October 11 Meal: Mad for Maple is Making Me Mad

We took a few days off from cooking to visit family in Florida and caught an early flight back to Raleigh on Monday morning.  I thought this may not make for an easy meal prep day, but I went ahead and planned big: Swordfish with Olive, Pine Nut, and Parsley Relish, Skillet Turnips and Potatoes with Bacon, and Maple Pots De Crème with Almond Praline. 

 

Swordfish with Olive, Pine Nut, and Parsley Relish

I found some really great prices on frozen swordfish at Trader Joe's and was pleasantly surprised with how quickly it thawed.  This recipe, from the Fast Easy Fresh section, is quick.  Just season the fish with a little salt, pepper, and red pepper flake, then cook for 4-5 minutes per side.  Meanwhile, you can prep the topping, which had my favorite ingredient again - olives!  Chop up some shallots, garlic, green olives, and Italian parsley.  All of it gets cooked in the same pan that the fish cooked in, along with some white wine.  For such a quick dish this really had a lot of great flavor.

Yumminess: 9 out of 10

Cost: Approx. $10 for 2 servings (however, the swordfish steaks were large, so we had some left for lunch)

Time: Bon Appetit said 35 minutes for prep and total, but I spent maybe 15 minutes in prep and 25 minutes total.

Was it worth it?: Yes, this was a flavorful fish recipe.

Skillet Turnips and Potatoes with Bacon

This issue of Bon Appetit utilizes turnips in several recipes.  It's certainly not a vegetable I am very familiar with, so it's nice to try some new things.  The skillet turnips and potatoes recipe comes from the Lidia's Friuli article, so it's also interesting to learn more about Italian food that has nothing to do with pasta or red sauce.  You start by cooking some bacon until fat is rendered, then add onion and garlic.  Take a moment to smell how amazing that aroma is... Next add cubed turnips and potatoes, cooking until tender.  The next part is interesting, and sounds a bit strange.  Combine red wine vinegar, sugar, and water, then put that mixture into the pan with the vegetables.  I still am not sure what kind of chemical reaction this creates, but it adds a a good depth of flavor.  Keep cooking until crispy, then top with fresh parsley.  This is probably a good recipe for a cold night when you want some comfort food.

Yumminess: 10 out of 10

Cost: Approx. $7.40 for 4 servings

Time: Bon Appetit said 1 hour for prep and total, but I spent about 20 minutes in prep and 30 minutes cooking, for a total time of 50 minutes.

Was it worth it?: Yes!  This is a great side.  Probably not too often because I felt a little guilty with the bacon.

Maple Pots De Crème with Almond Praline

I ended the night with a dessert I thought was going to be easy from the Mad for Maple article.  The custard is simple enough.  Just whisk together egg yolk, sugar (granulated and maple), maple extract, and salt, then add in the heavy whipping cream.  Divide among ramekins and bake.  Easy enough, right?  Well, the other part is making the praline topping.  First you toast the almonds.  Then, you mix water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan on low heat.  When the sugar melts you bring the heat up until it gets to be a dark amber color.  But, oh no!  It went from dark amber to dark brown really quickly (see picture below).  I tried to make it work, but it just tasted burnt.  Into the garbage it went.  So I re-toasted more almonds, but burnt them.  Third time was a charm.  I finally got both almonds and sugar mixture right.  The sugar mixture goes over the almonds.  Once it hardens and cools, just break it up and put over the maple cream once it is chilled.

 

Yumminess: 10 out of 10

Cost: Approx. $7.20 for 2 servings

Time: Bon Appetit said 40 minutes for prep and  4 hours total. I spent the same amount in prep and 2:30 hours cooking and cooling, for a total time of 3:10 hours.

Was it worth it?: Yes, however this is one of the maple desserts that requires maple sugar, which is quite expensive.  Make sure you have another maple dessert planned so that you make use of the whole jar.