Pan Sauteed Tilapia w/ Braised Celery

Life has been crazy lately 

and unfortunately the blog 

content has suffered the 

last few weeks.

But this week I finally found 

some time to whip up a nice 

meal of Pan Sauteed Tilapia 

with Braised Celery and Roast 

Potatoes.

I picked up some fresh Tilapia on

our latest trip to Joe Patti's and 

decided to do a quick pan saute'.

Just a lite coating of seasoned

flour and then saute' for a few

minutes on each side.

Another tip is to not cook it 

completely through and place

it on a baking sheet in the oven 

to hold it until the sides are 

ready.

As for the sides, it was braised

celery and roasted potatoes.

Braised Celery is one of my 

favorites.  As you read the 

recipe it sounds a little strange 

but trust me, give it a try and 

you won't be disappointed.

French Culinary Basics

While some people enjoy relaxing and eating cake on their birthday, I decided to get up early on a Saturday morning and head downtown for a 5 hour cooking class on French Culinary Basics.    Does that make me weird?   Nevermind I know the answer.

So this was my second class at the 

Viking Culinary School.  After getting 

my feet wet on Knife Skills, I decided

to step up the difficulty and went for 

the French Culinary Basics course.

The course instructor Brianna was 

outstanding.  She had worked for 

3 years at a Michelin 2 star restaurant 

in Paris, so yeah, she knew what she 

was doing in the kitchen.

We were lead in the preparation of Cheese Souffle',

Seafood Crepes, French Baguettes, Beef Bourguignon

and Apple Tart Tatin.

I learned a lot, got some great recipes and got to play with all the Viking toys in the process.

You'll definitely see some of these items popping up on the blog soon.

Grilled Chicken Pasta

I guess you could say I've been pandering to my constituency here lately.  Due to the fact Colleen does most of the marketing of the blog a large majority of the readers are dietitians. And in an effort to keep you coming back, I give you more healthy goodness.

Today was Grilled Chicken Pasta.  

This is my own creation; so here is the recipe.

Thin Sliced Chicken Breast- Grilled

Pasta (something large like Rotini)

Sliced Cherry Tomatoes

Sauteed Zucchini

Shallots (Thin Sliced)

Parsley

Toss with a nice coating of lemon (1 lemon zested & juiced) and very good olive oil.

Greek Pita & Tabbouleh

So I have to give props to my friend Jennifer for introducing me to Tabbouleh a few years back. It's a traditional Lebanese/Middle Eastern salad that I like to pair with my Greek Pita's.  

I love Greek food, but due to Colleen's decree that our kitchen be a lamb-free zone, Greek Pita's and Tabbouleh are as close as I get to real Greek food at home.

My recipe for Tabbouleh

is pretty traditional.  It has 

Bulgar Wheat with fresh 

chopped parsley, mint & 

chives; as well as, sweet 

grape tomatoes cut in half,

a lemon zested & juiced and 

some nice extra-virgin olive oil.

The Pita's are actually my invention.  Roast Chicken tossed with Greek Seasoning and sliced cucumber.  My "secret recipe" yogurt sauce consist of plain yogurt, more fresh chopped mint, another lemon zested and juiced, and a little sesame oil.

Peanut Chicken Pasta

Peanut Chicken Pasta is another staple dish in our house.  I've recently augmented my recipe and started grilling my chicken.  

Along with the Chicken I add mushrooms, onions, peanuts, pasta and peanut sauce.  It's garnished with cilantro, green onions, chili sauce and a lime wedge.

As you can see I went lite on the Chili Sauce but more could be added if your looking for that "crying while you eat" Thai flavor.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is

one of my favorite deserts.  I'm 

drawn to it like Homer Simpson 

to a Doughnut.

This recipe came from Alton Brown's baking book.

 

It is done in a cast-iron

skillet; and it's not for those 

on a diet.  

