For Valentine's Day - Velvety Red Snapper with Crispy Artichokes

Red snapper filet for Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day, why not have red snapper to compliment the red roses you hopefully received today! This dish is based on a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. She said on her TV show that she learned if from a coat check girl in Paris.  When Ina told this story I pictured her in a typical Parisian bistro with a cigarette smoking coat check girl wearing too much red lipstick and a beauty mark.  But I digress.

Snapper with a creamy mustard sauce with crispy artichokes

My version is a little bit different.  Ina uses two different kinds of mustard, and more of it.  I just use Dijon.  I substitute non-fat greek yogurt for creme fraiche, as Ina's recipe calls for.  Creme fraiche has 100 calories, all from fat, per each two tablespoon serving.  Non-fat Greek yogurt has 130 calories for 8 ounces and as the name implies, zero fat.  I have cooked it both ways and couldn't tell the difference in taste.  I also add some white wine and fresh squeezed lemon juice to make it more of a sauce.

Hello gorgeous!

I recommend serving a 1/2 lb filet per person (as usual).  You can use other fish besides red snapper - tilefish, telapia or turbot would work, too.  Mix an 8 ounce serving of non-fat Greek yogurt in a bowl with shallots, capers, Dijon (or your favorite mustard) and a little bit of white wine and mix well.  Place the filet in a shallow casserole dish, skin side down (you can also have your fish monger remove the skin but I like it on).  Fish skin contains the very healthy omega-3 fish oils.  It's good for you, so long as the fish wasn't swimming in contaminated waters.  So, you shouldn't eat it all the time, but a few times a week is OK.  If you never eat fish keep the skin on - if you're squeamish you needn't be - with the mustard sauce the taste and texture will be masked.

Mixture: non-fat Greek yogurt, capers, shallots, lemon, Dijon and white wine

Another thing I like about this dish is that it doesn't leave your kitchen smelling fishy.  I save these types of dishes for the days after the cleaning lady has come and I try to keep the kitchen neat.  On the days preceding her visits, it's no-holds-barred cooking in the skillet on the stovetop. 

Et viola!

Cover your filet(s) with the mustard sauce mixture and cook at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  I served it with crispy artichokes - recipe to be posted tomorrow.  If you're planning on having the red snapper for Valentine's Day you can serve it with one of my standbys - sweet peas.  Birds Eye has great frozen peas that you can saute with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and a pat of butter. 

Happy Valentine's Day!  And if you serve this dish it will be a healthy-eating one, too!

Tomorrow's post: Crispy Artichokes!

Ingredients

1/2 lb filet per person

One (1) 8 ounce container of non-fat Greek Yogurt





2 tbspns Dijon mustard (or your favorite mustard)

1 tbspn capers

1 tbspn fresh minced shallots

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/8 - 1/4 cup white wine

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Place filet in casserole dish - season with salt and pepper on both sides

In a separate bowl, toss in yogurt, mustard, capers, shallots, lemon and wine

Mix well with whisk

Add mixture to casserole dish - cover file well

Roast at 425 degree pre-heated oven for 15 minutes

Remove from oven

Serve and enjoy!

 

A glass of wine and thou

The "L" Word

Not that L word.  I'm proposing that we all observe Lent - but before those non-Catholics and lapsed Catholics (myself included) - click back to Facebook, hear me out.  Though the nuns at Archbishop Williams High School and the jesuits at Boston College I studied with  may be dismayed to hear it, I haven't darkened the door of a church in quite some time (except for weddings and funerals).  But every year I give up something unhealthy for Lent.

In a nutshell, during Lent, Catholics are supposed to give up a luxury and to not eat meat on Fridays.  Every year, I give up my spirit of choice, vodka.  I also don't eat meat on Fridays, which isn't such a big deal anymore because I basically don't eat red meat at all.  When I was a boy you were supposed to eat fish on Fridays during Lent, and I've continued to observe that tradition, even before becoming the Skinny Gourmet Guy.

So, this year, why not observe Lent and give up something unhealthy for the 40 days of Lent.  And to eat fish on Fridays - maybe it will help you transition to eating fish several nights a week.

Let begins on Ash Wednesday, which is February 22nd and ends on Easter Sunday, which is April 8th.  Just wait until you tell your friends at synagog that you're observing Lent this year and see how it goes over!  You have about a week to decide - February 22nd is next Wednesday.

Mom's Roasted Eggplant

Roasted eggplant goes with everything

I just love roasted eggplant.  It might be that it reminds me of my mother.  She made this dish throughout my childhood - only she melted tons of parmigiano-reggiano on the top.  I skip that step.  Usually.  The roasted eggplant and tomato are delicious enough on their own.

