Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Tilapia with Almonds

Recipe Source: Clements, Carole and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen.  French.  Anness Publishing, London, 2006 p. 88

Some of you may have noticed that I've been a little... slack lately.  I haven't been responding to comments, I haven't been leaving comments on other blogs.  I apologize.  I've cut back on a lot of things out of necessity.  At this point, I have very little energy or stamina.  I rush to get through the things that I absolutely, positively, have to do: check email, write up recipes so I have something to post, walk the dog.  Then I collapse into a heap.  Sometimes I make more food, so I can have more recipes to write up and hopefully not have to have a blank period after the baby gets here.  Sometimes I can't even manage that, or even wash the dishes from the previous night's dinner. 

This recipe is just perfect for when you're in the same boat I am.  (I wasn't just whining.  I promise.)  It is so incredibly quick and easy, and it tastes like you've slaved over it for days.  I used tilapia instead of trout because my husband won't eat whole fish and we had lots of frozen tilapia on hand.  Tilapia is cheap, especially when you buy it that way.  It also thaws quickly.  I probably also used a lot more almonds than the recipe called for, because I love almonds.  This means that the tilapia itself is kind of obscured in the picture, but I've never been much good at doing things in moderation. 

Tilapia with Almonds (serves 2; approx. $1.09/serving)

2 tilapia fillets

1/3 cup flour

4 tablespoons butter

2 ounces (approx.) slivered almonds

2 tablespoons white wine

Equipment:

• Saute pan
• 2 plates

1. Dredge the fish in the flour.
2. Melt half the butter in the saute pan over medium heat. 
3. When the butter is foamy (their words, not mine, but a perfect description of when the pan is ready) add the fish.  Cook until golden brown on each side.  Tilapia fillets are pretty thin and cook quickly, so I'd watch it pretty carefully.
4. Transfer the fish to one of the 2 plates.  Use the other plate as a lid to keep it warm.
5. Add the remaining butter to the pan.
6. Saute the almonds until lightly browned. 
7. Add the wine carefully - I usually turn off the heat when adding booze to a pan, because while I am quite fond of fire I don't necessarily want my kitchen to be engulfed in it.  The risk is small, but I can be a little paranoid sometimes.  Anyway, add the wine to the pan and boil 1 minute.
8. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve immediately. 

Recipe: "Pepper" Steak

Recipe Source: Clements, Carole and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen.  French.  Anness Publishing, London, 2006 p. 153

Steak au poivre, or pepper steak, is a dish that has intrigued me for a long time.  I never had the chance to try it until recently.  My husband finds the concept of steak cooked indoors, in a pan, to be downright blasphemous, and so I never had the chance to make it.  Well, one recent Friday I found myself on my own for dinner.  This was the perfect opportunity to try the dish. 

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to.  I'm not sure why.  It could be that the pan I used was too big, which prevented the sauce from coming together the way I wanted.  I also didn't have proper peppercorns on hand.  I substituted grains of paradise, which tasted great and had a great texture so I don't think that was the problem.  I really think that halving the recipe may have had something to do with my disappointment as well.  I used garlic butter instead of regular for the recipe, and scattered some crushed garlic over the top of the finished product for a little extra garlic.  (I did mention that I was alone, right?)  At any rate, I tried it once, satisfying my curiosity.  I can now go back to eating steaks on the grill, which is how they should be done in the first place.

Steak au Poivre (serves 1; approx. $10.06/serving)

1 tablespoon grains of paradise

1 8-oz sirloin steak

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons brandy

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 garlic clove, crushed

Equipment:

• Plastic zip-top bag
• Rolling pin
• Various plates
• Saute pan

1. Put the grains of paradise in the plastic bag, then crush them lightly with the rolling pin.
2. Rub both sides of the steaks with the grains of paradise and set aside.
3. Melt the butter with the oil in the pan over medium-high heat.
4. Add the meat and cook until your desired degree of doneness is reached.  I like mine quite rare.  The book says 6 - 7 minutes.  Turn the steak halfway through cooking.
5. Transfer the steaks to a plate.
6. Turn off the heat.  Add the brandy to deglaze the pan, then return the pan to the heat. 
7. Add the cream and boil gently until the mixture has reduced by one third. 
8. Top the steak with the sauce and serve hot. 

Recipe: Apple and Cheese Tartlets

Recipe Source: Domine, Andre.  Culinaria France.  H. F. Ullmann, 2007 p. 158

I know I've talked about this before, but I simply adore apples.  My husband does too.  Unfortunately, while I prefer to eat raw apples, he strongly prefers his to be cooked.  He loves apple breads, apple pies, whatever.  I decided to use this recipe in an attempt to find savory uses for cooked apples. 

