There are two different ways that you can make these cutlets. You can do as I did and make thicker cutlets by just cutting a swordfish steak in half horizontally, or you can cut the steaks in half and pound them out between two sheets of parchment paper.
Breaded Swordfish Cutlets
Ingredients:
Serving Size: 4 adult portions
2 swordfish steaks, thawed and cut in half horizontally
2 cups of Italian bread crumbs
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 lemons, 1 for juice and zesting, the other to cut into wedges and serve with fish
salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Preheating the oven at this low of a temperature will allow you to keep your cutlets warm while you finish pan frying the other ones. Place a cooling rack inside a walled baking sheet and place in the oven for convenience, the cooling rack will allow the heat to circulate and not allow the bottom of the cutlet to get soggy.
Trim the skin from the edges of the fish and discard. If you have not sliced the fish fillets, you should do that now. If you are pounding down to 1/4 of an inch thick, do that now also.
Combine the Italian bread crumbs, lemon zest with the panko bread crumbs in one shallow dish and in another shallow dish whisk eggs together and add the juice from the zested lemon. Dip fish cutlets in eggs and then in bread crumbs.
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook until they are deeply golden brown, about 12 minutes on each side.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Panettone French Toast
Panettone bread is a sweet Italian bread. It is yellow and color and has bits of fruit throughout. It is one of my favorite Italian foods. You can order it off line, Bunon Italia, an Italian market in Chelsea Market ships anywhere and they sell it or you can keep an eye out for it during the holiday season. I actually found this loaf at TJ Maxx.
Panettone French Toast:
Ingredients:
1/2 loaf of Panettone bread, cut into 1 inch slices
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of half and half
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter
Whisk together all ingredients, except bread slices. Soak bread slices in egg mixture. Heat a skillet, griddle pan on medium heat. Melt butter and add toast slices. Cook for about 4 mins on each side until they are golden brown. You can either sprinkle powdered sugar on top or serve with warm syrup. If you are feeling frisky that day, just do both.
Panettone French Toast:
Ingredients:
1/2 loaf of Panettone bread, cut into 1 inch slices
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of half and half
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter
Whisk together all ingredients, except bread slices. Soak bread slices in egg mixture. Heat a skillet, griddle pan on medium heat. Melt butter and add toast slices. Cook for about 4 mins on each side until they are golden brown. You can either sprinkle powdered sugar on top or serve with warm syrup. If you are feeling frisky that day, just do both.
Lazy Kebabs
One the menu I had planned Chicken Kebabs for Tuesday night. Well, I ended up not having enough gumption to cut all the veggies and chicken up and then string them along on kebab skewers. So, I just made lazy kebabs!
Lazy Kebabs:
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, cubed
2 sweet bell peppers
8 oz of shiitake mushrooms, sliced or whole which ever you prefer
1 large onion, quartered
1 fresh pineapple, rind removed and sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 slices
salt and pepper
Glaze:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
juice of one lime
1 Tbsp butter
Directions:
Preheat grill to 350 degrees. Prepare all veggies, pineapple and chicken. Season everything with salt and pepper. Grease a grill pan and combine everything in the pan. BBQ for 25-30 mins, until the veggies are tender and the chicken juices run clear. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and then remove the pan from heat. The glaze with thicken as it cools. Once food is done drizzle the glaze over the chicken and veggies.
Lazy Kebabs:
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, cubed
2 sweet bell peppers
8 oz of shiitake mushrooms, sliced or whole which ever you prefer
1 large onion, quartered
1 fresh pineapple, rind removed and sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 slices
salt and pepper
Glaze:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
juice of one lime
1 Tbsp butter
Directions:
Preheat grill to 350 degrees. Prepare all veggies, pineapple and chicken. Season everything with salt and pepper. Grease a grill pan and combine everything in the pan. BBQ for 25-30 mins, until the veggies are tender and the chicken juices run clear. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and then remove the pan from heat. The glaze with thicken as it cools. Once food is done drizzle the glaze over the chicken and veggies.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Creamy Pasta with Truffle Butter
Creamy Pasta with Truffle Butter
Serving Size: 2 adult portions
This dish is a very fulfilling dish that I only serve on a special occasion. This year it I made it on New Year's Eve. I keep truffle oil on hand, but due to the price, I don't use it very often. Truffles are mushrooms that originate from Italy and grow in the wild.
Ingredients:
* 1/2 pound of linguine
* 2 cups of heavy cream
* 4 ounces of white truffle oil
* 3 cloves of garlic, grated
* 1 tsp butter
* salt
* pepper
* fresh parsley, chopped
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and salt the water. (If you add the salt before the water boils, it can tear up the bottom of your pan) Cook pasta to an al dente state, according to the package. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium -high heat. When the butter foams grate in garlic. I use just a regular zester, making a garlic paste. Cook just until the garlic is fragrant. Add heavy cream, turn the burner up to high, and bring to a boil. Once the cream boils, add in the truffle oil and turn the burner down to medium. Drain the pasta, put pasta back in the pan you cooked it in and add the sauce. Keep heated over low heat until steaks are finished. Season with black pepper. Right before serving top with freshly chopped parsley.
