smoky fish chowder

Terry doesn’t always pay attention when I’m watching one of my DVR’d cooking shows, but when I was watching Sara’s Weeknight Meals, Sara Moulton’s recipe for Smoky Fish Chowder caught her attention. In fact she even made a trip thirty minutes south to get the required smoked trout at Trader Joe’s.

Of course I deviated from the recipe as I usually do. I excluded the onions as Terry is allergic. I chopped the celery and potatoes and put them in the saucepan, then covered them with the liquids, rather than the other way around as Sara did. I added granulated onion. I used regular bacon (of the applewood variety) as opposed to Canadian Bacon because I failed to get Canadian Bacon at the store even though it was on my shopping list. I thought the applewood gave the soup a nice taste, though perhaps it fought with the smoked trout for precedence in a way that Canadian Bacon would not have. My version turned out a lot thicker and chunkier than Sara intended, I believe.

I topped my chowder with green onions from Terry’s container garden and I added garlic cheese bread on the side for both of us, not part of Sara’s recipe.

The bottom line, however, is that Terry loved it. That’s what really counts.

an old favorite

I have been making this dish for many decades. My first wife Ruth, who died suddenly in 1989, introduced me to the basic concept. In fact, I think that I requested she make it so often that it sometimes irked her. But she made it anyway. How closely what she made resembled what I make today I can’t really say after all these years. But her dish was the basis of and inspiration for my current version. I make this dish on a regular basis, varying the spices and the form of bread crumbs that I use. Whatever the variation, Terry always seems to enjoy it.

Fried Breaded Chicken Breast

Ingredients

• boneless chicken breasts
• wheat germ
• bread crumbs
• olive oil
• spices: granulated onion, granulated garlic, cayenne or chili powder, Italian herbs, freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

1. If the chicken breasts are thick, slice horizontally and pound thin. Or buy thin chicken breasts.
2. Mix the wheat germ and bread crumbs in a large plastic bag. If I have an old loaf of sourdough I like to dry out a slice and granulate it.
3. Add the spices to the mixture and mix well.
4. Add the chicken. Shake and coat.
5. Add olive oil to a frying pan and heat.
6. Cook the chicken on both sides until done.

Serve with Nice Rice (aka Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild, original recipe).

pressure cooker pot roast

Terry and I enjoy having pot roast on a Sunday every once in a while, as it brings back pleasant childhood memories for both of us. While we grew up with pot roast in the oven, making pot roast in the pressure cooker is simple and doesn’t heat up the kitchen.

Everyone who belongs to Pressure Cooker Recipes on Yahoo! Groups knows about group owner Ray Knapp’s 3 Envelope Pot Roast recipe. It involves 1 packet each of Italian salad dressing mix, ranch salad dressing mix, and brown gravy mix. That combination kicks the sodium level up pretty high, but Ray’s instructions for liquid and timing are spot on. My version follows those instructions.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ (or so) pound chuck roast
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cooking port or red wine
• Your favorite meat rub

Procedure

1. Cut the roast if necessary to fit into the pressure cooker.
2. Rub the roast with the meat rub.
3. Place the rack in the pressure cooker.
4. Add the water and port or red wine.
5. Put the roast in the pressure cooker allowing ample room for the steam to rise.
6. Seal the pressure cooker and set to High for 70 minutes.
7. Use natural pressure release and serve.

There are dozens of meat rubs out there, and I use different ones at different times. I especially enjoy Jeff Mauro’s Mega Meat Rub, though I tend to dial back on the salt on this one.

Enjoy!