Tuesday, February 28, 2006

I can't resist a bargain.....




Just call me sucker!! I spotted some caramel flavored cream cheese on clearance for 99 cents. Now, that would probably be a good deal considering a bar of cream cheese is about 3 bucks( ridiculous) here in Ontario. I had a couple coupons for 75 cents off so I picked up 2 caramel cream cheeses for 25 cents each. The grocery store had a little pamphlet next to the cream cheese with different recipes. Robin loves cheesecake so I decided to make the skor bar cheesecake. I had no skor bars, but I did have some toffee bits and chocolate chunks so along with 2 eggs and the 2 bars of cream cheese we have a toffee cheesecake. At the last minute I decided to swirl in some cajeta( goat's milk dulce de leche). I made an oreo cookie crust. Because this was only 2 bars, the cheese cake was pretty flat. I took a bite and I wasnt impressed. I dont really care for cheesecake so maybe thats why. Robin said it was passable, but she's had a lot better cheesecakes from me.

So, I guess the bargain wasnt such a bargain after all.

Stir-fried noodles with shrimp, chili's and lime



I love Thai style stir-fries and when I saw the trio of noodles recipes in the latest issue of fine cooking I knew I'd have to make them. A few days ago, I made the first recipe that involved tofu, but I only had vermicelli noodles and it turned into a big gloppy mess. So, I firmly recommend using the pad thai noodles.

The noodles are resting on top of some steamed broccoli that I had languishing in the veggie drawer.

So basically, you just soak some dried rice noodles in hot water for about 30 min. Then you mix up a sauce that consists of fish sauce( which smells like ass btw), soy sauce, sugar( I used splenda), chili-garlic sauce and hoisin sauce. You stir fry 1 clove of garlic, add some shrimp, then the sauce, then the noodles and lastly some bean sprouts. This yummy goodness gets topped with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

The $5.88 pork roast





We were supposed to have friends over for dinner last night, but it didnt happen because Robin woke up feeling kinda crummy. I was going to freeze this pork roast, but I said " what the hey" and made it anyway. I've had much leaner pork roasts( it was slighly fatty), but the flavor was still good. I threw some rosemary and garlic on it, along with salt and pepper and inserted my portable thermometer. If you dont have one of those, I highly reccomend it. Mine has a Pork setting and it will beep when it comes to optimum temperature. I removed it at 150 though and tented it with foil. I poured some fig/balsamic sauce over the top and made a pan sauce with the juices, and some grainy mustard.

I also made a cauliflower gratin( recipe from epicurious.com). This was a basic bechamel sauce with some cheddar cheese. I used 2 percent milk instead of the whole milk that the recipe called for. I also left out the horseradish. The topping was crushed saltines, but next time I'd use a whole wheat cracker or some panko.

The friends were supposed to bring dessert so I didnt bake anything( hard for me to do, but I restrained myself).

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Weekend dog blogging.........


Harley

Oliver

Welcome to weekend dog blogging, hosted by sweetnicks.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You...

Thank you for all the comments about my new layout. It wasnt me though, I owe a big thank you to Danielle who fixed 2girls up for me. I am really clueless when it comes to HTML and Danielle is the bomb!!

Anyway, no cooking today. I'm cooked out. Yesterday I made the aforementioned chicken dish, brown rice, lasagna, fennel orange and parsely salad, tuna salad, 2 kinds of chicken salad, macaroni salad, a chocolate cake, and egg salad. I also cut up all the buns for the catering job I have today. Robin is really glad this mass cooking is over because she's been doing 2hrs worth of dishes for 3 days.

