Tilapia with Olives Capers and White Whine Sauce

You'll see mostly Fish Main Courses on my blog through Easter. My husband gave up Meat for Lent, so Fish is on the Menu most every night, unless I am cooking pasta. I've somehow got him to try some meatless meat products but i don't want to convert him into a vegetarian..This dish will take you less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

What you will need:
Large Frying Pan or Sauce Pan
2 cutlets of Tilapia thawed
1/2 onion sliced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1/2 cup of green manzilla olives with pimento
1 teaspoon of capers
1/2 cup of white wine (Pinot or Chardonnay will do)
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper
1 tablespoon of butter

Let's get cooking:


Line your sauce pan or frying pan with Olive Oil. Once heated add in your garlic and onions. Now add in your fish cutlets. Let cook on either side on Med-High Heat for 5 minutes. You should get a nice brown sear on each side. Now add in your White wine, olives, capers & butter. You can skip the butter if you want, it's not going to make or break the dish, it just adds a little texture of thickness to the sauce. Let cook uncovered for about 10 minutes on Medium heat.
Pair this with the Brussel Sprout side on my blog as well posted earlier in the month adding potatoes to the recipe and you have a complete meal. Slice the potatoes in half and then in sticks to cook evenly with the sprouts.

Wine Recommendation: Etude 2007 Pinot Noir, Carneros


Buon Appetito!

Shrimp Paella

I was excited to see my Recipe's make the cut for our local paper, the Staten Island Advance Cook Book. Maybe next year, i'll be able to compete! Both recipes that got published are here on my blog as well!

 Tonight on the menu was/is Shrimp Paella. Its kind of hard to cook for one person, so i always have left overs ( I'm a vegetarian) and I have yet to give my girls shrimp.This dish is super easy, took me about 45 minutes from preparation to the end product. You can use X-Large Shrimp or Medium size for this dish. You just don't want the real small guys.

What you will need:

1 Deep Sauce Pan (medium size)
1 5 oz. bag of Carolina Saffron Rice
4 Large Pitted Green Olives
1 Marinated Roasted Yellow or Red Pepper (1 meaning one slice of the pepper, not the whole thing)
3 shakes of chili powder
1lb of uncooked cleaned and de-veined Shrimp (tail off)
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil


Let's get cooking!

In the Sauce pan add your oil. Heat to MED..Once it has heated, add in your garlic and onions. Once they start to sizzle a bit, add in your shrimp, peppers and olives. You should cut your peppers in small pieces and the olives you can cut into 4 slices. Do not cover. Once the shrimp is starting to turn pink, add in your Water and your rice. Make sure the heat is still on Medium, stir once to evenly distribute all of the ingredients in your sauce pan. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes. Uncover, to let the water evaporate and allow you to get the sticky paella consistency. Add in your chili powder! A couple of shakes should be enough. This should take about 5-8 more minutes, I usually crank the gas up a little bit. Granted, you wont' have the crispy bottom like authentic Paella is made, but I'm cooking for convenience and deliciousness here.. If you want that crusty bottom, use a cast iron pan and cook the rice with less water..

Buon Appetito!

Wine Recommendation: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2009 New Zealand