Not Your Grandmothers Grapefruit

I just want to start off by letting everyone know this isn't your grandmother's baked grapefruit.  That is, unless your grandma is the type to start the day off with a stiff drink.  Well maybe not a stiff drink, but a little something, something.  I would not recommend this breakfast before a busy day at work.  Think more along the lines of a champagne brunch or breakfast in bed.  This dish was actually really fun for me.  I got the idea around New Years Eve, I was thinking of my wild days in the military and how we used to put alcohol in anything we could.  Jello, fruit, gummy bears; like I said, anything we could.  A vodka watermelon was always a crowd pleaser.  I didn't really feel like buying a watermelon (or eating a whole one myself) so I picked a smaller fruit and tried to class it up a bit.  I've been craving grapefruit lately so that became my muse.  I can distinctly remember being made fun on in culinary school for topping my grapefruit with honey, so lets see what people think of this.  Pick out a nice white wine (I had a Torrontes on hand).  Torrontes is not a common household wine, it has a slightly acidic taste, a little on the dry side for a white and a wonderful fruity pebble smell. (yes, like the cereal)

  A good Sauvignon Blanc or nice Riesling would work too.  The method is the same as a vodka watermelon.  Pierce a small hole in the flesh of the fruit and fit with a funnel.  I used the topper to a squeeze bottle to compensate for the small size of the grapefruit.  Add wine a funnel full at a time until the fruit will no longer absorb it.  This can take quite a while to accomplish, I checked mine every half hour for the better part of the evening.  Once your satisfied with the fruit to alcohol ratio you can slice it in half and separate the segments.  If you are prepping the night before, just put your wine saturate fruit into the fridge until you are ready to slice and use.  There is such a thing as a grapefruit knife but I find a paring knife to work just fine.  Pop the grapefruit in a 350 degree oven for five minutes, just enough to take away the chill.  Remove from the oven and crank it up to a high broil.  Top the grapefruit with honey and put it back into the oven for just a couple minutes, checking frequently.  The top of the fruit will swell up under the heat and the honey will darken and caramelize.  Remove and enjoy!  If you don't have honey on hand a couple spoonfuls of white or brown sugar will do the trick. 

This is round one for grapefruit. I still have a couple left in the kitchen and plan to try a meringue topped treat.  Stay tuned!

Peaches and Pork Chops

Jamie Oliver, you have done it again.  Won my heart with your devilishly handsome good looks and charming style and my taste buds with your simple and delicious recipes. 

I try and have dinner with my sister and her family a couple times a month. Even though we live less than ten minutes away from each other arranging these dinners is often difficult with my ever changing schedule and her need to not vary away from my one year old nephews schedule.  When we do get together it is almost always at her house and consists of me stopping in after work, which means that she does all the cooking.  It's always a good meal and good company but can leave me feeling a little guilty for not treating them to my culinary talents.  Since it's the holiday season and I have some extra time off I decided to take Jackson (my nephew) for a day of bonding.  I knew the afternoon would consist largely of his nap so I planned ahead to spend that time preparing a meal for my sister and her family. 

I had some pork chops in my fridge that I got at an excellent price and really didn't want to have to freeze so they became the focus of dinner.  As I was pondering how to prepair them, outside the normal barbecue flavor that my family is accustomed to, I noticed a naked chef starting at me.  That is, Jamie Oliver's face from the cover of his book The Naked Chef Takes Off.  I grabbed the book and scanned through the pages until I found a pork recipe that suited the ingredient I had on hand.  The following recipe is what caught my interest:

Roast loin of pork with peaches

one 7 rib loin of pork
1 bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
8 fresh peaches (or two 16oz cans in natural juices)

His recipe entailed scoring the fat, cutting a cavity between the meat and ribs (bones) and filling it with a seasoned butter and packing it full of peaches.  Binding the meat and roasting in a 425 degree oven for nearly an hour.

Since I didn't have a 7 rib loin of pork but instead 3 pre cut chops (no bones) I altered the cooking method as follows.

Preheat the oven to 425.  Pat chops dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.  Mix thyme and butter and rub liberally over meat and place in an oven safe dish.  Drain peaches and reserve the juice.  Roughly chop peaches into 1/2 inch pieces and pour over the pork with the reserved juice.  Cook uncovered for 25 to 35 mins or until internal temp reaches 145.  Remove pork from pan.  Transfer any juices and yummy bits from the bottom of your roaster into a sauce pot, cook with 1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine.  Pour over chops right before serving.   

Wonderful, wonderful recipe.  I think next year when peaches are fresh and in season I will make some more peach butter (it was such a favorite last year).  And this time I will make an extra batch that is infused with herbs specifically so I can use it as a glaze, inspired by this recipe.

Cumin and Garlic Crusted Tilapia

I've just realized that everything I've posted recently has been about dessert!  High fat, high calorie, high flavor desserts!  Time to cut the calories, chocolate and whipped cream.  Get ready for an overdoes of fruits, vegetables and low fat fish. 

Golden Tilapia served over a Garden Cous Cous Salad with orange semprmes and Aoli

lets start with the Tilapia.  Here's what you'll need.

1 filet of Tilapia (or other mild white fish)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic
salt and pepper to taste

season the fish with salt and pepper and dip in the egg.  mix together panko and seasoning, coat fish in mixture.  Bake 10-12 mins until fish flakes easily and crust is golden brown.

While your fish cooks start your cous cous salad. 

1/2 cup cous cous
1/2 cup  boiling water (check the label on your cous cous for water to grain ratio)
1/2 small onion, diced
handful of spinach
1/4 cup peas
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

The best part about a garden salad is that you can pick your garden.  For this go-round I used onion, spinach, peas and chives. (If using other vegetables cook necessary veggies until al dente)  Saute onions, spinach and seasoning add cous cous and gently toast, and water and peas, cover and remove from heat.  

Orange Aioli

3 egg yolks
3/4 cup olive oil
1 orange
*this is best done in a mixer

gently beat the egg yolks and drizzle in the oil in a slow steady stream, once the mixture starts to come together and before your out of the oil, squeeze in 1/2 the orange juice then finish drizzling in the oil.  Finally zest the orange and stir into mixture.  Your final product will resemble and thin mayonnaise. 

serve the fish on top of the cous cous salad and drizzle your Aioli over everything.  Add a couple orange slices to the plate for a zing of fresh flavor and of coarse the added nutrients and vitamins.