Cooking with Karen (October 2017)

Last month I shard that I’m back into cooking and plan to share my favorite discoveries.

None of these recipes are mine, though I tend to tweak every recipe I make. The pictures are mine and I’ll link to the original recipe to give the blogger or chef credit. And so you can try the original recipe or tweak to your delight.  Just click on the recipe name or picture to see the original recipe. 

Here are the recipes I really enjoyed this month (and remembered to snap a picture).

Barley & Honey Roasted Pumpkin (Squash) Salad

by I’m Pat

Barley & Honey Roasted Pumpkin Salad | Future Expat

This was my favorite new recipe by far. Really amazing and VERY easy.

My Review:

Wow. This is really fabulous. I wouldn’t change a thing. The goat cheese goes so well with the spinach and cold barley. And the butternut squash roasted in honey, salt & pepper is SO good I could eat that just by itself as a side dish rather than cooling it for this salad. I will definitely make this again and it’s going into my Best of 2017 cookbook! I did cut the recipe in half and it could easily have served 4 as a side or 2 as their entire meal. Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.

Tuscan Salmon

by Mikekey

Tuscan Salmon | Future ExpatTuscan Salmon | Future Expat

I really need to eat more fish. This recipe will help me hit that goal.

My Review:

This is really fabulous salmon. I used just one filet (no skin) and didn’t have ground fennel so used whole seed fennel. But otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I broiled the fish in the oven, 3 minutes and then flipped it over and did 3 more minutes. It was a little rare for me in the middle, so I would add a couple of more minutes of cooking (8-10 minutes total). I ate about 2/3 of the filet and saved the most rare sections to flake and eat leftover tomorrow, cold. I love cold cooked salmon too. I did go heavy on the spices on one side…totally personal preference.

Crab Deviled Eggs

by twissis

Crab Deviled Eggs | Future Expat

If you have never made deviled eggs, they are really easy. Here was my pic of the ingredients before I started mixing it all up.

Crab Deviled Eggs | Future Expat

My Review:

What a wonderful recipe. I really like deviled eggs, but since I like egg salad even more, I almost always opt for egg salad over deviled eggs if I take the time to boil the eggs. But this recipe might have just changed my mind. I followed the recipe exactly other than using regular mustard and leaving out the celery (can’t stand it). I ate a few after chilling for about an hour, and ate 2 more after 24 hours+ in the fridge. Definitely like them better after the flavors get to blend in the fridge overnight. But good enough to bring to a potluck same day (with a sprinkling of paprika to make them prettier). They are also more hearty with the crab. This one’s a keeper.