Pecan-Crusted Tilapia

There's a stall at my local famers market that sells the most amazing toasted pecans I've ever eaten in my life. I don't know how they do it, but they taste like happiness and I just can't get enough.

I recently tried pistachio-crusted halibut in a restaurant, and I really enjoyed the crunchiness of the nuts paired with the tender fish. Soon after, while savouring my daily snack of pecans from Heaven, I wondered how they would work in a similar recipe. Ooh, an experiment of the delicious kind!

I coated fresh tilapia fillets by submerging them in an egg wash, then a seasoned flour mixture, and once again in the egg; then, I pressed them into the toasted pecans that I crushed by putting them in a plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin (fun!) After a short fry in vegetable oil, the fish was ready for Jeff and me to enjoy.

The pecan-crusted tilapia couldn't have turned out any better. Both crispy and flavourful, it was a nice change from the usual bread crumbs (don't worry, panko, I still adore you! I just need a little variety!) This is a very special way to eat fish at home, and it's easy to do. I would eat it with guests at a dinner party, I would eat it by myself in my pyjamas; I would eat on a boat, I would eat it with a goat; I would eat it in the rain, I would eat it in a ditch somewhere (is that how it goes?)

As a little aside, fish needs a potato. I tossed some blue potato chunks with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly cracked pepper, and roasted them with the rest of the fresh rosemary that I had kicking around from last week's lasagna, removing the stalks before serving. Rosemary and potatoes is a combination that I just love!

I don't know what else to say but to try this recipe as soon as possible. I'm sure any type of fish or nut would work, but trust me that tilapia and pecans are a great match. I love discovering new favourites. Here's to successful culinary experiments! 

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia : The Recipe

Ingredients

1 large egg

All-purpose flour

Kosher salt

Fresh cracked pepper

Smoked paprika

1/2 lb toasted pecans

2 fresh tilapia fillets

vegetable oil for frying

kosher salt

Directions

Place pecans in a sealed plastic bag, and crush with a rolling pin or a heavy mug.

Beat egg with a little bit of water and place in a shallow dish. Cover a shallow dish with all-purpose flour, mix with kosher salt, pepper, and paprika. Spread crushed pecans in a third shallow dish. Pour 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet, heat to medium heat.

Pat tilapia fillets with paper towel to remove moisture. Coat both sides of fillet in egg wash, then flour, then egg wash again. Press both sides into crushed pecans, shake fillet gently to remove excess.

Fry fillets in oil, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle immediately with kosher salt.

Enjoy!

Potatoes au Gratin with Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon

After spending a couple of weeks without cooking anything more substantial than finger foods, I was looking forward to this weekend so that I could try something a little more labour intensive. Since I wanted something really comforting (which, for me, usually translates into a liberal use of dairy products), and as I'm always on a mission to jazz up potatoes, my choice was to try potatoes au gratin. Jeff bought me some Russet potatoes from the farmer's market, and I started to hatch my plan.

While researching recipes, I couldn't believe the variation. Some people parboil their sliced potatoes before baking them, and some use them raw; some people put cheese between each layer of potatoes, some only put it on top, some make a cheese sauce, and some don't use cheese at all (I don't quite understand that last one). Cheddar or gruyere? Heavy cream or whole milk? Would you like to add onions, turnips, or go pure potato? Choices, choices!

Since it was obvious that there was no set formula to follow, I figured that I couldn't possibly mess up that much; so, I decided to wing it. I sauteed sliced onions and cremini mushrooms with some chopped garlic in olive oil, and fried and crumbled a few slices of bacon. Then, I layered this mixture with the potato slices in a buttered baking dish.

To some heavy cream, I added kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper, and, since I love what it does to alfedo sauce, a little bit of ground nutmeg. I heated it to a simmer in a sauce pan to thicken it a bit, and poured it gently over the potatoes, until they were just covered.

I covered the dish with foil and baked it until the potatoes were cooked through; then, I added plenty of aged cheddar cheese and dried thyme on top before baking it uncovered.

