Dish-of-the-Day: Sauteed Tilapia Tacos with Grilled Peppers and Onions

Tonight's dish was a selection from a section in the Cooking Light magazine called "So-o-o-o Simple!" and all dishes in this section only require five ingredients.  These  fish tacos were indeed so-o-o-o simple and versatile.  No extra shopping required for dinner tonight.  I had everything on hand thanks to my kitchen filled with veggies, and to Trader Joe's for selling some amazing frozen fish.   I omitted the jalapeno pepper and added corn.  Bryann zested his up with a little salsa.  All left the dinner table satisfied.

BTW - Thanks Mom, for the grill pan you gave us for Christmas!  I never imagined I'd use it as often as I have been.

Wedding Gifts

I posted this link in response to one of Tamara's recent posts.

http://robertfulghum.com/index.php/fulghumweb/entry/2094_wedding_gifts/

Bryann and I were married just over a month ago and we received none of the "practical" gifts Fulghum suggests newly married couples really need.  Partly because we've been living together for two years and we have quite the collection of old towels, tools, and band-aids.  Mostly because we wanted shiny new things!!

He's right though.  We didn't have these things when we really needed them.  The toilet plunger is the case in point.  The only reason we have a "high quality" toilet plunger is because we had to make an emergency late night run to Safeway and Bryann insisted on buying the good one to take care of the monstrous problem stewing in our bathroom toilet.  I wanted to buy the cheap one to save three bucks, but Bryann reminded me of the gravity of the situation at hand, and I succumbed to his wisdom.

The only item we don't have is the Whoopee Cushion.  Although I'm seriously considering getting one now.  Fulgham's reasoning is sound.

In the short time we've been married, Bryann and I have already had two (rather sizable) fights.  I suppose they weren't fights really, but rather me being very angry at Bryann.  The first due to Bryann's poor prioritizing skills the day before we left on our honeymoon.  The second due to Bryann's poor memory and communication skills surrounding a weekend full of baseball tournaments.  The whoopee cushion could have been useful for both.

This how Bryann and I fight.  I get really angry and silent.  Bryann tries to make things better by saying "I'm sorry" a bajillion times.  I get more angry because "I'm sorry" doesn't fix the problem.  Bryann doesn't know what to say so he mistakenly lets me stew in my anger, and eventually I lash out.  But both of our previous fights may have been diffused nicely with a whoopee cushion.  Because what I really need is to be distracted from my anger until the rational portion of my brain regains control.

And because I think it's true.  "Anger is hard to sustain in the face of a good, loud fart."  Perhaps Bryann just needs to practice farting on demand.  Then again... perhaps just the whoopee cushion will do.

Curry Fail

Tonight's Dish-of-the-Day:  Bombay Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice

It looks tasty, but don't be fooled!  This curry is disastrous!!  I've a good mind to post a nasty review on the website, but I didn't  follow the instructions exactly...


If you've already looked at the recipe website, you'll notice it's a recipe for Bombay Shrimp Curry, not Chicken Curry...  That aside, I hold that I followed the essence of the recipe.  I didn't change anything that would have drastically changed the taste.  I've made curry before...delicious, flavorful curry.  And this was nothing like it.

I cooked the cubed chicken beautifully in the dutch oven (even Bryann was proud of me!)  I saved the juices from cooking the chicken to replace some of the water in the recipe to make the sauce more flavorful.  I used precise spice measurements with my new and amazing measuring spoons.  I didn't omit the ground red pepper even though I'm usually afraid of any spices meant to make food spicy.  I even bought mustard seeds instead of using the ground mustard I had on hand.  I followed the timing of the recipe perfectly.

The only thing I changed was add the coconut milk to the sauce instead of the rice.  The sauce was clear and runny, so I added the coconut milk to the sauce with a bit of cornstarch mix to thicken it up.  Then poured the sauce over the rice.  I even sprinkled fresh chopped cilantro on top.

Yuck!  Just plain yuck.  Even without tasting it, I knew it would be yuck.  I've made incredible curry before, and this didn't look or smell like the yummy curry I was hoping for.  Bryann, the amazing husband that he is, took the first bite and exclaimed "It's good!"  I stared at him without comment until he cracked and admitted "It's alright... It's not baaaaaad..."  Oh Bryann... It was bad.  Bryann powered through it because he knew I wasn't going to make another dinner, and we don't have any more frozen pizzas.  I only got through a couple of bites before I couldn't tolerate it any more.  It had spice, but it didn't have any flavor.  

We went over what was different in this recipe than the other times I'd made curry.  This used curry powder, and normally I use curry paste.  This used lite coconut milk, and normally I use the regular stuff.  This had the spices coated onto the chicken and onions, and normally I mix the curry paste and spices into the hot coconut milk.

