Butternut Squash Barley Risotto

I recently tried this Good Housekeeping recipe that was suggested to me by a great friend of mine. Turns out that even though it is super healthy, it actually tastes good too! Prepping the squash is a bit of a pain, but once you accomplish that, the slow cooker does the rest. I served it with grilled old bay seasoned shrimp, but it would be great plain, as a side or with pretty much any other protein you like.

A German Feast. Rouladen, Knodel and Red Cabbage with Black Forrest Cherry Cake for Dessert.

Oh yeah, we wore these while we cooked.

I have Oktoberfest on the brain! Last weekend Ron and I slaved away in the kitchen making a German feast. I am excited to compare it to what we have in Germany. We usually only make this meal for a special occasion like Christmas dinner but I just couldn't wait! If you have some time on your hands you should give this one a try. And a special thank you goes to Ron's parents who introduced me to this dish and taught me how to make it.

Beer Can Chicken and Roasted Acorn Squash

Sunday Ron and I spent the day at the beach. When we got home all I felt like doing was drinking some champagne and reading my book. Luckily Ron felt like cooking (or should I say grilling?)! To my surprise, he even picked out acorn squash as our side. I have never had acorn squash before and it turns out it is great :)

Simple Dinner. Fish Tacos with a side of Sweet Plantains (Platanos)

The key to good fish tacos is fresh fish. Our snapper went from boat to table in under 4 hours. That's the way to do it! Random thought: isn't it odd that fish is the only thing that smells like itself when its gone bad? Anyways....

For my fish tacos I rubbed the filet down with some taco seasoning

Then into the frying pan until cooked.

 

Serve in taco shells or tortillas with your favorite condiments. I like to use coleslaw mix instead of lettuce for an extra crunch.

The plantains are just as easy. Make sure you buy ones with bruised and dark skin like below. If your store doesn't have them you can buy green ones and wait for them to ripen on your counter.

 Peel the plantains and slice on an angle. Put them in a warm cast iron skillet with melted butter. Flip once they start to brown.

Don't these look awesome!

Oh Snap-per! Blackend Snapper Sandwich with Southern Style Potato Salad

We have a lot of freshly caught mutton snapper in our house right now so expect to see a few fishy dishes over the next few days. For this one the side dish takes longer than the main course, but all in all it was pretty easy to do.

Sandwich
Making blackened fish is really pretty simple. I don't know if I do it the 'right' way but it always turns out great! All you need is some fish, blackening seasoning (I use Chef Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish Magic) and a skillet.  Rub your fish down with a little olive oil and then sprinkle on the seasoning. Give it a good rub down and then put it into a hot skillet with some olive oil. Cook on both sides until the fish is cooked through and flaky. If you have a thick piece of fish you may want to use the oven. In this case you would let the fish sear on each side and then put the whole skillet in the oven to finish off. I served the fish on fresh baked (by Publix, not me) egg rolls, with lettuce tomato, a squeeze of lemon and homemade dill tartar sauce.

Tartar Sauce
This one you can easily adjust to taste, I used the following: 1/2 cup mayo, spoon full of sweet relish, spoon full of dill relish, one slice of onion finely chopped, 1 sprig of fresh dill and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. (Hint. If you have left over tartar sauce mix in some canned tuna for a dill tuna salad sandwich the next day)

Potato Salad
This recipe is from Southern Living 1001 Ways to Cook Southern, or as I call it the "southern bible". Unless you are feeding an army of hungry boys or are taking this to a potluck I would recommend cutting the recipe in half. It made WAY to much.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs potatoes (boil them about 40 minutes or until soft, cool, peel, cut into cubes)
• 3 hard boiled eggs (the recipe says 'grated', but I just chopped 'em up with a knife)
• 1 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped (I think it could use a little more)
• 2 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. sweet relish
• 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions
Stir together all ingredients except potatoes and eggs. Add potatoes and eggs to the mayo mixture and stir. Cover and chill. Sprinkle with bacon before serving.