Tilapia in Simple Artichoke and Caper Sauce with Roasted Potatoes

This is a relatively simple dish to prepare on a week night.  The roasting of the potatoes is what takes the longest.  So if you are in more of a hurry, substitute a rice that cooks in 20 minutes total and the whole meal could be made in less than 30 minutes.

Given the amount of artichoke hearts, the best option is to buy a bag of frozen artichoke hearts.  It saves a lot of time and prep versus starting with fresh whole artichokes, and is much less expensive than the marinated artichoke hearts that are sold in jars.

Tilapia in Simple Artichoke and Caper Sauce
Ingredients

• 5 - 6 fillets of Tilapia (rinsed under cold water and patted dry)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup of white wine
• 1 bag of frozen artichoke hearts (defrost artichoke hearts under running water)
• 1 handful of capers (rinsed and drained)
• 1 large handful of flat-leaf Italian parsley (rinse parsley under cold water and shake off excess water. pick leaves off of stems--discard stems; rough chop parsley)
• 1 lemon (cut in half to squeeze lemon juice)
• 1 cup of flour (for coating fish)

Method
Sprinkle gray sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper on both sides of each Tilapia filet.  Lightly coat both sides of filet with flour, shaking off any excess flour.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Once butter starts to bubble and turn a little brown, place as many filets as will comfortably fit in a single layer in the skillet.  Saute each side of the filets until golden brown and flesh is no longer translucent (work in batches setting aside cooked filets on a clean plate; squeeze fresh lemon juice from one half of the lemon on the filets as you set them aside).  After all the fish is cooked and no longer in the skillet, add the artichoke hearts, capers, and wine to the skillet.  Bring the mixture to a boil (may need to turn heat up some) and boil for 1 to 2 minutes to cook out alcohol and reduce liquid some; use a wooden spoon to scrap up any brown bits and mix into the liquid while it's cooking.  Turn off heat and stir in parsley, fresh squeezed juice from the remaining lemon half, and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Serve fish on plate and spoon artichoke and caper sauce of each serving.

Roasted Potatoes in Dill Sauce
Ingredients

• Fingerling or Yukon Gold potatoes (clean and cut off any impurities; cut into bite-size chunks; get enough potatoes to produce about 1 cup per person to be served)
• 3/4 cup of greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons of dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup worth of fresh dill (rinse under cold water; pick fronds from stems, discarding stems; roughly chop)

Method
Preheat oven to 365 degrees (F). Sprinkle gray sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and about 1/3 of the prepared dill over potatoes.  Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with a silpat (silicon baking mat) or a lightly oiled piece of aluminum foil.  Roast in oven for 40 - 50 minutes until potatoes achieve some golden coloring and appear completely cooked.  In a mixing bowl, combine yogurt, mustard, and remaining dill.  Spread mixture over potatoes and toss well until potatoes are well coated.

Valentine's Surf and Turf

A special meal for a special event.  Here are some tips for cooking the perfect filet or other prime cut of meat:

• Allow meat to sit out for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.  Allowing the meat to get closer to room temperature will enable it to cook more properly between the outside and the inside.
• Generously salt and pepper the steak before cooking using gray sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper (in general this is all you need--a good sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Do not use table salt)
• Use a heavy bottom skillet/pan that is oven safe.  Proper pans that are thick (heavy bottom) distribute heat much more evenly and make a big difference in cooking (In my opinion, the pans make a bigger difference than whether you have a top commercial grade gas range or an old fashion electric coil stovetop, like me).  Thin pans tend to burn food more easily as the heat tends to be very uneven.  I use All-Clad, but there are many quality heavy bottom pans available.
• Do not use non-stick pans when cooking a steak.  You want to have a good sear and high temperatures which tends to be incompatible with non-stick pans
• Use a "high heat" oil, such as canola, safflower (a favorite high heat oil of mine), or vegetable oil instead of olive oil (again you want to go to high heat to properly sear the meat)
• Start on a medium high stovetop with a hot skillet, finish in the oven (400 degrees)
• Do not use thin cuts for steaks (unless you prefer well done; which, I'm sorry, is not the proper way to eat a steak)
• After pulling the finished steak out of the oven, allow it to rest 15 to 20 minutes in the pan before serving or cutting.  This is a cardinal rule for juicy and tender steaks (and most meats).  Cutting the meat too early or placing the hot steak on a cold plate will cause all of the natural juices to run out and leave behind a tough, dry steak.  Allowing the steak to rest and slowly come down from the high heat will redistribute the juices throughout the meat leaving a juicy and tender meat you will love.
• Generally, you can tell to what "temperature" a steak is done by the amount of give when poking or touching the meat (via kitchen tongs or directly with finger).  You can simulate the doneness of steak by touching the tip of your thumb to the tip of each finger on the same hand and pressing/poking the fleshing portion of your palm at the base of your thumb.  Thumb to forefinger is rare to medium rare. Thumb to middle finger is medium rare to medium. Thumb to little finger is well done, aka dead.

