New Zealand Mussels Appetizer

I bought a bag of these frozen mussels at a HyVee supermarket.  They are already cleaned and cooked, so it makes preparation super simple.  Plus they are very affordable!  (I've heard these also called green mussels.)

This recipe, with a few modifications, can be found at Food.com.  This is one delicious appetizer. So let's get cooking.

Thaw the mussels and loosen them from the shell. Drain and pat dry, then place them back in the shell and arrange on a baking sheet.

Next make the bread crumb topping.

1 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tbl. melted butter
1 Tbl. parsley flakes
1 clove garlic finely minced
2 Tbl. grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
juice of one lemon

In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, melted butter, parsley flakes, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the mussels, Spoon the bread crumb mixture evenly over the mussels, pressing down a bit.

Broil for 5 minutes or until the bread crumb topping is golden brown and crunchy, and the mussels are warm. Watch carefully when broiling.  It can go from golden brown and delicious to black and burned.  Not that I would know anything about that.  ;)

Enjoy friends!

Baked Salmon with Mustard - Crumb Crust

Searching my Epicurious app for a salmon recipe and --- here it is.  Amazingly, I had all the ingredients on hand. Where we live, there's not much chance of getting a good quality salmon, so the salmon we buy is frozen pacific salmon and it needs flavor added.

First the mustard sauce:  2 Tbls. plus 1 tsp. white vinegar, 2 Tbls. sugar, 2 Tbls. Dijon mustard,
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard, 1/3 Cup light olive oil.  Put vinegar, sugar, and both mustards in the blender.  With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil and blend until a medium thick sauce forms.  This can be made a day ahead.  Chill.  This sauce is the bomb!

Preheat the oven to 375, prepare a baking dish, lightly oiled.  Arrange the salmon skin side down.  Season with salt, pepper, and dill.

Next, drizzle some of the mustard sauce over the pieces of salmon.

Press panko bread crumbs over the salmon filet, covering completely.

 If you don't have panko, just use regular bread crumbs.

Bake salmon until cooked through and crumb topping is crisp and browned.

 Serve with some steamed veg and additional mustard sauce.

Enjoy friends!

Panko Crusted Chicken Cutlets and Sweet Potato "Fries"

Hungry for something quick and different for dinner tonight.  So much football to watch!

Oh, the lowly sweet potato.  It needs some attention.  Just peel and cut into "fries".

Place the cut sweet potatos in a plastic baggie, add olive oil to coat.  Then get the seasonings ready: salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.

Toss the sweet potatoes with all the seasonings.

Put the sweet potato fries in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, the oven is at 400 degrees and the fries will bake for about 15 minutes.

Meantime, pound two chicken breasts to about 1/2 inch thick.  Get the breading stations ready.  Seasoned flour, egg wash, and panko bread crumbs.  (Oh, panko where have you been all of my life?)

Now for the breading process.  First, chicken cutlet into the flour, both sides.

Next into the egg wash.  Egg wash is just a beaten egg with a little water added.

Last step is the panko.  Press the panko bread crumbs into the cutlet so they stick nicely.

The skillet is ready!  The oil is hot!  Place the cutlet gently into the hot oil and let 'er rip!

When the chicken is nicely browned on one side, flip it over and brown the other side.  Since the cutlets have been pounded to 1/2 inch, they don't take long to cook, about 4 minutes per side.  Drain the cutlets on paper towels when they are done and season with sea salt. Both sides!

The sweet potato "fries" are done, take them out and drain on a paper towel.  Plate the cutlets, fries, and some green beans.  Those chicken cutlets are crispy beyond belief! Dinner!