Two Scoops!

It's good to be back in my normal routine. A week in Alaska followed by a weekend in Clearwater, FL had me beat! Though there were some good meals in Alaska, nothing really stuck out. Of course the seafood was as fresh as it gets, but that's about it... The Beer was great, though!

Clearwater was great! Some of my pledge brothers were there celebrating one of their bachelor parties. We had to grill something good, and nothing is better than fresh seafood from the Gulf. That night we had a feast to say the least. Thick cut Delmonico Ribeyes, Margarita marinated Colossal Gulf Shrimp, Jumbo Sea Scallops, Teryaki style Portabello mushroom caps, and asparagus: ALL GRILLED! Everything was absolutely delicious. I will definitely marinate shrimp in margarita and garlic again...





Tonight I left work at 5 for once, but when I got home I remembered that I hadn't gotten any groceries since I've been back. Becca had bought some fresh veggies and pulled out some Tilapia, so I decided to wing it with what we had.

::Bran Encrusted Tilapia with a Cheesy Garlic-Thyme and Chardonnay Cream Sauce and Veggie Wheat Pasta::

I really wanted to encrust the fish in something different, and rummaging through my pantry I found some Raisin Bran cereal. Once I pulled out all of the raisins and crushed the bran flakes, I figured I had a good crust in the making...something different, at least. Once I 'breaded' the fish, I sauteed the fillets in butter and o.o. for a minute before putting them in the oven to finish cooking through at 350.

For the sauce I sauteed fresh garlic in butter and reduced the heat to low before I wisked in some milk. (usually I would use heavy cream). At this time I added some dried thyme and Montreal Steak Seasoning (GREAT stuff!), continuing to simmer on med-low heat. When the fish was about ready, I stirred in a couple of tablespoons of full-fat sour cream (since I didn't use heavy cream!) and finally a handful of mozerella cheese to thicken it up. This sauce came out awesome!!

As a side I cooked some wheat pasta, sauteed fresh garlic w/ freshly steamed broccolli, and carrots, and mixed everything together in a pan before adding some butter and white wine. I let that simmer and continued tossing the noodles with the veggies.

Served the Tilapia on top of the pasta, and topped both w/ the cream sauce. Becca couldn't decide whether she liked the bran encrusted tilapia better, or the sauce. Life is full of tough decisions...

Good eats.