Bundles of Joy

Babies need all sorts of vitamins and what not. One of the many things they suggest while they're still in gestation is fish oil. It's supposed to stimulate the brains. Since the arrival of our baby on the eleventh we haven't had much time between the hospital and home to sit down and make a good celebratory meal. Tonight, however, we had some time to ourselves, while the rest of the family watched baby, to put together something good, something fish oily.

(Feed me, Dad!)

I found some tilapia fillets in the freezer (sort of the worst-case-scenario fish) and it all just came together. The end result we called Bacon Crusted Fish with Creamy Orange Sauce. Just imagine fish breaded with a mixture of bacon bits, crumbs, and parmesan cheese, fried in olive oil to a perfect crispiness. Then, using the pan leftovers, build a creamy sauce with brown sugar, worcestershire, and orange zest to serve on top of the fish. Finally, a baby spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette on the side. Oh, the mouth waters at the thought. I'm sorry we don't have an image for you to drool over, but just know that it was superb, especially for a throw-together meal.

So, we celebrate our new baby with our own fish oils, and some other yummies on the side. We're so happy to have her join the family and look forward to many more meals inspired by her.

Ketching Up

Yes, I know that it's been some time since I last blogged about it, but life goes on still. Let me bring you up to speed.

About a week ago we thought we'd be having a baby join our family and I was making Iron Chef-inspired pork chops with corn on the cob. I can't tell you much more about the baby, since she still hasn't come (despite today's due date), so I will tell you about the meal.

We were watching one of the more interesting episodes of Iron Chef that I've seen. Typically the show brings in some obscure, often-ignored ingredient to challenge the chefs, but this time it was berries (although some were not actually berries, botanically speaking). Of course, Mr. Bobby Flay created a spicy/fruity BBQ sauce for one of his meals and I thought, how simple... and delicious. It just so happened that we had a bunch of berries nearing their end in the fridge as well as some pork chops that Jackie's family decided not to eat that night. It was a match made in heaven.

I breaded the pork chops with crumbs and parmesan cheese, then pan fried them in olive oil to a perfect crisp. They were still juicy and tender, just the way they should be. While that was going I cooked up a sauce involving garlic, molasses, ketchup (yes, that's the only tie to the title), raspberries, and I don't know what else. After letting it simmer, we strained it through a screen to dispose of the bulky junk like seeds and finally poured it over the chops. Wow! So good. It was an excellent combination of flavors. Not to mention the cobs that Jackie boiled up were perfectly ripe and juicy. It was a great twist on a hearty family classic.

Maybe next week I can tell you all about the baby... let's hope.