It poured rain today - cats, dogs, elephants and sloths. Didn't stop. No latitude to take a long bike ride after work. I decided against my better Atkin's/Carb-free-Miami-Diet Meledy a-go-go dietary wardrobe malfunction, if I cannot bike, I'd better cook.

So, I shook out the Spring rain off the umbrella and put on my apron and the new Limp Bizkit CD (or was it Puddle of Mudd?)

Nothing comes fresher than fresh fish, I present without further adu:

Tilapia braised com ginger, Scallions com um sauce de Chardonnay do cogumelo de Shitake
(Braised Tilapia with Ginger, Scallions with a Shitake Mushroom Chardonnay sauce)

2.5lb-3lb Tilapia (head off, cleaned or 2.5lb with no bone)
3tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1.5tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
5 large cloves fresh garlic
1/4-1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger
4 medium scallions, sliced diagonally thin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro or Italian Parsley, chopped
6 medium freeze dried shitake mushrooms, re-hydrated & sliced thin (see below)
1/2 cup Chardonnay
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and cracked pepper to taste

Before you begin, you must marinade the fish first, and rehydrate the shitake mushrooms:

Marinade for Tilapia: In a large mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, honey and sesame oil. Wisk so that honey is well mixed in. Clean Tilapia, pat dry and put in marinade for 10 minutes on each side.

To rehydrate shitake mushrooms, combine 1/2 of warm chicken broth , and 1/2 of Chardonnay and all 6 shitake mushrooms in a small bowl to soak for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, slice up shitake mushrooms and save the Chardonnay-broth mixture for later.

In a large flat saucepan (with lid), add 2tbsp olive oil, heat on high and saute 1/2 of the chopped garlic and scallions for one minute. Turn heat down to medium and slowly lay the Tilapia into the pan on an angle (to avoid any hot splatter) and quickly move it around the pan to partially brown for 1 minute on each side. Lay the ginger slices on the bottom of the pan and lay the fish on top and pour the rest of the marinade over the top of the fish. Toss the rest of the garlic, scallions, cilantro/parsley, shitake mushrooms and Chardonnay/broth mixture into pan and cover. Let braise for 4 minutes or until Tilapia is flaky and no longer pink.

To Plate: Serve on a wide plate and dish with fresh sprigs of cilantro and lemon wedges. Drizzle the sauce over whole fish. Serve similar dry Chardonnay. Nice complementary dishes: Spicy Cold Sesame Noodles and Garlic Infused Spinach with Baby Bok Choy with Arrugulla.

There's this little hole in the wall Italian restaurant in Fairfax called La Dolce Vita - my parents raved about this place for years - before they became so popular that it became overcrowded and difficult to even get a table without waiting an hour. So my parents decided to find a weekend that it would not be too crowded to make an attempt to go - it was Memorial Day weekend. We went on that Saturday evening - early. We almost immediately got a table (they don't take reservations for parties less than 5 people). The food was amazing. I had ordered a house specialty - Linguini with a Spicy White Clam Sauce. I was really impressed. So impressed that I recreated it tonight - a recreation of it. Recipe from scratch - but provincially close to a standard. Without adeu, I present:

Linguini con la salsa bianca del mollusco (Linguini with White Clam Sauce)

1 lb. dry or fresh linguini
3 six ounce cans chopped clams in clam juice (separate clams from juice)
3 scallions, sliced thin
6 large cloves of garlic, chopped
2tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
2tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup dry Chardonnay
1 tsp. thyme (preferably fresh - minced, dry will be ok)
1 tsp. basil (preferably fresh - minced, dry will be ok)
1 medium bunch of cilantro (Italian parsley can be substituted), washed and roughly chopped
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
cracked black pepper and kosher salt to taste

Prepare linguini at the same time as the sauce. (Boil water, add linguini - let cook for 8-10 minutes). For sauce: In a large skillet on high heat, add 1tbsp olive oil - sauté garlic and scallions for one minute then add clams (clam juice will be added later) and brown clams for another minute. Add cilantro, clam juice, Chardonnay, red pepper flakes, thyme, basil, salt and pepper. bring to a low boil and stir constantly. Allow to cook for at least 8-10 minutes partially uncovered so clam juice and Chardonnay can infuse. Add butter/margarine, stir. Drain pasta and add to sauce, stir thoroughly.

Went on a long bike ride this afternoon, unsure if I was going to go - it was drizzling rain. But when I got to Vienna - it was almost a downpour. I decided, "why not" - it was warm enough out. I'd only get wet. Big deal. Besides - it's Memorial Day, I have the day off and the weather may clear up. So I headed west towards Purcelville on the W & OD, initially onset in a semi downpour. It cleared up about 30 minutes into the ride. Then it was beautiful. Very humid though. Wasn't sure if i was soaked with rain or sweat. biked up 18 miles, came back (36 total). Was pleasant. On the way back, I kept thinking of the steak I was going to have for dinner, the mushrooms that I was going to prepare in a roasted garlic and white wine reduction sauce. It made me pedal faster. So, with out adeu:


Filet grillé Mignon avec de la sauce rôtie à vin d'ail et de champignon
(Grilled Filet Mignon with Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Wine Sauce)

for grilling:
three to four 10oz Filet Mignon steaks, 1" thick cuts
dry sprinkle for steaks:
You can use McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning (or just combine all of these: 1 tbsp. kosher salt, 1 tbsp. cracked black pepper, 1/2 tsp. red pepper, 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. celery seed, 1/2 tsp. dry oregano, 1/2 tsp. dry parsley)

for sauce:
5 large stuffing mushrooms, cleaned and sliced semi-thick
8 medium roasted garlic cloves*, roughly chopped
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. margarine or butter
1 large scallion sliced
1 cup dry white wine
kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste


Make sauce first, then grill steaks:

To prepare sauce:
In a large skillet on high heat, heat olive oil and sauté roasted garlic with scallions and mushrooms for 1 minute, then add margarine or butter and continue to sauté for another minute. Add dry white wine, salt and cracked black pepper - continue to stir for another 2 minutes. Cover and set aside until grilling is complete.

To grill steaks:
On medium high grill (preferably charcoal grill), put steaks on for 2 minutes on each side, then add the dry sprinkle on each side for another minute or two per side - cooked until desired rareness. Plate steak and judiciously smother steaks with Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Wine sauce. Enjoy!

*roasted garlic cloves: On the grill or in a preheated oven at 400 degrees, put a bulb of garlic ( top sliced off) head up, drizzled with olive oil, pinch of cracked pepper and loosely crumpled up into a sheet of tin foil. Let roast on grill or in oven for about 20-30 min. Remove and let cool. Squeeze roasted garlic out of paper skins, chop up and use.