Once it was beautifully browned, it was time for the hardest part: letting the dish rest before digging in.

As usual with labours of foodie love, it was worth the wait. Decadently creamy and full of flavour, the potatoes au gratin were just what I wanted on a cozy Sunday evening. They would make a great side dish to just about anything, but since we were eating them as a main dish, I served them with a simple salad. I'm so glad I made much more than I needed (I can't wait to eat them with tomorrow night's salmon!)

I think this dish is elegant enough to serve at a nice dinner party. A convenient bonus is that you could assemble the entire thing the day before, and just throw it in the oven while you get everything else ready. I know I'll be serving it with pride very soon!

Potatoes au Gratin with Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon: The Recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly

1 lb sliced cremini mushrooms

1 large onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

3-4 cups heavy cream

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

pinch nutmeg

2 cups shredded aged cheddar

dried thyme

Directions

Preheat oven to 375C. Saute onions, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil with kosher salt and fresh pepper, until softened. Place a layer of potato slices in the bottom of a buttered 9x13 in baking dish, overlapping slightly. Spread half of onion and mushroom mixture and half of bacon over the potatoes, top with another layer of potatoes; repeat.

Add kosher salt, fresh pepper, and nutmeg to the heavy cream; bring to a simmer. Pour over potatoes until just covered. Cover baking dish with foil, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender (pierce with a fork.) Remove foil and top with cheese, and sprinkle with thyme. Bake for another 30-35 minutes to brown. Broil for a few minutes, if desired. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Snippets of Thanksgiving Dinner

Jeff and I had the pleasure of hosting his family for Thanksgiving this weekend. It was our first time cooking a turkey dinner for guests, and I was equal parts nervous and excited. Since it was such a busy day, I didn't get around to documenting things as well as I would have liked, but I do have a few dishes to share.

While Jeff took care of the fresh turkey from Stephen Taylor's farm (stuffed with onions, apples, carrots, and lemons, and rubbed with a lemon and herb butter,) gravy from scratch, and the potatoes (mashed with my roasted-garlic butter, and cream cheese) I tackled the rest of the dinner. First up is homemade cranberry sauce:

I followed a Martha Stewart recipe, but made it my own with a few generous shakes of cinnamon. Mmmm, it was spicy and tasted like autumn. I hated cranberry sauce until I started making it myself; there's really no comparison, and it's only slightly harder than locating the can opener.

Inspired by this month's recipe for Whole Wheat Stuffing with Pancetta, Chestnuts, and Parmesan in Bon Appétit, I tried something different for my dressing. I think chestnuts are more of an American holiday tradition; anyway, I'm not at all familiar with them so I substituted with walnuts. Also, because I have a hard time reading recipes very attentively, I didn't realize until later that this one called for cubed pancetta, and instead asked the kid at the deli counter to slice mine like bacon. While I can see why cubes of pancetta would work very well, texture-wise, with the cubes of bread in this dish, the sliced pancetta was perfectly tasty and added a lot of flavour. I also loved the complimentary, yet subtle, addition of Parmesan in this dressing.

I decided to use dried herbs in this dish instead of fresh, because I was afraid that fresh ones would wilt and lose their oils and flavour during the long baking time. In addition to the thyme and rosemary listed in the recipe, I added some ground savoury, inspired by a friend who raves about her mother's stuffing and credits this herb as a major player. I was very pleased with this dish, as it had great texture (toasting the bread cubes beforehand keeps the dressing from getting soggy) and amazing flavour. I smell a tradition!

For a vegetable side dish, I cut butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots into equally sized pieces, tossed them with olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked pepper, and roasted them at 450C for 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through. I then drizzled the vegetables with a bit of maple syrup, tossed them some more, and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes to glaze.

