Salmon Spread

Need a quickie hors d’oeuvre you can make for New Year’s in just a few minutes?

Try this one: Salmon Spread.

I just did and it took under 10 minutes.

I usually fuss a lot for New Year’s when our cousins Leslie and Neil come for a few days. I like to experiment with hors d’oeuvres and usually wind up making 2-3 in addition to the standby favorites.

But this year I’ve had a lingering cold and I haven’t been up to the usual food prep. So I bought some frozen and take-out stuff but managed to do the Salmon Spread because it’s so easy.

Also, I didn’t have to do any extra shopping for it. I always have cream cheese, lemons, white horseradish and a shallot in the house. And because I had made myself some chicken soup the other day, there was a bit of fresh dill left over too.

There was also some leftover salmon from yesterday’s dinner, so I used that, but canned salmon (always a good item to keep on the shelf, for just-in-case moments) would have been just fine too.

I like this spread with Stacy’s pita chips, but crackers or crudites are perfectly fine too.

Salmon Spread

8 ounces cooked salmon (canned, drained red salmon is fine)

4 ounces cream cheese, cut into chunks

1 small shallot, cut into chunks

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoon prepared white horseradish

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Crumble the salmon into a food processor. Add the cream cheese, shallot, lemon juice, dill and horseradish and process until well combined and blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Apple-Apricot Sauce with Honey

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But when life gives you apples, well then, make applesauce.

My daughter Gillian and her husband Jesse and two kids, Lila and Remy, went apple picking and brought us more apples (and pears) that we could possibly eat.

SO, to go with our festive Rosh Hashanah dinner tonight, I made some applesauce. Or, should I say, apple-pear-apricot sauce. I remember apple-apricot sauce from when I was a youngster. Beech Nut baby food. The stuff was so good I (and my brother Jeff) ate it well into teenagedom and maybe even beyond. But, like so many food products it changed over the years and we both noticed and stopped eating it. Besides, those little jars were way too small for a grown up.

So I make my own.

I really hate to give a recipe for applesauce. It’s really just a matter of peeling, coring and cutting apples and cooking them over low heat in a covered pan. Add some pears if you wish. And dried fruit such as apricots. Depending on the kind of apples, you may or may not need sugar (or some other sweetener) or water (or juice). You could add cinnamon or some other seasoning or not. Cook until soft, mash or puree and you’re done.

Here’s how I made the one in the photo:

Apple-Apricot Sauce with Honey

• 3 pounds apples

• 2 pears

• 1 packed cup dried apricot halves

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel, core and slice the apples and pears. Place them in a pot with the apricots and water. Cover the pan. Turn the heat to low. Cook for about 25 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Add honey and cinnamon. Mash or puree (I used a hand blender).

Makes about 8-10 servings

Simple Fried Rice

I could make an entire meal out of plain, steamed white rice. In fact, I have, on days when Ed is out of town and I don’t feel like cooking and I’m bored with eggs and there aren’t any leftovers to make into a sandwich or a salad.

But mostly I cook rice (not just white, but also brown, red and black varieties) as a side dish and sometimes I use it as a base ingredient for something grand, like Paella. Or even as a starting point for a dessert, like rice pudding.

Then again, I think one of the best and easiest ways I use rice is as a vegetarian dish, mixed with cooked veggies, nuts and so on. I’ll serve that dish by itself or with other vegetarian dishes, when I want to go meatless.

One of my favorites is the extremely versatile Fried Rice. I made this dish last night using leftover cooked rice and stir-fried it with fried egg, scallions and peas — on other occasions I have added all sorts of other vegetables, like broccoli or cooked carrots and even canned items such as water chestnuts.

Of course you can add leftover meat too. Whatever’s in your fridge. So simple, so quick. Dinner is done in a flash.

Simple Fried Rice

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs, beaten
3 scallions, chopped
3 cups cooked cold or room temperature rice
1 cup thawed frozen peas
salt to taste

Heat 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil in a wok or stirfry pan (or a saute pan) over medium heat. Add the eggs and fry them for a minute or so or until the bottom looks set. Flip the eggs and fry briefly on the other side until cooked. Dish out to a cutting board and cut into pieces. Set aside. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in the pan. Add the scallions and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the rice and peas and cook, stirring to distribute the ingredients, for about 2 minutes or until hot. Add the egg pieces and stir to distribute them. Season to taste with salt. Serve hot. Make 2 dinner servings, 4 side dish servings

Quickie Cooked Salsa

Fish on the grill, sort of. I used a cast iron pan because I can’t find my wire fish basket and anyway, every time I grill fish just on the grids a lot of it falls through and down into the great ash beyond. Besides, cleaning a pan is a whole lot easier than cleaning the grids and/or the wire basket. 

I had set out to buy and grill some tuna but saw a beautiful, thick chunk of wild halibut at the fish store and couldn’t resist it.

You don’t need anything fancy when you grill fish. I just gave it a coat of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, put it in the pan, closed the cover (the grill was hot). About 5 minutes later I turned the fish and gave it another 5 minutes. While the fish was cooking I made an almost instant salsa to go with it. This sauce would go with almost any plain grilled or broiled fish (or baked or sauteed). I have served this with grilled chicken breasts too.

