Poached Eggs with Smoked Trout and Potato Hash

by Irene Lindvall

It's been awhile since I've done a proper brunch and I have been wanting to make this one for some time. I'm glad I made the extra effort to find the smoked trout instead of just using plain trout because it really made a difference. The flavors all worked well together although I might have added some ketchup in the end because the kid in me always used ketchup on weekend breakfasts. I think Sriracha would've been good as well.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Smoked in-house trout from Whole Foods in delicious. For those local, only the Bellevue, WA location as it.

Not all poached egg silicon containers cook the same.

Would I make this recipe again?:

It felt like it took a lot of time to make, but for a weekend brunch, it's worth it. 

The recipe 

Seared Scallops with Tomato-Fennel Relish

by Irene Lindvall

We've been in Portland, OR for the last five days enjoying food trucks and delicious coffee. I'm so happy is my first dish back after a mini-vacation! The relish has a taste like nothing I've ever made before and I was particularly pleased with the way the fennel bulb tasted after cooking since I haven't been the biggest fan of it. We didn't need a big dinner tonight so I was happy I chose something smaller. We ended up eating six medium sized scallops each.

Things I learned from this recipe:

This recipe taught me how to fix the dilemma I had last week. I now know that I can replicate canned tomatoes just by bowling water, dropping the tomato in for thirty seconds, peeling the skin off and then squeezing the juice out. Very amazing and such a great tip/trick.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Tomato, Greens, & Chickpea Skillet

by Irene Lindvall

I had half a can of chickpeas leftover from last night's salad and loved that I found this recipe so they didn't go to waste. While I was happy about that I was immediately sad when I realized I didn't have curry powder or canned tomatoes. Luckily the recipe told me I could combine turmeric, mustard seed, coriander and cumin to make it and I happened to have all of those. I used 1/2tsp of each and thought the flavor came out great. I also used one medium and one small tomato to make up for not having the canned and this turned out fine as well. I also really like this recipe because it said to cook the egg covered which I still getting used to. I love this technique but haven't done it enough times to remember to do it, but I'm hoping this time it sticks. I cooked the egg in 3-4 minutes on medium-low heat on my high output burner. The result was great and it came off the pan perfectly. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

Fresh tomatoes are a fine replacement for canned (duh?). The only downside with not having canned for this dish was the fact that a liquid sauce was missing.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Maybe. With Eric not being the biggest chickpea fan I'm not so sure it'll make it into the weekend brunch rotation.

The recipe

Spiced Chicken with Chickpea & Cucumber Salad

by Irene Lindvall

Day three of using the BBQ! We barely got this one in as it starting sprinkling towards the end. While we didn't run into any rain, we did have some issues with how long the chicken needed to cook even though these were relatively small thighs. I thought the taste was still pretty good and I really liked the burnt sesame seeds. The salad was an extremely light and delicious compliment to the chicken. Shallots must be in season now because I am able to find them all over (or I wasn't looking hard enough before?) and were just the right strength of onion for the salad.

Things I learned from this recipe:

We really need to take the "Grilling with Chicken" class from Sur La Table.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Honey-Sesame Grilled Chicken Wings

by Irene Lindvall

I have been making this wing recipe for almost two years now and have served it to many different people. I believe it was the first thing we cooked when we bought an "adult grill" (i.e. one that involved gas), and loved it from the very first bite. We were actually blown away by the taste. That doesn't happen very often and it's always a memorable experience when it does. The thing I find most surprising about this recipe is that the chicken only has to marinade for 15 minutes. It's definitely the additional glaze continually added on that keeps the taste.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I choose to marinade the chicken in a large Ziploc bag instead of a bowl as the recipe says. Two reasons for this. Number one, from a sanitary perspective, I like to just throw away the bag that had raw chicken in it, and number two, you can just make the marinade in a small bowl and pour it into the bag - also easier from a clean-up stand point. I guess that's just one point with two reasons. :)

Eric has become an expert at the timing and glazing of the chicken which is incredibly important. 

You can never have enough of these when serving them to friends and family.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe