Pecan Crusted Tilapia and Spicy Tomato Basil Quinoa (I'm back!)

Omigoodness. I am so sorry. I have neglected you for an ENTIRE MONTH. I'm a horrible blogger, but I had some good excuses! I moved! (Did you noticed the header?) The Monkey Scientist persuaded me to move to his hometown of Chicago and so far I am loving every minute of it. However, the move also consisted of 3 weeks without internet, which seriously hindered my ability to blog.  Not to mention the 2 weeks living with the Monkey Scientist's parents, during which I was completely spoiled and only had to cook once or twice. But I'm back now. I'm really going to work on getting back to thrice-a-week blogging, but please bear with me while I get back into the swing of things.



One of my favorite things about moving to Chicago is that I'm close to my baby brother, who is in school at Northwestern.  We haven't lived in the same city for more than a couple of weeks since the summer after my Freshman year of college, and despite our sibling bickering, I love having him around.  And I'm pretty sure he loves having me here - if only because I am willing cook for him.  I gave him a few options to pick from for dinner this week and he chose this pecan-crusted tilapia (the original recipe was catfish but we New Englanders do not eat catfish) and tomato basil quinoa.  A mighty fine choice if I say so myself.

I wanted to spice up the quinoa but accidentally removed the cap from my spice jar instead of opening the shaker and didn't notice before I literally dumped a handful of red pepper flakes into the rice cooker. Oops. I was able to remove a few of them, but we definitely ate spicy quinoa.  The Monkey Scientist would have loved it, but he was out with his own brother at the Bears game.



This dinner was so good, it gave me the kick I needed to get back into blogging. It was super healthy (barely any oil or butter in the whole dish and just a little fat from the nuts) and loaded with flavor.  The quinoa is spicy, nutty, and filled with summery tomato-basil flavor.  I'd love to chop some little balls of mozzarella and spread them throughout next time. The fish was perfectly flaky, nutty, and a little lemon juice complemented it well. I think this meal was a major step up from the frozen pizza baby bro was going to make otherwise.  Plus, it was pretty easy to make. I think baby bro will be coming by more often after this meal!



Pecan-Crusted Tilapia
adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients
6 fillets tilapia (or any flaky, white fish)
1 cup finely ground pecans (I bought them pre-crushed but you could crush them yourself or put them in the food processor)
3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2-1 cup buttermilk
Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a shallow dish or pie plate, mix together the finely ground pecans, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, dry mustard, pepper, cayenne and salt.
3. Place the tilapia fillets in another shallow dish. Pour buttermilk over the fish fillets. Dip each buttermilk-soaked piece of fish into the nut mixture, dredging completely. Place crusted fish on a parchment paper or silpat-lined sheet tray.
4. Bake fish for 20 minutes. When done, fish should be white and flake easily. Crust should be golden. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.


Spicy Tomato Basil Quinoa
adapted from Pink Parsley

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained (I used white)
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1-2 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil

Instructions
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about one minute. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the onion/garlic mixture, tomato sauce, water, quinoa, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and cayenne to a rice cooker and cook completely. The quinoa will be tender, chewy, and there will be white, spiral-like threads around each grain. (If you don't have a rice cooker, head back to Pink Parsley for instructions on how to do this on the stove or follow your package instructions.)
3. Move from the rice cooker to a serving bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, and basil, and season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to really feel summer.  We've already been to the beach, the pool, and even for a small hike.  I love being able to get outside, but more importantly, I love summer foods.  Nectarines, peaches, and berries have been arriving and looking gorgeous at our grocery store and I couldn't be happier.  When I saw this recipe, it just screamed summer to me with fresh strawberries and buttermilk.



We brought this cake to a party the Monkey Scientist's office has every year for the team members ending their 2-year Fellowship (like him).  I was really excited to meet everyone who he works with.  I've heard many of their names for a long time, it was nice to be able to associate each one with a face.  The dinner was absolutely lovely.  There was tons of food and everyone was really nice.  His PI made us all feel at home in his house, which always makes for a particularly enjoyable party.

