I thought I’d share one of the easiest, healthiest, and relatively most dramatic ways to cook fish: steamed in individual paper packages, or as the french like to say en papillote.  This is a method as much as a recipe, so although I steamed my fish with grapefruit and tarragon, you might also consider tomato and basil; lemon, thyme and ginger; your favorite veggies and your favorite herbs…The possibilities are endless.  Below, I’ll give you an easy technique for folding your packages.  Once this is mastered, you can have deliciously steamed and flavored fish on the table in less than 30.  And it will be gone, I can promise, in less than 5.

Steamed Fish Fillets en Papillote

• 4 fresh fish fillets (for 4 servings), cod and tilapia work well.
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• Zest of 1/4 grapefruit
• Segments from that same grapefruit
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
• 4 pats of butter

Oven preheated to 425

To start, cut 4 nice big pieces of parchment paper off your roll, each should be around 24 x 16 inches.
Fold each sheet in half and, in a throwback to your kindergarten days, cut out a half-heart shape as large as your paper, as though you were making a valentine.
Unfold your hearts and lay them out flat.

Put all of the ingredients in the center of one side of the heart and fold the remaining side over.
Starting at the top of your half heart, begin crimping the edges down, making sure they overlap, by folding one piece of the edge over and creasing firmly.  Moving along the outside of the heart, continue folding and overlapping, making sure that your folds overlap by about half.
Once you reach the bottom of your heart, twist the point and fold it under so that all of your crimping will stay in place.

Move your packets onto a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.  The paper should puff and brown.  Remove the packets from the oven, cut them open and you’re all set to enjoy a healthy and flavorful meal!

Andrea can be found experimenting in her kitchen at her blog, Cooking Books.

October, November and December are sweet months.

Everywhere you turn there is sugar practically being forced down your throat.  Well…who cares? Live it up before you put the famous “lose weight” on your New Years resolutions, yet again.

Now…there are sweet things and there are SWEET things. Not all sweet things are created equal, so if you are worried about sweets,  focus on eating homemade sweet things instead of processed candy.

For a sweet fix I opt for good homemade cookies. Especially when the recipe is easy to make like the one below.

Enjoy… and happy stretching your stomach these next two weeks to prep for Thanksgiving, the meal of all meals.

SUGAR AND SPICE COOKIES

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger

1. preheat over to 375*
2. grease the cookie sheets
3. cream shortening and sugar together in a large bowl
4. add the egg to the creamed mixture
5. add the honey and stir everything together. set the bowl aside
6. sift the flour, baking soda, the salt and the three spices into a bowl
7. pour the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture; stir until all the flour is mixed in
8. scoop out a spoon full of batter and then push the batter onto the cookie sheet (these cookies spread, so leave plenty of room around each cookie)
9. bake for 10 minutes
10. cool cookies on a wire rack

Damaris can be found blogging about food and cooking related yumminess at her blog: Within The Corners of My Kitchen

photo originally uploaded by Cathy

The Pilgrims would be jealous if they had any idea how easily you can whip up this fabulous Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cake with Apple Cider Glaze. I nearly shorted out my keyboard when this popped up in my reader on the delightfully talented Cathy’s blog, Noble Pig.

If you’re looking for something a bit different to bring to Thanksgiving this year or you just want to wow your friends and family with your superb culinary skills then you need to pop on over and get the recipe and the rest of the story about this suprisingly easy and delicious dessert.

I see this on my table in the near future!

Rachel is a mom of two tarnished halo wearing little heathens darlings who try her patience and bless her very existence. She can be found blogging about kids, marriage, food and other braingasms at her blog A Southern Fairytale

Though this recipe does take some time to set in the refrigerator, it hardly takes any time at all to whip up.  Making this a perfect light dessert when you don’t have a lot of prep time available.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cold milk
• 2 pkgs (4-serving size each) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust (6 oz)
• 1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

Directions:

1. Pour milk into large bowl.
2. Add dry pudding mixes and lemon juice. Beat with wire whisk for two minutes or until well blended. (The mixture will be thick.)
3. Spread 1 and 1/2 cups of the pudding mixture onto the bottom of the crust, and then set it aside.
4. Add half of the Cool Whip to the remaining pudding (still in the bowl), and stir gently until well blended. Spread this over the pudding layer in the crust.
5. Top with the remaining Cool Whip that is still in the tub.
6. Refrigerate for at least four hours or until set.

Garnish with lemon peel, if desired.

Store leftover pie in the refrigerator.

Do you have a favorite, go to dessert that is quick to whip up?  We’d love to hear about it!

Angie can be found writing at Many Little Blessings, where she muses on family, faith, household management, and trying to live a more content life.

photo by Miss Muffin

How Delicious does that look? It tastes even better than it looks. This recipe comes from a fabulous brand new cookbook, CARMINE’S Family Style Cookbook. This cookbook is filled with amazing recipes like, Carmine’s Famous Caesar Salad, Salmon Puttanesca, Chocolate Bread Pudding and Italian Cheesesteak Heroes, and the stunning full color photographs well let me tell you, just thumbing through this cookbook will cause drooling and tummy growling. Consider yourselves warned

This recipe jumped out at me and I am so thrilled we tried it!

Linguine With Red Shrimp Sauce page 97
serves 2 to 4

* 1/4 C Olive Oil
* 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
* 12 fresh oregano leaves, chopped
* 8 fresh basil leaves, sliced
* 2 Tbs chopped flat leaf parsley
* 10 oz canned italian plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped**
* 1/4 C dry white wine
* 2 1/4 C clam juice**
* 20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* salt and freshly ground pepper
* 12 oz dried linguine

1. In a large saute’ pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute or until it is golden brown. Take care not to let the garlic burn.
2. Add the oregano, basil, and parsley.  Cook the mixture, stirring, for 30 seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat to high, and cook the mixture for 3 minutes.  Add the wine and cook it for about 2 minutes or until most of the wine has evaporated.  Add the clam juice, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.
4. Add the shrimp, lower the heat, and cook the sauce for 1 minute.  Remove the shrimp and set it aside.  Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving, reheat the sauce so that it bubbles. Return the shrimp to the pan and cook in the bubbling sauce for about 1 minute or until cooked through.
5. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the linguine for 7 to 8 minutes or until it is al dente.
6. Drain the pasta well and transfer it to a platter.  Immediately ladle the sauce over the pasta.  Mix them well and serve.

My husband and I devoured this and spent half the time shooing little hands away from our plates because they were snatching up the noodles and shrimp!

The wonderful people at St. Martin’s Press have offered us a copy of this cookbook to give away to one of our readers.  This would make a fabulous Christmas gift for the cook in your life or your favorite foodie, or be selfish and keep it all to yourself.  Either way, this cookbook is a feast for the eyes and the palate.

Leave a comment on here and tell me your favorite Italian Food, or what you would do if you won this cookbook.

I’ll use the random number generator to pick a winner on Saturday, November 15th.  That means this giveaway is open until Midnight CST Friday, November 14th

** I couldn’t find Italian Plum Tomatoes so I just used regular whole peeled tomatoes and I only used 2 Cups of clam juice.

Rachel can be found blogging about food, family and the joys of being a deep fried Southern Belle at her website, A Southern Fairytale.