Breakfast in a ramekin

#1 Parmesan cheese, bell pepper, Thai chilis, eggs, pepper, and pink salt.
     Baked for 10-15 mins at 350 F

You may make sandwiches with tomatoes, baked eggs, and sriracha mayo.

Key lime mini pies

Method:

For Crust

1. Crumble graham crackers and add 4 tsp melted unsalted butter with 2 tsp sugar. Taste to check the sweetness.
2. Place parchments in a muffin pan and place equal portions of crust mix. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 5 mins.

For Filling

1. Blend 1 packet cream cheese. Add 3 beaten egg yolks,  and 1/3 can of condensed milk.
2. Add freshly squeezed key lime juice, about 1/4 cup or to taste.
3. Spoon equal portions of the filling into the parchments cups over crust. Bake for 15-20 mins until pie is jiggly.
4. Cool at room temperature. Chill for 2 hrs in the fridge.
5. Garnish with sliced key limes.

Another link to this recipe can be found here

What to do with extra apples?

Apple turnover

Apple tart

Basic Vanilla cookies

Hat tip to my friend Sonia Dey. I changed the measurements a bit.

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter (I used Strauss European style organic unsalted butter) 4 oz (113 g) or one cube
Good quality vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Sugar to taste (I used 1/3 cup)

Plain flour or maida 1 and 1/3 cups
Baking powder 1 tsp

Method:

1. Whisk the butter (at room temperature) with vanilla essence and sugar.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together. Pour to the butter mix. Mix well. Use a spatula or a dough mixer.
3. Roll the dough into a log. Refrigerate for 2 hrs.
4. Cut the dough into pieces. Place on parchment paper on a cookie tray. Bake for 15-20 mins in preheated oven at  350 F or until the edges are brown. Let them cool at room temperature.
   
   I also tried a second batch with chocolate chips. 

Baked rainbow trout with lemon and dill

Ingredients:
2 whole rainbow trout, dressed and cleaned
Olive oil/Butter 1 tsp for each fish
Garlic powder/salt
Chili flakes/pepper
Lemons cut in round shapes and some wedges for squeezing
Spice rub of your choice (optional)
Al foil
Dill or Herbs of your choice

Method

1. Wipe the fish thoroughly with paper towels. Score the fish on the outside so that the spices get through to the bone.
2. Season the insides and outsides well with garlic salt, chili flakes/pepper, spice rub, dill, lemon juice and lemon rounds. Drizzle olive oil or  use cooking spray. You may also add melted butter.
3. Wrap in foil and seal any openings to keep the fish juicy.
4. Preheat oven to 450 F, bake for 20 mins (or 25 mins at 375 F ) or until fish turns flaky when scraped with a fork.
5. You may also add herbs of your choice and  a wine sauce.
   

Tip:  Use fragnant lemons for a delightful smell, and fresh trout. Lemon caper in butter is also a good option for baking fish and chicken.

Oven roasted beets with thyme

This is an easy way to eat vegetable. And I enjoy them a lot.

 Before

After

1. Wash, peel, cut beets into bite-sized pieces. Thinner slices mean less cooking time. But be careful to make them evenly thick or else you will burn some and undercook the others.
2. Add olive oil, salt, sugar and sprigs of thyme.
3. Bake in conventional oven at 350 F for 35-40 mins or until done, tossing them every 10-15 mins.

You can make sweet potatoes too.

Steamed halibut with ginger, soy sauce and scallions

This is a recipe I got from a guy we met while shopping for fish at Ranch 99. He even took us to the aisle where the right soy sauce was. I already had regular Kikkoman, but he insisted we should try the one specially meant for steamed fish.

       VS

 I added jalapenos to his recipe . You can bake or steam it.. I like it both ways.

Before 

After

1. Take steaks of white fish (I used halibut for this one), clean and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Add soy sauce, ginger, diced jalapeno to the fish and wrap it in aluminium foil . Bake at 350 F for 40 mins or steam, until the fish turns flaky. (You can add wine too)
3. Add scallions and/or cilantro generously. 

You might also like this Malaysian recipe of Red Snapper grilled in Banana Leaf

I tried this recipe with whole carp. I shallow fried the fish and sauteed the onions first.