Maybe the big difference is that this recipe is more Indian style curry, and I prefer Thai style curry with the fish sauce and all.  The point is that I won't be making this again, and I don't recommend it for anyone else.

Hopefully I've curried enough favor with Bryann that he'll still continue to try my future attempts at dinner!

Dish-of-the-Day: Two Cheese Linguine

Tonight I accomplished a great task.  Tonight, I boldly served what no man (or woman) has served before.  Tonight, I got Bryann to eat a salad without meat in it!  It was a rather sizable salad as well; it took up 2/3rds of the plate.  And he ate it all.

I've asked Bryann again and again if he will start eating more salads.  Again and again, my question has been met with a grossed-out face and the reply "only if they contain meat."  As I've mentioned before, Bryann is a dedicated believer in the meat-in-every-bite sort of meal.  But, in accordance with the newly established rules of "eat what I serve you," Bryann ate his salad.  What a good husband!

Tonight's dish was Linguine with Two-Cheese Sauce which I served with Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage and a side salad.  The salad was a spring-mix and spinach combo box from Costco with halfed grape tomatoes, topped with freshly chopped basil, Parmesan, and a light Parmesan-Asiago dressing.  


The two-cheese sauce was very easy to make and surprisingly flavorful.  I had some troubles locating Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese until I looked it up on my iPhone and learned that the cheese in question is the same as Parmesan but is region specific - much like Champagne and sparkling wine are the same.  I used lactose-free milk in order to keep it low-dairy for Bryann. 


I recognized the roux procedure since I'd made cream sauces before, but this recipe uses olive-oil instead of butter.  In fact, most of the recipes in the magazine replace butter with oil since fats that are liquid at room temperature tend to be "healthier" (aka lower in saturated fats) than fats that are solid at room temperature.  The sauce didn't thicken as advertised, but that may be because I used skim, lactose-free milk instead of the 1% milk as called for in the recipe.  But after I added a little cornstarch mixture, the sauce thickened right up.  


While we were eating, I commented that Bryann must be living every new husband's dream.  He has dinner waiting for him when he comes home every night, and a wife who loves him dearly and can't wait to hear about the details of his day.  I'll ask him how he feels about marriage when I go back to work in September...

Dish-of-the-Day: Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Peach Salsa

Oh... my... goodness.... This dish is AMAZING!  Tonight's dish of Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Peach Salsa was truly incredible.  The grilled salmon, the juicy peaches, the fresh basil...

Perhaps I should start at the beginning.  I'd been looking forward to this meal since I found it in my shiny, new Cooking Light magazine.  Bryann and I went to the store to get the fresh salmon.  We wanted salmon so fresh, we bought a whole fish!  Ok, actually we looked at the $2.00/lb price difference and went with the whole fish after Bryann promised to fillet it.

At home, armed with a kitchen full of fresh herbs and veggies (hmm... I'm seeing a pattern,) and a collection of YouTube videos on "How to Fillet a Fish," Bryann and I set to work.  I prepared the salsa while Bryann prepared the fish.  In the end, Bryann doesn't think it was worth the price difference to buy the whole fish - he ended up throwing away a lot, and filleting it himself wasn't his favorite activity.

Bryann is a grill master, and is really in his element when at the BBQ.  I suspect it's a "man" thing, being content and complete at one's grill, because honestly I feel rather uncomfortable grilling and am happy to let Bryann take over.  After all, my summer project is learning to cook, not to grill.

Salmon by itself is always amazing, but topped with the salsa... it was divine!  For the salsa, I used yellow and white peaches, and grape tomatoes instead of cherry.  I panicked for a moment when I realized I'd forgotten to buy mint leaves and that we were out of honey, but Bryann suggested using our Raspberry Chipotle marinade from Costco in place of the jalapenos and honey.  The mint leaves would have to wait until we made this again.  I can't say it enough times, the combination of the salmon and the salsa was completely and utterly, mouth-wateringly, amazingly, scrum-diddly-umptious!  There may have been a lot of moaning while we were eating...

I think the secret to the salsa is the fresh basil and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.  If I wasn't convinced about the difference fresh ingredients can make, I sure am now!  I'm even contemplating growing my own herb-garden!

Dish-of-the-Day: Pork Tenderloin Medallions and Balsamic Reduction

Tonight's meal was Pork Tenderloin Medallions and Balsamic Reduction.  This was less of a success...  It wasn't a failure, because 2/3rds of the dinner was delicious!    The grilled peaches were really yummy, and the wild rice salad was super easy and delicious, without the sodium and fats from the "herb and butter" seasoning the package came with.  Even the balsamic reduction came out really nicely.  The trouble was, surprise surprise, cooking the pork.  I didn't use pork tenderloin medallion cuts.  I used super thick pork loin chops from Costco.  The cuts were way too thick and I overcooked it.