I served this meal with Caesar salad. The recipe is included in Linguine and Clams with Caesar Salad

Valentine's Surf and Turf
Ingredients

• 2 lobster tails (if frozen, defrost under running water)
• 2 filet mignons
• large bag of crimini mushrooms (use a damp paper towel to brush dirt off the mushrooms, do not clean mushrooms under running water as the mushrooms are like sponges and the water will wash out some of the flavor)
• 1 shallot (peeled and minced)
• 1 clove of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1/4 cup of dry sherry wine
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• unsalted butter (set out to allow it to soften some)
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 3 tablespoons worth of chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 lemon
• blue cheese (enough to top two filets)

Method
Prepare Lobster Tails: Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add a small handful of kosher salt and half of a squeezed lemon (add the fresh squeezed juice and the lemon half itself to the water).  Add the lobster tails and cook for about 5 minutes (a good portion of the shells should turn red).  Remove the lobster tails from the water with tongs and place in a prepared ice water bath to stop the cooking process.  Once cold, remove the lobsters and use a large, heavy knife to split the tails down the middle length wise (cut from the top of the tail down the middle length wise; you made need to hit the back of the knife with the flat of your hand to break through the shell).  Examine the split lobster tails and remove any central vein so there is only meat and the outer shell. It is okay, even preferred, if the center of the flesh is still translucent and not completely cooked (it will be finished in the oven under the broiler).  Over cooking shell fish makes the meat rubbery.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh tarragon, and 2 tablespoons of butter.  Mix well.  Spread the cheese mixture over the exposed flesh of the lobster tails.  Place the lobster tails on an aluminum foil lined baking pan and place under the broiler in the oven until the cheese has melted and developed a little brown coloring (about 3 - 4 minutes).  Once removed from the oven, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the lobster tails before serving.  Optionally, you can melt some butter in a small bowl or ramekin for dipping the lobster meat in.  Add a pinch of good sea salt and some fresh squeezed lemon juice to the butter.

Prepare Mushrooms:  I prepared the mushroom side in a parchment paper packet ("en papillote"), however I am simplifying the recipe here.  Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add shallot and saute for 2 minutes.  Add garlic, whole mushrooms, and a good pinch of gray sea salt and saute for another 2 minutes.  Add rosemary and sherry and increase heat to bring liquid to a boil.  Allow sherry liquid to boil for about 2 minutes to cook out the alcohol and for the liquid to reduce some.  Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to saute for 5 to 10 minutes to complete cooking (do not cook the liquid completely out).

Prepare Filets:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat on the stovetop.  Once hot, add a few tablespoons of high heat oil to the skillet to prevent sticking.  Place filets that have been salted, peppered, and allowed to get closer to room temperature (see tips in intro) in hot skillet.  Sear each side for about 2 to 3 minutes, turning meat over once the first side is properly seared with kitchen tongs.  You want to get a good crust on the outsides.  Place the oven-safe skillet with filets in the oven to finish cooking.  5 minutes before being done to your liking (judged based on give to touch -- generally about 10 minutes in), carefully remove skillet from oven using oven mitts.  Place a thin layer of blue cheese on both of the filets, and place back in the oven.  Continue to roast until the cheese is melted.  Remove from the oven and allow the filets to rest in the pan for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Speck and Brie Whole-wheat Flatbread

This flatbread (aka thin-crust pizza) turned out delicious.  I am thinking of making it again as an appetizer for an upcoming party at the neighbors.  Next time I may try blending whole-wheat and unbleached bread flour 50/50.  The actual flatbread part of this recipe is a basic recipe for Indian naan bread (at least how I make it) using whole wheat instead of unbleached bread flour, and some olive oil instead of melted butter.

This speck and brie flatbread is crazy good with a good pinot noir to drink.  Pinot noir really pairs well with the flavors of the speck, which is a sort of smoked prosciutto (how can that be bad?), and the brie cheese.

