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Saturday, April 25, 2015

Blue Apron - Almond-Crusted Cod




Knowing how much we enjoy cooking together,  a friend of ours talked us into trying Blue Apron and sent us a "get started" coupon good for a free meal or two. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical of the whole idea.

Please note that this is not a sponsored post in any way (just as all of our other posts).

The blue apron idea is that you subscribe to a weekly service that will ship you recipes and the ingredients to make them. Once a week on a day that you select, a box arrives with the three meals that you have selected or that you have let the service select. You can choose different meal plans. You can cancel at anytime and you can pause the service if you get overwhelmed BUT if you don't, they will continue to ship them to you until you tell them to stop. The price works out to about $10 per meal and serves 2. So $20 per meal. Also, it isn't available everywhere, so you need to check if you are eligible.

While it sounds like a premium on the surface of it, we found that the net result is a savings. It prevents us from going out quite as often and it feels great to know that we have everything we need in the fridge to make a meal without needing to run out to the grocery.

Additionally, it takes a little work out of research and shopping for the average weekly meal. You have the recipe and all the ingredients without the fuss.

So, all that said we thought we would walk through one of the recipes we received last week and then give you our thoughts at the end.

Let's get started.



Research:

We signed up for Blue Apron and selected the 3 meal plan. You can probably search around for a link for a free meal or two. If you leave me a note or a comment, I may still have a code available to send you.

They send a letter sized recipe along with the ingredients.



Plan:

Sit at home and wait for the blue apron box to arrive...


Then unpack the ingredients that are pretty close to already being pre-measured.


Then start cooking.

Whoa there, settle down little filly. Let's not forget the important part.



Execution:

First cook the quinoa. And while it is fun the pronounce it qui-no-na it is really keen-wa - so fancy.

15-17  minutes in boiling salted water. As salty as the sea.


Then prep the ingredients


Cook the radishes with garlic and red pepper flakes and lemon zest. About 4 minutes for the radishes and then 1 more minute with everything else


Finish the quinoa by adding mint, lemon, almond slices, and a drizzle of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste


Then the snap peas. One to two minutes until bright green.


Bread the cod and sauté in olive oil


Then add butter!



and assemble


And pair it with a great wine




Verdict:

We are fans! The meals are simple to make, the ingredients are mostly pre-measured and it is delicious.

We have noticed that sometimes the fresh herbs are wilted but that doesn't affect taste and understandable given the distribution method.

This is a great solution for a couple looking for an easy way to cook great home meals during the busy week. It will save you from having those days where you go out to dinner because it just seems easier than going shopping.





We would love it if you would drop us a note and let us know how your cook went in the comment section. We are always looking for suggestions and improvements! We have opened up the comments so that anyone can post now, so please do. I'll try not to delete anything unless it is spam or stabs me in the heart.





Please help support our site, buy something you like on Amazon. Simply click through the links below and though you can pick anything, I suggest the thermometer and knives below:


So apparently Thermoworks doesn't sell through Amazon anymore. You must buy direct. Still the thermometer to have. Go here and order direct. 

Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

Aaron Franklin's Favorite Brisket cutting/serving knife:

Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer


Sunday, April 5, 2015

Ahi Tuna Tartare with Avocado

Ahi Tuna Tartare w/avocado, crispy shallots and soy sesame dressing


A great appetizer that we tried out on some of our friends and no one died. Make this for your next dinner party and pair it with a great white wine.




Research:

We used a recipe that we found on Zen can cook's website, CLICK HERE.

Plan:

Gather the following ingredients:

10 ounces of sushi grade Ahi Tuna
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 ripe avocados
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and fresh pepper

canola oil for frying
1 big shallot finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons rice krispies
salt

3 tablespoons soy salt
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey

note that we bought 20 ounces of tuna as the recipe called for but our mold is small so we used 10 ounces and that served 6 people a nice appetizer sized portion.



Pour a glass of wine and follow along. Not much cooking going on here.

Execution:

First the tuna comes frozen solid and there is a process to thawing it. Follow this video:






Then dice the tuna and avocado and shallots before you have too much wine. Remember to always do the knife work first.



Here we combined the tuna and avocado, the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. You could have separated these and layered the tuna and avocado also.


Then toss the shallots in the flour and sauté for 45 seconds. Yes, 45 seconds...


then mix with rice krispies


and assemble - this is where I deviated from the plan and mixed the avocado and tuna rather than layering. Much discussion later ensuded regarding my decision but i stand by my call and it turned out Michelin Star quality.



then pour in the sauce


bon appétit




Verdict:

These are fantastic and were a big hit with our guests. We made them several hours ahead of time and kept them cool in the fridge. When our guests arrived, we served with a great white wine.



We would love it if you would drop us a note and let us know how your cook went in the comment section. We are always looking for suggestions and improvements! We have opened up the comments so that anyone can post now, so please do. I'll try not to delete anything unless it is spam or stabs me in the heart.



Please help support our site, buy something you like on Amazon. Simply click through the links below and though you can pick anything, I suggest the thermometer and knives below:


So apparently Thermoworks doesn't sell through Amazon anymore. You must buy direct. Still the thermometer to have. Go here and order direct. 

Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

Aaron Franklin's Favorite Brisket cutting/serving knife:

Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer

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