So I'll leave you with some pictures from our trip to Ann Arbor. I'd heard about Jefferson Market from someone over at Egullet. Jefferson Market is this funky little neighborhood market that has a few tables and serves lunch's and dinners. Danielle met Robin and I for dinner and we were both very dissapointed. I was really expecting good things. Danielle had a roasted veggie salad and some tomato soup. She said it tasted like a can of tomatoes. I had the stuffed pork chop( really small center cut chop) and Robin had a manicotti that had a lentil and goat cheese filling. Robin and I did halfsies so that's what you see on the plate.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Spiced chicken thighs in Tomato broth w/ olives and chickepeas



First I have to say that I cooked 6 items yesterday. I love to cook but wow, that was a little too much. I was exhausted. Today is a new day and there is no rest for the weary because I have way more to cook today. The kicker is that we have to leave at 2pm for London because I have a dr appt. I'm getting an injection into my wrist joint so I dont know how much cooking I'd get done tonight. Thus, I'm trying to get it all done before we leave. Robin did say she'd help me tonight. She's a gem. She did 2hrs worth of dishes this morning.( thanks honey).

So, on to today's dish. I got this free trial of Cuisine at Home in the mail, I brought it over to client and she picked this. I cheered a bit because I knew I had everything but the thighs and those were on sale this week( 2.29lb). I think client will love this because they like really spicy foods and I tasted it and wow, it was spicy. Its an easy dish to make with very strong flavors.

First, you make a rub with paprika, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne.. You coat the thighs with this and let them sit for 5 min. Then you saute them until brown on both sides. Next you add some chopped onion, fresh ginger, garlic( I had to leave it out, client is allergic), red pepper flakes and cinnamon sticks. That cooks for a a couple minutes, then you deglaze with white wine and tomato paste. Throw in some chopped tomatoes( canned) chicken broth, canned chickpeas, kalamata olives( i used some green too) honey, lemon and bay leaf. Add the thighs and let simmer for 20 min. Finish with chopped fresh parsely. I also added some saffron with the onion mixture. The recipe suggest serving with Pita bread. I made some short grain brown rice( per clients request). I would have prefered serving with cous cous.

Btw, client called me last night and raved about the ribs, beans and coleslaw. YES!!

If you want the exact recipe for this chicken, let me know and I'll email it to you.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Ina Garten's BBQ sauce.......



I know it must seem weird that I'm making BBQ sauce in the middle of winter, but hey, its about 45F outside so bring it on. LOL. Actually, I'm making ribs for my client. We got an amazing deal on ribs right before the superbowl. Robin went to pick them up for me and I didnt realize how many racks there are in 10lbs. We brought a lot to the superbowl party we attended, but our freezer was still full. I suggested ribs to a client and she went for it. I've blogged about them before, in fact I think it was my first ever post but they are so freaking good, I'm going to tell you about them again.

I coat them with a dry rub that includes paprika( both smoked and regular), cumin, ancho chili pepper, brown sugar, salt, pepper and garlic. The clients didnt get garlic because she's allergic. The ribs marinate with the rub for at least 24hrs. Then I scrape the rub off and bake at 250 for 3-4hrs. Then, I throw them on the grill for about 5min per side and baste with bbq sauce.

Since I'm off of HFCS( high fructose corn syrup), and client is allergic to garlic, I made my own. I saw Ina make this yesterday on Foodtv and it looked really good. The recipe makes a ton of sauce but it will keep for a long time in the fridge. That's a good thing because I plan on grilling a lot this summer.

In addition to the ribs and sauce I also made coleslaw( blogged about before), macaroni salad and baked beans. The beans are so good, they'll get their own post.

Ina Garten’s Barbecue Sauce

From The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Makes 1 ½ quarts

1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)
1 T. minced garlic (3 cloves)
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup tomato paste (10 ounces)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Dijon mustard
½ cup soy sauce
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
½ T. crushed red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan on low heat, sauté the onions and garlic with the vegetable oil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 30 minutes. Use immediately or store in the fridge.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Chicken Picatta......



I'm always trying to think up new and interesting ways to use chicken breasts because I can't stand dark meat chicken. Well, this wasnt that new or interesting, but it was good and really easy. I cut 2 boneless skinless breasts in half cross-wise and pounded them out. I dredged in flour, then sauteed in some evoo. When those were browned on each side, I removed them from the pan. I then added 1 clove of minced garlic and deglazed with some white wine( maybe 1/2 cup). I added the juice of half a lemon and some fresh cracked pepper and some kosher salt. I placed the chicken back in and let this cook for about 7 more minutes. I then realized I forgot to add the butter so I threw in 2tbls. I couldnt find the capers( Robin doesnt like them anyway) so I left those out. I chopped up some flat leaf parsely and threw that in too. These were really good. I made a quick smashed potato for me and I made some oven roasted for Robin. We also had a really big salad with it.

