Baked Sea Bass: Super Tasty

I'll preface this by saying that I was a little out of my element this time because I have never cooked sea bass before. However, this recipe was fantastic, and I'm really glad I decided to try it. It's super easy, and best of all, it requires things that are generally found in your home kitchen.

First, heat your oven to 425 degrees F. While it's heating, put your sea bass filets into an ovenproof baking dish. Mix a couple Tablespoons olive oil, three or four cloves garlic (obviously this depends on the size of your garlic and how much you like garlic). Add salt and pepper to taste and mix it well. Brush this mixture onto the fish and bake it for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle a good sized sprig of fresh Italian parsley that has been chopped over the fish and continue baking the fish for another five minutes.

Will and I both loved it. I really could have more evenly distributed the parsley, but other than that, it was pretty fantastic. I would definitely do it again. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of failing to properly salt the risotto I served with it (for the recipe for that, please go to my blog post on risotto) because I used water to make it instead of the stock I normally use, so it kind of created a flavor dissonance. In the future, make sure everything you serve is properly seasoned before serving it.

Chili Rellenos Con Guacamole: A Light, Delightful Summer Meal

So Will and I are back to trying to lose weight again and are looking at meals that are reasonably healthy. I've made this particular recipe before, but decided to make a few changes in order to get a better flavor profile going.

First, roast your poblano peppers. The way to do this is simple. Turn on your broiler, arrange your peppers on a baking sheet, and roast, turning until all sides are blistered. This should only take a total of five minutes. Next, stick them in a plastic bag and leave them alone until they are cool enough to handle. Warning: they will be steamy.

While waiting for your peppers to cool, make your guacamole. Mine is a pretty simple mixture of avocados, 1 clove of garlic per three avocados, salt, pepper, and some form of acid. Normally I use lemon or lime juice, but this time I had to use white wine vinegar. Because vinegar is more acidic than citrus juice, make sure to use a light hand with it.

Once your peppers are cool enough to handle, peel off the membrane, which should be easy since you blistered it in the broiler, and remove the seeds. If you don't, you will be in for a fiery mouth. Finally, spoon some of the guacamole into each pepper and serve.

Will thought these were awesome, but might be better with Anaheim peppers because they're spicier. I personally prefer to use poblanos because they are smokier tasting when roasted. This really is a fantastic summer dish and I look forward to making this in the future.

Cherry Vanilla Almond Sorbet: Fresh Flavor, No Dairy

I had a bunch of leftover cherries and decided to make some homemade sorbet. In order to do this, I modified a recipe I had for mango sorbet.

First, pit 2 cups of cherries and freeze them until frozen solid. Meanwhile, make a vanilla simple syrup by combining 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup water, and half a vanilla bean. Bring this mixture to a boil on medium heat, stirring to dissolve. Once it comes up to a boil, put it on low and let it simmer until smooth, about a minute. Take it off the heat and cool it completely. Remove the vanilla bean from the syrup. For extra vanilla flavor, split the vanilla bean after removing it and scrape the seeds into the syrup.

Next, put cherries, 2 cups ice, syrup, and 1/2 cup almond liqueur in a blender. Blend this mixture until it's smooth and slushy. Pour this into Tupperware containers and freeze it until frozen solid.

Will and I both found this delicious. I was considering adding chopped almonds the next time I made it, but once I tasted it, I realized it didn't need it.

Black Rice Salad: Way Too Much Vinaigrette Used; Please Don't Make the Same Mistake I Did

I decided to make a rice salad to get back on the whole dieting thing after some craziness involving school and work. The good news is, this is my last year as an undergraduate. The bad news is, I have to struggle to get into graduate school. Wish me luck, everyone! Anyway, here's the recipe.

Cook one cup of black rice (also frequently known as Chinese forbidden rice or just forbidden rice) in one and three quarter cups boiling water for 45 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, thaw and drain frozen edamame (also known as shelled soybeans), French cut green beans, and corn.

To make the vinaigrette, combine one third of a cup of white wine vinegar, three Tablespoons grapeseed oil, and one Tablespoon agave nectar. Whisk this mixture to combine and add salt and pepper to taste. Toss the rice and vegetables together in the vinaigrette and add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.

As I said in the title, this had WAY too much vinegar. All I could taste was the acid. Will found it so vinegary that it turned his stomach and he couldn't actually stand to eat it. If I ever make this again, I will cut down the vinaigrette by at least half. Also, if you have stomach problems, make sure to cut down the vinaigrette or else your stomach will complain at you forever.

Taco Pizza: An Effective Use of Leftovers

If you're anything like me, you probably have tons of leftovers when you make taco salad. I always end up making endless burritos with it at best and throwing it away at worst. I ended up thinking, since Will's in Argentina, why not cook something utilizing everything that went into the taco salad and put it on a pizza? It will help extend the amount of time between grocery store trips and save me from wastage.

First, make or buy your favorite pizza dough and roll it out onto a stone. Spread any refried beans onto the raw dough; if you don't have any refried beans left over, use some leftover taco sauce or salsa instead. Next, top the pizza with the leftovers from your pizza; I used leftover ground beef, fresh tomatoes, dried chipotle flakes, and grated sharp Cheddar cheese, but I'm sure anything from avocado to shredded chicken will taste great on this.

Next, put the stone with the pizza on it into a heated 350 degree oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Serve with a salad.

It was pretty good, but I think I added too many chipotle flakes. Next time, I think I'll add some queso fresco or cotija in addition to the Cheddar to help amp up the flavor profile.

Machaca: Super Easy and So Tasty

When I thought that Will would still be in town, I decided to make as much stuff as I could in my slow cooker. He's out of town now, but I'm still cooking. Here is a fantastic recipe that takes a few minutes to prepare, but cooks all day without having to worry.

First, combine a beef roast, 8 oz of diced green chilies (I used jarred because they give better results), one sliced onion, garlic powder, seasoned salt, two teaspoons beef base, and pepper in a crock pot. Add just enough water to cover the roast (I used six cups); cover, and set your crock pot to cook for ten to twelve hours. When it's done, shred your beef with a pair of forks after draining it, reserving the liquid; the meat should just fall apart at a glance, so minimal effort will be required. Add salsa of your choice (I used 505 medium) and enough of the reserved liquid to achieve the desired consistency. Wrap in a warm burrito and you're done.

This was fantastic. I will definitely do this again, because we always have green chilies and salsa lying around, so all we would need is the beef. I've gotten requests from Will and our friend Erin to freeze it, so we will see if they share my opinion.