Fogarty's Cod Fish Pie - A Lenten Casserole

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've had this "pie" at least a hundred times since I was a little girl. It's one of those dishes that people try to relegate to the back burner, but it always manages to push its way back to the front of the stove. Fish pie is great Lenten fare, and it usually ends up on the tables of the observant at least once during the Lenten season. Those of you who are not familiar with fish pies have probably had their kissin' cousin, Shepherd's Pie. Here, instead of ground lamb or beef, it's fish that is sauced and top with a thick blanket of mashed potatoes. Like many cooks, I enrich the sauce in which the fish cooks with cheese, despite  injunctions from food Nazi's who insist fish and cheese should not be served together. I also go all out and make a very rich potato topping for the pie. As a matter of fact, I make Champ, a potato dish that's much loved in Ireland, to cover the casserole. Champ looks like colcannon, another  potato dish that is native to the Northern Ireland. It's made by blending scallions or green onions into a base of rich and creamy mashed potatoes, and while it is great on its own, angel's sing when Champ is used to top a fish pie. It's also great with Italian sausage, but I'll save that discussion for another day. When I was quite young, my grandmother, the very Irish Maude, would add a handful of shrimp or chopped sea scallops to the white fish she used to make the pie. Back in the day, white fish, usually perch or cod could be bought at the supermarket in a frozen block for less than a dollar a pound, so Maude lived large when she made fish pie and added more expensive fish with abandon. She and my mother also shared a love of Finnan Haddie, so we often found that smoky addition in our pies as well. Now, I must be honest. There are those among you who will not like the pie even if it's made with lobster, and I suspect that most of you would not want to eat this on a daily basis, but it is good basic food and great for an occasional meatless meal. Good Friday is coming and that's a perfect day to give the pie a try. Here is how it's made.

15 Minute Korean-Style Rice Bowls with Beef or Mushrooms

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is one of the easiest meals in my recipe rotation. It is simple enough for children to make, and it uses so few ingredients and utensils, that it can be made in the most poorly equipped kitchens. I make it often for lunch or light suppers and we've enjoyed it in some very strange places. The bowls, obviously, are not Korean, but the taste of the finished dish is much like that of a Korean barbecue, hence its name. If you are trying to cut back on the amount of meat you eat, or chose never to eat it, the mushroom version of the dish will allow you to sample and enjoy these delicious rice bowls. Do give them a try. I know you will enjoy them. Here is how they're made.

Life Is....An All You Can Eat Buffet

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Auntie Mame had it wrong. Life is not a banquet, it's an all you can eat buffet. While I hate to sound like a princess, even beautifully presented buffets can become tiresome when you have them day after day. The buffet was a nearly constant feature of our evening meals in Egypt. They were wedding scale extravaganzas, complete with hot and cold tables and dessert bars so long you could go into sugar shock if you even looked at them  too long. Our meals were wonderful, but, unfortunately, they were not Egyptian. As a matter of fact, you had to search to find Egyptian dishes tucked into the copious buffet selections. I had done a little food related homework prior to our trip, so I was more fortunate than most in that I could recognize the few Egyptian dishes on the buffet tables. A sparsity of native food is not uncommon when you travel with a group where the goal is to please most of the people most of the time. It can be overcome by breaking away from the group for cooking lessons or meals in restaurants where native food is served. The climate in Egypt was not conducive to individual exploration, so we "suffered" through nights of rib roast or beef Wellington, and when I came on them, I jumped on the odd Egyptian dishes that I found. The recipe I'm featuring tonight is for a dish that is served throughout the country. It is very popular with locals and recipes for it abound. I had it several times when we were in Cairo and Alexandria and, interestingly, while they shared the same ingredients, the dishes never tasted quite the same. The dish is koshari. Koshari (also spelled Koshary or Kushari) is the national dish of Egypt. It mixes lentils, macaroni noodles and rice into a single dish that is topped with a spicy tomato sauce, garbanzo beans and fried onions. The idea sounds strange…until you taste it. Then you’ll know why this dish is a favorite among Egyptians. Here is how it's made.

A Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This quiche is quick and easy to prepare and it makes a healthy addition to your Meatless Monday recipe collection. Follow the recipe below and you can have dinner on the table in about an hour. I like to serve this light entree with soup to help make it meal worthy, and for our dinner tonight I roasted the last of our summer tomatoes to make a thick and rib-sticking soup that I will share with you another day. There is not much that can go wrong with this quiche. My only caution is to make sure the frozen spinach has as much liquid as is possible removed from it. I use my potato ricer to press out excess liquid and have never had a problem with an overly-moist quiche. You can experiment with the cheeses you use, and broccoli can replace the spinach if you have a preference for it. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. It will not make your reputation as a cook, but neither will it harm it. It is always nice to have a new meatless entree to add to your recipe collection. You might want to consider this one. Here is how this simple crustless quiche is made.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Budget Bites

Ingredients:
8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (10-oz.) box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 oz. feta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thaw spinach if required. Drain in a colander and squeeze out extra liquid.
2) Place sliced mushrooms in a skillet coated with non-stick spray. Add garlic and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Turn heat on to medium-high and saute mushrooms until they release all of their moisture and no more water remains on the bottom of the skillet (5-7 minutes).
3) Spray a pie dish with non-stick spray. Spread spinach on bottom of pie plate. Cover with cooked mushrooms and crumbled feta cheese.
4) Whisk eggs in a medium bowl until fairly smooth. Add milk, Parmesan, and another small sprinkle of pepper. Whisk to combine. Pour this mixture over spinach, mushrooms, and feta mixture. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over top.
5) Place pie dish on a baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake until pie is golden brown and the center is solid, about 45 minutes. Serve warm. Yield: 6 Servings.

                    

                                      Older Posts

                   One Year Ago Today:                                                    Two Years Ago Today:

           Pinchos Morunos - Spicy Pork Skewers              Breads and Desserts from the Pumpkin Patch

              Three Years Ago Today:                                                    Four Years Ago Today: 

         Julia's Garlic Mashed Potatoes                                                Roasted Eggplant Soup

Meatless Meals - Spicy Thai Noodles

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Now that Lent is here, I'm on the lookout for untried meatless meals that promise to be delicious while remaining simple to make. These noodles met that criteria. I found a photo of them on Pinterest, and they looked so luscious that I tracked the recipe back to its source, a blog called A Small Snippet. The noodles are made with pantry items and they take about 20 minutes to prepare. I think you'll agree that meal preparation doesn't get much easier than that. I made these for myself on Sunday, and I've been enjoying them for lunch everyday since then. I did want to briefly talk to you about the heat levels in this recipe. Anyone who has been to Thailand knows that Americans and Thais have different ideas about what is hot. They have a much greater tolerance for heat and that is demonstrated in this recipe. Leana's recipe called for 2 tablespoons of crushed pepper flakes. That is hot enough to take out most taste buds in a single bite and it is meant for courageous dragons who need an infusion of gasoline to fan the flames. While one tablespoon is hot, it is not unbearable, but even that may be too much for many palates. I decided to get around this by listing the quantity of pepper flakes recommended in the recipe as a range that is measured in teaspoons to make it easier to control. The Silver Fox is out of his comfort zone when I use a tablespoon of crushed pepper, so, when I am making the noodles for the two of us, I only use 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons of the pepper flakes. I suspect you already know your family's tolerance for heat, so adjust accordingly. The noodles are delicious and I do hope you will try them. Here is how they are made.