Hazelnut-crusted Tilapia with Lemon Basil Cream Sauce and Italian-style Green Beans

The other night Lee and I went to Carrabba's with friends, and I ordered the Trout Nocciola...trout crusted in hazelnuts and served with a lemon and basil butter cream sauce. On the side, I had Italian-style green beans. It was delicious. Lee had spaghetti with Italian sausage, but he kept stealing bites of my trout, so I decided to attempt the dish at home the next day for dinner. I substituted tilapia for trout because it was less expensive. I'll go ahead and tell you that it was a success!

The most difficult and frustrating part of the meal was preparing the hazelnuts. I went ahead and popped open the wine to help get me through it. This was the first time I've cooked with hazelnuts, and I did not anticipate them being so much trouble. I love hazelnuts, so it was well worth it.



First, I had to shell the darn things. The only type of nutcracker I own is for pecans, and it wasn't up to the task, so I pulled out the meat pounder. It worked well. I wound up placing the nuts right onto the countertop, and if I hit them with just the right force and at a slight angle, they would open up leaving a beautiful intact hazelnut. Be prepared for a mess if you try this. Hazelnuts were flying everywhere. The dogs and the cat quite enjoyed it.

After shelling them, I had to remove the thin, paperlike skins. I saw online that toasting them in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F was the key, so that's what I did. This releases some of their oil and gives them a great flavor too. After they came out of the oven, I used a kitchen towel to rub off the skins. Most of them came off easily, while a few didn't budge. If there was just a tiny bit of skin on one, I just scraped it off using my nails under the towel.

I pulled out the meat pounder again to crush them. I placed a few hazelnuts in the towel to keep them from flying off and pounded away. After a few pounds, I placed the nuts on a wooden cutting board and just pressed firmly with the meat pounder to achieve a finer consistency. Whew!



The wine I chose for tonight was Orvieto Classico. Orvieto is located in Umbria, which is adjacent to Tuscany. It was located among the Pinot Grigios, which was what I initially had in mind, but I decided to try something new. It was alright, but I think I prefer Pinot Grigio.



After I got the hazelnuts ready, I started making the sauce. I'm pretty handy with sauces, so this was a snap. Here's what I did:



Lemon Basil Cream Sauce

2 tbs salted butter

1-1 1/2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbs vegetable stock (chicken stock or broth would work well also, I just had some leftover veggie stock handy)

1-1 1/2 tbs white wine

freshly ground black pepper to taste (optional...I add black pepper to everything)

1/2 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1-2 tsp lemon zest

1-2 tbs fresh basil leaves, torn

Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat till slightly golden brown. Add the lemon juice, vegetable stock, wine, black pepper and garlic and cook on medium-low for 10-15 minutes or until reduced by about half. Whisk in cream until combined and reduce heat. Add lemon zest and stir. Sauce will thicken somewhat after it starts to cool. If it isn't as thick as you would like, you can thicken it up by first mixing some cornstarch or arrowroot (my favorite sauce thickener) with cool water and adding it to the sauce. If you add a thickener, bring the sauce back to a boil, and then reduce it again.

Add the basil to the sauce right before serving or just place it on top of the sauce when you plate (that's what I did). Since I still had to cook the fish and green beans, I left the sauce on the lowest setting to keep it warm.

(Serves 2-4)

Hazelnut-Crusted Tilapia

2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/2-3/4 cups toasted and crushed hazelnuts

1/2 cup panko (optional)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 egg white, whipped slightly

2 tilapia filets

1-2 roma tomatoes, seeded and cut into strips or chunks



Heat a medium-large size pan with lid on medium-high heat and add oil.

Dip fish into egg white and then into hazelnut/panko mixture, pressing so that it sticks. Place tomatoes into oil and stir. Add coated fish to pan and brown both sides. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Stir tomatoes and cover with lid. Cook for 5-10 minutes until fish is opaque throughout.

***I had to add additional oil to the pan, so next time I plan on adding some oil directly to the coated fish before placing in the pan.***

Serve fish hot covered with 1-2 tbs Lemon Basil Cream Sauce.

