deviled eggs with smoked salmon, capers and dill

now that i've decided i like deviled eggs, i've opened up a whole new world of quick dinners. for these, i took inventory of the fridge, freezer, and herb patch, added up the available ingredients in my head, and did a google search for "deviled eggs with smoked salmon, capers, and dill." quelle surprise, the internet gave me what i asked for.

you can probably imagine what these are like--creamy deviled egg, smokey, salty salmon, and a briny, bright punch from the capers and dill. i thought they were deeelish. rob liked 'em, too. plus, having deviled eggs for dinner seems such a summery thing to do, and anything summery makes me a happy angie. i don't remember what i served it with--probably a cucumber salad. i've been really into cucumber salads lately.

deviled eggs with smoked salmon, capers and dill
from rochester.ynn.com

12 farm eggs
3 Tbsp mayo, plus extra
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
tabasco or other hot sauce
4 oz sliced smoked salmon
2 Tbsp capers, drained
1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

put eggs in large pot and cover with cold water. bring to a boil, cover pot, and turn off heat. let pot sit on the burner for 11 minutes, then remove eggs from pot and drop them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. this method produces a perfect cooked yolk, still lovely and yellow instead of that scary grey-green hue they can take on when overcooked.

 see? pretty!

peel eggs and cut in half. scoop out yolks and add to them in a bowl the mayo, mustard, and a couple of shakes of the hot sauce. smash it all together until it's smooth. taste and adjust seasoning. if it's dry, add a little more mayo.

assemble by scooping a little of the yolk mixture into the egg white, top with a piece of smoked salmon, then more yolk mixture, some capers, and chopped dill. 

sources:

eggs from stokesberry sustainable farm

smoked wild alaska pink salmon from loki fish co.

dill from our garden 

shaved asparagus and fennel salad (with slow-roasted halibut)

i've managed to convert rob. he was firmly planted in the "i don't like fennel" camp until this raw salad of shaved asparagus and fennel with a mustard dressing, and now he nibbles on the fennel tops on our way home from the farmers market. we've made it twice now, serving once with the crunchy topped, slow-roasted halibut in the recipe (we, and our dinner guest, thought the fish and salad were amazing), and another time on its own.

fennel is a fascinating vegetable. its bulb grows in a criss-crossing basket-weave pattern, and the stalks are long and slender, topped with delicate, feathery foliage. all parts are edible, and the taste is cool and herbal with a mild flavor of anise. the bulb hides dirt and sand between the outer couple of layers, so pull it apart to wash thoroughly. (it also grows wild all over the place around here, which makes walks around the neighborhood a fun and fragrant treasure hunt.)

for this recipe, the fennel is thin-shaved using the thinnest setting on a mandoline slicer. (you can do this with a knife, but it will probably make you grumpy. if you don't have a mandoline, get one! mine has changed my whole life, for the low, low price of something like 30 bucks.)

asparagus is too skinny for the mandoline, so use a vegetable peeler to shave thin slices from the trimmed stalks, and save the tips for another dish.

slow-roasted halibut with shaved asparagus and fennel salad

from bon appetit, april 2010

(salad is vegan and gluten-free)

4 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbps dijon or whole-grain mustard

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp drained capers, chopped

3/4 lb asparagus spears, trimmed

1/2 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb

handful of fennel foliage, rough chopped

2 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (i used panko)

3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

2 Tbps chopped fresh italian parsley

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp fine grated lemon peel

3 Tbps butter, melted

4 six-oz wild-caught pacific halibut fillets (also called alaskan halibut. avoid atlantic, and be cautious of california and greenland! read more on halibut best choices at monterey bay aquarium's seafood watch.)

for salad, whisk together lemon juice and mustard. slowly add olive oil while whisking, and mix in chopped capers.

use a vegetable peeler to make long, thin slices of the asparagus stalks. using a mandoline on the thinnest setting, shave the fennel bulb. toss asparagus and fennel bulb and foliage in the dressing. can be made ahead.

for fish, preheat oven to 300 degrees. prepare a baking sheet with a little oil. mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, lemon peel, herbs, and melted butter. season mixture with salt and pepper.

