Her conundrum? What the heck kind of sauce to make with tilapia for an easy weeknight meal. My answer to these kinds of issues: go straight to the lemon and herbs! It simply can’t be beat, and this basic technique and ingredients can be used for other items like shellfish or even chicken.

Check out the end product below, and please consider this your very open invitation to email me your MMT challenges. You can always find me at vmac56 {at} gmail {dot} com. Whether you’ve been hanging out on this site for a while, or are just passing through, any and all challenges are okay by me.

Ready? Go!

Hey Victoria,

What order do i put the ingredients in?:

Butter – 1T flour – milk – parsley – lemon? Or butter – parsley – flour – milk – lemon? I’ve seen it both ways online – yikes! Also, if i want to use pre-seasoned italian breadcrumbs, where do they come in?  On the fish pre-sauce?  Or in the sauce?

Thank you,

Reena

How thick do you want the sauce? Like hollandaise consistency, or chicken piccata sauce consistency?

Less thick.

I ask because generally, lemon/butter sauce would not be thickened with flour, and adding lemon juice to a milk based sauce can break the sauce (i.e., the proteins can coagulate out of the fat…long story short, it can end up not delish).

If you absolutely wanted to go the creamier-sauce route, I would heat 1 cup of whole milk (even better: cream) in a small sauce pot. Add the zest of an entire lemon, and let this steep fo r a while. [It's best not to use skim or even 2% milk here, as the low amount of milk fats would probably curdle when we add in the lemon juice later. Besides, if you're going to make a cream sauce, just go for it! The extra calories are so worth it.]

Then, in another small pot, heat 1 tbsp butter. Once melted, add in 1 tbsp flour. Whisk this together to make a roux — a wet sand like paste [reader note: check out more background on rouxs here]. Let this cook for a minute or two. Sniff it. It shouldn’t smell floury, but just slightly nutty. Pour in the heated dairy product. If you want the sauce to be really smooth, strain the dairy before adding it in, to strain out the lemon zest. Whisk, whisk, whisk to incorporate the roux in the dairy. Let it come to a gentle simmer — only after it simmers will the sauce have thickened to its full potential. Season with salt and pepper, and add a half teaspoon or a teaspoon of lemon juice. This would be made even better with some fresh thyme added in.

Ok, how about a parsley butter sauce with bread crumbs on fish, garnished with lemon slices? Not feeling the creamy stuff..

Rinse the filets and pat them dry.

Set up a breading station: a shallow plate with flour (seasoned with salt and pepper), a shall bowl filled with one lightly beaten egg, and another shallow plate/bowl filled with breadcrumbs.

{A note on breadcrumbs — I never, ever buy the pre-seasoned Italian breadcrumbs. They are full of preservatives and are gross. What I like to do in a pinch is buy some crostini from the grocery store’s bakery — just little slices of baguette that have been toasted and lightly seasoned. These usually don’t have preservatives or other crap in them. Give them a whirl in the food processor, and voila, instant breadcrumbs that have a much better taste and texture than canned ones. When I’m not in a pinch, I save old scraps of bread from things — a stale piece of baguette, the ends of a loaf — and freeze them. Then, when I need them, I pulse them in my food processor or blender for fresh bread crumbs. If I want them toasted (better for some fried applications), you can toss them with a bit of olive oil and salt and toast them in the oven until golden brown. Guaranteed a grillion times better than pre-packaged junk.)

Other prep: Get out some very cold butter and slice it into tablespoon size pieces, using the markings on the butter label as your guide. You’ll probably need 4 tablespoons or so. Chop up some parsley. If you have (and like) capers, get a tablespoon or two of those drained and ready. If you have any shallot or yellow onion around, dice up 2 tbsp of it, very finely.

Season the filets on both sides with salt and pepper. Dust them with the seasoned flour, then shake off any excess. Coat them with the egg; pick up the filet and let any excess egg drip off. Finally, coat them with the breadcrumbs. Set each prepped filet on a plate lined with foil or saran wrap.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high. Add in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Once hot, fry the filets, probably about 3 minutes per side if they’re really thin. If they brown too fast, just lower the heat of the pan a bit. Take off the foil/saran wrap that you had on your fish prep plate, then remove the now cooked filets to your clean plate!

In the same pan, add in the juice of one lemon, and the shallots/onions if using. Throw in a splash of white wine too, if you have any lying around. Let this cook for a a few minutes. You want the juice to reduce a little and sort of caramelize, but not completely evaporate. Turn off the heat completely. If your stove is electric, move the pan to a different burner.

