Blake Makes

UPDATE: This giveaway is officially closed. We only had 16 jars to give away, and got 60 comments today. Thanks for your interest. We’ll announce the winners at the end of the week. Stay tuned!

Why do we love fried foods so much? Once fried, the food almost never tastes like itself any more, so what do we do? We get some yummy sauce to re-flavor the food. Frying is bad for us, but most of the time, the sauces we use for dipping only make matters worse. That’s what Chef Bradley hopes to change.

Chef Bradley has developed a line of healthful, better-for-you sauces that, I must say, are quite tasty. They sent me four jars, one of each of their flavors.

Remember the shrimp (left) we blogged about a few weeks ago? Well, I dipped my shrimp in the Lean Mean Ketchup and the Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce.

I had the sauces in two, little bowls, both of which were licked clean by the end of the meal. I will admit that they lack the depth that you’ll get from more conventional (sugar-filled) options, but for me, the good-for-me component outweighs any flavor loss.

The BBQ Sauce is zingy and sweet (just like the name says), and the ketchup is rich and tomatoey. I know I have a lot of moms who read this blog, so I’m always happy when I find food that’s good and good for us. I bet kids will never tell the difference.

Surprise! Another giveaway!

Chef Bradley would like to share a few of its jars with our readers. Here’s what we’ve got to giveaway:

1. Lo Carb Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
2. Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
3. Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
4. Lean Mean Ketchup: 4 jars

This is a first come, first served giveaway (that starts now!). Comment on this post to claim a jar (make sure to include which sauce you’d like to try in your comment). Limit one (1) jar per Sooper Hero. There’s a limited supply, so these jars will go fast.

Like with all of our giveaways, you have to:

• Be a registered Sooper Hero
• Be interested in the product (and not just want something free)
• Be willing to blog about what you get (and link back here and to Chef Bradley)

Good Luck and GO!

We’re always on the lookout for meals that are [a] healthy, and [b] easy. This dish easily falls into both categories. Bridget found this recipe for Fish Fillets in Parchment with Asparagus and Orange while flipping through bonappetit’s latest edition (April 2008).

I think she thought it would be something I would love (and love to cook). She was right. The snob in me loves how elegant this dish feels. The workaholic (who has no time) loves its speed.

Simply cut four large squares (mine were 12×12) of parchment, and place them on the counter. Rub the parchment with a little butter.

Place a 5 to 6 oz. fillet of halibut or cod (we used halibut) on top of each square. S&P on top.

Cut some asparagus, and arrange the pieces around the fish (we used about 3 stalks per parcel). Lay 3 tarragon leaves on top (as beautifully as you can), and spoon over 1 tblsp. of orange juice.

Add 1/2 tblsp. butter (not melted) on the tip-top, and seal this baby up. I guess I should have mentioned this earlier, but position the fish on one half of the parchment square. That way, when you’re ready to seal it, just fold the other half on top (like closing a book).

Start on one side, and roll (crinkle) the package closed. You don’t need an airtight seal, but get it as contained as you can because you want the fish to steam inside.

Then it’s just 400 degrees for 17 minutes. Done and yum! Mashed sweet potatoes were our side.

Something about brown paper just makes me swoon. These packages weren’t tied-up with string, but this is one of my new favorite things (I couldn’t resist). Try it, blog about it and let us know what you think!

Here’s the complete recipe.

A few weeks ago we went to see the Big Easy Rollergirls roller derby bout (which I highly recommend if you are ever in town), and when we arrived home, we discovered a copy of Ralph Brennan’s new cookbook on our front stoop. Since I was craving fish last weekend, I thought it was the perfect time to peruse this generous gift. The recipe for Sesame-Seared Tuna with Avocado-Horseradish Sauce sounded wonderful- light and cool with just a bit of kick. I decided I just wouldn’t tell Blake about the avocado part.