Prep work - score the top of the eggplant halves

I often wonder what my mother would think of me writing a blog and sharing my recipes with the world.  Her name was Mary Dolores Ago and, unfortunately, she passed away at a young age before there were blogs or even the internet.  Though gregarious and very social, my mother could also be very guarded and she didn't share her recipes with anyone - including me and we were very close.  Her marinara was amazing - but she made it when I was at school and all traces of the ingredients were swept away before I came home.  My mother grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts and was very "Boston Brahmin" - highly discreet and inconspicuous.  She grew up in The Depression and went to Brookline High School with Barbara Walters.  But I digress!

Plum tomatoes

This is as simple as falling off a log.  Score a checkerboard pattern on the top of the eggplant.  Slice plum tomatoes and place on top.  I put about a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil on top before roasting.  Plum tomatoes are pretty tasteless when uncooked - but they release their flavor when roasted.

Tin foil in the pan to make cleanup easy

Arrange the sliced plum tomatoes on the eggplant halves. I sprinkle with Herbs de Provence or dried oregano on top - they add color and flavor.  Roast for 35 - 45 minutes at 350 degrees depending on the size of the eggplant - you really can't overcook.  (I suppose if you cooked for 3 hours at 500 degrees you probably could!)

To all you moms out there - please keep a journal of your favorite recipes to share with your children.  They will hopefully be passed down from generation to generation.  And the actor in me appreciates the "sense memory" of this recipe of my mother's.  I always think of her when I taste her roasted eggplant dish.

Served here with bay scallops

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant per person

2 plum tomatoes per eggplant

2 tspns extra virgin olive oil

1 tspn Herbs de Provence or oregano

2 tbspns fresh squeezed lemon juice

Method

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees

Slice eggplant in half lenght-wise

Score a checkerboard pattern on each half, about 1/4" deep

Slice tomatoes vertically; arrange on eggplant halves

Divide oil between 2 halves

Sprinkle Herbs de Provence or oregano

Roast for 35 - 45 minutes

Remove from oven and squirt the fresh lemon juice onto both halves

Friday Dinner

Whole Foods at the Time Warner Center has good prepared foods

that are sometimes sold at substantial discounts

On Friday nights, I like to take a break from cooking and get something that I can heat up or takes minimal preparation.  This is mostly true when my cleaning lady comes every other Friday.  I try to avoid using the stove and messing up the kitchen.  Usually, I get a rotisserie chicken - my dog Hubbell likes that choice.  But sometimes I go to the Whole Foods at Time Warner Center. They have many items on sale at big discounts. Not bad when you consider the restaurant Per Se is upstairs - where the prixe fixe is $295 a pop!

Shrimp cocktail

Last Friday, Whole Foods had shrimp on special.  It was $12 a pound.  I bought a half pound, which turned out to be a lot of shrimp.  I started dinner with shrimp cocktail.  I already had cocktail sauce in the fridge and I added some red horse raddish to give it a kick.  It was really delicious, and I had shrimp left over for another dinner later in the weekend.

Stuffed Clams

Whole Foods also has stuffed clams all the time.  For $3.99 you get a very generous portion.  I heated it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes and squeezed fresh lime juice on it before serving.  The shrimp and the stuffed clams were more than enough for dinner and the bill came out to just under $10.00.  And I still had one more meal to go!

Haul from Whole Foods on Friday night (this is about 1/2 of the shrimp)

On Saturday night I used ingredients from my pantry to make a second meal featuring the shrimp.  I made a delicious lemony pasta with shrimp, tomatoes, kalamata olives, lemon, parmesan cheese and arugula. 

Saturday night dinner

The usual suspects

Top with a healthy portion of parmesan cheese

Everyone in the pool!

I had the usual staples on hand and whipped up a lemony shrimp pasta dinner. I took the shrimp from the fridge and let them come to room temperature while I cooked everything else. I had my usual staples of cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic and lemon - I sautéed them while I boiled linguine. Right before transferring the pasta from the boiling water to the saute pan, I added the shrimp to the mixture. Next the pasta along with a ladle full or so of the starchy pasta water.  At the end I added parmesan cheese.  I don't usually go for mixing cheese with fish, but in this case it worked.  When I transferred a serving to a large bowl, I tossed in a handful of arugula and mixed it in with the pasta and mixture - it was fresh arugula and worked like a charm.  It was nice to look at and tasted delicious.  I was in such a hurry to dig in I didn't get a great picture of the final product with the arugula mixed in with the pasta.

