Lighten Up: Dijon and Panko Crusted Tilapia

This past week I attended the American Association for Cancer Research conference.  I learned a lot and in my down time, I got to explore the wonderful city of Chicago.  It was my first time visiting and I positively fell in love.  There is so much to see and do and everyone is so friendly, it's unbelievable.  One of the biggest perks about Chicago for me was the vibrant restaurant scene.  Nearly every chef who has ever won Top Chef seems to have a restaurant in Chicago and I was determined to get my fill of tasty treats.  I ate Chicago style deep dish pizza.  Twice.  I ate at Rick Bayless' James Beard award winning restaurant Frontera Grill.  Twice.  And I bought a 1 gallon tin of the local favorite, Garrett Popcorn's Chicago mix - 50 % cheese corn and 50 % caramel crisp.

Needless to say after indulging in all of those culinary delights, when I returned home I was feeling like I needed to lighten up a bit.  So I decided to make an old favorite of mine: Dijon and Panko Crusted Tilapia.  This dish is super light, yet still filling.  And as an added bonus, with 2 tilapia fillets costing only $3 at my local supermarket, it was easy on the wallet too (which I very much appreciated after eating one too many meals in a restaurant).  Enjoy!

Dijon and Panko Crusted Tilapia

2 tilapia fillets
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
3 Tbsp panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Line baking dish with aluminum foil and spray foil with non-stick spray.  Season both sides of each fillet with salt and pepper and place in foil-lined baking dish.

In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave (about 30 seconds on high).  Add mustard, lemon juice, and Worchestershire sauce and stir to mix.  Spoon mixture over fillets until coated.

Sprinkle panko over the fillets to coat.

Bake fish for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.  You'll want the fish to be just cooked through (white in the center when cut open and flaky).

Thinly slice the remaining half of the lemon and garnish the fish with the lemon slices.  Serve with your favorite side dish (I used pearled couscous) or a light salad.

Quintessential Vegan Breakfast: Tofu Scramble

I have said it before and I'll say it again: tofu is one of the most underrated ingredients out there.  I'm not sure why tofu gets such a bad rap in the foodie world.  Fear of the unfamiliar, perhaps?  Well don't let that stand in your way readers!  I'm here to prove to even you non-believers out there that tofu can be a delicious substitute for animal products in a wide variety of recipes. 

Ten years ago when I decided to become a vegetarian, tofu scramble was one of the first recipes that I mastered.  And now, even though I am a huge scrambled egg lover and am no longer a strict vegetarian, it is still a mainstay of my recipe arsenal.  It's quick, easy, and incredibly flavorful.  I've outlined the most basic ingredients below, but the best part is, you can adapt this recipe to include as many, or as few ingredients, as you like.  Have leftover onions, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, or peppers?  Throw them in.  Anything you would add to a traditional omelette or scramble will blend seamlessly with this recipe.

The next time you're about to whip up some scrambled eggs, give this a try instead.  I promise that you will not be disappointed!   

Tofu Scramble

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 block of extra firm tofu, drained of excess water
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 cayenne pepper

At least 1/2 hour before starting this recipe, drain tofu as previously described:

Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute until just golden brown (approximately two minutes):

Use your hand to crumble drained tofu block into the frying pan (you'll want it to achieve a consistency similar to scrambled eggs):

Add spices to tofu and stir to coat.  Cook for about 5 minutes:

Serve with traditional breakfast items (toast, potatoes).  Enjoy!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, Revisited

Ok, so I know that technically this is not a new recipe because I posted a recipe for Irish Car Bomb cupcakes last year around this same time.  But with St. Patty's Day coming up, I felt this recipe warranted a revisit because during my last attempt I skipped the Irish whiskey chocolate ganache filling.  This time I invested in a bottle of Jameson and I am so glad that I did.  It really took these boozy treats to a whole new level of deliciousness.  It's a bit of extra effort, but I promise you that it is well worth it! 

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

(This recipe will make approximately 2 dozen cupcakes.)

1 cup Guinness
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Jameson Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp Jameson (or other Irish whiskey)

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

1 lb. box confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Bailey's (or other Irish Cream)


Preparing the cupcakes: 

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Heat one cup of Guinness and 2 sticks of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat:

After the butter has melted, add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder and whisk to mix completely.  Allow mixture to cool slightly.

 

While the Guinness, butter, and cocoa mixture is cooling, beat eggs and sour cream together with an electric mixer until smooth:

 

Add stout-butter-cocoa mixture to the egg-sour cream mixture and combine until smooth:

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and add to stout-butter-cocoa-egg-sour cream mixture in three additions, stirring well to combine after each addition.

Divide batter among 24 lined cupcake tins, filling each tin approximately 3/4 full:

 Bake cupcakes for 17 minutes (or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean):

Transfer cupcakes to wire racks and cool completely.  Once cupcakes have cooled, use a grapefruit spoon (or butter knife) to scoop out a ring in the middle 1/3 of the cupcakes, like so:

Preparing the whiskey dark chocolate ganache filling:

Heat the heavy whipping cream over medium-low heat until just simmering.  Pour the chocolate chips into a large bowl and then pour the heated cream over them.  Whisk until the chocolate is melted, then add the butter and whiskey and mix until the butter has melted and the whiskey and butter have become fully incorporated.

Pour the ganache filling into a large ziploc bag and carefully cut off one corner of the bag (or use a piping bag fitted with the appropriate tip).  Pipe the filling into the center of the cupcakes:

Allow ganache to cool completely before attempting to frost the cupcakes (this will take at least one hour, or you can let them cool overnight and frost them the next day).

Preparing the Irish cream frosting:

In electric mixer using whisk attachment, whisk 1 stick room temperature butter with box of powdered sugar until just smooth.  Add vanilla extract and Irish Cream.  The frosting should be slightly stiff, but creamy, like so:

Spread (or pipe) the frosting onto the cupcakes:

If you cut them in half, you'll see the delicious layers side by side:

Enjoy!

4 Words: Bacon. Bourbon. Caramel. Corn.

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I'll let you in on a little secret: I couldn't care less about football.  In fact, I didn't even know which teams were playing until today.  I know, I know - how very un-American of me.  But even though I admittedly only watch the game for the commercials and the half time show, I still use the day as an excuse to eat unhealthy snacks and drink beer all afternoon.

When I was looking for a delicious and decadent snack to enjoy for the game this year, I kept coming across ads for Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn.  It sounded great, but it came with a $14 price tag for an 8 oz. bag.  I figured that I could make it for a whole lot cheaper than that and still have some money left over for frothy beverages.  (Because those commercials aren't anywhere near as funny when you can't afford any beer to go along with them.)

Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn

1/2 pound bacon
2 3.3 oz. bags of microwave popcorn
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup bourbon (I used Jim Beam, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract  
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
sea salt (as a garnish)

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Cook bacon in a frying pan over medium-low heat until crispy. Set on a paper towel covered plate to drain.

Pop popcorn in microwave.  Be sure to use a non-buttered/non-flavored microwave popcorn (I used Orville Redenbacher's Tender White, pictured below):

Pour each bag of popcorn into a large bowl:

Crumble bacon onto popcorn and toss to distribute:

Add butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup to a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter melts and the ingredients are well blended.  Allow mixture to come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat and stir in bourbon, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda.  Pour the bourbon caramel mixture over the popcorn and toss to coat:

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray foil with non-stick spray and pour caramel coated popcorn onto foil lined cookie sheet to form a single layer:

Bake for 30 minutes, turning popcorn once.  Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.  Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.