CORNFLAKE-CRUSTED HALIBUT WITH CHILE-CILANTRO AIOLI

Am I the only person that asks the waiter at a seafood restaraunt, "Is this a "fishy" fish, or does it have a light fish flavor"?  There are just certain fish that just tastes like what a fish looks like....and that is the type of fish that I do not like.  I like a more mild flavor of fish.  That is why I jump at the chance to make any recipe that includes halibut.  Halibut is such a mild fish.  It is moist and flaky and goes well fried, grilled or seared.  I found an old recipe from Cooking Light for a Cornflake-Crusted Halibut with Chile-Cilantro Aioli.  The cornflake crust gave the fish a nice crispy texture on the outside, but it was still reallly moist on the inside.  The Aioli is mayo based, but to lighten it up the recipe called for fat free mayo.  Once you add the cilantro, serrano chile and garlic, you cannot tell it is fat free....all you taste is the great flavor.  This dish is super simple and light.  Perfect for a week-night meal.  I served it with some parmesan oven fries home-made coleslaw.  Fish and chips done "lite" and right!

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS AND TOMATOES

It was so nice for someone to give me a recipe for a change.  Even though I love finding new recipes and coming up with new menus to plan, sometimes it is really nice if someone offers me a family recipe to try out.  Loria Harman of Sew Simple Design , recently e-mailed me her family recipe for Linguine with Clams & Tomatoes.  I have to tell you a little bit about her first.  She does amazing window treatments & upholstery.  Her website http://www.sewsimpledesign.com/ has beautiful pictures of  her work.  We are finally, after almost three years in our new home, ready to do some window treatments.  I was searching on-line for just some pics of what I wanted and I came to her website.  I loved her work.  I had no idea that she actually lived in the Chicagoland area and when I saw her phone number and that she had a (630) area code I called her immediately!  She came out to my house, we came up with a few ideas, now all I have to do is pick some fabrics!  She is great!  Please check out her website should you need window treatments or pillow made or anything re-upholstered.

Anyway, long story short, Loria was nice enough to pass along her families recipe for Linguine with Clams & Tomatoes.  I jumped at the chance to make this dish because I have only made Linguine & Clams in white sauce or chicken broth based sauce, but I have not attempted it with tomatoes.  A little tidbit that you do not know about me....I love, love, love tomatoes.

Tilapia with Spinach, Tomatoes & Northern Beans

My husband was out of town all week so I decided to make one of his favorite seafood recipes for him when he came home.  He loves my Tilapia with Spinach, Tomatoes & Northern Beans.  This recipe is really light, but full of flavor.  You can use another firm white fish as well such as bass if you would like.  The lightly breaded and fried fish is served over a bed of fresh cooked spinach and then a northern bean, tomato amd chicken broth sauce is ladled over the top.  Sprinkle the top with some fresh chopped basil, grated parmesan cheese and a wedge of lemon and it is ready to be served!  I also like to serve a hunk of fresh baked bread on the side because my husband loves to soak up all the extra juice!

CHILE-LIME SHRIMP TACOS WITH CITRUS SALSA

Next to Italian food our families second favorite is Mexican.  I am always trying to come up with recipes that have a Mexican flavor...but with a twist.  Last night I "concocted"...that is my word for when I have not gotten to the grocery store and I search the fridge and pantry for fun ingredients to create a fun new recipe. So anyway...I concocted a grilled shrimp taco, but served a really tasty citrus salsa over the top.  One word...awesome!  I marniated the shrimp with a few ingredients and popped them in the fridge for about two hours.  Whipped up the salsa and put that in the fridge.  The only thing I had to do was grill the shrimp, which took not even 5 minutes, and dinner was served!  This meal is light and full of flavor!

Mediterranean Tuna & Potato Salad

For all of us Catholics out there...this past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday.  This is the start of Lent for us, which means it is time to dig out all of our "non-meat" recipes.  Catholics are also supposed to fast or eat very little on Ash Wednesday.  I decided to make a light salad that combined romaine lettuce, tuna fish, boiled new potatoes, artichoke hearts and other great ingredients all combined with a dijon mustard and lemon vinegarette.  This is a great salad!  It is so light and tasty and the ingredients all come together nicely. Even if you are not Catholic this is must try salad that will be different than all the rest!

It's Greek To Me

So....we celebrated the Lost Premiere this past Tuesday night!  For those of you who watch it, I know you shared in my excitement!  Once again our mind is swamped with unanswered questions, but it was well worth it because it gave us a chance to sit down together (yes, in front of the t.v.) and have a quiet meal together.  Our moto around this house is to make an ordinary day a special day and try to do this through cooking of course.  So in honor of the big premiere we were Greek for a night.  I know, I know that show takes place in Hawaii, but it felt like a Greek night to me.   I  set up a little "Pita Bar" in our family room.  It was kinda like a taco bar, but instead of filling up our tacos with Mexican ingredients we filled up our pitas with Greek flavors.  I got the idea from my August 09 - Bon Appetit.  They had what was called a Greek Meze Platter.  They described it as " ....a fun assortment of flavorful nibbles...".  I decided to use their idea, but come up with some of my own recipes. Here is what was on the menu:  Oregano & Lemon Shrimp (with feta), Cucumber Salad, Marinated Kalamata Olives, Artichoke Hearts, Wedges of Lemons, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Chopped Tomatoes and fresh pita wedges.  You can either eat all the fixin's on their own or you can pile them up all together in your pita.   We cozied up on the couch for the three hour premiere, watched our show and made some pitas! It was pretty fun...and something different.

An Italian Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve in an Italian family  is the feast of the seven fishes, which means the Christmas Eve meal is all about the fish!  It is a tradition for Italian cooks to serve seven different types of fish. In Italian, the meal is known as La Vigilia, or Feast of the Seven Fishes, and it is one of Italy’s most famous traditions.  No one knows for sure the significance for offering seven fishes, although there are numerous explanations for it. Some believe that seven fishes are served because it took God seven days to create the world, while others mention the Seven Hills of Rome. There is also the possibility that the seven fishes symbolize the seven sacraments in the Catholic Church, along with the seven sins. Today, the number of fishes served varies. Although seven remains the historical number.

So..that being said my family, since we are Italian, tries to stick to this tradition of "fish". We do not however make 7 different kinds of fish.  We make three:  fried shrimp, fried calamari and fried smelt.  I have included our entire Christmas Eve menu (our family is now actually too big so we do not actually celebrate this party on Christmas Eve...rather the saturday before)  for you on this post.  Our menu does not falter, does not stray...it is strictly the same every year!  A tradition my Grandmother & Grandfather started way back when.  We tried to honor them every year by keeping up the italian tradition!