tilapia and mushrooms

tonights we started with a red lentil curry soup. For our entrée we had Cumin Tilapia with mushrooms. After our salad, our dessert was fruit with cheese. Here is the recipe for the Tilapia.

6-8 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt & pepper

1 tilapia fillet, thawed and dried off
1 tsp cumin
salt & pepper
small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
wedge of lemon to garnish

In a large frying pan, melt the butter into the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Toss in the mushrooms, seasoning them with salt and pepper, and fry until golden brown.
Set the mushrooms aside, keeping them warm until you’re ready to plate the dish.
Coat both sides of the tilapia with the cumin, salt and pepper.
Cook the tilapia in the frying pan over medium heat (about 3 minutes a side).

To serve, pile up the mushrooms, put the fish on top and garnish with the parsley and lemon slice.

Cornish Game Hen

Tonights dinner started with prosciutto and cantaloupe. Then I made a succulent Cornish game hen with a herbes de provence butter. I made slots in the skin of the hen and stuffed it with the butter. I also stuffed it with rosemary and garlic. I roasted it for 45 mins. I also steamed an artichoke and sautéed some asparagus. Here are the recipes. 






    Ingredients 

• 3 tablespoons of herbes de provence
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 4 poussins (young chickens; about 1 pound each) or 4 small Cornish hens (about 1 1/4 pounds each)

Directions

Preheat oven to 475° F.

Discard gizzards from birds and trim necks flush with bodies if necessary. Rinse birds inside and out and pat dry. Starting at neck end of each bird, slide fingers between meat and skin to loosen skin (be careful not to tear skin). Cut butter into sixteen 1/4-inch-thick slices and gently push 4 slices under skin of each bird, putting 1 slice over each breast half and thigh. Tie legs of each bird together with kitchen string and secure wings to sides with wooden picks or bamboo skewers.

Arrange birds in a flameproof roasting pan large enough to hold them without crowding. Gently rub birds with lemon halves, squeezing juice over them, and season with salt and pepper. Roast birds in middle of oven 30 minutes (for poussins) to 45 minutes (for Cornish hens), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (be careful not to touch bone) registers 170° F.

Transfer birds to a platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Add Sauternes to roasting pan and deglaze over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits. Transfer jus to a small saucepan. Skim fat from jus and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup.

Garnish birds with herbs.

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe melon
• 4 slices Prosciutto-style ham (such as Parma ham, Jambon de Bayonne or Jambon de Paris), sliced very thinly (you should practically be able to read through it)

Directions

1. Halve and seed the melon. Slice into grins, and peel. If you like, remove the fat from the ham, which looks better than if you don't. Arrange the melon slices on a plate, drape the ruffled ham slices over, and serve.

disaster dinner and a quick recovery

Tonight was nearly a disaster! I planned on making stuffed mushrooms and mussels steamed in white wine. Well, only about half of that worked out. The portobello mushrooms broken in half as I was trying to trim them inside, so in about 3 seconds I had to come up with something else. So I quickly start sautéing my shallots and grounding some beef and boiling some pasta. As this was happening, Jared was cleaning the mussels and I noticed they were all open and he was cleaning them with warm water. My first thought is "well F! now we can't eat them, they are all dead!!!" After panicking about the mushrooms and now the mussels, I let my pasta cook too long and now I have overly cooked shells on my hand. I quickly drain them and realize that the mussels we got were already cook. wah wah waaaah. Good thing I already prepped my steam pan for them. I quickly threw them in and let them steam. I rinse my pasta (GF pasta tastes better to me if it is rinsed of) throw it back in the pan, put in some tomato sauce add the mushroom, ground beef, and let that cook for a while. I realize I have no other vegetable accept for the mushrooms. Good thing I have a little spinach left and a jar of artichoke. Now the next horrible part. Jared hates wine. He hates all alcohol and these mussels are soaked in it!! He is going to hate the mussels I am going to love them. He will love the pasta, I will hate it. These are my thoughts. I am so upset I drink some wine before dinner, which I never do. Tell me not to fret all you want. Screwing up dinner is just something I hate to do. It is third favorite meal of the day and I want to enjoy, damn it. I want it to be fragrant and beautiful. That is my goal. That is my goal for myself. I want it perfect. Well, all ends well. Jared loved the mussels! He even drank the sauce out of the shells :) The pasta was not bad. I found it a bit bland, but it was not terrible. It was not my best meal, but it was my best recovery. I give myself credit for coming up with an alternative meal in about 2 nanoseconds. Go me. Here is the recipe for the mussels

Ingredients

• 2 pounds mussels
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon butter
• A handful chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Pick over the mussels, discarding any that are open. Scrub the remaining mussels, removing any beards. Put the wine, bay leaf, shallots, garlic, and pepper in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Add the mussels, cover, and steam until they open, 5 minutes.
2. Move the mussels to a large serving dish with a slotted spoon, discarding any that have not opened. Whisk the butter into the cooking liquid, along with the parsley, and pour over the mussels.

Soufflé night

Tonight I made my first soufflé. I have actually never eaten any sort of soufflé in my life, so I did not know what to expect. I knew it was supposed to be puffy and slightly over the top, but as far as taste and the science of the soufflé, I had no clue. There is the recipe for the soufflé I made tonight. It was so great.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1 bay leaf
• half of a small onion, peeled
• pinch of paprika
• Parmesan, grated, for dusting the dish
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs, separated + 1 egg white
• 3 ounces cheese, grated or mashed
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs
• 1 pinch Salt and pepper
• branch of rosemary, cut in three

Directions

1. Put the milk with the bay leaf, onion, and pinch of paprika in a saucepan and bring just to the boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside to infuse 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Butter 8 1/2-cup/125 ml ramekins or 1 4-cup/1 litre soufflé dish, and dust with the grated Parmesan.
2. In a clean saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook one minute. Gradually whisk over the milk, and cook, stirring, until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat in the yolks. Stir through the cheese and herbs. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Beat the whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. Stir a spoonful into the yolk mixture, then pour the yolk mixture onto the remaining whites and gently fold together. Pour into the soufflé dish and bake until risen and set, but still slightly creamy in the centre, about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the soufflé dishes. Serve immediately before it slumps.

Baked Provençal Tomatoes

• 4 medium tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs (heaping)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (heaping)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Olive oil, for drizzling

1. Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Cut the tomatoes in half at the waist. Lay them cut-side up in a baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, and garlic in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the tops of the tomatoes. Drizzle over a little olive oil. Bake until hot and slumping, about 20 minutes