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Cheddar Stuffed Lettuce Burgers with Spicy Mayo

Posted by Unknown Saturday, August 17, 2013 0 comments

The first thing I'm going to say is that you will NOT miss the bun. Honestly. Seriously. Literally. You won't. How do I know this? Because I didn't miss it. And this is coming from a person who would much rather have a piece of crusty bread over a cookie. As in, I like bread. A lot. But in the vein of healthy eating, I decided to lighten up my dinner some by getting rid of it. And I wasn't going to be the girl who ate her burger with a knife and fork, so the lettuce as bread was perfect. I know this isn't exactly a novel idea, but it works for me. And it's a great way to cut out extra carbs, especially in your kids diets! And the best part? I made it in 10 minutes...

The only pre-planning is to take your meat out of the fridge for about 10 minutes before you touch it. This is because you never want to shock cold meat in a screaming hot pan. Start by heating up a pan on med-high heat. Then, form your beef (Since I was nixing the bread, I used beef with a little higher fat count than I typically do: 80/20) into two, flat, 3 oz patties about 3/4 inch thick. Like dough, meat becomes tougher the more you work with it, so no kneading here; just be gentle. In one patty, create a small well in the middle, and add 1 oz of shredded cheddar cheese (use more or less depending on how cheesy you're feelin'). Then lay the other patty on top and seal the edges as securely as you can with your fingers. Place it in the pan and don't touch it for three minutes! If you move it around in the pan, you'll lose the crust on the surface of the burger. While it's cooking, assemble your plate with whatever toppings you like. I was going for simple here, so I mixed 1/4 tsp of paprika with 1T of mayonnaise and spread that on one piece of romaine lettuce, sliced a tomato and onion and placed them on the other piece of lettuce. 


After three minutes, flip your burger and cook for another 3 minutes for medium rare, 4 for medium, and 5-6 for well done. I did mine medium rare. (TayTip: NEVER press down on your burger with your spatula because it releases the natural juices from the meat. Natural means flavor!) Set it on top of your lettuce and dig in!


This is an ideal way to still be satisfied while eating low-carb. You can also use ground turkey or bison which are even leaner meats, but like I said, you have to indulge somewhere, right? I use extra sharp cheddar because it doesn't get lost in the mix of juicy meat, crunchy onions, or bursting tomatoes. The spicy mayo is a nice kick and the lettuce is deliciously crisp. Kid friendly, and Taylor approved. I'm not ashamed to say I licked my fingers...and part of the plate. Buon appetito!

Seven Ingredient Salad: Coconut Shrimp With Strawberries and Spicy Walnuts over Baby Spinach

Posted by Unknown 0 comments

I. Love. Coconut. It is seriously delicious. If you've ever had coconut soup from a Thai restaurant, you know that no matter whether it's served sweet or savory, the flavor is very mellow and has an incredible aroma. This is the perfect lunch or light summer dinner. Lots of vitamins, protein, and the good fats from the walnuts. So, away we go...

The first step is to preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Then take aluminum foil and put 1 cup of walnuts and 1T of sriracha hot sauce right on the nuts. Wrap up the foil, place it in the oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes. BUT keep an eye on it; nuts burn very easily. 

Then heat a pan at med-high with 2tsp coconut oil, add 2 lbs of raw (peeled and devained) shrimp and 1T of ground cumin. Cumin has a very pungent smell and a peppery, spicy flavor that goes a long way. Cook until the shrimp is pink and firm. Then add a 16 oz. can of coconut milk, 1tsp salt, and reduce the heat to medium. 


Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half. (TayTip: halfway through the reducing process, remove the lid for about 2 minutes to let some steam and moisture out. The sauce will reduce faster) The coconut sauce will turn a light golden color.


Then slice 10-12 medium strawberries and assemble them on top of a bed of baby spinach or your favorite lettuce. Scatter the shrimp and spicy walnuts around, dress with the coconut sauce, and serve slightly warm. 



