Fish in Artichoke and Tomato Broth

Another Sunday night family dinner feast! Tonight we decided that we would like something a little bit lighter as we have been eating A LOT of yummy comfort food this winter. I had seen Giada's recipe for Halibut in Artichoke and Tomato Broth awhile back and have been meaning to try it. The nice thing is this is much lighter than a pasta dish, but was still warm and comforting on a chilly evening. And I don't think there is anything better than dipping crusty bread in a delicious broth :).

I changed up the recipe a little bit to use ingredients I already had and make it quick and easy to assemble. One main swap I did was use tuna steaks and sea bass that we had rather than getting halibut. I would say choose your favorite fish or one that there's a good deal on and your good to go! I also added kale because I can't get enough of this superfood lately and am having fun using it in recipes.

Recipe

Fish in Artichoke and Tomato Broth

(Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network)

Ingredients

Olive oil

4 servings of fish (your choice, I used tuna and sea bass)

Salt and pepper for seasoning the broth throughout

1/2 red onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 14oz canned artichokes in water, sliced in half or quarters

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried thyme 

1 bunch kale (remove stems and chop or tear into bite size pieces)

Crusty bread 

Directions:

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and saute until translucent. Next add the garlic, artichokes  and kale... cooking until garlic starts to brown. Add the white wine while continuing to stir and removing brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the broth, tomatoes (and juice) and thyme and stir together. Let the mixture come to a simmer. 

Meanwhile grill up the fish that you have seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper (it should only take a few minutes on each side). 

Once the fish is ready spoon the broth mixture into shallow bowls and top with the fish. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

Outfit Idea: Art/Foodie Event

So last night I attended an art/food event. It was a great time featuring some of Denver's top restaurant chefs in a cooking demo/competition along side a cocktail party. Great food at a cocktail party... this was my kind of event!

Of course when I found out I was going to this event my first thought was "What to wear?!". I recently found a fabulous sequin top from Ann Taylor Loft that was majorly on sale and I knew that this must be the statement piece of my outfit for the event. Side note: I have been obsessed with the sequins trend and can't seem to get enough of the sparkle :).

So once I had my statement top I knew that I needed the rest of my outfit to be clean and simple with minimal accessories. As you see below I paired the top with black dressy cropped pants (from the Gap, these are a definite staple) and simple black heels. As far as jewelry goes I went with a cocktail ring and earrings, there was no need for a necklace with this top.

This can be a great look for an upcoming event where you don't need to go super dressy, but still want to be dressier than jeans. Let me know your thoughts!

Spicy Shrimp & Italian Sausage Pasta-Soup

I couldn't figure out what to name this because it is a mix between a pasta dish and a soup... so for now it's a pasta-soup :). This is one of my favorites to throw together for an evening that calls for pasta, red wine and great company. In fact I cooked this for my family as our Christmas night meal in the mountains this past holiday. This can be put together pretty quickly as it is a one dish meal which I just love. Pair with some crusty bread and you will be good to go!

Ingredients:
4 italian sausages (1 per person)
2 green bell peppers chopped
1 red onion chopped
1 small 8 oz. carton of mushrooms chopped
A couple handfuls of fresh baby spinach
3 cans of diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp red pepper flakes (add more to increase the spiciness)
1/2 box penne pasta (or any fun shape that you like!)
Fresh parmesan to top with
Shrimp - to make it easy on yourself to use already peeled and de-tailed shrimp. You can use either cooked or uncooked. As far as portions and sizes you can use however much you like or have on hand.

Directions:
Cook the Italian sausages .... on a skillet, grill, etc. will work. While that is happening saute the vegetables with a little olive oil, salt and pepper in a large skillet until tender. Also get water boiling for the pasta.

Start cooking the pasta. Meanwhile, add the cans (including the juice) of diced tomatoes, the wine and red pepper flakes to the skillet where the vegetables are cooking. Stir this all together and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and italian sausage and continue to let simmer and cook together. Towards the end of everything add the spinach as it will wilt quickly.



Once the pasta is ready (I like to leave it al dente) add it to the skillet and stir it all together. That's it and you're ready to serve! I would recommend serving in bowls with crusty bread on the side.

Roast Chicken & Vegetables

Last night I cooked for a dinner party for one of my friend's birthdays. We were debating what the perfect menu would be knowing that we had a few gluten-free guests as well as a blizzard going on that makes comfort food seem like a must!

As we explored Whole Foods (which is possibly my favorite activity!) we thought it would be fun to make some roast chickens with seasonal vegetables. I had wanted to make roast chickens for awhile now as the presentation is so pretty and great for a dinner party. This is actually very simple to do and yet is a definite crowd pleaser.

Here's the steps I went through... it's not really a recipe, but rather a pretty easy, quick and delicious way for a great meal.

Ingredients:
Roast Chicken:
1. Chickens for roasting (you can find these at the meat counter)
-- I bought two as we had 8 guests for dinner and that allowed for leftovers
2. Fresh herbs to stuff the chicken
-- I used the Osage Gardens Poultry Blend that you can find by the fresh herbs in the produce
section at Whole Foods
3. Two-four lemons depending on the size and how many chickens you are roasting. If you are roasting one you probably only need 1-2 lemons, sliced into wedges to stuff the chicken
4. Chicken broth for de-glazing and basting to keep the chicken moist while cooking
5. Salt, pepper and olive oil for seasoning

Roast Vegetables:
You can use any variation for these. I wanted to use seasonal vegetables, but really whatever you have will work great.
1. Six small zucchinis, chopped
2. Three medium squash, chopped
3. Two yellow onions, chopped
4. Two sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
5. Olive oil and seasonings of your choice


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. To prep the chicken, remove the giblets and clean (as you would for a turkey). Place chicken/s in roasting pan (breast side up) and massage with olive oil, salt and pepper to keep skin moist. Stuff the chicken/s with the lemon wedges and fresh herbs. If you want to go ahead and tie or pin the legs to keep this all together. Roast the chicken/s for about an hour and a half until golden brown and an internal temperature of 165 degrees (at the deepest part of the meet).


