Sam's Galley

Swordfish with Cherry Tomato & Caper Relish & Blue Cheese Polenta

2012-01-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

When you Google swordfish, John Travolta's name pops up. Huh? Anyway, a neighbor of ours on the docks offered us some fresh swordfish the other day and we said hell yes! I have some bad past memories of swordfish as does Greg. Some of you may know that it tends to carry some unmentionable items in it. I learned that when I was training to be a kitchen manager at the Charthouse. My friend Matt Orlando taught me how to cut fish and my first fish I cut was swordfish. I saw some interesting things in it......

Anyway, Greg and I were a little reluctant to try it, jeez it's been at least 12 years since I have eaten swordfish. And many more years for Greg. But again when someone offers you fresh fish you do not turn it down. I repeat, you do not turn it down. After searching around for a good recipe I decided to just wing it. I also made a little polenta on the side (Greg says grits I say polenta). I added some crumbled blue cheese at the end just because.

2 swordfish steaks

10 cherry tomatoes

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 generous tbs. of capers

1 tbs. fresh parsley

splash of caper juice

s & p

olive oil

1 cup polenta

s & p

2 tbs. butter

4 tbs. crumbled blue cheese

Marinate swordfish with a few splashes of olive oil and s & p for about an hour in a shallow glass container. Meanwhile cut cherry tomatoes in quarters and mix together with the garlic, capers, caper juice, parsley, s & p and a few splashes of olive oil. Let that sit for an hour. Heat an oven friendly pan over medium high heat with about 2 tbs. of olive oil and pan sear the steaks for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer into a 400 degree oven and roast for about ten minutes until the steaks are cooked thoroughly.

The polenta was easy, it was quick polenta so no need to give you directions on that. I just decided that at the last moment to add blue cheese.

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs-Tijuana Style

2011-12-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

My first bacon wrapped hot dog was not in Tijuana. It was in a beautiful place called Barra de Navidad which is south of Puerto Vallarta. It was delicious and I crave them often. The traditional street dog comes with yellow mustard and ketchup but I omit those ingredients. I also like to use hot dogs that don't have the first ingredient as "mechanically separated" which grosses me out. I also think the quality of bacon is key. I use a hard smoked thin cut bacon, it works better and gets crispier faster in the pan. Lastly, the bun. I found some wonderful fresh baked buns here in Aruba from Bright Bakery and they work great. I like to butterfly them and throw them open side down in a pan with salted butter until they are golden brown, just like my mom used to make them.

So you need good quality hot dogs, bacon and buns. After preparing the buns, I use the same pan to fry the dogs. I wrap one slice of bacon for each hot dog and fry them until the bacon is crisp and cooked thoroughly, turning them every few minutes.

As far as condiments, I like:

jalapeno slices

dill pickles

diced white onion

diced tomato

lime mayonnaise (you can make your own by squeezing fresh lime juice with mayo)

Cholula hot sauce

Chicken Dijon & Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

2011-10-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

My grandmother used to make a Chicken Dijon. I think it consisted of cream of mushroom soup, chicken, cheese, broccoli and more cheese. It was a great memory of mine and my sister's growing up. Grandma's Chicken Dijon. I would love to recreate it but my waistline doesn't allow for it, so I stumbled upon this recipe in Food & Wine and I thought it was slightly healthier and grown-up version of Grandma's casserole.

Serves 2

Chicken Dijon

1 tbs. ground coriander

2 tbs. olive oil

4 chicken drumsticks, skin-on

salt and pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth or stock

3 tbs. whole grain mustard

3 tbs. greek lowfat yogurt

Season the chicken with ground coriander, and salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet with the olive oil to medium-high. Cook the chicken drumsticks on all sides for about 15 minutes until cooked through and nice and brown and crispy. Remove from pan and set aside. Cook the onions and garlic for about 3 minutes in the same pan, scraping up chicken bits and juices. Add the chicken broth, mustard and yogurt and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken back to the pan and toss with the sauce for one minute and serve.

