Portland

I'm taking off early today to spend the afternoon and weekend with a good friend from out of town. She's never been to Portland before.

We're going to start off with lunch at Kennedy School, so she can see what McMenamin's is all about, and get a taste of good Portland beer. I also have plans for us to visit various parts of the city, eat some fresh Northwest salmon, try out a few different eateries and a coffee joint or two. See the Oregon coast, get some pampering at a day spa, drink some more beer, and of course do some cooking. (She's going to show me how to make souvlaki!)

There are just so many amazing things to do and see, and eat and drink around Portland – it's absolutely overwhelming! I wish I could take her everywhere, give her a taste and a sip of all Portland has to offer, all in one weekend. I want her to know what a great place this is and understand why I love it so much.

But, it's just one weekend, and it's impossible to do it all. It'll be a fun weekend for sure, and I know I shouldn't worry so much about making an impression. She'll like Portland – how could she not? Will she love it? I don't know, but I guess it doesn't really matter as long as she has a good time.

What does matter is that I realize how lucky I am to live here – near the ocean and the mountains, in a fantastic, somewhat funky little city, among creative, interesting people, where there's lots going on (way more than I can keep up with), and of course, great food.

I just love it here.

Peanut Butter Honey Balls: No-Cook Kid Treats

When I was a kid, I had a funny little children’s cookbook my mom gave me. I remember only a few things I used to prepare, all of which happened to involve the use of bare hands. To make a cheese ball (think 70’s cocktail party) I kneaded grated cheddar with my warm little hands until it was soft and pliable. I then sprinkled the doughy cheese with chopped onions and shaped it into a ball. Sounds scrumptious, doesn’t it? It must have been torture for my poor parents to taste it and pretend to enjoy. Hopefully, at least, my hands were clean – well, we all lived anyway.

I also made pretzels. It was a basic yeast dough recipe with minimal rising time. I kneaded, then rolled (with hands, of course) the dough into snakes and shaped them into pretzel knots. I added a little egg wash, sprinkled with salt, and with Mom’s help, baked them in the oven. As I recall they weren’t particularly good, but I thoroughly enjoyed making them!

Finally, I remember making what my cookbook called, Joann’s No-Cook Candy. These hand-rolled bites of peanut butter, honey, and powdered milk were my favorite thing to make and eat. Sometimes I still crave the strange concoction and wish I had powdered milk on hand (I never do), so I could whip some up.

I no longer have the cookbook, and the few times I’ve made them since childhood, I’ve just added a bit of each of the ingredients until the right consistency and the right sweetness was achieved. Since I wanted to write about it however, and give you the correct proportions, I looked for the recipe online. I found nothing called Joann’s No-Cook Candy, but there were variations galore, of course, for Peanut Butter Honey Balls. The recipes have additions such as chopped nuts, sugar, graham crackers, wheat germ, raisins, and corn flakes.

Here is the very basic recipe. If you like, try rolling the balls in wheat germ, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, or whatever. I like to put the balls in the refrigerator to chill before eating, but there’s really no need to wait. You could even just eat the mixture straight out of the bowl with a spoon!

Peanut Butter Honey Balls  PRINTABLE RECIPE

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
2 cups instant dry milk (do not add water)
up to 1 cup honey

1. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter and dry milk. Add honey to taste and mix well. If the mixture seems too sticky, add a little more dry milk.

2. Roll into a log and cut into one-inch pieces, or use your hands to roll into one-inch balls. We used to wrap the individual pieces in squares of waxed paper (so they looked kind of like salt water taffy pieces), but this is optional. Store in the refrigerator.

Apple Salad with Basil & Mint

It's hot in Portland this week – over 100 degrees! That means I'm going to have to share another salad recipe. We've been eating salad at our house all week: an Asian noodle salad with crisp vegetables, the lentil orzo salad I shared recently (with some tomatoes added), and a hearty bread salad (panzanella).

Here's another salad that's good for a hot day. The original recipe called for chicken. I simply omitted it and added some celery instead for balance. It turned out fine, and the salad is faster and easier to make too!

Apple Salad with Basil & Mint  PRINTABLE RECIPE

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
4 scallions (white and light green parts only) - thinly sliced
2 Granny Smith apples - diced
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup roasted peanuts - roughly chopped

In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, vinegar, and brown sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the scallions, apples, and celery, and toss. Add the basil and mint. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste and toss again. Top with peanuts and serve.

Ordinary Salmon Part II: Grilled Salmon with Soy-Mustard Sauce

This is a particularly ordinary recipe, but it's so very good. It's easy too, although I do have a tendency to overcook it, which is the saddest thing to do to a beautiful piece of salmon. The suggested cook time from the original recipe was definitely too long, at least for the cuts of salmon I get, so I've been working on getting it just right.

The other thing I tend to screw up is the timing of the meal. The salmon is supposed to rest for 10 minutes after it's removed from the grill, before serving. I almost always forget this. Sometimes it doesn't matter because I've already overcooked it at this point. Other times I end up having everything else ready to serve 10 minutes before the fish is done.

You can do this on an outdoor grill, or on the stovetop on a cast iron grill pan, as I often do.

Grilled Salmon with Soy-Mustard Sauce  PRINTABLE RECIPE

1-1/2 to 2 Lb salmon filet with skin
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp soy sauce (I use the reduced sodium kind)
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic

1. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic.

2. Lay the salmon, skin side down, on a cutting board. Cut into four equal pieces. Drizzle half the marinade onto the salmon and let it sit for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, preheat the grill (or grill pan) to about 350°.

4. Place the salmon, skin side down, on the preheated grill. Grill for about three minutes. Use a spatula to carefully turn the fish over and grill for up to another 3 minutes.