The recipe calls for cherries 

on the pineapple slices but I 

left those out.  If your not in 

the know on why, then I 

won't ruin them for you.

Notice my expression during the inversion process.  I have total concentration, all the while hoping this thing doesn't turn to goo and go down my arm when I remove the pan.

The finished product in all it's piping hot glory. 

Ummm, Cake

Soup & Salad

The summer veggies are still

looking good so tonight's dinner

was soup and salad.

The Salad consisted of beautiful 

yellow heirloom tomatoes,

Saint Andre Triple Creme', 

Avocado slices & Chives.

The Soup was a potato-leek

soup garnished with 

tomato and green onion.

Ham & Mushroom Frittata

The Frittata is the Italian cousin to the French Omlette.   Learning how to make a good one takes the right equipment and a little practice.

The first trick is to make sure all your ingredients are cut very small and that they are the same size.  Just hacking that onion or shallot where some are the size of a dime while others are tiny slithers won't get the job done.  You'll end up with some burnt and some raw pieces.

The second trick, get a good non-stick pan.  I bought this one specifically to cook eggs.  Thick metal=good and you want that surface as slick as can of oil.  Go for one at the restaurant supply store (or Sam's); these are much better and cheaper than those high priced "brand names".

Third trick, beat the eggs.  I mean really beat them.  The more air you whisk into them, the fluffier the Frittata will be.

Last,  Practice the flip.  Frittata's are far more rewarding than an omlette.  Anybody can flip an egg over onto itself.  I really enjoy Frittata's because you can really cook your eggs how you want them.  Like your eggs easy? Just flip it when things are still runny.  Want it like a hockey puck? Let it cook until it gets brown on the bottom.

With a little practice, you can easily flip everything in one swift motion.  Just be ready to clean your stovetop the first few attempts.

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Nephew Ryan was in town visiting and we decided to 

whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies for everyone.  

Ryan is a budding chef as well; he's taking  cooking classes

in Tampa.

We had a lot of fun and the cookies turned out great.  We 

decided next time we'll have to try something a little more

difficult, maybe a Beef Bourguignon.

Broiled Orange Roughy

I've gotten into Broiling fish lately; it's a nice alternative to grilling.  Honestly, who wants to go sweat over a grill when it's 90+ degrees outside.

I use a sheet pan lined with foil and I place a rack on top to keep the fish elevated. (similar to this)

I've really been into Orange Roughy lately; if you haven't tried it you need to get in on this.  It has white flesh and doesn't have a fishy flavor that can be a turn-off for some.

I created a White Wine/Tomato Cream Sauce on top.  This one was a modification of a classic french sauce.  Yeah I'm still reading this.

The side dishes included Cream Potatoes as well as Braised Celery and Squash.

Toast Français

I'll admit, I constantly forget to take out the trash or put the clothes in the washer, but I manage to redeem myself by occasionally making my wife breakfast during the week.

French Toast w/ Raspberries

Summer Vegetable Pizza

Being married to a Dietitian means I was dragged kicking and screaming to the land of veggies, but I admit now that I'm here, I've taken to the little guys.

It makes sense why most people hate vegetables if all you've ever had is steamed asparagus or broccoli covered in cheese "product".  The more I learn the art of cooking veggies the more I learn to like them (and you can never go wrong putting anything on pizza)

Veggie Pizza w/ Mushrooms, Yellow Squash, Cherry Tomatoes, Shallots, Mozzarella & Parmesan

Sick Day

Colleen's been feeling under the

weather the last few days so I 

decided to make a big pot of 

chicken and dumplings.

Field Trip

Last night we made the trip downtown to the Viking Cooking School.  I've been by the store before, but I've been hesitant to sign-up for a class.  Colleen and I finally took the plunge and went for a somewhat entry level course on Knife Skills.

