Easter weekend

Even a kichen disaster couldn't ruin this weekend. The chance of having to work (maybe even on Easter Sunday) killed the plans we had to go out of town. And my sexy husband and I spent the whole weekend by ourselves. It was really nice.

Saturday night we watched a movie and ate smoked salmon pizza on a wonderful homemade crust.


And on Sunday we decided to go all out with our own fondue dinner. We had a cheese Fondue with Chorizo, homemade Foccacia bread, and blanched broccoli and asparagus.




And we had a regular hot oil fondue with bay scallops, lamb, and beer battered mushrooms and onions.



For dessert, we each picked a beautiful single serving dessert from Whole Foods (enter the coffee-making kitchen disaster). And, yes, we did have coffee with them.

Mmmmm fish sandwiches

For some reason, I was really in the mood for a good sandwich. This was was really good. I didn't think it was inspired. My sexy husband disagreed.

Also from Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book:

Talapia Sammies with Citrus Honey Slaw

For fish:

4 talapia filets

3 limes, 1 of them zested

salt and pepper

Flour for dredging

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 sleeve of saltine crackers ground up

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp seafood seasoning

2 Tbsp olive oil

For slaw:

2 tsp hot sauce

3 Tbsp honey

Juice of 2 limes

1/4 c olive oil

salt and pepper

1 (16 oz) bag of slaw salad mix (I confess. I used the mix.)

To serve fish:

4 buns

1 c sour cream

1 chipotle in adobo sauce, finely chopped plus 1 tsp of the sauce

lettace, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and pickles to build sandwiches.

I'll make this quick...

Season fish with salt, pepper, and lime zest. Dredge the fish in flour, then eggs, then saltines mixed with paprika and seafood seasoning. Then fry them in 2 Tbps of olive oil for about 3-4 min per side. Immediately douse with the juice of half a lime. Serve them on buns with sour cream mixed with chipotles and adobo sauce and the works.

To make the salad...combine juice of two limes with hot sauce and honey. Whisk in 1/4 c olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix with slaw mix.

My best Christmas Entree

My computer is working again. We're not sure why it quit working (though we got the "blue screen of death" for those of you who know computers) or why it's working now, but I'm not going to complain.

Rather than rehash all of the wonderful things we've been eating this Christmas season (someday you'll have to ask my about our annual Christmas fondue), I'm just going to share my favorite Christmas season entree with you: Salmon Fillets in Red Wine. As you know, I wanted to make salmon and veggie packets for my dad and his wife when they came to visit, but my oven quit (hm...) forcing me to find something else. I had already purchased the salmon so it had to include salmon. I chose this recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" cookbook because although it's cooked on the stove top, the Salmon cooks in liquid. Bittman says that this is a great recipe to use less expensive chum salmon (Manager's special), since it allows the fish to retain its moisture (no danger of drying out here).

The salmon was spectacular. Our next dinner guests are definitley getting Salmon Fillets in Red Wine. I can't overstate it. Even the little bits of veggies were incredible. I serve it over potatoes mashed with white wine and caramelized onions.


2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
4 salmon fillets, about 6 oz each with skin removed
Flour for dredging
salt and pepper to taste


1 med onion, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 medium carrot, pealed and roughly chopped
1/2 c minced fresh parsley
1/4 c water
1 c dry, full-bodied red wine


1) Heat a large skillet over med-high heat for a couple of minutes. Add butter and oil, turn heat to high, and wait for foam to subside. Dredge each fillet in flour and shake off excess. Place them flesh side down in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and brown them quickly on one side only. Remove from skillet and keep warm.


2) With heat on medium, add onion, garlic, and carrot to the pan and cook, stirring until the onion softens slightly, about 5 min. Add half of parsley and some salt and pepper. Stir. Add the water, raise heat to high, and reduce until it is almost completely evaporated.


3) Add the wine and reduce by about half. Return fillets to the pan, skin side down (uncooked side) and cook over medium heat until the fillets reach your desired doneness, about 5 min. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve immediately.


I'm not sure if you're supposed to serve the veggie bits or not, but they were awesome. That's the only thing I would change about this recipe. I'd double all of the veggies to produce more veggie bits.