Something out of Nothing

Sometimes I have one of those nights where there isn't much food in the house...but I'm positive that I don't have the energy to go out to eat. Instead of dialing the local pizza place, I've been trying to be more creative with what I can find in the fridge and pantry.

Recently, I had this kind of night and decided to go on a hunt for some dinner. I looked in the fridge and saw three crowns of broccoli. I discovered a couple Yukon gold potatoes in the bottom cupboard. This was not looking promising...so I opened my freezer. Ah ha! There was that bag of frozen tilapia fillets that I had gotten on sale at Wegman's last month "just in case" I ever needed them. Surely, I could make something out of these ingredients.

I did a quick search online for simple tilapia recipes to get some inspiration. I could have just baked them in the oven with some butter or lemon juice on top...but I wanted something a little more flavorful. I happened upon this little gem on allrecipes.com.

With a can of tomato paste (which I always have in the pantry) and some spices, I could make something new! I didn't have the peppers, so I decided to roast the potatoes and broccoli instead.

The tilapia fillets are individually wrapped (which is so convenient), so I dunked 4 fillets (still in the wrapping) into cold water. By the time I made the sauce and got the potatoes and broccoli in the oven, they were thawed.

Baked Tilapia with Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes
~Simple and Satisfying~

• 3/4 cup olive oil (plus more for roasting)
• 3 crowns of broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 or 3 Yukon gold potatoes (Russet would be fine, too), chopped into bite-size chunks
• a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
  
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 4 (4 oz.) tilapia fillets
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
   
2. Combine the potatoes with a generous drizzle of olive oil and several pinches of salt in a bowl, tossing to coat the potatoes. Spread into an even layer on half of a large sheet pan. Roast for about 10 minutes.
   
3. Meanwhile, combine the broccoli with a generous drizzle of olive oil and several pinches of salt in a bowl, tossing to coat the broccoli. Take the potatoes out and put the broccoli in an even layer on the other side of the sheet pan. Drizzle the potatoes and broccoli with some balsamic vinegar. Roast for another 10 minutes (but check to see how they're coming along). Then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and move the pan to the bottom rack.
   
4. While the potatoes and vegetables are still roasting, coat bottom of a medium baking dish with about 1/4 cup olive oil.
5. In a small bowl, blend remaining olive oil, tomato paste, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper.
6. Arrange tilapia fillets in the prepared baking dish. With a spatula, spread the olive oil and tomato paste mixture over the tilapia, heaping the majority in the centers of the fillets. Arrange onion slices on and around the fillets.
7. Bake in the preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, until fish is easily flaked with a fork. If the potatoes and broccoli are getting overcooked on the bottom rack, take them out and cover with foil to keep them warm.
8. When the tilapia is done, remove them from the oven and top each fillet with 1 tablespoon butter, and set oven to broil. Broil 5 to 7 minutes, until butter is melted and lightly brown. Serve the tilapia fillets with the roasted onions on top and the broccoli and potatoes on the side.

Even though I prefer cooking with a plan...sometimes I don't have a plan. Improvising with what you have on hand is a must sometimes and I find it to be kind of fun and quite rewarding!

Birthday Brunch

The morning after the lovely Salad Nicoise, I made a special brunch for my Mom's birthday. I was amazed at how easy it was to create a delicious and hearty brunch once I made a game plan. I just think that taking the time to sit down and create a plan saves you tons of time when you're actually preparing food.

Birthday Brunch Menu

Crab and Roasted Red Pepper Strata
Rosemary and Mustard Breakfast Sausage
Pecan Praline Bacon
Fruit Salad
Cranberry Orange Scones

The Crab and Roasted Red Pepper Strata can be made the night before and left to soak in the fridge until morning. The Rosemary and Mustard Breakfast Sausage can also be mixed the day before and even formed into patties. The Cranberry Orange Scones can also be made in advance.

So when you get up in the morning, you don't really need to do very much work. The strata and sausages can go directly into the oven. The scones are done and just need to be set out on the table. The bacon is extremely simple and takes only a few minutes to make. The most time consuming thing would be cutting up all the fruit for the fruit salad, but you could technically cut it up ahead of time and store it in the fridge. You can put on a delicious and elegant brunch without getting up at six in the morning to cook!

Crab and Roasted Red Pepper Strata
~This is a really simple but elegant recipe~

• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups half and half
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 cup onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped drained roasted red peppers from a jar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 green onions (scallions), chopped
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  
• 1 lb fresh crab meat*
• 8 cups 1 inch bread cubes from a French Baguette (keep crust on)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare a baking dish (rectangular casserole dish) with cooking spray or butter.
   
2. Whisk eggs and half and half in a medium bowl to blend.
   
3. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and saute until soft (about 5 minutes). Add peppers and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in green onions, parsley and thyme. Transfer mixture to large bowl and add crab and bread crumbs, tossing to combine.
5. Add egg mixture, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined, taking care not to break up the crab too much. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
6. Let stand at least 30 minutes, but overnight in the fridge works even better.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake until browned and puffed (about 1 hour). Cool on rack 20-30 minutes (could serve sooner, if needed). Using a sharp knife, cut into pieces and serve.

*If you don't want to buy fresh jumbo lump crab meat, which can be really expensive, you can also use jumbo lump from a can or fresh crab meat that isn't jumbo lump and is less expensive.

I really enjoyed preparing this brunch because I don't often entertain in the morning. It's a great time to experiment with some new recipes!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

A Fabulous French Meal

Before we left for our vacation, we had the pleasure of having my Aunt Diana stay with us during her visit from Florida. I adore her and always have. She is a wonderful cook and baker and I was excited to finally do some cooking and baking for her.