Speck and Brie Whole-wheat Flatbread
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of whole-wheat bread flour (or try a 50/50 mix with unbleached bread flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup of low-fat or zero-fat greek yogurt (I'm a big fan of the FAGE yogurt.. an amazing and amazingly good for you product)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (if making naan, use 4 tablespoons of melted butter instead)
• 2 cups worth of fontina cheese (shredded)
• 1 package of speck (if not in packages, be sure to ask for very thin slices; about 10 slices)
• 1 wedge of brie cheese (amount will vary depending on number and sizes of pizzas)
• 1/4 cup of blanched almond slivers (toast until a light brown color in a dry non-stick skillet over medium heat)
• fresh basil

Method

Prepare Flatbread Dough: Sift (you can pour the dry ingredients through a fine mesh strainer into the mixing bowl) the flour, baking powder, and sea salt into a large mixing bowl.  Add the yogurt and olive oil.  Stir all of the ingredients with a large wooden spoon until mostly mixed and becoming difficult to stir. Use your hands to continue to mix and begin to knead the dough. Knead the dough either in the bowl or on a floured surface for a good 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic or place a damp, clean, kitchen towel completely over the mixing bowl with the dough inside.  Let the dough rest for 2 hours.  The dough will not rise like a yeast based dough (it will stay the same size).

Make the Pizzas: Preheat pizza stone in a 400 degree (F) oven.  If you don't have a pizza stone, preheat oven and then preheat a dry, rimmed metal baking sheet.  On a floured surface, roll out flatbread dough to a thin layer and of the desired pizza size.  Cook flatbread on hot pizza stone or baking sheet for 3 minutes (the dough may inflate into a large pillow while in the oven).  Carefully remove flatbread from oven on a pizza peel (if using a pizza stone) or by removing the baking sheet from the oven.  Sprinkle shredded fontina cheese to make a thin layer across flatbread (the flatbread should have deflated after being removed from the oven). Place a layer of speck slices across top of fontina cheese layer.  Hand-tear fresh basil and place over speck such that there will be some basil with each slice of cooked flatbread.  First thinly slice brie (about 1 mm thick) and cut into bite-size pieces (about 1 inch square).  Place brie on the next layer of the flatbread with about 2 inches of separation between brie pieces (the brie will melt and spread).  Sprinkle toasted almond slivers over top of assembled flatbread.  Place flatbread back in the oven (either on the pizza stone or still on the baking sheet) and bake until the cheese is melted and starting to show some brown color, and crust is crisp. Repeat until all of the dough is used.

Rustic Chicken Cacciatore and Thyme-infused Cheese Polenta

This meal was inspired by basically the same dish made by Chef Fabio on a recent episode of Top Chef Masters.  I couldn't find Fabio's recipe for chicken cacciatore online, so I created my own adaptation.  This is a slow cooked meal and great to serve family style.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

• Cut up chicken (2 chicken breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks all with skin and bones intact.  Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel)
• flour for lightly covering chicken
• 1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 medium to large sweet onion (peeled, quartered and thinly sliced)
• 4 cloves of garlic (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1 large can and 1 small can of peeled whole plum tomatoes (drained)
• 2 cups of white wine (such as pinot grigio/gris)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup worth of fresh oregano (washed, leaves picked off of stems, roughly chopped)

Method

Roast Peppers: Wash peppers under cold water.  Place on an aluminum-foil lined baking pan that has edges so any juice produced does not run off. Place oven rack near top and turn oven onto broil.  Place peppers under broiler (a few inches of clearance) and broil, turning peppers when the side facing the broiler turns mostly black and blistered.  Continue until both peppers are blistered and black on all sides.  Removed peppers from oven.  Carefully lift the aluminum foil with peppers out of the baking pan and place in a freezer to cool down to be handled.  After 10 - 15 minutes, remove peppers from freezer.  The peppers should be shriveled at this point.  Using your hands, pull blistered skins off the peppers.  The flesh of the pepper should not be black, instead a nice roasted variation of the original pepper color.  Tear open (they typically fall apart some) and remove the top stem part and all seeds.  It takes patience, but it is better to hand remove all of the skin and seeds without rinsing under water (which washes away the great flavored natural oils).  Tear cleaned, roasted pepper flesh into bite size pieces.

