We've been working 80 hours a week and I've not had a day off since early January, so quick is REALLY good. Well, tonight was quick. I had a bag of the individually frozen tilapia in the freezer so even though Ina Garten's recipe called for what I would call fishier fish, I used that. It was fabulous. Turns out Connie kept his opinions to himself when I described the dishes for the week. His first reaction was, Mustard? and Fish? Not gonna be a good combination. Fortunately, he was wrong. We gave the fish a five and would love to have it again tomorrow night! The bread (brought it home from Eddie Merlot's) was fabulous. And, the green beans were a four. Great sauce, but just weren't as good as the fish.
Mustard-Roasted Fish
4- 8 oz fish fillets (we used tilapia)
4 oz sour cream
3 T dijon mustard
1 T whole grain mustard
2 T minced shallots (freezed dried from Penzeys)
1 T drained capers
Preheat the oven to 425. Combine the last five ingredients.
Lay the frozen tilapia fillets in an ovenproof baking dish.
Dollop a tablespoon of the mustard sauce on each and spread it to cover the entire top of the fillet.
Bake for 10 min or until fish flakes easily.
Adapted from Ina Garten's Back to Basics.
We served this with a crusty loaf of bread slathered with garlic cheese butter (Brady Street cheese sprinkles from Penzeys) and
Roasted Green Beans with Toasted Cashews
16 oz green beans
2 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
2 T diced shallots
1/2 t ginger powder
sprinkle of crushed red pepper
1/2 c chopped, lightly roasted cashews
Preheat the oven to 425. Toss 16 oz of green beans (cut into 1" pieces) with the sauce (made with the next five ingredients.) Bake 20 min, stirring occasionally. Serve sprinkled with the cashews.
Last week we tried a pea and parsely pesto on linguine. Not good. It was gummy and flavorless even after I doubled the amount of garlic. Along side that we had some roasted peppers that were fabulous.
Roasted Peppers
Seed and quarter a yellow, orange or red bell pepper
Drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and broil for 6 min on each sice.
Put the pepper pieces on the serving plate and drizzle them with a mixture of 1 T olive oil, 2 t balsamic vinegar and 1t brown sugar.
Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and top with either fresh or dried basil.
Each year, Channel 13 (the NBC affiliate) does a cookbook to raise money for charity. The first time I bought it just because it was for charity. The second time was because so many recipes in the first were fabulous. It's been no surprise, then, that this year's cookbook has some real gems. Two of our favorites are Chuck Lofton's Honey Baked Chicken and Dr. Oz's Mediterranean Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives and Herbed White Beans. The latter, unfortunately, was barely warm when baked as per the recipe instructions. So, my instructions are based on how I saved the dish from being served raw.
Honey Baked Chicken
2 cups Crispix crushed to 1 cup of crumbs
1 t paprika
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 c honey (the recipe calls for less but this is how much I used...)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut into strips
Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Add the spices to the crushed cereal (in a large plastic bag.) Brush each chicken strip with honey and toss in the crumb mixture. Lay them in the baking dish and bake until cooked through - about 20 min.
We had these leftover for lunch the next day and they were still yummy!
Mediterranean Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives and Herbed White Beans
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 T olive oil
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
12 kalamata olives, chopped
1 T red wine vinegar (balsamic is fine)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-16 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c chopped fresh herbs (or whatever trips your trigger dried)
Saute the thighs and the onion in the olive oil until they're almost done - about 10-15 min. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook thru.
This certainly tasted like it was wicked. One of our goals is to eat beans several times a week. They're much better if you soak and cook dried beans but the lure of the ease of the canned beans is most often too much for me to ignore.
Late Sunday afternoon I typically sit down with the pile of recipes I've clipped and a cookbook or two and try to come up with the week's menus. The goal is to have at least half new dishes. For example, this week we're having a honey lemon chicken from Rachael Ray's latest magazine, a pea and parsley pesto sauce for linguine and a mustard roasted fish from Ina Garten's Back to Basics. Then, Connie heads to the grocery store while I start Sunday's supper.
