I prefer my fish raw………as in sashimi or sushi style. But I also love fish that is cooked. I love to fish…I love to buy fish…..I love when friends who fish, give me fish. Fish is good. There are so many ways to prepare fish. OH!! I recently saw an article on 60 Minutes about salmon farms. Oh my gosh, did you see it? Uhhh, it was a little concerning. Especially since salmon is a favorite fish of mine. Ewwwww, I think I should not have watched that show. Ignorance is bliss, as they say! If you can find it on line, you may want to watch it! Anyway, I got off my subject a bit. 🙂 Anyway, as much as I love beef, which is most of the time, sometimes I really want fish. My favorite is salmon…or no…wait…maybe it’s yellowtail, or maybe even sea bass….nope, its halibut…well but then there is bluefin….but ahhhh, let’s not forget albacore! I love albacore. But I like that one served raw…oh yes, with some wasabi and soy sauce. M-m-m-m-. Oh gosh, too many fish in the sea, I tell ya!

I used tilapia here in this recipe, but you can use any type of fish. A milder fish is good for this dish, because it absorbs all the juices from the tomatoes, garlic, lemon, and butter. Serve it with some fluffy wild rice and you will want to eat the whole pan.

Fish Saute with tomatoes

Cherry or grape tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lemon
Half of a stick of butter
Couple of tablespoons of olive oil
Couple splashes of soy sauce
Couple snips of chives (if you have them. I use them in everything)
Fish of your choice (this is good with any fish)

In a large skillet, melt your butter over a medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. Toss around until your tomatoes start bursting. I love when they do that! Remove the tomatoes and set aside. you should still have some juices in your skillet. If not, add a little more butter and oil. Add the lemon juice and soy sauce. Slap your fish into the skillet and just before done (nice and flaky), put the tomatoes back in. Once the fish is cooked through, remove everything and serve with rice, angel hair pasta, veggies….whatever you want!

Oh my gosh…….you know how Oprah has her “my favorite things” shows? You know how you come across something that you just HAVE to share with everyone you can think of? Well, this is one of those things. I recently discovered them at a chinese restaurant. Salt and pepper chicken wings. I want to tell everyone I know about these wings! If I could, I would make them for all of you out there reading my blog. They are simple, quick and now a favorite of mine! My sister and I have always been chicken wing fanatics. When she sees this post, she is going to go NUTS.
Can I share a wing story with you? So, years ago when sis came to visit, I was living with someone. Let’s just call him Sam. Well my sister and I were craving wings, so we sent Sam to the store to get us some. Now you all know how wings are….you can eat a million of them, right? ok, ok, well maybe not quite that many. But you know what I mean. So Sam brings home a package of 6 wings. Sis and I stare at him and wait for him to take a second package out of the bag. What!!???? no second package?? Has Sam lost his mind?? ok, so the conversation went like this:
Sis and I: “uhh, 6 wings for 3 people? Are you kidding us!”
Sam: “6 wings should be plenty for 3 people”.
Sis and I: “I hope you know you are going back to the store!”
Sam: “A person doesn’t need more than that.”
Clearly, he is not a wing person and he has lost his mind, right???? WHO eats just 2 wings!!!!  He just didn’t get it. So, obviously sis and I jumped in the car and off to the store we went. By the way, he ate a lot more than 2 wings! 🙂
You must make these. Make a lot of them and share them with the world!!

Salt and Pepper Wings

A package or 2 or 3 of wings (flappy part and drumetts)
1 cup of flour
3 tablespoons of cornstarch

1 green onion
3 cloves fresh garlic
Red crushed chili flakes or a serrano or jalapeno chile
Kosher salt

Mix the 2 dry ingredients together and coat the wings. Fry them in hot oil till brown and crispy. Remove from heat and place on paper towels to drain off the grease.
While the wings are frying away, mince up the onion, garlic and chile. Mix in some salt.
Sprinkle this mixture ALL OVER the wings. Enjoy!

