Monday, March 30, 2009

Sauteed Tilapia Latin Style


Shallots, white wine and lemon drizzle give this dish "tang," while the pinto beans, cumin and corn chips swing it south of the border.

This dish is fragrant, tangy and delicious.




Tilapia is a pretty tasteless white-meat fish. It takes on the flavors of the other foods around it, so I latinized this dish with cumin, pinto beans and corn chips, swung it French with white wine and grooved it Italian with flat leaf parsely. Finally, a bed of Basmati rice from India gives the dish a delicate, nutty aroma. Note: Tilapia is fragile. Don't cook it too long! The recipe and directions are below.

I am pairing this recipe with the mournful standard, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.

This song, made famous by Frank Sinatra, is all about lost love, mistakes and a wish for forgiveness. Who hasn't been on one side of that or the other?

On the KiTCHEN MuSIC album, legendary sax player Walter Beasley plays a bluesy solo while I sing. He's awesome. I created a new arrangement of In the Wee Small Hours using my acoustic guitar, an open chordal approach, and a throbbing bass backbeat.

Sauteed Tilapia Latin Style
by Roberto Mighty

PREP TIME: 12 minutes. Cook time: 16 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to cover bottom of large saute pan)
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt
1/2 fresh lemon, seeds removed
2 Tilapia FIlets
Fresh black peppercorns in peppermill
Fresh Cilantro leaves, about two fingers' worth
1 medium red rip tomato, sliced into eighths
1/3 cup White Wine (for simmering)
Ground Cumin, about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, to taste
Cooked Basmati Rice, about 1 cup
Cooked Pinto Beans, about 1 cup
Corn Chips, handful
Italian-style Flat Leaf Parsley (or leftover Cilantro) for garnish)

DIRECTIONS

1. Have all ingredients ready before turning on the stove
2. Heat your large saute pan over medium heat
3. Slowly (no splashing, alright?) pour in the extra-virgin olive oil
4. When olive oil is hot (when it runs like water, just before it smokes)...
4. Turn heat down to medium low and saute Shallot & onion mixture
5. Season with a pinch of kosher salt
6. Drizzle most of the juice of one-half lemon into pan. No SEEDS!
7. Season both sides of Tilapia filets with salt & pepper to taste
8. Drizzle remainder of lemon juice over the Tilapia
9. When shallot/onions are translucent, lay Tilapia filets on top in the pan
10. While Tilapia is cooking, shred cilantro leaves over the filets
11. Place tomato slices into the pan by the sides of the Tilapia, so the tomato touches pan directly, mixing with olive oil, shallot/onion, etc.
12. Add a pinch of kosher salt to the tomatoes
13. Remove pan from flame, add white wine, shaking pan to make sure wine covers the entire bottom surface. Reduce heat to low
14. Simmer in white wine for three minutes, basting Tilapia once per minute
15. Sprinkle ground cumin over the Tilapia
16. Test Tilapia for doneness: press with fork. If it gives way immediately and is white all the way through, IT"S DONE!
17. PLATING: Put down a bed of the Basmati rice on the plate
18. Place strands of cilantro around the perimeter of the rice
19. Put the beans on the side of or on top of the rice
20. Place the Tilapia on top of the rice and or rice & beans
21. Using a large spoon, array the tomatoes and sauce (white wine, olive oil, shallots/oions) around the outside of the rice bed. Add parsley leaves around the perimeter
22. Stick the corn chips upright into the rice/beans mixture in some pleasing pattern, like a fin-backed fish.
23. Take a photograph of your masterpiece
24. Now, eat it :-)

ENJOY! - Roberto
©2009 Celestial Media, Inc.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes with Ham Steak and Fresh Fruit Salad

I make homemade pancakes for my daughter and me and whoever happens to be visiting on Sundays. It's a real treat.





The most fun is laying out all of the ingredients before starting to cook. The other fun part is flipping the pancakes. The blueberries, full of polyphenols and antioxidants, are fantastic brain food. Plus, "blueberries and pancakes" is one of the world's great combinations, like Lennon & McCartney or Hank Aaron & the Mets. The recipe and directions are below.

