June 4 - Grilled Swordfish

I was going to make mahi mahi this week (the only fish the boy will eat), but Wegmans' seafood frozen section didn't have any in it, and I was so not in the mood to hike all the way back to the regular frozen food section to get it. I ended up getting swordfish, figuring that the boy might not notice the difference between two white pieces of fish?! Of course he unloaded the groceries that night and was like, "ew, swordfish?" ::sigh::

I pigged out at our monthly Munchin Mamas meeting today (fabulous dessert recipes to follow soon!), so I wanted something lighter for dinner. I marinated the swordfish, heated up an Uncle Ben's 90-second rice packet, and put together a quick salad for the boy and me. He actually ate AND enjoyed the swordfish (score!), and the rice was so-so. It was cooked really well (better than expected for a 90-second microwave bag), but the flavor (four cheese) was just not that great. I have two more bags (harvest vegetable and butter/garlic), so I'll give a better review once we try a new flavor.

I forgot to take a photo of dinner, but below is the 90-second rice packet I mentioned. It claims to only be 2 servings, but I dished it out to the boy, myself and Linds and it was plenty.

Here's my swordfish marinade...it was pretty good. Nothing exciting or super flavorful, but it gave the fish a nice, subtle taste.

Grilled Swordfish Marinade
Ingredients

4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
3/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 swordfish steaks

Directions

1. In a Ziploc bag, combine the garlic, white wine, lemon juice, soy sauce, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix just to blend. Place swordfish steaks into the marinade, and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning frequently.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
3. Grill swordfish steaks 6 minutes on each side.

May 13 - First Corn on the Cob of the Season

I was planning on doing Valerie's chicken today but realized I had two chicken breasts left...enough for the boy and the kiddos with the way Luke and Linds have been eating lately. When I was at Wegmans buying some burgers and their amaaaaazing baked potato salad (it is SO delicious!), I came across a halibut fillet with pesto, sun dried tomatoes and a little mozzarella cheese. It looked like it would taste heavenly and I needed a protein for my meal...the fact that it was $4 was even better! I also saw they had corn on the cob out, so I bought six ears, figuring that would be enough for us. Next time, I need to buy at least 10!

Now, of course, I cut up the chicken for Luke and Lindsay, assuming that's what they would eat. Linds started picking at it (she was eager for the corn), but Luke just tossed his overboard. I know he likes this chicken, but I figured maybe if I gave him a bite of the fish and pesto and tomatoes that he would be so grossed out by the alternative that he'd scarf down the chicken. NOPE! The kid ate 2/3 of my fillet. Every time I took a bite he shrieked and banged on his tray table.

So, my meal (and Luke's I guess) was a little halibut with pesto, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, paired with corn on the cob and white rice (with a little of the Val's chicken sauce on it for flavor). The boy and Linds ate the chicken instead of the fish. I took a few photos and I'm going to post them all...I got a new camera today, so I went a little picture happy.

Playing catch-up...busy weekend!

WOW! Let me just say it was a SUPER busy weekend! We were gone all day Friday (MOMS Club activity and happy hour play-date at Julia's house), all day Saturday (sunning while the kiddos played at Christy's and then a visit from Lynzy and Conor who we haven't seen since New Year's!), and then the boy helped install cabinets at casa de Kurzeja on Sunday, so Sarah and Critter spent the day with us. By the time Monday rolled around, I was wiped out!

As for dinners...let's see. On Friday we did some quick pasta with jarred sauce (I used Bertolli's Four Cheese Rosa sauce - alfredo sauce mixed with tomatoes...pretty good!).

On Saturday we ordered out since we had company. Scott had stained part of the deck and we didn't know if it would be dry or not, so I didn't defrost anything. We got some Venice pizza and wraps...always a good meal and they deliver, which is nice (and a rarity for us out here!).

On Sunday, we dined at the Kurzeja's and let me tell you, they never disappoint in the food department! Sarah grilled skewers of chicken satay and fillets of salmon, put together a salad with some incredible homemade dressing, and I braised a bag of baby carrots. Topped off with wine and Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, it was an incredible dinner! I still need to get her satay recipe, but here's the braised carrrot recipe:

Braised Carrots
Ingredients
1 lb. bag of baby carrots
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water (or chicken broth)
Parsley

Directions

1. Place carrots, butter, brown sugar, salt and water (or chicken broth) in pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Bring to boil. 
3. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots are tender and liquid evaporates. 
4. Sear slightly for color and top with parsley.

I don't have any pictures, but suffice it to say - FANTASTIC!!

Apr. 27 - Grilled Mahi Mahi

Tonight's dinner, grilled mahi mahi with roasted red pepper sauce and cilantro pesto, was beyond phenomenal - I mean, restaurant-quality food served up right here in my kitchen! Kind of gourmet (at least for the boy's and my taste?!) and the best part...we ate it while the kids were in bed for the night :)

The boy is not a big fan of fish - in fact, he really doesn't like it. The texture bugs him, and he didn't eat much (if any) of it growing up; having a farming family, he had a lot of "meat and potatoes" dinners. He will dabble with mahi mahi (that's it though!), so I decided to try to find a recipe he'd like.

I stumbled upon this one from All Recipes and the reviews were very positive. It looked a little lengthy to make, so I did the cilantro pesto and half of the roasted red pepper sauce during the kiddos' naptime and put that aside for later. Once the boy got home, we put Linds and Luke to bed and made dinner together. It was nice being able to chat with each other without constant interruptions, and a double bonus was having some help in the kitchen! If you're a fan of fish, you MUST give this a try - it is absolutely delicious and the boy even said, "wow, this is amazing! Make it again." For him to say "make it again" to a fish dish is huge!

The prep time was about 30 minutes for the cilantro pesto and red pepper sauce (which I had leftovers of and froze...they aren't ingredients I normally keep on hand), and the fish took about 10 or 15 minutes to grill. All in all, not too bad an amount of time! We had grilled asparagus and white rice with it.

Grilled Mahi Mahi w/ Roasted Red Pepper Sauce & Cilantro Pesto
Ingredients
1/2 cup white wine
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.
2. Place the wine and shallot in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and reduce the liquid down by about half, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Place the Parmesan cheese, garlic, and walnuts into a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add the olive oil, cilantro, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; process until smooth. Remove the cilantro pesto from the food processor and set aside.
4. Place the red peppers into the food processor, pour in the wine reduction, and process until smooth. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 
5. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the sauce for 4 minutes. 
6. Meanwhile, season both sides of the mahi mahi fillets with salt and pepper. Cook the mahi mahi on the preheated grill until the fish is golden and flakes easily with a fork, about 4 minutes per side.
7. Whisk the butter, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into the red pepper sauce until smooth. 
8. Spoon the red pepper sauce onto the bottom of the serving plate, arrange the fish on the sauce, and top with the cilantro pesto to serve.

Mar. 6 - Night out in Philly!

My dear, dear friend, Katie, is getting married in a mere three weeks, and needed a proper send-off into matrimony. We decided to plan a night of debauchery for her and her 12 closest friends in Philadelphia - a bachelorette party of crazy proportions.

Before we went out, I met up with my sister and spent some quality time with her (a rarity without kids). She helped dress me for my night out (to ensure maximum cuteness) and then took me for drinks at Time Restaurant just down the street from her apartment. We ordered calamari and sliders and had a few glasses of Allagash beer. The restaurant was cute and the food was excellent! Definitely a good choice.