Tomato Fondue over Blue Fish

Tags

dinner, dinner with D, fish, ginger, healthy, recipes, scallions, tomatoes

Sometimes, I really miss my old roommate, Diana. Not that my current living situation is terrible (far from it) but sharing a passion for cooking with my roommate was awesome. I have fond memories of sitting in my room watching hours of Chopped on Food Network and getting a whiff of something amazing. And, because I was compelled by curiosity, I would mosey over to the kitchen and be all “whacha cookin’ roomie?” Whatever was in that kitchen would be divine!

On one particular evening, Diana had to recreate a dish for class (culinary school) and she had asked me to help her choose the best tasting dish. What an honor! So I grabbed my fork and dug in. A slab of fish covered in a delicious sauce. It was fresh tasting and really complimented the fish. She told me it was called tomato fondue. We brought leftovers of the delectable dish to my family and it was a huge hit when them as well!

Its been months since I have had her tomato fondue and after purchasing some blue fish, I thought it would make for the perfect opportunity to dig up the recipe. After searching on the internet to no avail, I contacted Diana for her recipe. She was kind enough to share it. And now, because everyone should know about this deliciousness, I will share it with you.

Diana’s Tomato Fondue

ingredients:

1 inch of ginger root, peeled then diced

3 plum tomatoes, diced

1 bunch of scallions, sliced

Method:

In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, sweat the ginger in the pan until its fragrant and tender, about 3 minutes. Next up, add the tomatoes and stir to combine. The tomatoes will take about 5 minutes to become a rustic sauce texture and then you can add the scallions. Heat through for an additional 2 minutes and set aside. Serve atop several filets of your favorite fish or a chicken breast (but I prefer fish)

We are eating more fish these days and I kind of like it. My favorite fish to top with the tomato fondue is a delicate white fish- like basa filet or tilapia. But in this particular post, I pan fried some blue fish seasoned with just salt and topped it with the fondue.

The  blue fish is a bit of a fishy tasting fish but the ginger really freshens it up along with the kick of mild onion flavor from the scallions (Tried with regular onions- not the same).

We sunk out teeth into this delicious filet of blue fish topped with tomato fondue and enjoyed it with a side of garlic sauteed spinach. A super healthy dinner that was flavorful and satisfying!

If you arent a big fish person, I recommend trying this topping on fresh basa filet. It has a great texture and a very very mild fish taste (if any).

ENJOY!

Dinner with D: Stuffed Chicken Wings

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chicken, chicken wings, dinner with D

Last week I saw Diana at the dining table with a bowl of raw chicken wings and a paring knife. It looked like she was de-boning the chicken wings.

So, like the nosy body that I am, I asked her and sure enough, she was de-boning chicken wings.

Why?

To stuff them! She was going to a potluck and was bringing along a Hmong favorite: Stuffed Chicken Wings. Think Eggrolls but stuffed in chicken!

So after I asked her all my questions, I stalked her in the kitchen and took pics of her process.

Once she deboned a million chicken wings, she soaked some rice noodles. MMM.

She sliced and diced some scallions….

and added them to some rice noodles with carrots and cabbage…among other seasoning and it looked a lot like an eggroll indeed!

Then she stuffed the hell out of the chicken wings!

Look at the size of those things!

She must have been stuffing those wings for about 2 hours. Ever so diligent too!

Once they were all stuffed, she sealed them using a toothpick.

Which, from what I understand was the worst part.

Once they were all sealed, she seasoned them and baked them at 350 for 30 minutes.

The smell was intoxicating! And my constant lurking and picture taking resulted in a major win!

A stuffed Chicken wing!

It was so good! But it took about 30 seconds to devour compared to the hours it took to assemble.

It gave me some really great ideas for my next Potluck… Stuffed chicken wings with spinach and artichokes! or Blue Cheese and celery covered in hot sauce! Feta cheese and olives! its endless!

Dinner with D: Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Tags

chicken, dinner with D, rice noodles, summer rolls, Vietnamese

Happy Labor Day! I celebrated this entire holiday weekend visiting my mom in Brooklyn, laying in the sun and forgetting to put on my sunscreen. It was so great to be back in the old neighborhood and see all the familiar faces!I introduced everyone to my roommate and they all loved her. I mean, I might be a little biased, but what is not to love?(you would not have heard me say that about my last roommate…)

I came home from work one day and found her in the kitchen with a little assembly line going. When I asked what she was doing, she told me she was making summer rolls.

::blink::

Like, “No Biggie, just some summer rolls”

I decided this would make a great blog post… so I ran to get my camera and started to take pics of the process.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli, cooked
• 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
• 2 Chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked through and sliced into thin 1 inch strips
• 1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 leaves lettuce, chopped

  

To start, Diana dipped a sheet of rice paper into a bowl of water. The water activates the texture of the rice paper that can turn very sticky. If its dipped for too long, the paper is difficult to form, and if not dipper enough the paper is tough and plastic-like.

Once the rice paper is wet, it softens. Place it on a plate. Fill the edge with a handful of lettuce, mint, cilantro, vermicielli, and chicken.

Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Best to roll tightly. When its done, wrap it individually in plastic wrap to keep the rice paper intact and with the appropriate texture.

At the end of the night, there were about 24 summer rolls. It made for a great breakfast the following day. LOL.

For the dipping sauce, we mixed together some hoisin sauce, with peanut butter and siracha. T’was magnificent!

This Dinner with D thing might be a frequent occurrence!… maybe.