Seared Salmon w/ Za'atar & Sumac Tzatziki - Plus Sides

My cooking group took several classes from Carol at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica and one lesson in a private home. Carol is the best! Our group loves her so much. She's a great chef, super knowledgeable and so fun. These are the recipes she taught at the private class. They are really simple recipes but you wouldn't know it by the flavor profiles. They are so delicious!

You can follow Carol on Instagram at carolcotnerthompson.

Seared Salmon

8oz piece of salmon

1/4 cup Za’atar (store bought or recipe below)

salt

Grapeseed or canola oil

Rinse the fillet and dry well. Press the za-atar and salt into the fillet. 

Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat until hot. Add oil. Sear salmon top side down, cooking 10 minutes per inch. 

Serve with Sumac Tzatziki.

Za-atar 

There are a million versions but this is the recipe I used

1 t dried thyme 

1/2 t oregano

1 t toasted sesame seeds

1 t ground cumin

1 t sumac

Small pinch of kosher salt

Sumac Tzatziki

1 clove of garlic, minced and smashed into a paste

1/2 t salt

1 T lemon juice

1 t sumac

1 cup whole milk yogurt (I used less because it’s all I had. Maybe 1/2-3/4 cup.)

Cucumber Tomato Salad

1 Persian cucumber, cut into rounds

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/4 cup fresh mint

1/4 cup fresh dill

2 T olive oil

1 T red wine vinegar

Pinch of salt

Toss all ingredients in a bowl and serve. 

Jasmine Coconut Rice

3/4 cup jasmine rice

1 cup water

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 t salt

Rinse rice. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot. Heat and cook on low for about 25 minutes. 

Makes about 3 servings

Kouroulakia - Greek Easter Cookies

My friend Maria has been sharing her mom's cookies with me for years. They are so good for breakfast with coffee, or better yet, dipped in coffee. I finally made my own batch and now I bounce out of bed in the morning.

Kouroulakia - Greek Easter Cookies

Helena Christofilis

1 ½ cups butter, softened

1 ¼ cups sugar

4 eggs (separated 2 and 2)

2 T orange juice

3 t vanilla

5 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ t baking powder

¾ t baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add 2 eggs and beat well. Beat in orange juice and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. (They said this actually wasn’t necessary.)

Roll dough into 1 ¼ inch balls. Roll each into a 6 inch rope. Fold in half and twist twice. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. (I used parchment paper.)

In a small bowl, beat the remaining 2 eggs to make an egg wash. Brush over formed cookies. Bake at 350 for 7-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

Yeilds about 6 ½ dozen. (I got 4 dozen out of my batch but I made mine too big. Next time I will make them smaller.)

Kimchi Grilled Cheese

I've made a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches during quarantine but this

 recipe for a Kimchi Grilled Cheese by Ali Slagle is my new favorite.

Anne's Benihana Fried Rice & Sauces

My friend Anne and her adorable family nailed it with their recipes for Benihana fried rice, ginger sauce and mustard sauce. All the glory without the stink when you leave the restaurant!

Anne’s Benihana Fried Rice

3 cups Calrose rice (which makes about 8 cups cups cooked rice)

1 onion (diced)

2 large carrots (diced)

3/4  bunch green onions (diced)

4 eggs

2 Large Chicken breast (small cubes)

Kikoman brand soy sauce

Garlic butter (recipe below)

Salt & pepper (might not need salt because of soy sauce)

Sesame seeds

Disclaimer about the ingredients.  I am notorious for never measuring so these are estimates of what I used. Everything is just personal preference.

A day ahead: Make rice (I used Botan Calrose rice) according to package and spread on a sheet pan. Dehydrate overnight on the counter or in the fridge if you have room. If you don’t do this, your fried rice will be wet and clumpy.

Day of: In a wok or large sauce pan, bring oil to heat (avocado, grapeseed or organic canola oil) Sauté the onion and carrots until they caramelize and get golden brown. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the green onion and cook. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add more oil to the pan and sauté chicken breast until outside is seared. Flavor with soy sauce and a big spoonful of the garlic butter and continue to cook until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add more oil to the pan and scramble the eggs. Once cooked, add the veggies, chicken and rice into the pan and mix well. Flavor with soy sauce, pepper, and garlic butter to taste until everything is well combined.

Top with sesame seeds and serve with Ginger Sauce & Mustard Sauce. 

