Houston: We Have Tilapia Lafayette

This week in Houston I was lucky enough to eat at Pappa's Seafood House. The menu was so appealing, I had trouble choosing. Three days later, on our way back to the airport, we stopped for a second time, for lunch, and it was jammed packed - a clear indication this was The Place to eat seafood in Houston. Unfortunately, they don't have a cookbook, so I'll have to reverse-engineer some of the dishes I had. For one, their Cajun blackened fish was fantastic - either catfish or tilapia! Here is something close to one of their dishes. They used crab, and I use langoustine tails - either way it's bound to be good.
1 red pepper cut into 2-inch strips
12 oz snap peas
1 Tbsp capers

4 tilapia fillets
2 Tbsp canola oil
8 large shrimp, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup langoustine tails, optional

Dry rub:
1 Tbsp Cajun Bayou spice blend
1 tsp chipotle powder

1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken stock or clam juice
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup half and half or cream

In a large non-stick skillet, sauté the red pepper and the snap peas with a bit of canola oil over fairly high heat for about 3-5 minutes. Add the capers and cook another minute. Set veggies aside in a bowl.

Dredge the fish filets in the dry rub gently, and dust remaining powder off. Sauté the tilapia fillets in canola oil over fairly high heat in the non-stick skillet. Cook on one side for about 2 minutes, then flip gently. Cook on the other side for another two minutes. Set fish aside on a plate, covered to keep warm. Toss the shrimp and langoustine tails into the hot pan and cook another 3-5 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove to the veggie bowl, cover and keep warm.

Finally, add the butter and canola oil to the pan and cook until the butter melts and froths. Add the flour and cook for about 2-3 minutes, whisking well. Add the stock, sherry and cream, and whisk until the sauce thickens well. Add a bit more stock if sauce is still too thick; it should just coat a spoon well. Toss in the veggies and shrimp and heat through.

Divide the veggies on 4 plates evenly. Top with the fish fillets. Arrange a shrimp or two in top of the fillets decoratively. Serve with limes, and with rice or other grain, if desired. Serves four.

Mixed Bean Dahl

1 cup mixed small lentils (see cook's notes below)
4 cups water
1 stick cinnamon

1 onion, diced
2 medium carrots
1 jalapeño pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
1 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp Fenugreek powder or favorite curry powder

1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
1 tsp salt
Sriracha or Tabasco hot sauce as desired

Set the dahl to cook by bringing the water and small lentils to a boil in a medium pot. As soon as the pot boils, add the cinnamon stick, and reduce to a very light boil. Cover partially and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often, until the dahl is just cooked past al dente.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion, carrot and jalapeño on a large skillet or a 4-quart pot in the butter. Cook for about ten minutes, allowing the veggies to soften and caramelize a bit. Add the garlic, ginger and fennel and mustard seeds, if using. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the spices and cook another 2-3 minutes, until very fragrant. Then add the tomatoes and mix well. Simmer the tomatoes until the lentils are cooked.

When the lentils are cooked, transfer them to the pot with the tomatoes and add the garbanzo and kidney beans. Add the salt and check for spicy heat. Adjust seasoning with Sriracha or Tabasco sauce as desired. Cook for another 10-15 minutes to meld the flavors. You may have to add more water to maintain a nice saucy consistency.

Serve over rice or with a flatbread, like naan. Serves 4-6.

Cooks notes: You can use whatever combination of lentils (or grains like barley) and beans that suites your fancy (or pantry!) Wholefoods has a great lentil mixture.In Canada we had great varieties of canned mixed beans.As an alternative prep, spoon into individual ramekins lined with strips of puff pastry. Fold puff pastry back over top decoratively and brush with an egg beaten with a bit of water. Bake for 30 minutes on a 375F oven.I served this to a vegetarian instead of Steak and Guiness pie (below), when hosting our son's college cycling club - great protein and carb balance for bike racing!

