Weekly Menu

When the calendar flips to March I think Spring!!!! And it can't get here soon enough! This has been a tough, cold winter in my neck of the woods. I know March has a lot of roaring left in it until we get to gentler weather. But a girl can hope!

This week's menu is full of interesting flavors. Intense and not always ordinary. Okay, excluding taco night! 



Monday: Bistro Night
Salmon Rillettes With Baguettes
Roasted Fennel and Onion
Recipe: Salmon Rillettes
Salmon Rillettes, usually a great French first courses, makes a delicious light dinner. Serve this yummy salmon on toasted sliced baguettes. Sorta like a Bistro Lox and Bagels!

1 salmon fillet (about 12 oz.)
1/2 cup bottled clam juice
1/2 cup good, dry white wine
2 TBS butter
1/4 cups finely chopped shallots
1/2 lb cold smoked salmon, cut into thin strips
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 TBS capers, rinsed
3 lemons, cut in wedges
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
2 TBS softened butter
1-2 TBS chives, snipped
baguettes, sliced into rounds and toasted until golden brown

Pat salmon dry. In a large skillet, combine clam juice  and white wine. Heat over medium high heat. Bring the liquid to boil and add salmon and cover. Poach (simmer) for 6-8 minutes, until fish is done and opaque with a slight pink center.  Set aside. When slightly cooled, remove skin and flake with a fork.

Discard poaching liquid and wipe skillet dry. Put 1 TBS butter in pan and heat.  Add shallots and saute' until the shallots are soft, about 4 minutes.  Add cold smoked salmon and saute' for about 3 minutes, mashing with the back of a wooden spoon.  Add flaked salmon and remove from heat. Continue to mash fish. Beat in the 2 TBS and add 2 TBS fresh lemon juice. Pack a crock (or bowl) with the fish mixture. Cover and refrigerate.

Meanwhile make a cream cheese spread. Put softened cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Mix together. Add 1 TBS lemon juice, 1 TBS capers and chives. Mix together.

To serve. Spread flavored cream cheese on toasted baguette round, add salmon mixture and garnish with capers and a squirt of fresh lemon. YUMMY!

SG TIP: The elements of this fabulous Bistro classic can be made into a wonderful pasta dish. Make fettuccine according to the package direction. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Add cream cheese mixture and enough cooking liquid to the hot pasta to make a creamy sauce. DO NOT refrigerate the salmon mixture, but add it to the pasta. Mix well.

Oven toast baguettes until toasty brown and hard. Put them into a food processor and make bread crumbs. In a large skillet melt 1 TBS over medium heat until bubbly and lightly browned. Add 1 cup of bread crumbs and mix.  Sprinkle each serving of salmon fettuccine with bread crumbs.  DELICIOUS!

Recipe:  Roasted Fennel And Onions
3 medium yellow onions, peeled and wedged
2 fennel bulbs, washed, trimmed and cut into wedges with fonds reserved
1 TBS good olive oil
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Reserve 1/4 cup of chopped fennel fonds.
In an 8 inch baking dish, add onions and fennel bulbs. Add olive oil and vinegar. Salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake for 1 hour, tossing occasionally until tender and charred. Toss with reserved chopped fonds and serve.

Tuesday
Chicken Madeira
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Asparagus

Recipe: Chicken Madeira
I adore Madeira and Marsala wine! They are a pantry must! Cooking with these fortified wines takes all of my dishes up a notch or two! This recipe is a "skinny version" of the classic.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 TBS olive oil
1 lb. thinly sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Madeira wine
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1 TBS butter
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and salt and pepper. Lightly spray a baking dish with cooking spray and add chicken.

In a large skillet add 1/2 TBS oil and heat over medium.  Add mushroom and cook until mushrooms are tender, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from pan and distribute over chicken. Wipe out skillet with paper towel.

Add remaining oil and heat over medium. Add onions and saute' until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add mixture over chicken. Wipe out pan again with a paper towel.

Combine wine and sour cream in a bowl and pour over chicken.