(Serves 2)



Italian-style Green Beans

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 handful thin, French-style green beans (I buy them prewashed in bags)

1-2 roma tomatoes, seeded and roughly sliced or chopped

1-2 cloves pickled garlic, thinly sliced (use regular garlic if you don't have pickled)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 tbs or so balsamic vinegar (or other vinegar such as red wine vinegar)

1-3 tbs water, depending on how tender you like your green beans

Heat oil in medium-sized pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add beans, tomatoes, garlic, and salt and pepper. Heat for 1-2 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add vinegar to deglaze pan and stir. Add water and cover with a lid, but leave it cracked just a bit so it steams. Cook until desired tenderness and serve hot or even at room temperature.

(Serves 2)

***I usually steam my green beans in the microwave, but we have been without one for several months. We are getting one built in over the stove, but it is requiring custom cabinetry, so it has become a much bigger project than anticipated. Heating up leftovers isn't as quick without one.***

This turned out to be a delicious meal worthy of serving to guests. The next time I make it I'm going to try to lighten it up a bit by omitting the cream and making a broth and wine-based sauce instead. I'll let you know how it goes.

New Year's Greens and Black-eyed Peas

Last New Year's Day I had people over to watch football and eat collard greens and black-eyed peas. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is a tradition in the South, because they are thought to bring prosperity for the rest of the year. Do I believe this? Well of course not, but it's a fun tradition and I really like black-eyed peas. The day and the meal was a success, so I hosted it again this year.

It was the last football Saturday until Fall 2011, so lots of games were on, including Bama's bowl game (Roll Tide!), so football was on all afternoon (another Southern tradition any day football is on). We had three tv screens set up in the living room with three different games going at once.

I had dinner ready a little after five, and the food was even better this year. In addition to the greens and peas, I made cornbread, two lemon pies, cran-apple cider, and Lee bought a ham from Apple Lane Farms. Eating pork is also supposed to bring prosperity in the new year. I think I will host New Year's Day at our house every year.

I didn't take any photos of the food or anything else yesterday, but here is how I fixed up my fixings:


Collard Greens

1-2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil (canola or veg. oil would be fine)

pork neck bones (I used 4 pieces)

1-2 tbs apple cider vinegar

3 bundles collard greens; washed well, tough centers removed from leaves, roughly torn or cut into 2-3 inch pieces (each bundle contained 3-4 stalks of collards)

water

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

green pepper sauce for serving (optional); this sauce is thin and vinegary and found in clear glass bottles that contain small, whole green peppers



Before you begin, you may want to turn on your kitchen fan and/or open a couple of windows. Once you add the liquid to the hot pot of oil and neck bones, some smoke is to be expected.

Heat a large pot on high and add the oil. Add the neck bones, browning them on the two largest sides (watch out for hot oil splatter). Add the apple cider vinegar, and scrape the bottom of pot to deglaze.

Add the collard greens, stir well, and add just enough water to cover them (the greens will quickly shrink, and you don't want too much water because it will dilute the flavor).

Add some freshly ground black pepper and bring to a boil if not there already. Turn down the heat, but keep the greens moving. Boil for at least 3 hours. They should be quite tender before eating.

Add salt to taste and more pepper if necessary and serve.



Black-eyed Peas

1-2 tbs extra virgin olive oil (canola or veg. oil would be fine)

pork neck bones (I used 4 pieces)

3 bags dried black-eyed peas, soaked in plenty of water overnight in the fridge and then rinsed and picked over to remove any bad ones that stand out

water

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste



Before you begin, you may want to turn on your kitchen fan and/or open a couple of windows. Once you add the liquid to the hot pot of oil and neck bones, some smoke is to be expected.

Heat a large pot on high and add the oil. Add the neck bones, browning them on the two largest sides (watch out for hot oil splatter). Add a little bit of water, sraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze.

Add black-eyed peas, then add enough water so that the peas are covered with a 1/2 inch to 1 inch water on top.

Add freshly ground pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Watch the peas carefully, reducing the heat when necessary so that they do not come to a full boil (trust me, if the peas boil they fall apart too quickly and they will not be good).

