Cilantro-Chipotle Tilapia

I’m trying to do better by my kitchen.  It has gotten no love these days.  I decided to see what fresh fish was on sale at my local grocer then find a recipe that featured that item.  Tilapia – you win! I searched through the epicurious app and found this recipe.   Even though it was dinner for two, I still followed the recipe for 4 and figured I could use the remaining rub another time.

1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotles in adobo

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 (6-ounces) tilapia fillets

Preheat broiler. Purée cilantro, oil, chiles with some adobo sauce, water, cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a blender until smooth.

Coat fish with sauce.

Line rack of a broiler pan with foil, then broil fish 3 to 4 inches from heat until just cooked through, 6 to 9 minutes. Yes. It really is that easy! I was so impressed with this rub. It created a smoky spicy flavor. I served it with Cilantro Rice and plantain.

Since I prepared so much, I was able to use it on a whole red snapper a couple of days later.

FANTASTIC!

Hungry yet?

My One-Year Blogiversary!!

Wowee! I did it!! A year ago today, I posted my first blog entry! I wish I had a screen grab from that entry because the blog looks sooooo different now! I got rid of the lame black background (what was I thinking?), have an awesome new logo (thanks friend!) and I’m finally starting to catalogue the restaurants and recipes (props to Y-squared for his assistance).  Feeling kinda good about how far I’ve come :) 

I thought about making a celebratory meal to commemorate the occasion, but if you can’t tell by the infrequent posting these days, work is hectic again.  I considered an uber fancy restaurant outing but reservations were hard to come by on the evenings I wanted.  So instead, I write to thank all my readers! Those of you who stop by to check out a particular restaurant review or recipe and those of you who check in daily to see what I’ve been eating totally make each entry worth it. 

I also want to give a special shout out to My Guest Blogger who has helped pick up the slack each time my day job got in the way.

Thank you all for the e-mails and comments, keep ‘em coming! Stay tuned for even more improvements as year 2 gets underway!

Hungry yet?

Bocca di Bacco

Sometime last week, our schedules happened to work out and Z and I met up for a last minute dinner. We had scoped out Bocca di Bacco a few times on our random walks down 9th avenue so we decided it was finally time we went in.  The restaurant is fairly large and welcoming - mainly due to its well lit bar area and adjacent communal high table. The rest of the restaurant is fairly dark almost cavernous but in a romantic way. 

We were mostly in agreement when it came to the menu.  We shared the Shrimp appetizer.

Four shrimp inter connected and flavored with tomato sauce, garlic and a type of legume that I can’t remember.  The flavors were powerful. The shrimp was fresh and while drowned in the tomato sauce it was not overpowering.  I used the bread to soak up the sauce because it was just that good.  The service was sluggish but eventually our entrées arrived.   Z ordered the Coda Di Rospo Livornese.

Pan-seared monkfish with tomato sauce, kalamata olives and potatoes.  The monkfish was delightful! It was covered in a tomato sauce that was similar to the sauce used for the shrimp. YUM!  My carb heavy entrée was amazing.

The Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina was perfect.  Light potato gnocchi, fresh chopped tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella.  My mouth is watering just at the thought of it. The portion was large enough that I ended up taking the rest home. I had planned on eating it for lunch the following day, but I just couldn’t resist! I ate it within a couple of hours of getting home.   Just because I didn’t finish my entrée, doesn’t mean I didn’t have dessert! I ordered the Warm Chocolate Souffle.

It was served with Vanilla Ice Cream and a raspberry sauce.  The Souffle was okay – but not worth writing home about. The ice cream was also less than. Overall, I probably should have done without the dessert.  The service at Bocca di Bacco was also not spectacular.  They had several waiters who were standing around doing nothing.  I appreciate when restaurants give their patrons lots of time to enjoy the meal, but they didn’t even let us order they just stood around until we called them over.

The food at Bocca di Bacco was good, but a little pricier than necessary. I’d definitely go back – but probably on someone else’s dime. :) 

Hungry yet?

Africa Kine

My exploration of the uptown restaurant scene continues. A few weeks ago I went to dinner at Africa Kine.   This was my first time going to this restaurant even though it's about a 5-minute walk from my apartment.  The Senegalese restaurant is famous for its fish special so of course we both ordered it.  Definitely lived up to the hype.

One whole grilled tilapia that was coated in an incredibly aromatic sauce. The grilled onions and peppers were cold which was disappointing but they were delicious. The white rice was the perfect accompaniment because it balanced the heavy flavors of the fish.  The boiled eggs were random but no complaints from me since they weren't runny.

The meal was delicious and actually more food than one person needs so I was happy to eat it as leftovers a day or so later. The biggest drawback was the service, but if you can focus on the food (or just get take out) you'll know it was worth your time. I'm not sure if there's anything else that I would try there but I am certainly interested in the variety of dishes and the different aromas that were floating throughout the restaurant.

Hungry yet?

Harry's Italian

After a super long and extremely stressful week, there was nothing I wanted more than to eat good food while hanging with great friends.  Obvs that meant making my way downtown to see Ms. O and Mr. M. After the random wintry mix that we experienced that day, I voted for ordering in and loungin around inside. I was in the mood for Italian so when they suggested Harry's Italian, my face lit up.  After reviewing the menu we made some excellent decisions and in no time Mr. M went to pick up our meal.  I must say I'm impressed with their packaging because it makes take out photogenic. We started with the Calamari.

Very well seasoned - not greasy and accompanied with a slightly tangy marinara sauce that blended perfectly.  My mouth couldn't help but water when I saw the pizza.

I know we ordered onion pizza but I guess I didn't think they would be red onions.  They just looked. so. good! I inhaled a slice of pizza so I could make room for our pastas.  The Shrimp and Asparagus with Bowtie was an excellent choice by Ms. O.

If there's shrimp involved I'm almost always happy :) The sauce was a little thin here but it was big on flavor.  The Penne alla Vodka was incredible.

We had them de-prosciutto-fy it first but it was still really good.  Almost as good as Ms. O's. I was quite happy with our decision to stay in and indulge in some treats from Harry's. Eventually they also introduced me to Archer and now I can't wait to finish watching the first season!

Hungry yet?