Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Halibut with Green Goddess Sauce

We try to eat fish at last once a week and Lent is always a great time to try some new dinner recipes.

I usually make halibut with a sauce of tomatoes and olives or capers. This Green Goddess Sauce, however, is lighter with plenty of zing. It's a healthier riff on tartar sauce with all the same flavor.

What's your go-to fish dish? Let us know!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea


Halibut with Green Goddess Sauce
Inspired by a recipe from Penzeys Spices.

2 pounds halibut fillets
Lemon juice from one lemon
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Sauce
1/2 cup mayo
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Penzeys' Green Goddess dressing base mix

*Note: If you don't have Penzeys, you can make your own Green Goddess mix by combining 1 teaspoon each of dried:

  • Onion flakes
  • Basil
  • Celery flakes
  • Minced garlic
  • Dill weed
  • Sugar

Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. Place halibut fillets in a shallow pan and drizzle with lemon juice. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

While fish marinates, make the sauce and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

Remove fish from refrigerator. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake fish for 20 to 30 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Remove from oven and transfer to serving dish. Top with Green Goddess sauce and enjoy.


Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Lemon Linguine with Peas & Citrus Shrimp

Here's some comfort food for spring. The creamy sauce is light and bright with citrusy flavor. The entire meal takes about 30 minutes to pull together, making it an easy weeknight dinner.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea



Lemon Linguine with Peas & Citrus Shrimp
Inspired by these recipes from the New York Times, Martha Stewart and Good Housekeeping

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 pound linguine, cooked to package directions
1 cup frozen peas, optional
1 large shallot, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1/2 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fill a large pot with water and set to boil.

In a large bowl, toss shrimp with tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet. Arrange shrimp on wire rack. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until shrimp is pink and cooked through. Remove from oven, tent with foil to keep warm, and set aside.

While shrimp is baking, cook pasta until al dente. If using peas, add them to pasta during last minute of cooking. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Drain and return to pot.

While pasta is cooking, make the lemon sauce. In a small saucepan, heat teaspoon olive oil. Add shallots, she salt and pepper and cook about 4 minutes or until tender. Add cream and lemon zest and cook until it reaches a slow boil. Continue to cook, stirring often, until sauce begins to thicken. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Pour lemon sauce over pasta in pot and gently toss until all pasta is coated in sauce. Add a drizzle of pasta water to thin sauce if needed.

Transfer pasta to serving bowl. Top with shrimp and parsley and a generous helping of shredded Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Cheesy Spinach & Bacon Triangles

Spinach is often on our dinner table and I am forever trying to find ways to get my kids to eat the leafy vegetable.

Who wouldn't like spinach with cheese and bacon? My boys — of course.

The good news: My husband and I loved this side dish, and since there were lots of leftovers, my main course for lunch the next day was good to go.

You can tailor this to your tastes by using your favorite type of cheese or leaving out the bacon.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea



Cheesy Spinach & Bacon Triangles
Inspired by this recipe from Family Circle

Cooking spray
3 10 ounce packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8-9 slices of thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 to 6 green onions, sliced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously spray bottom and sides of a 13-by-9 inch baking dish.

Wrap spinach in a clean kitchen towel. Holding towel over the sink, squeeze out as much water as you can.

Heat a skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and cook bacon until crispy. Transfer bacon to a dish lined with paper towels. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon drippings.

In a large bowl, mix 1 tablespoon bacon fat with flour, eggs, milk, baking powder and salt and pepper. Add spinach, cheese, bacon and green onions and stir until well combined.

Spread mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until top starts to turn light brown in spots.

Remove from oven and cool slightly. Cut into triangles.

Serve warm or at room temperature.