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

1 lb. brussels sprouts, rinsed and cut in half

4 slices of bacon, diced

2 tsp. smoked sea salt

fresh ground pepper

olive oil

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place brussels sprouts mixture on a non-stick baking sheet face down. Roast for 15 minutes until bacon is crisp and brussels are nicely browned.

Smoked Pork Chops & Grits

2011-10-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

I miss my smoker. It was a good purchase. $80 and I could use it as a grill. Alas I live on a boat now and there was no room for it. I shed a tear when I sold it before our journey. In order to fill a void in my life I purchased a stove top smoker from Amazon.com. It came in handy during our trip when I used it to smoke fish. Anyway, I love a good pork chop and they get really nice and juicy when you smoke them. I started the smoker on high then reduced the head to medium after about five minutes. It's a really easy recipe and doesn't require a lot of prep time.

Pork:

4 center cut pork chops around 1-1/12 inch thick

1 tsp. barbecue seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Grits:

1/2 cup white grits

2 cups water

2 tbs. unsalted butter

crumbled cheddar cheese

salt

Texas Pete

Season pork chops with all the dry ingredients. Prepare a stove top smoker with hickory wood chips, and place over a medium heat. Leave the lid cracked open as the pan heats on the stove. Place the pork chops in the smoker. As the pan begins to smoke, completely shut the lid and allow the pork chops to smoke until an instant read thermometer registers 140 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, while the pork chops are smoking, place the grits and water in a saucepan and heat the grits until they are boiling. Turn down to simmer and cover. Stir occasionally for about 15-20 minutes. Add cheese, butter, salt and Texas Pete to taste.

Adapted from Food Network-Emeril Lagasse

Eggplant Gratin with Parmesan Custard

2011-08-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

I have discovered a few vegetables that are grown locally in Aruba and eggplant is one of them. I usually make the same old eggplant parmesan but decided to go outside my comfort zone and do something a little different. Greg was a bit "thrown off" by the word custard because he immediately thought of ice cream. I think I convinced him otherwise. I adapted this from Amanda Hesser's "The Essential New York Times Cookbook".

1/2 c. olive oil

1 cup diced onion

Salt

2 large peppers, one red and one yellow, cored and chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 large diced yellow tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

White pepper

3 lbs. eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch slices

2 tbl. water

1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3 eggs

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup torn basil leaves

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat 3 tbls. olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions. Add a pinch of salt and cook until translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and cook until peppers are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and water while the mixture simmers until thick and jammy (I like that word). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile brush the eggplant on each side with olive oil and place on baking sheets. Bake, turning after about 15 minutes until the eggplant is lightly brown, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature down to 375 degrees.

Mix the ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, cream and salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Add the basil to the sauce as it simmers.

Oil a large gratin dish with olive oil and make a layer of eggplant, then half of the tomato sauce;repeat. Top with the custard mixture and bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is nicely browned.

Red Quinoa, Spinach, Garbanzo & Smoked Paprika Salad

2011-07-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cups red quinoa (9 to 10 ounces), rinsed, drained
4 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves
1 15- to 16-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed, drained
1 3/4 cups diced zucchini
1 cup diced yellow pepper
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
1 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled feta cheese (about 7 ounces), divided
1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 cup olive oil

Place quinoa in large saucepan; add enough salted water to cover quinoa by 1 inch. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until quinoa is tender, 15 to 16 minutes. Drain. Chill until cool.

Meanwhile, combine spinach leaves, garbanzos, cubed zucchini, pepper, red onion, mint leaves, and half of feta cheese in extra-large bowl. Add cooled quinoa and toss gently to blend.

Whisk vinegar and smoked paprika in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle remaining feta over.

Adapted from Epicurious.

