New Pan - New Recipe

Life is back to normal after the dishwasher leak and the loud machines from Serv-Pro drying out our kitchen floor.  The good news is that the flooring people found some of our floor in their warehouse and we are going to try replacing just the boards that are rough or lifted.  The floor does look a lot better now that it is dried out, but it feels rough.  When I finally got to mop up after all the machines were removed I could feel the microfiber mop catching on some of the uneven places.  So...we are waiting to see if the new floor will match and we can avoid replacing the entire floor in the apartment.  Seriously....talk about a "first world problem" when there are so many other terrible things going on in the world.  Such a little thing in the scheme of things. 

It is great to have the kitchen back - and try a new recipe with my new pan.  I never had a cast iron skillet - always would look at them in the stores and then never got around to buying one, even though I love to cook.  While watching HSN the pan above was advertised at a great price and with some great features. Here is the product description that had me ready to order - 

PFAS-, PTFE-, PFOS- and PFOA-free diamond-infused ceramic nonstick coating.

Can withstand high temperatures up to 840 degrees F.

High abrasion resistance: 2.75 times stronger than a 2-layer ceramic coating.

This was a Today's Special at a great price so I decided to order it.  I chose the pan in the black color as I thought it would hold up better and not get as messy looking.  I love that it has  a "helper handle" and came with the silicone pads that I can use with my other pans.  

Once the kitchen was open for business I wanted to try a new recipe with the new pan.

I saw a great salmon recipe on Instagram but wanted to make it for two....so I found this recipe on YouTube - 

Salmon in Creamy Boursin Sauce

Ingredients: 2 salmon fillet 75g Boursin Cheese 2 shallots, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced a handful of fresh chopped spinach 250ml milk 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp olive oil salt & pepper to taste 1. Season the salmon fillet with salt & pepper. 2. Heat the pan with olive oil and butter on medium low heat. 3. Sear the fillets on both sides for 3 minutes or longer, depending on the size of fillets. 4. Set aside and Saute' shallots and garlic until translucent and fragrant. 5. Add Boursin Cheese, and flour. 6. Stir to combine. 7. Add Milk and stir until it thickens 8. Add Spinach. It will only takes a minute for the spinach to wilt or cook. 9. Put the salmon fillets back on the pan. 10, Give those fillets a little bath with the Boursin cheese sauce that you just made, serve and Enjoy!

I started with one large piece of salmon that I sliced into two pieces.

This recipe sounded like it would be good over pasta so I started the water for some whole wheat Fusilli

The box said boil for about 13-16 minutes so everything should be ready at the same time.

The pan heated up quickly...

and did a great job browning the salmon...about 4 minutes on each side.

When the salmon was finished I added the onions and garlic to the pan and cooked until they were golden...

I used ready made minced garlic...

I did not have shallots so I used onions...and chopped them in this little mini chopper ( also purchased on HSN ) that works great for a small amount of onions.

I had the cheese on hand...

When the salmon was finished browning I put the pieces in a low oven to keep warm...

I used only half of the cheese...

Add the cheese and stir till melted, add a little flour and mix well, then add the milk...

Once everything was melted and blended I added a handful of spinach that I had in the freezer...

Then put the salmon back in the pan, let it warm through, spooned some of the sauce over the salmon...

then placed the salmon on the pasta and spooned the sauce over.

It turned out GREAT!   We loved it...and will make it again.  I also think it would be good with a chicken breast.

SO glad I purchased this pan...it was super easy to clean up and nothing stuck to the pan.  

Do you do a lot of cooking in a cast iron pan?

Any favorite recipes?

Please leave a comment below - I love hearing from you!

Enjoy the rest of February!

 

Life Lately

I have been meaning to post for a few days, but then the above happened!  Our dishwasher was having a slow leak due to a cracked connection...but this was happening under the dishwasher and under the floor and we did not know until one day the hardwood floor looked bubbled and rough.  The water was seeping up underneath the floor.  Luckily we live in a retirement community where maintenance is included.  I called and they immediately scheduled the appliance repair to come  - they found the leak and fixed it.  The maintenance manager came and looked at the floor and said "this floor was put in 6 years ago, it is probably discontinued, and if it isn't we might have an issue matching the color and finish.  He said we had choices - 1) get an entire new hardwood floor with no cost to us.  As great as that sounded that would mean moving all of our furniture out, living in the Guest Suites for 5-7 days, and seemed a lot of work for everyone...or 2) have Serv Pro come in, suck the water out of the floor, then have the flooring people come in and see what they can do.  If it does not look good to us we could always choose to have the entire floor replaced.  So...those machines have been running, and will run a few more.  They just used a nifty meter to test for dampness today and it is still beeping that there is water under there.  The thing is - these machines are LOUD.  We can't really use the kitchen, and can't use the living area to read or watch television because it is so loud.  We can sleep...when in the bedroom it sounds like white noise, so we are good there.  

Bottom line....this is such a minor issue when you think about all the trouble people all over the world have.  We are enjoying eating out and trying new places.  Our building has a wonderful library where we can sit and read, a television lounge if we feel the need, and the maintenance staff could not be more helpful.  Watch for more updates on what happens....

Last week we saw this show at the Fulton Theatre here in Lancaster, PA.  We are so blessed to have the Fulton so close.  Broadway quality shows - with actors from Broadway shows - and wonderful plays.  This is the first year we got tickets for the entire season.  

This show...It Happened In Key West was done in London West End, and on it's way (hopefully) to Broadway.  It is based on a true story of a man in the 1930's who fell in love, his true love dies, and he took her body and kept it in his home for seven years !  And this is a musical...but SO GOOD.  The songs are fantastic...especially "Believe in Undying Love".  If you get a chance and it comes your way, see it!

That's it for now...hope everyone is having a fabulous February!