FLOUNDER MEUNIERE
1 flounder, in fillets
flour for dredging
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon

Dredge the fillets in the flour, let sit for 15 minutes, then dredge again.
Heat the butter in a large skillet (ceramic-coated works best for me) over medium heat, until bubbling. Place the fish in the skillet, skin-side-up, and cook until golden-brown. Flip, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until fish is flaky throughout.
Serve with parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice.

SPINACH CASSEROLE
1-lb. pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1/2 c. onion, chopped
4 eggs
2 c. plain nonfat yogurt
1 can undiluted cream of mushroom soup
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place spinach and onions in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 4 minutes. Drain.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, soup, cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the spinach mixture, stir well, and pour into a buttered 2-quart baking dish. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden-brown and bubbly at edges.
Note: This makes a very large casserole! You can cut the ingredients in half and make it in a souffle dish for a more manageable amount.

Oh...my...God. I can't even describe how good this is. If you don't try this recipe, you're seriously missing out, especially because it's fast and foolproof. Once again, the absolute supremacy of the Sunset magazine editorial staff is proven. Recipe is shown with my amendments and adjustments.

RHUBARB YORKSHIRE PUDDING
1/4 c. unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. 1% milk
1/2 lb. rhubarb, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1/3 c. unsalted butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 to 3 Tbs. of water

Place the 1/4 c. butter in a 1-quart souffle dish and put it in a 425-degrees-F oven until it is melted and bubbly.
While that's happening, whisk together eggs, flour, and salt. Add the milk and whisk it until very smooth. Pour this batter into the bubbling butter, then drop the rhubarb pieces into the middle of the batter. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until edges are dark brown.
In the last five minutes of baking time, melt the 1/3 c. butter in a large pan. Stir in the brown sugar and water and cook, stirring, until the sugar has melted and the mixture is a thick syrup.
Serve Yorkshire pudding warm in bowls with plenty of hot syrup on top.

BANANA MUFFINS
2 large eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
a dash of vanilla, rum, or liqueur
2 bananas, mashed
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
a pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-section muffin tin with canola cooking spray.
Mix the eggs, oil, brown sugar, vanilla, and bananas together in a large bowl.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
Spoon batter into the muffin tin and bake 17-20 minutes, or until golden brown and springy.

PIZZA CRUST
1 packet active dry yeast (not quick-rising)
1 1/2 c. warm water (it must be between 105 and 115 degrees F)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 c. bread flour
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast into the water and leave it 5 or 10 minutes, until creamy. Stir in the olive oil.
Whisk in the salt and the bread flour, 1 cup at a time. Then add the all-purpose flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, adding a little more flour as necessary, for at least 10 minutes. It should be velvety. Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled (1 to 1 1/2 hours).
Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Roll the halves into balls and let them rest under a moist cloth for half an hour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Stretch each ball of dough into a 14-inch round, place on a pan, and top with your favorite toppings. Bake 17 to 19 minutes or until golden.

Topping combos we did tonight:
(1) Marinara sauce, feta cheese, artichoke hearts, bacon, mozzarella, and Parmesan
(2) Marinara sauce, Italian sausage, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, and mozzarella

Duck Heaven

Today I roasted a duck according to Jamie Oliver's wonderful recipe--the one from Happy Days with the Naked Chef with the rhubarb, sage, and ginger. It makes the most delectable gravy. I think I blogged something like it a while back, but I am too lazy today to look it up.

To go with the duck, I made the side dish below. I usually make colcannon according to the excellent Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant recipe, but this was a nice change and was slightly easier.

COLCANNON
2 1/2 c. shredded green cabbage
1/2 c. milk
three medium mealy potatoes, diced
one leek or half a sweet onion, sliced thin and chopped coarsely
a pinch of ground mace
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs. butter

Cook the shredded cabbage in a pot of salted boiling water until tender (about 7 to 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, in a separate large-ish saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Add the leek and potatoes and reduce to a simmer. Simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are very soft. Stir in the mace and mash well.
Combine the cabbage with the potatoes in a serving dish. Season with salt and pepper, then slap on the butter and cover for a few minutes until it melts. Serve immediately.

Dim Sum* Night

* As far as I can tell, "Dim Sum" is Chinese for "junk food." But I could be wrong.

LI'L PORKY EGG ROLLS
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
8 oz. ground pork
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cabbage, shredded
4 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
a package of egg roll wrappers (you won't use all of them)
oil for deep-frying
plum sauce and/or soy sauce for dipping

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the ground pork. Break the meat apart and cook it through. Add the garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and saute until the cabbage wilts. Remove from heat.
In each egg roll skin, spread about 2 Tbs. of pork mixture along one end. Roll over once and fold up the sides. Roll up completely into a sausage shape, brushing the far edge with water to seal. Set rolls aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a wok until it's almost smoking. Reduce the heat slightly and fry the egg rolls in batches for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve with plum and/or soy sauce.

DEEP-FRIED COCONUT BANANAS
half a batch of coconut crepe batter (left over from yesterday)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 ripe bananas, cut diagonally into five chunks each
oil for deep-frying
brown sugar

Whisk baking powder into the crepe batter. Drop in the banana chunks and coat thoroughly. With a large spoon, drop bananas into oil and fry, turning when necessary, until golden-brown. Drain on a wire rack and sprinkle with brown sugar.

THAI COCONUT CREPES
1 c. rice flour
1 to 2 Tbs. powdered sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. 1% milk
2 Tbs. sweetened shredded coconut
vegetable oil, butter, or cooking spray

Whisk together the rice flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, coconut milk, and milk, and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Beat in the coconut.
Heat a crepe pan to medium or medium-high and grease it with oil, butter, or cooking spray. Pour in about 1/4 to 1/3 c. of batter and tilt or swirl the pan to coat the bottom evenly and thinly. Cook until golden underneath, then carefully flip and brown lightly on the other side. Repeat until all the batter is used up, keeping the pan hot at all times.
Serve with sliced bananas, chocolate syrup, sliced mango, or whatever else you like.

This recipe came on a package of beautiful fresh haddock fillets that I bought today. So I tried it, and we really liked it.

BUBBLY FISH BAKE
2 lbs. fresh fish fillets
1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, very thinly sliced
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x12-inch casserole dish.
Lay fish fillets, in layers if necessary, skin-side-down in the dish. Season with parsley and garlic. Layer onion slices on the fish.
Spread soup evenly over fish and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until fish is flaky and onion is cooked. Serve with freshly ground pepper at the table.

My own recipe, from scratch:

CHICKEN PIE
3/4 lb. waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
2 Tbs. butter
whites of several scallions, chopped
3/4 to 1 lb. chicken thigh meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. 1% milk
1 Tbs. coarse Dijon mustard
1/2 c. frozen petite peas, thawed
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie, with about 3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese mixed into the dough

Cook the potatoes and carrots in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan, add the scallions and chicken, and saute until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for one minute. Add the milk and mustard and bring to a boil, stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add peas, marjoram, and seasonings, and stir together.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll out half of the pastry and lay it in a 9-inch pie plate. Add the chicken filling, top it with the other half of the pastry, and seal and flute the crust. Cut a vent in the top of the crust.
Bake 45 minutes or until golden-brown and bubbling. Cool slightly before cutting and serving.