Feeling like some Creative Fish!

So I’m at the store and they have beautiful big tilapia filets on sale… So… I got some… but for some reason thinking of all the normal ways I usually fix it were not making me happy… I just got the notion of wanting to make it “stuffed”.  So I decided I was going to make stuffed fish and set about to see what I had here in the house to stuff it with!  It was fun!  AND it turned out great!

I started with some thick Tilapia filets that were thick enough that from the center I was able to slice a flap on either side so when I stuffed it, it was open on top not the side…  the size and thickness of your filets will determine how you slice it to later stuff….any way you do it is fine…

Next I sauteed some

pancetta ( you can get it in little blister packs at Trader Joes already diced up)

some diced up zucchini

chopped sweet vidalia onion

chopped sun dried tomatoes

(all these things were chopped to be rather small and uniform in size)

Then while that was all sauteeing together,

I took about a pint of heavy cream and half a package of cream cheese and beat it together until lightly fluffy (not necessarily to full whipped cream stage) and then I added a hefty dollop of some leftover zinfandel I had but you can use any white or pink wine…and whipped some more.

I then added cream mixture to sauteed mixture and stirred all together and sauteed a bit more.   I added a little white pepper and I am telling you that I added JUST A PINCH of salt…the pancetta added enough saltiness and everything else had plenty of flavor..

Then you just scoop out the filling and stuff inside of fish halves and then pour remaining sauce on top.

Bake in 350 degree oven 20-30 minutes

Serve with some roasted potatoes and another green vegetable and you have a healthy meal with just a little “cream” fat and the pancetta is so little for flavor that it isn’t that bad either… but if you make sure you have some greens it helps the health factor a LOT. 

If you eat a lot of good things like this… with fish, veggies, etc, then a little cream or bacon isn’t horrible as long as you keep EVERYTHING IN MODERATION (and LOTs OF greens!!)

I really hope you enjoy this dish because according to my husband it was REALLY good…

Peace, Love and Happiness!

♥Dorina

“Chicken” Fish!

When the kids were little, I didn’t cook as much fish as I do now because honestly I didn’t like it that much either.
My own mother, fantastic cook that she is…never really cooked fish much either and when she did, it was some plain “white fish” that she broiled with lemon juice and that was it. I hated it.
(Sorry Mom!!! 🙂 )
So as I have matured as a Chef (in my own imagination), I started to experiment and try new recipes and experiment some more. Then as the kids came to those ages where they didn’t want to try new things…especially FISH!!! ugh!! I really had to get creative.
SO…I started treating fish like chicken!
Guess what? I found a bunch of ways the kids would eat fish and they didn’t always know what they were eating but they liked it and I was happy and now the older ones know when its fish but its OK….!!! They LIKE it even knowing what it is!!! Woohoo!!!

So…
Here is one of my tricks!

Let me start by telling you that we have a rule in our house since we first started having kids…
You always have to TRY whatever is for dinner. It may be something NEW. It may be something you already have tried and don’t like, but you have to try it no matter what.
I always taught my kids, that just as your muscles grow, (they always got that since I started out with the 5 boys and they all wanted muscles like Daddy!!! –but of course my daughter gets it too!) so do your tastebuds. And you never know one day to the next if one has grown to like something new. I also told them that if I fix something differently they may like it a different way. SO….that being said…that is how I got them to try my “FISH” that I wouldn’t say was fish….they would just assume it was chicken because that is how it looked and the house doesn’t smell like fish because Tilapia is not strong smelling at all and the wine covers everything and makes the kitchen smell GOOOOOOOD!! Of course if you make this dish with chicken first and they like it, then the next time with fish is easy because they already like the sauce!

Tilapia Piccata

• First…..
  (don’t tell them it’s fish…let them assume it’s chicken. Of course you can outright tell them it’s chicken but that is up to you!…and if you fix it this way you may get one over on them!)
  I started this “trick” with Tilapia. It is firmer than your “white flaky fishes” yet not quite a tuna or swordfish steak and most of the filets are about the same size and shape as a chicken breast! It is also not very “fishy” smelling or tasting so that helps.–ONE THE OTHER HAND…if people in your family like fish….TELL THEM IT’S FISH!   🙂
• Take your fish, rinse it off (I always rinse my fish)
  then lightly flour it in some flour with a bit of salt and pepper mixed in.
• Then saute in some olive oil. Let it brown lightly and then turn over.
• Once the Fish is almost done on the second side, add one pat of butter,
• a lot of white wine and
• some lemon juice. (some recipes call for chicken stock instead of wine. I like it better with wine! but you can use either or half and half if you want)
• Let it cook down a bit until it thickens. (the flour on the fish helps thicken the sauce and helps the sauce stick to the fish at the same time!)
• And add a pinch of salt and pepper if needed and to your taste.

Now traditional Piccata recipes all have capers in them…my kids don’t like the capers so I either leave them out or just don’t put them in their dishes.
And of course If you want to make this fancy you can sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley on top. But of course that is up to whether you and your kids would like that!

**Serve this over some pastina or angel hair pasta or rice that you will spoon some of the extra sauce over, and then add some string beans or broccoli and you’ve got a nice well rounded meal!

***I don’t really put measurements on this recipe because you just put in enough to make a nice sauce. If there isn’t enough, then just add some more wine and another pat of butter. I personally don’t use too much lemon juice but it all depends on what kind of mood I am in. Sometimes I make it more lemony and other times I JUST use the wine and butter!
No matter which way I make it is tasty and we all love it.

Please always remember that recipes are easy to follow as long as you don’t completely follow them!
I’ll tell you more how to “read” a recipe later!!!

Anyway, this is also exactly how I make my Chicken Piccata so try it either way!!!

Ciao for now!

♥Dorina