Serving Size: 2 adult portions
This dish is a very fulfilling dish that I only serve on a special occasion. This year it I made it on New Year's Eve. I keep truffle oil on hand, but due to the price, I don't use it very often. Truffles are mushrooms that originate from Italy and grow in the wild.
Ingredients:
* 1/2 pound of linguine
* 2 cups of heavy cream
* 4 ounces of white truffle oil
* 3 cloves of garlic, grated
* 1 tsp butter
* salt
* pepper
* fresh parsley, chopped
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and salt the water. (If you add the salt before the water boils, it can tear up the bottom of your pan) Cook pasta to an al dente state, according to the package. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium -high heat. When the butter foams grate in garlic. I use just a regular zester, making a garlic paste. Cook just until the garlic is fragrant. Add heavy cream, turn the burner up to high, and bring to a boil. Once the cream boils, add in the truffle oil and turn the burner down to medium. Drain the pasta, put pasta back in the pan you cooked it in and add the sauce. Keep heated over low heat until steaks are finished. Season with black pepper. Right before serving top with freshly chopped parsley.
Pan Seared Fillet Mignon
Pan Seared Fillet Mignon
Serving Size: 2 adult portions
I have had many steaks, cooked many different ways, but let me tell you that if you are looking for restaurant quality taste, pan seared is the way to go.
Ingredients:
*2 6oz fillets
*Olive oil, enough to just coat the bottom of a skillet
*1 Tbsp butter
*salt and pepper
There are two different versions of this recipe depending on how rare you like your meat. If you like it rare or medium rare then skip the first step. If you like it medium, medium well or well done then start from the beginning.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. I used a stainless steel skillet that was oven safe also to reduce the amount of dishes. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season steaks generously on both sides with salt and pepper. The seasoning is what will create a crust on the meat, so please be more generous than usual. Once the butter starts to foam add steaks. For a medium-rare steak you will cook each side for about 12 minutes. Don't forget to brown the sides of the steak also. Once all sides are cooked, for a steak that is more done, transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the center is the desired color. I like my steak medium-well, so I left my steak in the oven for another 20 minutes.
Serving Size: 2 adult portions
I have had many steaks, cooked many different ways, but let me tell you that if you are looking for restaurant quality taste, pan seared is the way to go.
Ingredients:
*2 6oz fillets
*Olive oil, enough to just coat the bottom of a skillet
*1 Tbsp butter
*salt and pepper
There are two different versions of this recipe depending on how rare you like your meat. If you like it rare or medium rare then skip the first step. If you like it medium, medium well or well done then start from the beginning.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. I used a stainless steel skillet that was oven safe also to reduce the amount of dishes. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season steaks generously on both sides with salt and pepper. The seasoning is what will create a crust on the meat, so please be more generous than usual. Once the butter starts to foam add steaks. For a medium-rare steak you will cook each side for about 12 minutes. Don't forget to brown the sides of the steak also. Once all sides are cooked, for a steak that is more done, transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the center is the desired color. I like my steak medium-well, so I left my steak in the oven for another 20 minutes.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
What's new for 2013!
One of the items on my Christmas list this year was "My Year in Meals" by Rachael Ray, it is a personal food diary for 365 days. In the book she includes pictures that she and her husband, Jon, took themselves and of course the recipes to the meals they ate.
I have been so intrigued by this book that it motivated me to do a spin on the whole idea. But I wanted something different, not just a food journal. I couldn't really pin point what exactly I wanted to do, then over lunch with two girlfriends the suggestion arose that I should do a meal planning blog.
So my spin on the book will be just that, I will bring you along my food journey for the next 365 days but with the recipes and pictures, I will include grocery lists and menu ideas.
The menu ideas will come at the end of every month and it will be broken down into weeks. Because of the fact that I plan each weekly menu the weekend before, there would be no way for me to publish menus for the month ahead of time. You can rearrange the meals as you please. They will just be broken down the way that we ate them.
My cooking style is kind of hard to define really. I am not afraid of the most difficult recipes, but love a recipe I can create myself. I work hard to come up with new ideas and rarely place the same meal on my kitchen table, with the expectation of things like tacos. We both enjoy authentic Italian food and I cook a lot of it. So, if your a pasta girl or a bread girl or a cheese girl, you will love this idea! We are from the south, so I cook southern food also, but at the same time my family is from New England, so I have a northern spin on things a lot of times also. Until my mid-twenties I was a fairly picky eater. Mainly just a poultry person with lots of vegetables, but over the last few years and the more I have experimented with food the broader my horizons have become and the more foods I enjoy. Thankfully, I married the furthest thing from a picky eater. Seriously, the only thing the man doesn't like is beets and really fishy seafood. Pretty much other than that if I put it in front of him, he eats it. I have to say, that over the past couple of years, he has been pushed out of his comfort zone and made to try things he probably would have never tried if there wasn't that little bit of push from me.
All I ask is that you keep an open mind and an open mouth! Come along with us on our 2013 food journey. I hope you enjoy the recipes and find some new favorites for your household.
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