Day 356: Cooking From Scratch For The 1st Time All Week

It's been awhile since I prepared fish at home and I've eaten some pretty unhealthy food this week, so tonight I roasted halibut, topped it with fresh tomato & basil, and steamed some broccoli.

I cooked the fish simply - seasoning it with S&P, drizzling it with olive oil, and baking it at 375 degrees until it was cooked through (about 15 minutes).

My topping was made from one hothouse red tomato, about 10 yellow pear tomatoes, 10 julienned basil leaves, 1 small shallot (chopped), about 2T balsamic vinegar, about 1T olive oil, and S&P to taste.  I spooned the mixture (and the resulting liquid) over the top of the fish.

This whole dish took maybe 30 minutes to make.  I made the topping while the fish cooked and threw the broccoli into the microwave to steam in the last couple of minutes.  Easy!

Day 351: The Steak-Free Streak is Finally Broken!

The last three times I went to Izzy's Steaks & Chops, I ordered fish.  Fish!  At a steak restaurant!  For some unknown reason, I hadn't craved my beloved prime rib dish on any of these occasions.  I hoped this trend would end, because that prime rib is SO good - finally tonight, my old craving returned, so off to Izzy's we went.

As always, I started with the prawn cocktail which is served with Izzy's amazing house made cocktail sauce.   After that, I had the prime rib with steamed broccoli and ate every savory, meaty bite.  Yum!  

Day 346: Protein Galore

Having cooked up a lot of food for guests on Friday and again on Sunday, we had tons of leftovers in the fridge. Our current houseguests decided to go out for dinner, giving us the opportunity to polish off all of the food that had accumulated in the fridge.

Friday's flank steak was still delicious. Sunday's pork tenderloin and grilled chicken had dried out a bit and lost some flavor, but dipping them in Tabasco Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce helped.

To go with all of this protein, I sauteed some baby broccoli with garlic and white wine. No meal is complete without something green on the plate!

Day 337: Three for Three!

I'm a carnivore.  I swear I am.  But you sure wouldn't know it by looking at my last three entries from Izzy's Steaks & Chops.  I had swordfish every time.  What's up with that???

My excuse this time is that I'm still recuperating from a wisdom tooth extraction gone bad.  I can only manage to eat food that require little chewing and fish really seems to fit the bill.  As much as I would love to tie into a prime rib right now, it just isn't in the cards.  So, I went with good old swordfish with a side of creamed spinach and steamed broccoli, which I cut into tiny pieces.

The one thing that very rarely changes about my Izzy's visits is my appetizer order.  The prawn cocktail comes with 5 enormous prawns and Izzy's own cocktail sauce and is completely irresistible.  It's one of those dishes I dream about.

Next time I'm craving red meat, I'll have to find my way to Izzy's for my beloved prime rib.  It'll probably taste better than ever.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Day 324: Italian Feast

During our weekly visit to Trader Joe's today, I found some beautiful basil and decided that dinner tonight would involve homemade pesto.  Pesto is so easy to make.  The following recipe makes enough to stuff four chicken breasts, but if you want to make it as a pasta sauce, you should probably double it.

Pesto:

1 packed cup of basil leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1.5 T pine nuts

1/2 + 1T freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 T butter

S&P to taste

Place basil, oil, garlic, and nuts in a food processor and mix until smoothly, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time.  Add cheese and butter and mix again until all ingredients are blended.  Add S&P to taste.

Pre-heat your oven at 375 degrees.  Slice the chicken lengthwise through the middle, being careful not to cut all the way through.  You want to be able to fold the chicken back like a book.  Once folded back, coat the inside of each chicken breast with about 1T pesto.  If you'd like, lay some roasted peppers over the pesto and fold the chicken back up again.  Place the breasts in a greased baking dish and smooth about a teaspoon of pesto over the top of each breast.

Bake the chicken for 25 minutes and then sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of each breast.  Bake for another 5-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Add another sprinkling of cheese and place the dish under the broiler until the top is browned.