We had leftover crab cakes from Saturday evening so they were repurposed into crab benedicts on Sunday evening. Growing up, crab cakes were not one of my favorites. They were gooey with filler and lacking real crab flavor. Then, about seven or eight years ago, I had some at Sangiovese that were incredible. Just enough filler to hold the crabmeat together. Bursting with flavor. That set me on a quest to find my own fabulous crabcake recipe. I even bought a cookbook of 50 crab cake recipes. Believe it or not, the best recipe I've found is from Harry Caray's Restaurant Cookbook. Yup, a Chicago restaurant. Jane and Michael Stern are known for their cookbooks highlighting well-known restaurants. They were Guy Fieri before Guy was Guy!
In November of 2005 I sprang for a can of crabmeat from the fish store across the street from the office. Pulled every cookbook that I thought might have a crab cake recipe. This was the one that sounded best so I made it and fell in love with these crab cakes. Three notes, the fish store is long gone so I now get my crabmeat at Trader Joe's. It's relatively reasonably priced there. Yes, I've modified the recipe a bit. And, these crab cakes are awesome as an appetizer. I've made them for the annual holiday party. Takes forever to make dozens of tiny patties and brown them but they're worth it.
Crab Cakes
1 lb can crab meat, flaked
1/4 c finely diced red onion
2 finely diced shallots (I buy the dried ones at Penzeys)
3/4 c Panko
1/3 c half and half (cream if you really want to cheat)
1 T Dijon mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t Tabasco
1 t Old Bay seasoning
1/2 t granulated garlic
2 eggs
1 T lemon juice
1/2 c flour
olive oil
Mix everything together except for the flour and olive oil. The best way is to use your hands and gently toss it all together. Heat the olive oil in a skillet until a couple of drops of water sizzle. You'll want to just coat the bottom of the skillet. This recipe makes six big crab cakes. Form the crab cakes then lightly coat them with flour and brown them in the sizzling oil. They're awesome served with Remoulade Sauce.
Remoulade Sauce
1 c mayonnaise (Hellmans made with olive oil)
2 T capers
2 T finely diced red onion
2 T Dijon mustard
1/2 t Old Bay seasoning
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t Worcestershire
1/4 t Tabasco
1/2 t lemon juice
Combine and serve.
Now for the leftovers. Our joke in the morning is to ask the one who got up first, "Where's my Eggs Benedict?" I'd intended to actually surprise Connie with Crab Benedict on Sunday morning but we wound up heading to the office early instead. So, I made them for him Sunday evening.
Crab Benedict
2 whole grain english muffins, split and toasted
2 crab cakes, warmed and split in half
4 eggs, poached
Stack a muffin half, then a crab cake half, then a poached egg and top with Hollanade Sauce. What is Hollanade sauce, you ask? Eggs Benedict is traditionally served with Hollandaise Sauce. We had leftover Remoulade Sauce. Around here, leftovers can take on new identities! So, I made a packet of Hollandaise sauce (I know, homemade is much better but I knew the mix would be less likely to separate and would therefore work better) and mixed it with the leftover Remoulade sauce (about 1/2 c was leftover.)
I may never go back to Eggs Benedict again. The flavors played so well together!
For years I’ve relied on the packaged flan mixes. Making my own just seemed too complicated. Then, I found a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens that made all the difference. It was so easy and SO much better than a box mix. Of course, the difference between half and half and 2% milk may have something to do with it. Given the fat calories, this is a special occasion dish.
Vanilla Flan
3 cups half and half
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ c packed dark brown sugar
½ tsp salt
5 eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
In a medium saucepan, heat the half and half and vanilla over medium heat until steaming. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine brown sugar and 1/4 tsp of the salt. Spoon the mixture into a 9" pie plate and pack it into a firm, even layer.
Reheat the half and half to steaming once it's done steeping.
Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Gradually whisk in the warm half and half until well combined.
Slowly pour the egg mixture over the brown sugar. Some of the brown sugar will float to the top, but as the flan cooks, it will sink back to the bottom of the pan.
Place the pie pan in a deep roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and pour boiling water to halfway up the sides of the pie pan. Note: I just baked mine without the folderal of the water bath and it was fine.
Bake 35-40 min until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 30 min then refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours prior to serving. Note: I served mine right away and it was still great but a bit runny.
To serve, run a knife around the edges and invert onto a serving plate.
All of my life I've loved artichoke hearts. Not too fond of messing with the whole artichokes, but love the hearts. Thanks to the March 2010 issue of Southern Living, I've found an incredible way to create a lovely creamy sauce for pasta - with artichoke hearts.
