Garlic Bread

Follow these tips for perfect garlic bread. Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

1. Buy fresh bread. I purchased Pane Siciliano at Union Market. Use something thicker rather than thin like a baguette.

2. Crush several cloves of garlic.

3. Melt about 3/4 a stick of butter (for a full roll of bread).

4. Mix the butter with the crushed garlic and some parsley.

5. Slice the bread without letting the knife cut through fully. Brush the butter mixture on both sides of each piece. Any excess can be brushed on top of the roll.

6. Cover the bread loosely in aluminum foil and bake on a cookie sheet for at least 30 minutes (more to get it crunchier). Let it sit a few minutes before serving. mm.

Eggplant Pasta - Revisited

 Had this tonight. O. M. G. so good. We have done this three times now and a couple pointers to add (the original recipe is a few back).
Go light on the olive oil when you are frying up the eggplant. Eggplant seems so dry when you put it in the pan, and it sucks up the oil so it seems like it needs more but it doesn't. A rough chop is also ok - big pieces aren't a problem.
Crumble up the cheese more and go heavier on the hot pepper flakes and the mint. Heaven.

Breakfast Burrito

While this dish may appear in some restaurants/diners, I have never ordered it.

The last time I had one of these was in the eighth grade. We made these in Home Ec... excuse me, "Family and Consumer Science."

I remember being horrified that I was going to have to try it, I took a bite.. and I liked it! However, the act of making one of these in a group setting at the age of 13 was probably so traumatizing that I haven't dared face my past.

We made these the other night (I'm behind blogging a few recipes). If you know me at all then you know "the other night" could mean anything from last night to close to a year ago. I'm not telling.

Anyway, I feel like I am ranting and that might be because Dan and I have been having some of Adam's organic vino. Led Zeppelin isn't helping either.

To make the breakfast burrito you will need the following ingredients!

1) flour tortillas (this is actually why I made them - we had Mexican the night before and I am trying to expand my food dollar)
2) eggs
3) bacon
4) green pepper
5) onion
6) cheese (mozzarella or a combination of cheeses)
7) a dash of hot sauce (my mom recommended this)

For the first time ever I microwaved the bacon. I wanted to see how it worked and I also was trying to avoid more dishes to wash. It's pretty easy. You just lay a few strips on a paper towel, cover them with more paper towel, and nuke it until it's crispy. Do this a few times, keep changing the paper towel, and you should have close to 12 strips. I only use Boar's Head because I think Oscar Meyer is nasty, greasy.

Will negotiating the bacon, chop up some peppers and onion and saute in a frying pan. Scramble some eggs.

Combine together with the cheese, a dash of hot sauce, etc in the flour tortilla and enjoy! It's quite good. Excellent for when you want something really really filling.

Guest Blog: Sizzlin' Swordfish and Fried Potatoes

Seafood...there's nothing quite like it. In the summer, a lobster roll or some fried clams is about as decadent as one could get. As the seasons change and the weather gets cooler, however, we tend to crave something a little heartier, a little...bigger.

That brings us to the subject of today's entree...1.25 pound swordfish from Fish Tales on Court Street. These guys have duked it out with Bobby Flay, so you know that they are for real. Sum and I had one of their $20 Maine lobster rolls over the summer, and it was phenomenal--huge chunks of lobster meat oozing out of every bite.

Anyways, back to business. For a poor man's seafood dinner, we've cooked tilapia a few times recently. It's an easy to cook fish and, with some grilled veggies, a quick plate. But tonight, we had some wine to burn and were looking for something a little more luxurious.

Summer fried up some red bliss potatoes for an excellent side dish. We had four of them altogether. You'll definitely want to start the potatoes well before the fish. She sliced them up (not too thin) and dropped them in the frying pan with a combination dusting of olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic.

The manager at Fish Tales recommends a one pound cut for two adults (naturally, ours was 1.25 pounds). Without prodding, he gave us the lowdown on how to cook it:
Add:

• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Fresh parsley
• Salt (we use sea salt)
• Pepper

Cook each side on medium-high heat in a grill or pan for 3-5 minutes. Our man behind the counter prefers it charred a bit, so he goes for 5 minutes. In his words, "You can't mess this up."

We followed his directions as best we could, and we were not disappointed. In my humble opinion, this might be the best "meat" dish we've cooked since moving to Brooklyn. The fish came out juicy and soft, with wonderful flavor. With the right amount of fresh garlic and parsley seasoning, this is one fish you won't let go.

If you listen closely enough, you'll hear the sizzle. Don't let the juice hit you in the eye.