August 31 - Serving Pan Fried Flounder with Broccoli Slaw

I am pleased that my kids are appreciating more fish dishes than before. Also, they have added zucchini and eggplant as favorite veggies besides broccoli.

So tonight, I served pan fried flounder and broccoli slaw. I have not prepared the usual cabbage slaw at home but surprisingly, they did not shy away from the broccoli slaw. Secret ingredients must be the bacon bits and sugar :)

Pan Fried Flounder and Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients

for the Pan Fried Flounder:

6 7oz. flounder fillet

salt and pepper

1 cup milk

2 cups flour

1 lemon, thinly sliced

butter for frying

for the Broccoli Slaw:

2 packages of Dole Broccoli Slaw

5 bacon slices

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

Cooking Time (1 hour)

Lay the flounder fillets in a large baking pan.

Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Let it stand for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the broccoli slaw.

Chop the 5 pieces of bacon.

Fry the bacon bits in a large frying pan.

In a big salad bowl, mix together the broccoli slaw, brown sugar, mayonnaise, olive oil and bacon.

Start cooking the flounder.

Place the milk in a shallow bowl.

Place the flour in a big plate.

Dredge each flounder fillet in milk, then in flour.

You may use butter or the oil from the bacon to fry the flounder.

Cook each side until it's golden brown.

Serve the fish with rice and slaw.

You may add a lemon slice on top of the fish for garnishing.

August 30 - Caribbean-Style Pineapple Marinade for Steaks

Here is a healthier option to the usual BBQ marinade of soy sauce and brown sugar - pineapple marinade.

I tried it initially with Flanken-style beef short ribs to bring it to a church banquet. That 4 pound was gone in no time.

I went back to the supermarket to buy some beef chuck steaks to serve the same dish at home.

Do take time to marinade the steaks, at least overnight. You can bake it for an hour at low heat, about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, or simmer it in a shallow pan for the same amount of time.


Steaks with Pineapple Marinade
Ingredients
4 lbs Beef Chuck Center Cut Steak Bone-in
2 cups 100% pineapple juice
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation Time:
Place the steaks in a large shallow baking pan.
Add the rest of the ingredients, pineapple juice, salt, pepper and garlic.
Marinate the steaks overnight.






Cooking Time (75 minutes)
Cover the baking pan with a foil.
Bake the steaks (marinade included) for about 45 minutes at 250 degrees.
Uncover the pan and let it bake for another 15 minutes.
Grill the steak for 6 minutes on each side to give it some brown color.
Serve with sauteed vegetables and rice.

August 27 - A Special Way to Serve Cod

While dining in Delmonico's, I had a wonderful serving of Pan Roasted Cod with Tomato Leek Fondue. Since cod is my husband's favorite fish, I dared myself to prepare it at home.

The dish was served with tomato leek fondue and spaghetti squash. The tomato leek fondue, for me, was the main driver of the dish. The spaghetti squash has a subtle and sweet taste. I used a non-stick frying pan to cook the fish since cod is very soft and can easily break.

Pan Roasted Cod

Ingredients:

for Pan Roasted Cod:

6 cod fillet, about 2.5 lbs

salt and pepper

olive oil for frying

for Tomato Leek Fondue:

15 0z tomato sauce

1 tbsp salt

pepper

3 cups leek (the white portion of the leek, thinly sliced)

1 cup milk

capers and black olives for garnishing

for Spaghetti Squash:

1 spaghetti squash

olive oil

salt

pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Time (90 minutes)

Start with the spaghetti squash.

Cut it in half (lengthwise).

Scrape the seeds and the "stringy" stuff out.

Drizzle with olive, salt and pepper.

Put the halves together.

Bake in the oven for an hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

After 30 minutes, start preparing the fondue.

In a pot, heat the olive oil.

Saute the leek for 5 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper.

Let it simmer for 30 minutes.

Add 1 cup of milk.

Blend the sauce to make a puree.

Keep it warm while preparing the pan roasted cod.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan.

Pan fry each cod fillet, on both sides.

Cook it until slightly crisp.

When serving, add Parmesan cheese on the spaghetti squash.

Place a big scoop of spaghetti squash on a plate.

Place a cod fillet on top of the squash.

Pour some tomato leek fondue over the fish.

Garnish with capers and chopped black olives.

August 25 - Ratatouille for the Kids

Ratatouille is one my kids' favorite movies. It's about a rat improvising these seemingly delicious dishes. Of course, the kids wonder if that ratatouille tasted really good just as the food critic claimed it to be.

In my first attempt to prepare ratatouille, it looked good but tasted dry. I hesitated to include eggplants since my kids, at that time, were not familiar with it.


This time, my dish was warmly welcomed (and consumed) by my kids. Yes, I included the eggplant, which added the toasty taste of the dish. I made a good tomato sauce as a base for my ratatouille, which the kids liked as well.

Ratatouille



Ingredients
For the sauce:
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup water
1 large sweet onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp salt
pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup olive oil

For the vegetables:
2 green zucchini, thinly sliced
1 Italian eggplant, cut lengthwise in 4 portions and thinly sliced
8 red plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced



Cooking Time (70 minutes)
Heat the olive oil in a wok.
Saute the garlic, then the onion.
Add the tomato paste, 1 cup water, thyme, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
Let it cook for 30 minutes in low heat.
Carefully blend the sauce into a puree.
Pour the tomato sauce in a large baking pan.
Arrange the zucchini, eggplant and tomato alternately in a single layer.
Place the thin slices of green bell pepper on top.
Cover the pan with a parchment paper.
Bake the ratatouille for 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

August 24 - Stuffed Pork Cutlets Served with Beer Sauerkraut and Dumplings

One colleague noticed that I only have one Austrian dish in my recipe blogs. So he offered to share his collection of Austrian recipes. The combination of pork cutlets, sauerkraut and dumplings was interesting enough for my kids.

The stuffed pork cutlet came out tasty. Make sure that you take the time to marinade the pork with salt, pepper and garlic.

Same thing with the beer sauerkraut, I gave it an hour to simmer. It is not the usual sour tasting cabbage. The caraway is optional, although I think, it gave the disk the wonderful aroma.

My son liked the dumplings. I used the sweet Vidalia onion and fresh parsley to give this recipe a kick.


Stuffed Pork Cutlet
Ingredients
Stuffed Pork Cutlets:
6 pork cutlets or steaks (about 2" by 6, about 1/2 inch thick)
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
6 fresh sausages link (take out the skin)
olive oil
Beer Sauerkraut:
1 head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 cup or bottle of beer
Dumplings:
6 mini brioche rolls, crumbled
2 eggs
1 cup milk
olive oil
salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cooking Time (1 hour)
Season the pork steaks with garlic, salt and pepper.
Set aside for 45 minutes.
Cook the beer sauerkraut.
Heat the olive oil in a wok and saute the onions.
Add the beer and the cabbage.
Season with salt, pepper and caraway seeds.
Simmer the cabbage for 1 hour.
Prepare the dumplings.
Mix all the ingredients for the dumplings.
Divide the mixture into 9 portions.
Using a plastic wrap, wrap a portion and shape it into a ball.
Microwave the dumplings for at least 3 minutes.
Cook the stuffed pork cutlets.
Stuff each cutlet with a portion of the sausage filling.
Fold the cutlet into half.
You can use a panini grill to cook the cutlet for 10 minutes.
Or you can fry the cutlets on both sides using a shallow pan.