I'm dedicating this recipe to Leslie and Cliff Gadsden from New York. They were the first couple to be our houseguests. They brought their kids for a holiday weekend and bravely ate everything I cooked, cooked some stuff themselves, and showed me how to flip pancakes on my own grille. Now, that's a gift that keeps on giving.

I am pairing this recipe with the mysterious standard, Skylark. This song makes me think of misty mornings. Skylark is a harmonically rich, devilishly difficult song to sing, because of Hoagy Carmichael's quirky music and Johnny Mercer's surrealistic lyrics. Skylark, written around 1942, is an enduring standard in the Great American Songbook.

On the "KiTCHEN MuSIC" album, I created a pentatonic scale/Asian-inspired opening, using tympani, a chorus of classical guitars and a bed of ethereal keyboards to suggest an orchestra. It resolves to a funky, hip-hop inspired backbeat before I start singing with the rhythm section, thus completing the arranging mashup this song inspired me to write.

Although I'm sure I heard Skylark countless times in instrumental versions, the first time I recall hearing the lyrics was on a Nnena Freelon album given to me by my buddy Larry over ten years ago. Nnena's a great interpreter, and I was blown away by her singing and by Johnny Mercer's lyrics, which to me, evoke the jealousy of unrequited love. Leastwise, that's how I hear it.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes with Ham Steak and Fresh Fruit Salad

PREP TIME: 10 minutes. Cook time: 14 minutes. Tools: Griddle, spatula, wisk, large mixing bowl, liquid measuring cup, dry measuring spoons, oven-safe large platter to use as a warming/serving tray.

INGREDIENTS

- Canola oil spray to oil the griddle
- 1 1/3 Cups white flour (Or 1 cup white flour and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, if you want to feel more virtuous)
- 1 heaping teaspoon baking power
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 Cup granulated sugar (Don't try brown sugar. Trust me.)
- 1 Cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup cooking oil (I sometimes leave this out)
- 1 egg, raw
- 1/3 cup fresh blueberries
- Lemon for drizzling over the bananas (see "Fresh Fruit Salad," below)
- Real Maple syrup. I like New England (Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts) maple Syrup, Grade A or Grade B
- Butter or Margarine pats for extra flavor.

- Ham Steak
- Fresh fruit for the fruit salad: Oranges, bananas, kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, mango -- whatever you have on hand that's ripe and sweet. Cut up the fruits into bite-sized pieces. Yum.

DIRECTIONS

0. Cut up the fruit salad first and set aside, squeezing a tiny bit of lemon over the banana slices to keep them from turning brown
1. Lay out all ingredients before turning on the griddle
2. Preheat griddle over medium heat
3. Spray griddle lightly with the canola oil spray
4. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl
5. If you are able to do so, mix the ingredients by hand, using a wisk. You'll enjoy the pancakes more
6. Do not mix the batter beyond the point where there are small lumps throughout
7. Using a 1/4 or 1/3 cup dry measure, spoon out batter onto the hot, greased griddle, making pancakes 3-6 inches in size
8. Optional: Use blueberries to make funny faces in the pancakes.
9. Optional: Make funny-shaped pancakes by dripping into interesting patterns or using cookie cutters.
10. When the batter-sides of the pancakes start to get holes in them, flip the pancakes over.
11. After flipping, the pancakes will be done in about a minute or less. Keep an eye on them! :-)
12. Tip: Put cooked pancakes on a platter in a warm (150 degrees) oven as you cook
13. Cut the ham into bite-sized pieces or slices, depending on how large your griddle is, and fry the ham alongside the pancakes.
15. Flip the ham when ready to lightly brown both sides.
16. PLATING: layer pancakes, ham and fruit salad onto the warming platter. Let your guests serve themselves. Have butter or healthy (no trans-fats) margarine on hand for extra flavor.

ENJOY! - Roberto
©2009 Celestial Media, Inc.

