Brittany's Pantry
If you had asked me what my favorite food/meal was, oh say…ten or eleven years ago, I can guarantee you that meat would have been at the top of the list. In particular, beef. I learned at an early age that a good steak is hard to top and for the most part, I still agree with that 100 percent. In my late teens and early twenties, salmon snuck in there and hasn’t left the top 5 since. I went through a brief-but tasty-period when cheesecake came dangerously close to ousting everyone off the list, but I have since come to my senses and downgraded it to the level of things I really love but only eat in moderation. Like Eggs Benedict. Mmmm. Eggs Benedict…
When my husband was stationed in Hawaii, my whole culinary world changed. Fish, seafood, and fresh produce, the likes of which I had never tasted before, was now not only readily available, but literally all around me. I could get a mahi mahi burger at the local McDonald’s! The smoothie place just steps from my apartment used pineapples from the Dole plantation a few miles away. The Ono (or wahoo fish) we ate at restaurants had been caught that morning and tasted so fresh and so clean and so…amazing…I have never forgotten it. Moving to San Diego was much the same. And while I am totally a Midwestern girl at heart, fresh seafood and produce only hours old is a bit impossible when you are landlocked in the very middle of a large continent. I do love me some fresh water fish and there isn’t anything like a plate piled high with freshly caught walleye. But a life without shrimp and prawns, lobster, crab, mussels and oysters, tuna steaks, haddock, swordfish, salmon, mahi mahi, grouper, or tilapia is not the life for me. Those years on the Pacific changed me forever I have never looked at fish and seafood the same way since.
In addition to making sure the food I eat is sustainable (checkout this website for a handy dandy pocket guide for choosing fish and seafood) there are some items that are easier for me to obtain than others. I had noticed after moving to Illinois that tilapia was a very common fish in my fresh and frozen seafood sections. I had never cooked with it and it did not look very intimidating. So I brought some home, sprinkled on some salt and pepper and fried it up in some olive oil and butter. And my dinners have never been the same. Over time I have since slightly modified my technique and Pan-Fried Tilapia is a major favorite in our house. Favorite as in we have to pace ourselves at dinner, lest we look like a pride of lions tucking into a gazelle. Occasionally, I like to mix it up. Not because we ever get sick of it, but because I want to remind my kids that there are many different ways to eat one food. Last night, variety came in the form of a light citrus sauce made in a matter of minutes. It added no time at all to my dinner prep and took my fish from really good to fantastic. I find myself making this sauce primarily in the winter, but I don’t really know why. I suppose looking at all the citrus that is in season right now has something to do with it. Regardless, it is light and fresh and makes you feel like you are on a beach overlooking the Pacific. It may even make it to the top of your favorite foods list! Right up there next to mashed potatoes, lasagna, and your Grandmothers pound cake…
One Year Ago: Smores Bars (Words cannot express how badly I want to eat these right now!)
Tilapia W/Citrus Sauce
Recipe adapted from Giada
The original recipe refers to the sauce as a bagna cauda, which in Italian translates to ‘warm bath.’ I have changed it ever so slightly to make it a bit healthier and almost always serve this with a brown rice pilaf or Lemon Thyme Orzo. Leftover sauce is awesome over boiled potatoes.
4-6 fillets fresh tilapia
salt and pepper
olive oil
In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add:
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp anchovy paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
Let slowly warm until anchovy paste is melted into the sauce then add:
2 T orange juice
zest of half an orange
zest of half a lemon
1 T chopped basil
Let everything get good and warm and taste for salt and pepper. Set aside. Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan and heat over medium to medium high. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and quickly fry in the oil, just a few minutes per side until just opaque and starting to flake. Place the fish on a serving dish and dump warm sauce over top.
I’m back! After a quick and brief hiatus which included but was not limited to doctors appointments, way too many trips to the pharmacy to get prescriptions after said appointments, an unexpected trip to mourn the passing of a friend, and really just general exhaustion, I am back on track and in the kitchen. So just LOOK OUT! 🙂
In reference to the title of this post I am of course talking about Julia Child. Well, I am not exactly like her but her famous stew, Boeuf Bourguignon bubbling away on my stove makes me feel like her. The smell of this dish will most definitely make your house smell like the French countryside. Or so I am told, having never been there. The point is that this is one of those dishes that makes you feel a bit like you are on vacation. It is a little different from what you might normally make but at its roots, it is just a plain french stew. Nothing complicated, fussy, or difficult. It does take a little bit of time, but don’t all things worthwhile? Save it for the weekend or an extra day off of work. Leftovers are outstanding. You will be counting the minutes to your lunch break and making all your co-workers jealous when the smell of this stew fills the break room! And of course, it is perfect for January weather, no?
This recipe is adapted from about a bazillion different places, all of them similar to each other. So whether you call it boeuf bourguignon, beef bourguignon, beef burgundy stew, french beef stew, or beef stew with red wine, it is all the same. And it is aaaallllll gooooooood.
One Year Ago: Laura’s Salad and Buttermilk Bread
Beef Bourguignon
Serve this stew with plenty of crusty bread. We like it with sourdough.