Make Cacciatore: Place some flour in a large, shallow bowl. Salt (using gray sea salt) and pepper (fresh cracked black pepper) the chicken pieces, then roll/dredge each one in the flour and shake off any excess flour.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large heavy saute pot (large enough to comfortable hold all of the chicken at once).  Once melted, add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil.  Working in batches, place as many floured chicken pieces in the pot as will comfortably fit in a single layer (typically about 3 pieces at a time).  Saute each side over medium high heat until the skin is browned (around 3 - 5 minutes each side).  Remove browned chicken from pot to make room for next batch.  Set aside browned chicken on a plate once all pieces are browned.

Add onion to the pot the chicken was browned in and saute, stirring regularly, until onions caramelize (around 5 - 6 minutes).  Add sliced garlic to pot and peeled tomatoes one tomato at a time, crushing or tearing over the pot into bite-sized chunks.  Add wine, roasted bell pepper pieces, bay leaf, and a good pinch of gray sea salt to the pot. Turn up heat and bring mixture to a low boil.  Continue on low boil for another 2 - 3 minutes to accelerate cooking the alcohol out, stirring regularly to prevent burning on the bottom.  Reduce heat to medium low, add browned chicken and fresh oregano to the pot and stir to mix contents.  Place lid on pot slightly ajar (to allow steam to escape and mixture to reduce while cooking).  Cook on medium low (about 25% heat) for about 45 minutes, occasionally lifting lid to stir the contents.

Thyme-infused Cheese Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 cup of instant polenta
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• About 3 heaping tablespoons worth of fresh thyme leaves (wash thyme under cold water; pick leaves off of stems; discard stems)
• 1 cup of grated Italian hard cheese (choose Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, or Grana Padano)
• optional: 2 – 3 tablespoons of truffle-infused olive oil (use less amount if using pure white truffle oil)

Method

In medium saute pan, bring the chicken stock to a boil over medium high heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat to lowest setting and slowly stream in polenta while stirring.  Once all of the polenta has been added to the pot, add the thyme and continue to stir until polenta reaches desired consistency (about 5 minutes).  Turn off heat and stir in cheese, mixing until well incorporated.  Optionally stir in truffle oil.

Spanish-style Mussels

Mussels are delicious and relatively inexpensive seafood. There are many variations to cooking "mussels" (that is mussels as a main dish, versus as part of a stew, pasta, or other dish), some of the basic foundations include:

• White wine or even a beer (like a white Belgium ale)
• Shallots and garlic
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice
• A little butter to finish the sauce
• Good bread of dipping and soaking up the sauce
• And of course, properly prepped, quality mussels

Other than those foundations, you can experiment with different fresh or dry herbs (such as dried bay leaves which I am found of, or saffron), various sausages (chorizo or italian) or cured pork products (such as pancetta or proscuitto), heavy creams, chili peppers or chili pepper flakes, or just the basic foundation elements which is delicious.

Spanish-style Mussels

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of mussels (here is a link to detailed instructions for proper handling and cleaning of mussels: Cleaning Mussels)
• 4 - 5 vine-ripened tomatoes (try to select very ripe tomatoes.  wash under cold water and cut in half across the middle)
• 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and cut length-wise into shards)
• 2 links of uncooked chorizo sausage (casing removed)
• 5 shallots (peeled and sliced thinly)
• 3 more cloves of garlic (peeled and sliced thinly)
• 2 cups of white wine (such as a pinot grigio/gris)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 lemon (cut in half for squeezing the juice)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 loaf of sliced Ciabatta bread
• quality extra virgin olive oil

Method

Grill Dipping Bread:  Brush olive oil onto one side of each bread slice.  Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat.  Working in batches, add a single layer of bread slices to the hot grill pan.  Grill each side until some grill markings are achieved and the outside is slightly crunchy to the touch.  About 1 minute per side for a properly heated grill pan.

Prepare Roasted Tomato Broth:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Place tomato halves in an aluminum foil lined baking pan, cut sides up. Lightly coat tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil.  Press garlic shards into tomato flesh (it is okay for top of garlic shard to stick out) to even distribute across all of the tomato halves.  Sprinkle some gray sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper over top of tomatoes.  Roast tomatoes in oven for 30 minutes.  

Place roasted tomato halves with garlic shards in metal chinois over a bowl or large measuring cup.  Using a heavy wooden spoon press roasted tomatoes into the bottom and bottom-sides of the chinois until most of the liquid and fine pulp is strained into the catching bowl and only the skins, seeds, and garlic pieces are left in the chinois.