In the skillet heat butter until bubbly and slightly browned. Add bread crumbs and toss to coat. Sprinkle over chicken. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Serve in a large shallow bowl. Put mashed potatoes in the bottom of the bowl, add chicken and top with all the yummy veggies and sauce. I serve this with a soup spoon to get all the delicious juices.

Wednesday: Soup Day
StoneGable Minestrone Soup
Homemade No Knead Crusty Bread
Recipe: StoneGable Minestrone Soup
This is a new favorite around here. It is also a great soup to give to a friend! Very hearty and satisfying. And the swiss chard is sooooo good in this! Click HERE and look at Friday's menu for this thick take on an Italian classic!

Recipe: No Knead  Crusty Bread
Oh this is sooooo good. Since finding this great recipeI make it at least twice a week. It is delicious toasted in the morning! Susan, from I Need Mom shared this great recipe several weeks ago and I am a big fan! When using this recipe I put my Le Cruset baker in a cold oven and heat it to 450 degrees. I turned my bread over into the hot baker and baked it with the lid on. I did not put the pan of water under it. It worked perfectly! Click HERE for this crusty bread.

Thursday
Taco's
Pintos and Cheese
Lot's of fresh toppings!

Recipe: Pintos And Cheese
Oh, this recipe is worth making! The flavor is delicious. Click HERE for this Epiccurios recipe.

Friday
Rosemary And Anchovy Tart
Large Greek Salad


Recipe: Rosemary And Anchovy Tart
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted
1 tsp olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 cup Sofregit (recipe below), or 1 cup onion marmalade (recipe below)
1  TBS chopped fresh rosemary
3 plum tomatoes, sliced thin
8 anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry ( Or strips of procutto )
4 TBS fresh grated Manchego (try this wonderful cheese) or parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry dough to a 13 inch square. Fill the pastry in an 11 inch round tart pan with a removable rim. Trim the excess dough and put it in the freezer until ready to use.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. add the oil and garlic and saute' for a minute or two until garlic becomes soft. Lower heat and add sofreit and chopped rosemary. Simmer for 5 minutes and set aside. Let sauce cool slightly.

Remove the tart from the freezer and add sofreit mixture, spreading over tart surface. Arrange sliced tomatoes on top followed by anchovies, in a wagon spoke like pattern. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes until brown and crispy. Remove sides from tart pan and serve immediately.

Recipe: Sofregit
What a gorgeous, stunningly flavorful tomato marmalade!
2 TBS olive oil
3 cups chopped onions
16 plum tomatoes OR 2  15 oz can of whole plum tomatoes, liquid drained

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and starting to caramelized, stirring occasionally.  Add tomatoes and stir. Cook on medium heat until the liquid has evaporated and tomatoes have begun to melt into the onions for about an hour. Sofregit can be kept in the refrigerator.

Recipe: Onion Marmalade
Wonderful as a condiment to compliment so many dishes! All is well when this is in my refrigerator!
2 TBS butter
12 cups thinly sliced onions (I use a Mandoline)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

In a vey large skillet, melt butter.Add onions, cover and cook until translucent and soft, about 45 minutes.
Uncover and lower heat. Simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally. Add vinegar and stir. Cook until carmalized, about another hour. Can be kept in refrigerator for up to 10 days or frozen for 3 months.

Saturday: Smoker Day
Smoked Sweet Italian Sausage
Roasted Root Vegetables
I have created a smoker monster. I recently gave my Bobby a charcoal smoker as a gift. He is having so much fun with it. He is smoking every weekend. Spending hours out in the cold with the smoker and fire pit going full blast. A cocktail in one hand and a cigar in the other! All bundled up having the time of his life tending the fire and meat. And he has smoked some scrumptious meals. Happiness is a man and his fire! (He is just so darn cute!)

Sunday
Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken

Recipe: Caesar Salad
We are having a big lunch so dinner is easy and light. Here at StoneGable, we LOVE this Caesar Salad!
Click HERE for the best Caesar Salad EVER!