1/2 pound bacon, diced
2 lbs beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 onions, diced
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle dry red wine
1 (14 oz) can beef broth
2 T tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
salt and pepper
1 lb fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 T flour
2 T room temperature butter
In a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot, brown the bacon until crisp. Scoop it out and set it aside on a plate. Brown the beef in the bacon fat over medium heat, in batches if necessary, without crowding the pan. Let the meat get some great color on it and then remove it to the plate with the bacon. We don’t want to cook it through, just brown it. Next add the onions, carrots, and garlic to the pot, just letting them sweat over medium heat. Don’t let them brown. Add a drizzle of olive oil if necessary and season with salt and pepper. Let the veggies go for about 10 minutes and then add the whole bottle of red wine, the beef broth, tomato paste, dried thyme, and bay leaf. Stir to combine and cover with a lid. You can simmer the stew on the stove over low heat, just barely letting it bubble for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, or you can put the whole thing in the oven at 250 for an hour and half. Your choice! Just give it a stir every half hour or so and when the meat cuts in half with a fork, it is done. Place the pot back over medium heat and add the sliced mushrooms. Mix the flour and butter together to make a paste and stir that into the stew to slightly thicken it. Let the whole she-bang bubble away for another 5 minutes until the flour is cooked and the mushrooms are done. Taste to see if it needs salt and pepper and serve.
Peppermint Meringue Cookies: Nostalgia
Brittany wrote this on 5 January 2012
chocolate, eggs, gluten-free
It has been a long week here with surprise visits and several trips to the doctor due to a relapse in illness. In addition, my plans for this weekend have suddenly changed and I now need to clean out the fridge. Amongst several unsalvageable items-i.e. leftover pork chops I don’t even remember making-were four lonely egg whites. Eureka!
I get excited about leftover egg whites, or yolks for that matter, for lots of reasons. Mainly because I don’t like to waste anything. So, if I am making ice cream for example, I immediately start thinking about the leftover whites I will have when all the yolks end up in the custard. Is it enough to make an angel food cake? A white layer cake? A meringue pie? Or something just as scrumptious but much less exciting, like an omelet? The beauty of egg whites is that they keep much better than yolks do. If you have a lot of egg yolks leftover, you are better off pitching them (There is a rumor going around that too many egg yolks aren’t good for you…) or making something with them immediately. Whites on the other hand-those beautiful, protein packed, cholesterol free whites, can actually be frozen and used later. With a label that says how many and a nicely sealed container, they will keep a month or two. Just leave them in the fridge to thaw overnight. Of course it is always nice when you have a recipe that calls for both, like a lemon meringue pie. You use the yolks to make the lemon curd for the filling and the whites for the topping. But just this past weekend I made creme brulee, a very unhealthy, egg yolk and heavy cream laden dessert with a burnt sugar topping. And it was soooooo good. Hence, the presence of four egg whites in my fridge. Unlike other times when I sort of ponder what I am to do with them, these egg whites had a purpose. A destiny, if you will. Peppermint Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies. The moment I added creme brulee to the New Years Day menu, I instantly jumped to these cookies as a secondary treat. My mom used to make these all the time when I was a kid and I think it was because she always had intentions of making a lemon meringue pie, but usually only got as far as making the custard filling. It is kind of hard to beat warm lemon custard in a bowl and I can’t even tell you how many times the full pie was never made. I am guessing that is why we always had egg whites in the fridge. Whatever the reason, peppermint flavoring and mini chocolate chips always seemed to be the way she made them and I for one never complained.
The beauty of these cookies is that they seem really special, but only have a few ingredients. I have always considered them an easy, make anytime kind of cookie so please don’t save this recipe for a special occasion. The fact that they are a bit better for you than most cookies makes them a good treat for adults and kids alike, even if shrinking the size of your jeans was not a resolution this year. Personally, I am not a fan of using these in little treat bags for the holidays or a bake sale given the fragile nature of the cookie, but they are definitely a crowd pleaser. So placing them alongside a heavy dessert, say at Easter or even a barbecue, makes them a fun addition to a menu. I happen to enjoy them Monday through Friday, 365 days out of the year and my family has not complained once so I think they are safe to serve anytime. Whether it is ‘fridge clean out day’ or not.
One Year Ago: Hot Wings, Honey Waffles, Filet Au Poivre, Fettuccine Alfredo, Shrimp Quesadillas
Peppermint Meringue Cookies W/Mini Chocolate Chips
Please note the time frame you need to make these cookies. It isn’t complicated, just a lot of waiting around. For that reason, they are also called Forgotten Kisses. They need time to dry out slowly and can’t be hurried. No shortcuts here people!
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 c sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 c mini chocolate chips
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium high until increased in volume and pillowy and foamy. In the meantime, mix together the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. When egg whites are ready, slowly pour in the sugar mixture while mixer is running, continuing to beat on medium high until glossy and at stiff peaks. The meringue should hold a peak when a spoon or the whisk is drawn through it and pulled away. This whole process will take less than five minutes. Add the extract and whisk a few seconds more. Fold the chocolate chips in by hand. On two sheet pans lined with parchment paper, drop the meringue by spoonfuls at least an inch apart, poking down any spiky peaks. Bake in a 225 degree oven for one hour and then turn the oven off, leaving the cookies in the oven for an additional hour. Remove the sheet pans and let the cookies cool completely on the counter top, on the sheet pans, for another hour. Store in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
