Tuesday, October 06, 2015

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass

























I love Chilean Sea Bass. It is the filet mignon of fish.  It’s the most incredibly delicious and uniquely buttery fish I have ever tasted. There’s simply nothing else quite like it.

 The first time I ever tasted it was on a vacation in Las Vegas 10 years ago.  I was looking over the menu at a nice seafood restaurant and couldn't decide what to order.  The waiter suggested the pan seared Chilean Sea bass.  I had never heard of it and I was a little reluctant.  That's when he promised that if I didn't absolutely love it, he would give me dinner on the house that night. He was that sure.  So I said, okay why not.  When it came on a beautifully garnished plate, I was immediately curious.  It looked so good.  And then I took a bite. My taste buds exploded!  The flavor was incredible.  I couldn't put down my fork.  

I would like to say it's like sweet buttery crab because of its most and tender texture. But it's not.  I would like to say it's like lobster because its so buttery.  But it's not.  Maybe a cross between both of those flavors but really unlike any other fish you will ever taste.  

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass

2 pounds of Chilean Sea bass filets
4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped
Light sprinkling of Old Bay Seasoning (optional)


Pat the fish filets dry with a paper towel. You want to absorb most of the moisture.  Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat until oil begins to ripple and smoke lightly. You want your skillet very hot to sear the skin of the fish.























Fry the fish skin side down for about 5 minutes until crisp and brown. Carefully flip the fish over and sear for about 3 minutes or until lightly golden.   Fish will flake nicely when done.  Sprinkle with a little parsley and serve!  Delicious! 
























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Haddock with Lemon Cream Sauce with Capers




I love fresh mild white fish in a rich creamy sauce and there's nothing like adding a few capers to brighten it all up. Capers add add a wonderful flavor to any chicken or fish dish.  I use Star Fine Foods Capers when I want to brighten  a lot of my sauces because they are the perfect little ingredient to liven up your dish.   Add them to your chicken or fish and to any sauce for a nice touch to any savory sauce.

Haddock with Lemon Cream Sauce with Capers

1 fillet of mild white fish, such as haddock, halibut or cod
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
5 tablespoons dry white wine or chicken stock
2 tablespoons Star Fine Food Capers, drained
1 finely chopped scallion
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
The juice of 1/2 lemon

Melt the butter and the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Salt and pepper filet and add to skillet searing for about 3-4 minutes on both sides until lightly brown.  Remove from pan and set aside.






















In the same skillet, add flour to the melted oil and butter and whisk to remove lumps. Add wine or chicken stock and stir until slightly thickened. Add in heavy cream and continue to stir over medium heat until sauce thickens.  If you want to thin the sauce add more cream as needed.  Reduce the heat to low.






















  Remove sauce from heat and add the lemon juice, capers, scallions 
  and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour sauce over fish and serve.




Photographs are the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.


 

This is a keeper my friends! You can buy the capers at Costco, Stater Brothers Markets, Smart & Final, Bashas, Albertsons (So. Cal) and online at http://bit.ly/STARcapers.

Star Fine Foods now has a promo code for all Welcome Home fans that will give you a 10% discount on anything you order online. Just enter WELCOMEHOME10 at checkout!




Disclaimer: I have an ongoing relationship with STAR Fine Foods for my recipes and photography using their wonderful products. This post is sponsored by STAR. I am compensated for my time and work and I am sent products as I request them. However, all opinions of the product stated in this post are 100% my own. I truly love their products!  
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Friday, October 02, 2015

Thick and Creamy Pumpkin Soup



























There's a nip in the air this morning and it feels like fall.  And I instantly
begin to crave Pumpkin soup!  And not just any pumpkin soup...I make mine with just a hint of sweetness to go with that savory wonderful pumpkin flavor.   This soup just spells out comfort!   

Thick and Creamy Pumpkin Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 cups vegetable stock
2/3 cups applesauce
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 (15-ounce) cans pumpkin
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup heavy cream
 Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the diced onion, apples and salt. Saute until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, applesauce, white pepper, sage, thyme and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and cook until apples are very tender, about 5 more minutes.
Add the pumpkin and brown sugar and cook for 10 – 15 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly for about 5 minutes. Next, using a blender, puree the soup on high until it's smooth. I like to leave a little chunkiness to mine.  When using the blender, add only some of the soup at a time and not all at once to avoid hot spill overs.  Or use an immersion blender. 























