veal scallops w/ prosciutto & sage

I'll start by saying that I'm well aware that today's dish might be controversial to some. I know many are ethically opposed to things like veal. Sometimes I am; last night I was not. I've never actually cooked with it before, and I was curious to see how it would go. Now that I'm typing this up, I realize that I actually made almost the identical recipe back in October with tilapia. So if you think this sounds good, but can't bring yourself to use veal, try that one! But if you're willing to forge ahead, here's what you'll need:

• 6 veal scallops (about 1/2 lb.)
• 6 slices of prosciutto
• 6 sage leaves
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Pepper

Begin by taking each veal scallop and topping with a slice of prosciutto and a sage leaf. Secure the three together with a toothpick. Dust each scallop lightly with flour, shaking off any excess.

Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place the veal scallops prosciutto-side down for about 1 minute (or until it begins to turn golden brown). Flip and cook for about another minute, lightly dusting them with pepper. Then reduce the heat and cook for another few minutes (4-5, depending on their thickness) until the veal is cooked through.

Remove from heat and set aside. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze. Let boil for a few minutes until most of it has cooked off, then serve over the scallops as a sauce (this probably serves two easily). I thought the flavors were really lovely together.

Bon chappétit!

salmon w/ brown sugar glaze

If you follow the blog regularly, you may have noticed some patterns developing. One of which is my growing obsession with dishes that combine salmon and dijon mustard (you can see past recipes here and here). I recently tried another one that was even more simple than most recipes on the site (which is really saying something) and quite delicious. Here's what you'll need:

• Salmon filets
• 2 parts brown sugar
• 1 part dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Next prep the glaze by mixing the brown sugar and mustard in a bowl. For one salmon filet, I did 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon mustard. Mash it all together and let it sit for 2 minutes (it'll become nice and glaze-like while it hangs out over there).

Lightly salt and pepper your salmon and place it on a piece of tinfoil. Spread the glaze generously over top, then loosely tent the foil over the salmon. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes covered, and another 3 or so uncovered (or until salmon flakes easily with a fork).

Presto, dunzo, you're ready to eat.

Bon chappétit!

tuna noodle casserole, part deux

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of casserole season. Now that the weather is friggid out, I've been revisiting some favorites. Tonight, I was in the mood for a tuna noodle casserole. I've made one once before that I've posted on the blog. However, the last time I had this, I felt it was a little...underwhelming. I found a recipe for homemade - yet still simple - tuna casserole. I added my own touch to it and gave it a whirl. It turned out fantastic. If you love the dish in general, you'll definitely love how this one turns out. Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1/2 package uncooked medium egg noodles
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 small can French's fried onions
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

So, this is going to sound like a lot of time and energy to put into a simple dish. However, you can do all three of the following paragraphs simultaneously and it will only take about 10 minutes to prep. It's not as bad as it sounds - promise.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Butter a medium baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, cook per the package directions and drain.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the chopped onion and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Increase the heat to medium-high, and mix in the mushrooms. Continue to cook and stir 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk, and continue cooking 5 minutes, or until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tuna, peas, mushroom mixture, and cooked noodles.

Transfer everything to the baking dish. Spread the cheddar cheese in a layer across the top, and finish everything off with the French's onions.

Bake for 20 minutes covered, and then uncover for 2-5 minutes, or until the onions on top begin to brown just a bit.

It's probably due to the insane amount of butter, but this dish was incredible! So much flavor, and such a huge improvement over the last tuna casserole recipe. And to boot, I got a huge dinner and two generous lunches out of it - all for under $20. Can't beat that.

Bon chappétit!

Been awhile...

So many of you out there probably think I just got completely tired of keeping up with the blog and dropped all activities related to it. Much to the contrary, I've been in overdrive the past 6 weeks or so. Problem is, it was all for a secret, so I wasn't able to post. And do to all this, among other things, I was too busy to try many new recipes out.

However, the cat's now out of the bag and I can finally fill you all in. I've actually been turning my favorite meals from 2010 into the first edition of the Bon Chappetit cookbook! I made a fancier version for the family for Christmas, however I tried to make it a little more affordable for the masses, should any of you want to take this little gem home for yourselves. You can check out a preview below.

I would like to thank everyone who's been following the blog through the past year. It's been an incredibly enriching experience, and I look forward to continued posting in 2011. Happy New Year everyone!

Bon Chappetit by Christopher Chappel | Make Your Own Book