Provencal Broiled Fish & Potato Gratin

I'm really not big on French food. As far as cuisines go, I find the fare typically quite bland, void of spice and too rich. But I've been watching a lot of Jacques Pepin lately and I have discovered one thing that I truly love about French food - the ability to make really simple, rustic dishes that sound way fancier than they are. 

Exhibit A: Provencal Broiled Fish & Potato Gratin. 

Take away the fancy words and you have what the dish really is: broiled fish and potatoes. This recipe really wasn't that special and didn't photograph too beautifully, but the flavors well made up for presentation. Very simply, easy and delicious!

Provencal Broiled Fish & Potato Gratin Recipe:

• 2 - 3 lbs potatoes sliced thinly (I used 1 large sweet potato and a couple cups of fingerling potatoes)
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• salt, black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil or more (be generous)
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 2 tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 3 tilapia fillets (I recommend a better fish with the skin attached, but hey this is what we had)
• 1 lemon, sliced and juiced
• salt, black pepper, dash of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• spoonful of capers + 2 tbsp caper juice
• fresh parsley, minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all of your potatoes, onions and garlic in a large gratin dish (about a 9x13 baking pan). Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and toss with salt and pepper until evenly coated. Pour in the chicken stock and top with tomato slices. Bake in oven for about 50 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. While that's baking, marinate your fish with lemon, seasonings, olive oil, capers and parsley. 

When the potatoes are finished, pour the wine into the pan, place the fillets on top with all the marinade juices and place under the broiler for about 8 minutes. DO NOT put on the very top rack too close to the broiler; choose the second rack. If your potatoes are already looking too brown, drizzle some more olive oil on top before broiling. After about 8 minutes, if the fish is not to your preferred doneness, turn the oven off and let it sit in there for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes and serve!

A Thanksgiving-Inspired Affair

Fall is my favorite time of year. I actually go a little crazy once I feel the slightest cool breeze and begin to see pumpkin products sprouting everywhere.

Exhibit A) I've called Yogurtland 2 times in the last week asking if they have the pumpkin pie flavor yet. Exhibit B) I bought Halloween decorations this weekend and almost put them all up in my apartment.
Exhibit C) I wanted Thanksgiving dinner so badly on Saturday that I just had to make it (sort of).

The weather was just too lovely and Fall-ish not to indulge though :)

This is Thanksgiving-inspired, since I didn't use turkey or really go all out (i.e. make my own stuffing...which I'm regretting; boxed stuff = bleh.)



Roast Chicken Recipe:

• 2 chicken breasts, bone-in (skin on or off optional; longer cooking time if skin on)
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/2 lemon, juice + sliced
• salt, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken and veggies in a 13x9 baking dish. Season generously, cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes or until juices run clear when you slice into chicken.

Sweet Potato Recipe:

• 1 sweet potato
• cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, ground almonds, butter

For a super fast sweet potato, poke a few holes and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Flip and microwave additional 4 minutes. Baking is usually better, but will take substantially longer. Let it cool, cut in half and mash the insides a bit while keeping the skin in tact as a serving cup. Add your seasonings, butter and almonds, mix and enjoy!

Green Bean Casserole Recipe:

• 1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped in half
• 6-8 mushrooms, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Add green beans and blanch for a couple minutes; throw in ice bath. Heat oil in medium sauce pan. Saute garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms start to brown. Add flour, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until flour begins to brown. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce. Simmer and stir until the mixture is to desired thickness. Add green beans and sauce in a baking dish and bake uncovered until bubbly, about 30 minutes. 

*Also pictured: boxed stuffing and packaged gravy. I am not proud.

Moroccan Lentil Stew

I know what you're thinking...

Stew? In the middle of the summer in Texas? Are you insane?

Maybe, but I love stew, and I won't let 100-degree weather keep us apart. Also, today happened to (officially) be the first day of summer. Now this means absolutely nothing to people in Texas, but still...kind of funny that I chose to make this of all meals. Oh well! It's so good and hearty and totally worth it.

Moroccan Lentil Stew Recipe:

• 1 cup lentils
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cayenne peppers, diced ( also added a few tbsp of homemade hot sauce)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• Pinch of ground cardamom
• Generous salt, black and cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cups beef broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 sweet potato, NOT peeled and diced into small cubes
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
• 1 tbsp brown mustard
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Green onions for garnish

Add the first set of ingredients to a large stock-pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover and let simmer for 15 more minutes. Check to make sure lentils and potatoes are tender; using an immersion blender, puree some of the stew. This will give it a thicker, creamier texture. Add the remaining ingredients (sans green onion), simmer for an additional 10 minutes and serve!

A Pasta Experiment Gone Wrong

I ventured over to the clearance section of the grocery store the other day and saw packages of King Soba Sweet Potato and Buckwheat Noodles for 50 cents. I love sweet potatoes, so thought they would be a delicious and unique alternative to the usual pasta.

Unfortunately upon tasting, I soon realized they are not very good. Maybe it was because they were almost expired (hence the clearance) or maybe it was because they only contained 5% sweet potato (as I discovered on the label after I purchased). I guess I'm just not a fan of buckwheat. My boyfriend, who I thought would HATE them, actually really enjoyed it.

Go figure.

Anyway, the badass honey-mustard-curry chicken I made to go along with the pasta made up for the weird noodles. In the future, I would recommend eating it with a whole wheat noodle or maybe spaghetti squash.

Sweet Curry Chicken and Noodles Recipe:

• 1-2 skinless chicken breast
• 1 tbsp oil (I used a hot pepper oil, but any would work)
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp curry powder (yes, just the generic stuff)
• 1 tbsp applesauce
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• dash of salt, black pepper and Sriracha

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse and pat dry the chicken; lay in baking dish. Combine the other ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. Adjust according to preference (more honey for sweeter, more Sriracha for spicy, etc.) Pour over chicken, cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Serve with gross buckwheat noodles and assorted veggies.

Curried Chicken Salad

It's pretty unusual for me to be making chicken salad. I've never really liked it or tuna salad, probably because I hate mayonnaise. But, I found a loophole to using that stuff: plain yogurt! Similar texture, different (better) taste and waaay better for you. To make it "curried" you could add any blend of spices you want (or just the generic "curry powder"). We have a Punjab Curry mix that I used instead of making my own. Throw a few other ingredients in there and slap it on some bread. I accompanied with some homemade (failed) sweet potato chips.

Curried Chicken Salad Recipe:

• 3 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled and diced
  
• 1 green apple, diced
• 1/4 cup cashews, dry roasted and chopped (walnuts or almonds would be good)
  
• 1/3 cup dates, chopped (raisins would be good)
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 green onion, diced
  
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Baked Sweet Potato Chips Recipe:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 1 tsp olive oil

Cook the chicken however you see fit. I brought about a cup of water, dash of salt, black pepper and paprika to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add chicken breast, cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Turn off heat and keep covered in pan for 20 minutes. Place in fridge to cool.

So about these sweet potato chips...I do not recommend making them unless you have a mandolin. I thought my bf's serious knife skills would do the trick, but these puppies have to be factory even. He cut them at least 1/8 inch thick, and some still came out burnt while others were underdone. Oh well. Thankfully I love sweet potatoes so it still tasted good. Toss the slices, spices and oil together and bake in a 400-degree preheated oven for about 15 min. Watch them closely!

Throw the cashews in a pan and heat up for a few minutes, just to release some of the natural oils and flavor. Chop em up.

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Serve on toasted bread with fresh lettuce and the chips.

Chicken salad: yay. Sweet potato chips: nay.