Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce

This is the first time that I have cooked fish... ever! I am definitely not a seafood fan. I don't like shrimp, lobster, crab and almost every fish (except tuna from sushi). I guess I did eat fish sticks when I was younger but all I can remember is hating fish. However, as I am getting older I am becoming more aware of the advantages of eating fish- especially for infant brain growth. No, I am not pregnant nor will be for at least two years (despite the fact that two of my aides at my school thought I was/dreamed I was). I guess that is what happens after you get married. However, I know that you really need to eat fish while your pregnant to help with brain growth, so I am trying to start to eat it now and learn to like it.

I went with the most bland fish I could get, tilapia. I wasn't planning on cooking it that day, but when I typed in recipes I found that I could make it with the extra sugar snap peas that I had (which I used in 3 separate recipes because the bag was from Costco and huge) along with some random potatoes. The sauce was super good. I think you could have put it on anything and it would have been wonderful. I wish I had made more, but I used up all of my balsamic vinegar making it!

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce With Thyme Mashed Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

3 lbs of potatoes (russet, red, gold, whatever you have available)

3 Tbs butter

1/4 cup milk

1 Tbs dried thyme (or 1 1/2 Tbs fresh)

3 garlic cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves (minced)

3 Tbs butter

2 cups of sugar snap peas, trimmed

2 Tbs olive oil

6 tilapia fillets

Turn oven to 375 degrees. Poke holes in potatoes and roast whole until soft (around 45 minutes). Take out and place in food mill. Turn food mill to mash potatoes. Add butter, milk, thyme and sauteed garlic to the potatoes. Mix. Season with salt and pepper. You can make this ahead of time.

Boil a small pot of water. Drop peas in and boil for 1 minute. Drain and put the peas to the side.

Heat 1 Tbs of oil in a large skillet. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper then saute fish until golden (around 2 min per side)

Simmer vinegar and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat until the vinegar has reduced to a thick syrup (around 5 minutes). Whisk in butter, small pieces at a time, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Place some potatoes, tilapia and peas on a plate and drizzle with sauce.

Grilled Asian Noodle Salad

I just finished making around 5 pounds of fudge (I'll post them up later). We are going to my husband's bar's holiday party tonight (yes, it is in the middle of January--after the holiday craziness has stopped). As owners we have to put together the celebration and I spent 6 hours this week wrapping presents. I am so sick of presents! We play a game at the party, which came from his family. We wrap good and funny gifts- for example you could get a shamwow or an ipod, a box of noodles with a $50 gift certificate taped to the outside or one without one, a microwave or a box with a pillow pet. In the game you have two dice. You roll the dice and if you get doubles you get to pick a present. If you open the present, you are out of the game, but if you keep playing you can accumulate more presents. The problem is, if someone else rolls doubles, they can steal your present from you. This year there are soooo many presents so I'll be glad when it is done (2 hours and counting until I have to leave and try to put the presents in 2 cars).

So last week was my week of trying to clear out my fridge. I had random ingredients that my husband and I had bought and wanted to make sure that I could use them up before they went bad. I was able to make two different fresh dishes with what I had in the fridge, so I was happy. It was also the first time that I had used the small eggplants, they are really cute!

Grilled Asian Noodle Salad

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

6 small eggplants (unpeeled, cut on diagonal into 1/3 inch thick slices)

2 containers of fresh shiitake mushrooms (stemmed)

2 bunches of green onions (trimmed so you have green and white)

1 15 oz box of asian rice noodles

2 cups of sugar snap peas (trimmed)

1/4 cup of sesame oil

3/4 cup of hoisin sauce

1/2 cup of fresh lime juice

3 tsp of grated lime peel

3 Tbs of minced fresh ginger

3 Tbs of toasted sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Place eggplants, mushrooms and onions in a bowl. Add sesame oil and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper. Grill vegetables (I used a grill pan) turning often until the vegetables are tender. Cut mushrooms and onions if you would like.

Boil a pot of water. Drop in sugar snap peas and cook for 1 minute. Take out and place in a bowl of ice water. Use the water to cook the rice noodles. Put into a serving bowl and add in vegetables.

Whisk hoisin sauce, lime juice, lime peel and ginger together. Add to noodles and toss. Add toasted sesame seeds and serve.