I made a few changes, of course.  First of all, this recipe was supposed to be made with Epoisses cheese.  I didn't have any.  I couldn't find any.  I did however have exactly the right amount of smoked gouda, so I used that.  I used my family pie crust recipe, because I tend to have bad luck with pastry and wanted to just use something that I knew would work.  The original called for creme fraiche; I used fat-free Greek yogurt.  The original wanted ham.  I can't do pork at the moment; the Fearless Fetus objects very strongly to any kind of pork product.  I substituted chicken sausages that I'd purchased for another recipe instead. 

I really liked these tartlets.  That said, they were certainly very filling, and I was only able to hack my way through one and a half of them before I just couldn't do any more.  My husband was able to eat more than I was, and he really loved them. 

Apple and Cheese Tartlets (makes 5; approx. $2.56/ea.)

1 pie crust recipe of your choice (single crust, store bought is fine)

3 eggs

3 1/2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt

9 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, diced

3 apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used Macs)

2 links hot Italian chicken sausage, casings removed

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Whisk
• Spoon
• Frying pan
• 5 tartlet pans

1. Preheat your oven to 390 degrees.
2. Divide your pastry into five equal pieces and press them into the tartlet pans.  Set aside.
3. Quickly brown the sausage in the frying pan, breaking it up with the spoon as you go.
4. Combine the eggs, yogurt, salt, pepper and nutmeg in the bowl with the whisk.  Combine thoroughly.
5. Add the apples, cheese and sausage.  Stir well to ensure that everything is well mixed and that every other component gets some of the egg mixture. 
6. Fill the tartlets with the mixture from the bowl. 
7. Bake 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 355 degrees and bake 30 minutes.
8. Serve.

Recipe: Potato and Mushroom Galette

Recipe Source: Kelly, Jeanne Thiel.  "Christmas Eve in France."  Bon Appetit, v 46 no 12, December 2001, p. 164.  Find the original recipe online here. 

I served this for our impromptu dinner party, and it was quite the hit.  Personally, I'm always a big fan of potatoes, and one of the best parts about fall is the fact that mushrooms are once again in season.  I'd picked up a "Chef's Sampler Pack" of different, interesting types of mushrooms to make this with, since I couldn't find just plain oyster mushrooms at my local Whole Foods that day.  (They may have been there - going through the produce section tends to make me more than a little bit nuts.) 

I did make a few changes to the recipe, although one was made for me really.  The original claimed to serve 12.  Those must have been awfully meager servings, because I got 6 out of mine.  I increased the amount of garlic (as I do,) added some tarragon and left the potatoes unpeeled (to save time and nutritional value.)  Finally, I felt concerned about the ability of the finished product to hold together.  To set my mind at ease, I added about 2 ounces of grated pecorino. 

Potato and Mushroom Galette (serves 6; approx. $3.40/serving)

3/4 cup butter

10 ounces mixed fresh mushrooms, trimmed and wiped clean

5 garlic cloves, crushed

38 ounces russet potatoes, sliced thin

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

1 tablespoon dried tarragon

Equipment:

• Large mixing bowl
• Large saute pan or skillet
• 9" cake pan with 1 1/2" high sides
• Pastry brush

1. Preheat your oven to 450.
2. Melt the butter in the skillet. 
3. Pour all but 2 tablespoons butter into the bowl.  Brush the bottom and sides of the cake pan with some of the butter in the bowl.
4. Add the mushrooms to the two remaining tablespoons in the skillet.  Saute until tender.
5. Add the potatoes, thyme and tarragon to the bowl with the melted butter.  Add the pecorino.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. 
6. Arrange the potato slices in two layers on the bottom of the pan.
7. Top the second layer with the mushroom mixture. 
8. Top the mushrooms with another two layers of potatoes. 
9. Bake until tender and very brown and crisp on top, about 40 minutes. 
10. Invert onto a serving platter.  Slice into wedges and serve hot or warm.

Recipe: Nicoise Salad

Recipe Source: Doeser, Linda.  Fish and Shellfish.  Anness Publishing, London, 2003 p. 92

This was another dinner salad that I made in response to my own desperate post-vacation craving for fresh, tasty vegetables.  It also appealed to me in that it contained fish, which is apparently important for fetal brain development.  Okay, okay, that's not why the fish appealed to me, that's an excuse for me to eat more fish despite the fact that fish is generally expensive.  I got around that in this recipe because it called for canned tuna, but I would probably not do that again.  I couldn't justify paying the $16.99/lb for fresh tuna right now, but in hindsight the canned tuna just didn't cut it for me. 

