03/22 i always know that seared tuna and mashed cauliflower will be well received in this house. tonight i put an asian spin to the meal. i had two yellow fin fillets that i seared in a honey ginger sauce. i stir fried some broccoli, snow peas and shredded carrots and then tossed it with a little of that same sauce. i wanted to try something new with the cauliflower......and since i was going with asian flavors? i added a little wasabi! i've had wasabi mashed potatoes before, so i figured this would be a good pairing. just enough to add a little bite, but not bring tears to the eyes. and it's hard to see in the picture, but it turned the mashed cauliflower the most lovely shade of light green!
03/23 tonight was our monthly dinner club outing. an absolutely lovely restaurant in fairfax called "choices by shawn". they took an old victorian style house and converted it into a quaint dining establishment with relatively healthy offerings. tony had the chicken and kale ravioli in red pepper sauce, and i had the coconut crusted mahi mahi. now the fish? was good. but the side of au gratin potatoes that came with the fish? was AMAZING!!!!!!! seriously. i have never been so excited about a tuber in my life. everyone was happy with the meals they ordered. but if you ever go here? whatever you get? get a side of the au gratin potatoes.....
http://www.choicesbyshawn.com
03/24 tonight i made one of my all-time-favorite-go-to-classic-never-fails dinners. this is one of those that i am sad to only have once this calendar year. oven baked pork chops with vegetable "muffins" and baked apples. a consistent 4.75 on the TRS, this meal always pleases. it took me a few tries to get the pork chops just right, but i've found a few tricks along the way. 1) i brine the pork chops overnight in butter milk and hot sauce. 2) i coat said pork chops with a combination of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and a packet of ranch seasoning. 3) i bake the pork chops at 450 for about 25 minutes. 4) i always make extra......
instead of apple sauce, i do baked apples. sliced granny smiths tossed with cinnamon and brown sugar baked just until softened (not mushy). i like to throw in golden raisins and pecans for a little extra taste and texture.
now the vegetable "muffins" are a great way of sneaking all sorts of healthiness onto the plate. and they're made in a muffin tin!!!!! these had zucchini, onion and carrots. this is the basic recipe i start with, though sometimes i'll swap out the veggies. red peppers for carrots. broccoli for zucchini. whatever i have on hand!
2 beaten eggs
2 Tbsp hot sauce
1 1/2 c shredded zucchini
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 c shredded carrots
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
useful tip.....be sure to shred the zucchini an hour ahead of time, sprinkle it with salt, and set it in a colander to drain the excess liquid. you'd be amazed how much water comes out of those green guys. out of my three zucchinis? i got almost a cup of liquid! you don't want that making a soggy muffin. dat's just nasty.
03/25 tonight i did a little twist on a classic pub grub. fish and chips. only i did an oven baked crispy cod with sweet potato tots. and instead of mushy peas? little sweet garden peas. a relatively simple meal, and very quick to throw together on a friday night. next time i need a good tartar sauce to go with the fish.....
03/26 since we know we're hosting brunch tomorrow morning, tonight tony and i decided to take it easy and go to our nearby pizza place, mellow mushroom. i'm delighted that our town got a mellow mushroom. when i lived in atlanta i ate at this restaurant about once a week! there was one right around the corner from the georgia shakespeare festival, where i had my summer job. it definitely caters to the vegetarian/slightly hippy crowd. which at the time, i was. they have an avocado hoagie that is aaaaamazing. when the took the franchise north, we were one of the lucky virginia neighborhoods to get one!
we both got the enlightened spinach salad (which was maybe less zen when i ordered bacon on it) and split a "maui waui" pizza. pineapple, ham, jerk chicken, pesto and....more bacon. now let me be clear, this is not your good old fashioned italian pizza joint. and i do love a good classic pizza. but the pies they make here are wacky pseudo gourmet creations that use things like cucumber slices and thai chili sauce or shitaki mushrooms and garlic aioli (which is one of my favorites). all the same, they do what they do well!
03/27 happy easter! this morning we had some friends over for a wonderful brunch. i had made
a ham in the crockpot with a glaze of brown sugar, dijon, honey and ginger beer. not wanting to waste the delicious glaze, i used the leftovers to coat a pork loin for dinner! sorry piggies.....i have been most unkind to you this weekend. the pork loin was falling-apart tender and smelled incredible. for sides i roasted some sweet potatoes in just a touch of balsamic and also roasted some brussels sprouts. i suppose this is more of a "harvest meal" than an easter meal. but it was still good!!! and relatively light considered the large brunch we had.
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