They were delicious. Once roasted and caramelized, it was difficult to tell which vegetable was which, because the dish was a bright and shiny mass of orange. This side dish was full of deep, sweet flavour, and I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Finally, my crowning achievement. I made cheesecake for the first time, a pumpkin one. I followed yet another Martha Stewart recipe, replacing the graham cracker crust with one made from gingersnaps (I used a bit more crumbs than the recipe called for, and omitted sugar.) I also made my own pumpkin pie spice by combining ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

The cheesecake cracked in the oven, which I hear is a common problem. I just brought individual slices cut from the intact portion to the table for our guests, instead of displaying the cake before serving. No one seemed to mind! Made with 4 blocks of cream cheese, this dessert was incredibly rich, and required no sauce or whipped cream for garnish. Pure decadence!

For the first time, I truly appreciate how much work goes into putting on a Thanksgiving dinner. Although exhausting, it was very satisfying to invite people into our home to enjoy a holiday meal. I hope that this year's dinner was only the beginning of new traditions, and look forward to future feasts with loved ones.

The Joy of Leftovers: Sunday Brunch Hash

My sister was up for a visit last week, and I made her a potato salad. I absentmindedly boiled almost double the amount of potatoes that I needed, so I had quite a bit of leftover quartered red potatoes in my fridge.

When Sunday morning came along, I was a bit gloomy because my sister had left; therefore, I decided to cheer myself up by taking those potatoes and making something delicious and comforting: a potato hash.

I chopped up an onion and a green pepper, and sliced some cremini mushrooms. I then sauteed the onion and mushrooms in some butter, until softened. My kitchen smelled wonderful, and already I felt rejuvenated.

In went the potatoes, that I mashed into the pan. Since I like my potatoes with a bit of a crunch to them, I really wanted them to crisp up in the butter and form a crust on the bottom.

Once the potatoes had warmed through, I mixed in the chopped green pepper and some crumbled bacon, along with salt and freshly cracked pepper, and garlic powder.

As if all that wasn't enough in the way of comfort, I decided that my hash would need some cheese; I settled on grating a block of old cheddar, to provide a bit of sharpness.

I sprinkled the cheese all over the hash, and then set my oven-proof skillet under the broiler for a few minutes. When I removed the bubbly hash from the oven, there was a gasp of delight from my audience (Jeff). It was quite a sight!

It was hard to restrain myself from digging in and eating my brunch right off of the stove, but I had even bigger plans in mind; I topped my hash with a fried egg (I was aiming for over-easy, but I got distracted. Does anyone else find that timing breakfast dishes is one of life's biggest challenges?)

This hash was just what I needed to pick me up on a Sunday. The potatoes were so creamy, yet crispy and browned on the bottom. The onion and mushrooms were soft and fragrant, while the green pepper remained crunchy, and, along with the crispy bacon, improved the overall texture of the hash. Finally, the bubbly cheese just knocked this hash out of the park.

Trashy? Maybe. Delicious? Absolutely! Sometimes, that's all that matters.

Canada Day Potato Salad

I find it interesting to hear people talk about potato salad. I almost get the impression that, in order to make potato salad, you must think that your version is the absolute best, and you must remain fiercely loyal to your choice of ingredients and recipe. It isn't something that I grew up eating, but I have tried it a few times. I've never found one that has made me want to do backflips, usually finding them kind of bland; plus, the texture weirds me out. Cold mashed potatoes? No, thank you!

In the mood to experiment in honour of Canada Day yesterday, I decided to try making my own version of potato salad. Since I felt no traditional obligation to include any particular ingredient, all I envisioned were big chunks of potato in a simple, creamy dressing. After a bit of research, I found a couple of recipes from Martha Stewart to use as inspiration, combining elements of both to achieve my perfect potato salad.

I chose a patriotic combination of red and white potatoes for my dish. After boiling, I followed one of Martha's great tips and added vinegar and onions to the potato chunks while still hot. They really absorbed the vinegar as they cooled, which ensured that they remained very flavourful in the salad. I'm convinced that the end result wouldn't have been the same had I simply added vinegar to my dressing. Genius!

I used a mixture of mayonnaise and sour cream (both full-fat; sorry, Martha) to make the dressing, to which I decided to add some fresh dill for even more flavour. After the salad sat in the fridge for a few hours, I folded in some green onions and a little bit of bacon, and served it up to Jeff and some hungry friends.

