Salmon w/ Lemon Parsley Green Beans & Spicy Ranch

Louisville, KY has been in the spotlight lately.  Especially after Monday night's win at the NCAA championship - which for a non-basketball watcher, was actually quite exciting.  I heard fireworks and people screaming for well into the night, long after the game actually ended.  And I didn't mind.  It was pretty cool to hear the city come alive and come together.

And here in about a month or so, tons of people from all over the country will flood into the city to witness the most exciting 2 minutes in sports - the Kentucky Derby.  It's always a time of drinking bourbon, eating food, spending money, and watching the races!  I'm definitely proud to call Louisville my home.

Another exciting thing, which may not be as exciting to those of you who are not from Louisville or Kentucky - but the chef that owns the restaurant that I currently work at, Edward Lee - is coming out with a cookbook.  And it looks awesome.  Smoke & Pickles will definitely be on my bookshelf come May 1st - and I hope it'll be on yours too!

Anyway, Andy loved this meal.  I don't know if he was starving by the time I made it, or if he really just overly enjoyed it, but he cleared his plate AND the rest of mine too.  Another winner in the books!

Ingredients:

2 6 oz. salmon fillets
flour, for dredging
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Green Beans:

1 lb. hericot verts (French green beans), blanched and shocked
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Spicy Ranch:

1 cup ranch dressing
1 tablespoon Gochujang paste (Korean chili paste)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon sesame oil
water, as needed

Heat a large skillet under medium high heat.  Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter and add garlic.  Saute until fragrant.  Toss in the hericot verts and coat in the butter.  Add the lemon juice and cook until reduced.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Toss the hericot verts with the parsley until combined. 

In a small bowl, combine the ranch, Gochujang, maple syrup, and sesame oil.  If the mixture is too thick, add a little bit of warm water until you reach your desired consistency.

Heat a large saute pan under medium high heat.  Add the olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. 

Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, dusting off any excess.  Add the salmon to the saute pan and cook until browned.  Flip over and cook until desired temperature.  I like to cook my salmon to medium, with a little bit of pink still in the middle.

To plate, place a good amount of sauce on the center of the plate.  Place green beans on sauce and top with salmon fillets.  We had some onion rings in the freezer and decided to fry those up and serve them with this as an added crunch factor.  It was pretty darn delicious, if you ask me!

Hope you guys have a great rest of the week!

Spicy Garlic Green Beans

I'm literally on Cloud 9 right now. 

I got a text from Andy during my lunch break today that said something along the lines that one of his good friends got me an "in" at a local fine dining restaurant and that he would explain more when he got home.

So on his way home, he called me and said that the executive chef at said restaurant said I could swing by sometime next week to talk with him.  They didn't have any openings for help in the kitchen, but I could help part-time and work directly with him - kind of like having a mentor.  I mean, it doesn't get any better than that - a young chef's dream!

I don't want to divulge any real details yet... mainly because I'm nervous as hell and don't even have anything set in stone.  So once I actually meet with the chef next week, I'm sure I'll have more to tell you guys!  But seriously, I'm stoked!

Anyway, by now, you can probably tell I like green beans.  I mean, with recipes likes this one, and this one... I'm a green bean gal.  So playing around with some green beans we recently got in our CSA, I kind of melded the above two recipes into one tasty little side perfect all by itself, or alongside a main dish!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Sunny Side Up in San Diego's Recipe
 

1 lb. green beans, trimmed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a large bowl, combine green beans, garlic, and cayenne pepper.  Drizzle about 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil over and toss to coat well.  Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Grease a baking sheet and spread green beans onto sheet in an even layer.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until green beans are crisp, yet tender. 

This was seriously one tasty green bean!  It was garlicky, and had a punch of heat added in to wake up the senses! 

I'm in an exclamation type of mood, so you'll have to bear with me!  I'm one excited girl right now - and I can't wait to update you guys!  Have a great Thursday and I'll see you tomorrow for a sweet treat to end the week!

Sweet Chili Green Beans

 

Happy Friday everybody!

I'm so ready for the weekend (I've got to work Saturday morning, but it ain't no thang!).  We've got a couples bridal shower to go to, so that should be fun.  And then some major relaxation is in the works for Sunday and Monday!