This recipe turned out to be easy and delicious– perfect for a light lunch. (And Blake even said the avocado sauce was good…pretty high praise for someone who usually detests avocado.)

Note- Ralph serves this as an appetizer. I just made bigger portions and skipped the fancy plating for a simple lunch.

Recipe courtesy of Ralph Brennan’s New Orleans Seafood Cookbook.

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Blake and I both love Indian food (coconut naan and lamb tikka masala- yum!); unfortunately, New Orleans is severely lacking in good Indian restaurants. I can only think of two, both of which are really out of the way for us. We usually only get to enjoy good Indian when we travel, so we try to make it at home every once in a while. I like this recipe because the house doesn’t get as pungent with the smell of curry and it’s not overpowering with spice. It’s also relatively easy as there’s not a ton of actual work involved.

Adapted from a recipe in The Naked Chef Takes Off.

Ingredients:

• 1 T Garam Masala
• 2 T butter
• 2 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 lbs skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• salt and black pepper
• lime juice to taste
• 2 inches peeled fresh ginger
• 2 small red onions, peeled
• 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 fresh red chillies, with seeds
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Chop the ginger, red onions, garlic, chillies and cilantro roughly then add to food processor along with Garam Masala. Puree in food processor to make a paste.
• In a large casserole, fry the curry paste mixture in the butter for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the tomatoes and the stock. Bring to boil, cover with aluminum foil and place in oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and continue to simmer on the stove until it thickens.
• Sear the chicken in a little olive oil until golden, then add to the curry sauce and simmer for 1 hour until tender.
• Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and stir in the yogurt. Season to taste and add squeeze of lime juice. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

Salmon is one of my favs- it’s filling, delicious and incredibly healthy. It’s always such a treat for me to prepare salmon because we have to drive across the city to get it (at the crack of dawn Saturday morning for the best choice, I might add), so I usually stick to tried-and-true recipes. This is a great recipe because it’s so easy– it literally takes, like, 15 minutes. Blake isn’t a huge salmon fan (he’s weird sometimes; he also doesn’t like avocados- no guacamole for us…sigh…), but he really likes this dish.

Recipe courtesy of The Gourmet Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 T plus 1 tsp packed light brown sugar
• 4 (6 oz) center-cut pieces salmon fillet w/skin
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 tsp vegetable oil

Directions:

• Stir together vinegar, water, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a small bowl.
• Pat salmon dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Increase heat to high, add salmon skin side up, and sear until well browned, about 4 minutes. Turn fish over and sear until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes more.
• Transfer salmon to plates and carefully add vinegar mixture to skillet (liquid will bubble vigorously and steam). Simmer, stirring, until thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 2 minutes. Spoon glaze over salmon.

During the busy work week, I want meals that are delicious but incredibly easy to make. There’s nothing worse than having a long, stressful day and knowing you have to come home and start cooking (and then the dreaded clean-up afterward).

This salad is so simple and is a good way to use up any barbecued or grilled chicken you might have leftover from the weekend. I usually just buy a barbeque rotisserie chicken to make this meal even easier. You can also vary the salad ingredients to use up any veggie leftovers you might have on hand because what makes this salad great is the poblano dressing– it’s creamy and smooth with just enough spice.

Recipe courtesy of Susan Spicer’s Crescent City Cooking.

Ingredients (Salad):

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups diced bbq chicken meat, from leftovers or a store-bought roasted chicken
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels,, thawed, or 2 ears corn, grilled in the husk then shucked and cut from the cob
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced celery or celery hearts
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 head Bibb lettuce, broken into leaves, washed and dried
• Creamy Poblano Dressing

Directions (Salad):

Toss all ingredients except dressing in a salad bowl, then toss in the dressing or serve it on the side.