Simmer for 2-3 hours.

Add salt to taste and more pepper if necessary and serve.



Lemon Meringue Pie
(the way my mom has always made it)

1 can sweetened condensed milk like Eagle Brand (I have been using the fat-free version lately, and no one including myself can tell the difference)

1/2 cup bottled lemon juice (I once used fresh and it just wasn't the same)

2 eggs, separated

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of cream of tarter

1 graham cracker crust pie shell, like Keebler brand



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

For the filling:

In a bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and 2 egg yolks. Mix well ( I use a whisk and/or a spoon) and set aside.

For the meringue:

In another bowl, add 2 egg whites, sugar, and cream of tarter. Beat with a mixer until creamy and fairly thick.

Pour lemon filling into pie shell. Using a rubber spatula, spread the meringue on top, trying not to get the lemon filling mixed into it (this is the hardest part for me).

Bake directly on the oven rack for about 20-30 minutes. The meringue should be a light golden brown at its peaks.

Place on a cooling rack so filling can set. Cool as long as you can wait (often only 5-10 minutes for me) and serve. I like my lemon pie on the warm side, but if you want yours cool or cold, place in the fridge before serving. Definitely refrigerate any leftover pie.



Cran-apple Cider
(I throw this together every New Year's Eve or New Year's Day using my memory for a now lost recipe I got from a former professor and friend)

1 three-liter container cran-apple juice (This year I also added a couple cups of cranberry-pomegranate juice I had on hand)

1/2 cup orange juice ( I use my morning OJ, not freshly squeezed)

5 family-size black tea bags (more or less depending on how you like it)

water (optional) (to cut strength of cider if needed)

several cinnamon sticks

small handfull of whole cloves

sugar or sugar substitute to taste (I used a handfull of stevia packets this time and the cider came out nicely)

fresh orange slices for garnish (optional)



Heat all juice in a large pot until hot (not boiling), and then add tea bags. Steep tea for 15-20 minutes. Remove tea bags and add remaining ingredients (I placed my whole cloves in a gadget used for steeping fresh tea leaves so I wouldn't have to strain the cider as it was served...I left it in for 20 minutes, and then I refilled it with a new bunch of whole cloves for the remainder). I added a little water, about 1 1/2 cups to thin it out a bit (this is a taste and adjust as I go recipe).

Serve warm to hot.

I served mine to my guests from a crockpot, because I needed the stove for the greens and peas. I kept the remaining cider that wouldn't fit in the crockpot in the 3-liter cran-apple juice container and refilled the crockpot when needed (also a great way to travel with your cider).



Mexican-style Cornbread
(another treat I whip up without a proper recipe)

1 box Jiffy brand cornbread mix (usually found at the grocery store near the cake/muffin mixes and not with the cornmeal)

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

a little salsa, a tablespoon or two

a little cheddar cheese (I used one slice of packaged sharp)

green tabasco sauce (I used a little less than a tablespoon, and it didn't produce a cornbread that was very spicy, so I will use 1-2 tablespoons next time) (I usually use a tablespoon or two of chopped jalopenos from a jar of sliced jalopenos, but I was out)

a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper



Combine cornbread mix, egg, and milk in a bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Follow directions on cornbread mix package to cook cornbread.

Serve warm.

A Quiet Holiday Dinner for Two

Once I knew Lee and I would be at home by ourselves on xmas, and that I would have to prepare dinner, I began thinking of more than what kind of food to put on the plate. Since it was the first xmas we were by ourselves in our own house, I began thinking about what plates to use, what tablecloth to use, and what I could use to create a centerpiece for the table. I became quite overwhelmed.

In the end, we wound up with a humble table for two. I gave up on ironing a tablecloth, but I did create a centerpiece out of a candle and some fake pine cones I had in my craft stash. It was nice dining with candlelight. It was nice eating at the table. We usually just eat our meals on trays in the living room while watching television (a bad habit I want to correct before having children).



I liked having the challenge of creating a meal out of what we had on hand. I would have enjoyed it more if I had been feeling better, though. I have a sinus infection and have been suffering from dizziness and nausea daily.