Steak and Guinness Pie

1/3 lb thick-cut bacon, diced
2 lb chuck roast, cut into one-inch cubes
1/2 cup flour

1 large (grapefruit-sized) onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Herbes de Provence, or Italian herbs
2 tsp garam masala

1 liter Guinness Stout beer
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 1-lb packages puff pastry (2 12x12- inch sheets per package)
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 450F. In a large oven-going Dutch Oven, fry the bacon in a bit of olive oil, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, celery and carrots and continue cooking for about another 10 minutes, until the veggies are softened and caramelized a bit. Add the garlic, herbs, and the garam masala and cook another 2 minutes, stirring often. Set mixture aside.

Meanwhile, toss beef cubes with flour in a large bowl. Brown the beef in the Dutch Oven in a bit of canola oil, in batches (2-3 batches), until browned on all sides. Remove beef to a bowl. Deglaze Dutch Oven with the beer, and return the beef and veggie mix to the casserole. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and the tomato paste and pop stew in the oven. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for 45 minutes, covered. Stir stew, add a bit of water if necessary and reduce heat to 325F. Bake for about another hour, until meat is extremely tender. Now your stew is done! You can make your pie now if the timing is right, or better yet, let the stew sit for a day or two in the refrigerator - the flavors will develop beautifully.

Preheat oven to 375F. Line two pie plates each with one puff pastry sheet. Fill pies with warm stew filling. If you refrigerated your stew beforehand, warm on the stove before filling pies. Cover each pie with another sheet of puff pastry. Paint the crusts with eggwash and poke a few vent holes in the crust with fork times. Its a good idea to put a baking sheet on the oven rack below the pies to collect any filling bubbling over. Bake about 30 minutes, until crust browns nicely, and pie filling is piping hot. Makes 2 pies, serving 8.

Beef and Creamy Artichoke Puff Pie

1 lb ground beef

1 tsp beef stock base paste

1 tsp worcesteechire sauce

1/4 tsp Herbes du Provence,or Italian herbs

dash (ideally freshly ground) nutmeg, about 1/4 tsp

1 medium onion, diced

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 lb cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup good real mayonnaise

Generous dash Tabasco sauce

4 cups fesh baby spinach leaves

Two 12"x12" square puff pastry

Eggwash of 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375F. Brown the beef in a large skillet with a bit of olive oil. Mix in the stock paste, Worcestershire sauce, herbs and nutmeg, and cook another 2-3 minutes to meld the flavors.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in a bit of olive oil. Beat the cream cheese together with the mayonnaise (I used a food processor and pulsed gently), and fold together with the onions, artichokes and Tabasco.

Lay out the puff pastry squares each on an individual, oiled jelly roll baking pan. Place half the spinach leaves on the center 6-8 inch square of each pastry, leaving a generous 2-inch border around the spinach. Top each spinach base with half the beef and cover the beef with half the artichoke topping. Fold the pastry borders up and over the toppings, stretching carefully. Pinch the corners together carefully, to form an open-faced case for the filling. Paint the pastry edges with the egg wash.

Bake 30-45 minutes, until the pastry is browned and the filling is cooked through, and is browned and bubbly. Serves 4-6.

Orange Pork

I have heard so often that the food in China is nothing at all like what we get here in American Chinese restaurants. I would agree that there is a difference in that what is popular in the US is often the sweeter fares with more meat than might comprise a typical dish in China. But there were the familiar stir fry dishes with sweet (and very spicy hot!) sauces for sure. Before ascending the Oriental Pearl Tower, a friend brought me to the South Beauty restaurant in the shopping mall where the fancy Shanghai Pudong Apple Store was. We had many great stir fry dishes in China, and I reverse-engineer one here. I am sure I am not making it hot enough, though!1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 lb boneless pork country ribs, sliced thinly on a bias

1 large head broccoli, cut into flowerets, about 3 cups
1 yellow or orange pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Sauce:
1/2 tsp chili paste
1/2 cup plum sauce
juice and zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp water

2 cups peanut or canola oil

Beat together the egg, cornstarch and soy sauce in a bowl or glass dish. Add the pork, fold together, and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the sauce together by whisking together all the ingredients. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet until shimmering. Cook the pork for about 5 minutes in very hot oil, in 2-3 batches, turning over once carefully with tongs. Remove pork to a paper towel.