I have so much cooking to do over the next few days. Wednesday is ribs and coleslaw and beans for 1 client. Thursday is a lasagna and a spiced morrocan chicken dish. I also have to make macaroni salad, tuna salad, egg salad and chicken salad for a lunch job I have on Friday, then I have to work at the pub on Friday night. Oh and tomorrow I have a pumpkin roulade for another client. When it rains it pours.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Another try at Calzone........






Chelsea was with us this weekened so I thought I'd give some calzones another shot. I made them a couple months ago using Foodman's recipe from Egullet. I remembered reading an article in Cook's Illustrated about calzones and I thought I'd give their recipe a try. We also picked up some chicken garlic sausage and fresh mozzarella at Trader Joe's in Ann Arbor. THESE ROCKED!! Danielle, you must try them. The dough came together really fast in the KA and was ready in 1 hr. I deviated from the recipe slightly by using some fresh spinach in the filling. CI is very fiddly with all their steps, but I think that's why they tasted so good. Chelsea and I made some really good marinara this morning using a can of san marzano tomatoes. I love San Marzano's. I wish I had cases growing in my backyard because I love them that much. I picked up this large can at Whole Food's for 2.69. We sauteed a chopped onion, 3 cloves of crushed garlic in some evoo. We added some oregano and then the tomatoes. We also threw in a rind of reggiano for added flavor, then we let it simmer for about an hour. I used my new to me( picked up at the salvation army for 3.29) braun immersion blender and gave it a whirl. We let it simmer for a few more hours and I took a nap. Chelsea was very good about stiring the sauce every 15 minutes. LOL. The sauce rocked, and so did the calzones. I just can't recommend this recipe enough. Make it, you wont be sorry.

To make this recipe, you will need a standing mixer or food processor, parchment paper, and a pizza stone. The stone must heat for an additional 30 minutes once the oven has come up to temperature; if your oven heats slowly, begin heating it about an hour into the dough’s first rise. Leftover calzones must be refrigerated; to reheat, heat the oven with the pizza stone just as you did when making the recipe, then set the calzones on the hot pizza stone for about 10 minutes. A simple tomato sauce is a nice accompaniment to the calzones.

Makes six 9 by 4-Inch Calzones
Dough

4 cups bread flour (22 ounces) plus additional for dusting work surface
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 envelope)
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups water plus 1 tablespoon (12 1/2 ounces), 105 degrees

Filling

3 medium cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
15 ounces whole-milk ricotta (1 container)
8 ounces shredded fresh mozzarella (2 cups)
1 1/2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 3/4 cup)
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil for brushing shaped calzones
kosher salt for sprinkling



Bread Italian Vegetarian
See Illustrations Below: Making Calzones

1. FOR THE DOUGH (see below for food processor method): In bowl of standing mixer, whisk flour, yeast, and salt to combine. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer; with mixer running at medium-low speed, add olive oil, then gradually add water; continue to mix until mixture comes together and smooth, elastic dough forms, about 10 minutes. Lightly spray large bowl with nonstick cooking spray; form dough into ball, transfer it to bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and let rise in warm spot until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

2. FOR THE FILLING: While dough rises, stir together garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes in 8-inch skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant and sizzling and mixture registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool until warm, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

3. In medium bowl, stir together cheeses, egg yolk, oregano, salt, black pepper, and cooled -garlic-pepper oil until combined; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

4. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, set pizza stone on oven rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray parchment lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Turn risen dough out onto unfloured work surface. Divide dough in half, then cut each half into thirds. Gently reshape each piece of dough into ball. Transfer to baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let dough rest at least 15 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

5. Cut eight 9-inch squares of parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping other pieces covered, follow illustration 1 to roll dough into 9-inch round. Set round onto parchment square and cover with another parchment square; roll out another dough ball, set dough round on top of first, and cover with parchment square. Repeat to form stack of 3 rounds, covering top round with parchment square. Form second stack of 3 with remaining dough balls and parchment squares.

