As The Seasons Change

During a recent conference in Western Pennsylvania, I had a wonderful Smoked Salmon Mousse as an appetizer. It was a Chef's Special one evening at Helen's Restaurant at the Seven Springs Resort. The Mousse was light and creamy. It was served with pieces of crisply toasted & slightly sweet currant bread, along with cooked, sweet onions for a topping. While, the chef would not share his recipe (according to the not too friendly waitress), I decided to find my own recipe and try this for my Suday Small Bites. It was a hit with company last weekend, though there are definitely things I would do differently next time.

The recipe for Salmon Mousse came from Recipe Goldmine, and the recipe for Pickled Onions came from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pickled_red_onions/

Salmon Mousse

1 T green onions,finely chopped
2 T plus 1/4 cup sweet butter,softened
2 - 5 oz. smoked salmon
1/4 Cup cream cheese
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
2 T Lemon Juice
1 T Vodka
1/4 Cup heavy cream,whipped

Saute onion in 2 T butter (I only used 1 T) until golden. Add Salmon, stir and remove from heat.Place Salmon mixture in processor. Add sour cream, 1/4 c butter, and cream cheese. Process until smoothe. Add lemon juice and vodka and pulse briefly to combine. Remove mixture to bowl and fold in whipped cream. Spoon into a mold or small plastic bowl.Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Serve chilled but not cold.

Pickled Onions

1 lb. red onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Blanch onions in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain in colander. Combine sugar and vinegar in another saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add blanched, drained onions to vinegar mixture. Simmer for one minute. Transfer to a glass container and allow to cool ( I added 1 small, boiled beet for color). Cover and refigerate. Will keep for several weeks.

I served the mousse on strips of toasted Cranberry Bread. The combination of sweet, tart and slightly salty (salmon) was really good! I would try to lighten this recipe next time by using whipped cream cheese, low fat sour cream, and less butter. I thought that the pickled onions were a bit too tangy - would probably dilute with some water next time.

Geez I don't know where August and September went,and today I find myself at Seven Springs Resort in Laurel Spring Pennsylvania for a conference until Thursday. When I get home, October will be more that half over! I have had such little time at home to establish a new routine and enjoy my empty nest! First we moved Jordan into school the weekend of 8/21. This was followed by a short beach vacation and then it was time to move Adam back to school.There was another (long planned) weekend at the Beach with friends (good company,lousy weather) followed by 2 weekends of Jewish Holidays. And then it was time for Family Weekend at Penn State (dare I say that I hardly had time to miss Jordan!That was a great weekend,shared with my friend Peggy's family as her daughter is also at PSU and Kelsey & Jordan were high school buddies as well as with Jordan's roommate and his family). Jordan is obviously happy and made a great college choice for himself, so how could I not be happy?During this crazy time we adopted a new kitty who we are trying to introduce to our high maitenance Boxer. Work has been busy with an interesting new project,but crazy with Contract Negotiations which continue despite the fact that we still do not have a State Budget!

This type of schedule is really out of character for us as we are generally homebodies. I thought that being busy would help me adjust to the empty nest. I think that the anticipation was worse than the actual event. I do miss the kids very much, but I like the peace & quiet too. The house stays neater,grocery bills without 2 young men are comical,and it is really nice to have conversations with DH that do not have anything to do with kids! I am looking forward to our Theatre supscription which begins next weekend. I would love to plan a weekend in New York, but I think that that will have to wait until Spring. I am so looking forward to being at home with nothing much planned until our trip to Isla over the holidays.

I really need to establish a routine for myself. There is no rush to have dinner by 6 so that the kids can do homework. DH is coaching H.S. Football so he is never home before 7:45. By the time we finish with dinner, I am ready for bed! I am reluctant to change my 7:30 to 4 work hours as I like that time at home to myself-- although I don't seem to accomplish much! I knew that I was on overload when I realized that I paid my AMEX Bill twice this month - once on the 5th and again on the 9th. A refund is on the way. I think that once I get home from this conference, I will bunker down and a new routine will evolve.

I am really behind with posting Sunday Slow Bites. I did make both the Avocado and Goat Cheese recipes.Need to find a smoked salmon recipe and one for Pecans, which is my ingredient for 10/18. Though I could be catching up now if I were at home, I will enjoy these 4 days in western Pennsylvania. I am about an hour from Pittsburgh, actually in the middle of nowhere. I often forget how rural Pennsylvania is. Seven Springs is a Ski Resort. The Folliage, though not at its' peak, is beautiful. Every room has a balcony, and I have a really nice view of the mountain.I suspect that the sunset would be beautiful if there was not such a heavy cloud cover today. Tomorrow, the conference is over at 1:30, and I am going to the Spa here with some friends. Looking forward to a hot stone massage!