When the pork is done, carefully remove most of the oil to a bowl to cool, leaving 1-2 tablespoons in the wok. Heat oil to shimmering. Add the broccoli and pepper and stir-fry for about 2 minutes over very high heat, just until the veggies are crisp-tender. Add the ginger, garlic and pepper flakes, and cook another minute. Remove veggies to a bowl. Wipe wok dry with a paper towel.

Pour sauce into wok and bring to a rolling boil. Whisk the cornstarch dissolved in water into the sauce and return to a boil as it thickens. Return pork to wok and toss with sauce. Plate the pork in a large serving platter. Nestle the broccoli and pepper among the pork pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped green onion, if desired. Serve with rice. Serves 4-6.

Some stir fry dishes in Shanghai's South Beauty Restaurant.
Shanghai skyline with Oriental Pearl Tower.View from Oriental Pearl Tower of Financial Center Buildings, and new Apple Store, Pudong, Shanghai, China.

Greek Chicken with Lemon Potatoes

When we lived in Toronto, we enjoyed many of the restaurants in Greek Towne. I remember the chef in the cafeteria of my company, who happened to be Greek - we shared many cooking stories together. I loved his Greek lemony potatoes, which I also had several times in restaurants. He claimed they were 'classic Greek' and I do him homage with this lemony dish.
1 roasting chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
3 large red or white waxy potatoes, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
Palmful fresh parsley, chopped
Dash red pepper flakes
2 tsp Herbes de Provence or Italian herbs

Preheat oven to 400F. Arrange chicken pieces in a large oiled roasting pan. Nestle the potatoes among the chicken pieces. Pour the lemon juice all over the chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle the garlic, herbs and red pepper over the chicken and potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake uncovered for half an hour. Baste with pan juices, and reduce temperature to 350F. Sprinkle zest and parsley over chicken and potatoes. Bake another 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, and juices run clear. Serve chicken and potatoes with lemon jus. Serves 4.

Pork Tournedos over Noodles with Black Bean and Garlic Sauce

This is a fusion dish combining classic Mediterranean herbs for the pork with Asian black bean flavors for the veggies along with a hint of vanilla. Whoa.
Black Bean Sauce:
1/2 tsp chili paste with garlic
1 Tbsp black bean paste
1 Tbsp sherry
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame sauce
1 tsp vanilla

2 pork tenderloins, cut into 1 1/2-inch disks to make tournedos
1 tsp thyme leaves
2 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp olive or canola oil
1 leek, cleaned and finely diced
1/2 cup grated or julienned carrot
1 1/2 cup broccoli, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cup cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2-inch pieces fresh ginger, minced

12 oz. dried Chinese Yu Mein noodles

Get your 'mis en place' ready by preparing all your ingredients up front. Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Toss the pork tournedos with a good amount of salt and pepper, and the thyme. Set aside. In a large skillet, melt the butter in the oil and sauté the leek and carrot for five minutes over medium heat. Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil for the noodles.

Add the broccoli, cauliflower, garlic and ginger to the leeks and cook another five minutes, but no longer than to make them just crisp-tender. Remove very crisp veggies to a bowl.

In the same pan, heat a bit of canola oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Place the pork discs into the pan, one flat side down. Brown for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in the water. Turn the pork over and cook another 3 minutes, or until the pork is just cooked medium-rare.

Set pork aside on a plate and cover to keep warm. Return the veggies to the skillet and toss in the black bean sauce. Stir to heat through. Drain the pasta and divide between plates. Distribute a ring of veggies around each pile of noodles, and place two to three pork tournedos on top of the noodles. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.