We are going as the Tudors for Halloween. Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. Our dresses were easy to find inexpensively, but I was having trouble finding a good deal on my husband's costume. The cape I wanted at the costume store was fifty dollars. So I thought, it's just a cape....I could make it myself for cheaper, right? So I stroll into Joann's, and I pick out all the fabric I want, and I take it to the woman who measures and cuts it for you, and I say,"I've never ordered fabric before, can you help me figure out how much I need?" To which she replies, "No. I don't sew. I just cut fabric." Lovely. She tells me to go in search of a pattern. The pattern I want is $20, and I don't know how to read the back of it to find out how much fabric I need. I call my friend Michelle, who is in the proicess of talking me through it, when a woman overhears me and offers to help. The pattern says I need six yards of the $4 fabric, and five yards of the $13 fabric. Wait a minute....I thought this was supposed to be cheaper? I ultimately convinced myself that is a CAPE for Halloween, and I don't need F!#$ing 13 yards of fabric. He's 5'10" , that's less than two yards, I'll take two yards of fabric. Having a new appreciation for why someone would spend fifty dollars on PART of a halloween costume, I headed home to find my sewing bag. And guess what? It is nowhere to be found. I have to go back out tomorrow to purchase more supplies. I was able to start it a little bit, and it looks like it will actually turn out quite nicely. I'll post pictures of the ordeal when it's finished.
This afternoon I made the salmon pot pies that I was supposed to make yesterday afternoon. The recipe was featured in the October issue of Everyday With Rachael Ray. It was good, but not something I want to make again anytime soon. I didn't have individual ramekins, so I made one big one, and it made kind of a runny mess when I tried to serve it. It would have worked better in individual portions.
Cut some puff pastry dough to fit whatever baking dish you're using. How I did this was I inverted the dish over the puff pastry and made an indentation in it, then cut along the indentation. Brush it with cream, prick it with a fork, and bake it on parchment paper for 15 minutes. Set it aside. Wrap some green beans up in aluminum foil with butter, salt, and pepper, and bake for 20 minutes. These were not so yummy....green beans are one of the few vegetables I prefer canned.
Prepare a leek: Cut off the thick green leafy part, and the bottom white part. Slice the leek in half lengthwise, then slice into moon-shaped ribbons. Put them in a bowl of water and swish them around, then let them sit for a few minutes. Any dirt on the leek will sink to the bottom and you can skim the clean leeks off the top. Dry them off, and saute them in a pat of butter. Add eight ounces of mushrooms to your leeks and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of flour; cook for one minute. Stir in 3/4 cup heavy cream and 1 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. What you're doing here is reducing the sauce; thickening it by letting the water evaporate, and thereby concentrating the flavors. Add a pound of diced salmon, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the salmon is done.
Pour the salmon and veggies into a casserole dish, or four individual ramekins, and top with the prepared puff pastry. Serve with the green beans.
My husband devoured it, but it's a little too much work for an everyday meal. The salmon was delicious with the mushrooms, especially after being cooked in cream and butter, and we eat salmon with leeks frequently. I'm just not crazy about the presentation. I almost think the filling would be good over rice without all the puff pastry nonsense. I love puff pastry, but trying to cut into and eat it with whatever's underneath it just doesn't really work. Everything runs all over and you end up eating the pastry by itself. A breadstick would serve the same purpose. And I would go with asparagus instead of green beans, they have a better flavor in my opinion and do well with simple preparation like this.
Tomorrow I'm trying a light chicken tenders dish, and then it's back to some household staples. Until then.....Happy Cooking :)
Ooooh salmon pot pies! Awesome idea!!! I agree on the canned green beans, in fact they may be the ONLY vegetables I prefer canned. Maybe pumpkin but that's only because I'm generally too lazy to cook a pumpkin... I wish Matt would eat more stuff like this, I'd love to make it but I basically am cooking for one since he's so picky, hahah!
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