A Beautiful Friday Night Supper

On the National Front, today is Oyster Day, Underwear Day, Work like a Dog Day and Water Balloon Day (1st Friday in August). With the exception of Oysters, none of those celebrations have anything to do with food. As for oysters – not my cup of tea. Never have been, never will.

Now on the International Front, today is also International Beer Day. Great for those who drink beer. I think beer is awesome in batter, but not my thing as a beverage. Once in a great while, after working like a dog, my dad would have a beer if offered. Dad was active in community projects, so many a Saturday was spent building a baseball field or beautifying a park or whatever else needed to be done. Those are the only times I can recall my Dad having a beer. When the work was done, someone would offer up beers from a cooler. Sometimes Dad would give me a sip. I thought beer tasted like liquid soda crackers. One sip was nice, any more and the taste just didn’t appeal to me. I guess like most things, beer is an acquired taste.

Since it’s obvious we aren’t going to be sharing any National or International inspired dishes today, I thought Friday is a great day to fry up an amazing fish supper. Pan seared anything sounds delicious to me. Pan seared fish is so light, so flakey and mild. Yum! Couple that with a nice risotto and a vegetable, we are talking a heavenly inspire supper. And you don’t need to be an old school Catholic to appreciate a good fish supper on a Friday night.

Friday Night Supper
Pan-Seared Tilapia
Mushroom Risotto
Roasted Mushroom Broccoli

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Pan-Seared Tilapia
4 (4 oz) Tilapia Fillets
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Thyme or to taste
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Butter, melted
1 Lemon, juiced
Snipped Parsley garnish

Rinse tilapia fillets in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides of each fillet with salt and pepper.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Season flour with thyme. Gently press each fillet into the flour to coat and shake off any excess.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook tilapia fillets in the hot oil, in batches if necessary, until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 4 minutes per side.

While the fish cooks, melt butter. Brush the melted butter onto the tilapia fillets in the last minute before removing from the skillet.

Drizzle fillets with lemon juice and garnish with parsley.

Mushroom Risotto
6 cups Chicken Stock
1 large Portobello Mushrooms
16 oz White Mushrooms
2 medium Shallots
3 tablespoons Chives
3 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
1-1/2 cups Arborio Rice
1/2 cup White Wine
4 tablespoons Butter
1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt to taste
Fresh Pepper to taste

Warm chicken stock in a saucepan over low heat.

Clean mushrooms, thinly slice and set aside. Peel shallots, finely dice and set aside. Finely snip chives for garnish, set aside.

Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add Portobello and white mushrooms; cook and stir until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid to a bowl; set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the saucepan. Stir in shallots and cook for 1 minute. Add rice; cook, stirring until rice is coated with oil and pale, golden in color, about 2 minutes.

Pour in wine, stirring constantly until wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup warm broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, yet firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in reserved mushrooms and their liquid, butter, chives, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Roasted Mushroom Broccoli
16 oz Broccoli Florets
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
Fresh Black Pepper to taste
1 large Portabello Mushroom.
1 Lemon

Heat oven to 400-degrees. Line a rimmed baking pan with foil, set aside.

Break broccoli apart as needed into bite-size florets. Place in a bowl. Set aside.

Peel garlic, finely mince. Add garlic to the broccoli. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

Spread the broccoli out in an even layer on a baking sheet.

Trim stem from the mushroom. Clean mushroom, slice thin. Drape mushroom over the broccoli.

Slice lemon in half. Reserve half for juicing, slice remaining half. Tuck slices around broccoli.

Bake in the heated oven until florets are tender enough to pierce the stems with a fork, about 15 minutes. Remove and transfer to a serving platter.

Remove from oven, squeeze juice from reserved lemon half to brightened the dish. Toss and serve.

Enjoy!