Our side dish was sauteed baby broccoli (known as broccolini at Trader Joe's).  I first cooked 3 cloves of chopped garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes.  Once they were softened, I added the broccoli, a few splashes of white wine, and cranked the heat up to medium-high.  I added more wine every couple of minutes when the pan got dry to ensure that the garlic didn't burn.

The best part of tonight's dinner?  It's Sunday but there's not work tomorrow!  Enjoy your Memorial Day, everyone!

Day 311: Asparagus & Peas Part 2

A couple of days too late, I was craving red meat tonight.  So, I picked up a strip steak, seasoned it well with S&P and grilled it for 3.5 minutes on each side (for medium temperature meat).

I plated it on top of some leftover asparagus and pea puree from last night and sauteed some broccolini with garlic (2 cloves, minced) and white wine (approx. 3T) for the perfect side dish.

The whole meal took about 15 minutes to make and it was delish!  

Day 309: Habit Forming

Don't get me wrong.  I am a meat eater.  I love a steak as much as the next person.  But lately, I've been trading in my beloved prime rib for swordfish when I go to Izzy's Steaks & Chops.  It's becoming a habit!

Unfortunately, I forgot to request that they hold the sauce last night, so I tried my best to brush it off.  Other than that, the fish was tender, juicy, and very tasty.  And since I went with the healthier, lower fat, lower calorie fish option, I decided that instead of a double order of steamed broccoli, I would treat myself to some of Izzy's to die for creamed spinach.

I'm sure that eventually, I'll return to the succulent and amazing prime rib.  But meanwhile, I'm grateful that Izzy's isn't a one trick pony.  Their fish rocks as much as their beef!

Day 286: Buh-Bye, Passover!!

For me, the worst part of Passover is not that I can't eat bread or cereal or pasta.  I don't eat much of any of that stuff.  But no legumes?  No rice?  That was tough.  So, to celebrate the first night in a week without such restrictions, I made an Indian dish tonight.

This was an easy dinner because I used some jarred sauce and only had to saute my chicken and veggies and make some rice.  I cubed two chicken breasts, browned the pieces in olive oil, and set them aside.

I deglazed the pan with some white wine and then tossed in a head of broccoli, a yellow bell pepper, and a couple of handfuls of sugar snap peas.  After a few minutes, I added a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed).  

After a few more minutes, I added the sauce.  The one I chose tonight was a korma sauce, tomato based and spicy.  There are others I like as well - a spinach one and a tangy lemony cilantro one.  

A few minutes before serving, I added the chicken back into the pan and cooked until it was heated through.  Covering the pan speeds that process.  I served the mixture over brown rice and gobbled it up.  Oh, rice and beans, how I have missed you!

Day 279: TGIT!

It's been a long and arduous week at the office.  No time for shopping or cooking so the fridge is empty and the cabinets are bare.  Plus, I'm trying to keep Passover which means I cannot have grains, pasta, corn, beans...  Makes eating (and cooking) though.

We decided to head to Izzy's but once there, I realized I wasn't really in the mood for my usual giant prime rib.  I had ordered swordfish at Izzy's before and really enjoyed it, so I went with that.  In fact, tonight's photo is actually from January - tonight I had steamed broccoli and creamed spinach as my sides.

Tomorrow is Good Friday and my office is closed.  This meal was a great way to kick off a long weekend.

Day 266: Mark Rocks. And So Does Cafe Maritime!

After last night's dinner of chips and pizza (oy vey!), I knew tonight's meal needed to be a little bit lighter and a hell of a lot healthier.  So, off we went to Cafe Maritime.

We've had many amazing meals at CM.  They introduced me to Lobster Thermador which is SO  delish.  I've also had salmon, swordfish, and tuna there and all have been delightful.

Tonight I started with a vodka oyster shooter.  As I mentioned in a previous post (entry #226 "Slimy and Snotlike"), I really want to like oysters and I'm looking for non-intimidating ways to try them.  What's more welcoming than vodka?