Most of the cuts I was already familiar with but the instruction on deboning a chicken was worth the price of admission.  Me, being a born and bred suburbs brat, has never messed with raw chicken outside of the nice neat little packages of breast or tenders.  I'll admit when the full breast with skin on the bone was put in front of me, I was a little intimidated.  I made my way through it; admittedly, with a little help from Colleen.  

Though I don't plan to turn my kitchen into a slaughterhouse anytime soon; I will start trying this at home instead of buying the "chicken packets" every time.

Colleen with Chef Anne

Smothered Chicken and Roasted Asparagus

Everybody has their staple meals and one of ours is smothered chicken.  It taste like it took all day to cook but I can easily crank it out on a weeknight.  

The trick is to use jar tomato sauce, yeah i know, it sounds like a Rachel Ray trick or worse yet a trick of the devil.  But, the trick is not the sauce, it's making it your own.

Whenever I know I'm going to make it, I roast a head of garlic.  It's easy, garlic with the top cut off, put on some salt and olive oil, onto a pan at 200 for 1.5 hours.

The roasted garlic goes into sauce (I like Newman's Own) along with some sauteed shallots, veggie broth and tomato paste (use the stuff in a tube; the can taste like crap).  Just leave it on low and let it simmer.  Add some fresh basil at the end.

Pan saute some chicken breast and then add (smother) them in the tomato sauce.

I let it cook as long as I have time and then serve with pasta.  Tonight it was accompanied by roasted asparagus.  

Stuffed Mushroons

Stuffed Mushrooms were on the agenda tonight.  And I have to say they tasted even better than that gratuitous shot of food porn looks.

I tried coming up with my own recipe.  Here's my best guess of what it was:

Carton of Mushrooms (Button)

Stems of Mushrooms (fine dice)

3 tbs. Poblano Pepper (fine dice)

1 tbs. butter

1/8-1/4 cup breadcrumbs (panko)

1/8 cup of finely shredded parmesan

1/2 egg

1 tsp parsley

Just saute the mushroom stems & poblano in the butter until slightly colored.  Stir in the breadcrumbs & parmesan and remove from the heat.  Once cooled, stir in half of a beaten egg to bind the mixture.  Stuff into Mushroom caps and bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.  Broil for 1 minute to add color to the top.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I decided to make one of my favorite's this afternoon, BBQ Chicken pizza.

A couple of shortcuts makes the

process much quicker:

-Picking up a pre-made dough and fresh Roasted Chicken from Publix shortens the time considerbly and both the dough

and chicken are surprisingly high quality.

-For the Sauce I used a combination of Sticky Fingers and Dreamland BBQ sauce.

-The rest of the toppings included:

Shallots, poblano peppers & ColbyJack Cheese. Garnish with Cilantro and Green Onions.

Saturday AM Muffins

Made a quick batch of Muffins this morning.  Typical blueberry muffin recipe with raspberries thrown in as well.

Independence Day Inventions

No work today means a full day in the kitchen.

The main meal of the day was Swiss Chard and Sweet Pea Manicotti and wow, it was excellent.  It was so good that it disappeared before I could get some action shots. 

To give credit, it was a Giada recipe, and a very good one.  

But the real star of the day was the carrot soup.  I've begun reading Mastering the Art of French Cooking and I decided to put Chapter 1: Soups to the test.

With my new found knowledge and newly purchased stick blender I gave this classic french soup a shot.   I went sans-recipe and simply augmented the technique for Potato-Leek soup to create my own Carrot-Shallot soup.

It turned out quite well and I have to say I'm loving this new Immersion Blender.

My New Toys

If you know me well, you probably know I have a serious fetish for kitchen hardware.  Let's just say I'm on a first name basis with the gals at Williams Sonoma.  After a year of buying the perfect pots, pans and other gadgets I decided to curtail the spending a bit.

But, this week I broke down and purchased two new toys that I'm really excited about.

Meet the new Cuisinart Classic Food Processor and the Cuisinart Immersion Hand Blender.

It's hard to believe I'm just now getting around to purchasing these but I plan to make up for lost time.