now for umami fish

Another killer fridge clean out dish.

1 pound of white fish
4 yellow potatoes
1 package of chard
7-10 campari tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup pickled banana peppers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tbsp pickled banana pepper liquid
splash of Cynar
ground mustard
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quarter potatoes, coat in oil, sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Coat fish in ground mustard, salt, pepper and olive oil. Add a pat of butter and a tbsp of olive oil to a stainless steel pan over high heat. When butter is bubbling, add fish and cook on each side for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan to a plate.

Add sliced garlic to the hot pan. Cook for a couple minutes until browned but not burned, add a splash of Cynar and then add the tomatoes and banana peppers and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chard (chopped if large pieces) and combine. Cover and let chard wilt for a couple minutes and then stir again. Add the fish to the top of the vegetables, cover, and put back in the oven for 8-9 minutes.

Plate the fish with the vegetables on top and spoon sauce over the top.

fresh citrus fish

Mark Bittman has been quite the inspiration lately as his recipes all look easy and flavorful. For this recipe you just need to make sure you use enough fruit to balance the heat and bite of the jalapeno and shallot.

Fried White Fish with Fruit Salsa

1 pound of white fish (haddock, etc.)

1 grapefruit

1 orange

1 lime

1/2 shallot

1 jalapeno

butter

salt and pepper

Start with the salsa so it has time to meld. Halve the grapefruit, orange and lime, and using a grapefruit knife, section each fruit and add to a bowl. (Squeeze the extra juice of each fruit into one glass, add ice and vodka for a citrusy treat.) Mince the shallots and add to the bowl. Heat jalapeno over burner on the stove until it begins to pop to add a bit of roasted flavor. Mince and add to the bowl. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Salt and pepper the flesh side of the fish. Heat butter in a pan (don't use non-stick) over medium-high heat until bubbly. Add fish to the pan, skin side down. Cook until the skin is browned and the flesh begins to whiten. Flip and cook until flaky.

Remove to plate, skin side down. Top with the fruit salsa to cover the whole fish - you're going to want to get a bite of the salsa with each bite of fish! 

this isn't your momma's home-cooking

Over the course of a week I had three amazing home-cooked meals, all with new ingredients or new cooking methods. I'm very lucky to have friends who love to cook and are really good at it. I just hope I can recreate these in the future.

Lamb Chorizo with Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients:
2 links of lamb chorizo
1 store-bought package of sweet potato gnocchi
1 sweet potato
2 roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of frozen okra
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup chicken broth

To roast the tomatoes: turn oven to the lowest setting, cut smallish tomatoes in half, place in baking dish and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in oven for at least 3 hours. The longer they roast the more intense the flavor will become.

Heat the sweet potato in the microwave to soften, about 5 minutes. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place these on a cookie sheet and broil first for 6 minutes, then flip over and broil for another 5 minutes.

Begin boiling water for gnocchi. When water boils, add gnocchi and cook for 5 minutes or until they float.

Brown the chorizo in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and fry for about a minute before adding the frozen okra, tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the  gnocchi and sweet potatoes. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Ladle into a bowl and top with parmesan cheese if desired.


White Fish with Red Chilis and Lime

Ingredients:
1/2 pound white fish
cornstarch to coat
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 limes
zest of 1 lime
2 red chilis
peanut oil


Pork with Roasted Vegetables and Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:
2 pork chops
roasted vegetables: peppers, red onions, eggplant, portobellas
grape tomatoes
1/2 cup balsamic fig vinegar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (or 1 cup if you don't also have balsamic fig)
1/4 cup brown sugar
ricotta


Sweet Hot Apricot Chicken (SHAC)

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pounds of chicken thighs
1 10 oz bottle of apricot fruit spread
6 teaspoons of Frank's Red Hot
2 teaspoons wildflower honey
salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons bacon fat

Heat bacon fat in frying pan. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken. Brown both sides of chicken in the bacon fat. Meanwhile, combine apricot fruit spread, Frank's Red Hot and honey. When chicken is brown, pour apricot sauce over chicken in pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through and slightly orange outside. Raise heat on stovetop and continue boiling sauce until it reduces. After 10 minutes of reducing add butter and stir in. Cook for another 3 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and devour.