parsley

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Fabulous Fixings: Wasabi Mashed Potatoes! Wasabi is a condiment that offers a slightly mustardy tang. It does have a hint of heat that often makes it popular with seared ahi tuna, grilled salmon, or shrimp cocktail. A little bit goes a long way, so always start small. Otherwise  a nose-tingling burn might cause your eyes to water. Strange as this sounds, it can actually become addictive. The buttery mashed potatoes are perfect for this star attraction. 

WASABI MASHED POTATOES

Ingredients:

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, washed thoroughly 

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 cup butter, unsalted

1/4 cup milk, room temperature 

1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder 

1 teaspoon wasabi paste

Parsley, for garnish

Instructions:

Place the potatoes in a large pot, adding enough water to cover completely. Add kosher salt. Cook on high to bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and allow the potatoes to simmer for 25 minutes, or until tender. Remove the potatoes and carefully peel the skins off; discard. Mash the potatoes, leaving small chunks for texture. Add the butter, milk, and wasabi paste. Mix thoroughly to combine. In a small bowl, combine wasabi paste and enough water to form a liquid. Transfer mashed potatoes to a bowl. Drizzle with thinned wasabi powder. Sprinkle with dried parsley. Serve immediately. 

Dutch Baby Buttery Potatoes

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food With Soul: Dutch Baby Buttery Potatoes! These naturally buttery potatoes have a silky skin that can be eaten when baked. The creamy yellow flesh has a slightly nutty flavor that will give you reason enough to make an entire meal out of these gourmet nuggets. In fact, the aroma was so enticing, my husband and I did that exact thing. You see, once you’re an adult, you can make up any rule you want when it comes to meal-planning.

DUTCH BABY BUTTERY POTATOES

Ingredients:

24-ounce bag of Dutch Baby Yellow Potatoes

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Green onion snips, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Boil whole potatoes on the stove in a pan of salted water for 15 minutes. Drain and allow potatoes to cool enough to handle. In a glass baking dish, combine melted butter, garlic powder, parsley flakes, dried oregano, kosher salt, and parmesan cheese. Cut boiled potatoes in half lengthwise. Arrange in a single layer. Using a pastry brush, cover the potatoes with the herbed butter and cheese mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes until potato bottoms are crispy. Serve immediately.

Lemon Butter Chilean Sea Bass

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Bright Ideas: Lemon Butter Chilean Sea Bass! Anyone, besides me, a fan of butter on seafood? Lobster. Crab Legs. Chilean Sea Bass. Shrimp. Scallops. You name it…if the seafood is slightly sweet, mild in flavor, moist and tender, or flaky yet firm, I practically kick everything else to the curb in favor of rich and decadent seafood. Now that I live in Florida, I can stretch my palate a bit with fresh seafood harvested or caught off the coastline. Not only does it support local fishermen, it also puts me in touch with seafood retail markets that thrive on this economy. And, yes, I’m spoiled. Some of the vendors even come directly to my community on a weekly basis. I see more fish in my future.

LEMON BUTTER CHILEAN SEA BASS

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce Chilean Sea Bass fillets

1/4 cup salted butter

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon parsley flakes

Juice of fresh 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

Preheat gas grill to 400°. Form a piece of aluminum foil into a baking sheet to accommodate the fillets. Be sure to raise the sides to contain the buttery juices. Spray foil with nonstick oil. Set aside. In a microwave-safe dish, warm the salted butter. Add garlic powder, parsley flakes, and lemon juice. Gently whisk. Wash Chilean sea bass fillets; pat dry with a paper towel. Before placing the fillets on the foil, brush both sides with melted lemon butter. Save the extra butter mixture for serving. Grill the Chilean Sea Bass for 5-6 minutes with the lid closed to maintain the internal temperature. Turn the grilled sea bass and repeat cooking time 5-6 minutes longer for even grilling. Brush with remaining butter mixture. Serve immediately.

Yellow Wax Bean Pancetta

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Cheerful Choices: Yellow Wax Bean Pancetta! Yellow beans get a raw deal when it comes to the green bean family. It’s almost like they are the red-headed stepchild. Just because they don’t get their color from chlorophyll doesn’t mean they taste bad. Both taste sweet and “grassy”. If anything, green kinda turns dull when its cooked, but yellow turns golden. Now be honest with me….wouldn’t you rather go for the gold?!?

YELLOW WAX BEAN PANCETTA

Ingredients:

14.5-ounce can cut wax beans, drained

4 ounces pancetta, diced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick oil. Set aside. In a bowl, combine wax beans, diced pancetta, olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Gently toss to coat well. Transfer yellow wax bean pancetta mixture to prepared baking sheet. Spread to a single layer. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Remove from oven, transfer to a platter, and serve with fresh chopped parsley.

Nutty Fish Fillets

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Clean Eating: Nutty Fish Fillets! Eating freshwater fish may seem humdrum, especially if you make it the same way every time. But I don’t wanna try something new, you say. What if I don’t like it? That’s what I thought until I discovered another way to keep fish part of a healthy diet. Butter. And almonds. The wonderful natural flavor of butter is milky and creamy. Pair that with the crunch and depth of flavor in toasted almonds for a heavenly combination.

