salt – Page 2 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

1-12: Mixed Seafood Au Gratin

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 29, 2022July 29, 2022appetizers, au gratin, bay scallops, bay shrimp, black pepper, broiled, butter, cheese, crab, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, fish, fish bouillon, fish stock, French, gluten-free, grated, hors d'oeuvres, lobster, mounted, mussels, Parmesan, peeled, reduced, salt, sautéed, scallops, seafood, serving shells, shallots, shellfish, shrimp, untested, whipping cream, white wine

Greetings, and happy Friday! It’s been a minute, but I’ll always come back eventually–I’ve put way too much time/work/energy into this project to give up now. Today, I present to you 1-12: Mixed Seafood Au Gratin. Au gratin is not new for Simple Delicious, and neither is the use of the pictured serving shells. I finally broke down and bought some a year or two ago for 11-10: French Scallops–I’m happy they’ll get another use here.

When was the last time you heard the phrase “tantalize the taste buds”? I feel like that went out of style around the same time as soufflé humor.

11-18: Salmon Steaks with Mushrooms

Jamie Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses April 18, 2022August 26, 2022all-purpose flour, black pepper, boiled, butter, chanterelle, chicken bouillon, cream sauce, dredged, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly expensive, fairly hard, fish, fish filets, melted, morels, mushrooms, paprika, roux, salmon, salt, sautéed, scraped, seafood, seafood steak, sliced, thyme, whipping cream, white pepper

I’m aware of two salmon steak recipes in my Simply Delicious collection, 11-15: Grilled Salmon with Thyme and this one, 11-18: Salmon Steaks with Mushrooms. The other one mentions you can substitute salmon fillets if you can’t find the steaks, which is what I had to do for this one. Strangely enough, I WAS able to find them for the other one. Believe it or not, I’ve been looking for them for a while and just haven’t had very good luck with it (even in Northern California, where it seems like you can find just about anything if you look hard enough).

Simply Delicious does NOT miss an opportunity for a mushroom sauce–it’s kind of their thing. They suggest rice (10/10?) as a side dish, but I’m going to go with some gnocchi instead.

Quick note: Just passed the 8-year anniversary of this project, and I’m STILL going. I’ll be doing this FOREVER.

6-6: Ginger Chicken

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses April 14, 2022April 14, 2022all-purpose flour, Asian, black pepper, bone-in, breasts, butter, chicken, Chinese, cream sauce, dinner, drumsticks, dry vermouth, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, ginger, julienned, liquor, lunch, mushrooms, nuts, peanuts, roux, rubbed, salt, sautéed, sliced, snap peas, thighs, untested, whipping cream, wings

It’s not unusual to find a “ginger chicken” recipe on a Chinese takeout menu, but in case you’re looking to cut down on those high restaurant and delivery costs, here’s Simply Delicious‘ take on it: 6-6: Ginger Chicken. I don’t really buy meat anymore these days (unless you count the occasional boiled chicken/plain white rice I make when the dog gets an upset tummy), but from what I can tell, even those prices are pretty much through the roof. Maybe consider Ginger Tofu instead?

I don’t even have peanut allergies and yet I look at that picture and start to get itchy. I love it though–who at Simply Delicious decided that they REALLY needed to drive home the fact that this recipe HAS LOTS OF PEANUTS? And yet, the actual recipe only calls for about half a cup.

What are we supposed to do with the rest of them? Guess it’s a good thing baseball solved that whole lockout thing.

8-6: Quickly Sautéed Beef and Peppers

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses January 18, 2022January 18, 2022bacon, bacon fat, beef, black pepper, boneless, butter, chuck roast, cream sauce, creamy, Dijon mustard, easy, fairly inexpensive, green bell peppers, Italian parsley, julienned, new book, paprika, red bell peppers, salt, sautéed, sirloin, sliced, sour cream, untested, yellow bell peppers

Another day, another Simply Delicious “quick” dinner recipe featuring some sort of creamy sauce with mustard in it. This particular version is 8-6: Quickly Sautéed Beef and Peppers–I bet you can figure out the basic gist of this recipe just from the title.

They REALLY need you to know how quick this dish is–it’s not only in the title, it’s also in the description. Pepper steak is not a new concept, and is not too far off from this recipe in terms of ingredients and prep. Whip up some rice to serve it with, and you’ve got yourself a QUICK and easy dish.

6-12: Chicken à la King

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses December 27, 2021December 30, 2021all-purpose flour, American, boiled, bone-in, boneless, breasts, butter, chicken, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, cooked chicken, cooked turkey, cream of mushroom, cream sauce, creamy, deboned, diced, dinner, drumsticks, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, lunch, mushrooms, new book, paprika, pimento, pimiento, piquant, port wine, roux, salt, sautéed, sherry, simmered, sliced, Tabasco sauce, thighs, untested, whipping cream, white pepper, wings

Here’s another “traditional” recipe from Simply Delicious: 6-12: Chicken à la King. I’ve heard of this one before (you probably have too), but never ate it much as a kid despite it being chicken-based (the mushrooms were probably the dealbreaker for my mom). This is from the “new book“, so I didn’t even know Simply Delicious HAD a Chicken à la King recipe until recently.

Chicken à la King has been around for a while, but enjoyed a resurgence in mid-to-late 20th century America (probably due to all the Baby Boomers and a need to feed them cheaply/quickly). It seems “dated” to me at this point (and not necessarily in a good way), but probably was still pretty popular in some parts of the country at the time these books were published.

