Pan-Roasted Halibut with a Jalepeno Vinaigrette

Recipes that call for any type of spice are what I am drawn to. I am one of those people who puts Tabasco on their eggs, crushed red pepper on their pizza, pepperoncinis on sandwiches, horseradish on filet and so on and so forth. Thus, jalapeno vinaigrette on my fish was a no-brainer.

I followed this recipe pretty closely, paired with a balsamic watercress salad and whole-wheat cous cous.

From Food and Wine Magazine by Tom Douglas

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onion
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon very finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium jalapeño
Freshly ground pepper
Six 5- to 6-ounce halibut fillets
Avocado wedges or watercress, for servingDirections


1.In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and onion with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Let stand for 10 minutes, then whisk in the honey, cilantro, mustard, garlic and 1/4 cup of the olive oil.

2.Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over high heat until just smoking. Add the jalapeño and cook, turning, until charred and blistered on all sides, about 2 minutes; let cool slightly. Slip off the charred skin. Discard the stem and cut the jalapeño in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and finely chop the jalapeño. Stir the jalapeño into the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.

3.In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil over moderately high heat. Season the halibut fillets with salt and pepper and cook, turning once, until they are opaque throughout, about 8 minutes. Transfer the halibut to a platter. Whisk the vinaigrette, spoon it over the fish and serve with avocado wedges or watercress.

An Eventful Weekend

We were invited to Mike Paskin's 30th birthday party this weekend. The Paskin's rented a super deluxe shuttle and treated us to a fun afternoon of wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Meanwhile, Samantha had her first overnight away from Mommy and Daddy. Dancing Grandma and Grandpa picked Samantha up in the morning and headed down to their home in Thousand Oaks for some fun - they fed the ducks, went to the library, visited the fish aquarium and stayed up late having milkshakes. She even slept in until 8:30 AM! (No matter what time I put Samantha to bed, whether it is 6:30 PM or 10:30 PM, she still wakes up at 7 AM!) No fair!

Grandma also took Samantha shopping. Here she is modeling her new outfits. Thanks Grandma!

Heirloom Tomato and Herb Pappardelle

I made Marina's Heirloom Tomato and Herb Pappardelle pasta tonight and it was amazing! Check out the recipe on Yummy Mummy.

Pork Schnitzel with Noodles and Browned Cabbage

Anyone in the mood for German food?

I took the Cooking Light recipe below and made a few adjustments to make it healthier: whole-wheat pasta instead of egg noodles, added extra cabbage, used whole-wheat flour and whole-wheat bread crumbs to bread the cutlets. A squeeze of lemon is a must to round out this meal!

Samantha loves to eat noodles. Whether she knew it or not, she was eating her noodles with cabbage. Which makes me happy because she seems to steer clear of veggies lately.

From Cooking Light Magazine

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 ounces medium egg noodles
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
Cooking spray
Lemon wedges (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Combine noodles and sour cream in a large bowl, tossing well to coat.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage, onion, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to pan; cook 6 minutes or until cabbage is wilted, stirring occasionally. Add broth; cook 6 minutes or until cabbage is lightly browned. Stir cabbage mixture into noodle mixture. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.

Cut pork crosswise into 12 (1-inch-thick) pieces. Place each piece between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle pork evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Dredge 1 pork cutlet in flour. Dip in egg whites; dredge in breadcrumbs. Repeat with remaining pork, flour, egg whites, and breadcrumbs.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat; add 4 pieces pork to pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until pork is lightly browned and done. Remove pork from pan. Repeat procedure twice with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and pork. Serve with cabbage mixture, lemon wedges, and parsley, if desired.

A Surprise Night Out

I turned 23 the other day, or 32, not sure which one, but pretty sure I am 23 and my wonderful girlfriends surprised me with a fantastic night out. I thought I was going out to dinner with Ms. Southern Belle Holley but the night was much different thanks to all the LIES I was told - and I thank all of you for doing so!

It was a fun filled night of manicures, pedicures, Dom Perignon, dinner at Tupelo Junction, cocktails at Blush and a last stop at Dargans - which I am thankful did not have Karaoke going on because I was on mission to perform Peter, Paul and Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" - very embarrassing....

Thank you Laurie, Marina, Sarah and Holley!

The Zoo (again)

If you haven't noticed from my multiple zoo blog posts, we go A LOT. It is about 5 minutes away from our house, cheap ($65 dollars for a year pass), there is usually not a crowd and you can walk the whole zoo in about an hour and tire your child out. Oh and they have a fun train that you can ride around the park. We sometimes go 3 times a week! Buying the year pass is one of the best deals in town.

I enjoy watching Samantha's animal interests evolve. She has gone from obsessing about the sheep and pigs to not wanting to leave the swan that swims near the entrance of the park. At least she is moving on from the farm animals to something a little more exotic, sort of.....

Since we go so much I usually don't bring my camera, but thankfully Laurie did. She got such cute shots of Sam and the boys (Eli and Connor).

Yikes!

What should I do?! Nap time and mornings have been ending with my little monkey trying to escape. I find that I have to be watching the monitor closely making sure that she doesn't fall out of her crib.

Isn't 18 months too young for a toddler bed? I can only imagine that she will be getting up throughout the night coming into our room. I have seen those tents you put over the crib - I am not really into putting one of those on and I feel like Samantha will not go for it either.

I was able to catch a few photos of her trying to get out today. She thinks it is funny.

I don't.

She is definitely a climber - on chairs, tables, sofas etc. She even tried to climb into the elephant exhibit at the zoo today.

So far she has not hurt herself performing one of her acrobatic tricks, but I am not sure about her having a perfect landing out of the crib.

Any suggestions?