Oh yeah, and the cake!  Everyone seemed to enjoy the cake!  I had to make it the day before and keep it in the fridge, so honestly it was a bit dried out.  But the flavors were great - I think that the almond extract was KEY!  The strawberries were delightful, but you could really use any type of berry or fruit (peach slices would be great!) on top.  It was so easy to throw together - I recommend it for any summer event!



Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
from joy the baker

Ingredients
Roasted Strawberries:
8-oz (1/2 lb) medium strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Buttermilk Cake:
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
roasted strawberries
3 tbsp turbinado sugar for topping

Instructions
To make the strawberries:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. The strawberries get juicy, so a rimmed baking sheet is important. Set aside.
3. Cut each strawberry in half and place in a mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, olive oil, and salt (notice I didn't say balsamic vinegar...made that mistake). Whisk together until completely incorporated. Drizzle the mixture over the strawberries and toss until each strawberry is coated. Arrange strawberries in a single layer across prepared baking sheet.
4. Roast strawberries for 40 minutes. The juices will thicken, but remove the strawberries from the oven before the juices begin to burn. Remove the berries and juice from the pan while still warm. Place in a small bowl, stir in balsamic vinegar, and set aside.
To make the cake:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 11-inch cast iron skillet. You can also use an 11-inch round tart or quiche pan, or a 9×13-inch pan… although the cake will be more thin and you’ll need to keep a close eye on it in the oven.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Whisk in the vanilla or almond extract.
4. Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Top batter with half of the roasted strawberries and juice. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before slicing to serve. Serve with the remaining roasted strawberries.

Cake will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.

Buttermilk Roasted Drumsticks

The Monkey Scientist was really busy this week, which meant I had to motivate myself to cook for one.  I ended up inviting a friend over one night, and as long as I was prepping that dinner I also decided to start marinating chicken for my next meal.  I had seen this recipe earlier in the day and it sounded so amazing and juicy, I just had to try it.



The marinade couldn't have been simpler to throw together - and was super inexpensive.  I dumped in a 14 oz bottle of low fat buttermilk (99 cents at the grocery store), some garlic (maybe 50 cents?), seasonings I already had in the house, and marinated the drumsticks in it (on sale for $4.20 or so for about 2 1/4 lb).  I ate it for dinner with some roasted cauliflower (on sale for $2.99 a head), and actually had leftovers for lunch the next day and for the Monkey Scientist to eat for dinner the day after.  Definitely a great value!



This was some of the juiciest, most delicious chicken I've ever made.  I really love drumsticks, but this could be great with any part of the chicken.  The skin was crispy, just a bit spicy (except when the MS made the last 2 drumsticks for himself with extra cayenne...they were quite spicy) and the inside was tender and moist.  There's really nothing not to love about this one - just make sure you plan ahead so that you can prep it and let it marinate for a day or two before baking!



Buttermilk Roasted Drumsticks
every so slightly adapted from smitten kitchen

Ingredients
14 oz (1 1/2 c) buttermilk (I used low fat)
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika, plus extra for sprinkling (I used sweet, but I wanted to use spicy Hungarian)
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks (you can use any part you like)
Drizzle of olive oil
Flaked or coarse sea salt and cayenne pepper, to finish

Instructions
1. Whisk buttermilk with garlic, table salt, sugar, paprika and lots of freshly ground black pepper in a bowl.
2. Place chicken parts in a gallon-sized freezer bag (or lidded container) and pour buttermilk brine over them, then swish it around so that all parts are covered.
3. Refrigerate for at least 2 but preferably 24 and up to 48 hours.
4. When ready to roast, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
5. Line a baking dish with foil. Remove chicken from buttermilk brine and arrange in dish.
6. Drizzle lightly with olive oil (honestly, I think I skipped this step and they were fine!), then sprinkle with additional paprika, sea salt, and a little cayenne to taste.
7. Roast for 35 minutes, until brown and a bit scorched in spots. Serve immediately.