Combine this with 8-12: Beef Stroganoff, and you’ve got a pretty good handle on mediocre American cuisine from the 1980s.

4-5: Potatoes O’Brien

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters December 26, 2021December 24, 2021black pepper, bread crumbs, breakfast, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, cooked potatoes, diced, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, green bell peppers, green chiles, half-and-half, inexpensive, lunch, milk, new book, potatoes, salt, shredded, thyme, untested, vegetarian, whipping cream, white bread, yellow onions

It’s been a while since I’ve covered anything breakfast-related, so let’s dig into 4-5: Potatoes O’Brien to change that. I’ve heard of Potatoes O’Brien before (and you may have as well)–you can even buy them frozen from the grocery store. Here’s how to make them at home on your own, since takeout/delivery/eating in can be a bit hit-or-miss these days.

I suppose eggs might fall under the category of meat or poultry, but it seems to be the go-to accompaniment for this dish. As you can see from the header image, I served mine with a homemade breakfast sandwich which also made a good option. Who needs those big breakfast guys anyway?

8-42: Beef Tenderloin Deluxe

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses December 25, 2021December 23, 2021beef, beef bouillon, beef broth, beef tenderloin, black pepper, brown sugar, butter, canola oil, carrots, celery, celery root, Christmas, Christmas Eve, dinner, egg wash, eggs, fairly expensive, fairly hard, julienned, mushrooms, parsnips, party food, peeled, peppercorns, puff pastry, salt, sautéed, sliced, stuffed, untested, vegetable oil, vegetables, yellow onions

Merry Christmas! In honor of the holiday, I’ve chosen to share a “fancy” one with you today: 8-42: Beef Tenderloin Deluxe. I’ve had requests for this recipe in the past (prior to posting it) from folks preparing for holiday meals, so now it’s time to share it with all of you. Consider these essentially individual Beef Wellingtons–perfect for a special occasion.

This is one of those recipes that you plan for in advance and cook to impress your family and friends–it’s not just for another Wednesday night dinner.

9-11: Stuffed Peppers

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses December 23, 2021December 22, 2021basted, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, bread crumbs, cheese, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chopped, cooked rice, dinner, easy, egg yolks, eggs, grated, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground chicken, ground lamb, ground meat, ground pork, ground turkey, ground veal, inexpensive, lunch, milk, new book, panade, peeled, red bell peppers, rice, salt, stuffed, tomato juice, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, white onions, white pepper, yellow bell peppers, yellow onions

Stuffed peppers were not a big thing in my household growing up–neither my mom or I are big fans of bell peppers (sorry dad). However, that may not be the case for you–9-11: Stuffed Peppers might be something you’re more than familiar with. Since this was a “new book” recipe, I didn’t even know Simply Delicious had a stuffed peppers recipe…until now.

I had written a while ago (in 9-23: Fruity Sausage Kebabs) that I had at that point covered all the Chapter 09 recipes that I possess…and then I found the new book and had a few more to cover. Well, I’ve reached that point again–this is (again) the last recipe I have for this chapter. Unless more recipes turn up somewhere (don’t send them to me, I’m not trying to be the online library for this book), this is it for Ground Meat and Sausage.

11-24: Salmon and Halibut Kebabs

Jamie Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses December 22, 2021December 20, 2021black pepper, boneless, broiled, brushed, canola oil, cubed, dinner, easy, fairly expensive, fish, fish filets, garnish, green bell peppers, grilled, halibut, kebabs, lemon juice, lemon peel, lemons, lime juice, lime peel, limes, lunch, marinated, olive oil, party food, peeled, red onions, salmon, salt, seafood, soy sauce, summer, sunflower oil, untested, vegetable oil, white wine, zested

Fish kebabs are probably not high on your Christmas dinner idea list (unless you’re reading from the Southern Hemisphere), but that doesn’t mean that you still can’t file 11-24: Salmon and Halibut Kebabs away for when it warms up a bit. Or if you’re not crazy like us and still grilling outdoors in late December, you can do this one inside on the broiler as well.

I know, I probably can’t convince you to eat grilled fish in the middle of winter. But like I said–save this one for spring/summer when it warms up. It’s a perfect light meal for a warm night where you don’t want to heat up the kitchen.

13-1: Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses December 21, 2021December 20, 2021all-purpose flour, blanched, blue cheese, broccoli, broiled, butter, Cheddar, cheese, cheese sauce, chopped, cream cheese, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, Jarlsberg, melted, milk, new book, pimento, roux, salt, sautéed, shredded, side dish, Swiss, tender-crisp, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

I’ve been eating a diet that’s easiest to classify as pescetarian for about 4 years now, and one of the biggest trends I’ve noticed in “vegetarian” dishes and cooking is to take a vegetable, smother it in cream and cheese, and call it a meal. Don’t get me wrong–I love cheese (more so than most–I chalk it up to being half Swedish/French), but it’s not exactly the healthiest thing for you. 13-1: Broccoli with Cheese Sauce is indeed vegetarian, but it is NOT healthy.

Sure, you could have stopped at steaming the broccoli (actually blanching, if you read the recipe after the jump)–maybe even sprinkle a little cheese on top to keep it interesting. But this feels more like, “would you like some broccoli with your cheese?” more so than “would you like some cheese with your broccoli?”

Man, I never thought I’d be complaining about there being TOO much cheese and not enough vegetables. That’s how you KNOW you’re getting old, kids.