MJ's Kitchen

Our Favorite Grilled Halibut Recipe

by mj on June 16, 2013

This Grilled Halibut Recipe came to being several years ago when Bobby and I spent two glorious weeks on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian islands. We had a vacation rental on a beach that lead into a live coral reef. Needless to say we spent a lot of time snorkeling and just hanging out. Bobby bought an underwater case for our little point and shoot camera, so he had a blast getting pictures of the coral and the tropical fish. I just floated around trying to see as much as possible and enjoying the experience of being in an underwater world. It was very surreal.

Several afternoons we would drive into town, go to the local fish market and buy a couple pieces of fresh fish, usually right off the boat. Our standard method of grilling the fish was based on a method that Bobby had found in some articles about cooking fish Hawaiian style. The method was to season the fish, then spread both sides with a generous helping of mayonnaise. It sounded kind of weird, but when in Rome…

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Watermelon Rind Candies

by mj on September 23, 2012

I’m reposting this recipe as a reminder to save the rinds from this summer’s watermelons and turn them into watermelon rind preserves or these wonderful watermelon rind candies! I made some last week before leaving on vacation because I wanted to take them to the woman that inspired this recipe. The smile on her face told me that I did good.

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In my watermelon post a while back I mentioned that my mother saved the watermelon rind and made watermelon rind preserves. After we all finished off the watermelon, she would cut away any remaining pink from the rind, peel the rind, then slice it into spears. All of the rind spears were transferred to a big pot and layered with sugar, then left to sit overnight. The next day she cooked them down “until done”. After they cooked I helped her pack the spears lengthwise into sterilized mason jars and then seal the jars. By fall we had enough watermelon rind preserves to last the winter and then some.

Eating her watermelon rind preserves was like eating a crunchy, sweet stick of candy. It didn’t really have a watermelon flavor, but it had a clean, sweet taste that is very hard to describe. All I know is those preserves were really, really good, very, very sweet, and hard to stop eating. A couple of years ago I decided to come up with my own way to preserve watermelon rind but in smaller pieces and less sweet, if possible. My efforts paid off! These little candies turned out exactly like I wanted – small, crispy bites of sweetness with a touch of anise flavor. So good, so addicting!

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Chile de Arbol Salsa

by mj on June 6, 2013

In my pinto beans post I mentioned that I had received a great package of goodies from Diaz Farms in southern New Mexico. Along with the pinto beans, there was a bag of dried chile de arbol peppers with a request for a recipe for the Diaz Farms website. Having never used chile de arbol before, I was quite excited about the challenge. However, before we talk about the recipe, let’s talk about the pepper.

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Not My Mama’s Potato Salad at Food Writer Friday

by mj on June 2, 2013

My mother and my aunt use to make the BEST sweet pickles. They were perfectly sweet, thick slices of cucumbers with a crispness that everyone in the room heard when you bit into them. The process of making them was long and involved, and something I should have taken the time to learn over the years, but didn’t. Aside from just eating the pickles right out of the jar, I loved making mayo and sweet pickle sandwiches, and then there was my mama’s potato salad. Those sweet pickles made it! They added a sweetness and crunchiness that I’ve never been able to duplicate in a potato salad. Therefore, several years ago I gave up on trying to make my mama’s salad and started working on one that would be just as good, but different. I’ve tried to use many of the same ingredients, but threw in a twist with a mix of roasted potatoes. I roast two to three different types of potatoes which provide a depth of flavor, making the potatoes the star of the salad instead of the pickles. It still has sweet pickles, just not my mama’s sweet pickles.

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A Simple Snack with Apples, Walnuts and Raisins

by mj on May 28, 2013

Now for something completely different…

In the late 80′s Bobby and I spent a week with some friends on a houseboat on Lake Powell, a lake on the Colorado River in the southwestern U.S. During this trip we were introduced to this wonderful little snack of apples, walnuts, raisins and a touch of cinnamon. Thank you Donna! I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve made this snack over the years. I always had a bag of it in my backpack at the start of a backpacking trip. We’ve taken it camping, on road trips, and on numerous hikes. Because it only takes 5 minutes to throw together, it’s perfect for your lunch bag or an afternoon snack. Aside for the fact that it is just downright delicious, it also keeps for a couple of days with or without refrigeration, making it a snack that you can take just about anywhere and never get tired of eating.

