Good Press

For a delicious change of pace at dinnertime in the spring, I tried this Barbecued Salmon from Taste of Home's Country Woman magazine. The salty, meaty salmon is dressed with a barbecue sauce flavored by lime, garlic and chili. If you have most of the ingredients in your pantry (rice wine vinegar, chili sauce), this can be an economical dish -- especially if you buy frozen salmon fillets. BARBECUED SALMON 2/3 cup barbecue sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons garlic chili sauce (or add a minced garlic clove to regular chili sauce) 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon soy sauce 4 salmon fillets 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (can omit) In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients; set aside 1/4 cup for serving. To grill: Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill salmon, covered, over hot heat -- or broil 3-4 in. from the heat, as I di...

"You can, but you shouldn't" is a proverb I hadn't heard until I started researching whether or not you can freeze fresh garlic with no adverse effects. First, the back story: An inattentive/apathetic cashier at Wal*mart shoved a produce bag of four heads of garlic into a bag with some frozen foods. I'll admit I was a little negligent, too. Putting away groceries late at night after a 5-year-old was carsick all over herself, I wasn't careful to take everything out of the bags. I shoved what appeared to be a shopping bag of frozen fish and vegetables into the deep freeze. Two nights later when I was looking for the garlic I bought, it dawned on me to check the bag in the freezer. There was the garlic. A few frantic Googles and an angry call to a Wal*mart manager later, I had a decision to make. I could keep the garlic -- in the freezer, wrapped in plastic and inside a tightly sealed container -- and use it a clove at a time, risking lost flavor and funky textur...

We had an out-of-the-ordinary main dish tonight. I made chicken wings in the crockpot because it was an overscheduled day. So much so that they might've been left in a little too long -- they were falling off the bone. Not a quality I want in a meaty, saucy rib I grip and gnosh. While I might remember this for football games and the Christmas Eve party, I might more likely try the recipe again with ribs and serve the sauce over rice. I think it would go just fine. Some of you might like to try it with chicken thighs. SWEET 'N' TANGY CHICKEN WINGS From Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious March/April 2008 3 pounds chicken wingettes (about 30) salt dash pepper 1 1/2 cups ketchup 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon minced garlic (not the jarred kind, folks -- icky) 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke, optional Sesame seeds, optional Sprinkle chicken wings with salt and pepper. Broil 4-6 inches f...

Two years ago I roasted a pie pumpkin for the first time. This year I made one of the recipes again. It is aptly called "Dinner in a pumpkin" because you bake all the elements of the meal inside the gourd. The filling is similar to that of stuffed peppers. You can serve right from the pumpkin and it makes a lovely presentation as the shell turns a lovely dark burnt sienna color. When picking your pumpkin, steer clear of the big kind you carve jack-o'-lanterns from. You want smaller pie pumpkins from the produce section. If your pumpkin won't hold all the filling, bake it separately in a covered casserole dish. You can halve the ingredients listed here for 1 small pumpkin or bake it in two. Save the pumpkin seeds to roast and snack on ... a recipe for that follows and includes variations. DINNER IN A PUMPKIN 1 medium sugar (or pie) pumpkin 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1 1/2 t...

I do this thing -- well, I used to do it more often, when I had a bigger grocery budget and reason to be near a big-city grocery store -- where I see an ingredient that I consider hard to come by in rural parts. Rose water, for example. I used to snap up the hard-to-find ingredient -- one time it was haluski noodles -- and bring it home only to find that I had misplaced the recipe I'd been saving to try if I ever found the elusive ingredient. The ingredient would spoil or go stale and I'd toss it, never having found the recipe I wanted to try. That's why I never bought the rose water when the nearest Kroger opened its ethnic section a few years ago. I was tempted, but I knew that recipe would be nowhere to be found at home. But that fear and reasoning didn't stop me from snapping up a package of chorizo, a Spanish link sausage, at a fancy Giant Eagle a few months back. And it stayed in my freezer until I found a good recipe to try. But to try that recipe required some s...

This is a tasty way to sneak in a vegetable and stretch a pound of ground meat. BURGERS WITH MUSHROOMS AND ZUCCHINI 1 pound lean ground turkey 1/2 pound mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed and finely chopped 1 cup whole-wheat or Italian breadcrumbs (see bonus tip) 1/2 cup grated zucchini 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 heaping tablespoons ketchup 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper Nonstick cooking spray 1 tablespoon oil 4 bagels, split and toasted Steak sauce or ketchup for topping Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a food processor to chop the mushrooms and grate the squash. In a large bowl, mix the meat, mushrooms, breadcrumbs, zucchini, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper until well-combined. The mixture will be moist. Form into eight patties. Coat a large nonstick ovenproof (like cast-iron) skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Add the burgers and brown on one side for 4-5 minutes. Turn the burgers, then ...

This sun-dried tomato bread is dense and flavorful. It bakes up as a tall, golden, pretty loaf. For lunch today, I sliced two pieces and made a grilled cheese sandwich with fontina cheese. WOW! The recipe originally came from a Junior League cookbook but the Miami Herald adapted and reprinted it. SUN-DRIED TOMATO BREAD 1 bunch green onions 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 5 ounces provolone cheese, grated 2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening, at room temperature 2 tablespoons sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9-inch loaf pan or three 5-by-3-by-2-inch pans. Slice the green onions thin, and include 1 inch of the green part. Drain and chop the tomatoes, reserving 2 tablespoons of the oil. Heat the tomato oil in a small saucepan ...

There are simple, inexpensive ways to make every day elegant and special. Candles are a must in my house. Sometimes just doing something different makes the house or the evening feel special. Use the good dishes on a tablecloth with real napkins. Float the blossom of a flower, even fake, in a wineglass of water. Light a couple of inexpensive candles and you've got instant ambience without spending extra money. Same goes for the food if you choose out-of-the-ordinary recipes that can be made with pantry staples. Weather conditions on Valentine's Day this year were blizzardlike so it was good we hadn't planned to go out. Instead we ate my favorite dinner [right now anyway], spaghetti aglio-olio. And I know I mixed cultures but because I had some Manchego to use up, I made a starter of julienned Granny Smith apples and the Spanish sheep's milk cheese. Chunks of mild, nutty/salty, "crunchy" Manchego are great topped with membrillo aka quince paste, too. I've ...