NUTTY FISH FILLETS

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almonds, sliced

2 tilapia fillets

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 teaspoon crushed parsley

Celery leaves, for garnish

Instructions:

Warm an iron skillet over medium heat. Add almonds. Stir continuously until they are tinged with color. Do not burn. Transfer to a platter to cool. Season both sides of tilapia fillets with sea salt and black pepper. Using the same iron skillet, warm the butter and olive oil over medium heat. When it begins to bubble, add tilapia fillets. Brown fish, until opaque, for 4 minutes per side. Transfer fish to a serving platter. Turn heat setting to low. Reserving the drippings, add lemon juice to iron skillet. Stir to blend. Pour sauce over fish fillets. Sprinkle with crushed parsley and scatter toasted almonds over all. Serve with celery leaves.

Zippy Olive Pesto

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Talking Points: Zippy Olive Pesto! Your last visit to the doctor may have been one where you received a good report, yet were advised to lean more toward a Mediterranean diet. What does that mean exactly, you wonder. In layman’s terms it simply suggests making a couple of substitutions in food choices to maintain a healthy weight, prevent heart disease, live longer, and travel often. “The healthy fats in olives are extracted to produce olive oil, one of the key components of the incredibly healthy Mediterranean diet”, according to Healthline, a provider of health information.* For many this may not be the advice you wish to hear, but for an olive-lover, like me, it is the Best.News.Ever.

ZIPPY OLIVE PESTO

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 bunch parsley, leaves only

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

5 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup organic green olives, chopped

3 tablespoons water (optional)

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions:

In a skillet over medium-high heat, toast pine nuts turning occasionally until slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a food processor, combine parsley leaves, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. Pulse until almost smooth. Add toasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese. Pulse slightly. With the machine running on low, drizzle in the olive oil until combined. Transfer pesto to a bowl. Fold in the chopped green olives. Add water, if needed. Season with kosher salt. Serve over toasted bread.

*I receive no recompense for mentioning this website.

Dutch Baby Buttery Potatoes

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food With Soul: Dutch Baby Buttery Potatoes! These naturally buttery potatoes have a silky skin that can be eaten when baked. The creamy yellow flesh has a slightly nutty flavor that will give you reason enough to make an entire meal out of these gourmet nuggets. In fact, the aroma was so enticing, my husband and I did that exact thing. You see, once you’re an adult, you can make up any rule you want when it comes to meal-planning.

DUTCH BABY BUTTERY POTATOES

Ingredients:

24-ounce bag of Dutch Baby Yellow Potatoes

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Green onion snips, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Boil whole potatoes on the stove in a pan of salted water for 15 minutes. Drain and allow potatoes to cool enough to handle. In a glass baking dish, combine melted butter, garlic powder, parsley flakes, dried oregano, kosher salt, and parmesan cheese. Cut boiled potatoes in half lengthwise. Arrange in a single layer. Using a pastry brush, cover the potatoes with the herbed butter and cheese mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes until potato bottoms are crispy. Serve immediately.

Yellow Squash Panko

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Palatable Possibilities: Yellow Squash Panko! Many of you already know this particular vegetable is a second cousin to zucchini. The skin is tender, glossy smooth, and edible which makes it a no-fuss dinner companion. Although its flavor is mild, when cooked it actually becomes buttery sweet with a slightly nutty nuance. Try to buy yellow squash that is 6”-8” in size. You’ll know because the larger it is, the more likely the skin will appear bumpy and less tender. You’ll also notice a lot of seeds, once you cut into it. By then you’ll need to rethink dinner and purée it for soup. Hindsight is 20/20 after all.

YELLOW SQUASH PANKO

Ingredients:

2 yellow squash

1-2 tablespoons olive oil, for sauté

Ingredients for Herbed Oil:

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Ingredients for Crumb Topping:

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions:

Wash and pat dry yellow squash. Slice into 1/4” rounds; set aside. To make the herbed oil, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, dried parsley, sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Set aside. To make the crumb topping, toss panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, dried parsley, sea salt, and red pepper flakes into a bowl. Mix well; set aside. To prepare yellow squash, warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the yellow squash and sauté for 8 minutes. Turn occasionally to cook both sides. Squash should be soft, but not mushy. Remove from heat. Drizzle herbed oil over yellow squash. Transfer to a platter. Top with panko crumb topping mixture. Garnish with fresh basil leaves, if desired. Serve immediately.

Turmeric Roast Beef

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Bright Ideas: Turmeric Roast Beef! Turmeric is a spice in the world of superfoods. It begins as a plant, but the roots hold all the benefits. Turmeric can usually be found in the spice aisle of your favorite grocery store. Its golden-orange color makes a quick scan for identification pretty easy. The aroma has an earthiness to it, which is a compliment for vegetables and beef. Once you try it, your mind may wander to curry dishes, chili soup, and beyond.

TURMERIC ROAST BEEF

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound chuck roast

2 cups beef broth

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon Salty Wahine Hawaiian Seasoning*

5-6 potatoes, washed with skin on, cut into bite-size chunks

16 ounces baby carrots, whole

10 ounces pearl onions, whole

1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes

Instructions:

Place the chuck roast in the slow cooker. Pour beef broth over meat. Sprinkle with turmeric and Salty Wahine Hawaiian Seasoning. Set slow cooker on Low heat for 4 hours. After that time, add the potato chunks, baby carrots, and pearl onions. Continue on Low setting for 4 more hours. Remove roast and vegetables to a platter. Garnish with parsley flakes. Reserve juices for au jus, gravy base, or soup starter.

*I receive no recompense for mentioning Salty Wahine Hawaiian Seasoning.