Next, I had swordfish with ancho chile sauce and green beans & broccoli.  Cafe Maritime is always really nice about letting me swap out the carby side (potatoes or rice) with a green veggie.

Finally, my husband and I shared an order of Mark's Mom's Coconut Cream Pie.  Mark is CM's owner and his mom is apparently kept in the basement and forced to crank out amazingly light and perfectly sweet pies all day long.  I say, keep her down there and keep those pies coming!  They are perfect!

Everything was delicious tonight but the best part was that Mark, the owner, recognized me from this blog and comped our meal!  That was the most pleasant surprise I've had in ages!  Thanks for another great meal, Mark.  We will definitely be back!

Day 261: Double Recipe Entry

I make damn good meatballs and today's you're lucky day because I'm going to give you the recipe.  Usually we eat them without pasta, but tonight I boiled up a little bit of whole wheat spaghetti.  I also made some baby broccoli as a side dish and it was beyond delicious.  All in all, a stellar meal tonight.

Meatballs:

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup bread crumbs or panko

1/2 cup cold water (or beef broth if you have some handy)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground lamb

Place first four ingredients in large bowl, stir together, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Pour a thick layer of olive oil into a pan and place it over a medium-high burner.

Add garlic, parsley, and parm to the egg mixture and mix everything together.  Add meat and use your hands to gently mix everything together.  If it seems too wet to hold together, add some more bread crumbs until you're happy with the consistency.  

Place two jars of your favorite tomato sauce in an oven proof pot and place in the oven at 225 degrees.  I like Classico and use some combination of their tomato basil, roasted garlic, or spicy tomato flavors.  Of course, you can make your own sauce if you prefer, but having tried that a couple of times, I find it's way more effort than it's worth for this particular recipe.

Make balls out of your meat mixture.  I like to make larger ones because you can get them all fried in fewer batches.    I get about a dozen and a half large meatballs out of this recipe.

Place a batch of meatballs in your hot oil and cook until browned.  Turn them and allow the other side to brown and then place them in your pre-heated sauce.  Once all of your meatballs are in the sauce, allow them to cook uncovered for an hour and a half.

Upon serving, grate some more parm or melt some mozzarella over the top.

Baby Broccoli:

1 package of fresh baby broccoli (we purchased ours at Trader Joe's)

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 small shallot bulb, chopped

1/4 cup white wine

Pour a thin coat of olive oil into a pan and warm over low heat.  Add garlic and shallot and saute for a couple of minutes until soft and fragrant.

Add broccoli, season with S&P, and turn heat up to medium-high.  Add half of the wine and stir everything together.  Add the rest of the wine a couple of minutes later, or when you see the initial bit has evaporated.

Stir frequently and cook until broccoli is at the desired doneness.  I like mine to still have a lot of crunch.

This dinner definitely takes some time to prepare, which is what makes it perfect for a Sunday night.  If you're cooking for two, then you will also be blessed with some yummy leftovers which will make dinner preparation a lot easier one night during the week.  Enjoy!

Day 259: Back to Life, Back to Reality

After three straight days of vegetarian dinners (what???), life finally returned to normal tonight.  We dined at Isa, one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, which specializes in small plates.

Mostly, we ordered our favorites:  tuna crudo, arugula salad, pan seared scallops, baked Laura Chenel goat cheese.  The new item we tried tonight was from the specials list:  short ribs with mashed potatoes, carrots, and broccoli (pictured).  It was too rich for my blood, especially after three nights of veggie dinners, but it was nice to try something new.

It looks like life has returned to normal.  Meat and fish were on my plate tonight!

Day 254: Carnivore's Delight

After an afternoon in wine country, I needed a dinner with substance.

Vegetarians out there may be disgusted, as well you should be.  I dedicate this and all entries from Izzy's Steak & Chops to my carnivorous readers.  