Garlic Butter

1 stick softened butter

3-4 cloves of garlic (through garlic press)

1 1/2 - 2 T soy sauce (until butter is light brown)

1- 2 T lemon

1/4 stick Garlic butter (optional - I did not use)

Roasted Garlic (optional - I did not use)

Ginger Sauce

1 onion (roughly chopped)

2 T ginger (minced)

1/4 cup lemon (1 or 2 lemons)

3/4 cup soy sauce

1 T sugar

Blend all ingredients in a blender. (On live she said to pulse so it’s not too liquidy.)

Mustard Sauce

3 T dry mustard powder

2 T hot water

1 T toasted sesame seeds, crushed 

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 clove garlic crushed (I used 1 small clove)

3 T heavy cream (I used 2)

Mix mustard and hot water in a bowl until it forms a paste.  Place in blender with sesame seeds, soy sauce and garlic. Blend all ingredients for 1 minute. 

Caesar Dressing

Caesar Dressing - Inspired by PCC Recipe

3/4 cup reduced fat Veganaise
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce, plus a splash more
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 T red wine vinegar
2 t Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Place all of the ingredients, except oil, in a blender. With the food processor running, slowly add oil to emulsify. Check and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Homemade Croutons

My favorite croutons are the PCC deli croutons (Seattle grocery store). When I can't get my hands on them, I make my own because I can't find anything at the stores here that I like as much. 

Homemade Croutons

French Baguette, one or two days old and cut into big chunks
3 T olive oil
3 T butter
Garlic powder
Oregano
Salt 
Pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter and oil together in a sauce pan. Add garlic powder and oregano. Stir until butter melts and then pour slowly over the bread chunks, stirring until they are all well-coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Toss and bake 10 more minutes. Test one to make sure they are crispy enough. If not, add to oven for 5-10 more minutes. 

Weekly Staples

I make garlic crostinis almost every week because they are good with cheese, pasta, or just on their own. George eats them as fast as I can make them. 

Garlic Crostinis

Baguette - French baguette preferably
Olive oil
Garlic clove 

Preheat oven to broil. Slice the baguette on the diagonal and place on a cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil. Broil until just golden brown. The bake time will depend largely on how long your oven was on. If it's been on broil for awhile then they brown super fast. They can go from golden to burnt in a matter of seconds under the broiler. Watch closely. I set the timer for 30 seconds at a time, until the last few seconds when I just watch them. 

Remove from oven and quickly rub the edge of a garlic clove all over the top.

I love to top with cambozola cheese or Dubliner cheddar and salami. I also include these when I have time on a cheese board or antipasto plate. 

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Every time I make white rice my kids ask, "Is this Mimi's rice?" and if it's not they protest. I make this almost every week too. 

Mimi's Butter Rice

Cooked white rice
Several tablespoons of butter (more than you would think!)
Chicken bouillon powder

Optional (my kids wouldn't allow it but good for adults)
Toasted pine nuts
Sliced green onion

New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This recipe for Single. Best. Cookie. Ever is from The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica. Every once in awhile they have a tray of them for students and we all go nuts. Now that we are on quarantine, I've been making them. I'm a sucker for dessert in the morning, instead of after dinner, so I usually have one (or two) for breakfast with my coffee. They are so chewy and delicious.

I have been making with a combo of spelt flour and all purpose flour. Next time I will try with rye flour and all purpose flour. They say that version is delicious too. 

Single Best Cookie Ever

The Gourmandise School

Prep time: 

15 minutes

Cook time:

12 minutes

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter (unsalted preferably and can be straight from the fridge!)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup dark chocolate pieces
1 cup milk chocolate pieces

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t salt (omit if using salted butter)

3 cups whole grain flour (I use 1 cup spelt flour and 2 cups regular all purpose flour)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Maldon sea salt (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter with the brown and white sugar until it looks fluffy with a hand held mixer, a stand up mixer with paddle attachment or a large heavy bowl with a wooden spoon.

Add your eggs and scrape the bowl well. Keep mixing for 1 more minute and add the chocolate pieces and nuts. Mix until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Shape your cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Scoop these big - they eat like a meal. Bake at 350 until golden brown on the edges (about 8 minutes for medium cookies and 10-15 minutes for larger ones). 

Let them finish cooking and cooling on the cookie sheet - no need to transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt (optional).