Walleye en Papillote

Walleye is a mild-flavored fresh water fish, also known as pickerel or yellow pike. It is quite popular in the Great Lakes states, although apparently it has made the list of fish to avoid due to high mercury levels. This recipe is a riff on a recipe found in Frank Stitt's Southern Table. Also, if you are fond of dipping bread in olive oil or other oils, this recipe is heaven on earth with all the juices that accumulate on the bottom of the wax paper enclosure!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb walleye fillet
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 scallions
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
6 thin lemon slices
a handful of chopped parsley
a dozen white peppercorns

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Sauté the onions and shallots in the butter and olive oil until nicely browned. Set aside. Cut 4-6 16x20in sheets of parchment paper. Arrange 2-3 of the sheets on a pan and drizzle with olive oil. Arrange half of the sliced lemons, peppercorns, scallions, parsley, and sautéed onions and scallions on the parchement paper. Set the fillet on top and sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on top. Season with salt.


Place the rest of the parchment paper on top of the fillet and tightly wrap the top and bottom parchment so that no steam could escape. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 10 minutes. Serve immediately! Mind the steam when opening the papillote.

Eggs Benedict

We had a bit of Hollandaise sauce left over from another recipe and decided to put it to good use in this tasty breakfast treat.

INGREDIENTS

2 slices of rustic bread
2 eggs
3 cups spinach
1 small tomato
3-4 tablespoons Hollandaise Sauce (click here for recipe from an earlier post)

Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Break the eggs and gently drop into the boiling water. Cook for about 1 minute - the yolk should be still runny. In the meantime wash and steam the spinach for 1-2 minutes until just wilted. Slice the tomato into thin slices and lightly toast the bread. To assemble, place the pieces of toast on two plates, spoon the spinach on top and add the tomato slices. Put the poached eggs over the tomato and drizzle with the Hollandaise sauce. Simple, pretty to look at and delicious!

Serves 2

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

This is a quick, easy, and tasty treat that could be served at any meal! The best thing about this dish other than how sumptuous it is, is it only takes fifteen minutes to create.


INGREDIENTS

1 bunch aspargus, trimmed (tip for trimming: bend the bottoms until they snap off to remove tough ends)

For the Hollandaise sauce
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-2 generous pinches of tarragon
salt and ground pepper
3/4 cup olive/canola oil mixture or 1 cup melted butter

Steam the asparagus for ~3-5 minutes - we think they are best when still crisp.

To make the Hollandaise, place all ingredients for the sauce minus the oil into a food processor or blender. Pulse briefly. Gently pour the oil mix or butter into food processor while blending continuously. The consistency of the sauce should be similar to yogurt however we have had batches that were somewhat runny but tasted just fine.

Serve the asparagus drizzled with Hollandaise sauce and enjoy!

Serves 2-4

Evelo's Bed and Breakfast

City: Minneapolis, MN
Address: 2301 Bryant Ave. South
Price: $85 (breakfast included)

Located in uptown Minneapolis and within walking distance from downtown, Evelo's B&B offers 4 guestrooms in a beautifully restored Victorian home. Two of the rooms are a little on the small side, but still very comfortable. Bathrooms are shared.

There is a screened-in porch perfect for reading the newspaper in the morning (New York Times and a local newspaper are provided daily).

The common areas downstairs are stunning. The Evelos have a wonderful collection of Art Deco lamps and pottery displayed throughout the house.

Breakfast at Evelo's is an elaborate affair. It consists of an assortment of pastries and jams, fruit and bagels (the spread is different every day) in addition to a featured dish. The tomato-egg bake served on our second morning was delicious!

Given all the amenities, the convenient location and the excellent price, Evelo's B&B is an excellent choice for your stay in Minneapolis.

Simple Black Bean Quesadillas with Salsa Verde

We love how quick, easy and nutritious this recipe is. For a vegan treat, omit the cheese, or substitute with soy cheese.

INGREDIENTS

For the salsa
1 pound tomatillos
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste

For the quesadillas
1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained of liquid
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 oz softer cheese such as cheddar or muenster, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Preheat the broiler. Husk the tomatillos and wash well. Arrange the tomatillos on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 4 minutes. Turn tomatillos on the other side and broil for 5 more minutes. Place the roasted tomatillos in a blender and blend briefly until broken up and chunky. Place the blended tomatillos in a bowl and mix in the onions, salt, sugar and cilantro. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving allowing the flavors to develop.

In the meantime, heat and lightly mash the beans in a medium pan adding the cilantro at the end. Heat up a large pan and place a whole wheat tortilla in it. Scoop half of the bean mixture onto the tortilla and spread evenly. Place half of the cheese slices on top of the bean layer and top with a second tortilla. Cook the quesadilla evenly on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Repeat the same with the ingredients for the second quesadilla. Serve warm, accompanied by the salsa verde.

Serves 2

Asian Legend

Cuisine: Taiwanese, Chinese
Address: 516 E. William St., Ann Arbor, MI
Price: $

We spotted this new restaurant in the old spot of Kabob Palace and decided to give it a try. As a rule of thumb, eating Chinese food outside of the Chinatowns of big metropolitan areas can be a disappointment. But Asian Legend ended up convincing us that fresh tasting, authentic Chinese food can be had right here in Ann Arbor.

Asian legend has a narrow and rather long dining room and friendly and competent service. There are nicely framed black and white photos lining the sunflower yellow walls. Overall the look of the place is neat and pleasant.

The menu is refreshingly different than what we have seen at other Chinese and Taiwanese joints. There are plenty of vegetarian choices and several fresh, lightly cooked offerings. We wanted to sample as many things as possible, so we ordered four of the appetizer/snack plates (小吃 xiao chi). The seaweed and dried tofu ($4.25) is a cold snack - we loved the texture of both the tofu and the seaweed - very refreshing!

The Chinese watercress with garlic ($5.95) was simply delicious! The watercress was gently sauteed with a bit of garlic and salt - that's it!

The scallion pancake ($2.25) was a bit thicker than what we have experienced at other restaurants but still pretty tasty.

We also tried the beef wrapped in onion pancake ($4.50), which was quite good, especially dipped in the chili sauce provided at each table.

We are definitely adding Asian Legend to the list of favorite cheap eats joints!

Spicy Coconut, Sweet Potato and Collards Curry

We love the unusual combination of ingredients in this recipe. It is based on a recipe found in Peter Berley's Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hour.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons neutral oil (for frying)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pack extra firm tofu
2 cups diced onion
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 (14 ounces) can coconut milk
1 bunch collard greens
1/2 cup cilantro for garnish
salt to taste

Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and fry in the neutral oil until golden brown on all sides. Scoop out of the pan and let drain on a plate. Add the olive oil to the pan, and sautee the onions for 3-4 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, garlic, ginger, coriander and turmeric and stir well for about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and two cups of filtered water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12 minutes. In the meantime, remove the tough stems from the collard green leaves. Slice the collard leaves into 1/4 inch ribbons. Add to the curry and cook for about 3 minutes until wilted. Add the tofu cubes and stir well. Season with salt and garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice.