Black Pepper and Herb Mashed Potatoes

We tried a new mashed potatoes recipe. This was good. The only missing thing might be some horseradish. It really adds to the potatoes if you mix some in.
It was really fun making a new mashed potatoes recipe and the red potatoes were great. The buttermilk was a new ingredient for us in mashed potatoes.

Here's the original recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/black-pepper-herb-mashed-potatoes 

The potatoes are in the upper left corner

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds red potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

horseradish to taste

Directions:

1. Steam the red potatoes for about 25 minutes, until cooked
2. Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer.
3. Mix until well combined
4. Add horseradish to taste.
5. Serve!

What we liked:

It was a great mashed potatoes recipe!

What we didn't like:

Needed the horseradish :) 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He liked it!

Next time:

add in the horseradish

Pecan Crusted Tilapia with Garlic Whipped Potatoes and Asparagus

We've never made pecan crusted tilapia before, but none of the recipes we saw were exactly what we wanted. So, we made up our own way to make it. It turned out really good, but it really needs this Golden Rum Butter Sauce (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/golden-rum-butter-sauce) to complete it. Without the sauce, the fish turns out a little dry.
We also made two different types of asparagus to see which one is better. We made Asparagus with garlic and balsamic reduction (not so good). This turned out kinda blah. Here is the recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asparagus-garlic-balsamic-reduction. We will not repeat it below as it did not turn out very good.
The other asparagus we made was Asparagus with bacon and shallots. This turned out really excellent and is probably the best way to eat asparagus. Here is the original recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asparagus-bacon-shallots. The mustard and maple syrup went surprisingly well with the asparagus.

Served, with the bacon asparagus

With the Balsamic/Garlic Asparagus

Asparagus with Bacon and Shallots

Asparagus with garlic and balsamic reduction

Golden Rum Butter Sauce

"Pecan-ed" tilapia

Asparagus with the butter and shallot sauce

Asparagus Sauce

Ingredients:

Pecan Crusted Tilapia:

2 Tilapia fillets, thawed
1/4 cup of pecans chopped in a Magic Bullet (or similar)
1 egg, whisked
1/4 cup of corn starch
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

Garlic Whipped Mashed Potatoes: 

6 golden yukon yellow potatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder to taste
1 teaspoon salt to taste

Asparagus: 

1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
Cooking spray
2 center-cut bacon slices
2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
3 tablespoons unsalted chicken stock
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Golden Rum Butter Sauce: 

3 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons rum
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Tilapia: 
1. Dredge each piece of fish in cornstarch, then egg, then the pecans.
2. Heat up a pan with oil and butter
3. Cook fish until done about 6 to 7 minutes per side, depending on the cut of fish. The pecans seem to make an insulating layer, so more heat is required than non-pecan-coated pan fried fish.

Mashed Potatoes: 
1. Steam the potatoes for 30 minutes
2. In a stand mixer, whip together all ingredients

Asparagus: 
1. Steam Asparagus for 8 minutes
2. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Remove from pan; crumble. Add shallots; cook 30 seconds. Add chicken stock, vinegar, mustard, and maple syrup; cook 1 minute. Drizzle over asparagus. Sprinkle with salt and crumbled bacon.

Golden Rum Butter Sauce: 
1. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat; add shallot and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until shallot is tender. Reduce heat to low, and slowly whisk in rum, next 4 ingredients, and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute; serve warm.

What we liked:

The fish turned out really good and the sauce was perfect with it. It would not have been the same without the fish. Tonight's dinner required a lot of coordination and both of us cooking at the same time. We steamed the asparagus first, then the potatoes. While Nick was making the fish, Alona made the sauces for the asparagus dishes, the mashed potatoes and the golden rum butter sauce. It was fun cooking together and making up the fish recipe. 

What we didn't like:

The balsamic asparagus was not very good, especially in comparison with the bacon shallot one. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He wanted bacon and mashed potatoes only. No suspicious fish or asparagus for him. 

Next time:

No modifications that we can think of at this time. 

Roasted Salmon with thyme and honey-mustard glaze and garlic whipped potatoes

Tonight we made the roasted salmon with thyme and honey-mustard glaze and mashed potatoes.
We used wild caught salmon that we got from our local Sprouts store.
Here is the original recipe for the salmon: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-salmon-thyme-honey-mustard-glaze

Roasted Salmon with mashed potatoes

Just out of the oven!

mashed potatoes with chives

Right before going into the oven

Covered in the honey mustard glaze and thyme

Ingredients:

10 thyme sprigs
2 lbs of skin-on salmon fillet
1/4 cup country Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, thinly sliced

For garlic whipped potatoes:

6 Golden Yukon pototoes
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon dehydrated garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 stem of green onions

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Peel potatoes and cut into circles about half an inch thick. Set in a multi-cooker to steam for 30 minutes.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange thyme sprigs in a long row on parchment. Place salmon, skin side down, on top of thyme.
4. Combine mustard, honey, and vinegar in a bowl. Brush mixture evenly over top of salmon. Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Arrange lemon slices over salmon.
5. Bake salmon at 450° in center of oven 26 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Serve hot or at room temperature.
6. While salmon is baking, make the mashed potatoes by combining potatoes, garlic granules, garlic salt, salt, and heavy cream in a stand mixer with the whipping attachment. Whip until the desired consistency is reached. Top with sliced green onions.

What we liked:

This was a fairly quick recipe. It was very visually appealing. 

What we didn't like:

The honey mustard glaze came out a little bitter. We find that our normal olive oil/lemon juice/salt and pepper sprinkled salmon turns out much better. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He ate the mashed potatoes but the salmon was not touched by him. 

Next time:

We will not make this sauce for the salmon again.