Lentil & Feta Salad

2011-07-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been dabbling in healthy cold salads. I made a really nice bulgur & quinoa salad the other day and Greg's response was "you can make this stuff anytime". So today I was inspired to make a lentil salad using whatever I had laying around. I like my lentils a bit tougher and chewier so I don't cook them as long. Another flavorful variation is cooking them in chicken or vegetable broth. Once the lentils are cooked, drain and rinse them with cold water, drain then toss all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

1 cup cooked lentils

1/4 c. chopped red onion

1/2 diced yellow pepper

1 diced plum tomato

1/4 c. crumbled feta

2 tbs. chopped parsley or dill

1/4 c. olive oil

2 tbs. red wine vinegar

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

2011-04-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Originally when I started this blog my intention was to write about cooking in small spaces, but since we moved onto a bigger boat with a gas stove, the blog just became more of a "whatever I made for dinner" thing. Now that we are currently at sea it's become a "whatever I can find in the galley" thing. I had ground beef that needed to be cooked and a mish mash of other ingredients. I looked up some recipes for a base guide but just kind of ended up winging it. So those who know me know about my infatuation with bacon. I've heard about bacon wrapped meatloaf before but surprisingly enough I have never made one. Here it is:

1 1/2 ground beef

1 tbl. white pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 tbls. marinara sauce

1/4 c. bread crumbs

2 tbl. milk

1 egg beaten silly

1 tbl. worcestershire

1 tbl. dried thyme

1 tbl. dried oregano

bacon.....bacon.....

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in a small bowl. Mix bread crumbs and milk and let sit for about 5 minutes then add the egg. Combine everything including the ground beef in a larger bowl. Mix well. In a loaf pan layer the bacon and let hang over the sides, then add the beef mixture and fold the bacon back over so that it covers the meatloaf. Bake in the oven for about an hour, at the end I jacked up the heat to about 475 so that the bacon got crispy. Everyones ovens will differ, mine runs pretty hot.

Enjoy!!

White Bean Chicken Chili

2011-02-17T18:35:00.001-08:00

It's been on my mind. White Bean Chicken Chili. Nice and spicy. I could of soaked the beans overnight..blah blah blah. The question is who has time for that? So I took a recipe from Bon Appetit and made some adjustments. It's really easy, takes no time and draws rave reviews.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion,chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried crushed red pepper

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 15-ounce cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

1 cup canned chicken broth

1 7-ounce can diced green chilies

1/2 cup whipping cream

Grated cheddar cheese

Fresh cilantro

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, coriander, oregano and dried red pepper. Sauté 5 minutes. Push onion to 1 side of pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan. Sauté chicken approximately 5 minutes.

Drain beans; reserve 1/2 cup bean liquid. Add beans, broth, chilies, cream and reserved bean liquid to chicken. Simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before using.) Ladle chili into bowls. Top with cheese and sprinkle with cilantro.

Eggplant Bolognese Lasagne

2010-08-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

It's been quite awhile since I have posted a recipe but gosh darn it I have been busy! Getting married, buying a new boat, added family member (Mazie) job promotion, you name it.

Recently Greg and I have been watching our carbs, but I crave pasta, pasta sauce, meatballs....a lot of that has high carbs and most meatballs have bread crumbs in them. Anyway, not to bore you but here is my recipe for Eggplant Bolognese Lasagna:

1 large eggplant sliced 1 inch thick (keep in mind my very small over so this recipe will feed 2 people)

Bolognese Sauce (any sauce you like, I prefer Mario Batali's recipe on the Food Network)

1 pound of pork sausage (yes more sausage)

2 cloves of smashed garlic

salt and pepper

olive oil

dried oregano

1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella or enough to cover each slice of eggplant

grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Slice the eggplant and season both sides with salt and pepper, then brush with olive oil on both sides, bake for 10-12 minutes then set aside.

I cooked the pork sausage in garlic and dried oregano, a few dashes until cooked then added the sauce that has already been prepared.

Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees.

Once the eggplant is cooked, place slices on one layer in a 8x8 baking dish that has been oiled.

Then layer sauce over top, then add a slice of mozzarella on each slice then top with parmesan. Keep repeating until you use all of the slices of eggplant, layering on top of each other.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top.

Turkey Meatloaf

2010-05-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

So I bought ground turkey thinking I would start making my own dog food, but once I did the math it seemed more expensive to make and more time consuming so I was left with lots of leftover ground turkey. Greg says"why don't you make your husband some turkey meatloaf?" So here I am on the new boat with a bigger galley and an oven....the problem was trying to find a turkey meatloaf recipe that didn't suck or contained ketchup (Greg says yuck). I combined about 3 recipes, one from epicurious, one from food network and one from Martha Stewart.