Et viola!

When you find something like shrimp on sale, get a big portion - and have it for dinner over two nights.  My dinners came out to $5 per night.  Not bad for a weekend in New York City!

Roasted Sea Bass!

I want this for dinner every night!

I love roasted sea bass - where you have the fish monger clean the fish, but leave it whole so you can roast it that way.  I order this all the time at the restaurant Vai on the upper west side.  I asked the chef how he prepared it.  He grilled both sides of the fish and finishes it in the oven.  The waiter will present the whole fish at the table, then take it to the kitchen to filet.  They always come out perfectly.  My sea bass is delicious, but can end up looking like the dog's breakfast because it always falls apart when I try to filet it after cooking.  Then I saw a video on the NY Times on line site.  They say not to worry about it looking perfect.  I gave in last night and stopped trying to be such a perfectionist.   It didn't look all that bad - and it was delicious!

Be your own sous chef

You can infuse the sea bass with whatever flavors you feel like using.  I chose fresh oregano, tomatoes and lemon slices.  There's a world of difference between fresh and dry oregano.  The first time I came across fresh was at a roadside stand on the Amalfi coast.  Citarella has it and that's where I purchased it yesterday - it was only $1.99 for a package.  It's also important that you use plenty of salt and pepper inside and out the fish - the bass will stand up to it and the seasoning really brings out the flavor. 

I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: always act as your own sous chef and get all of the ingredients ready and have them handy before you start to cook.  I'm so much more relaxed that way - and prepping all of the ingredients is a ritual.  Why not enjoy a glass of wine while you chop?

Your blank canvas

When choosing a whole fish, always be sure to look to see if the eyes are clear.  Take a sniff - it shouldn't smell "fishy."  It should smell fresh and you should detect the sea - otherwise it's not fresh.

Fresh oregano, tomatoes, lemon and salt & pepper

I have roasted fish by placing the ingredients inside the cavity and sealing it shut.  Last night I let the ingredients peek through - they seemed to cook better that way.  The fish really took on the delightful tastes of the fresh tomato, lemon and oregano.

Finished product

Once you've place your ingredients in the cavity, put the fish in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. 

Broccoli rabe on the side

Meat in the cheeks is the best - two tiny morsels of deliciousness!

When the fish is done you need to remove the bones.  There's a long spine bone - the tip is just below the head and neck.  You can pull it out, carefully, in one fell swoop.  Check for other small bones and peel away the skin. Take a tiny spoon and dig out the cheek meat - it's delicious. 

Et viola!

Dig away a serving from the bones, top with the stuffing and enjoy!  While my dish wasn't as pretty as the one served at Vai - it was just as delicious.  I've even seen this served at Eataly whole and the diners picked away the flesh from the whole fish.  I like to prepare in the kitchen - but it's up to you - serve whichever way you like best.

Ingredients

1 lb - 1 1/2 lb whole sea bass per person

1 vine ripe tomato - cut in slices, then cut in half

1 lemon sliced horizontally

3 - 4 sprigs fresh oregano

2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Take fish, pat dry inside and out with paper towels

Add oil to fish - smear inside and out

Salt and pepper the inside and out with plenty of salt and pepper

Place the other ingredients inside the cavity

Place in oven-proof non-stick pan

Cook for 15 minutes

Remove from oven and pull spine bone away from fish

Check for other bones and place portion on plate

Top with the roasted tomatoes, oregano and lemons

Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower!

Colorful dish

I noticed cauliflower at the market the other day.  I don't know why I never think of preparing it as a side dish.  It was $1.99 for a head and I decided to take the plunge and give roasting it a try. 

 

Sturdy vegetable

I roast broccoli, asparagus, brussells sprouts, you name it all the time.  These veggies usually take about 15 minutes to roast.  Cauliflower is much sturdier and takes almost twice the time to roast - more like 25 - 30 minutes.  I was serving it with flounder so I decided to toss in Kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes just to add some color.  As always when I roast vegetables, I added a few cloves of garlic.

Cut in half and remove the core

It's pretty easy to prepare the caulifower for the oven.  Cut the head in have, remove the core and cut into florets.  Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze fresh lemon over the mixture.  Add sea sale and pepper and pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Ready for the oven

You may want to hold off and add the tomatoes and olives until 15 minutes in or so.  I added everything at the beginning.  The tomatoes and olives were about ready to disintegrate.  I thought it tasted delicious!

Cauliflower is done when the florets start to turn brown

How delicious does this look?

Served with flounder - the tomatoes and olives added much need color

Broccoli and cauliflower "before"

Et viola!