There isn't much to say here, folks. You just have to try it to know! The balance of sweet coconut shrimp, spicy walnuts, and tart strawberries is divine. Baking the walnuts in foil cooks out their bitterness and the sriracha is not as spicy as right out of the bottle (if you want more spice, add a couple drops to the walnuts when they come out of the oven). The spinach is the perfect vessel and adds a nice crisp crunch as opposed to the crackly crunch of the walnuts. And last but not least--what I consider the star of this dish--is the silky coconut sauce with perfect pinch of fiery cumin. Simple, spicy, sweet, and summer. 

Comment below with questions, thoughts, and suggestions! I'd love to know what you thought if you made this. Buon appetito!

Peanut Lime Chicken with Yellow Squash and Zucchini Cakes

Posted by Unknown Friday, August 16, 2013 0 comments

One day a package of chicken met a jar of peanut butter and made this little baby. What a crazy match they were. I mean, they barely knew each other and now they had just jumped into this life-long commitment together? Well it wasn't that long of a life because I ate them. Quickly. There's something shockingly magical about the combination of sour lime and creamy peanut butter. And, summer squash in all of its forms is a fabulous. PLUS, this is great way to sneak extra protein and veggies into your family's diet! 

Start by heating up 2T of coconut oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Coconut oil has a mild flavor, and I've always found that it smells more like coconut than it tastes like it. I get more hints of vanilla than I do coconut. Try to get the virgin, cold pressed kind if you can. Next, slice 5 chicken breasts lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips. I use a meat cleaver, but if you don't have one, you can use any non-serrated knife. Trim any fat left on the meat. Season with salt and pepper and toss in the pan. 


Then dice 6 small garlic cloves as small as you can get them. Throw half of the chopped garlic into the pan with the chicken, and reserve the other half for your squash batter. Cook the chicken for about 8-10 minutes, or until almost cooked. When the meat is still slightly pink in the middle, add 1c peanut butter. I used creamy because it's what I had, but chunky works just as well, and would add an ever better texture. (TayTip: if you or your family/friends have a peanut allergy, there are a variety of other nut butters out there that will work. If you end up using walnuts or brazil nuts, add 1T of honey to the sauce to cut the bitterness.) Work the peanut butter around the chicken. It will take a couple minutes to melt and smooth out. To keep it from burning in the pan, add 1c chicken broth; this sauce will seem runny at first, but will reduce and become thicker. Depending on the type of peanut butter, you might have a lot of the separated oil from the peanuts. Skim that off the top if that's the case. Lastly, add the zest of 1 lime; about 2T. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for another 15 minutes. 


Now onto make your yellow squash and zucchini cakes. This is a variation on a meal that is very close to my heart and reminds me of  my childhood. My great-grandparents had a farm in Petersburg, VA, and had a fairly expansive garden. PaPaw made breakfast every morning, and I can't tell you how many times I woke up to the smell of zucchini fritters frying in the pan. He'd pick 'em straight from the garden, and make us eat vegetables for breakfast, and everyone loved them. Hotz family cousins, you know what I'm talking about! So these cakes are like his, but a little different. It's important to not think of these as a vessel for the chicken. They have to tell their own story and depending on the direction you want to take your meal, have to have the ability to stand on their own. Start by grating 1 medium zucchini and 1 medium squash. You can use a food processor with the grater plate, or use a box stand grater like I did. (TayTip: the rule of thumb--pun intended--when hand grating is to stop when there's about a 1.5 inch stub. It's not worth losing the finger. Plus now you have something to munch on while cooking!) Now add your reserved garlic from earlier, 1/2 chopped white onion, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (Remember when I said here that there was a time for the kind with the green lid? This is that time), 2c whole wheat flour (obviously use whatever flour you typically use for allergies or your lifestyle, but check the conversion chart if going gluten free), 1/2c cream, 2tsp salt, and 2tsp pepper. Depending on how much water was in your squash and zucchini, you may need to add more flour to balance the batter. It should be thicker than pancake batter; kind of like muffins. Now turn the oven to 350 degrees F. It's important to not preheat your oven for this cake. I've found that it makes a moister cake if you let the cream and water from the squash slowly bake and come up to temperature, rather than shocking them in a scorching oven. Butter and flour a 9x9 baking pan, add your batter, and sprinkle a little more cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, just like brownies or cupcakes. 