1 1/2 lb. ground turkey

4 tbls. tomato paste

1 yellow onion(cut into 1/8 and grind in processor)

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1 egg

1 egg white

3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

2 tbls. worcestershire

1 tbl. dried thyme

1 tbl. dried oregano

1 tbl. white pepper

salt

Preheat oven to 400.

I combined all dry ingredients first then added ground turkey, egg, 1/2 of the tomato paste, 1 tbl. worcestershire, garlic and onion and placed into a loaf pan. I then borrowed Martha's topping which was a combo of the egg white, the rest of the tomato paste and a tbl. of the worcestershire (man that word is long and hard to remember how to spell) and whisked it with a fork until blended and spooned it onto the meatloaf. Now in a normal oven it would take about 1 hr and 15 minutes or until the middle reaches 180 degrees but on the boat we have a super oven and this baby cooked in only 45 minutes.

It was delicious!

Sauteed Fresh Flounder Stuffed with Garlic

2010-02-14T11:23:00.000-08:00

We couldn't resist the whole fresh flounder we found at the market! At first we thought we would stuff it and wrap it in aluminum foil then steam it on the grill but we ended up pan frying the suckers!!

First, I stuffed each flounder with a whole head of chopped garlic, then seasoned it with salt and pepper on the inside and out. I also added about a tablespoon of butter in each fish. Since they were a bit on the small side (about 8 oz a piece) they did not take long to cook at all. About 3-4 minutes on each side. I used a bit of olive oil and about a tablespoon of butter to saute them. I served it with a brown rice pilaf and sauteed pencil thin asparagus. This was really easy and very satisfying. I ended up using just two pans for all of this, not bad for a boat meal.

Duck Confit & Smoked Sausage Gumbo

2010-02-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

My first thought is....how am I going to pull off a gumbo with no stock pot? There is a slow cooker so maybe I can make the roux in a pan on the stove and then pour it in the slow cooker........

So I took 2 duck confit legs then seared them in olive oil and then placed them in the slow cooker. Then I took 2 tbls. of butter and melted it in the duck fat, added a bit of flour, whisked it in slowly and made a light blond roux. I then placed all the chopped vegetables into the slow cooker with the duck, then added about 2 cups of chicken broth, about a 3/4 pound smoked kielbasa, a cup of white rice, some Zataran's seasoning and about a cup of Fat Tire beer. I let it simmer in the slow cooker for about 3 hours, you can add more chicken broth if you do not like the consistency.

2 duck confit legs
3/4 lb. smoked sausage
2 cups chicken stock/broth
2 tbls. butter
1 tbl. olive oil
2 tbls. Zataran's seasoning
1 tbl. flour
1 green pepper diced
2 stalks of celery sliced thick
1/2 yellow onion diced
1 c. beer (good beer, not fizzy yellow beer)
1c. white rice

Small Spaces

2010-01-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

Cooking on a boat is challenging, but I have found that with the proper equipment it can be a success. Right now we do not have an oven so we are limited with certain recipes, but we do have a slow cooker and a hibachi. I reccommend a good knife, a mandolin, a small whisk, and compactible measuring cups and spoons to save space. I think our next purchase is stackable cookware. We both love to cook, Greg makes excellent chili, East Carolina pork and reubens speaking of which he hasn't made any of those in quite some time...hint..hint..Recently I made crabcakes on New Year's Eve, I think they turned out pretty well!

Maryland Style Crabcakes

Ingredients
1 pound crabmeat (preferably lump)
2 slices white bread, crusts trimmed (or you can use panko or breadcrumbs)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, break bread into small pieces. Moisten with milk. Add mayo, salt and pepper, parsley, old bay, egg and crabmeat. Mix lightly and shape into patties. If time permits, refrigerate patties 30 minutes to help keep them together when cooking. Broil or fry until golden-brown on both sides. Serve with homemade tartar sauce.