Chickens prepped

For this dinner party we put some of the vegetables in the roasting pan with the chickens (after seasoning the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper).

The remaining vegetables we mixed with olive oil and a Moroccan spice seasoning blend and placed on a pan to roast. For roast vegetables you can add any spices you like, herbes de provence, curry, etc. Play around with whatever you have on your spice rack! The veggies can roast along with the chicken for about the last 45 minutes to an hour until they are tender to your liking.

This is not only a comforting, but also healthy meal that is great for family and friends. Better yet you can use the leftovers for soup stock!





Enjoy :)

Outfit Idea: Day to Night Look #1

If you're like me you have those mornings when you are literally staring at your closet before work in a sleepy daze of what the perfect outfit for the day would be. Many times I'm looking for the an outfit that can work for both the work day and after work fun of a happy hour, dinner date, etc. Maybe you'll need to add a few accessories and refresh your make-up, but overall if the basic outfit can work for both parts of your day it just makes life easier. I'm going to start doing a series of posts around the "day to night" look that will hopefully give you some good ideas to make your mornings easier.

Look #1 below is super simple and functional, yet fun. I'm lucky in my job that I get to wear jeans to work, but if that's not the case for you you could simply swap in a pair of dressy skinny pants (I like Gap's skinny black pant option) or change into a pair of skinny jeans after work.

For this look you will need the following:
-Skinny jeans or other type of dark, dressy jeans. (I'm wearing J Crew's matchstick jeans)
-Dressy cami or tank (this is a key piece of the night look)
-Blazer (I used one that is part of a suit but any blazer would work... this is perfect to keep a professional look for work)
-Booties or fun pumps (I just got these booties on sale at DSW and LOVE them)
-Long, decorative necklace (Forever 21 is your best friend for this)





This looks is great because you can easily mix it up with different tanks, jewelry and shoes for a variety of outfits!

Berry Crumble

Crumbles may be my all time favorite dessert. I love that you can make them all year round with different types of fruits depending on the season...berry crumbles in the summer, apple crumbles in the fall, etc.

I started using Ina Garten's (aka the Barefoot Contessa) crumble recipe a few years ago and while I've tried a few others this is still my favorite. I modify it a bit depending on what ingredients I have handy and really just what I feel like throwing in the mix :).

The one I am showing below I made using frozen berries. If I see these on sale I usually try to stock up to use in crumbles or smoothies.

Recipe
(Adapted from Barefoot Contessa's Plum Raspberry Crumble)

Ingredients
3 160z bags of frozen berries (I used 2 bags of frozen mixed berries and 1 bag of frozen strawberries)
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons orange juice (you can use a little more if you want more citrus flavor)
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds, plus extra for sprinkling


Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the frozen berries, 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of the flour, and the orange juice and toss well. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.

For the topping, place the remaining 1 cup of flour, the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade (you can also use a hand mixer) and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the oats, and work it with your hands until it's in large crumbles. Add 1/2 cup of the almonds and mix well. Spread the topping evenly over the plums, making sure the fruit is covered. Sprinkle with some extra almonds.




Bake for 40 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Provencal Fish Stew

Today we celebrated my Mom's birthday and I knew I wanted to cook up something special for the occasion. I have been wanting to try making a decadent seafood stew for some time now and with the combination of the snowstorm today and the fact that my Mom love's seafood I knew this was the perfect occasion.

The recipe I choose is from a new cookbook that I just bought (and am so excited about), The Foster's Market Cookbook, by Sara Foster. This is definitely a larger undertaking as far as making a meal goes, but when you have an afternoon to cook up a storm it's definitely worth it! One other aspect I love is that I was able to cook with some fun, rare ingredients like saffron, fennel and leeks (I was able to find all of the below ingredients at Whole Foods).

Fennel



Leeks


I took pictures step by step to help show you the process. This meal was a huge hit with my family and I can't wait to use it for a dinner party.

Below is the recipe and directions with pictures

Provencal Fish Stew
(Adapted from The Foster's Market Cookbook)

Olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and split lengthwise
1 fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
One 28 oz can of whole tomatoes
8 cups fish broth
1 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Grated zest and juice of two oranges
2lbs of white firm fish (the originally recipe called for red snapper or grouper, I used an Australian fish barramundi)
1 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded
12 small littleneck clams, cleaned
1 lb large shrimp
2 teaspoons saffron threads (this spice is pretty expensive, I think the stew would still be good without it, it just makes it extra special!)

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent (about 10 minutes).

2. Soak the leaks in a large bowl filled with cold water for about 10 minutes; rinse, drain and slice into 1/4 inch half rounds. Add the leeks to the onion and cook for 5 minutes until the leeks have softened.

3. Add the fennel, celery, and carrots stir all of the ingredients together and cook for 10 more minutes. Next, add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.



4. Add the tomatoes, fish broth, wine, salt, pepper, marjoram, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and let simmer (uncovered) for an hour.

5. Increase heat to medium-high and add orange zest & juice, fish, mussels, clams, shrimp and saffron (stir everything together). Cook, stirring occasionally, 6-7 minutes, until all the clams and mussels have opened and the fish begins to flake. Remove from the heat to serve discarding any clams or mussels that didn't open.



Serve with fresh bread (I choose sourdough) and enjoy!