While your cake is baking, take the lid off your chicken and add the juice of 2 limes to the pan. The sauce will be quite thick, so this helps to rejuvenate it. Once the cake is done, cut it into 9 rectangles and serve the chicken on top. 


I consider this a kid-friendly meal; the cakes are great for snacks, and there aren't too many complex ingredients or conflicting flavors. When you taste them, you'll know what I'm talking about. The chicken is tender has a little bit of the original crust from searing it. The zest gives the initial intense lime punch, but it's softened by the peanut sauce, which is surprisingly balanced, and not too heavy. The polish of lime juice at the end perks up the whole meal. You could also use the chicken in a multitude of other ways: inside a wrap with your favorite veggies, tossed with pasta, on top of a salad, or maybe in an Asian stir fry with bean sprouts/corn/broccoli. For me, yellow squash and zucchini go together like PB&J, and the cakes are dense on the inside, and have a perfect crust on top. They stick to your ribs a little! They're not too overpowering when served with the chicken, but definitely could stand on their own. Plus, if you're dealing with picky eaters, you could always do what my mom did to make me eat my vegetables: say they're getting cookies, but they're really cucumber cookies ie. sliced cucumber. Tell them it's cake (not squash cake) and see if they complain! 

Comment below and tell me what you think! Did you make this recipe? Any allergies or dietary needs/restrictions and need more suggestions for substitutions? Let me know and we can brainstorm. Buon appetito!

Smoky Crab and Tomato Bisque with Sage Goat Cheese

Posted by Unknown Sunday, August 11, 2013 0 comments

With the rain yesterday, I really wanted a bowl of something warm to cozy up to. I know what you're thinking. Soup when it's 85 degrees out? But just hear me out: all the ingredients are in season now, so you won't get them this fresh any other time of year, and it's so easy, you'll wish you could make it all year round. Crab is obviously great in the summer and the tomatoes my aunt gave me were just perfect. The term bisque refers to a type of soup originating in classical French cuisine. It is a creamy seafood soup that usually has a smooth consistency and is made from seafood stock. It is also sometimes incorrectly used to refer to creamy soups made from pureed, cooked vegetables like butternut squash. I cut a few corners in mine that I'll explain later because 1. sometimes you're just not in the mood to make everything perfect, and 2. sometimes you just don't have time. I will say this though, there is always a time and place to really put a lot of effort into your meals, and I try to do that as often as possible, but sometimes you just can't for whatever reason. Besides, you're a hard-working cook; you deserve delicious food as soon as you can make it! Alright enough, onto the food...

I started by opening a bottle of pinot noir to drink to let it breathe. This is one of the lightest red wines, and for this recipe, we're going for as light as possible with the ingredients since it's a cream-based bisque. Then I heated 2tsp of olive oil in my large cast iron skillet. Ok, side note: if I had to choose a favorite kitchen tool, it would probably be a three-way tie between my microplane, my large chef's knife, and my cast iron skillet. Seriously, there is just something magical about the flavor a seasoned skillet imparts. And since it is one solid piece of iron, it evenly distributes the heat over the surface of the pan more so than any cooking pan I've used. 