6. Remove top parchment square from first stack of dough rounds and place rounds with parchment beneath on work surface; if dough rounds have shrunk, gently and evenly roll out again to 9-inch rounds. Following illustrations 2 through 6, form calzones. With pastry brush, brush tops and sides of calzones with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt. Trim excess parchment paper; slide calzones on parchment onto pizza peel or rimless baking sheet, then slide calzones with parchment onto hot pizza stone, evenly spacing them apart. Bake until golden brown, about 11 minutes; use pizza peel or rimless baking sheet to remove calzones with parchment to wire rack. Remove parchment, cool 5 minutes, and serve. While first batch bakes, form second batch and bake after removing first batch.

FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD: Made in an 11-cup cup food processor, the dough bakes up with slightly less chew than we like.

Alternative Step 1: Pulse flour, yeast, and salt to combine, about five 1-second pulses. While pulsing, add olive oil through feed tube, then gradually add water; continue pulsing until dough forms ball, then process until smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and knead by hand a few turns to form smooth, round ball. Transfer dough to oiled bowl and proceed from step 2.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Upside down butterscotch apple sour cream cake



So I keep trying with the fruit desserts. I'm totally chocolated out( is that possible) from Valentines Day so a fruit dessert was in order. I sent Robin up to the grocery store this morning( we're in the middle of a blizzard and I didnt want to step outside) for some apples. Our big grocery store will reduce lots of produce on a daily basis so I told her to look on the reduced rack for some apples. She picked up a pack of some kind of apple( they werent marked, I think they might have been gala) for 99 cents.

I found this recipe in the latest issue of Bon Appetite. It called for butterscotch chips, which I thought I had, but I didnt. No matter, I used a few tbls of cajeta( a goat's milk dulce de leche) instead and it turned out find. The topping is made in an oven proof skillet, then the cake batter is spread on top, then the entire thing is chucked in the oven for 30 min. Chelsea is here for the weekened and she loved it. Robin even said it was really good too.

No Pics from dinner. I used my waring pro deep fryer and fried up some chicken wings. Meijer had a buy one get one free bag so we got those. 9lbs for 9 dollars. Since the fryer was in use, I soaked some sweet onions in buttermilk for a few hours, then tossed them in a mixture of seasoned flour and cornmeal. Chelsea and Robin ate the wings and rings because I can't stand wings. I ate some leftovers that I had frozen( from vday). As good as that deep fryer is, the house since smells like fried food.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Jewish dinner......



We went to Ann Arbor for a couple days. I had my hair done, we met friends for lunch and dinner, shopped and shopped and shopped. We arrived home around 4pm and I promptly took a nap, I was exhausted. When I woke up, I was in no mood to cook. I told Robin she was on her own( you wouldn't believe what she came up with for her dinner) and I made some noodles and cottage cheese. How can I describe this to you? Most people( read: None ashkenazi jews) find this dish very unappetizing. My ex couldnt stand it, and Robin doesnt like it either. To me, this is the ultimate jewish comfort food. Danielle( a NY Jew like myself) brought me some amazing Sterling Brand cottage cheese from Toledo.

So basically, you boil some egg noodles( I used NO Yolks),I rinse my noodles because I like them kinda cool. Add some cottage cheese, and plenty of fresh cracker pepper and some salt. I usually add a tbls of sour cream, but this cottage cheese was so creamy, I didnt need to add any.

I hope Danielle enjoys the truffles we brought her.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Happy Valentines Day....

The day started with a hearty brunch after working up an appetite at the gym. I made some whole wheat blackberry pancakes and crisp bacon. Yummy, this is 50% lower salt bacon and its really good.


I decided to make us dinner at home tonight because tomorrow morning we're off to Ann Arbor for a couple of days. We're going to meet up with my friend Danielle for dinner on Thursday night. I'm excited because we're going to try a place we've both wanted to try for awhile now.

