issue 002: the joy of homemade recipes

At least once a week I feel inspired to cook at home.  You'd think I cook everyday, but when you cook for seven hours all day, it's the last thing you want to do when you get home.  Some times I do, however.  And within those random occurances that I cook at home, one out of four will likely be dessert.  You're in for a treat today, though, because I cooked twice in one week!  I have an overabundance of Tilapia in my freezer (I shopped at Sam's), so I've been trying to find ways of using it.  Upon watching an episode of Tyler Florence, he gave me the idea for fish tacos.  He used Mahi Mahi (Hawaiian fish), so I took it from there and adapted to my surroundings.  Hence, my Southwest Fish Tacos with Black Bean & Corn Salsa were created.

Southwest Fish Tacos with Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Yield: 12 tacos

 

Ingredients

Fish Tacos

 

4 pieces Tilapia Filets

House-made Spice Rub

¼ head White Cabbage, thinly shredded

1 lime

1 container 5 Chile Cream Sauce

1 package Whole Grain Tortillas

1 package Low-Carb White Flour Tortillas

Salt & Pepper

 

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

 

1 can Black Beans, drained

1 can Yellow Corn, drained

1 medium Red Bell Pepper, diced finely

½ medium White Onion, diced finely

Small bunch Cilantro, finely chopped

1 lime

Salt & Pepper

 

House-made Spice Rub

 

1 tablespoon Chili Powder

2 tablespoons Paprika

1 teaspoon Cayenne

½ teaspoon Cinnamon

½ teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

½ teaspoon Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

½ teaspoon Dried Rosemary

 

5 Chile Cream Sauce

 

1 8 ounce Daisy Sour Cream

1 small can Hatch Green Chili’s

2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Cayenne

1 teaspoon Paprika

½ teaspoon Cumin

Salt & Pepper

1 lime

 

Directions

Prepare House-made Spice Rub, 5 Chile Cream Sauce and Black Bean Salsa one day in advance.  For Cream Sauce, puree entire can of green chili’s in food processor, leaving very few chucks.  In medium mixing bowl combine sour cream and green chili’s and next 5 ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper and lime juice.  For more spice add more cayenne or chipotle.  Cover and store in refrigerator overnight.  Combine all 9 ingredients for Spice Rub in small airtight plastic container; store in a cool dry place overnight.  In a medium mixing bowl combine black beans, yellow corn, bell pepper, onion and cilantro.  Season with salt and pepper and lime juice.  Cover and store in refrigerator until use.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick PAM.  Place filets on cutting board.  Cut each in half, lengthwise, then cut the thicker portion in half, lengthwise, giving you three smaller filet pieces each.  Place each filet on baking sheet and dust both sides with Spice Rub.  Cook in oven until flaky (around 5 minutes).  While fish is cooking, remove Salsa and Cream Sauce from cooler.  Heat 1 each tortilla 20 seconds in microwave, wrapped in a damp paper towel.  Remove fish from oven and let cool slightly.  Place each tortilla, opened, on a plate.  Spread 1 spoonful of Cream Sauce on tortillas.  Using a fork or spatula, place two pieces of fish on each tortilla. Next, top with cabbage and Salsa.  If desired, squeeze a little lime juice over the salsa.  Enjoy!

------------------

And now comes my favorite part...dessert!  Why they put this, the best of every meal, at the end after you're so full you couldn't eat any more, I will never know.  Only once have I ever eaten dessert first and then gone to eat the rest of a meal; once.  Occasionally I will be adventurous and make something fancy, or extravagant.  Mostly though, I like the simple, down-home deliciousness of a basic treat that has developed over the years of practice.  I'm talking about the family recipes.  Yes, I love a good creme brulee or a sacher torte every now and then, but I'm most pleased if it's a pecan pie or cobbler done perfectly.  So, in praise of those time-honored, honed, recipes I give you my Banana Oat Double Nut Bread.  Dig in!

Banana Oat Double Nut Bread

Yield: 2 loaves

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

2 cups Black Bananas

4 eggs (at room temperature)

1 cup Chopped Pecans

½ cup Chopped Almonds

1 cup Quaker Oats

1 teaspoon Adams Vanilla Extract

 

Directions

 

Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a large bowl.  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until smooth.  Slowly stir in bananas, eggs, pecans, almonds, oats and vanilla; blend well.  Gradually add in dry mixture and stir until just blended.  Place mixture back in large bowl; cover with plastic and place in refrigerator for 3 hours, or overnight.  Remove.  Grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans.  Preheat oven to 350° F.  Divide mixture evenly between two loaf pans.  Bake 60-70 minutes, or until a knife inserted in to the crown of the loaf comes out clean.  Let loaves cool in pans 5 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack; cool completely.  Wrap in aluminum foil to keep moisture intact.  For best results, upon slicing, spread small amount of cream cheese over the warmed piece of bread!