Once your oil is nice and hot, add one medium diced white onion and a large pinch of salt, and walk away from the pan. You want the onions to slightly caramelize and if you move them around constantly, they won't have a chance to keep contact with the pan in order to do so. (TayTip: only salt your onions when you want to caramelize them. Salting them releases their water content and allows the natural sugars to caramelize.) They will start to brown and burn in some places, but that's ok because you will deglaze the skillet with 2 cups of the pinot noir. Then add 5 large diced red tomatoes. Don't worry about dicing them too small because they cook down. Make sure to put all the juice and seeds in the pan too. You want as much moisture as possible, and tomatoes are a very juicy fruit. Then add 2tsp of smoked Hungarian paprika. This is an incredible spice, and I recommend using it in place of your typical paprika. If you've ever had a burger from a charcoal grill as opposed to one cooked on a stove, you know what a difference the smoked flavor can give. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes until it reduces by 1/3. Use the back of a wooden spoon to occasionally smush the tomatoes as they cook down. 


Now take this base for your bisque, transfer to a blender or food processor, and pulse a few times until the large chunks of tomato and onion are smooth. If I was making a traditional bisque, I would take a mesh strainer and strain out the seeds and any pieces of tomato not pureed, but this is where I cut a corner. Transfer your pureed sauce back into the pan and put the heat on low. Next, add 1tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. It's important to add them after the pureeing process so that they have time to slowly release their spice. Then add 1cup of cooked crab meat. Lump, claw, it doesn't really matter, use whatever type of meat you like. This is an easy meal, remember? And last but not least, add 1cup of heavy cream. Here's where the decadence comes into play. Now let it sit because if you're making this to eat immediately like I was, this is the only time the flavors will have to meld together before you get the first meal out of the bisque.  


If you noticed, I really haven't added much seasoning to the bisque other than salt, paprika, and crushed red pepper. I didn't even use garlic, people, so that should've been a red flag! This is because I don't want anything to overpower the gentle, sweet flavor of the crab meat. It's very easy to obstruct that flavor with loads of garlic and a lot of herbs, so I decided to stick to a single vein and only add one herb at the end. This is where the sage goat cheese happens. This is very similar to a compound butter, and is just as easy to make. First take your goat cheese out of the fridge so it can warm up a little. Setting it beside the warm stove burner works perfectly. Then take 18-20 small sage leaves and chop them as small as you can get them. Almost like a paste (TayTip: you can chop the sage much more easily by stacking the leaves on top of each other in a single pile). You should have a little less than 1/4 cup at the end. Mix with 10oz. of goat cheese and 1tsp of cracked black pepper. To store, lie a long piece of saran wrap over a cutting board and pile the mixture on top. Take one side of the saran wrap and fold it over, then slowly roll and mold the cheese until you have a log shape, folding over the other piece of saran wrap. Twist the ends and store in the fridge. This allows you to slice little medallions to place atop the hot bisque. 


The next step is to EAT this delicious bisque. Slice a couple of goat cheese coins and set them right on top of your steaming bowl. 


As the cheese melts, the sage reaches the warm orange lava and its earthy, woodsy flavor turns into perfume. If Kennedy could put a man on the moon FORTY-FOUR years ago, why haven't we developed smell-o-vision yet? But I digress. Sage has also been used in teas, salves, and aromatherapy for centuries to calm nerves and reduce anxiety. Perfect for bisque on a rainy day, right? I can't tell you how wonderfully sweet the crab meat is. You really need to make this! The Hungarian paprika gives just enough punch to have a little tussle with the sweet crab and tangy goat cheese. The ultimate fight for flavor. But the little kiss of pinot noir makes everyone shake hands at the end of the match...I mean meal. The next time you want something warm and flavorful on a rainy day, make this bisque...tomato soup will never seem the same.  Buon appetito!



Slow Cooker Boneless Short Ribs with Walnut Basil Pesto

Posted by Unknown Friday, August 9, 2013 0 comments

Can we just stop to have a little applause for alcohol? I mean is there anything that it can't make taste phenomenal? Seriously. And not just any alcohol, wine. White in this case. When it comes to wine and meat, they're basically a match made in culinary heaven. Ok, let's be honest, anything cooked with alcohol is a match made in  culinary heaven. I don't have a problem, I promise! Try incorporating wine into the cooking process of your next dinner (and I don't mean drink it while you're cooking, although that is an acceptable practice in my book 99% of the time) and taste the insane flavor it imparts. You can't beat it. Nothing can mimic that taste. 