Citrus Ginger Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta

My Citrus Ginger Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta dish goes along great with cut #6 on the KitCHEN MuSIC album, "My One and Only Love," one of the most popular tunes for instrumentalists in the Great American Songbook. On the album I'm accompanied by guitar, bass and drums. The recipe and directions, including "how to cook angel hair pasta," are below.



VIDEO CREDITS
Producer/Host/Editor: Roberto Mighty
Lighting/Camera: Brian Galford
Sous Chef: Naomi Kooker
Audio/Camera 2: Chuck Rosina

Citrus Ginger Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta


PREP TIME: 10 minutes. Cook time: 7 minutes. Tools: Tongs, large sauté pan

INGREDIENTS
• Olive Oil for sauteeing, about 3 tablespoons
• 1/2 medium red bermuda onion, sliced into rings or chopped
• 2 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb. Fresh Spinach, washed (I like stems on, most like stems removed. It's up to you)
• 6 - 8 Raw Shrimp, shelled and deveined
• OR 6-8 Cooked Shrimp (if you're in a hurry)
• 1/3 cup White wine for deglaze
• 1/4 cup fresh grated ginger root (You can grate it with a cheese grater)
• Angel Hair Pasta (see sidebar instructions for cooking pasta)
• Orange juice with fresh lime and lemon juice squeezed and mixed in, to taste

Serves 1 (To serve 2, double everything in the recipe)

DIRECTIONS
1. Have all ingredients (including the cooked pasta -- see sidebar "how to cook angel hair pasta") prepared and ready to go before turning on the stove.

2. Start by heating your large sautée pan over medium heat.

3. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, tilting to cover the bottom of the pan.

4. When the oil is hot (look for it to become more liquid, less viscous, and just about to smoke,) turn the heat down to medium loe and add the red onion.

5. Saute Onion until it is mostly translucent

6. Add garlic to an area of the pan that is wet with juices from the onion. Move the garlic around so it doesn't burn

7. Add the spinach and 2-3 pinches of kosher salt, then turn the heat up to medium high. Using the tongs, move everything around as it cooks

8. Add half of the white wine (be sure to turn the pan away from your face when adding alcohol to the pan!). Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, continuing to move everything around.

9. Turn heat up to high. Push the other items in the pan to one side.

10. Add the shrimp to the empty area of the pan, using the tongs to turn the shrimps over so that each side gets heat

11. Add the rest of the white wine to simmer everything as the shrimp cooks through

12. Keep everything moving. the shrimp is DONE when it's pink/red. It should take less than 2 minutes to cook all the way through.

13. Add the citrus juice and the grated ginger, continuing to simmer

14. After simmering (the sauce should be boiling) for no more than a minute, turn off the flame.

15. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste

16. PLATING: Put a bed of angel hair pasta on the plate. Put the spinach, onions and garlic on top. Arrange the shrimp on top of the spinach. Pour the sauce from the pan over the shrimp.

HOW to COOK ANGEL HAIR PASTA

Angel Hair (or Capellini, for "fine hair") is the most delicate of all pastas. It's perfectly paired with shrimp, a light sauce and vegetables, Napoli style -- like my citrus/ginger/white wine/olive oil/garlic mixture.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add the angel hair pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, about 4 minutes.

• An easy way to help prevent pasta from sticking together (besides stirring often -- the best way,) is to put one or two tablespoons of olive oil in the water.

• Note: Adding olive oil to the water is controversial, however. If your grandmother is Italian, do not let her see you adding olive oil to the water. TRUST ME on this one.

• Drain and serve IMMEDIATELY with your meal.

ENJOY! - Roberto
©2009 Celestial Media, Inc.

Lox 'n' Onions & Eggs with Grits and Avocado

My Lox 'n' Onions & Eggs with Grits and Avocado dish goes along great with cut #1 on the KitCHEN MuSIC album, "Misty," written by Erroll Garner, one of the most-recorded tunes in the Great American Songbook.
On the album I'm accompanied by a rhythm section, backup vocals and guitars.



I created this dish in honor of Flushing, NY, circa 1969, a jewish neighborhood at that time, full of ethnic eaterieis from Eastern Europe. The recipe and directions, including "how to cook grits," are below.