Ingredients (Dressing):

• 1 poblano, roasted and peeled
• 2 T fresh lime juice
• 2 T chopped scallion greens
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 cup Mayonnaise (I used light mayo)
• 2 T sour cream or buttermilk (I used light sour cream)

Directions (Dressing):

Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

Bridget’s away on a business trip, so dinner is just me and the poodle tonight. I’m really craving eggs today, but I don’t want breakfast for dinner. I love poached eggs…wheels turning…I have some great homemade vinegarette in the fridge…wheels turning…why not put a poached egg on a salad? The EBLT is born.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

So, obviously, EBLT stands for Eggs-Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato. I toss some mixed greens in a simple, homemade vinegarette.

The make the vinegarette, whisk together the following:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon grainy mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot

Toss the greens in the dressing. Dice a tomato, toss it in. Scissor in some crisp turkey bacon, toss it in. Crumble in some feta.

Poach 2 eggs and place them (carefully) on top of the salad. Crack a little black pepper on the stark white spheres.

I cook my eggs just long enough to keep them together, but to leave the insides warm and runny.

I break into the eggs one at a time. The first egg gets invaded when I start my meal, and warm, yellowy mirth pours into the salad and becomes part of the dressing.

I puncture the second egg about half way through the salad.

Blake Makers, this is such a great way to eat healthy, eat high, eat happy. bk

P.S. I know there are a lot of photos, but I loved them all.

I’ve made a version of these quesadillas before, but these are a little different. I’m always amazed how sweet onions get if you cook them long (and slow) enough. These were like candy, and I didn’t add sugar or balsamic vinegar.

To Make The Onions:

Peel and slice 2 yellow onions and 1 red onion (I cut the yellow onions in half).

Melt 2 tblsp. of butter with 2 tblsp. of olive oil over low heat in a large skillet. Add the onions.

Leave them to cook (you should hear a slight, quiet sizzle).

Stir them in 15 minute increments until 1 hour has elapsed. They should be brown and sweet.

Taste to see if you need any salt, and I toss in about a tsp. of fresh thyme leaves.

To Make The Quesadillas:

Place a quesadilla on a plate. Top with 1/4 of the onion mixture. Dollop on fresh goat cheese. Top with another tortilla.

Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until golden and filling is gooey.

We used whole wheat tortillas and went light on the cheese to make this dish healthier for us. They were so good…even better cold the next day.

Bridget made this salad last weekend. It’s just got a few ingredients, and requires no cooking (assembly only). I got guilt-free seconds. Behold, tomato-onion salad.

There are no exact measurements with this salad. Dice as many tomatoes as you need to feed everyone eating.

Thinly slice a white onion. White onions have a little heat, so make sure not to put too much in. We just used 1 medium white onion for the two of us, and remember, slice it as thin as you can.

Next, chop some black olives (about a cup) and fresh parsley (about 1/4 cup).

Drizzle over a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

We sprinkled on some crumbly goat cheese at the end (to taste), and ate it with slices of toasted Kalamata olive bread.

This is sort of like a deconstructed Panzanella. It’s very good and keeps in the fridge for plenty of late night snacking.

Hello, Blake Makers. Do you watch TV as much as I do? If you do, you may have seen the Kashi commercials about their snack drive to rid the world of a million bad snacks. If you go to their site, you’ll see that the snack drive is now over (you were too late!) which means that a million people got a taste of Kashi who may have otherwise passed them by in the grocery. When I asked for a snack, they were out of my first choice (cookies), and so I went for the 7 Grain crackers. They arrived today.

They were yummy! Bridget and I have developed a taste for healthy, whole grains, but I think even people who haven’t will enjoy these crackers.

They have a slight sweetness which makes them feel a bit more indulgent, and as you chew them you can almost feel the seven grains in your mouth.

The package tells me the crackers contain zero grams of trans fat (good), no hydrogenated oils (hooray) and 7 whole grains (fine).

I’m a sucker for good branding, and Kashi had me months ago with their feel-good commercials and beautiful logo. However, I never bought any of their products. Now, I will.