All in all, the salad succeeded in spite of the bland flavorless stuff from a can.  I made a few changes, naturally.  I skipped the cucumber, because my husband ate it before I could use it in the salad.  I skipped the green bell pepper, because I don't recall bell peppers having been in this classic salad when I've had it at its best.  I omitted the basil garnish for the same reason.  As for the garlic croutons, I suffered a bad attack of Lazy.  Instead, I made plain whole-wheat croutons from a baguette.  I also omitted the sunflower oil and reduced the olive oil in the dressing. 

I was very surprised when my husband liked this salad - especially since when I described it to him, he turned up his nose and said, "Ick."  Don't omit the anchovies, at least not in the vinaigrette.  They really do take the dressing to a delightful new level. 

Nicoise Salad (serves 6; $2.89/serving)

1 lb green beans

1 lb new potatoes, cut in 1" dice

White wine vinegar

1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

4 tomatoes, quartered (we used the first tomatoes from our garden, the 4th of July variety)

2 handfuls black salt-cured olives

1 8-oz can tuna, drained

2 2-oz cans anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained

4 teaspoons grainy brown mustard

1 head green garlic, roughly chopped

1/8 cup lemon juice

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 whole-wheat baguette, cut into relatively thin slices and dipped in olive oil

Equipment:

• Large pot to cook the potatoes and beans
• Baking sheet
• Colander
• Skimmer
• Bowl of ice water
• Mini-prep food processor

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange the oil-dipped bread slices on the baking sheet.
3. Bake 10 minutes, flipping once during baking, or until toasted to your liking.  Set aside to cool.
4. Fill the large pot with salted water and bring to a boil.
5. Blanch the green beans for no more than three minutes.  Evacuate to the ice-water bath with the skimmer. 
6. In the same pot with the same water, boil the potatoes until tender enough to eat. 
7. Drain them in the colander and sprinkle immediately with the white wine vinegar.  I don't know why, but this really makes a big difference. 
8. Lay out the romaine leaves on your serving platter.
9. Assemble the remaining vegetables, including the olives, on top of the romaine leaves. 
10. Sprinkle the drained tuna over the vegetables, and lay the drained contents of one of the cans of anchovies over that. 
11. Combine the remaining ingredients in the miniature food processor.  Process until well emulsified.
12. Drizzle the dressing over the salad.
13. Serve, with the croutons passed along the side.  It sounded odd to me too, but they will be wonderful dipped into the dressing when you've devoured the vegetables. 

Recipe: Savoyard Potatoes

Recipe Source: Worthington, Dianne Rossen.  Williams-Sonoma French.  Simon & Schuster, New York, 2003 p. 53

When I saw the picture of this recipe I was afraid.  I wasn't afraid of making it - the recipe looked pretty easy, and it was pretty easy.  I was afraid of eating it.  The photo was really glossy and made it look incredibly fatty.  Fortunately, that proved not to be the case at all.  Of course, I omitted the butter, but I don't think that detracted from the overall dish by all that much.  I also substituted pecorino cheese for the Gruyere and Lemony Vegetable Broth for the chicken broth.  The result was a frankly delicious side dish that we both enjoyed immensely.

Savoyard Potatoes (serves 6; approx. $1.71/serving)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 1/2 cups shredded pecorino cheese

Black pepper to taste

4 russet potatoes, sliced into rounds

1 1/2 cups Lemony Vegetable Broth

Equipment:

• Large roasting pan
• Bowl

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Lubricate the baking dish with your lubricant of choice - I used cooking spray. 
3. Combine the cheese, garlic, parsley and pepper together in the bowl.
4. Layer 1/3 of the potato slices in the dish. 
5. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese mixture over the potatoes.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 twice.
7. Pour the broth over the potatoes, cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes.
8. Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes.
9. Serve.

Recipe: Eggplant Stuffed with Mushrooms

Recipe Source: Child, Julia with Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck.  Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One.  Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2001 pp. 501 - 503

A while ago, I posted the first Julia Child recipe I've ever made, a recipe for pork in  sauce Chivry  that I (and The Spouse) really enjoyed.  It was a great recipe, and I was really enthusiastic about the book, but I got distracted by a variety of different cuisines and the book has stayed on the shelf.  I guess that French food is something that I'm more likely to crave when the weather gets cooler.  Anyway, eventually I was looking at the referral sources for my visitors, and I noticed that someone had been referred by Whisk: A Food Blog.  In honor of the new movie Julie and Julia, Whisk has begun what is essentially a blog roll of Julia Child recipes found out there in blog land.  It's an epic undertaking, really, I can't imagine trying to pull it together.  This blog resource inspired me to take up my Julia Child cookbook again and try another recipe.

