New Recipes

I don't generally like to follow recipes when I am trying to cook quick dinners on weeknights, but this week I've actually made a new dish every night.

On Monday I made Malaysian Barbecue-Glazed Halibut from the April issue of Cooking Light. For some reason I have actually never had halibut, but I am now a big fan. The fish had a nice, light texture, and it seems pretty versatile. For this particular dish, the halibut was glazed with a mixture including lemon juice, orange juice, honey, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and chile garlic paste. The glaze was sweet with a little bit of spice, and despite having a lot of ingredients, was easy to make. Next time I would add more chile garlic paste because I'd prefer it to be spicy with a hint of sweet :-) It would also be good with chicken or pork.

Tuesday I went all out and made filet mignon, which was expensive but definitely worth it. Adrian was very happy with this special treat. Again, I got the recipe for Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Shitake Mushroom Sauce from Cooking Light. The shitake mushroom sauce was awesome! It had a nice nutty flavor, and I really liked the blend of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. I paired the steaks with broccolini sauteed in olive oil, butter, and lemon juice with garlic. Then I made garlic redskin mashed potatoes. These are easy since there is no peeling involved (the potato skins are full of nutrients, yay!), and they cook quickly since they are small. I like to make them very garlicky by boiling and mashing several garlic cloves in with the potatoes. Overall, this was a very nice meal :-)

Today I made Penne with White Beans, Arugula, and Pecorino from the Williams-Sonoma Fresh & Light cookbook. I just sauteed chicken breast that I already had instead of finding smoked and cubed chicken, and I added more spices than just pepper. This was yummy too :-)

Here is the recipe:

12 oz penne pasta
½ red onion, chopped
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, undrained
2 oz arugula (rocket) leaves, torn
½ lb chicken (smoked if possible), cubed
5 tbl grated pecorino
ground pepper to taste

Bring a large pot three-fourths full of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the penne, stir well, and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), about 15 minutes or according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the beans with their liquid and cook, stirring constantly, until the beans are heated through, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the arugula and continue to cook, stirring, until wilted, about 1 minute.

Drain the pasta and add to the frying pan along with the chicken. Stir for about 30 seconds to warm the chicken. Sprinkle with the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Divide among warmed serving bowls and serve hot.