Recipe Review for 6/9/08

Summer can't make up it's mind if it's here or not which has been making meal planning a bugger. Do I plan a week of warm dishes which will help warm up the house or do I plan a week of grilling and salads? I erred on the side of caution and did some of both.


Grilled Halibut with Cherry Salsa (Every Day Food c/o Culinary in the Country Blog) 3.5
I had halibut. I had cherries. Just needed some cilantro, green chili and red onion. Assembly for this was quick, well, with the exception of pitting the cherries but once that was complete, wah-la! I got the grill going, made the salsa, grilled the fish and sat down to eat.

Perhaps my cherries weren't sweet enough. Perhaps they weren't quite warm enough. But I was a bit disappointed in the salsa. All I could taste was the chili, onion and cilantro. Still, those flavors were bright and melded well and the fish was good so it wasn't a total loss in my books. I just won't be making it again.

Cashew Chicken Salad Sandwiches (Ckng Lght Annual 05, pg 122) 3.0
I've had a craving for chicken salad sandwiches on croissants for a while now and I had some leftover chicken from the Asian Chicken Salad that I reviewed last week. This was a bit different in that the base was sour cream with just a tich of mayo added. I also subbed broccoli slaw for the celery as I had that on hand and I didn't want to buy a whole celery. As I was saying, shredded chicken, sour cream, mayo, sweet curry powder, green onion and my broccoli slaw are all mixed together. I kept the cashews separate - I don't like soggy nuts. This was tasty, but after day two a significant amount of liquid was pooling in the bottom of the bowl. I contribute it to the sour cream.



Corn and Bean Tamale Pie (Recipe from a co-worker) 3.5
This came to me from a gal I work with and the copy didn't have the source on it and I keep forgetting to ask.

Onion, garlic and red pepper are sauteed until soft. Cumin, jalapeno, corn, and black beans (my substitution for nasty kidney beans) are added and warmed. Diced tomato and tomato paste (I didn't buy enough tomatoes so I drained a can of crushed and added it too) are tossed in last and everything simmered for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, the polenta topping is mixed. I must have different polenta than what most recipes call for - I had a hunch as I was assembling that I should have started this first and let it sit for a while. In the final product it was as still a tich "crunchy".

Overall this was good, if not bland. Instead of tomato paste, a tablespoon of chopped chili in adobo sauce would have kicked the flavors up a notch. Sharp cheddar cheese mixed into the polenta rather than sprinkled on top, and last even some cilantro sauteed with with the jalapeno would have made the flavors of this dish pop. As it is, it's decent, and I got at least 5 meals out of it.