I made this dish for one of our Sunday open houses.  (I should have looked at Whisk to see what she had done with the same recipe, but I was in a bit of a rush and did not.)  I chose this recipe for two reasons: it could be prepared ahead of time up to the point where it gets roasted, and my friend Carol was coming and she loved eggplant.  The fact that it could serve a lot of people didn't hurt. 

The original recipe warned that this could be "somewhat long," so I got this ready very early in the morning.  Really, it wasn't that bad.  Only chopping the mushrooms was really time-consuming.  The instructions may look long and fiddly, but it was really easy to make and tasted great.  I didn't make a lot of changes.  The only one I really made was replacing the Swiss cheese with Jarlsberg, which I did because I couldn't find Swiss cheese that wasn't "fat-free."  (Honestly, if you're trying to avoid fat, avoid cheese, don't turn to some chemical goo with all the flavor of pasteboard.  I'm just sayin'.)  When given the choice, I used basil instead of thyme because it was closer to hand and because I prefer the flavor.

Eggplants Stuffed with Mushrooms (serves 12; approx. $0.77/serving)

3 eggplants

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely minced onion

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 pound finely minced fresh mushrooms (I used white button mushrooms)

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 1/2 ounces cream cheese

4 tablespoons parsley, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

3 tablespoons grated Jarlsberg

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

3 tablespoons melted butter

Equipment:

• Shallow roasting pan large enough to hold the eggplant halves in a single layer
• 3-quart mixing bowl
• Skillet
• Kitchen towel
• Mixing bowl

1. Stem the eggplants and halve them lengthwise.
2. Cut striations 1" apart in the flesh, going down to about 1/4" above the skin.  Try very hard not to go through the skin.
3. Preheat your broiler.
4. Sprinkle the flesh with salt and lay the eggplants flesh-side down on the towel for half an hour.  This will help remove any bitterness in the eggplant. 
5. Gently squeeze the eggplant to remove any excess liquid.  Pat dry.
6. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer in the roasting dish.  Put about 1/8" of water in the bottom of the dish and drizzle the eggplants with olive oil.
7. Broil 10 - 15 minutes, until the flesh is moderately browned and tender.
8. Remove all but 1/4" of the eggplant meat with a spoon and chop.  Place it in the mixing bowl. 
9. Heat the first 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet.
10. Slowly cook the onions in the oil until tender but not browned. 
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add to the mixing bowl with the eggplant.
12. Heat the 3 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet and add the mushrooms.  Saute until lightly browned and tender, 5 - 6 minutes.  Season to taste and add to the mixing bowl.
13. Mash the cream cheese in the second bowl with the parsley. 
14. Add the basil, taste for seasoning and add to the bowl with the vegetables. 
15. All of these steps can be performed in advance.
16. About 40 minutes before you are ready to serve the eggplants, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
17. Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture from the mixing bowl.
18. Combine the bread crumbs and Jarlsberg and top the eggplants with the mixture.
19. Roast 25 - 30 minutes to thoroughly heat and to brown the topping.
20. Cut each half into two pieces (carefully!) and serve. 

Recipe: Walnut Bread

Recipe Source: Ingram, Christine and Jennie Shapter.  Bread.  Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 163

Recently, I attended an event with my husband.  This event was going to involve a lot of physical exertion over a long period for him, and when he engages in this sort of activity what he really wants afterward is carbohydrates.  Lots and lots of carbohydrates.  I thought it would be a good idea to give him a bit of protein with those carbs, so I decided to make this bread.

Unfortunately, I was less than enthusiastic about the way it turned out.  The recipe called for whole-wheat bread flour, and while I had whole wheat flour and bread flour on hand I did not have whole-wheat bread flour.  I used mostly bread flour, with some whole-wheat flour for added fiber and color.  It called for fresh yeast, which I don't even know how to find.  I used active dry yeast.  I also apparently didn't slash the bread the way I should have, because the result was a twisted and misshapen mass and not a pretty little round like the picture.  Oh well.  My husband liked it and there were no leftovers to lug home, and I guess that's the important thing.

