Healthy: Vietnamese Tilapia with Tumeric & Dill

Tilapia isn't native to Vietnam but it is grown prominently in China (with growing health concerns about that). It's a cheap and earthy white fish that lends well to southeast Asian seasoning. (If you are concerned about tilapia then other earthy whitefish will work.) This recipe provides a light, healthy tilapia dish but packs a big flavor that can really help move along a clean diet when you feel like you've eaten all the lightly seasoned food you can eat. This tilapia recipe might seem daunting due to the number of ingredients involved but it's actually a really simple preparation.

Healthy Vietnamese Tilapia with Tumeric and Dill

Servings: 4

Calories: 370 (approx.) 

Prep time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Equipment:

• Knife and cutting board
• Mixing bowls
• Kitchen utensils
• Stove
• Large skillet

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 2 shallots
• 1 tbsp dried dill
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp ground tumeric
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 24 oz tilapia fillets
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 3 yellow onions
• 1/2 cup fresh dill
• 4 green onions
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 2 lemons

Directions:

1. Cut lemons into 8 wedges. Slice shallots. Grate ginger. Cut onions into vertical slices (half ring). Coarsely chop dill. Cut green onions into two inch pieces.
2. Combine shallot, dried dill, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, sesame oil, tumeric, pepper in bowl and whisk together in mixing bowl.
3. Add to fish and coat. 
4. Chill in fridge for 2 hours.
5. Heat large skillet over high heat. Spray with cooking spray.
6. Remove fish from marinade and discard marinade.
7. Coat fish in peanut oil.
8. Add to skillet half of the fresh dill, yellow onion and green onion and stir fry 3 minutes.
9. Add soy sauce and sugar and fry for another 1 minute.
10. Remove contents of skillet and add to plates (or set aside in dish). 
11. Add fish to pan and cook 3 minutes.
12. Flip fish and cook 1 minute or until done. Place fish on dish over onion mix. If did not cook all fish at first repeat until all fish cooked.
13. Garnish with remaining dill and peanuts. Serve with lemon wedges.

Not Healthy: BBQ Sauce with Canadian Whiskey

In my early twenties I did a fair amount of cheap drinking, like most college students, which often resulted in buying the biggest bottles of the cheapest liquor you could tolerate drinking. Canadian whiskey was a common purchase because it was cheap and easily mixed with cola. For a special occasion Crown was the purchase but often the more economical approach was something like Seagram's 7. (Canadian whiskey has a older reputation as a solid rye-based whiskey but today the Canadian whiskey market is dominated by cheap blended whiskeys.) Not too long ago I found a fairly full handle of Seagram's 7 in the back of the liquor cabinet. It's still good so I didn't want to toss it but at the same time I can't see myself drinking it, even in a state of reminiscence. 

So I scoured the internet and found a few BBQ sauce recipes using this type of whiskey. This recipe is a cobbling together of a few recipes. I tend to use this recipe the most with chicken but it is a decent all purpose sauce. I usually adjust the recipe a little based upon what I am grilling or smoking. A little more mustard for chicken while I cut back the mustard and go sweeter for pork. It's easy to adjust to taste while reducing the sauce to a thicker consistency using the ingredients already used in the recipe. Increase the ketchup for a more tomato-y sauce. Increase the mustard for more mustard flavor/balanced tomato/less sweet. Increase the maple syrup for greater sweetness. Canadian whiskey is a milder flavor than bourbon so if you are thinking this recipe will have a big whiskey flavor then you'll be disappointed. You could use bourbon in this recipe if you want (I would cut back on the amount of whiskey) but I'm really just looking for some of the grain and caramel flavor from the whiskey in this rendition.

Not Healthy: BBQ Sauce with Canadian Whiskey

Servings: Varies

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20-30 minutes

Equipment:

• Cutting board and knife
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Medium saucepan
• Stove
• Kitchen utensils

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil (or other cooking oil)
• 1 small yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 oz can tomato paste
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup mustard
• 1 cup Canadian whiskey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the saucepan to medium heat. Meanwhile, mince garlic and dice 1/2 cup of onion (you do not need the rest of the onion for this recipe). 
2. Combine onion and olive oil in pan and cook until soft (3-4 minutes). Add garlic and cook additional thirty seconds.
3. Mix in the tomato paste, ketchup, mustard, whiskey, maple syrup, vinegar, chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Mix to a consistent texture. Reduce heat to medium-low.
4. Sauce will reduce as it simmers. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching or splattering. 
5. Continue to reduce to desired consistency (thinner for a marinade, thicker for a sauce). Taste and adjust if necessary. If adding wet ingredients (anything from ketchup to vinegar on the list) you may need to allow for additional simmering to return to the right consistency. If the sauce is too thick add small amounts of water and mix until it thins out to the desired consistency.