Gently, gently whisk in one tablespoon of butter. Whisk quickly enough that the fat incorporates into the juice, but not so fast that the sauce breaks up. Careful with this. If the pan is too hot, the sauce will break. Keep adding in butter until the sauce has a rich, buttery consistency. Taste it. Determine if it needs more acid, or more fat. It might even need a pinch of sugar. Add lemon or butter or sugar, depending on what you think. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the capers and parsley, then spoon it over the fish. You can serve the fish family style, or plate it individually. This would be great with some roasted vegetables and a little salad.

Thanks for your help. I took some pics and will send them your way.

Recently though, Joe and some of his co-workers went in together on part of a cow. Have you heard of these awesome programs? Actually, the concept and practice of animal/meat sharing has been around for a while (see one this very early VMAC + Cheese post), but I still think it’s great. If you have enough room in a freezer, you, individually, can purchase part or all of a farm-raised animal, thus eliminating the need for a middle man (your grocer), thereby lowering your cost on high quality meat and giving you a freezer full of cuts to use over the course of a year or so. More logical for us big city folk without garages and extra freezers is to share part of an animal with friends (or co-workers). So that’s what we did. We invested in part of a 98% grass fed* steer, and were able to bring home a bunch of ground beef (which I turned into burgers, meatloaf and meatballs), sirloin steaks (steak salads, tacos), stew meat (obvious) and a large tri-tip, which the processor had labeled as London Broil.

[*NOTE: Why 98% grass fed? I believe in the last two weeks of its life, they finished the animal on corn to amp up the marbling. Many, many producers--even small time farms--do this because most Americans are unaccustomed to 100% grass fed beef, and can sometimes be put off by the intense, gamey flavors it produces. I happen to love it, but a few weeks of grain feeding was okay, too.]

The tri-tip was the last thing to go, simply because it was so big and I wasn’t sure what I should make with it. Then I realized, I should just (under)roast the damn thing, and use it throughout the week, however I saw fit. So that’s what I did. I seasoned it heavily, threw it in the oven, and wa-la. The cost of the roast was around $15 or $16, but it provided 4 meals for us: obscenely huge and decadent steak sandwiches with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, and melted cheddar on ciabatta; two types of steak salad; and simply sliced with a salad served alongside. Considering the quality of the meat, I couldn’t be happier.

Inspired by the ease and speed with which I was able to put together 4 dinners, I purchased a similar cut of buffalo at the market last week. The key with both of these cuts was to underroast the meat. That’s because when you re-heat it, the meat will cook a bit more, so if you were to prefer your meat medium well (um, why?), and cooked it to medium well, your re-heated meat would be well done or beyond. For the beef, I cooked the meat to just rare, so that subsequent meals would see us eating perfectly done medium rare meat. For the buffalo, I cooked it to just beyond blue, because buffalo tends to be super lean, and overcooking it means you’ll be dining on a rubber chew toy.

One of the buffalo meals I swiftly put together this week included the sliced meat, with a balsamic sauce and steamed veggies (Obviously, we were trying to be a bit more healthful during the week so I could do things like dim sum, cocktails and mac and cheese over the weekend. 2 of these 3 things were part of my Friday night.). The balsamic sauce is one of the quickest, easiest sauces you can make, and people universally love it since the flavor is so familiar, just made more luxurious with the addition of butter. A1 steak sauce? Who needs it?

Completely awful photo of roasted buffalo with balsamic sauce. I had already started eating, realized I should take a picture, then realized my camera was out of battery. I charged the battery for ONE MINUTE, which was just enough to take three very hasty shots of this, by which time the sauce had saturated the meat and begun to cool on the plate. And yes, I was eating on the living room floor that night. We need to move into an apartment that actually has room for a dining table. And, I need a new camera. Ooh, foreshadowing!

You know, I meant to write this post just about the balsamic sauce itself, but I think this turned out better. I have three really great recipes for you. They will all serve two very hungry people. After the jump.

Big Mouth Steak Sandwiches

Preheat the broiler in your oven. In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat. Once shimmering, add in the onions, and season with salt, pepper and the sugar. Allow to cook, moving them around occasionally, until they are beginning to brown (but not burn) on the edges. The sugar should help expedite the process, especially if this is for a quick weeknight meal. If you want to make balsamic caramelized onions, carefully add in the vinegar and allow to reduce until syrupy and coating the onions. Once caramelized, remove from the heat and set aside.

On a sheet pan, lay the ciabatta face up, and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Toast under the broiler until the crumb is just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven, and if using, spread condiments on the bread. Layer each side of the bread with cheddar cheese, and put back under the broiler until bubbling and gooey. Remove from the oven.

