Coconut-Pecan Encrusted Baked Salmon

Now, marinating fish in milk may sound like a weird thing, but trust me on this. The milk adds a creaminess and a richness that is hard to find any other way. 

This is based off a salmon I had one time visiting my brother in Ithaca. I didn't quite get the creaminess of their salmon the first time but a few more hours marinating did the trick.

The toasted nuts and coconut add a crisp contrast to the creaminess of the salmon creating a wholly unique taste and texture.

Also, it's a great simple recipe for the first weeks of school.

I'm not quite loving all my classes yet, but I'm getting there :) and college has definitely been easier than my last few years of high school. Thank God!

"40 Day Dream" Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Ingredients

• 1 lb of salmon
• 1 cup of pecans, coarsely chopped (can substitute walnuts)
• 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut 
• 2 cups of coconut milk (can substitute cow's milk)

Directions

Cut salmon into individual servings and place in container to marinate. Pour the coconut milk over the top and cover the salmon completely. Marinate overnight or at least for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans over a baking sheet. Toast for 20 minutes.  Spread shredded coconut over a baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes or until lightly gold.

Cover baking sheet in aluminum foil. Place salmon on baking sheet and spread coconut-pecan mixture over the top of the salmon. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until salmon is cooked through.

Leftovers Club: Red, White, and Blue Biscotti

I made these for the Leftovers Club exchange this month. I sent these to Ginger. Be sure to check out her blog! It's fantastic! Also, check out the Leftovers Club. It's really fun. 

My partner this month is Ginger from Stark Raving Delicious. Definitely go check out her blog! (And make delicious lemon zingers)

If you, like me are going on a road trip this 4th of July, this biscotti is the perfect thing to munch on in the car. That sweet tooth that always seems to hit on long drives is perfectly satisfied with these.

And if your the type who tries to limit how much you eat out of sheer boredom in the car, these are also fantastic. You can limit yourself to a few or because let's be honest that's not going to happen  you can be comforted by the fact that you are at least eating dried fruit.

Or Option #3: accept that the foods that you eat only on road trips are worth overeating on road trips.

Willie Nelson "City of New Orleans"

Ingredients 

• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• 1 cups walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in blueberries, cranberries, and nuts by hand.

Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.

Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.

An InLinkz Link-up

Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

*Singing* It's the holiday season! (The holiday season)  

Black Friday is here, so it's officially (sort of) Christmastime!

The green and red in this cookie make them (not only mouth-watering but) perfect for holiday gifts.

 I used walnuts instead of pistachios for the first go-round, and it was still great.

"When You Were Young" The Killers

Here's where I found this recipe.

Ingredients 

• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.

Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.

Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.

Nut Crunch Apples

Not going to lie, I got these from Samantha's Friendship Fun, yes the American Girl book. But trust me, if you look beyond their childish beginnings these are actually really good.

I made them while watching the new The Great Gadspy. Whoo, that film is so cool. Perfect example of how a book should be made into a film.

The snowflake/letter thing and the windows popping up so cinematic!

"Wake Me Up" Avicii

Ingredients 

• 4 medium apples
• 4 tbsp currants
• 4 tbsp walnuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 cups apple juice
• Cinnamon (optional) 

Directions

Halve and core apples.

Mix currant, walnuts, sugar, and butter. Spoon mixture into apples and place apple halves in a skillet, stuffed sides up.

Add the apple juice to the skillet. Cover and simmer the apples for 15 minutes, or until they are tender. Spoon some of the juice over the apples when you serve them. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Here's another cookie from the treat box.

I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal cookies, but these were pretty good.

Plus its the best oatmeal cookie recipe I've found.

 "Teenage FBI" by Guided by Voices

 

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup granulated sugar
• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1  cup raisins

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Homemade Spinach Pasta with Spinach, Walnuts, and Herbs

 For those hesitant about making homemade pasta, let me say that it is so easy that I'm amazed pre-made pasta exists.

 This was my first non-ravioli pasta, and while the pieces were thick (since we don't have a pasta cutter, I cut them with a knife), it was the most delicious pasta dish I've ever had (and have you tried Asparagus Linguine with Almond Crisp?)

 The pasta itself takes 20 minutes including cooking time, and the last 10 minutes of the pasta cooking you can cook the spinach-walnut mixture.

 

I took the pasta recipe from Vegetarian Recipes for Everyone by Deborah Madison, and I got the sauce recipes from Turkey: More Than 100 Recipes With Tales From the Road by Leanne Kitchen. Kitchen includes a pasta recipe, but I wanted to try a flavored pasta.

"The Best Things in Life Are Free" preformed by the Ink Spots

Ingredients:

Pasta:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 extra large eggs
• 2 teaspoons olive oil or water if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt 
• 2 cups of fresh spinach

Spinach/Arugula, Walnut and Herb:

• olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 bunch arugula or spinach, rinsed and coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
• 1 1/3 cups crumbled feta cheese

Direcitons:

Puree spinach and eggs. Mix with rest of ingredients. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until the dough is 1/16 of an inch thin (the thinner the better). Cut out the dough into whatever type of pasta you desire (linguine is easiest). Bring a pot of water to boil and add pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente (8-10 minutes). 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan or saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and walnuts and cook for 3 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Add the arugula, parsley and dill and stir for 1-2 minutes, or until wilted. dd the cooked pasta and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten the pasta. Add the feta and toss gently to combine. Divide the pasta among serving plates and serve immediately.