Since I made fish earlier this week, and that's usually what we have on Fridays for dinner, I decided to go the opposite direction and cook some good ol' red meat. I saw some boneless pork short ribs and decided they looked impeccable. And let me just tell you, the slow cooker is a godsend when cooking pork. Like scrambled eggs, they're best cooked slowly. Giving the connective tissue time to break down over a period of time in the cooker produces a juicy and tender rib (TayTip: get your butcher to leave a little bit of marbling--the white fat--on the ribs if you know you're not going to be cooking them for a couple of days. The fat helps retain moisture within the muscle). BUT, you always have to have a good flavorful topping/sauce to go with your ribs. I wasn't really feeling typical BBQ sauce, so I decided to make my pesto. Incorporating pesto with meat is a great use of this versatile Italian sauce. So let's start there...

This pesto is the traditional recipe that originated in Genoa, Italy, except for one ingredient. The name literally means to pound or crush, referencing the conventional preparing vessel used: a mortal and pestle (see the same prefix?) A mortal and pestle is currently on my wishlist, so I use a food processor. Doesn't give as rustic a consistency, but it does the trick. So, put about two cups of basil leaves, the juice of 2 small lemons, and 4 raw garlic cloves into your processor and pulse until the basil is broken down. 


Now for the salty part: freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. This is not the stuff in the bottle with the green lid, which can be good for other recipes, but not this one. The difference is that parmigiano reggiano is made under strict Italian Denominazione di Origine Controllata ("controlled designation of origin") laws--kind of like the USDA. You know how champagne can only be called such if it's made in the Champagne region of France? Same thing with parmigiano reggiano. It must follow the rules and be made in certain regions in Italy; Parma, Reggio-Emilia, and Modena to name a few. SO this is the real deal good stuff! You'll need about 1/4 cup grated right into the processor. Pesto is customarily made using pine nuts, but I didn't have any, so I decided to toast some walnuts and throw them in instead (TayTip: chefs often do, and you can make non-traditional pesto using different herbs and nuts. I've done sage and almonds before and it turns out great, so don't be scared to deviate a little. Especially if you have an allergy to a certain nut). The last step is to add a small pinch of salt because the cheese is very salty, some pepper, and turn the processor to the "ON" position. As it's running, slowly stream in 1/2 cup of olive oil. It should be somewhere between a loose vinaigrette and a paste, but you can tweak the oil and add more or less depending on how you like your consistency. 


 Put it in a container or bowl and drizzle more oil on top; you always want to cover leftover pesto with oil to keep it from drying out. This can obviously be used in a plethora of different dishes: pasta, salads, as a marinade, or simply as a dip with veggies or your favorite chips/crackers.  Let it sit in the fridge until you're ready to eat it with your meat. 

Speaking of which, let's move onto the meat. Start by quartering 1 1/2 medium white onions and roughly chopping 4 garlic cloves. Place your ribs in the slow cooker and season with a pinch of salt, couple twists of black pepper, and drizzle with a little olive oil. No exact measurements needed here, but don't put too much oil. The pesto already has oil in it, and the meat has fat on it. Then wiggle 2-3 stalks of fresh rosemary and thyme, respectively, on the bottom of the pan. Don't worry about removing the leaves or sprigs because they will be submerged and fall off in the cooking process. Throw your onions and garlic in, and sprinkle with 1tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. Then tuck your little piggies in with a nice blanket of Pinot Grigio. 2 cups to be exact. They won't be completely covered at the start, but will cook down. Set the cooker on high, cover, and let it work its magic for 4 hours. 


The pork just melds with all of the delectable elements in the cooker. It's important that the meat have a flavor element of its own, and not just take on the flavor of the pesto. So, that's why the herbs (whose stems you can fish out of the cooker at this point) onions, garlic, wine, and red pepper flakes are key players on the field. There will be a lot of broth left in the bottom of the cooker. DON'T throw that away. Put it in a container and freeze it; the next time you get sick, you'll have a good broth packed with vitamins and protein. Once the meat is finished, it will fall apart slightly. 