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Time to Cook up a Pot of Pinto Beans

by mj on May 23, 2013

Those of you who have been visiting MJ’s Kitchen for a while know that I love cooking up dried beans and putting them in all sorts of dishes. You’ve had my black beans and bolita beans, but you haven’t had my pinto beans. In fact, I haven’t had my pinto beans for years because I’ve been eating so many black beans. However, that’s about to change.

Last week I received a package from Diaz Farms in southern New Mexico. Inside the package was a bag of their dried pinto beans, along with a few other items to be revealed soon. I think these beans have made me fall back in love with pintos. They were so buttery and flavorful and made a great bowl of beans for Sunday’s supper and burritos on Tuesday. I wonder what I’ll be making with the rest of the beans.

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Chipotle Grits with Feta Cheese

by mj on May 18, 2013

Before I tell you how chipotle peppers ended up in grits, I have a question for you. What are three things that you absolutely can not run out of? Running out of any one of these three things would be devastating. Do you have them? I would be willing to bet that the first item is toilet paper. No one wants to run out of toilet paper and believe me, having used the pages of a Sears catalog when I was a kid visiting the grandparents, toilet paper has no substitute. O.K. so TP is number one. What about the next two items? In this house those items are milk and green chile. Well, guess what I ran out of a couple of weeks ago? Green chile!!! Yep – you read it right. I ran out of green chile.

I was planning on making Grits and Green Chile and had already started the grits, when I went to pull some green chile from the freezer. There was none to be found. UGH! So what’s a girl to do? You know how it is – once your family expects one thing, you better come up with something just as good if not better. Rummaging through the pantry I found a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, so decided to give them a try in place of the green chile. Instead of cheddar cheese, I went with feta which turned out to be the right decision. What a delicious bowl of grits!!! I’m not going to to say it was better than grits and green chile, but it certainly turned out to be a fabulous substitute. We’ve had it twice since and I still haven’t bought any green chile. I think that might convince you as to how good this is.

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A Festival of Strawberry Salad Recipes

by mj on May 14, 2013

It is well into strawberry season here and really warming up. What better time to start throwing in a few refreshing strawberries to sweeten up those summer salads. I’ve shared a couple of strawberry salads with you in the past, but thought you might like some more. After a little time searching through blogs and Pinterest, I found several other people that like strawberry salads as much as I do. However, I was surprised that I didn’t find more. Maybe we can start something here. Below are several delicious strawberry salads and I believe the inspiration for many more.

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Apple Pecan Crepes with Cheddar Cheese

by mj on May 9, 2013

If somewhere in the human genome there is a gene for a sweet tooth, then my family has it! We always had desserts and sweets to nibble on when I was growing up and we all still need that little bite of something sweet after each meal. One of my favorite sweet treats that my mama use to make, and one I still love today is taking a piece of apple pie, topping it with a big slice of cheddar cheese and putting it under the broiler until the cheese melted all over the pie. Mama’s apple pies were already delicious, but when she added the cheddar – I was in heaven!

These Apple Pecan Crepes with Cheddar Cheese kind of remind me of that pie, but are quite a bit lighter in calories and texture. The crepes themselves are delicate and delicious, and folded into the crepes is some grated cheddar cheese. The apples are gently sauteed in butter, topped with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of maple syrup, then placed on top of the crepes. Pecans, chopped and toasted to enhanced their flavor are sprinkled on top, followed by a drizzle of warm maple syrup. Now if that doesn’t get your mouthwatering, then nothing will!

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Bourbon Carrots – Four Ways

by mj on May 5, 2013

Who doesn’t love carrots? Carrots are one of those vegetables that are as good raw as they are cooked, and when cooked, the possibilities are endless. The market where I shop has some of the tastiest organic carrots. They are fresh, large, and so sweet. Needless to say, I buy them a lot; therefore, I have a number of carrot recipes. I posted one of our favorite recipes a while back - Glazed Carrots with Sage. Bourbon carrots with a little oil or butter then topped off with an herb or spice, is another of our favorites.

Why bourbon? The flavor of bourbon is such a great complement to the flavor and sweetness of carrots. I’ve tried vermouth as well as cognac, but wasn’t as crazy about the results. In these recipes, the carrots are first steamed in a little bourbon. By the time the carrots are cooked, the bourbon has evaporated but its sweetness has incorporated into the carrots. You’ll be surprised how good these carrots taste before you even add anything else. Once cooked, the carrots are tossed with a touch of butter or your favorite oil, then topped with an herb or spice. You can also add a touch of honey or maple syrup for a little more sweetness. Below are four different ways that I serve these carrots, and this is only four of many.

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