My favorite item on the Izzy's menu is their slow roasted prime rib, cooked medium rare.  It savory and juicy and so delicious.  At Izzy's you get to choose two sides with your entree.  Normally, I request a double order of steamed broccoli but tonight the waitress let me know that they had some fresh asparagus, so I had an order or each.  All those fresh steamed veggies make me feel a lot less guilty about the giant slab of meat I gobble up!

Day 230: The Sauce That Just Keeps on Giving

The Moroccan Chicken recipe I made earlier this week just keeps on giving.  We had the original delicious dish on Monday and tonight we used the leftover sauce for the second time. 

I rubbed a pork tenderloin with Chinese 5 Spice Powder and browned it in a  pan.  Then, I moved it to a roasting pan and cooked it in the oven for another 22-25 minutes at 375 degrees. 

After moving the pork to the oven, I deglazed the pan with chicken broth, added the leftover Moroccan Chicken sauce, and cooked the broccoli in it over low heat for about 10 minutes.

I also tried pureed cauliflower for the first time tonight and found that it's a wonderful substitute for mashed potatoes - similar texture and a whole lot more healthful.

Ingredients (serves 2):

Florets from 1/2 head of cauliflower

Olive oil 

S&P

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat cauliflower with olive oil and S&P and spread out evenly on a baking sheet.

Roast for 15 minutes, stir, and roast for another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Place cauliflower and 1/4 cup skim milk to food processor and mix until pureed.  Add more milk if necessary.

Transfer cauliflower to a small non-stick saucepan and add 1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, gouda, parmesan, mozzarella, - whatever you like).  Heat over low flame, stirring frequently.  Taste and add more cheese if necessary.

This is a great little trick, especially if you love mashed potatoes but are trying to limit your carb intake.  Do you have other suggestions for healthier alternatives for carby favorites?  Do tell!

Day 215: Adios, Monkeys!!

Tonight is our last night at the Tiskita Jungle Lodge in Costa Rica and while I eagerly anticipate experiences elsewhere in this country, I will miss the delicious home cooking here.

As always, dinner tonight started with soup (squash) and then included a fresh salad (check out all those bright green bits of cilantro!). The main course was chicken that tasted as if it had been cooked slowly with fresh tomatoes. It was juicy and super flavorful and as you can see, accompanied by steamed broccoli and rice.

If you are planning to travel to CR, I really recommend you consider staying at Tiskita. It's not easy to get to, but the food is plentiful and tasty and the opportunity to see wildlife (monkeys, sloths, tucans, butterflies, and lots of other creatures) is unmatched. We have had an amazing time here!

Day 211: Birthday Week Marches On

I'm a big believer in stretching out a birthday for a good solid week.  My week-long celebration began last night and carried on tonight at Cafe Maritime.  Basically, my celebration is defined by eating out rather than cooking and  indulging in dessert every day.  I love birthdays.

My dinner tonight started with shrimp cocktail.  At Cafe Maritime, that means five huge shrimp, dangling from the edge of a huge glass which holds sweet cocktail sauce with huge chucks of avocado floating in it.  Yum.

Next, I had the lobster thermidor which is, hands down, my favorite dish at CM.  As you can see, chunks of lobster and veggies are stuffed back into half the lobster shell and a little bit of cheese is melted over the top.  Most of the time, restaurants make this dish way too rich - with loads of cream and cheese.  This one, though, is pretty light and really allows the flavor of the lobster to shine through.  

And, because it is birthday week, of course I needed to have dessert.  "Mark's Mom's Coconut Cream Pie" is THE thing to get at CM.  The crust is so light and flaky and the coconut and meringue are light as air.  The only thing wrong with it is that it's not bigger.

Tomorrow is my actual birthday, but I'll spend the majority of it on an airplane or in an airport, so I'm not expecting the usual high caliber birthday dinner.  But it's okay - that's why I celebrate for a whole week!

Day 207: Can Someone Explain Broccoli Rabe to Me?

This is a tough week at work and I can definitely use a little extra brain power so I had fish for dinner tonight.  The Balboa Cafe really knows what they're doing with a salmon fillet - crispy on the outside, soft and perfectly cooked inside.  I love it and order it anytime it's on the menu.

