International Food Blogger Conference 2012 Portland

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Marinated Salmon with Moroccan Chickpea Salad

By mlb, on March 31st, 2010%

salmon

Here’s a recipe that I remember making multiple times last Summer. Why didn’t I blog about it sooner? Who knows, but here it is now. I made this last week and instantly remembered why I made it so much last year. It’s really good. I love the salad. But, keep in mind, imho, the salad is best the day you make it because of the torn up, toasted pita. So try to eat it all the day you make it or at least eat all the pita pieces before you save it.

The original recipe called for sturgeon but I substituted salmon. Use what you have. I imagine the spices and flavors here would be good with most fish and probably even chicken.

I have no idea why I didn’t take any photos of the salmon cooking. I used my grill pan.

Marinated Salmon with Moroccan Chickpea Salad
From Bon Appétit magazine
1/2 . . . → Read More: Marinated Salmon with Moroccan Chickpea Salad

One comment   Beans & Legumes, Fish & Seafood, Middle Eastern

Italian Bread with Sesame Seeds

By mlb, on March 24th, 2010%

Italian Bread

Here’s another breadmaking experiment that turned out pretty well! I’ve heard that King Arthur AP Flour has a bit more of a Bread Flour quality to it than other brands of AP flour, so since I was using Trader Joe’s AP flour, I added about a 1/2 cup bread flour to the dough flour. That’s just swapped out for the AP flour, not in addition to. It seemed to work well.

Let’s see, the original recipe did not use weight measurements, but cup measurements. I know it’s easy enough to figure out the weight and do it that way, but I was too lazy and just followed the recipe. When I made the dough, though, I held back about a 1/2 cup of the AP flour and just added as needed (or kneaded! ha!. I think I used a bit of the reserved flour but not all. . . . → Read More: Italian Bread with Sesame Seeds

5 comments   Baking, Breads, Italian

Comune Accanto for Brunch

By mlb, on March 22nd, 2010%

title

2838 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 235-4900

We finally tried Accanto for brunch Sunday and wow, we both really enjoyed it. It’s the place on the corner of 28th & Belmont, right next to the new Genoa. Actually, Accanto is to Genoa, like Cafe Castagna is to Castagna, I believe. Anyway, I love the curly fennel painting in their sign. That’s some points right there. I called before we left to walk there to see if there was a wait (there was not). I’ve learned my lesson from the not-calling-Slappy-Cakes-first-gate of a couple of months ago.

accanto

When we got there we got a table right in the front window and ordered drinks.

accanto

I got an Apricot Mimosa (Prosecco, Amaretto, apricot puree) and jwa ordered a Belmont Bloody Mary (Pepper infused Monopolowa, Spicy thymetomato juice). They were very good!

accanto

The . . . → Read More: Comune Accanto for Brunch

Leave a comment   Breakfast, Restaurants, SE Portland

Side Dishes! Side Dishes! Cracked Potatoes & Asparagus with Horseradish Butter

By mlb, on March 16th, 2010%

potato & asparagus

These two dishes were the rest of that really good mahi mahi meal in the last post. I had seen the cracked potatoes a couple of years ago and always meant to try them but then promptly forgot about it. Glad it didn’t stay forgotten — so good! For four people the original recipe called for 12 yukon gold potatoes and double the oil/herbs listed below. I used about 16 tiny, tiny fingerling potatoes and it worked well for two people, but then we love potatoes with garlic and rosemary.

The asparagus was also delicious! I would never have thought to partner it with horseradish but wow, well played horseradish. Well played. (Is that too 2008?) Anyway, these were both very good. Make them! And then buy some earrings soon (see below)…

Cracked Potatoes with Rosemary & Garlic
Recipe adapted from one by Amy Finley — written below, . . . → Read More: Side Dishes! Side Dishes! Cracked Potatoes & Asparagus with Horseradish Butter

2 comments   jewelry, Vegetables

Mahi Mahi with Parmesan Almond Crust

By mlb, on March 4th, 2010%

title

This was a surprise. I was not expecting it to be anything other than a way to use up some frozen mahi mahi from Trader Joe’s (the kind that’s frozen, in the marinade). But, hey, this was delicious! The yogurt gave it a nice tanginess and the almonds and parmesan are a wonderful combination. Plus, anytime you can spend about $6 on fish and make a great dinner, it’s a win!

Since I did use the marinated mahi mahi, I just rinsed each piece of fish under cold water and removed any marinade. So, then I felt free to salt and pepper myself. Not a lot of salt just a sprinkle on the fish, then a pinch in the almond-parmesan coating.

I also just coated the top of the fish, as I wasn’t convinced the bottom would be un-soggy (even with the rack-on-top-of-the-baking-sheet method). Next time I may try to . . . → Read More: Mahi Mahi with Parmesan Almond Crust

3 comments   Cheap Fish Project, Fish & Seafood, Nuts