put fish on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. divide bread crumbs among the fillets and press to adhere. bake fish for 20-40 minutes, depending on thickness of fish, until the center is opaque. (my fillets were almost 2" thick-- one took 32 minutes, the other 38 to cook through. watch it to not overcook-- the fish should be good and moist!) turn on broiler and broil about 1 minute until breadcrumbs begin to brown.

serve fish with salad.

sources:

asparagus-- canales farm

fennel-- alm hill gardens

meyer lemon fest part 3: salmon with lemons and creamy leeks

after preserving lemons and using them to flavor vodka, i had a couple leftover. i'd bought a 1lb fillet of wild caught (not farmed!) pink salmon from loki fish company at the farmers market and thought my lemons would compliment the fish nicely. pink salmon is milder in flavor and a lighter color than the more robust-flavored, dark pink to almost red-colored coho or sockeye. still, it's a delicate and delicious fish, with gorgeous light pink flesh. it's also cheaper than the other two which, truth be told, is its main appeal for me!

i found a recipe for an almond-crusted salmon with creamy leeks, but i didn't want to encase the fresh salmon flavor in nuts-- i like a really simple preparation, so took the leeks idea and scrapped the rest. the bright and creamy sauce made it a nice transition dish, easing from winter into spring. here's how it went...

pink salmon with lemons and creamy leeks
serves 2

1 1lb boneless salmon fillet
1 whole lemon (i used meyer)
olive oil, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbsp butter
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced thin
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup whipping cream (or half and half)
salt and pepper

for creamy leeks:

heat the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. add cleaned and sliced leeks and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes. reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 15 minutes. increase heat to medium and stir in lemon juice; cook, stirring, for about a minute or until it evaporates. stir in cream and cook until it reduces slightly, just a few minutes. (note: when i added the cream to the mixture, it curdled. i'm not sure if it was because i hadn't let the lemon juice reduce completely, or if it would curdle regardless. either way, the blender took care of it.) cool slightly, transfer mixture to blender and blend until smooth. season to taste with salt and pepper.

for salmon:

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

prepare baking dish large enough for the fish by lightly coating bottom with olive oil. pat fish dry and put in baking dish (skin-side down, if skin on) and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper. slice one of the lemons and arrange slices along the fish. drizzle liberally with olive oil. bake salmon about 20-25 minutes. check after 15 and every 5 minutes after that-- cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fillet. the thinner ends will cook faster than the center.

serve salmon either topped with the cream, or put cream on the plate and serve salmon on top.

and thus went meyer lemon fest 2010. 

mahimahi with tropical fruit salad

while on our vacation, we spent a lot of time with fruit. we ate it. we drank it. we battled the sugar ants coming for it. the opportunity to take a break from root vegetables and ingest a little sunshine was just what ol' man winter ordered. 

the fruit superstar for the week was definitely papaya. sooo incredibly delicious. we had them with breakfast and coffee on the lanai every morning, snacked on them in the afternoon, and, the one night we cooked, papaya was half the plate! (i love the pacific northwest, but can someone please figure out a way to grow papaya here? maybe a big ol' tropical biodome in a p-patch? my life feels empty without it!)

we bought all of our fruit from this guy at the west maui farmer's market. as we looked over the papaya, he asked, "you need for today, or for tomorrow?" we answered both. plus the next day. aaand the next day... he picked out 4 fruits for us in varying stages of ripeness and plunked them in our hands-- "for today, for tomorrow, for sunday, for monday." he knew his papaya! i heard someone next to us ask for one for tomorrow, and he answered in the matter-of-fact and somewhat punchy manner of a fast-moving guy who knows his stuff, "what time tomorrow?" 

i had planned that we would cook at least one night while we were away, and read dozens of recipes using island ingredients before we left. the ones that stood out the most to me were various fish dishes with fruit salsas. after our magical evening at mama's fish house, i found that their website included a perfect recipe for us, especially considering we already had half of the ingredients in place-- mahimahi with tropical fruit salad. done.

mahimahi with tropical fruit salad
from mahimahi macadamia nut saute with tropical fruit salad, mama's fish house 

2 mahimahi filets
salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbps butter, divided
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 of a fresh lemon

