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My son had a second harvest of grape size heirloom tomatoes. With this latest quart size bowl he gave me, I was a bit stumped has to what to make with them. As I had to work until closing Saturday night, again I needed something quick and easy to prepare. Searching through my folder of breakfast recipes, I came across one for a frittata from Gourmet Magazine, May 2001. The recipe, Tomato, Garlic and Potato Frittata sounded appealing for supper. I was also able to utilize the abundance of basil growing in my garden. 
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Today is my husband's birthday. The only thing he wanted was dinner with his children; he got half of his request. Our daughter and son-in-law aren't able to make it this evening, we'll FaceTime with them later. My son and his girlfriend will join us at Sea Grass Restaurant in Ocean Grove. We love the food at Sea Grass as it is consistently delicious, service is great and the staff is very accommodating. It's my husband's favorite restaurant. Did I mention that it's BYOB?
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Saturday I worked until closing. My husband and I weren't going to go out, so a quick, easy meal had to be considered. Recently we were watching America's Test Kitchen cooking show on Create TV, when they demonstrated a braising method for cooking fish. The recipe is Braised Halibut with Leek and Mustard. I didn't have halibut, but did have frozen cod that I purchased at Whole Foods when it was on sale a few weeks back. 
​As the recipe serves four, a halved the recipe for just my husband and I. Planning ahead, I was able to purchase two large leeks at Delicious Orchards at $2.49/lb. I sliced and cleaned the leeks before leaving for work so that helped when it came time to cook dinner. The other recipe ingredients I had on hand was butter, Dijon mustard and white wine. 

Before work I went Joe Leone's in Sea Girt to get some mozzarella to make a tomato and mozzarella salad. I must say Joe Leone's mozzarella was very creamy and velvety in texture. It is, however, a little more expensive than other homemade mozzarella's I've had, $10.49/lb. I made the tomato salad when I got home from work. I merely dressed the items with EVOO, sea salt and basil. Magnifico!

Dinner was on the table in about 45 minutes. By the way, the fish was delicious!

Braised Halibut with Leeks and Mustard
From America’s Test Kitchen Season 16: Braised to Perfection
 
Serves 4
 
We prefer to prepare this recipe with halibut, but a similar firm-fleshed fish such as striped bass or sea bass that is between ¾ and 1 inch thick can be substituted. To ensure that your fish cooks evenly, purchase fillets that are similarly shaped and uniformly thick.
 
Ingredients
4 (6- to 8-ounce) skinless halibut fillets, ¾ to 1 inch thick
Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
 
Instructions
  1. Sprinkle fish with ½ teaspoon salt. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over low heat. Place fish in skillet, skinned side up, increase heat to medium, and cook, shaking pan occasionally, until butter begins to brown (fish should not brown), 3 to 4 minutes. Using spatula, carefully transfer fish to large plate, raw side down.
  2. Add leeks, mustard, and ½ teaspoon salt to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until leeks begin to soften, 2 to 4 minutes. Add wine and bring to gentle simmer. Place fish, raw side down, on top of leeks. Cover skillet and cook, adjusting het to maintain gentle simmer, until fish registers 135 to 140 degrees, 10 to 14 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using 2 spatulas, transfer fish and leeks to serving platter or individual plates. Tent loosely with aluminum foil.
  3. Return skillet to high heat and simmer briskly until sauce is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over fish and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediate with lemon wedges.​

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As I mentioned in a previous post, Monday night's supper was going to be scallops. I swung by Whole Foods on the way home from work and picked up a pound ($18.99/lb. through August 30th). I merely dredged them in Wegmans basting flour and sauteed them in my non-stick skillet with some butter. To round out the meal, I used my grill pan to cook 1/4" sliced NJ zucchini (Delicious Orchards $0.89/lb.) and brown rice. My daughter gave me a small amount of spinach she had in her refrigerator, so I steamed that as a bed for the scallops.
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I know people are reluctant to shop Whole Foods because of their high price reputation, however, I am not one of them. I have their app on my Smartphone and every Wednesday I check their weekly specials. This week they have "air-chilled, whole chickens raised with no antibiotics, excludes organic and cooked chickens" on sale for $1.69/lb. (regularly $3.29).

​This evening's supper was rotisserie cooked chicken with Williams-Sonoma Smokehouse rub. Along with the chicken, Delicious Orchards had 6 ears of white corn for $3.49, which I purchased. Luckily I had some red-skinned potatoes (no peeling) in the basement and I was able to whip up a small batch of potato salad to go along with the chicken. 
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The weekly flyers have arrived from my local food stores. A quick peruse of the Shop Rite flyer has an advertisement for Pat LaFrieda beef hamburgers (24 oz. beef chuck, brisket and short rib blend) on sale next week for $6.99/per package.

There's another brand that both the Wall Towne ShopRite has and Sea Girt Foodtown carry and that is Schweid & Sons. On sale next week at Shop Rite is Schweid is a CAB Custom Blend (certified Angus beef) made with brisket and chuck. The burgers come in a 21 oz. package at $6.99 each.

​I usually purchase chuck beef patties from Delicious Orchards that come from Vrola Meats. However, as I said in a previous post, those Pat LaFrieda burgers were fantastic. I still have a few Vrola burgers in the freezer and I just purchased LaFrieda burgers; now I'm tempted to purchase Schweid and Sons for a taste test. I'll call my son and his girlfriend and see if they're up for a the challenge. Too bad my son-in-law is unavailable for this task.
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Besides eating lots of chicken, I find pork tenderloins make a delicious alternative. They usually come two to a package and require minimal amount of prep. You always want to make sure that you remove the silver skin from the tenderloin and perhaps some small pieces of fat. 

So for this evening meal, I'm using a recipe I found on Williams-Sonoma's website a  for Marinated Pork Tenderloin. The pork is in marinated in a balsamic-rosemary marinade for approximately 2 hours, then grilled for 20 minutes. Easy peasy!  
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Our Brittany Spaniel, Daisy, is an early riser. How early you say, somewhere around 4:30 a.m. she's ready to go outside and then have her breakfast treat. The mornings at that hour are now dark and the sun is setting earlier. You can hear the crickets chirping all day.

I was working today so I have to prepare supper ahead of time so that all I have to do when I come home is sit down and eat. My husband can handle turning on the oven, popping in a casserole and setting the table. As the weather is much improved over the past two weeks, I'm able to prepare something ahead time for oven baking. Fitting the bill today is macaroni and cheese. Shop Rite has 8 ounce packages of Cabot cheddar cheese on sale for $1.88 ea., so it's a perfect meal for tonight.
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I don't know about your basil plants, but ours are about 3 feet tall and we have two of them. I clipped some basil from one plant on Saturday and I barely made a dent to it. As a surprise to my son, who also has a basil plant, I made pesto for his pantry. The recipe I've been using is from The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan. Recipe after the jump.
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I am thrilled to report that Shop Rite at the Wall Towne Center continues to stock beef from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors. 

Here is what Shop Rite has:
  • 4-6 ounce original blend beef patties (24 oz.) $7.99 ($5.33/lb.) - I purchased these this morning
  • Bone in NY Strip Steak $25.99/lb.
  • Boneless Y Strip Steak $29.99/lb.
  • T-Bone Steak $21.99/lb.
  • Cowboy Steak $21.99/lb.


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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