Poached Fish Parmesan

HELLO!


After a long while, I finally managed to blog again! First some updates about me...


I enrolled myself in a short culinary class (Fundamentals of Culinary Arts) at First Gourmet Academy. It was fun! Learning new techniques, from knife skills, to plating, all in 8 days. If you want to learn how to properly cook, but can't afford those really expensive schools, inquire at FGA. ;) (btw, our chef instructor is Swedish ah)


And during those times I was busy in class, I also landed a job. So yay me!


Anyway, so I finally found time to cook and blog again. I wanted something cheesy, but with fish. I usually pair cheese with chicken (as you can see in my other blogs). I stumbled upon this recipe called Poached Fish Parmesan by the Dairy Farmers of Canada. 

My version. But since my photo is not really amazing, I'll post the photo from their website :)

photo credit link: Poached Fish Parmesan

This is a really fast, and simple dish to make. You need around 30 minutes or so, including prep time (providing you have good knife skills, and multi-tasking skill :D).This dish reminds me of carbonara, and at the same time, well... pizza. Maybe because of the green capsicum and cheese? It's tasty, and creamy; a blend of milk, cheese, and wine, but something is still  lacking in my opinion. As Grace mentioned it, all the ingredients blended together that it lacks something that will counter the texture. Maybe crispy bacon bits, or I guess the fish can be pan fried with breading. But then this won't be "Poached Fish" anymore.

Overall, I recommend this dish to those who want a simple pasta and cheese cravings. But you may want to cut back on the green capsicum if you're not a fan of it. I like this dish, but it just lacks something je ne sais quoi.

If you want to try this dish out, and maybe you have something in mind, let me know!

For 4-6 servings

500g white fish fillet (I used Dory)

2 cups milk

3tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp chopped fresh chives (or green onions)

1 red or green capsicum, thinly sliced

salt, pepper (to taste)

500 g fettucini cooked al dente

1. Cut the fillets into small portions (bite size)

2. In a large covered frying pan, poach the fish in milk for 5 to 10 minutes, until the fish are flaky.

3. Transfer the fish to a plate and keep warm. Reserve the milk.

4. On another sauce pan, melt butter. When the butter stops foaming, add the flour. Brown the flour for 2minutes. 

5. Carefully, and gradually add the warm milk, stirring constantly. Cook on low heat until thick.

6. Add the wine, cheese, chives, capsicum. Season to taste. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, cook the fettucini in boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes, until al dente. Drain.

8. Pour the sauce into the pasta, and serve.

9. Buon appetito!

Baked Dory à la Troy

I don't know what to call this dish. I just thought of Chicken Parmigiana, and improvised with what I have, and made this! It turned out pretty darn good.

I think the sauce overwhelmed the fish. (I just used up all the leftover spaghetti sauce)

Right after breakfast, I rummaged in our fridge for any leftovers that I can eat for lunch. I saw the spaghetti noodles and the sauce (from the other day), and.... that's it. I already ate spaghetti for lunch and dinner yesterday, I don't want to eat it for the 3rd time. I was thinking of making Chicken Parmigiana. I peeked in our freezer for chicken breasts, no luck. There's a pack of fillet dory though. I don't have chicken, but I do have fish! Improvise?

So that's it! I tried to make Chicken Dory Parmigiana. Naaah, I'll just name it Baked Dory à la Troy. After baking, it turned out really good! Not bad.

Layers include lemon, dory, spaghetti sauce, cheese

I think I used more than enough spaghetti sauce for this. Forgive me, I only used all what was left. I would really like to say that the end result was pretty great! The combination of the flavours: the lemon, the tomato, and the cheese, how heavenly. When you take a bite, you can taste the sweetness of the Pinoy Style spaghetti sauce, and the sourness of the lemon, sandwiching the very soft, and moist fish. I never thought that it would be so yummy! If you are desperate to make Chicken Parmigiana but don't have every ingredients, you can make this alternative.

What you need: (good for 1)

1/2 lemon, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 fillet of dory (or any white fish)

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (or your favourite tomato sauce. I used 1 cup of sauce and it's more than enough)

grated cheese (cheddar and parmesan)

salt and pepper

a dash of oregano

parsley (for garnish)

olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 

2. Slice half of the lemon into 3 circular shapes and line it up in a baking dish. Reserve the end of the lemon for later.

3. Add the garlic to the baking dish.

4. Season the fish with salt and pepper (I added chili flakes for an extra kick). Place it on top of the lemon and garlic. Squeeze in the remaining end of the lemon over the fish.

5. Add the spaghetti sauce, or your favourite tomato sauce over the fish. Add a dash of oregano.

6. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil on top of the cheese.

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese browns.

8. Serve. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Note: You can make your dory crispy! I think it would be closer to the experience of Chicken Parmigiana. First, pat dry your fish. Dredge it with flour with salt and pepper. Dip in a beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs (with cheese if you like, yum!). Pan fry the fish for 4-5minutes per side on medium-high heat, using cooking oil until golden brown. Then proceed to step 2.

Enjoy your improvised Chicken Parmigiana! Baked Dory à la Troy!

Creamy Baked Chicken

Some time this month, my sister asked me if I can cook for her barkada's little Christmas get-together lunch here. She specifically requested a recipe with wine in it. I searched the net for some inspirations on easy recipes with wine. I stumbled upon a recipe (sorry, I forgot where I got it) that is very easy. Although what I did was not really from the website, I'm not claiming this recipe to be entirely mine (maybe 40% mine?).