5. Transfer the fish to a plate, skin side down, and drizzle the remaining marinade over the top. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. (Remember, the fish will continue to cook during this time.)

6. Remove the skin and serve.

Ordinary Salmon Part I: Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon

Salmon has become so popular it’s considered “common,” as in nothing special, boring, or ordinary. But I think most people, at least in the Northwest, would agree: Salmon is popular for good reason. Grilled, poached, cured, smoked, in eggs, in pasta, on a salad, on a plank, on a bagel. Lemon butter, dill sauce, ginger-soy, mustard sauce, no sauce. We just love it every which way.

Back when I was planning my wedding, salmon on a plank was a pretty new thing. I read about it in a magazine – a Native American method, that I’d never heard of before, for preparing this succulent fish. I requested it for our wedding dinner, and the caterers (hesitantly, I think) agreed to prepare it for us. They ended up baking it on a plank in the oven, rather than over a fire or on a grill, and though it was good, I’ve had better since, especially when we’ve made it ourselves at home.

My husband is the expert when it comes to making fish. He’s less likely to overcook it than I. So, I do the prep work and let him do the actual cooking. I like to serve it right on the plank for a sort of rustic presentation, and also to savor the smoky cedar smell. It really adds to the enjoyment.

I got this recipe off the packaging for some cedar planks a number of years ago. I still have the original cutout from the label. It’s got a faint aroma – kind of a garlicky campfire smell. The brand name has been cut off, or I’d give them credit for this recipe, which I love so much.

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon PRINTABLE RECIPE

1 untreated cedar plank – large enough for your salmon filet

1 to 1-1/2 Lb salmon filet
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of 3 fresh lemons
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic – minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1. Submerge the plank in water and soak for at least one hour. After soaking, brush about 1-1/2 Tbsp olive oil onto the plank.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to about 350°.

3. Brush the salmon filet with about 2 tsp olive oil and set it on the plank. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, parsley, and garlic.

5. Set the planked salmon on the preheated grill, and baste it with some of the marinade being careful not to contaminate the bowl of marinade.

6. Close the lid and cook until the fish is very nearly cooked through – time will vary depending on how hot your grill is and how thick the fish is, but the goal is to cook it slowly. Also remember, the fish will continue to cook after you remove it from the grill, so don’t overdo it. We usually end up with about 20 minutes of grill time.

7. Remove the planked salmon from the grill. Serve it on the plank or move it to a platter. Drizzle the remaining marinade over the fish and serve.

Mexican Fiesta

We don’t do leftover night at our place very often. Most of the time leftovers are used for lunches or maybe an early dinner for the kids. Every now and then, however, we do a leftover night, and it’s almost always what we call, “Mexican fiesta."

Maybe it goes back to my philosophy about adding salsa to almost anything. We put salsa on the table with all the leftovers, buffet style, and there you go – Mexican fiesta. It works especially well if there’s leftover rice or tortillas or even lettuce. Add a little cheese, maybe some beans and you’ve got Mexican rice bowls, quesadillas, or taco salad.

My daughter likes a plain tortilla with a side of beans. My son likes tortilla chips with melted cheese. My husband, Dave, and I each make up our own plates with whatever sounds good. I’m likely to go for brown rice with black beans, grated cheese, and salsa, while Dave might make loaded nachos.

We like it so much we sometimes plan Mexican fiesta. We make more rice than we need for Tuesday’s fish dinner (and maybe an extra fish filet for fish tacos). We reserve some salad stuff from Wednesday night’s big salad. I make guacamole and salsa. Dave grates cheese. We buy black beans and tortilla chips, sour cream and jalapeño slices. I guess you could call it super-deluxe Mexican fiesta because it’s planned, therefore less random, and we’ve got everybody’s favorite fixings. Once again, we each make our own dish: maybe taco salad for me with lots of guacamole, quesadillas for Dave with onions and jalapeños. And the kids – well, they pretty much stick with the same boring stuff every time, but it makes them happy.

Maybe your family would rather have a celebrazione Italiano using leftover pasta, spaghetti sauce, or vegetables. Add a little fresh basil, a little Parmesan – you could make individual pasta concoctions, Italian-style salad, or pizza bread. Do you prefer Chinese? Make a vegetable stir-fry or fried rice (leftover rice is great for fried rice). Anyway, you get the idea.

For my family, Mexican fiesta is fantástico! There’s little effort involved, it’s a great way to use up leftovers, and we all get what we want. Now, if only I had a margarita – then it would be a true fiesta – rocks and salt please!

Stuffed Peppers

I’ve never really been a fan of stuffed bell peppers, traditionally stuffed with rice, tomato sauce, onion, and sometimes ground beef. But I do like these Mexican-style stuffed peppers. My husband likes them too, and we enjoy them with a side of homemade chopped salsa (see recipe) and tortilla chips.

Poblanos are considered mild peppers, though there’s definitely some heat compared to a bell pepper. The smoke from broiling the peppers makes me cough, and I can feel a little burn from the pepper oil on my fingertips too. The rice and the cheese mellow the heat however, and the completed dish doesn’t actually taste very spicy to me.

Stuffed Chile Peppers  PRINTABLE RECIPE
(4 servings)

3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
4 poblano peppers (or to keep it extra mild, use small green bell peppers)
1-1/2 cups frozen corn – thawed
15 oz can kidney beans – rinsed & drained
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
4 oz goat cheese – crumbled

1. Prepare rice according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to the highest position and heat the broiler.

3. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Broil until the skin is charred black, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

4. In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, corn, beans, oil, salt, and pepper.

5. Use your fingers to peel the cooled peppers and discard the skins.

6. Place 2 pepper halves on each individual plate. Spoon rice mixture into and over the peppers and sprinkle with the cheese.