  Mix thoroughly to combine all wet ingredients.

5.  Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients.  Whisk to break up any lumps.

6.  Fill prepared cupcake wells ¾ full with batter.  Lightly tap the pans to release any trapped air bubbles.  Bake at 350°F for 11-12 minutes for mini cupcakes or 17-18 minutes for regular sized cupcakes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.  Cool completely before frosting.

7.  To make the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy.  Add 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, mint extract, and bourbon.  Slowly drizzle in mint-infused milk.  Slowly add 1 cup of additional confectioner’s sugar.  Beat together.  Add up to ½ cup more of confectioner’s sugar until desired consistency is achieved.  Frost cupcakes and garnish with fresh mint leaves!

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Mint Julep Cupcake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If this gets you in the mood to drink a classic mint julep, go right ahead!  For your convenience, here’s the recipe for the classic Kentucky Derby cocktail:

Classic Mint Julep
yield:  1 cocktail

6-8 mint leaves (plus a few more for garnish)
½ oz. simple syrup
2½ oz. bourbon
4 ice cubes

Muddle together the mint leaves and simple syrup in a double old-fashioned glass.  (Muddle well to release the oils and aroma from the mint.)  Top with bourbon.  Gently stir.  Drop in ice cubes and garnish with a few fresh mint leaves.

 

Slimmed Down Cobb Salad

23 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Dinner, Healthy, Lunch, Salad

≈ 1 Comment

Slimmed Down Cobb Salad

This is my slimmed down version of the classic Cobb Salad.  I swapped the greasy bacon for juicy chicken breasts, and instead of using a heavy cream-based dressing, I use a heart-healthy olive oil-based dressing packed with great flavor.  Cheers to eating deliciously all throughout bathing suit season!

Slimmed Down Cobb Salad
Yield:  2 dinner-sized salads
Time:  40 minutes total

Salads:
1½ small heads of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 hard boiled eggs*, cut into quarters
6 small tomatoes, cut into quarters
2 avocados, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 oz. crumbled bleu cheese
1 small bunch fresh chives, diced

Dressing:
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. sugar
1 small shallot, minced
a dash each of salt and freshly cracked pepper

1.  Fill a medium pot halfway with water.  Bring to a boil.  Place raw chicken breasts in boiling water.  Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until fully cooked through.

2.  In the meantime, divide the lettuce between two plates.  Arrange the eggs, tomatoes and avocados on top of the lettuce.  Sprinkle with crumbled bleu cheese and chives.

3.  Once the chicken is fully cooked, set aside to cool for a few minutes.  (Make the dressing–see step 4–while waiting.)  Once cool enough to handle, slice into strips.  Place chicken strips on top of the prepared salads.

4.  To make the dressing, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.  Drizzle over the salads and enjoy!

*Note:  Here is my preferred method for hard-boiling eggs:  Place raw eggs in a pot.  Cover with 1-2 inches of cold water.  Place pot on stove, bring the water to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for one minute.  Remove the pot from the heat.  Cover and let stand, undisturbed, for 10-15 minutes.  Transfer the eggs to an ice-water bath to make them easier to peel later  (immediately chilling the eggs prevents the membrane from adhering to the shell).  Also, it’s easier to peel the eggs if you use eggs that are a week old instead of very fresh eggs.  I have no idea why this is, but it works!

Slimmed Down Cobb SaladSlimmed Down Cobb Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal Cookies

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Dessert, Fruit

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Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal CookiesMy parents came to visit last weekend and I wanted to bake a tasty treat that could stay out on the counter the entire weekend, ready for whenever somebody wanted a snack.  Since my dad is generally a sucker for anything oatmeal-y with fruit in it (think oatmeal raisin cookies or warm apple pear crisp), I decided to make my usual oatmeal cookie base, and toss in some dried fruits that you wouldn’t normally associate with cookies.  I had some dried apricots, dried pineapple, and golden raisins, then added some white chocolate chips to round out the cookies while keeping true to the blonde theme!  I also sprinkled in some ginger, because it just felt right.  After all, I had my dad in mind and he loooooves ginger.  They were a hit–my dad kept “sneaking” them all weekend (although he wasn’t too stealthy about it!)

Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal Cookies
Yield:  4 dozen cookies
Time:  15 minutes active;  1 hour chilling;  1 hour baking

7/8 cup (14 tbsp.) butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. salt
3 cups oats, uncooked (I always use the Old Fashioned Quaker oats)
15 dried apricots, diced into small pieces
¾ cup golden raisins
½ cup dried pineapple, diced into small pieces
1 cup white chocolate chips

1.  Using a pastry blender, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla.  Stir to mix well.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and oats.  Add to the butter/sugar mixture in several additions, mixing after each addition.

3.  Stir in all of the dried fruit and chocolate chips.  Chill the batter in the refrigerator for 30-90 minutes (or overnight).

4.  Grease a large cookie sheet with non-stick spray and preheat the oven to 350°F.

5.  Scoop the batter out of the bowl using a teaspoon.  Form a ball from the rounded teaspoon of batter, and drop it onto the prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F, or until golden brown.

Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

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