Cook Mussels:  Heat a large cooking pot (such as a pot for boiling pasta) over medium high heat.  Once warm, add a little olive oil to prevent sticking.  Break chorizo sausages into small bite-sized pieces into the pot.  Saute chorizo for about 1 minute.  Add shallots and continue to saute until shallots become slightly translucent and chorizo is just cooked through, about 2 more minutes.  Add sliced garlic and cleaned mussels.  Saute for 1 minute and then add white wine, roasted tomato broth, and bay leaves to pot. Continue to cook until you can no longer smell alcohol in the steam coming off the pot and all (or most) of the mussels have fully opened (turn up the heat if necessary to achieve a light boil).  Be careful to not over cook the mussels as they become rubbery when over cooked (cooking time should be in the 4 to 5 minute range).  Discard mussels that refuse to open.  Turn off heat and add butter and fresh squeezed lemon juice to the pot.  Mix until incorporated and the butter is melted.  Optionally drizzle some quality extra virgin olive oil.  Serve the mussels rustic style right in the pot they were cooked in!

Crab Cakes

Old Bay Seasoning and of course large pieces of jumbo lump crabmeat are the keys to a great crab cake.  I offer one simple tarter-style sauce in the recipe below, but you can easily experiment with different sauces (e.g., spicy, tropical).

Crab Cakes
Ingredients

• 1 can of jumbo lump crabmeat (rinse under cold water and drain; picking out and discarding any shell fragments)
• 1/2 red bell pepper (wash pepper under cold water, cut in half removing stem, seeds, and any seed connective tissue or white ribs. Cut half of the bell pepper into a small dice; the other half can be saved for another use)
• 1 stalk of celery (wash under cold water, trim top and cut off large white bottom area. cut length wise into 3 to 4 strips, and then cut strips across width to produce a small dice cut of the celery)
• 1 shallot (peeled and minced into small dice)
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup of light mayonnaise
• 1 egg (cracked into small bowl to prevent shell fragments and beaten)
• 4 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning (adjust amount to taste)
• 1/2 fresh lemon (for the fresh squeezed juice)
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (use fresh parsley and not curly parsley)
• 1 - 2 cups of plain bread crumbs (amount will vary)
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

Method

Make Crab Cake Mixture: In a large bowl, add red bell pepper, celery, shallot, mustard, mayonnaise, egg, Old Bay Seasoning, lemon juice, and parsley. Mix ingredients together well.  Everything is mixed well before adding the crabmeat so it can be folded in more gently to prevent from breaking the jumbo pieces too much. Gently fold crabmeat into mix. Start with about 1/4 cup of bread crumbs gently folded into the crab cake mixture.  Using clean hands, pick up about 3/4 a cup of crab cake mixture and gently squeeze and form into a small baseball size ball.  If the mixture will not stick together and seems too wet, add some more bread crumbs to the mixture and reattempt.  Continue to add small amounts of additional bread crumbs until the formed ball just holds together. (Note: no salt is added separately to the crab cake mixture as the Old Bay Seasoning brings sufficient salt)

Form Crab Cakes: Cover the bottom of a separate shallow bowl with bread crumbs (for coating the outside of the crab cakes).  Line a baking sheet pan or other flat surface with wax paper (for a staging area for the crab cakes before cooking).  Form a small ball (about 3/4 cup) of crabmeat between your hands, roll the ball in the bowl with bread crumbs to lightly coat the outside.  Place the coated crab cake ball on the wax paper and press down the top with the flat of your hand while pressing in the expanding edges with your other hand to form a thick patty shape (the crab cake shape).  Repeat until all of the crab cake mixture is used.

Cook the Crab Cakes: Place a large, preferably non-stick skillet on medium heat. Once the skillet is warm, add 1/4 cup of vegetable or canola oil.  Place three crab cakes (or however many will comfortably fit in a single layer with room between to easily flip the cakes) in the skillet.  Cook for about 2 minutes before carefully flipping the crab cakes over (the cooked side should be a golden brown).  Cook for another 2 minutes before carefully removing the crab cakes and placing them on paper towels to drain any excess oil. Repeat in batches until all of the crab cakes are cooked.

Simple Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons capers (rinsed and roughly chopped)
• 1/3 cup worth of small diced pickle (avoid bread and butter or other overly sweet pickles, but you can choose between dill, garlic, kosher, or gherkin pickles)
• 1/2 fresh lemon (for the fresh squeezed juice)
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (use fresh parsley and not curly parsley)

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Add a small pinch of gray sea salt (not too much as the capers are often salty) and some fresh cracked pepper.  Stir well to incorporate.