The salmon itself is always so good that I hardly even care what it's served with - except on nights like tonight when it's broccoli rabe.  Can someone please explain this vegetable to me?  I've tried it so many times in so many restaurants and I always find it bitter and never enjoy it.  There are few things in this world that I can't stand to eat, but broccoli rabe is on that list for sure.  I find this particularly odd considering how much I love broccoli.

What am I missing here??

Day 202: Give Cheese a Chance

Tonight I had a serious craving for carbs.

Rather than pasta, I boiled up some whole grain udon noodles.  I like the Eden brand, which you can find at many supermarkets these days.  These wheat and brown rice noodles are a lot lighter than most whole wheat or whole grain Italian pasta both in texture and in flavor and are packed with protein (8 grams per serving!).  They also seem to be kinder on the old digestive system than a lot of those whole grain pastas tend to be.

The first thing I did was toss a pint of sweet orange pear tomatoes with olive oil (just enough to coat), dried oregano, and S&P.  I poured this mixture into a glass baking dish and roasted it at 400 degrees until the tomatoes burst (10-15 minutes).  If pear tomatoes aren't readily available, you can replace them with some nice vine ripened red tomatoes.  Just cut them in half and roast them cut side up.

While the tomatoes were roasting, I boiled my pasta and drained it when it was just al dente.

I also heated up 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes on low heat.  Once warm, I added five cloves of finely chopped garlic and cooked the mixture for a few minutes.  The garlic should soften up and mellow out but NOT brown.

While this was happening, I grated about 2 oz of parmesan cheese.

The final step is to combine everything in your pasta pot:  cooked noodles, roasted tomatoes and any juice that cooked out, the olive oil and garlic mixture, and the cheese.  Mix everything together gently and cook until it's at the desired temperature.  Sprinkle some more cheese over the top before serving.

You know I always need my greens, so I just steamed a bunch of broccoli to have on the side.

This was a yum meal and really satisfied my carb craving without making me feel like I had gone off the deep end nutrition-wise.  Also, if you're a meat eater, you won't miss it a bit in this vegetarian meal.  And if you do, just add more cheese.  There are no problems that more cheese cannot solve!

Day 196: I Did What???

Tonight I did something crazy.  I went to Izzy's Steaks & Chops and ordered...swordfish??

I haven't been feeling all that slim lately and so I felt that I needed to avoid my beloved prime rib tonight and go for a healthier option.

I started with the yummy warm goat cheese salad.  A disc of gooey cheese is served on a bed of lettuce with sliced apples and chopped walnuts.  I don't care for walnuts, so I always pick those out and my husband enjoys them.

At Izzy's you get to choose two sides with your entree.  Normally I go with a double order of steamed broccoli but tonight a baked potato sounded good.  When it showed up, it was the size of my head!  I was a little intimidated by it and so concentrated on the fish (delicious!) and the broccoli and once I got through that I was super stuffed and so never touched that dinosaur egg of a potato.

This was the first time that I ever went to a steakhouse and ordered fish.  While I was very  pleasantly surprised, I wonder...will I ever do this again?  Stay tuned!

Day 175: Old Stuff From the Fridge

We nearly always go out for dinner on Friday nights - but having been off from work since Wednesday, my internal day of the week clock is seriously screwed up.

I had a craving all afternoon for tacos, so we were planning to whip them up for dinner.  But after an afternoon full of errands and not getting home until after 8pm, I sort of lost my energy for cooking and it felt too late to head out for a meal.  So, we took the opportunity to finish up a bunch of old stuff from the fridge, like the broccoli pictured above which I had purchased at the market about a week ago.

I steamed the broccoli and paired it with a can of Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque - one of my favorite canned soups.  I doctored the soup up by stirring in some freshly grated parmesan cheese, some black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and some dried oregano.  Warm, cozy, and ad little bit spicy - great for a chilly night!