For two reasons that stand out to me, this is probably one of the best dishes you can make. One, it's done in the slow cooker and you can get on with your life while it's working away. And two, you just can't beat the flavors of wine and fresh herbs. The pork is so tender you could cut it with a wooden spoon. It tastes like the crisp pinot grigio and the sweet undertone of the onions. The smell of the rosemary and thyme remind me of Thanksgiving, but paired with the basil pesto, there's no mistaking this is a summer dish. The tang of the lemon is also pretty prominent in the sauce, and toasting the walnuts takes away their bitter taste, so they do well in replacing the pine nuts. These are pork ribs taken up a notch without the gloppy BBQ sauce. Who needs all that heaviness when you can have juicy meat topped with the lightest freshest sauce around? Buon appetito!

Fontina Caprese with Basil Pesto

Posted by Unknown Thursday, August 8, 2013 0 comments
So I made this fairly simple and straightforward snack for lunch yesterday, and it was all I needed. Everyone knows what a caprese is, but I gave mine a little taste update. Instead of the traditional mozzarella, I used fontina which is sweet, nutty, and not as mild as mozzarella. I also used pesto instead of the usual drizzle of olive oil. While the oil has a wonderful taste, I wanted a little kick. And once again, I had gorgeous fresh ingredients courtesy of my Aunt Happel. I mean, seriously, look at those tomatoes; the color is insane. And the taste and texture are even better. Speaking of which, let's have a little chat about tomatoes. Rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that some call the wonder antioxidant, tomatoes are one of the world's healthiest fruits. Being from Richmond, I consider myself a tomato snob with the world-famous king of tomatoes, the Hanover, grown right in my backyard north of the City. They're sweet and I can literally eat one like an apple. And let me tell you, the ones my aunt brought me are just perfect. Smooth and not white, but ruby red, inside; and no grittiness to be found. 

So the trick to getting a good flavorful caprese is to layer the flavors. And I'm not talking about the assembly process, I'm talking about maximizing the flavor of each ingredient. Take your bread, for instance, and toast it in the oven or toaster just enough to give it a little crunch, but not make it hard as a rock. Right as soon as it comes out, take a whole garlic clove and rub it on the surface of the hot bread. The crust will slowly scrape bits of the clove off and infuse that glorious bit of spiciness into the bread. So first flavor layer completed. Next, take your favorite pesto, or make your own, (recipe for mine will be in the next post) and spread a small amount on the warm bread. Not a lot, because you don't want any part of this to overpower any of the others. Then slice your tomato and put a little black pepper on top and place atop the pesto (TayTip: never salt your tomatoes in a caprese or any sandwich--unless it's just a tomato sandwich, in which case the salt would enhance the sweet flavor--because the cheese, pesto, and bread all have salt, and you don't want too much savory and not enough sweet). Then put a couple slices of fontina cheese and finish with one whole basil leaf. 

You've never had a caprese like this! The crusty bread up against the soft tomatoes and crisp basil leaf is just perfect. The flavor profile with the sweet homegrown tomatoes, peppery and slightly minty basil, spicy garlic, and the nutty cheese is an immaculate combination. The pesto underlines the basil and the bread is the perfect vessel. Try this shaken up caprese and give your taste buds a reward! Buon appetito!