Walnut Bread (serves 10; approx. $0.84/serving)

1/4 cup butter

3 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm milk

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Equipment:

• Stand mixer with the bread hook attachment
• Strainer
• Baking sheets

1. Combine the yeast, sugar and milk.  Let sit until the yeast is frothy, about 5 minutes.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Mix the salt and flours in the bowl of your stand mixer.
4. Strain the butter into the flour.
5. Pour the yeasted milk mixture into the flour. 
6. Using the stand mixer, knead until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky. 
7. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.
8. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Press down or roll out the dough a bit. 
9. Sprinkle the dough onto the dough, then roll it up. 
10. Cover and let rise another 30 minutes.
11. Divide the dough in half.  Cover and let rise another 45 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
13. Put the dough balls onto lightly greased baking sheets and slash three times. 
14. Bake 35 minutes or until done. 
15. Serve.

Recipe: Basil Palmiers

Recipe Source: Holuigue, Diane.  Savoring Provence.  Oxmoor House, Menlo Park, 2002 p. 36

This is, I promise, the last Easter recipe I have to post.  It's essentially a savory cookie.  My favorite Sesame Street character was always Cookie Monster (and the Count...) so serving cookies just makes sense to me.  I do feel kind of ashamed of having used store-bought puff pastry, but given all the chaos surrounding Easter this year and the short time frame I had to prepare the meal, it just made the most sense.  The only change I made was to double the amount of garlic, and I used kosher salt instead of sea salt.  Since I only used 2/3 of the package of puff pastry for this recipe, I was able to use the remaining 1/3 package for the lamb pockets I made the next day. 

Basil Palmiers (makes approx. 20 cookies; approx. $0.54/cookie)

20 fresh basil leaves

8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing

1/2 pound puff pastry, thawed if frozen

Equipment:

• Cookie sheet
• Rolling pin
• Pizza cutter
• Food processor (a mini-prep works just fine)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the garlic and basil in the food processor and process until a paste begins to form.
3. Add the olive oil and process to a smooth paste.
4. On a floured work surface, roll out your pastry into a rectangle about 15x12".
5. Spread the paste over the pastry surface.
6. Figure out where the halfway point on your sheet is.
7. Roll the 2 ends of the pastry sheet inwards to that halfway point.  Don't roll too tightly. 
8. When the rolls meet at the center, press together very lightly and freeze 20 minutes.
9. Lightly lube your baking sheet.
10. Remove the pastry roll from the freezer and cut crosswise into pieces about 3/8" thick.
11. Transfer each pastry piece to the baking sheet.
12. Sprinkle each piece with kosher salt.
13. Bake 15 minutes or until golden. 
14. Cool completely before serving.

Recipe: Provencal Braised Beans

Recipe Source: Holuigue, Diane.  Savoring Provence.  Weldon Owen, Menlo Park, 2002 p. 204

When it was decided that we would be holding a dinner party that would focus on pork and bacon, I had some serious thinking to do.  The fact of the matter is that I really lost my taste for pork when I started dating my husband.  He, of course, had no interest in pork until he discovered Barbeque.  I wanted there to be something on the menu that contained no trace of pork whatsoever.  The truth of the matter is that this was entirely for my own pleasure.  I was able to justify it when I learned that a friend would be joining us who is unable to eat meat for medical reasons.  Furthermore, given the vast quantities of bacon to be consumed, I wanted to offer something with some fiber.  This recipe fit the bill.

I made a few changes, of course.  I didn't have two cans of chickpeas.  What I had was one can of chickpeas and one can of black beans.  That's what I had, so that's what I used.  I reduced the amount of oil (because we REALLY weren't going to need it!) and used canned, fire-roasted tomatoes instead of fresh.  I used savory when the option of thyme or savory was given, and marjoram instead of oregano.  I also increased the amount of red bell pepper used.  I made a few procedural changes as well. 

The result was decent, but I wouldn't say it was spectacular.  It really wasn't that strongly flavored at all, and of course I prefer nice, bold flavors.  Still, it did taste good, and it provided everything I wanted it to so I'd still call it a success. 

Provencal Braised Beans (serves 12 as a side dish; approx. $0.49/serving)

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, sliced

3 canned, fire roasted tomatoes, broken up

5 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 fresh savory sprigs

1 fresh marjoram sprig

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into matchsticks

Equipment:

• Large, shallow saucepan

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in the saucepan. 
2. Add the onions and saute until softened.
3. Add the tomatoes and garlic.  Stir.
4. Add the beans, tomato paste, herbs and bell pepper. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste as well as 2 cups water. 
6. Bring to a boil, partially cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. 
7. Serve.