I was really pleased with how the potato salad turned out. It didn't have very many ingredients, yet it was full of great taste. I enjoyed the texture of the chunky and vinegar-infused potatoes, and the creaminess of the dressing. The green onions and dill ensured a burst of fresh flavour in every bite, while the bacon...well, bacon just makes everything better! It was a total success.

Happy birthday, Canada! May we share this potato salad for years to come.

Canada Day Potato Salad: The Recipe

Serves 6-8

Inspired by Martha Stewart.

Ingredients
4 lb small and/or new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
½ cup white wine vinegar
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
6 green onions, minced, divided into green and white parts
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions
Cover potatoes with cold, salted water in a large pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (12 to 15 minutes.) Drain.

While potatoes are boiling, combine white wine vinegar with the white parts of the green onions, and a bit of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Add warm potatoes, and toss to coat. Let potatoes cool to room temperature, tossing occasionally.

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Add to cooled potatoes. Refrigerate salad for at least a couple of hours.

To serve, fold in remaining green onions and bacon. Taste and season, if needed.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken, Potato, and Vegetable Skewers

I'm so happy that barbecue season is finally here to stay. The days are much longer, and the weather is consistently pleasant. Also, we’ve been heaving a bag of charcoal into our cart every time we go for groceries. Is there a better sign of spring?

Making skewers is a great way to barbecue. Not only is it a fun way to eat, because everything is bite-sized, but also it makes it easier to flip the food on the grill. (Note: if using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water for at least a few hours to slow down the burning process.) Last Saturday, Jeff marinated pieces of chicken breast overnight in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, honey, red wine vinegar, whole grain Dijon mustard, basil, oregano, rosemary, and salt and pepper. On Sunday, he marinated baby red potato slices for about three hours in olive oil with thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper. This blog entry won’t contain a recipe section, because there aren’t any; Jeff’s style of marinating is as follows:

- Opens a Ziploc bag
- Dumps in any combination of ingredients that he likes, in arbitrary amounts
- Adds food

Although no two marinades have turned out alike, it has never failed him. Why not live on the wild side?

As I’ve mentioned before, I am picky when it comes to potatoes; therefore, I prefer relatively thin slices for maximum flavour and crispiness. However, you could simply halve the potatoes before skewering, if you like (tip: poke some holes in them with a fork so that the marinade seeps through.)

The vegetables weren’t marinated; once skewered, we simply brushed them with olive oil, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. These babies don’t need any more help in the flavour department.

The potatoes went onto the grill first, since they take the longest to cook through; up next a little while later were the veggies. Have I ever confessed that I love burnt food? Well, I do.

Just look at the char marks on these potatoes. Burnt potatoes are a must for me (other food I prefer with a bit of a burn: onions, toast, Brussels sprouts, hot dogs, marshmallows.) Delicious!

Once the veggies were done, they were placed in a 300C oven to keep warm. The chicken skewers replaced them on the grill.


Mmmmmmmmm. What more can I say?

Once the chicken was cooked through and the potatoes were fork-tender, it was finally time to eat.

Success! The chicken was bright and tangy, with a strong lemon taste. The potatoes were perfectly crispy, and woodsy from the rosemary. The vegetables were naturally flavourful, tasting almost as if they had been roasted. All three food groups had the unmistakable and delicious taste of being grilled over charcoal. Served with my ever-present coleslaw, this spring meal of skewers left nothing to be desired. What a great way to wind down from the weekend!

I'd Rather Live to Eat

Potatoes and I do not always share a loving relationship. Yes, I know that they're dirt-cheap. Yes, I know that they're a staple to many. Yes, I know that they drive our local economy. I'm also aware that a New Brunswicker speaking out against potatoes is like Raffi speaking out against children. Forgive me, but my problem with potatoes is that they're just a little…they don't always…I just can't seem to…OK, they're boring. Boring, boring, boring! There, I said it.