I grew up eating a lot of Japanese food. My mom and dad were both great cooks. My dad made all the great comfort foods that were so not good for you…but they sure were tasty. My mom had her own specialties…..the best spaghetti sauce, the best fried chicken. But she made some wonderful Japanese dishes too. I will be posting those in the coming weeks. A favorite in our house and a favorite of mine today, is yakisoba. You will see it on every menu of a Japanese restaurant. It’s a Japanese comfort food. If you like noodles, or as my mom would say…..noodoo…..you will like this. You can even find it in your local grocery stores now…usually where you find lunch meats, canned biscuits, etc. Strange place, right? If you live near an Asian market, pick some up there…they freeze well. Each package comes with 3 packets of noodles and seasoning packets. You really only need those two items, but to make it the real Japanese way, you will add some chopped cabbage, pickled ginger and a sauce called Tonkatsu sauce. You can find the pickled ginger and sauce in the Asian markets and at some of your local supermarkets,  in the Asian section. But seriously, you really don’t have to add the ginger and sauce. Just add some sliced chicken,beef or shrimp and you have a great meal. Really!!
I took a picture of the ingredients I use. I hope you will try this! As my little Japanese mom would say, You eat the noodoo, make a you hoppy.

YAKISOBA

1 package (3 packets inside) yaki-soba (not the instant dried kind, shown on tv) blekh…
the 3 seasoning packets inside
chopped fresh cabbage
2 tablespoons of pickled ginger (optional)
1/4 cup Tonkatsu sauce….sometimes called Bulldog Sauce (optional)  **
sliced beef, chicken, shrimp (optional)

Remove the noodles from the packets. Break apart the noodles with your fingers. You can rinse them to make it easier to loosen. In a large skillet, fry your meat and then throw in the cabbage. Toss in the noodles and your seasoning packets. If you are going to use the ginger and Tonkatsu sauce, now is the time to do that. Toss together and it is as easy as that! You eat the noodoo, make a you hoppy.

*Tonkatsu or BullDog sauce is similar to A-1 sauce. It’s slightly sweet, goes great with chicken, beef or pork. It is delicious. You will love it.

Recently, I posted about how much I love scones. Here is yet another scone that is so far, my favorite blueberry scone. I think. Until the next one. This one is super tender, moist…so soft that it practically falls apart when you pick it up. It isn’t a super sweet scone. So I drizzled with a sweet sugary glaze on top. They would be wonderful sprinkled with some coarse sugar instead of the glaze!  M-m-m-m-m-mmmmm. What could be better with a hot cup of coffee!!!
A coworker told me today, that she hates scones since they tend to be dry. I suggested that she try my scones. I can’t wait for her to try this one. Are you ready Tania? So, tomorrow is blueberry scone day in the office. I hope everyone likes them.

Even better Blueberry Scone

2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 tablespoons VERY COLD butter
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and mix it together with 2 knives or your fingers until you have a coarse crumb. Make sure you don’t have hot hands. Add the blueberries, coating them all with the dry mixture. Pour in the heavy cream and stir just until it comes together. DO NOT OVERWORK YOU DOUGH or you will have hockey pucks! That wouldn’t be good…you will hurt your teeth….you’ll have to go to the dentist…that cost money….and so on. You get the picture. Dump your dough onto a lightly floured board. (you should have some loose crumbs, cuz I know you didn’t overmix your dough. Just press those loose crumbs into your dough. Gently press your dough into an 8″ square that’s about  1″ thick. Cut that square into quarters. Cut the quarters in half so you have 8 triangles. Place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 390 deg for 8 minutes…..turn pan and bake for another 8 minutes or until very lightly brown. Let them cool….and drizzle with the glaze. Eat em up!!!

If you have ever been to a Mexican restaurant, or the Brigantine Restaurant, especially in San Diego, you have probably had the white jalapeno sauce they serve with chips. They give you this tiny little bowl and you have to beg for more! Well, beg no more. Make your own. It’s super yum-yum, quick and easy to make and you can make a big ol bowl.
It’s great served warm with some crispy tortilla chips. It’s also wonderful over a grilled chicken breast, or over some fish. OH!! and it’s great tossed with some hot pasta. Or you can make mac n cheese with it!!! The possibilities are endless, really. I make mine pretty spicy. But you if you’re a wimp, you don’t have to make it so hot. 🙂
Whatever you do with it, I suggest you make a lot. People love this stuff!!

Jalapeno White Sauce

2  cups heavy cream
1  cup sour cream
2  tablespoons of butter
1  tsp chicken bouillon
1  tablespoon flour
1  jalapeno (marinated ones from jar) minced (I used more)
1  tablespoon jalapeno juice (from the jar)
1/4  cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour till it forms a paste (roux). Add the cream and let it get hot, but NOT BOIL. Add the sour cream, chicken bouillon, jalapeno, juice. Stir. Add the cheese and stir until smooth and silky. Serve warm. It’s so-o-o-o-o good