However, their little get-together didn't push through. I made this recipe for my friends last night. Their general comment was the meat was tender, moist and very cheesy (in a good way I think). This is a very easy recipe that you can do anytime.

7-9 pcs chicken breast fillets
1 can cream of chicken
1/4 dry white wine
1 can button mushrooms
1 onion
herbs and spices (I used rosemary, thyme, tarragon, and paprika)
grated Parmesan Cheese

Gruyère/Swiss Cheese, sliced

flour

salt and pepper
eggs
bread crumbs


1. Pre heat oven to 350F

2. On 3 bowls, mix together: a) flour, salt, pepper, paprika, b) beaten eggs, c) breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, herbs

3. Pat dry the chicken breast fillets using paper towels. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture completely tapping off the excess. Dip the chicken in the eggs and roll it in the breadcrumb mixture covering it completely.

4. Fry the chicken breast fillets on a frying pan until half cooked (4-5 minutes per side). After frying, place the chicken in an oven safe dish.

5. Sauté the  onion until tender. After a few minutes, add the mushrooms. Continue sautéing until the onions are caramelized. Place the mushroom and the onions on top of the chicken.

6. Thinly slice the Gruyère and top it on the mushroom and onions.

7. Mix together the cream of chicken and 1/4 cup dry white wine until smooth. Spoon it over the chicken.

8. Cover the oven dish with foil and bake it for 30-40 minutes.

9. Serve. Bon appétit!

Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée

Or French Onion Soup Gratinée.

I think this soup is one of the most popular soups (or popular French food) in the world. And as Julia Child stated in her TV Show, The French Chef, "... the soup that made the onion famous." It is made primarily with beef stock and caramelized onions and served with croutes and Swiss cheese.

I really love serving my family and friends this classic French Onion Soup because of the sweet aroma from caramelized onion and the creaminess and cheesiness from Swiss cheese. I love how this soup is served because all the texture and flavours that plays in your palette go so great together: from the sweet onions, to the crunchy croutes, to the creamy and cheesy cheese on top. Oh là là! All the hours of preparing (and crying over the onions) and cooking this soup is really worth it after you take those first sip. hmmm

This recipe is taken from Julia Child's show "The French Chef" (and I think this is also in her book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"). Oh here's a trivia: Did you know that Julia Child's final meal is this soup? [http://nrn.com/article/julia-child-facts-and-trivia]

To make your own Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée, you need "an awful a lot of onions" (Child, 1963):


Prep and cooking time: ~2 hrs
serves 6-8

1 kg of yellow onions
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp flour
6 cups beef stock (2 cubes beef broth + 6 cups water)
1 cup wine (dry red or white)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 raw onion
2-3 tbsp cognac
salt and pepper
100 g Gruyère/Swiss Cheese/Emmentaler/Jarlsberg/Appenzell/Raclette (or any good melter. Please don't use Quickmelt brand)
bread for croutes
olive oil



1. Place heavy bottom stock pot over medium-low heat


2. Add 1 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp butter


3. Add sliced onion and stir until they are evenly coated with oil


4. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until they are tender and translucent


5. To brown or caramelize the onion, turn the heat to medium-high


6. Add sugar, salt and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently until the onions have browned and reduced significantly


7. Once caramelized, reduce heat to medium-low and add 3tbsp flour


8. Brown the flour for 2-3 minutes (If the flour doesn’t form a thick paste, add butter)


9. Stir 1 cup of warm beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the cooked bits


10. Add the rest of the stock, wine, sage and bay leaf


11. Simmer for 30 minutes


12. Check soup for seasoning


13. Remove bay leaf


14. Transfer to casserole dish


15. Add cognac and grate ½ raw onion


16. Add a few ounces of cheese directly to soup and stir


17. Place the bread/croutes on top of the soup. (To make croutes, cut a french baguette 1 inch thick, or any bread if you don't have baguette, and coat it with olive oil. toast/bake it for about 5-8 minutes until crispy)


18. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese in a thick layer over the bread. (can be served as it is)


19. Drizzle with little oil


20. Place in a 170ºC (350ºF) for about 30 minutes or until the cheese has brown


21. Serve hot.


Bon appétit!

Cheesy Nachos

A few of my friends came over here to have our mini Christmas Party. I decided to give them an easy-to-make but very delicious appetizer while waiting for our main course. And tada, I served them Cheesy Nachos! I got the idea of "cheesy nachos" from a restaurant and tried to mimic it and I think I got it. So thanks to that restaurant for the great idea!

This may not look cheesy, but below the lettuce is a layer of cream cheese. Yuuuum!

If you want a tasty, yet easy to do snack, I suggest you try serving this Cheesy Nachos. It's really very easy. All you need are: (use as little or many you like)

for 6-10 people, depending on appetite

1/2 kilo ground beef
1 pack McCormick® Taco Seasoning Mix
1/2 cup water
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Onion
1 cup cream cheese
Cheddar cheese (optional)
Nacho chips 

1. Brown the meat in a sauce pan. After the meat has browned, strain all the juice. 

2. Dissolve one pack of mix with half cup of water. Pour into the meat. Stir and let it boil until the meat dries up.  

3. Let the cream cheese soften at room temperature or warm it using the microwave for 20 seconds.

4. Serve as you like. You can add lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapeño or whatever you like. 

Simple as that! If you already tried this recipe, let me know!

Oh next blog would be Chef John's Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs! I'm so excited about this dish! Stay tuned!