Salmon in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

Bruce found and made this recipe with a bunch of Salmon that he bought and it was absolutely delicious!!!

Ingredients

• ▢4 salmon fillets - skin removed
• ▢salt and pepper to taste
  
• ▢2 tablespoons butter
• ▢2 tablespoons honey
• ▢3 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend - or combination or dried thyme, basil, oregano and parsley
• ▢½ cup juliened sun dried tomatoes - (they come in a jar packed with oil, be sure to drain excess oil)
• ▢1 cup chicken broth
  
• ▢½ cup half and half - OR heavy cream (use heavy cream for a thicker, creamier sauce!)
• ▢⅔ cup parmesan cheese
• ▢grated parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, cracked black pepper for topping - optional

Instructions

• Season salmon with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted stir in honey. Add salmon to pan and cook 4-6 minutes on each side until caramelized around the edges and cooked through the center. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. 
• Add garlic, Italian seasoning, sun dried tomatoes, chicken broth, half and half or heavy cream, and 2/3 cup parmesan cheese to pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and continue to stir periodically until thickened and creamy (5-7 minutes).
• Return salmon to the pan and spoon the sauce over the salmon. Top with cracked black pepper, grated parmesan cheese, fresh herbs if desired, and serve. 

Date Walnut Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup dates chopped, pitts removed
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup water or to desired creaminess
• 2 tsp brown mustard or Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1. Assemble your ingredients and chop your dates. If you have a high powered blender, you may not need to chop the dates.

2. Add all the ingredients to a blender.

3. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add more or less water to get your desired level of creaminess.

BROWNED BUTTER SOURDOUGH CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup salted butter (see note above for unsalted butter adaptation)
• 1 cup white cane sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup flat and runny sourdough discard (220 grams) 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 
• 12 oz. chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups or one bag) for cookie dough
• 4 oz. (1/2 cup) chocolate chips for pressing into the top of the cookies
• sprinkle of course flake salt for the tops of cookies

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown the butter. Do this by adding the butter to a saucepan over medium heat. letting it melt, then foam, then when the liquid becomes brown underneath the bubbles and brown flecks appear, it’s done! Remove from heat. 
2. Let the butter cool to room temp, at least 30 minutes or longer.
3. Prepare one cup of sourdough discard. (Notes above on how to make discard).
4. Combine the browned butter and both sugars. Beat together with an electric hand mixer or with a stand mixer. The mixture will look a bit dry and crumbly, like semi- wet sand. 
5. Add the egg yolk to the mixture and beat with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. As you continue beating, the mixture will become lighter and fluffier.
6. Add the sourdough discard and beat together until just barely combined. The dough will look more like cake batter than cookie dough. don’t fret.
7. Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla. Mix until combined.
8. Add the flour and mix together by hand until just barely combined, being careful not to overmix.
9. Add the chocolate chips and mix together by hand.
10. Test the dough. *see note above* This is an optional step, but helps you to prevent cookies from coming out flat. Bake one, 1/4 cup sized ball of dough at 350 for 12-13 minutes. Depending on you elevation and the weather outside, the cookie dough texture can vary a bit. Testing one dough ball allows you to see if the cookie comes out well. If it is too flat, then the dough needs about 1/4 cup more flour. If it is just right, then leave it be and continue on to the next step.  
11. Cover the bowl of dough with plastic or a lid, and refrigerate. OR, roll into balls and transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate. Let the dough stay in the refrigerator to ferment for anywhere from one hour to seventy-two hours. I usually aim for about 4 hours. The longer it sits in the fridge, the more fermentation will happen and the more sour the cookies will taste. 
12. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
13. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper*. 
14. Remove the dough from the fridge and scoop in to smooth 1/4 cup balls if you haven’t already. Place six dough balls on each baking sheet. Top the dough balls with a few more chocolate chips.
15. Bake the dough balls for 13-14 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. 
16. Remove from oven, and place {even more} chocolate chips on the top of each cookie…. just to make it look pretty. Then sprinkle the cookies with some coarse sea salt flakes.* (Honestly… don’t skip this! It’s so good!) 
17. Let cookies cool on a cooling rack. Serve immediately, and freeze any leftovers! 

Sourdough Croutons

I had some leftover sourdough bread that needed to be used so I decided to make croutons. I really liked the consistency of the croutons because the bread was a little bit more dense than normal white bread or than french bread. 

Ingredients

• ▢4 cups cubed sourdough bread 12 oz or 360g (I used at least 6 cups if it was not more)
• ▢1/4 cup olive oil
• ▢1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢1 teaspoon zaatar, optional (I used everything bagel from Trader Joes)
• ▢1/4 tsp salt
• ▢freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add the sourdough bread cubes (crust and all) to a large bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil,and add all the remaining ingredients. Toss to combine thoroughly and evenly coat the bread with the oil.
• Spread the coated bread cubes out onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet, spacing them out so they aren't touching each other.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy. Halfway through baking time, use a spatula to toss the cubes around a little.
• Cool completely, then store in an air tight container at room temperature. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Wheat Bread

Ingredients

• ▢1 c all-purpose flour
• ▢1 c whole wheat flour
• ▢½ c +2 tbsp rolled oats
• ▢1 c water room temperature
• ▢1 tablespoon Maple syrup or Agave
• ▢1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
• ▢½ teaspoon salt
• ▢1 tablespoon oil

Instructions

Combine the ingredients

• In a large bowl (or Kitchen Aid) mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, 
• ½ c of rolled oats and yeast.
• Add water, Maple syrup and give everything a quick stir. Mix in Bosch of Kitchen Aid or by hand until combined. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside for 20 minutes. 

Knead the dough

• Gradually add oil, salt and knead the dough until it's elastic, about 5-10 minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough doubles in size.

Shape the dough into a log

• After the dough doubled in size, place the dough on a very lightly floured surface and lightly flatten it with hands. Roll it into a tight log slightly pinching the seam.
• Lightly wet your hands and pat the log. Spread the remanning 2 tablespoon of oats on a working surface and roll the log into the oats. Transfer the log on a parchment lined baking dish, cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough doubles in size.

Bake

• Preheat the oven to 410 F.
• Fill a rectangular or square (9 x 9 inches) baking dish with a few cups of hot water and place the dish in the oven on a lowest rack. In 30 seconds place baking dish with the loaf into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, carefully remove baking dish with the water from the oven, reduce the temperature to 360 F and bake for 30 more minutes.
• Remove bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

I actually put the dough in a bread pan and did not put a pan with water in the oven and it turned out great. 

I also doubled the recipe to make 2 loaves instead of one.