Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

Lots of pictures in this post today… I’ll try to do this recipe justice.

Living where I live today is different from anywhere else I’ve lived. I grew up catholic, way back in the old days when I used to go to mass all the time. However, the neighborhood I live in now has a high concentration of Jewish Americans, as well as Russian Jews and Polish, African, and, you get the idea. Over time, I’ve been lucky enough to make lots of friends in this part of the world, which means I’ve been invited to breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and everything in between by people who are as friendly as can be. Often, there’s some kind of cured or smoked fish on the menu. Not a big deal, right? Unless you’re used to eating beef and pork all the time. There’s a huge difference between a meat-and-potatoes Midwestern diet like I grew up with, and a Mediterranean-influenced Kosher diet.

But I’ve gotta admit… some of the food I’ve been exposed to has been awesome. Like the gravlax that I put together the other day. This isn’t a Kosher-exclusive dish, to be sure, but had I not been exposed to the influences I’ve been exposed to here, I probably never would have tried this. And I love it!

You’re going to find this is a very easy recipe, and one you can vary according to what’s on hand in your pantry and what you really like. If you close it up tightly after it’s cured, you can probably keep it in the fridge for four or five days.

I started with a ¾ pound filet. What you see was labeled as steelhead trout, but you might also see it as freshwater salmon in places. You’ll also need a deep dish, and a brick or something weighty to place on top of the fish while it cures. For my recipe, I included:

½ cup of kosher salt

1 tablespoon celery salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon dill (fresh is best, but I used dried because that’s what I had)

1 tablespoon McCormick’s® Grill Mates® mesquite seasoning

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Tequila

Basically, you mix all of the dry ingredients, then add the olive oil and tequila until you have what seems like a dry paste. If you think your mixture is too wet, just add some more dry ingredients.

Now it’s time to get your hands dirty. Put your fish in your deep dish… this is where it will sit for a couple of days. Take your mixture and rub it over your fish. Make sure the mixture covers every single inch of the surface of the fish. If you don’t have enough to cover the fish, make more.

Once the fish is covered in your seasonings, wrap everything up. First in plastic, then in foil. Again, make sure the entire surface of the fish is covered. Place the fish in your refrigerator, and then place your “something weighty” on top. We used a brick from our landscaping outside, and wrapped it in foil. This helps your spices to really get into your fish, and it helps with the curing process too.

Then the hard part starts. Because you have to wait 48 hours to unwrap everything and dig in. Don’t be surprised if some of the liquid drains from the fish during this time. That’s normal, and it’s why you have it in a deep dish.

Once your 48 hours are up, get the dish out of the refrigerator and uncover everything. If you have to, use a paper towel to remove any leftover moisture.

I love bagels, but I don’t love what they do to my BGs, so I mostly avoid them. Instead, I opt for small crackers for my lox. I thinly slice the fish, then put it on the cracker with a little cheese (provolone in this case, because… that’s what I had), and maybe some tomato. If I can make some sort of swanky mustard sauce for it, I might do that too, but that’s a matter of personal taste. Anyway, the recipe turned out great, and I’m looking forward to enjoying this for the next few days, and sharing it too.

So there you have it. Good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sorry I don’t have a carb count; any carbs come primarily from the tablespoon of brown sugar in the spice mix, so it can’t be too much.

I hope you get a chance to make this recipe too. It’s a great example of something that’s easy, but tasty. Enjoy!
 
 
 

This is not my own recipe… But it’s now mine in the respect that I’ll be going back to this one for some time.

Truth be told, there are two recipes not mine that are now mine in this post. Each with my own spin, based on what I had available at the time of preparation.

First, let’s talk about the salad. I saw Nigella Lawson do something like this on TV, then I added my own twist to it:

Begin with a couple of leaves of red leaf lettuce, then use fresh parsley for the rest of your greens. To that, I added little half-moon slices of red oinion, green olives, and thinly sliced peaches. On top I added some feta cheese. I served it with a peppery lemon vinaigrette (it sounds a lot fancier than it is), and it was delicious.

Now, let’s talk turkey.

There was a sale on turkey thighs at the grocery store. I am not a turkey person, never have been. But The Great Spousal Unit is most definitely a turkey person, and I wanted to do something nice. Since I had never cooked turkey before (true), I went searching on the internet for an easy, but good looking recipe. I found it here. I only deviated slightly in the ingredients. The link has the recipe and some great in-progress photos, but if you don’t want to click over there, here’s the recipe, with the finished product below.

Herb Roasted Turkey Thighs Recipe

2 turkey thighs
A handful of garlic (I used 3 cloves), peeled
A handful of pearl onions, peeled (I didn’t have pearl onions, so I went with about half a red onion)
4 small potatoes, cut into chunks (I used two small-to-medium potatoes)
2 cups unsalted chicken broth
2 sprigs of sage
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of parsley
2 bay leaves
a sprinkle of olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Let turkey thighs sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.
Gather a few leaves from each herb sprig and finely chop to make about 2 teaspoons each. Rub chopped herbs onto each side of the turkey thighs along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Place thighs skin side down in a deep roasting pan. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Turn thighs over, then add potatoes, pearl onions, garlic, bay leaves and herb sprigs. Pour in broth and sprinkle all with a little more salt & pepper, then drizzle some olive oil on top. Roast for another 30-40 minutes, until thighs are done and potatoes are tender. Stir the potatoes once during roasting. Remove pan from oven, let thighs and potatoes sit covered with foil for about 20 minutes before serving. Place turkey and vegetables on a serving platter.

Estimated carb count: 30 grams (though you might want to account for a little fat, since turkey thighs have a little more than say, breast meat)

Believe me, this tasted as good as it looks. If you luck into a sale like I did, this is a super autumn meal, even if you ditch the potatoes and just go for the salad and turkey.