1 ripe papaya, halved and seeded
1 cup mango, peeled and medium diced
1 cup fresh pineapple, peeled and medium diced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
one fresh lime

for salad:
sprinkle papaya halves with a pinch of salt and fresh lime or lemon juice. set aside. mix mango, pineapple, onion, cilantro, and mint, and toss with fresh lime juice to taste. season with a pinch of salt. chill for one hour. 

for fish:
season both sides of mahimahi with salt and freshly cracked pepper. heat olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat in heavy saute pan. cook fish 1 to 2 minutes, turn, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until cooked through, depending on thickness of fish. don't overcook. remove fish from pan and cover to keep warm. add remaining 1 Tbps butter to pan, lemon, and wine. cook, stirring or whisking, until sauce begins to thicken. 

to serve:
heap fruit salad in papaya half. serve with fish topped with lemon-wine pan sauce. 

mama's notes that ahi, ono, opakapaka, or any fresh fish can be substituted. 

the buttery, salty fish with the sweet and tangy fruit was absolutely perfect. ahhh, and so was the view.

restaurant review-- mama's fish house, paia, maui

when planning our trip to maui a couple of weeks ago, two friends said, without reservation, "go to mama's fish house." mama's is an oceanside restaurant in a shabby-chic converted beach house on maui's north shore. opened in 1973, mama's was the first fresh fish restaurant on the island. not only is all of the fish served caught that day or the day before, but produce is grown on the island as much as possible. mama's is all about sustainability and local producers. they even list the fishers, vessels, and catch locations on the menu! the food was out of this world, the service exceeded both of our expectations combined, and the whole experience was more than worth driving an hour from where we stayed. 

let's start with drinks (as one does). we arrived about an hour early for our 4:30pm reservation, so they sent us to one of the bar areas for a pre-dinner cocktail, a welcomed stop after a somewhat stressful drive along part of the beautiful, but winding and narrow (sometimes one lane!) mountain road, the road to hana. for me it was a mai tai, a vintage recipe from the 1930s from trader vic himself, because let's face it, one simply can't visit hawaii without enjoying a mai tai from a glass tiki head. rob's drink was the surprise-- gin with guava and lime, and a powdered ginger and sugar rim. we both agreed, though he loves gin and i am no fan, this was one amazing cocktail! 

one of our first glimpses of the magical experience that is the service at mama's was when, as i twirled the orchid from my drink in my fingers, the bartender asked if i'd like to wear the flower in my hair. wull yah! he held up a toothpick and asked, "can i help?" he skewered it, i tucked it in. cool.

now that i was accessorized, it was time to eat. we started with an amuse-bouche of a bisque of some kind. i didn't quite hear the description when it came out, but it was wonderful-- tasted packed with cilantro. next was one of the best appetizers i've ever ever had ever. polynesian seared beef, with mixed vegetables in a zippy lime and herb dressing, served in a grilled papaya. oh man, that was good stuff. the beef absolutely melted... (i really shouldn't be writing this post before lunch!)

for the entrees, rob's was a mahi mahi stuffed with lobster, crab, and maui onion, baked with a macadamia nut crust and topped with a lobster tail. 

mine was a chef's special in honor of valentine's day. (note the "hearts" of palm...) the fish was monchong, topped with crab and macadamia nut, and served with a passion fruit sauce. (passion? valentine's? get it?) forbidden rice, honey gingered carrots, and asparagus made up the rest of the plate. 

after ordering coffee and turning down dessert, a staff member placed two spoons on our table. "i sense a complimentary dessert," said rob. sure enough, our waiter swept in with two scoops of banana ice cream and said, "couldn't let you leave without something sweet. it's on me." i'm not normally interested in banana-flavored anything, but this was either exceptionally wonderful, or i was too blissed out to notice. probably both. 

from the open window, inviting in the ocean breeze and the occasional bird, we watched the roaring pacific ocean and a steady flow of beach visitors, including a wedding party having their photos made. (tip-- if you have an early reservation and show up before dinner service begins, you're more likely to get a window-side table!)


mama's was an experience that kept on giving. she's generous enough to have a couple of recipes on the website, which we took advantage of the next day in order to continue our mama's fish house experience from our west maui condo. that post coming next...

mama's fish house website. it's flash, so i couldn't post any specific links, but there's a lot of fun info here. also, it plays island music so you may want to mute before clicking! 

want. to. go. back...