Now I used to think I had a favorite green bean recipe.  I mean, it's all the rage on Food52, too.  But my friends, I think there's a new contender in town.  This was so good I ate it with my hands.  Yeah... that good.  So good, if I ever do open up my own restaurant - this will be an appetizer for sure.

Ingredients:

1 lb. green beans, trimmed
4 strips of bacon, chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
3 thai chiles, minced
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 c. water
sesame oil, optional
toasted black sesame seeds, optional

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add green beans and cook for about 3 minutes, or until beans are a bright green.  Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Drain on paper towel-lined plate and set aside.  Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease from the pan and add onion.  Cook until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the ginger, Thai chiles, sweet chili sauce, fish sauce, and water.  Add green beans and toss to coat. Saute for 5-10 minutes, until water evaporates, the sauce thickens, and the beans become tender.

Stir in bacon and sprinkle with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Seriously, I couldn't stop eating this.  I'd walk by and grab a bean.  Then come back 2 seconds later and grab another couple.  Be prepared to have an addiction to these!

Have a great weekend guys!

Pasta Carbonara w/ Green Beans

My garden is in full swing. I'm almost ready to pick my second round of green beans and my corn is nicely coming along. And yesterday, I almost squealed at the fact that a small cherry tomato blossom was protruding a baby cherry tomato. And here I thought that my cherry tomatoes would never grow. It's funny that seeing my garden grow can just make me happy regardless of the direction my day went.

I made this pasta carbonara a few weeks ago with my first batch of green beans and it was definitely a delicious way to use up the beans. I love the comfort of pasta and how simply they normally come together. Give me some cream, some pasta, and a few veggies, and I'm happy. And yeah, the bacon is always welcome to the party, but if you wanna keep it meat-free, the pasta and veggies stand well on their own.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Rocco Dispirito's "Now Eat THIS!" - 'Spaghetti Carbonara'

8 oz. thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
salt and pepper to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
2 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup Pecorino cheese, grated
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions for al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet under high heat. Add olive oil, onions, and green beans. Season with salt and pepper and saute for about 5-6 minutes, or until onion starts to soften.

Reduce heat to medium and add garlic. Cook for an additional 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, whisk the cream and eggs. Set aside.

Add the chopped bacon and the cooked pasta to the skillet.

Mix well. Remove from heat and add in cream/egg mixture. Let the residual heat slowly thicken the sauce. Stir in both cheeses and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Serve right away with cheesy garlic bread!

This was great for 2 reasons. #1: It was really quick to whip up, I'd say no longer than 30 minutes. #2: It allowed me to use my own grown produce and there's no better feeling in the world than that. Enjoy!

Spicy Green Beans & Shrimp

First of all, I want to thank anyone and everyone that voted for my eggplant dish in Foodie Fight's Battle #8: Eggplant/White Wine. Crossing my fingers that the results turn out in my favor, or at least that I kept up with the competition!

So, in the mean time, I figured I'd post this quick and delicious recipe for Spicy Green Beans & Shrimp that Andy and I had for dinner last week. Credit goes to Dishing Up Delight's blog who found the recipe from another blog, so I guess this is just a turning into a chain, so feel free to pass it along to the next guy. This is definitely something that can be fixed up on a weeknight and not feel guilty about eating it, because it's mucho healthy.

What You'll Need:

1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 in. pieces
3 tblsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 tea. ground coriander
1/2 tea. ground cumin
1 tea. salt, divided
1 tea. freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/8 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (I used cayenne pepper)
3/4 lb. raw shrimp (peeled and deveined, I also left the tails on mine)
zest from 1 lemon (cut lemon into wedges as garnish for plating)


As far as the cooking, it goes by pretty quick.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the trimmed beans in 1 & 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, coriander, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and cayenne pepper.



Toss shrimp in separate bowl with remaining 1 & 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.


Spray sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray and lay down green beans in single layer. Roast in oven for about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir them up mid-way.

After 10 minutes, layer shrimp on top of beans and roast for about 5 more minutes, or until shrimp looks pink and juicy.


Squeeze lemon on top of shrimp and save wedge for garnish. Enjoy!


I couldn't believe how delicious this was. So simple, so fresh... sooooooo gooood.