The first night I made a French inspired meal called Salad Nicoise (I believe it's pronounced "neesh-wa"). The first time I heard of this was during an episode of The French Chef. Julia Child was one of the first people to introduce this delicious meal to the United States. Oh Julia...yet another reason why I love you.

If you prep the ingredients ahead of time and make the marinade in advance, this comes together very quickly once your guests arrive. This dish is beautiful and very impressive! It is a huge and complete meal all by itself and the flavors are simply heavenly. This is a very flexible recipe...use the dressing/marinade recipe and add whatever salad fixings and seafood you would enjoy. I learned this particular recipe from The Kitchen Workshop during one of the grilling classes.

Grilled Seafood Salad Nicoise

*Important: I actually double the dressing/marinade below...I find that I like the extra

• 3 tbsp red-wine vinegar
  
• 1 tbsp Dijon-style mustard
• 1 tsp anchovy paste
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crumbled between your fingers
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 lb 1 inch thick tuna steak, cut into 6 pieces
• 1 large yellow squash, cut in half both directions to make 4 long pieces
• 1 large zucchini, cut in half both directions to make 4 long pieces
• approx. 9 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 12 large sea scallops, gently patted dry
• 1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
• Lettuce of your choice for lining the platter
• 1 or 2 bell peppers, cut into large chunks
• 1 pint red or yellow cherry (or grape) tomatoes, cut in half or quartered
• 1 cup olives (I left these out because I don't care for them)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, anchovy paste, thyme, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the oil in a stream while whisking until dressing is emulsified (it thickens and comes together). Begin to heat up the grill.
   
2. Divide the dressing in half, putting half in a small bowl and half in a large ziploc bag. Add the tuna pieces, shrimp, scallops, squash, zucchini, and peppers to the ziploc bag of dressing. Let it stand 15 minutes or in the fridge for a couple hours. Put the bowl of dressing aside until later.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the green beans. Allow to cook for 3 or 4 minutes and then remove from boiling water and rinse under cold water. Once they are dried off a bit, toss them in a tbsp or so of the reserved dressing in a bowl (not the one that is marinading the seafood!).
4. Grill the tuna steaks 2 1/2 minutes or so on each side (it can be a bit pinkish in the middle...depending on your tastes). Grill the shrimp, scallops, squash, zucchini, and peppers until seafood is cooked through and vegetables are slightly blackened.
5. To assemble the salad, layer the platter with lettuce. Then add the seafood, green beans, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and peppers in little rows coming from the center (see picture above). Top with olives and the reserved dressing.

After we had this delicious salad, we finished it off with Cardomom Pear Bread with vanilla ice cream. When I posted the bread recipe, it was made into muffins...but it comes out beautifully as a quick bread and the vanilla ice cream was the perfect addition.

I so enjoyed making this special meal for our very special visitor :)

Friday Night Feast II

This past Friday, I decided to make another Friday Night Feast. Even though I'm really tired on Fridays, I kind of like the idea of having a special dinner for just the two of us. Sometimes we have plans and sometimes we have people over. But when we have nothing going on, there's something really great about spending Friday night in your cozy house, eating a great dinner and watching a movie.

I decided to make crab cake sandwiches. My sister made them for Easter and I thought they were awesome. Crab cakes cost a decent amount when you order them at restaurants, but they are pretty easy to make and somewhat affordable (especially when crab is on sale). The reason I've shied away from crab related recipes is because I thought you had to buy the fancy crab over by the seafood. Nope! It comes in a can right near the tuna, and tastes as great as can be for just a few bucks.

Thank you, Aimee, for sharing the recipe with me!!

Crab Cakes
~These are great for a weeknight or for company~

• 1/4 c finely chopped red onion
• 2tbs chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tbs light mayo
• 3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 egg whites lightly beaten
• 1 lb lump crabmeat drained*
  
• 1 1/2 cups panko, divided (Japanese bread crumbs...you could use plain breadcrumbs if you want, but panko works better)
  
• 1 tbs olive oil, divided
• Cooking spray

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Gently stir in 3/4 cup of panko.
2. Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions (I made these for sandwiches, so I made 6 slightly bigger ones). Form them into little patties and put on a cookie sheet. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
3. Place remaining panko in a shallow dish. Dredge each patty in the pankp individually.
4. Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Coat both sides of crab cakes with cooking spray.
5. Add crab cakes 4 at a time. Cook 7 minutes, carefully turn cakes over; cook 7 minutes more until golden. Repeat process for remaining crabcakes.
6. I then put them on buns with lettuce and tomato and a little cocktail sauce. Yum.
   

*I cheated a little and bought two cans of lump crab meat (which is more expensive..around $5 a can) and 1 can of plain crab meat (which was around $2 a can). You need the lump to hold it all together, but you can fill in with the cheaper kind.

I served them on buns with lettuce and tomato. If you choose to make them on their own, here is the recipe for a sauce to top them with.

2/3 c fat free chicken broth
3 tbs chopped shallots
2 tbs white whine vinegar
2 1/2 tbs butter

Combine broth, chopped shallots, and vinegar in a small sauce pan; bring to boil. Cook until reduced to a 1/2 cup (about 4 minutes); remove from heat, stir in butter. Serve with crabcakes and roasted vegetables.

Recipe taken from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009

Because I had most of the ingredients on hand (mayo, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, panko..) I only had to pick up a couple things from the store.

Pretty fancy dinner for only about $15 in groceries, don't ya think?