This is an easy one, Spicy Sauteed Fish with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes:


1 lbs tilapia
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper
salt & pepper

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Rub salt and pepper on tilapia fillets, and saute 2 fillets at a time until just cooked, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and keep warm, and repeat for remaining fillets. In the same skillet, add parsley and crushed red pepper, and saute for one minute until fragrant. Add tomatoes, olives, and garlic, and saute for 2 more minutes, until tomatoes are just cooked and tender and juicy (I added a little white wine to help the vegetables cook). Season sauce with salt & pepper, spoon over the tilapia, and serve.


8/10: This tasty Mediterranean dish is very easy to make, and only involves about 10 minutes of cooking. The key is to cook everything very lightly, and make sure you use only the freshest ingredients you can find. When you go shopping for groceries, make sure you have a backup plan in case the store doesn't have fresh fish or cherry tomatoes that day.

Edit 10/4/06: I tried this again using orange roughy instead of tilapia, and it was much better. It's a little more expensive, but I recommend the roughy over the tilapia.

I have a friend who is a big fan of potato salad, so I tried this recipe for Asparagus, Red Pepper, and Potato Salad:


1 lbs red potatoes
1 lbs asparagus
1 red bell pepper, seeded
1/2 cup slivered red onion

5 tbsp spicy brown mustard
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
6 tbsp olive oil
tabasco sauce
salt & pepper

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender, and cut into bite sized pieces. Lightly boil asparagus in a shallow pan of simmering water, then drain and splash in cold water. Chop asparagus into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Slice bell pepper and onion to same size as the asparagus.

For the dressing, stir together the mustard, vinegar, sugar, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle in the oil, whisking until the dressing takes on a creamy texture. Season with salt and pepper, and spice up with tabasco sauce as desired. Mix up the potatoes, asparagus, bell pepper and onion with the dressing, and serve.

6/10: I didn't remember that I don't like balsamic vinegar until I finished making this dish. Next time, I would leave that out. This is an easy dish to make, and quite healthy.

Some new dessert, it's called panna cotta:

1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 envelope unflavored gelatin (about 3/4 tbsp)

For topping:
5 oz strawberries (frozen works fine, too)
1/3 cup sugar

In a sauce pan, combine 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup heavy cream, and 1/4 cup sugar, and bring to a light boil. When the mixture starts to simmer, remove from heat. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold milk, and let sit for a few minutes while it soaks. Stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla extract to the sauce pan, and pour into 1/2 cup custard cups. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving (makes 3-4 servings).

For the topping, process strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar in a blender. Bring to a boil in a sauce pan, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Cool before serving.

To serve, run a butter knife around the edge of the custard cups, and gently pop it out upside down onto a plate. Drizzle with topping.

Maybe I did something wrong, but this dessert mostly tastes like cream flavored jello to me. However, it is fetching and easy to make, so it wouldn't be much of a chore to prepare this for a dinner with family or guests.

Baked ziti:


2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
4 links italian sausage
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup red wine
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 pound ziti pasta
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
3 oz grated parmesan
3 eggs, beaten

Brown sausages in heavy sauce pan, then remove and chop into bite sized pieces. Heat the olive oil, add garlic, and cook for a couple minutes until fragrant. Add onions, carrot, celery and cook until soft, then add wine and reduce by a half. Add tomatoes, oregano, basil, bay leaves, and return chopped sausages. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for an hour, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. While waiting for sauce to thicken, boil ziti and drain. Toss with some olive oil so ziti does not stick together while waiting for the sauce, and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. When sauce has thickened, remove bay leaves, remove from heat, and mix in ziti, stirring well. Move pasta and sauce to a baking pan, and cover with mozzarella, then pour beaten eggs on top. Sprinkle parmesan on top, and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, and serve.


7/10: Not bad for a first try. I over-baked the ziti by about 5 minutes, baking for about 25 minutes, so next time I will do better. The wine I used for the sauce was a merlot, and that went well with the meal as well.

Roasted tilapia with vegetables:


2 lbs tilapia fillets
3 baking potatoes, diced to 3/4 inch cubes
9 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 8oz can artichoke hearts, sliced thin
3/4 cup black olives, sliced
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 deg. Fahrenheit. Peel and chop potatoes to 3/4 inch cubes. Combine in baking tray with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp rosemary, and season with pepper. Bake in oven for 20 minutes until browned and done. Remove from oven, and remove potatoes from baking pan. Add tilapia fillets to tray, about 10 fillets, side by side. Add potatoes, chopped tomatoes, artichokes, olives, capers, and the rest of the rosemary and thyme, layer by layer. Drizzle with the rest of the olive oil, season with salt & pepper, put in oven, and bake for about 30 minutes until fish is cooked and vegetables are tender. While baking, occasionally spoon the liquid that gathers at the bottom over the vegetables. I also drizzled a little white wine in the middle of the baking. Serve fillets with a pile of vegetables on top (serves about 5).


8/10: This dish has a nice Mediterranean flavor that makes me think it is Sicilian in origin. It is healthy (low fat), hearty, filling, and cheap... you will probably spend more on the wine than the dish itself. I had it with a bottle of Yellowtail pinot grigio, which for the record, goes very well with seafood. I somehow managed to undercook the potatoes, but otherwise very good. Possibly serve with a green salad.