To me, "eggs" = "breakfast." I'll eat eggs with any food, no matter how bizarre the combination. I routinely cook eggs scrambled disgustingly soft, or over easy, or over easy yolks broken, or poached, or dropped on toast, or hard boiled, with whatever was left over from last night's dinner. Lox 'n Eggs (smoked salmon & onions scrambled into eggs) is a favorite from my old schol days in Flushing, NY. My version includes southern style grits and fresh avocado. Wierd, but delicious. Heaven at 7am.

Lox 'n' Onions & Eggs with Grits and Avocado

PREP TIME: 10 minutes. Cook time: 07 minutes. Tools: Chef's knife for chopping, butter knife for slicing avocado, wisk for the eggs, spatula, large sauté pan

INGREDIENTS
• Canola oil, butter, light olive oil or healthy margarine for sauteeing, about 1-2 tablespoons
• 1/2 medium red bermuda onion, sliced into rings
• 3 large or extra-large eggs
• Milk, light cream, half-'n'-half or soymilk to thicken the eggs, about 1 or 2 tablespoons
• Thin-sliced smoked salmon, shredded into finger-size, about 5 pieces
• 1 medium-sized ripe Haas avocado
• 1/4 fresh lime to drizzle over the avocado
• Old-fashioned hominy grits

Serves 1 (To serve 2, double everything in the recipe

DIRECTIONS
Have all ingredients (including the cooked grits -- see sidebar "how to cook grits") prepared and ready to go before turning on the stove.

• Slice the onion into rings (or dice the onion, if you prefer)
• Peel the avocado, cut it in half, dig out the seed, and slice the avocado into wedgy crescents slices about a pinky-finger in thickness. Put on your plate, and squeeze the fresh lime, drizzling lime juice over the avocado slices
• Heat your large sautée pan over medium heat
• Crack the eggs into a bowl
• Add the milk, light cream, half 'n' half or soymilk, if you wish
• In the bowl, Wisk the ingredients to within an inch of their life, wisking high to introduce air into the mixture. No need to add a pinch of salt, as per usual: the smoked salmon is salty enough
• When the pan is hot, add the butter or margarine or canola oil, tilting to cover the bottom of the pan
• When the oil/butter/margarine is hot (look for it to become more liquid, less viscous, and just about to smoke,) turn the heat down to medium
• Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Scramble a bit with a fork.
• Lay the onion rings in the pan over the eggs (or, if you like your red onions cooked, you could sautee them in the pan until translucent, adding the eggs immediately afterwards)
• Lay the smoked salmon in the pan over the eggs and onion rings
• Scramble everything together while humming, singing or whistling "Misty," or one of your favorite songs
• Using the spatula, place the eggs, lox and onions mixture on the plate with the avocado
• Pour the cooked grits onto the plate next to the eggs and avocado

HOW to COOK GRITS
Follow the instructions on the box, LOL. I have included box instructions below for illustrative purposes only.

Grits come in a few different versions. I like "Quick" grits, that cook in about 6 minutes. Microwave instructions (on the box) call for 3-4 minutes. I like to cook them on the stove top so I can practice guitar a little while longer. I sneer at "instant grits," that take about a minute. But if you want to be a wus and use them, go right ahead. There are also grits that take 30 minutes to cook. If you're the kind of obsessive person who needs to cook grits for 30 minutes in order to feel superior, go right ahead.

Some people like grits with gravy, sugar, milk, cheese and a variety of other mix-ins. I like them plain. Experiment and find what's best for you. In any case, do check out Joe Pesci/Marisa Tomei film, "My Cousin Vinny," which has a hilarious scene involving grits in a southern diner.

STOVE TOP - 1 serving
1 cup water
3 tbsp grits
pinch of kosher salt

1. Slowly stir grits and salt into briskly boiling water
2. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Cook 5-7 minutes
or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat
3. Tip: for thicker grits decrease water; for thinner grits increase water
4. Add a pat of butter or healthy margarine immediately and more salt to taste. Serve right away. Pour a little water in the grits pot in order to forestall having to use a blowtorch to clean that pot later on...

