INGREDIENTS

• 1½ lb. sockeye salmon; cut into 4-oz. portions
• 1 lb. whole wheat pasta
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 1 medium onion; diced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ¼ tspn. saffron
• 1 tspn. mustard
• 4 oz. mascarpone cheese
• ¼ cup sundried tomatoes
• Parsley; for garnish
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• Salt and pepper; to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Put a large pot of well salted water to a boil and cook pasta. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent. Add the wine and saffron, stir in the mustard and mascarpone. Cook to thicken a bit. Add the sundried tomatoes. Taste for seasoning—add salt and pepper as needed. When the pasta is al dente, add it to the the cream sauce and stir to combine. Heat a large iron skillet over high heat and add the olive oil. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and place them in the skillet, skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Serve salmon over the pasta and garnish with chopped parsley.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil; divided
• 8 oz. sunburst tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves; thinly sliced
• ¼ tspn. crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• 6 oz. capellini, spaghetti, or bucatini
• ¾ cup pecorino or parmesan cheese; finely grated
• 8 medium fresh basil leaves; torn into pieces
• Toasted breadcrumbs

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat 3 Tbs. of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes, season with salt, and cook, covered slightly and swirling pan often, until tomatoes blister and burst, 10-12 minutes. Press down on tomatoes to release their juices. Remove pan from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, bring 3-quart of water to a boil in a 5-quart pot. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until about 2 minutes before tender. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water. Transfer pasta to skillet with tomatoes; set over high heat. Add ½ cup pasta water. Cook, stirring and tossing often, until sauce thickens and begins to coat the pasta, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining oil, cheese, and half the basil and toss until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente. (Add more pasta water if sauce seems dry.) Add remaining basil, season with salt, and serve with breadcrumbs, if desired.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Mahi Mahi fillets
• Olive oil
• 3 cups orange juice
• 3 Tbs. fresh ginger; minced
• 1 Tbs. garlic; minced
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup sweet Thai chile sauce
• 1 cup cilantro; chopped
• Cornstarch slurry; (1 Tbs. cornstarch for 1 cup liquid)
• Pasta; cooked al dente

INSTRUCTIONS

Brush fillets with olive oil and set aside. Place the next six ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce at low heat for 15 minutes. While sauce is cooking, place fish on a hot grill. Add enough slurry to thicken sauce to the consistency of heavy cream. Serve fish on a bed of pasta of your choice.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz. quinoa veggie curls pasta
• 1 slim avocado; halved, peeled, & seeded
• 1½ cups baby arugula leaves
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
• 1 garlic clove; peeled & smashed
• ½ tspn. kosher salt
• ½ tspn. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium tomato; diced
• ½ cup sliced almonds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Place in a serving bowl. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the avocado and place in a food processor. Add the arugula, basil, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Pour the pesto mixture over the pasta and toss together. Add the tomatoes and almonds and toss together until coated, adding the pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce.

Christmas dinner is easy, right? Well think about it: you’ve been planning for weeks and there are a thousand websites (ours included) that give you hundreds of great ideas for Christmas dinner but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your particular family situation) many of us have Christmas house guests BEYOND CHRISTMAS! The question then becomes, “What do I serve them now that the big dinner is over and the leftovers are gone?” Here’s a great dish that is simple and utilizes several items that are on sale this week. Have a very merry post-Christmas dinner!

( Chef’s hat denotes sale item)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. dry angel hair pasta
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ¾ cup clam juice
• ¾ cup dry, white wine
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 lb. large shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined
• 2 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups sour cream
• Chives for garnish

METHOD

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan and cook pasta until al dente. Drain, rinse, and toss with vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Set aside. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, until onions are soft. Add pasta, clam juice and wine, bring liquid to a boil and reduce by half. Add tomatoes, shrimp, salt, and pepper and cook for just a couple of minutes or until shrimp and tomatoes are heated through. Add sour cream and toss or stir until the sour cream is completely incorporated and liquids come back to a simmer. Pour into a large serving platter and garnish with chives.

I first learned about lemon dice from my cousin Jimmy Fiala who owns the Crossing and three other great restaurants in St. Louis. He was a young chef working at Spiaggia in Chicago, one of the best Italian restaurants in the country. Jimmy came to work with me for a summer doing an internship. He showed me a fish dish using lemon dice and I was hooked! (pun intended) It is not hard to do, but does take some time. Buy the bigger lemons as they are easier to work with.

Another interesting item in this week’s repertoire is the basil chiffonade. To accomplish this, roll the basil leaves up into a tight cylinder, then slice them thinly. This will create long, thin strips of basil, called a chiffonade (shiff-oh-nod).

I served the fish with fresh green beans and a boxed pasta. For the green beans, cut the ends off (stem-end only). Bring some water to boil and cook until tender. This is a personal preference. I like to cook them about 4 minutes. Some like to cook them more and some less. After cooking, immediately plunge into ice water. When ready to serve, sauté the beans in a little butter mixed with some olive oil, a little salt, and a little pepper. Money in the bank!

The Pasta a Roni angel hair pasta has been a staple in our house for years. My kids absolutely love it, as do I. It is easy to do and is a really tasty side dish for fish or chicken.

In This Menu:

• Tilapia with Lemon Dice
• Cucumber Feta Salad
• Fresh Green Beans
• Pasta a Roni Angel Hair Pasta
• Blueberry Crepes with Edy’s Vanilla Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS

• 4 fillets of tilapia
• ½ cup seasoned flour
• Olive oil

For Sauce:

• 1 T. butter
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced shallot or white onion
• 1 T. fresh oregano or sage
• 1 T. lemon dice
• Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

Grill fish to desired temperature.

Cut the ends on the lemon and set the lemon vertically on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, remove the zest and white part of the lemon peel, exposing the meat of the lemon. Cut between each segment and remove the meat from the lemon. Remove the seeds and dice lemon segments. This is called lemon dice oddly enough.

For the sauce:

In sauté pan, heat butter and olive oil, add shallots, sage, and lemon dice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over fish. Serve with green beans and pasta.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. vine ripe tomatoes
• 1 lb. red onion, cut into 1/4″ crescent shaped pieces
• 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 4 to 6 large, fresh basil leaves cut in “chiffonade” (see above)
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup feta
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION

Combine the tomatoes, onion, and cucumbers in a large bowl. In a small bowl, coat avocado slices with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Add avocados to salad along with remaining ingredients. Gently toss and serve or refrigerate.

INGREDIENTS

For the Crepes:

• ¾ cup flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 T. sugar
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 T. butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs

PREPARATION

Place flour and salt in food processor and pulse to mix. Melt butter in milk in small saucepan over low heat. After butter is melted, let the milk mixture cool until you can touch the surface without it being uncomfortable. Add milk mixture to flour, running processor constantly to blend well. Add eggs one at a time and blend well. Let batter sit for at least 30 minutes before using.

To cook crepes, heat a 6-inch non-stick pan until sizzling. Spray pan with pan release. Pour 1 oz. of batter in pan and swirl until batter coats bottom of pan (very thin!). Cook for about one minute or until you can see the edges of the crepe turning brown. Remove crepe and place on parchment paper to cool. Contrary to many beliefs and recipes, it is not necessary to turn and cook crepe on both sides.

For the Berries:

• 2 T. butter
• 1 pint blueberries
• ½ cup sugar

PREPARATION

Heat a small saucepan over medium high heat and add butter. Cook blueberries in butter until they begin to burst. Add sugar and continue to cook until sauce thickens. Pour warm over crepes and garnish with whipped cream and powdered sugar.