Quickie Cooked Salsa

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small serrano pepper, deseeded and chopped, optional

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and pepper, if used and cook for another minute. Add the tomato and basil and cook for about 4 minutes or until soft. Serve as a bed for grilled fish or chicken. Makes about 2 cups

Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs

I think it’s possible, when you work out, even with a trainer, and all you talk about is food the entire session, that you can gain weight just from the conversation.

I suffer through “squats” and some awful exercise called “mountain climbers” (I HATE those!) and my trainer yaks about not eating carbs but then we frequently wind up our session talking about all the wonderful pasta dishes his mother and grandmother used to cook.

Robbie is from an Italian family so he also mentions the braciole, the broccoli rabe sauteed in garlic and olive oil, the cheesecake.

But, I digress from the no-carb thing.

Robbie recently mentioned that his grandmother made a spaghetti dish and topped it with breadcrumbs. He told me that a lot of old timers did that because grated cheese was so expensive and breadcrumbs were a good substitute.

I had to try it.

This dish is really good. Also cheap. Also easy to make for a quick dinner.

I’ll have to do even more mountain climbers to keep the pounds off I guess.

Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs

1 pound spaghetti

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon peel

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

optional: mashed or chopped anchovies or 2 tablespoons rinsed capers

Cook the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook briefly. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes or until the crumbs are golden brown and toasty. Add the parsley and lemon zest stir and cook for another minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drain the pasta, but reserve about a 1/2 cup of cooking water. Add the pasta to the pan with the breadcrumb mixture and toss the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and enough cooking water to moisten the pasta. Add the cheese and some salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and serve. Makes 4 servings

Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Tomatoes and Zucchini

Quinoa may be au courant but I predict this is no fleeting trend. It is here to stay, an ingredient that will remain a staple in American kitchens.

First because it is so nutritious — a complete protein, so you can cut down on or cut out meat-eating. In poor countries in South America, where this grain comes from, pregnant mothers who can’t afford meat are encouraged to eat quinoa.

Second, because it is widely available, relatively cheap and easy to cook: you boil some water or stock, add the grain, cover the pan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes and you’re done.

It’s also versatile. You can make it into salad, casseroles, stuffings and so on.

It tastes good too. A must for food!

And, as if all this wasn’t enough, you can use quinoa during Passover. Even though it is a grain.

It is not one of the prohibited grains.

That’s big for all who want to have a little something “starchy” with dinner during Passover and don’t want potatoes every day and don’t like the taste or consistency of Passover pasta products or who like variety in their diet.

Yesterday I gave a cooking demo for the UJA Federation of Greenwich Women’s Philanthropy and JCC Greenwich and prepared two Passover dishes, including Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Zucchini and Tomatoes. It was a big hit, no leftovers and everyone was amazed that the whole recipe took 17 minutes and it would have been shorter but we had to wait for the grains to cook.

This recipe is wonderfully fresh and Passover friendly. But you can enjoy it any time. Here it is:

Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Tomatoes and Zucchini

1 cup quinoa

1 cup cut up asparagus (1-inch pieces)

1 cup bite-size pieces of zucchini

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

2 scallions, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse for a few seconds under cold water. Drain. Bring 1-1/2 cups water to boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the quinoa, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the grains have absorbed the liquid. Spoon the quinoa into a bowl. Bring some more water to a boil in the pan. Add the asparagus and cook for 15 seconds. Add the zucchini and cook for another 15 seconds. Strain the vegetables, rinse under cold water and add to the quinoa. Add the tomatoes, scallions, dill and mint and toss ingredients to distribute them evenly. Pour in the olive oil and vinegar, toss and taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings

Roasted Asparagus

Need  quickie vegetable for Thanksgiving?

Try roasted asparagus. It’s among the easiest of side dishes you can make. It looks good. Tastes good. You can make it in advance. Serve at room temperature. 

This is one of my go-to fall back dishes whenever I am stuck for an easy, veggie side dish, no matter what the occasion.

Roasted Asparagus

1 pound asparagus

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash the asparagus and remove the woody portions at the bottom. Peel if very thick. Coat the asparagus with the olive oil. Place the asparagus on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 6-10 minutes, depending on thickness, or until barely tender. Let cool to room temperature. Sprinkle with Balsamic vinegar. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings

You can serve this hot too: sprinkle the just-roasted asparagus with a squirt or two of lemon juice.

You can serve this topped with thin shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Quick Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

Pumpkin spice is the seasoning of the season. Not just for pie and cake. You see the words “pumpkin spice” everywhere, even for things like tea and coffee. Of course you really don’t get the pumpkin, just the spices that go with the pumpkin if you were making a pie.

So for all those pumpkin spice lovers, here’s a REALLY QUICK recipe you can make even an hour before Thanksgiving dinner or anytime at all. It’s for ice cream with all the fresh, warm spices we associate with the season.

This recipe takes about 5 minutes. The only thing you have to do ahead is remember to take the ice cream out of the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to soften.

If you are ambitious and have a few minutes more, spoon it into a graham cracker crust and you’ll have a pie. If you’re even more ambitious, grind up some gingerbread cookie crumbs (1-1/2 cups) mix them with 5 tablespoons of melted butter and press them into a 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate the crust for an hour, then spoon the ice cream inside and freeze.

Quick Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

1 cup mashed pumpkin (canned is fine)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place ingredients in a bowl and mix ingredients thoroughly to blend them completely until smooth and uniform in color. Return to the freezer until chilled completely. Makes slightly more than one quart