I suggested Jordan, Christian and Jacob have supper with me tonight, fully intending to fix King Ranch Chicken, for which I've had a taste for a while. But Christian had a meeting, and Jordan requested, as she always does, salmon and salad. So that was our menu. But the day was so gorgeous that we lingered on the porch talking about this, that and the other--pet peeves and favorite joys--until nearly six o'clock. Jacob played with the dogs in the back but finally came to join us.
Usually for our salmon dinners, I griill on my George Foreman grill, which I love. But last time I got the fish too done--dry and not particularly tender or tasty. Tonight I poached the piece of salmon in a mixture of half water, half white wine with onions, parsley, and dill (darn! no fresh, so I used dried). Trick is to poach the salmon, covered, at a simmer for no more than five minutes. I like mine barely cooked, but Miss Jordan requires a little more heat. The result though was moist, delicious fish that needed no sauce, not even lemon.
As a surprise I bought one of Jordan's favorites--an artichoke. I brought it to a boil and simmered forever--at one point, Jordan said, "It's been cooking over an hour. Are you sure it's okay?"I had looked, and it still had water around it, so yes, it was okay. I steam artichokes in water with a bit of olive oil, a bay leaf or two, and a cut up garlic clove. When I finally took this off the heat, the inner leaves and heart were tender and good, but the outer not really cooked enough. Jacob liked the first two or three leaves and then declared he didn't like artichoke at all. Didn't like salmon either, of which he said, "I tasted it with my tongue, and I didn't like it." He liked the lemon though and doused it liberally on his cottage cheese and corn. Everyone to their own taste.
Jordan is going to boot camp and really watching her diet, so I decided against hollandaise for the artichoke and looked up alternate sauces on the web. Most had mayo, which if low-fat would be better than hollandaise, but I tried one that mixed olive oil, white wine, and lemon--suit yourself on the proportions, so I used equal. Add a good bit of coarse ground pepper. Jordan tried it and reported it was missing something. "Yeah,"I muttered, "egg and butter." It was okay, probably too heavy on the olive oil, and we enjoyed it but we'll opt for hollandaise next time.
Jordan fixed her classic blue cheese salad dressing, which I've probably recounted here before: rub an unfinished wooden salad bowl with a split garlic clove. Rub in salt, pepper and dry mustard. Mash blue cheese in the bottom with a fork, then add old-fashioned cider vinegar and stir to make a paste. Add olive oil to taste. It is the world's best dressing. As Megan said once, "This dressing rocks!"
It was a lovely meal, and much as I missed Christian and the King Ranch Chicken, I was grateful we ate things he doesn't like and we shared confidences we wouldn't have if he were here. Time alone with one adult child is a precious experience. Thanks, Jordan.
Usually for our salmon dinners, I griill on my George Foreman grill, which I love. But last time I got the fish too done--dry and not particularly tender or tasty. Tonight I poached the piece of salmon in a mixture of half water, half white wine with onions, parsley, and dill (darn! no fresh, so I used dried). Trick is to poach the salmon, covered, at a simmer for no more than five minutes. I like mine barely cooked, but Miss Jordan requires a little more heat. The result though was moist, delicious fish that needed no sauce, not even lemon.
As a surprise I bought one of Jordan's favorites--an artichoke. I brought it to a boil and simmered forever--at one point, Jordan said, "It's been cooking over an hour. Are you sure it's okay?"I had looked, and it still had water around it, so yes, it was okay. I steam artichokes in water with a bit of olive oil, a bay leaf or two, and a cut up garlic clove. When I finally took this off the heat, the inner leaves and heart were tender and good, but the outer not really cooked enough. Jacob liked the first two or three leaves and then declared he didn't like artichoke at all. Didn't like salmon either, of which he said, "I tasted it with my tongue, and I didn't like it." He liked the lemon though and doused it liberally on his cottage cheese and corn. Everyone to their own taste.
Jordan is going to boot camp and really watching her diet, so I decided against hollandaise for the artichoke and looked up alternate sauces on the web. Most had mayo, which if low-fat would be better than hollandaise, but I tried one that mixed olive oil, white wine, and lemon--suit yourself on the proportions, so I used equal. Add a good bit of coarse ground pepper. Jordan tried it and reported it was missing something. "Yeah,"I muttered, "egg and butter." It was okay, probably too heavy on the olive oil, and we enjoyed it but we'll opt for hollandaise next time.
Jordan fixed her classic blue cheese salad dressing, which I've probably recounted here before: rub an unfinished wooden salad bowl with a split garlic clove. Rub in salt, pepper and dry mustard. Mash blue cheese in the bottom with a fork, then add old-fashioned cider vinegar and stir to make a paste. Add olive oil to taste. It is the world's best dressing. As Megan said once, "This dressing rocks!"
It was a lovely meal, and much as I missed Christian and the King Ranch Chicken, I was grateful we ate things he doesn't like and we shared confidences we wouldn't have if he were here. Time alone with one adult child is a precious experience. Thanks, Jordan.
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