Not Healthy: Lamb Loin Chops with Goat Cheese Sauce Recipe

This lamb chop recipe is far easier than the dish appears. Lamb chops are sometimes complicated or requires absolute precision to cook to the right temperature. This isn't one of those recipes. This lamb chop recipe is not only easy and delicious but fairly quick to prepare. It relies upon a goat cheese sauce that adds a nice tangy quality to the meat while not overwhelming with a contrasting flavor. (This is the original recipe mine is based upon, if you care.) This lamb chop recipe pairs well with a side of root vegetables, mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. Anything with an earthy flavor will contrast the tangy goat cheese and sweeter lamb meat. I would stay away from a puree simply because it lacks a meaningful texture difference from the goat cheese sauce.

A note about buying lamb chops

Unfortunately lamb is not always an easy meat to find and unless you have a local butcher who offers a wide range of meat you may be limited in your selection of lamb cuts. This recipe calls for lamb loin cuts. These are the among the easiest cuts to find (thankfully) although you may have a hard time figuring out from your supermarket's labeling which you are holding. Often when people think about lamb chops they think about the rack of lamb or individual lamb chops served on menus such as these pictures below. These are actually the same cuts of meat although in the bottom picture the bone has been more carefully exposed and the ribs have been separately cut for a nicer presentation. 

Rack of lamb

Lamb rib chops

Rack picture from Wikipedia commons; Chop picture from Outback Steakhouse.

Both of these cuts are rib cuts and only one type of lamb chops. These are sometimes available at supermarkets although they are typically quite expensive. You do not want these lamb chops for this recipe. You could use this cut but it's a more expensive cut than you need for this recipe.

Instead you want lamb loin chops. These are not rib cuts they are, obviously, from the loin. They may be found bone in or boneless. You likely have just one choice at the grocery store. Feel free to buy either. Loin chops are lean and cook quickly even with a bone. I prefer the bone-in cuts that look similar to a t-bone steak (but thicker and smaller) and the leftover bones make a great lamb stock (that you can use to make lamb osso bucco) to help stretch the value of the purchase. I couldn't find good usable pictures of either online but they are easy to distinguish from other cuts. Boneless loin cuts are blocky, boneless cuts that look similar to beef fillet mignon cuts while bone-in are roughly the same size but have a prominent T shape bone in the middle.

You could use other cuts of lamb in this dish but due to the quick cooking time you would need to select a lean and thin cut like well-butchered steaks from a roast. I don't have a suggestion that I know for sure works but if you are cruising a supermarket aisle you are probably buying something you will have to butcher yourself to get the right cuts. I would just hunt for loin chops and be prepared to make a lamb stock. Lamb stock isn't easy to find so making it yourself is pretty much your only option.

Lamb Loin Chops with Goat Cheese Sauce Recipe

Servings: 2-4 (four people assuming two chops per person)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Equipment:

• Oven (with broiler)
• Small baking pan, dutch oven or skillet that can survive broiling
• Stove
• Medium or large skillet (or dutch oven--you only need one)
• Kitchen utensils, measuring spoons and cups
• Small mixing bowl (omit if using a baking pan as well as a skillet)
• Foil
• Tongs (optional)

Ingredients:

• 8 bone-in lamb loin chops
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 tsp fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried rosemary)
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (or lamb broth if you have it)
• 3 oz. goat cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to broil and set rack near broiler but low enough that you can get the lamb under the broiler. Chop rosemary if using fresh. Unpackage lamb and trim if necessary.
2. Heat skillet (or dutch oven) on stove over high heat. 
3. Once skillet is hot add salt to skillet.
4. Immediately after place lamb loin chops in the skillet. Sear for 2-3 minutes.
5. Use tongs or spatula to turn lamb. Sprinkle black pepper and half of rosemary on lamb. Sear for another 2 minutes. 
6. Remove from the stove. If you are using a broil-safe skillet or dutch oven transfer the whole thing to the oven. Otherwise transfer lamb to baking pan and place in oven. Keep the skillet without cleaning it.
7. Broil lamb 3 minutes. Turn lamb over and broil another 3 minutes.
8. Return stove to medium heat. If you used the same skillet or dutch oven through the recipe return it to the stove. Take out the lamb and place in a mixing bowl and cover. If you transferred to a baking pan for broiling then cover the pan with foil and return the skillet to the stove.
9. Deglaze the skillet or dutch oven with the white wine. Gently scrape at the bottom of the skillet or dutch oven to lift up any brown bits. It's okay if the lamb is getting turned in this process but try not to beat up the meat too much.
10. Add broth and remaining rosemary. 
11. Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium low.
12. Simmer on the stove until the liquid reduces by 1/3. You should have approximately 3/4 cup of liquid.
13. Add goat cheese and mix into liquid until an even consistency is reached.
14. Serve lamb chops with sauce drizzled over. Bones can and should be saved from the meal to make stock.