Mackerel in chive butter

1. Clean the fish, gut it out it needed. Thaw in cold water if frozen. 
2. Score the fish with a sharp knife and rub chive butter (chopped chives in butter melted in microwave for a minute or so), garlic salt, Italian herbs, wine, olive oil, freshly squeezed lime, pepper, cumin and coriander powder.
3. Bake in baking tray covered with a perforated Al foil for 20 mins and uncovered for another 20 mins or until done. 

Enjoy with wild rice risotto.

Poached pear
Recipe link 1
Alternately, I made the poaching liquid with wine, water, cloves, cinnamon sticks and brown sugar. Peeled a whole pear and poached it for 20 mins. Served it with chocolate sauce.

Another pear dessert: Honey-roasted pear

Chicken roast with basil pesto

I used Cornish hen for this recipe, you can use any pieces, preferably with skin on, since we'll brown it later.

Thaw first, if frozen. Then clean the bird, pat dry,  loosen the skin and add spices like garlic salt, black pepper, lime juice, olive oil/butter, rosemary , and basil pesto inside the skin and over it. Roast uncovered in a roasting pan for 1 hour at 400 F in conventional oven, turning once when done half way through. Broil the last 10 mins to brown the skin. Bast occasionally with the drippings. Serve with grains and vegetables of your choice. Baked beets with a dash of lemon , baby carrots with pickled cabbage, or steamed string beans may make a healthy, tasty side. You can use the leftovers to make salad, sandwiches, wraps, or Chicken, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Casserole

You can make whole tandoori chicken by marinating the bird overnight in Tandoori powder, ginger garlic paste, cardamom , chili garlic powder, Dash garlic and herbs, pepper, yogurt.

And serve with avocado-romaine lettuce-pine nuts- shaved turkey-raisin/dry rainier cherries salad.

For crisper salads, place paper towels in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will be soaked and this will help keep the salad crisp and fresh longer.

Cauliflower casserole with French-fried onions

Ingredients:

1. 1 can cream of mushroom soup
2. 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
3. 1 cup French fried onions
4. Cauliflower florets steamed in microwave for about 5 mins
5. Celery stalks diced
6. Green peas, a handful

Method:

1. Cut cauliflower into same sized florets, microwave. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on them and place them on a greased ( with a spoonful of olive oil) baking tray
2. Add the celery and peas, empty the can of mushroom soup, add the cruncy french onions. Mix
3. Bake at 300F for about 30 mins or until done. Add more french onions if you want extra crunch.

Had tomato-mozzarella salad with it

Garlic-Rosemary Roast Chicken

Link 1
Link 2

If you are baking with the skin on, it helps to loosen the skin and rub the garlic-herb mixture evenly under the skin first, and then on it. Insert a small, sharp knife and make shallow cuts on the meat. Sometimes I toss halved mushrooms into the baking dish, and always prefer fresh coarsely ground pepper for a crunch.

Salmon Fillets with Chive Sauce

Link 1 [A sweet life]


You can bake the fish with minced chives too. I used a lot of freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil,ginger garlic paste, minced ginger freshly ground fennel seeds +cumin seeds + pepper+ coriander, Lahori fish powder (Ingredients gram flour(Besan), red Chilli powder, crushed coriander, carom seeds(Ajwain), raw mango powder (amchur) )on a bed of diced onions and tomatoes. I added minced chives half way through the baking (fresh fish takes very little time to cook about 15-20 mins at 350F, and keep it at 200 F or 'warm' later if you want) and served it on a fish plate with minced napa cabbage. The guests loved it. Will make it again soon. Can add red chili flakes if you like it hot.

Baked trout with pearl onions and watercress sauce

For the sauce
1 bunch of watercress
Olive oil/ butter
Tartar sauce
Pepper

Heat oil/ melt butter in a frying pan and add the watercress.
When they wilt, add tartar sauce

Soak the pearl onions in water or steam lightly. Peel the skin and toss it in a pan with a little vinegar/lemon juice and olive oil.

For baking the fish
Use olive oil/butter and freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix them to create an emulsion.
Sprinkle that and your favorite spices on the fish. I prefer garlic powder, grated singer and dry Italian herbs for this.
Bake at 350 F until fish is flaky.


Serve in a dish with the sauce and onions.

Marinated red pearl onions in vinegar and spices serve as good accompaniments.