ENJOY! - Roberto
©2009 Celestial Media, Inc.

Grilled Scallops Vietnamese Style


My Grilled Scallops Vietnamese Style dish goes along great with cut #4 on the KitCHEN MuSIC album, "Fly Me To The Moon," written by Bart Howard, one of the catchiest tunes in the Great American Songbook.

On the album I'm accompanied by a rhythm section, horns, organ and guitars.



I created this dish in honor of singer Tony Bennet, an American treasure, a great vocalist, a fine painter, and an inspirational figure for musicians around the world. The full recipe and directions are below.

Vietnamese food is one of the lightest and freshest of the Asian cuisines. Vietnamese food's characteristic flavors include Nuoc Mam (fish sauce,) kaffir lime leaves, fresh lime juice, red chili paste, Thai basil and jasmine rice, among other things. This scallop dish is only lightly Viet-style, but it is delicate, colorful and delicious.

GRILLED SCALLOPS VIETNAMESE STYLE

PREP TIME: 10 minutes. Cook time: 14 minutes. Tools: Chef's knife for chopping, tongs, large sauté pan

INGREDIENTS
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil or Canola Oil for sauteing
• 1 large Red Onion, chopped
• 3 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
• 1 medium-to-large size green Zucchini squash, cut into medallions, skin on (but washed)
• 1 medium-to-large size yellow Summer Squash, cut into medallions, skin on (but washed)
• 1 medium Red pepper, sliced into spears
• 1 small to medium lime for squeezing over scallops
• Canola Oil Spray, enough to lightly cover stovetop grill
• 6 to 8 large fresh Sea Scallops
• 3-4 medium sized leaves of Thai Basil
• 1 cup cooked Jasmine rice

Serves 2

DIRECTIONS
1. Have all ingredients prepared and ready to go before turning on the stove.

2. Start by heating your large sautée pan over medium heat.

3. When the pan is hot, add the olive or canola oil, tilting to cover the bottom of the pan.

4. When the oil is hot (look for it to become more liquid, less viscous, and just about to smoke,) turn the heat down to medium and add the diced red onion.

5. Saute onion until it is mostly translucent

6. Add garlic to an area of the pan that is wet with juices from the onion. Move the garlic around so it doesn't burn

7. Add sliced zucchini, squash and red pepper

8. Cut lime in half. Squeeze 1/2 lime over sauteing vegetables

9. Turn heat down to low

10. Add a little bit of water (1 or 2 tablespoons) to keep vegetables from burning while simmering

11. Put top on the pan to simmer vegetables

12. Spray grill with Canola oil

13. Add scallops to hot, oiled grill

14. Be sure to clean hands after touching raw scallops

15. Take a pinch of kosher salt and spread it over the scallops as they grill

16. While scallops are grilling, check sauteing vegetables to make sure they're not burning. Turn off the fire under the vegetables, but leave the top of the pan on to keep the vegetables warm.

17. When you have nice grill marks on one side of the scallops, turn them over (using tongs) to cook on the opposite side.

18. After a few minutes (1-3 minutes per side,) Check scallops for doneness. There should be grill marks on both sides.

19. The scallops are done when they divide easily when pressed with a butter knife. DO NOT OVERCOOK

20. Squeeze/drizzle the other lime half over the scallops as they grill.

PLATING
Array the cooked vegetables on two serving plates. Put half of the scallops on one plate and half on the other plate. Drizzle the sauce (olive oil, lime juice and water from the vegetables) from the pan over the scallops. Add steamed jasmine rice to each plate. If you have any leftover sauce, drizzle that over the rice. Alternately, you could put the rice down first on the plate (a "bed" of rice,) and lay the vegetables and scallops onto the rice bed. Using your hands, shred the Thai Basil leaves over the plates. Serve immediately.

OPTIONS
Lemongrass, added to vegetables
Cracked Black Pepper, to taste, added before simmering
Hot sauce, to taste, added before simmering
Fish Sauce (nuoc mam), to taste, added before simmering

ENJOY! - Roberto
©2009 Celestial Media, Inc.