Wishing everyone a good week!

This weeks' ingredient,Sun Dried Tomaoes, was selected by Amy. She has been focusing on healthy, lo-cal finger foods. This recipe is from Heidi Swanson's Blog, 101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/cottage-cheese-muffins-recipe.html.Heidi indicates that this recipe is from the book Vegetarian Supercook
by UK-based cookbook author Rose Elliot, whose recipes tend to strike a nutritional balance. As Heidi points out these muffins are not bready, they are more of a quiche consistency.Very easy to make, these muffins would go nicely with a Brunch Menu or they would make a nice lunch with a small side salad.

Sun Dried Tomatoe and Cottage Cheese Muffins

Pre-heat oven to 400. Line muffin pan with 9 medium size paper baking cups.

1 C plain or low fat cottage cheese
3/4 C Parmesan Cheese,grated
1/4 C Flour
1 C Almonds,finely ground
1 t Baking Powder
1/4 C sundried tomatoes (in oil), finely chopped
1/4 C Basil,finely chopped
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 t salt

Put all ingredients, except 1/4 C Parmesan Cheese, in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Spoon mixture into 9 medium cups (fill each about 3/4 way). Sprinkle remaining 1/4 C parmesan cheese over muffins. Bake 30 - 35 minutes until tops are golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

People rave about the Crab Pizza at Chickie & Pete's, a local Sports Bar famous for their Hardshell Crabs and Crab Fries. Since I love Crabs and Pizza, I decided to create my own Crab Pizza. It was really easy and very tasty. Here is what I did:

Pre-heat oven to 450. Spray a pizza pan or a Cookie Sheet with Cooking Spray.

(1) 9" Pizza Dough (I used a popular mix that required only 1/2 cup hot water)
2T Olive Oil
2T grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves,minced
3/4 Cup Marinara Sauce
8 oz. lump crabmeat
1 T capers
1/2 to 1 t crushed, red peppers

Press dough into a 9" round on a cookie sheet or a pizza pan. Brush dough with Olive Oil.Spread with 2 - 3 T Marinara Sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese and minced garlic. Bake on lowest rack about 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Add crab meat. Sprinkle with capers and red peppers. Drizzle with another 2 -3 T Marinara Sauce. Return to oven for another 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

My oven is usually takes at least the full amount of recommended time to cook. I cooked this for a total of 18 minutes. Though I like a crisp crust, this was a tadd too crisp. I think that 15 minutes would have been fine. We enjoyed this for dinner with a salad. If I were to make this for a larger gathering, I would use a large, square cookie sheet and cut it in to squares for serving.

I am really glad that I decided to participate in this Slow Travel Activity. This week's ingredient was Shrimp, selected by Cindy Ruth. It was fun searching for recipes. The Cookbooks that I have accumulated are geared towards family cooking which has occupied much of my last 20 years.I am making note of the Cookbooks used by others so that I can add to my collection. I relied on Epicurioushttp://www.epicurious.com/ to find a recipe:

Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa

36 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2T Olive Oil
2T Lime Juice
2 cloves garlic,minced
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Prepare marinade and marinate shrimp for 2 - 3 hours.

Spray grill with cooking spray. Thread shrimp on 6 skewers and cook on medium-high heat about 5 minutes, just until opaque in center. Cool.

Serve Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa

1/2 Pineapple,peeled, cored and cut into 1/2" slices.

3/4 Cup chopped,red onion

1/4 cup cilantro
2 T chopped, seeded jalapeno pepper
2 T Olive Oil
2T lime juice

Sprinkle pineapple with salt & pepper. Grill until just tender, about 4 minutes per side. Mix into the other Salsa ingredients. Serve with Grilled Shrimp.

The only changes that I made to the recipe was the addition of garlic to the marinade and the fact that I marinated the shrimp for 2 hours..Actually, I didn't even realize that the recipe did not call for marinating the shrimp until the next day!. The instruction was to brush the shrimp with the marinade before grilling. They were delicious and a big hit at a pool party later that day.Personally I found it a bit difficult to pickup the shrimp and pineapple with a toothpick. Next time I would use thicker pieces of pineapple, or I would use larger shrimp and serve them on a plate with Salsa on the side.