A few nights later I thought I'd add even more color to the dish and incorporated broccoli.  It was a beautiful dish, but the broccoli cooks much faster.  It was a nice accident the softer broccoli and crispier cauliflower complimented each other nicely. 

Fiesta!  Roasted cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, garlic olives with swordfish teriyaki

The broccoli and cauliflower side went really well with my spicey swordfish teriyaki - I'll post that recipe shortly.

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower - cut in half and core and cut into florets

3 - 4 cloves of garlic, peeled an coarsley minced

Fresh lemon juice from a lemon

2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup kalamata olives - pitted and sliced

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes - sliced

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Pre-heat oven the 400 degrees

Place cauliflower into oven-proof pan

Cook, uncovered for 25 - 30 minutes

Add tomatoes and olives at the beginning for soft texture; if you prefer sturdier add 15 minutes into cooking time

Squeeze lemon juice on mixture and toss lemon halves into pan

Add salt and pepper and mix everything together so cauliflower is well covered with oil

Toss mixture every 10 minutes or so using tongs

After 30 minutes remove from oven and squeeze more lemon juice on mixture

Serve immediately and enjoy!



Pan Fried Chicken Breast

Chicken breast cooked on the stovetop

I saw a recipe in this week's Dining Section in the New York Times for chicken that you fry in a pan on the stovetop.  It's a recipe by Mark Bittman.  I've tried this with a whole chicken, where you truss the bird, saute on both sides and finish it in the oven.  With this recipe all the cooking is done on the stove. 

Dredge in Flour

I passed the fish counter at Citarella, waived to my friends and headed to the meat counter.  I hadn't been there in months but got a helpful guy behind the counter.  I picked out a small chicken breast with the bone in that I thought would fit the bill.  He said it was too small and found a larger piece.  I told him I planned to fry it in a pan - so he recommended cutting the breast in half and then he pounded down both halves.  (The first piece would have been enough - I only had the one half.  But I liked it so much I'm having the second half tonight!) 

Is that butter I see?

Since Mark Bittman isn't a Skinny Gourmet (no offense to Mark) this recipe isn't exactly Mediterranean or skinny.  You've got to splurge every so often and I knew I was taking an hour of spin this morning.  The recipe calls for two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and two tablespoons of butter.  I rarely follow recipes to the letter, but I did with this one.  Meanwhile, you dredge your chicken breast through flour and shake off the excess. 

Nicely browned

When the oil and butter are about to simmer you place the breast in the pan.  Bittman didn't indicate whether your should put the skin side down first or the bottom.  I put the skin side down first.  He said to cook it for a good five minutes per side.  My breast took longer than that.  I just peeked at it and flipped it when the breast was nicely browned. 

Mushrooms and red wine

I cooked the bottom for five minutes and then set aside and covered with tin foil.  Then I took chopped cremini mushrooms and added them to the pan - make sure you don't rinse it out - leave the juices from the chicken.  The recipe didn't call for it but I added a few cloves of chopped garlic.  Mark said to use any wine.  I only had a bottle of red.  It worked fine.  As always, I added lemon, too.  I'm skipping the lemon tonight - red wine and lemon really don't go together.  It still tasted OK, and I think lemon and white wine go well together. 

Everyone in the pool!

The recipe called for 1/2 cup of wine and let it reduce by half.  I did this and then, following the recipe, I added the chicken back into the pan and let all of the flavors blend together.

Delicious!

One advantage of following someone else's recipe to the letter is that the dish will taste like someone else cooked it.  Despite my little misstep with the lemon the dish looked and tasted absolutely delicious.  I served it with roasted asparagus, tomato, kalamata olives and garlic. 

FYI - this recipe is copied directly from Mark Bittman's column

 

Ingredients

Chicken breasts
Extra-virgin olive oil
Butter
Flour
Mushrooms
Wine
Parsley.

Method

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes

Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet and swirl around

Put about 1/4 cup of flour on a plate.  Dredge chicken through, shaking to remove the excess.

Add the breasts to the skillet and cook so there is a constant sizzle but no burning

Cook, turning once, until the chicken is browned on both sides and nearly cooked through, 5 minutes on each side

Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm

Add 1 pound sliced mushrroms to the skillet and cook, undisturbed, until the liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes

With the heat still on medium-high, add 1/2 cup of any wine to the skillet and let it bubble, stirring, unti it is reduced by half, about 2 minutes

Add another tablesppon of butter and cook until the sauce is thickened; return the chicken breasts to the skillet, turn them in the sauce and serve

Garnish: Chopped parsley