EASY RECIPES AND STUFF

AND STUFF

When I lived on the plains and later in the mountains I used to occasionally fish and hunt.

From lakes and streams I would gather splendidly fresh perch, northern pike, walleye pike, and rainbow and brown trout. On occasion we would have so many fillets some would go fresh to frozen the very day caught. I’m not a huge fish eater, but there is something very special about catching, cleaning, and serving fish you know was in pristine water earlier in the day.

Many days while fly fishing for trout in Silver Creek we would reel in a trout and then carefully remove the fly and return the fish to the stream none-the-worse from the battle. The fun of the catch was enough on many days.

I totally get fly fishing.  Finding the perfect spot in the stream and waiting for a bug hatch or swarm so I could gently lay my fly into feeding area.  Fly fishing is delicate and tranquil work.

And then there is bird hunting. There’s nothing more exciting than walking the open fields and hills for sage hen, or down the rows of harvested corn for pheasant, always at the ready for a bird to take flight.

And then there is Cadillac hunting where before dawn we would take position sitting in the reeds along a pond and wait for the sun to rise and mallard ducks to pass over as they fly in or out of our pond.  Duck hunting, a lovely mix of tranquility, shotgun fire, and the smell of reeds and gunpowder.

Now I live with the ocean to my left and 11,000,000 people to my right.  One does not just drive 20 minutes into the country and start hunting, and I just haven’t gotten into blue water fishing yet.  But, man do I love it when my friend comes home with fresh lobster or yellow tail after one of his ocean adventures.

Where was I going with this?  Nowhere in particular,  just some happy ramblings.  Seemed like a good idea.

Good Eating and Table Talk,

Roger Scouton

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EASY RECIPE

Time for my super easy recipe for Grown Up Tuna Melt.  I love tuna melt and soup on a cool autumn night so naturally I had to take a standard recipe and infuse some all grown up flavors.

Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

2- 7 oz cans Albacore Tuna in water – drain water.

3 and 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise.

1/4 C white onion – chopped.

1/4 C chopped celery.

1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro.

2 Tbsp fire roasted red peppers (canned) chopped.

1/2 tsp Sriracha chili sauce (mixed into mayonnaise).

8 slices sour dough bread (4 top and 4 bottom).

4 tomato slices.

4 slices of Pepper Jack Cheese.

1 Tbsp. olive oil.

2 clove garlic – minced.

lemon – sliced

3/4 tsp minced fresh rosemary.

ground salt and pepper.

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl combine onion, celery, cilantro, red peppers, mayonnaise with sriracha sauce mixed in, and stir.

Add the tuna and squeeze a little lemon juice on it.  Mix all ingredients together.

Heat olive oil in fry pan on medium high heat.  Add garlic, saute for a minute, and then add the tomato slices.  Top tomato slices with 1/2 the rosemary, and then  add a dash of ground salt and pepper.

After a minute flip the tomato slices and top with the remaining rosemary.  After a minute or so remove the tomato slices and set aside on a plate.

Arrange 4 pieces of bread on oven sheet.   To the bread add tuna, and top each with pepper jack cheese. Place on top rack of broiler.  Watch to make sure the cheese melts but does not burn.  As soon as you have a nice cheese melt remove oven sheet (don’t forget to use oven mitt).

Plate the tuna melts, and then top each with a tomato slice and the top bread slice.  Add a lemon garnish and you are ready for a great tuna melt dinner.

Good Eating and Table Talk,

Roger Scouton

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EASY RECIPE

This week’s recipe draws from a number of sources including Cuisine at home, and  Passions & Palate by John Howe. Of course I can’t leave well enough alone, so I have added a few of my own elements to make my easy recipe Chicken with Chipotle Honey Aioli and Roasted  Corn with Peppers.

Ingredients:

4 half skinless boneless chicken breasts.

4 limes quartered.

Soft tortillas.

1 C Progresso Plain Bread Crumbs.

2 C Trader Joes’ frozen roasted corn (thawed).

1/2 C red bell pepper – diced.

1/2 C green bell pepper – diced.

1/2 C white onion – diced

1/4 C fresh cilantro – chopped.

1/4 tsp cumin

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 chipotle pods (from can) – minced.

1/2 tsp adobe sauce (from the can of chipotle pods)

1 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp fresh juice of lime.

3 Tbsp Mayonnaise.

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl combine the chiptole pods, adobe sauce, honey, lime juice and mayonnaise.  Mix well.

Brush one side of each chicken breast with the Chipotle Honey Aioli sauce and then coat with bread crumbs.  Turn the breasts over and repeat.

Heat oven to 450 degree f.

In a large oven proof fry pan heat two tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat.

Place chicken breasts smooth side down on fry pan and fry for 3 minutes or until golden brown.  Turn breasts over and take fry pan to oven.  Cook at 450 degrees for 8 minutes.

In another fry pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat and then add red and green peppers, onion, thawed corn, cilantro, cumin and a squirt of lime juice.  Mix well as the vegetables simmer.

REMEMBER when you remove fry pan from oven the fry pan HANDLE WILL BE SUPER HOT so you must safeguard your hand by wearing an oven glove!!

Plate the chicken, the roast vegetables, add a garnish of lime wedges and a soft tortilla, and you are ready to serve an awesome, but easy, chicken dinner.

Good Eating and Table Talk,

Roger Scouton

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