There's just something so depressing about a group of plain, boiled potato chunks sitting in a sad mound on a dinner plate. Just like everyone else who grew up with this kind of potato as an accompaniment to most meals, when faced with them, I simply eat them as quickly as possible before moving on to the rest of my meal. Well, now I say, that's ridiculous! Food shouldn't be so boring that it is shoved absent-mindedly down our throats, just because it's there! How SAD that we waste so much foodie potential on these unexciting vehicles for butter and salt! I call for CHANGE! Change we can BELIEVE in! DOWN with mediocre potatoes; NO excuses! Rah! Rah! Rah!

In my quest over the years to make potatoes more exciting, I've read many different recipes and have even tried a few of them. It turns out that making potatoes into a gourmet side dish that you will want to savour is surprisingly easy; really, once you move away from the boil-and-serve method, they can very enjoyable! I have cut baby new potatoes in half, poked holes in them, and let them soak up a Greek-inspired marinade before grilling them to a tasty crisp on the barbecue; I have also roasted quartered potatoes in olive oil and lots of salt, pepper, and rosemary until they formed golden crusts. I'm happy to report that both of these preparations led to success, and potatoes began to find a tiny little place in my heart (or, more like a giant place in my stomach).

While those attempts were all well and good, a recent find has knocked all of the other potato recipes out of the park. The recipe I'm about to share with you is the absolute best way to prepare potatoes, hands down. Are you sure you're ready for this? I'm warning you, you'll never be the same.

In this recipe, baby potatoes are boiled, smashed to within an inch of their life, drizzled with olive oil, and then roasted. Boiled, then roasted. Genius! The result is a perfectly crispy potato with just a bit of a fluffy interior. Jeff and I prepared them for a dinner party a few weeks ago, and they were perfect.

Here they are, re-warmed in the oven for a mid-morning brunch, just as good as the first time.
Crispy, smashed, roasted. Mmmmmmmm. We may yet become friends, potatoes.


Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes
From The Best of Fine Cooking: Roasting Magazine, 2008-2009

Amanda's notes: I used a masher instead of towels to flatten the potatoes. The bottom of drinking a glass would probably do just fine as well. I didn't bother laying them on towels to cool; I smashed them directly on the foil- and parchment-lined pan that ended up going in the oven. In addition to lots of salt and pepper, Jeff sprinkled a bit of garlic powder and rosemary onto the potatoes before roasting. Although I didn't think of it at the time, sprinkling some chopped green onions on them before serving would also be delicious.

Ingredients
12 to 15 baby red or yellow potatoes (about 1-1/2 oz. each; 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter)
2-3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Boil the potatoes:
Put the potatoes in a large saucepan (preferably in one layer) and cover with at least an inch of water. Add 2 tsp. kosher salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook the potatoes until they are completely tender and can be easily pierced with a metal or wood skewer. Make sure they are cooked through but don't overcook. The total cooking time will be 30 to 35 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, set up a double layer of clean dishtowels on your countertop. As the potatoes finish cooking, remove them individually from the water, and let them drain and sit for just a minute or two on the dishtowels.

Flatten and cool the potatoes:
Fold another dishtowel into quarters, and using it as a cover, gently press down on one potato with the palm of your hand to flatten it to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Repeat with all the potatoes. Don't worry if some break apart a bit; you can still use them.

Cover a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; put a sheet of parchment on top of the foil. Transfer the flattened potatoes carefully to the baking sheet and let them cool completely at room temperature.

Roast the potatoes:
Remove the pan of potatoes from the refrigerator, if prepared ahead. Heat the oven to 450°F. Alternatively, if you have a convection function, turn it on and set the temperature at 400°F. Sprinkle the potatoes with about 3/4 tsp. salt and pour the olive oil over them. Lift the potatoes gently to make sure some of the oil goes underneath them and that they are well coated on both sides. Roast the potatoes until they're crispy and deep brown around the edges, about 30 minutes if using a convection oven, 30 to 40 minutes if roasting conventionally, turning over once gently with a spatula or tongs halfway through cooking. Serve hot.