Layer the bottom half of the bread with the sliced tomato and red pepper, then the meat, then the arugula and onions. Top with the other half of the bread, slice into eatable portions, and serve.

Fiesta Steak Salad (Jeff, you’ll love the vinaigrette in this)

Preheat your oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce and spinach and corn.

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, yellow onion and jalapeno. Season well with salt and pepper, and gently toss. Allow to sit, so that the tomatoes give up their juices and the mixture becomes a quick, simple salsa.

On a large sheet pan, toss the cubed bread with enough olive oil to coat each piece. Sprinkle the bread with salt and pepper, as much cayenne as you’d like, and the zest of one of your limes. Toss together. Bake the croutons for 10 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden.

Meanwhile, combine the lime juice, lemon juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, EVOO and salt and pepper in a blender. Blend until completely smooth, and almost creamy (go Vita Mix!).

Pour as much of the dressing as you want over the lettuce, and toss. Plate the salad on serving plates. Garnish with the avocado, the sliced meat, and cheddar. Top with the salsa, sprinkle a few croutons around the dish, and serve.

Balsamic sauce

In a slope-sided saucepan or saute pan, heat 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar with 1 tsp sugar. Bring to a simmer, and reduce the mixture until only 1/4 remains. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and whisk in 1 to 2 tbsp of cold butter, one tbsp at a time. The sauce should thicken, and easily coat the back of a spoon. Serve over roast beef, roast buffalo, vegetables, chicken, on sandwiches–pretty much anywhere that you need a little balsamic pick-me-up.

But earlier this week, even before the enchiladas and our new president (!), I made a meal completely evocative of fall, and of my childhood: grilled pork chops with mustard sauce and roasted acorn squash.  My mother used to make that exact dinner when I was a kid, except her approach was a bit more minimalist.  She liked thinner cut shoulder chops, and would broil them with nothing more than a bit of salt and pepper.  The squash was cooked in the microwave.

I told her about this dinner a few nights ago, during one of our bi-weekly chats.  “Hmm,” she said greedily, thinking over the components of the meal in her mind, “I sure wish I could’ve been there.”

Me too, mama.

For the chops:

• 1 1/2 quarts water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• toasted mustard seeds
• small bunch of thyme
• several grinds of black pepper
• 2 bone-in center cut pork chops, from a reputable farmer, cut about 1.5-inches thick (double cut chops will also work fine)

In a medium sauce pan, combine the water, salt, sugar, herbs and spices.  Bring to a simmer then remove from heat, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar.  Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes so that the herbs and spices can steep in the liquid.  Pour into a heat proof dish (large enough to hold the chops later on), and cool completely in the refrigerator.  This can be done well in advance of your dinner.

Once the brine is completely cooled, nestle the chops into the liquid so that they are submerged.  Allow to soak for at least 5 hours, preferably longer (overnight is great).

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the chops from the brine, and pat dry with a paper towel.  Heat a grill pan over medium to medium high heat for 5 to 8 minutes, until it is screaming hot.  Brush the pan lightly with canola oil, if it is not well seasoned.  Grill the chops, 5 minutes on each side and transfer to a clean baking dish — this well help from the oil splattering all over your oven and causing smoke.  Finish roasting the chops in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, or a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 140 degrees.  Remove from the oven and tent with foil until you are ready to serve.  Serve with mustard sauce and roasted acorn squash.

For the mustard sauce:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and minced
• 2 tbsp AP flour
• 2 tbsp good dijon mustard, more to taste
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• – kosher salt and pepper

In a small sauce pan, heat the olive oil until shimmering.  Saute the garlic and the thyme in the oil until both are fragrant and the garlic is just starting to turn golden.  Add in the flour, and whisk until the roux thickens and stops bubbling.  Add the mustard, and whisk to incorporate.  Pour in the wine, continuing to whisk so that all the ingredients come together.  It should look like a thick paste.  Add in the vegetable stock, whisk again, and bring to a simmer to thicken.  Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper, adding more vegetable stock if you’d like a thinner sauce.

For the acorn squash:

• 1 medium sized acorn squash
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• water
• –kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Using a heavy-duty very sharp chef’s knife, halve the squash from stem end to tip end.  Use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds and fibrous material from the core of the squash.  Arrange the squash halves in a baking dish large enough to fit them.  Put 1 tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup of brown sugar into each core.  Fill the baking dish itself with 1/4-inch of water.  This will help prevent the squash from burning to the bottom of the pan or drying out.  Season the squash with salt and pepper to taste, and roast until tender, about an hour.

The brine ingredients get ready for a steep.

Into the cooled brine they go!

Squash prep.