Broiled Cod with Sweet Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, and Tzatziki Sauce

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, August 7, 2013 0 comments

With summer winding down, I realized that other than a salmon cake fiasco a couple months ago, I hadn't made a really good fish yet. I wanted to broil something with the gorgeous cherry tomatoes my aunt grew in her garden. Side note: I have to give a shout out and thank you to my Aunt Happel for bringing me a great assortment of some magnificently verdant fresh herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary, and a big bunch of basil--I'm feeling some short ribs with a pesto rub coming to a blog near you very soon) and some glowing, crimson tomatoes. You can't beat home grown! So back to the fish:  when it comes to fish and broiling, you really need something like cod or catfish that will hold up to the high temperature and won't turn into mush like flounder or tilapia would. I also recently saw some very enticing dill fronds at the store, and bought them in bulk, so I needed a dish to utilize them before they weren't fresh anymore. That's where the tzatziki sauce comes in (explanation below). So with the stars aligned, I set out to avail myself of all these fresh ingredients whose powerful flavors go a long way!

The first step is to crank the heat on your oven to broil (or 500 degrees F); you want it very hot when the fish goes in. Then take one large sweet onion, and cut it into about 1/3 inch slices. You want about 9 or 10 altogether. Then line the discs in rows of 3 on a baking sheet drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Lay your cod fillets on top and toss some cherry tomatoes around the sheet. Drizzle with a little more oil, pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper. Squeeze half a lemon all over and toss the half onto the sheet. It will perfume the oven and help the lemon flavor to permeate more. Then take some fresh thyme sprigs, remove the leaves (TayTip: you can easily remove the leaves by pinching one end of the sprig and stripping them off with the index finger and thumb of your other hand. Make sure to go "against the grain." You'll be able to tell if you need to run your fingers the other way.) and sprinkle freely on top of the fish. Thyme has a subtle lemony taste to it, so it compliments the lemon juice very well.  Take some aluminum foil and tent it over the top of your baking sheet. This keeps some of the steam in to keep the fish from drying out and helps the thyme from burning too quickly. Broil for about 10-15 minutes, but keep an eye on it because it goes fast. Your fish should be white and flakey when done.


Now for your tzatziki (pronounced zad-ZEE-kee) sauce.This is a classic Greek dish and is traditionally served with kebobs, inside gyros, or merely as a first course with pita bread. This is literally one of the easiest sauces you will ever make. It only has five ingredients! Let me say that again, FIVE! Excluding salt and pepper, which don't really count because they're in everything. You will be able to make this sauce with time to spare in the time it takes the cod to cook. Tzatziki is traditionally made with fresh mint and parsley along with the dill, but I don't like too many conflicting herbs in mine (because when they're fresh, they have a much stronger flavor as opposed to dried), so I went a little off the beaten path. It also customarily calls for olive oil swirled in (not fully incorporated), but I find that's only really necessary when serving it as a dip with pita bread. 

First start by taking two big handfuls of dill--about 1 cup--and remove the larger stalks at the bottom. Run your knife through the bundle a few times, enough to break it up. Next take one large cucumber and dice it small. Then zest one lemon. In a large mixing bowl add 3 cups of greek yogurt and incorporate your three previous ingredients. Then finely mince 7-8 small or 3 large garlic cloves and mix well. If you like more or less of any ingredient, add or subtract to your desire. You're the one eating it! Salt and pepper to taste and you're done. 


This is probably one of the easiest, yet most flavorful dishes you can make. And let's face it, when it's the middle of the week, you want something filling and scrumptious that you can prepare quickly.


The first thing I noticed about the flavor of the fish was that the sweetness of the onions and tomatoes really pops in the forefront, which is surprising since this is a savory dish. Top it with the tzatziki and it's exceptional. Cod really has the springy texture of lobster or crab claw meat when cooked. It gives a tiny bit of resistance when you bite down, which is what I meant when I said it doesn't turn to mush. The thyme is just subtle enough to boost the lemon flavor that is prevalent throughout. The tzatziki has a little zing from the fresh garlic, and isn't heavy at all because of the brightness that the lemon zest and juice bring. The slightly sour dill tastes like a mix of parsley and fennel, and adds a great depth of flavor. Plus, you can't beat the crunch of a fresh cucumber! I'm not kidding when I say this is a very easy and fast dish to make. If you want a perfect summer fish dinner, this is the way to go. Fresh, light, and satisfying. Buon appetito!


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