Sauteed Tofu with Garlic and Cilantro

This Sautéed Tofu w/Garlic & Cilantro dish goes along great with cut #10 on the KitCHEN MuSIC album, "All The Things You Are," written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein 3rd, one of the most melodic of the tunes from the Great American Songbook. The full recipe and directions are below.



This version was sung live in the recording studio while accompanying myself on my spanish guitar.

I created this dish In honor of Michio and Aveline Kushi, founders of Erewhon natural foods grocery. Also, here's a shout out to my gorgeous friend Rebecca, an awesome vegetarian cook. Big Sister Lee suggests singing along with KiTCHEN MuSIC while drinking a glass of wine and cooking in your kitchen :-)

Sauteed Tofu with Garlic and Cilantro

INGREDIENTS
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 tablespoons
• Green Beans, fresh, ends removed, 2 handfuls
• Red Onion, 1/2 large, sliced into rings
• Shallot, 1, chopped fine
• Grape Tomatoes
• Water as needed to prevent burning
• Kosher Salt (2 pinches)
• Garlic, 3 cloves, Minced
• Extra Firm Tofu, 16 ounces (1 package,) cut into large cubes
• Kosher Salt (3 additional pinches)
• Cilantro, fresh leaves, shredded, 1/4 handful
• 2 cups of brown, jasmine or basmati rice, cooked

PREP TIME: 10 minutes. Cook time: 14 minutes. Tools: Chef's knife for chopping, tongs, large sauté pan
Serves 4

DIRECTIONS
1. Have all ingredients prepared and ready to go before turning on the stove.

2. Start by heating your large sautée pan over medium heat.

3. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, tilting to cover the bottom of the pan.

4. When the oil is hot (look for it to become more liquid, less viscous, and just about to smoke,) turn the heat up to medium high and add the green beans.

5. Using tongs or some other safe implement, move the green beans around in the pan to keep all sides in contact with the hot surface and to prevent burning. Do NOT flip the beans into the air in the pan. The hot olive oil may spill out and burn the crap out of you. When the beans turn bright green and their skin starts to blister...

6. Add the sliced red onion rings and the finely chopped shallots. Using tongs, move these things briskly around the pan to keep them from burning, exposing all sides to the heat.

7. Add the grape tomatoes. Keep everything moving over medium high heat.

8. As the shallots begin to turn translucent, add two pinches (or more) of coarse ground kosher salt. Add a splash of water, if necessary, to keep the shallots from burning.

9. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the minced garlic to a pool of water. Sautée/steam the garlic. The kitchen should be smelling great at this point!

10. Turn the heat back up to medium high and add the cubes of Tofu. Keep everything moving.

11. Add three additional pinches of kosher salt.

12. Turn the heat down to medium low, add one of the acid liquids below (lime juice or lemon juice or white wine or vinegar,) cover the pan tightly and simmer for 5 minutes.

13. Uncover the pan and shred the fresh, aromatic cilantro leaves directly over the cooking food. Stir. Your kitchen should smell like heaven right about now!

14. Taste the dish, and add more salt, or acid liquid or hot sauce or fish sauce to taste, stirring to incorporate. Go easy on these items, adding no more than a pinch/teaspoon at a time until you see if you like it, capeesh?

Serve immediately over steamed rice: Brown, Jasmine or Basmati. You could also serve this dish over linguini or spaghetti, in which case you might try adding grated parmesan cheese and/or a bit more olive oil.

OPTIONS
Cracked Black Pepper, to taste, added before simmering
Hot sauce, to taste, added before simmering
Fish Sauce (nuoc mam), to taste, added before simmering
Juice of 1/2 medium Lemon or Lime, squeezed over pan just before simmering

OR

White Wine (Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay): 1/2 cup, added just before simmering.
OR

Apple Cider Vinegar or White Wine vinegar, 1 or 2 tablespoons, drizzled over pan just before simmering. Watch out -- a little vinegar goes a long way!

ENJOY! - Roberto
©2009 Celestial Media, Inc.