Add the heavy cream to the soup and heat through over very low heat.  I like my soup very thick but you  can add more cream if you like your soup thinner. Remove from heat and serve. 
Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.
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The new October issue of the Welcome Home Online Magazine is here!


































The new October issue of the Welcome Home Online Magazine is here! This is the beautiful fall issue, where you'll find some of my best recipes yet!

This is a wonderful online Internet Magazine that you can view on your computer, laptop, cell phone, kindle, or any other device you have access to the Internet. These are recipes that I share only with subscribers to the magazine so you have never seen any of them before.

Subscribe today and get 400+ never before seen recipes and an additional 20-30 new recipes each month for this coming year. If you are a true Welcome Home fan and love my recipes, this is the place to go.

Click here for more information:
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Autumn Pumpkin Roll






















As soon as I see my first pumpkins in the fall, I immediately think of making pumpkin rolls.  Everyone loves them and they make a gorgeous presentation.  I make them ahead of time and freeze them to give as gifts to friends and family.  They just say autumn don’t they?  What could be better than a moist and spongy cake rolled around a creamy filling of sweet cream cheese and topped with the perfect amount of whipped up cinnamon spiced whipped cream?

Autumn Pumpkin Roll

Cake

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Line a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides).  Next cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit the pan leaving an inch or so to overhang on each end of the pan. Then lightly grease the parchment paper, including the sides of the pan.



















Make the cake:  Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched.

Arrange a large but thin, clean damp cotton kitchen towel on the counter. Do not use a regular dish towel that might leave impressions or fibers in your cake. I like using a tea towel. Make sure the towel is only damp and not wet.  Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. 

Next turn the baked cake upside down on the towel so the parchment paper is on the top. Gently peel off the paper, being careful not to tear the roll. While the cake is still hot, roll the the cake up in the towel, starting at one of the short ends.  Let cake sit in the towel on a cooling rack until completely cool.

Make your filling:  Mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Set aside.


Once the roll is cool, unroll it from the towel and carefully spread your filling in an even layer over the cake.

Next, roll the cake up again without the towel and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving.



















   Cinnamon Spiced Whipped Cream 


    1 cup heavy cream
    2 tablespoons sugar
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

    Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar,    
    cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat until stiff peaks form.  Top Pumpkin
    roll with a dollop or pipe on as I did.






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Saturday, September 26, 2015

German Chocolate Cake
























When I was little I would get so excited watching my Mom make my Dad's birthday cake. I couldn't wait to put the candles on and carry it out to him, singing happy birthday. He would laugh and be so delighted with his favorite cake. She made it every year for as long as I can remember. When she moved to Heaven I carried on that tradition. When I light the candles and carry it out to him, it bows his head and cries.

German Chocolate Cake

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups butter, softened
2 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
5 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla 



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9 -inch cake pans with non-stick spray and then line with parchment paper.

In a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the hot water and buttermilk and set aside.


With a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. in a large bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Next, add the buttermilk mixture and the dry ingredients in three additions. Beat only until the ingredients are incorporated...do not over-beat. Fold in the melted chocolate.

























Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans and drop your pans on counter to break air bubbles and flatten tops.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely before frosting. 

For the Chocolate Icing

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream


Place the chopped chocolate, corn syrup and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature. 

Coconut Pecan Frosting

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, and when the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from heat. Stir in the chopped pecans, coconut, and vanilla extract. Let cool until spreadable.


Assembly

Place a dab of coconut pecan filling on a serving plate. This will hold the cake in place so that it does not move around. Then, place one layer of cake, on your serving plate, and cover with one third of the frosting. Add the next layer and another third of the filling.  Do the same for the third layer. Make sure you spread your filling all the way out to the edges of the cake.


Once you have all three layers stacked and filled, you want to frost the sides of the cake with the chocolate icing. Then pipe a decorative border around the outside top edge of your cake.

























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