So, back to dinner tonight. When I lived in So Cal, my dad and I used to eat at Ocean Ave Seafood in Santa Monica. I would often order the stuffed prawns and they are one of my favorite dishes to this day. I had a 1lb can of pasturized crab left from my last trip to Trader Joe's so I thought Id make stuffed shrimp. No dice because there are NO jumbo shrimp to be found anywhere round these parts. No matter, I just topped the crabmeat stuffing with some medium shrimp and broiled the entire lot. Robin's friend gave us some wild rice from Northern Ontario and I made a pilaf with porcini mushrooms and brown basmati. Dried cranberries and toasted almonds rounded it out.



Dessert was Ina Garten's Coconut cupcakes. I halved the recipe and still came out with 13 cupcakes. I expected more from these. They were very dense and I guess I prefer a lighter cake and more coconut flavor. I love coconut cake and I had high hopes for these.



and now for the piece de resistance, my Vday present. Robin bought me this fabulous set of antique yellowware bowls. They are so nice and probably over 50yrs old. I'm scared to use them, I dont want to break one. I'm an awesome cook, but I'm very clumsy in the kitchen.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Weekday lunch for friends.....








Robin took this week off from work so we were able to invite some friends over for a weekday lunch. Our friends Nat and Chance just had a baby girl in December and we've tried to get together with them a few times and it just never happened.

I decided to make Nicoise salad and goat cheese crostini with basil. I served some leftover Texas sheet cake( left from a dinner party we attended on Saturday night) and the chocolate truffles. The salad comes from Martha Stewart Living. Last weekend when we were snowed in, I spotted the magazine at my MIL's house and as soon as I saw the salad I knew it would be perfect. Robin wasnt sure they would eat it because it's somewhat different for folks around these parts. They loved it though and I was really glad. I only wish I had a bigger platter because it was all bunched up. I made a garlic vinagerette for the dressing. My client gave me some wonderful fingerling potatoes that I used. The potatoes are tossed with the dressing and then drizzled over the other ingredients. I used red leaf, green beans, roasted asparagus, chopped red pepper and cucumber( I had these leftover from the weekend's cooking for a client) nicoise olives, and of course tuna and hard cooked eggs. The crostini were simple, slice a baquette, spread with goat cheese, broil and top with basil.

Our friends( lesbian couple) have been trying for years to get pregnant and finally with the help of IVF, they were able too. Amazingly the baby looks like Chance but she isnt the birth mother.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Weekend dog blogging.....




Here are my boys, cuddling with mama. Weekend dog blogging is hosted by sweetnicks.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Chocolate Chili Truffles SHF #16



Happy early Valentines day to all my fellow foodbloggers. How would you like a rich chocolate chili truffle? I was excited to enter these in this installment of SHF first conceived by Canada's own DomesticGoddess and hosted this month by TasteeverythingOnce. I knew immediatly what I would enter because it was the first recipe that caught my eye when I opened my new Food and Drink magazine put out by the LCBO, Canada's liquor licensing board. Of course, the nice folks at LCBO suggest consuming these truffles with some framboise but I'll just be throwing them into the freezer and enjoying one when the cravings hit.

These were dead simple to make. Melt 10 oz of bittersweet chocolate( I used trader joe's pound plus), add half a cup of boiled heavy cream, a tbls of honey( I added another tbls because I thought it was still too bitter) and 1/4 tsp of ancho chili powder. Refridgerate this until firm and then scoop out with a mini scoop and roll in shaved chocolate. I used some leftover ( from last vday) colored sugars and sprinkles.

Enjoy!!

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Everything is better with butter......



