Pan-seared Tilapia & Rice

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Mine, which has extended into Monday, included a girls brunch and Castle marathon, lots of movies, lunch in Hoboken and a simply delish steak dinner at home last night. Needless to say, this morning will be filled with healthy foods and hitting the gym hard. Speaking of healthy foods, today I'm showing off one of my favorite light dinner recipes. It's pan-seared tilapia, and though I'm typically not one for fish unless it's of the shrimp-crab-lobster variety, this recipe has won me over in a big way. Take a look...

Pan-seared Tilapia & Rice
*Adapted from Weight Watchers (yep, and it's one of their better ones)
1 lb. tilapia filets (or any white fish that you prefer)
3 tbsp flour
1 C white wine (any kind you'd drink, I usually prefer Sauvignon Blanc)
1 tomato, any kind, chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
capers (I like a lot, so no measurement...use whatever you want)
olive oil
2 tbsp butter or light butter
kosher salt & pepper
Cooked rice
In a dish, combine flour, salt and pepper. Very lightly coat filets in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet, just enough to coat the bottom. Cook filets 2-3 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, whisk together lemon juice, white wine, garlic, basil, capers, and tomatoes. When fish is finished cooking (there should be a nice crispy brown crust on the fish), remove from pan and keep warm (I usually put on a plate and loosely cover with foil). Pour wine mixture into the skillet on medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Turn off heat, add butter and mix until melted.

To serve:
In a shallow bowl or small plate, put a scoop of rice on the bottom. Put fish over rice and pour the wine sauce over top. It should look something like this:

So what do you think? Do you ever cook fish at home? I'll admit, I shied away from it for a long time...until I found this recipe of course. Do you have any other fish recipes to share?

Just Call Me Sweetie

Valentine's week continues, and this time we're talking sweets. Sugar cookies, to be exact. And these are pink, heart-shaped, oversized, and beyond easy to boot. There's just something about a giant sugary cookie, don't you think? Whether you're spending the day with a loved one, with friends, or even solo, these cookies are a simple treat for all to enjoy, even beyond the big V...and everyone can make them. Let's get down to it...

Easy Sugar Cookies - Valentine's Day Edition
*Adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis
1 tube Pillsbury cookie dough (I used sugar, but any kind you like will work)
1/4 C+ all purpose flour
Red food coloring
Sprinkles, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or any other flavor you want to add

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cookie dough and flour. I used my trusty stand mixer (I rave about this little baby here), but my gut tells me mixing it in a bowl with a good old wooden spoon will work just as well. Add 4-5 drops of food coloring, depending on how 'red' you want it. I wanted a soft pink so 4-5 drops worked just fine. Next, add any other extras that you'd like. I split my dough into thirds; one for semi-sweet chocolate chips, one for white chocolate chips, and one for coconut. Take your dough and roll out onto a wooden board or counter top that is generously floured. Flour your rolling pin and roll out the dough. Using a cookie cutter (I just so happen to have a heart one), cut out your cookies. You know the drill: roll up the scraps, repeat.

Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with sprinkles if you so choose. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until they look done. This isn't an exact science. Depending on how thinly I rolled the dough, the cookies browned at different rates - which is also why some of my gorgeous pink confections have brown undertones. Just a note of caution: I made the mistake of thinking sugar cookies would be similar to butter cookies, where they don't really puff up or take up any additional space other than what the initial dough occupies. I was wrong. On the first batch, I placed them too close together and they ended up looking like this: Let sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. If done properly, they should look like this: Isn't she pretty? To make these even more decadent, try topping them with a bit o'frosting. I will likely freeze some of these and frost them on Sunday for a fresh taste. I'm trying out pomegranate cream cheese frosting...say it with me, 'mmmmm'. So what kind of sweets do you look forward to on Vday? Cookies? Cakes? Chocolate truffles? Hershey's Kisses? 

Psst - if you missed any of Vday week thus far, check out It's a Date and Gorgonzola Fig Crostini!

Gorgonzola Fig Crostini

Yesterday, I wrapped up some fun, low key Vday ideas. One of my favorite parts of the list? Staying home, cooking and eating together...but who am I kidding? This is never relegated only to Valentine's Day. Admittedly, this is one of my favorite activities. I also think that for a special occasion, it's nice to have multiple courses. Even if you start out with one small hors d'oeuvres and a glass of wine before dinner, it just makes the whole meal feel much more special. For this Valentine's Day dinner, I'm preparing a new find that I tested out for Superbowl and I have to tell you...it's pretty fabulous and destined to become a Humiston household staple. It's Gorgonzola Fig Crostini and mark my words, after one bite, you'll be hooked. It's no secret that I harbor a borderline obsessive love for all things sweet and savory and have been known to dabble in crostini from time to time. This recipe is the perfect way to fulfill both. And you may remember that I mentioned my new found taste for fig jam in January Favorites. I received more than a few questions about where to find it. Since I've been unable to find it for a reasonable price, I made my own. Scroll down for the super duper simple tutorial.

Gorgonzola Fig Crostini with Carmelized Onions
*Adapted from Recipe Girl
1/2 C Fig jam, at room temperature
4 oz Gorgonzola cheese (crumbled or soft), at room temperature
1+ tsp heavy cream, half and half, or milk
1 Baguette, sliced into thin pieces
1 large onion, sliced not diced
1 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Turn your baguette slices into crostini by drizzling with olive oil, salt and pepper and baking at 350 degrees for 5 minutes on each side. Separately, place gorgonzola crumbles in a mixing bowl along with a splash of desired dairy (whether cream or milk). I used merely a splash at a time just to hold the gorgonzola together so that it would be in spreadable, rather than crumbled form come spreading time. Place gorgonzola in a small dish and fig jam in another dish (again, if you can't find fig jam at your local grocery store, or simply do not want to pay $9 for a jar, scroll down for a tip on how to make your own) and crostini on a plate. In a small sautee pan, heat olive oil and add onions. Cook them on very low heat, stirring occasionally until they get brown, sweet, and delicious. Admittedly, when I made this last week, I did not give mine enough time to actually carmelize (which is why they are white in my photo, not golden brown). What can I say? The game was starting and I had to shake a tail feather. Though next time I plan to give 'em the full time the deserve, the onions were still soft and delish even if they weren't fully browned.

Put it all together:
Spread some gorgonzola on your crostini. Place a dollop of fig jam over the cheese. Top with a bit of carmelized onions. Enjoy!

And now for the Fig Jam tutorial. This was seriously so easy and so tasty. Let me know if you give it a try!
Fig Jam
*Adapted from Recipe Girl
1 C dried Black Mission figs
2 C water
3 tbsp granulated sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt

Cut stems off of figs.

In a food processor, combine figs and lemon juice, pulsing until it looks like this:
In a saucepan, combine chopped figs, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for a long time. The original recipe said 25 minutes, but after that time lapsed, mine looked like this:
Not exactly jammy, if you will. So I let it go for another 25 minutes, stirring occasionally or when it looked like it was necessary. Essentially, you want it to reduce enough so that it's thick and spreadable, not watery like the above photo. After the second 25 minute simmer sesh, it was ready to go, looking gorgeous to boot:
I mean, really, doesn't that look good enough to eat? And yes, there are a LOT of seeds in this bad boy. But don't worry, you hardly even taste them or notice they're there for that matter, and that's coming from a bona fide seed-hater. So is that simple enough for you? I'm going to go ahead and assume that this will also be out of this world on a grilled cheese sandwich...

So that's my Valentine's Day hors d'oeuvre. It's pretty, chic and tasty to boot. Oh, and notice the deep red and soft white colors involved? It's really the perfect holiday treat.