Pasta with Artichoke Heart and Pecan Sauce
8 oz farfalle
2/3 c toasted pecans
1/4 c chopped parsley
1 t lemon zest (I accidentally left this out)
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained
1/3 c finely grated romano cheeese
3 oz low fat cream cheese, softened
3 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
Bring the pasta water to a rolling boil. While it's coming to a boil, toast the pecans. Put the artichoke hearts, romano cheese, cream cheese, olive oil and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Whirl them until the sauce is nice and creamy. Drain the pasta and toss it with the artichoke heart sauce. Top it with the toasted pecans, the parsley and lemon zest. Serve with finely grated romano cheese.
We went to a lovely wine dinner at Binkley's. Seven courses and seven wines. Almost everything was magnificent. I even got VERY brave and downed an oyster on the half shell. It had blue cheese foam on top so there was extra incentive since blue cheese is one of my favorites. There was one course that totally fell flat. He made a deconstructed ratatouille. It was about the worst stuff I've ever had. An oily, pretty flavorless broth with a slice of chewy eggplant floating on top. Yuck. I went away hungry for the real thing. The problem was I didn't have the time to make the real thing. So, I made my own version:
Deconstructed Ratatouille
One large sweet onion, peeled and sliced into four rounds
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
1/4 c sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
4 oz goat cheese, preferably a roll, cut into four slices
1 eggplant, peeled, salted, drained and rinsed
2 eggs, beaten
1 c panko
vegetable or olive oil
1/2 c finely shredded romano cheese
1 jar Rao's eggplant marinara
Place the onion slices in a baking dish. Drizzle them with the olive oil then sprinkle them with the Italian seasoning. Top with the sundried tomatoes. Bake for about 20 min at 350. While the onions are baking, slice the eggplant in rounds about 1/2" thick. Dip them in the beaten egg then the panko and brown them in the vegetable oil. When they're nice and brown, remove them from the pan and drain them on paper towels. Heat the marinara sauce either in the microwave or stovetop. It should be nicely warm, not hot, hot, hot. Top the onion slices with a slice of goat cheese and bake for about another 5 minutes. Then, you put it all together... Put a puddle of marinara sauce on each plate. Put an onion round on the puddle, then top it with a slice of eggplant. Voila, deconstructed ratatouille that's pretty darned good!
Last week was a week of revisions to old favorites... After our Sam's club run, we had plenty of goodies in the refrigerator. I got home Friday evening and was surprised to see Connie's car in the garage. Usually he's at a bridge lesson about that time. So, we had a chance for a quick dinner before his bridge game.
Burgers. About as quick as it gets. I took a handful of very lean ground beef and threw it in a bowl with a handful of crumbled blue cheese. Poured a couple of tablespoons of Andria's Steak Sauce over it and mixed it. I'd decided to get some onions sauteed for a couple of other dishes, so a big skillet-full of onions was melting away - and smelling awesome. There was some thick-cut bacon to be used up so I had another skillet of that going. Hmm, good burger toppings. Once the burgers were done, I topped them with some sauteed onions, a couple of slices of bacon and drizzled them with barbecue sauce.
Chicken Elegante Sandwiches. Chicken elegante is normally served over rice. But, I was in the office and didn't have a way to cook rice. Had the leftover chicken from Thursday. So, I took a box of frozen, chopped broccoli and thawed it. Mixed it with half a can of lowfat cream of chicken soup, an equal amount of lowfat sour cream, some ground pepper and a bit of garlic and a sprinkle of dried minced onion (normally the seasoning is thyme but we didnt' have any in the office. Then, I tossed in a handful of crumbled blue cheese. Toasted some bread, schmeared it with a bit of Durkees, put slices of chicken on top of that then topped the chicken with some of the broccoli mixture and some shredded romano cheese and broiled the whole shebang. Turned out we liked the revision as well as the original!
Crab Sandwiches. Our buddies Nancy and Jeff couldn't go out Saturday when Jeff had to work late at the last minute. So, I wanted an ultra quick dinner. Crabmeat salad sandwiches. Just mixed celery, diced waterchestnuts and some lowfat may with crabmeat and served them on toasted bread with a couple of slices of cooked bacon and some melted truffle cheese.
Crabmeat Omelets. For Sunday brunch, I took the leftover crab salad and used it in omelets. Whipped eggs with lowfat sour cream, some tarragon and some shredded mozzarella. Made omelets then topped them with crab salad and some steamed asparagus.