The challenge was not too tough, because we had plenty of food around the house. I decided to use some chicken thighs I had in the freezer, farro we brought back from Italy, and the last of the loaf of bread for a sweet bread pudding.

I had never eaten farro until we brought this bag back from Italy. We bought it in Montepulciano, Tuscany. It is quite heavy and held us up in customs a bit, but I really like the taste and texture. It has a nutty, earthy flavor and texture a bit like an al dente pasta. I opened the bag up earlier this year and made a farro risotto with dried porcini mushrooms. It came out tasting a little too earthy, but I knew I would like experimenting with the farro until it was all gone.



My thinking with the farro was that it could be mixed with vegetables, nuts, and even cheese to resemble a stuffing to go alongside the chicken (Note: stuffing is not something I have ever eaten during the holidays, either...we eat dressing down here in Alabama). I searched the internet for farro recipes keeping in mind that as far as vegetables (besides carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes) I had some zucchini and one green and one yellow bell pepper. I also had several nuts, including pistachios, almonds, and pecans. As for cheese, I had parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano, and a little bit of shredded mozzarella.

My search turned up a recipe for Zucchini and Farro Gratin over at Closet Cooking. This is one of my favorite food blogs. Whenever I am craving something, I can usually find something delicious there. So Zucchini and Farro Gratin it was, with some cheese substitutions. The recipe called for parmigiano regiano and gruyere, so I used the parm and the other two cheeses I had available. I used regular bread crumbs instead of the panko he used. I had some panko, but I just wanted to use bread crumbs. I also didn't grate the zucchini but just diced it into small pieces. They provided a welcome crunch on the plate next to the soft chicken and vegetables I made.



I had a bottle of Chardonay, so I settled on cooking the chicken with wine, herbs, and butter...yum, butter. I don't use butter, especially real butter, that often. I added onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes as well. As for the herbs, I used fresh thyme, a little fresh rosemary, and some dried sage. The vegetables ended up being delicious. The chicken was good as well. It was a litte tougher than it should have been, because I added too much wine and water to the pan and had to cook it too long.



The chicken served with the gratin and the rest of the Chardonnay made for a good meal. It just wasn't real holiday fare. I still really want some dressing. The meal was a little one-note too. We usually like more contrast and kick to our meals. A fresh salad with fruit and soft cheese would have been a nice addition. But, we made do with what we had. I need to do this more often, because we spend way too much money on food, and a good bit of it never gets used.

For dessert, I made a Nutella bread pudding.



Needless to say, it was yummy. Anything Nutella is delicious. It is also really easy. I just cut up our leftover whole-wheat sandwich bread and toss it with one can of fat-free sweetened, condensed milk, 1/4 to 1/2 cup Nutella, one egg, and enough milk to make enough of the mixture to cover the bread. I bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, and voila, a delicious, comfortng, chocolate dessert.



After dinner we watched The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers until we got so sleepy we couldn't keep our eyes open. Not a terrible way to spend the evening. Oh, and Santa did bring me a step ladder and some chocolate. He also brought me two surprises--a cheese grater and a wine saver kit.

We woke up this morning to more snow. We ate leftover gratin and finished watching the movie. I have the unused chicken thighs marinating in the fridge for my first attempt at chicken tikki masala, one of the only Indian dishes Lee likes. Indian is one of my favorite cuisines.

Huevos Rancheros

A few months ago I posted a recipe for Huevos, but I've tweaked it a bit since then. I've upped the amount of vegetables, adding more carrots, bell peppers, garlic, and onions. I also now add some tomato sauce along with the Cholula hot sauce.

After I sauted the vegetables, I cooked them in the sauce, covered, until tender. I then added the egg and covered again to make it really fluffy.



I just ate this for dinner, and it was delicious. It doesn't even need the chorizo or Soyrizo...of course, that makes everything better.

And for dessert...



Better-for-me Banana Split

Ingredients:

Fat-free plain yogurt
Stevia in the raw for sweetness
Vanilla extract
Banana
Ground flax seeds
Caramel sauce

This was yummy.