During dinner, I repeatedly apologized to Bryann for ruining dinner.  But isn't burning dinner one of those new wifedom humps new wives all have to get over?  Bryann still ate the pork (don't ask me why, because I sure didn't) and ooh'ed and aah'ed over how delicious everything was.  Then I started laughing because I knew he was lying to me.  Lesson learned:  Don't cook pork.  Or at least have Bryann come and monitor what I'm doing so I don't overcook it again.

Other lesson learned:  freshly chopped chives are amazing.  As are pecans and dried cherries thrown into wild rice!  As are grilled peaches!  Who knew?

Dish-of-the-Day: Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Bars

Ok, so I guess this isn't a "Dish" so much as a desert.  But it's still in the magazine, and I needed something to bring to Harry Potter night!

Our group of friends is re-watching all of the Harry Potter movies before we go to the premier on Thursday/Friday at midnight.  I'm sure we are the only people ingenious enough to do this, and originally, it was proposed to watch all 7 movies simultaneously.  But we opted for Wednesday and Friday pot-luck style get togethers wherein the host provides the main course and guests bring side-dishes or deserts.  Harry Potter themed food is welcomed.  I missed the first few gatherings since Bryann and I were on our honeymoon, but I understand there were Acid Pops, Licorice Wands, and Butter Beer.  I tried my hand at Ton Tongue Toffee for the previous party and was quite pleased at the result.

For this party however, I made Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Bars.  Again, armed with a kitchen full of fresh cherries, lemons, and greek yogurt (which I had never tried before) I spent my Friday morning making shortbread-like crust and cherry reduction.  Yes, I pitted and chopped the cherries myself.  No, I did not tell Bryann what was in them for fear of a similar reaction to the nectarine salsa from the other night.  Mysterious sounding foods tend to scare him, so I thought it best to leave out the fact that there was Greek yogurt and minimal cheese in the cheesecake part of the desert.

These are amazing, and I'm certain any berry will do for the reduction.  Perhaps if I'm craving cheesecake bars, but don't feel like pitting and chopping cherries and dying my hands red, I'll whip these up with some blueberries... or blackberries... yummmmmmm......

Wifedom Begins

Ahhhh....  My own blog...  Oh, how I've missed it!  I was a dedicated blogger once, in the throes of my youth, spilling my college anguish out on the internet for all to read.  Then again as I was living abroad, blogging about my travels and various adventures.  Now I blog as a wife and mother of three (pets.)

Yes.  I am a wife.  I have recently entered wifedom and it is everything I hoped it could be.  Actually, it's not much different than before.  We still live together.  We still have two dogs and a cat.  We still drive the same cars, and work the same jobs.  Only now we're married!  He is my person.  My true companion.  My partner in crime.

And so wifedom begins...  I am fresh off our Caribbean Honeymoon, without a summer job, and very, very bored.  My summer project is to learn to cook.  A co-worker gave me a subscription to Cooking Light Magazine as a wedding gift, so I'm trying a new recipe every day.  Bryann couldn't be happier with this choice because my summer project means that Bryann gets to come home to dinner every night.  On the flip side of that, Bryann has to eat what I make, and historically, Bryann has been somewhat of a picky eater.

We started off a little shaky.  On the first night, armed with a kitchen full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, I made Chicken Kebabs and Nectarine Salsa.  Most of it turned out completely delicious.  I bought whole-wheat couscous and neither of us liked it very much.  I've also decided I really don't like parsley.  Lessons learned...  The chicken came out extremely flavorful and juicy.  I don't have any confidence cooking meats because I always end up overcooking them.  I'd never broiled anything and this chicken tasted amazing!  Oh, and the nectarine salsa....  mouth-watering.  I ate spoonfuls by itself!

Bryann complained mildly about the scant ratio of chicken to other food (he is a firm believer in the meat-in-every-bite way of eating) but I lectured him that his plate contained a serving size of chicken and he would receive no more until he ate his plate.  Then he noticed the "green things" in the salsa and asked what they were.  At the mention of avocados, he shut down and refused to touch the salsa.  The last straw was when he wouldn't touch the onion I'd broiled as part of the kebabs.

I had to (gently) remind him that I'd just slaved away at making him this delicious dinner in an attempt to make him happy, to keep us healthy, and that the whole point of the project was to try new things and develop an appreciation for foods we wouldn't have made otherwise.  He begrudgingly tried the onion and avocado in a bite of salsa, paused, and said "OK, I guess it's not that bad," then proceeded to gobble his plate down.  Point, Kristi!

And so wifedom begins...  Currently, it feels a little antiquated.  I'm staying at home, keeping house and taking care of our three (animal) kids.  Cooking dinner every night and waiting for Bryann to get home.  Perhaps I should get an apron and take up crocheting...  Oh wait, I already have the apron...