Forgive me for my lack of posts. We had an interesting weekend to say the least. We left our house on Saturday for my MIL's house and we spent the night there on Saturday. My MIL took us out to dinner because we got there too late for me to cook. On Sunday, Robin and I left for another town about 13 miles away. Our friends were having a superbowl party. The party was fun, we stayed until 11pm. We got in our cars and barely went 5 miles before we had to turn around, the weather was just horrible. The roads were sheets of ice and snow squalls were coming at us from all directions. We went back to friends and she put us up for the night. We got up the next morning to go home and to our dismay, the roads back to our house were all closed. We waited around till noon and it didnt look good for us getting home so we braved the roads and went back to MIL's house. I felt very anxious and when I'm anxious I want to cook. However, my MIL is not a foodie. She doesnt enjoy cooking and after watching her grandaughter this weekend I dont think she was in the mood to do dishes. I said " I think I'm going to make some chocolate chip cookies". I opened the fridge to check the butter situation and I found just enough. 1 cup. I said " MIL, I'm going to use this butter" MIL said " why cant you use shortening, it works just the same". I said " No, No, it doesnt taste good, butter provides flavor and mouthfeel". MIL" mouthfeel? Shortening is the same. Me" no thanks, I'll use the butter.

I called my neice upstairs and we set about making toll house cookies, although they really werent toll house because they dont sell nestle semi sweet chips here. In Canada the chips by nestle are called chip-its. Maybe they are the same, I dont know. I actually like some store brand chips that are premium and called PC decadent chips. The cookies came out really good. As you can see, we made some ice cream sandwiches for dessert. MIL love them.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Minestrone ............




This minestrone is chock full of veggies and beans. I used some fresh veggies and some frozen and this was really fresh and delicious. I sautee'd carrots, celery and onion in some evoo. I added 2 cans of beans( romano and a mixed bean medley), a big can of organic chopped tomatoes, water, herbs and some small pasta. I let this simmer for about an hour and thats it. Very easy peasy. Oh, I also threw in a big rind of parmesean reggiano( thats what you see floating on top).

This is a perfect blend of Antioxidant rich foods. This weeks edition is being hosted by Stephanie.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Mile High Biscuits( Cook's Illustrated)




This is my go to bisquit recipe. It's a little bit fiddly in technique, as are most CI recipes, but they are just so light and fluffy. The original recipe calls for all purpose flour, but I pull out half a cup and sub out some whole wheat flour. This provides an added nuttiness. The recipe is *supposed* to make 12 biscuits, as you can see, I made mine a bit bigger.

I had a catering job this morning and I made a big platter of sub sandwiches and a veggie tray. I also did a black magic cake. We're heading out to my MIL's town tonight( if we make it thru the snow storm) and tomorrow we have a superbowl party to attend.

I'm bringing the camera to take pictures of all the food.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Orange flavored apple crisp.......



Another fruit dessert for Robin to try : ). I'm quite famous for my crisps. Crisps were my most requested dessert when I was personal cheffing in college. I never follow a recipe which for the most part is never a problem. I use the same ingredients every time for the topping. Almonds, oatmeal, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract, brown sugar and butter. For today's crisp, I chopped up some granny smith apples, threw in some sugar, orange scented craisins,and orange peel. We ate this with some low-carb vanilla ice cream. It was light and delicious.

Pecan crusted tilapia (CL)......




I feel like I havent cooked a real meal in awhile( using lots of pre-packaged sauces, etc) so after the gym this morning I ran into the grocery store. Tilapia was on sale for 4.99lb( its normally about 8.99-12.99lb, ridiculous) I refuse to pay full price for Tilapia because basically, its a very bland, boring fish. I went to my trusty cookinglight online and typed in Tilapia. I chose the pecan crusted tilapia because I had everything for it. Its pretty simple. Flour the tilapia lightly, dip in buttermilk and roll in a combination of ground pecans and breadcrumbs( I used panko). I didnt really do any measurments so I'm sure I used more pecans than the recipe called for. I made some whole wheat cous cous, roasted asparagus and my own version of cream corn for sides. The corn was amazing. Huron county is the corn capital of Southwestern Ontario, we grow lots of corn here and last year was a good year. I blanched and froze it back in August. I defrosted it, threw it in a pan with some fresh thyme and a bit of half and half. I let the half and half reduce and sprinkled with some salt and pepper. Robin loved the dinner and so did I.

Next post dessert.

Btw, I have a code for Cooking Light.com. I bought the 2006( really all the recipes from 2005) cookbook and it came with a code to use the website. Let me know if you want it.