Haddock w/Mushrooms and vermouth( Fine Cooking)....

I picked up the January issue off Fine Cooking looking for something quick and easy to make for dinner on Friday. My eyes were drawn to the little pull-out section in the back titled " Quick Fish". I spotted this recipe because I knew that Haddock was on sale and cremini mushrooms were on sale too. The original recipe uses cod, but the footnotes say that any firm white fish can be substituted. It came together in about 15 minutes and was delicious served with some mashed potatoes.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesean( ALL RECIPES)....

Normally, I can take or leave Tilapia. I bought some because last weekend, it was on a 2 day special for 2.99lb. Yesterday it was 11.49lb. Ridiculous I say, I refuse to pay that much for a farmed, bland fish. Anyway, when I bought it, I had the salesperson, vacuum seal it and I chucked it into the freezer.

I know you're not supposed to have cheese with fish, but this was so yummy. Years ago, my grandparents used to take me to this restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale called Sea Shanty( I think it was a chain). I always would get the fish oreganato style, very similar to this recipe.

Here, the fish is broiled on each side, and then slathered with a mix of butter, mayo, parmesean and a few spices. I did sprinkle Old Bay on both sides of the fish for more flavor. I also added some fresh chopped dill and some breadcrumbs to the coating mix. I used low-fat mayo and reduced the lemon juice. The original recipe is HERE. I'm sure this would be great on other types of fish too( although I wouldnt use it on salmon)

Fish Taco Salad......

I don't want this to turn into a South Beach Diet blog because there are already wonderful examples out there. However, since Robin is chugging along on phase 1 ( and she's already lost 6lbs), I've been cooking all the meals South Beach style. I'm pretty proud of this meal and my ability to South Beach it for Robbie. I had a craving for Fish Tacos. Fish Tacos are one of the foods I miss the most from S. Cal. I usually always have corn tortillas in the freezer( I buy them in MI) and a couple weeks ago I scored on Tilapia. Our grocery store had fresh tilapia for 2.99lb. I promptly asked the gal behind the fish counter a million questions. How fresh is it? When did it come in? Please let me smell it. She held a piece over the counter and I took a big whiff. No fishy smell which is a good thing. I asked her to wrap me up 4lbs in separate vac packaging. I pulled out a package this morning to defrost.

I dusted it with smoked paprika, cumin, sea salt and chili powder. I added a touch of flour to mine. I pan sauteed them in EVOO and finished with a bit of white wine. I made an avocado cream with sour cream, half a mashed avocado, frozen cubes of cilantro, red wine vinegar, meyer lemon juice, salt and mayo. I laid Robin's fish on a bed of romaine, coleslaw mix, radishes, and cukes. I dressed her greens lightly with taco sauce and ranch. The creama went on top of the fish. I had my fish wrapped in pan toasted corn tortillas, yummy!!

Yellowtale snapper Vera Cruz......

I'm back from a glorious week spent in Ft. Lauderdale. I hung out with my 19 month old neice Emily, cooked a couple great meals with my friend mike, ate out some great food, shopped, swam and sunbathed.

This is a meal my friend Mike and I made on my second night there. We made a vera cruz sauce using a recipe from Zarela Martinez. The recipe can be found on Marthastewart.com. You begin my sauteed white onion and garlic in evoo, to that you add canned san marzano tomatoes( or fresh), chopped spanish olives,white wine, pickled jalapeno;s, capers and fresh herbs( oregano, thyme) and dried marjoram. When the sauce is reduced slightly, you pour some under and over fresh fish. We used yellow tale snapper that Mike's partner Jim picked up at a fish market. The fish bakes for around 15 mintues and all the wonderful flavors of the sauce infuse the fish. It was so tasty. We made a brown rice blend on the side along with a fresh crisp salad and a tangy homeade viniagrette.

PS: I hate this beta blogger, does anyone know how I can switch back?