Back-Asswards Benjamin Button Dinner

Today was one of those days that my professors warned us about in “teacher school.” Apparently, there are some months where the full moon (this is all speculation here) causes middle school students to go from relatively normal (for middle school students) to completely whackadoodle insano student-like animals. There was one point today where I went into my coworker’s classroom between classes and said “Seriously? I mean, seriously, what is IN the water today?” He just nodded his head, took a deep breath, and our next class came in. The school day ended on an upturn, when a different coworker told me some good news, then I headed out into the torrential downpour/monsoon outside.

I noticed on my drive home that finally, the trees have this green stuff on them (I’m told these are leaves), some have this pink stuff on them (flowers?) and the grass is growing well… like grass. Even though it’s May, and it seems late for this stuff to be starting, I’m not complaining!

When I got home, Adam and I decided to go do some last minute Mother’s Day shopping at Woodfield, and some of you know what that means. I decided to continue the weirdo day by eating dinner backwards! (Now do you get the Benjamin Button reference?) Adam was, yet again, the best fiancé ever and bought me my favorite treat!! Yogen Früz!!! I marked the occasion with some glamour shots:

What? You thought you’d get to see me with the Früz? Not this time…

We came home, and of course, I had to make dinner. Now, on Sunday, I asked my Twitter followers and all my blog readers if there was ONE fast food meal you could make healthier, what would it be? The lovely Hallie answered back quite quickly “Filet-o-Fish!” I was happy to oblige… and while this is a LONG SHOT Filet-o-Fish, it is still a delicious fish sandwich!

Tilapia Tomato Hummus Wrap

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 small tilapia filets

1/2 c. flour for dredging

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tomato, chopped

4 Tbsp. hummus (I used Sabra garlic)

4 high-fiber low-fat wraps (like La Tortilla Factory)

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet. Mix the flour and garlic powder together in a shallow bowl or plate. Lightly coat each filet with the flour mixture. Cook tilapia thoroughly in the oil, turning once. Make sure each side is, as Alton Brown says, GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious). Spread 1 Tbsp. hummus in the center of each wrap. Cut each tilapia in half, lengthwise along the natural break. Place the halves into the wrap, top with tomatoes, roll up and enjoy!

I was pleasantly surprised by this combo! The creaminess of the hummus easily replaced the fatty tartar sauce and cheese on a Filet-o-fish, and the wrap was far more satisfying than the “steamed bun” the Filet-o-Fish is served on. The tomatoes were delicious because…well, I just love tomatoes! I would thoroughly recommend this wrap, even with some plain baked tofu instead of the fish, because the combo is just so fantastic!

I know you were wondering who my Guest for Dinner is tonight… and I’m beyond excited to introduce you to Paula, from the beautiful Bell’alimento food and cooking blog. I’m consistently amazed by this woman’s recipes and photographs… so please don’t ditch me for her!! Just read BOTH of our sites! So, Paula, pull up a chair, have a seat at my table, and tell us about your meal!

Hi my name is Paula & I have a foodblog called bell’alimento (Italian for beautiful food). I met Mara on Twitter & was so excited when she asked me to be a guest for dinner! I am so honored and thrilled to share these recipes with you. Tonight’s menu includes: Orange you glad you made this Roasted Chicken, Fresh Steamed French Beans & Sauteed Summer Squash. I served this meal with an Italian Pinot Grigio.

Although the chicken might look a little overwhelming, it’s really not. It’s chock full of flavors & it will infuse your house with intoxicating smells! I hope you’ll give it a go. Here’s how to make it:

Roasted Chicken with Orange Glaze by bell’alimento
1 whole chicken
6-8 rosemary sprigs
1 & 1/2 onions
1/2 orange
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
s/p

Glaze:
1 cup orange juice – pulp free
1 sprig of rosemary
good pinch of cayenne pepper
3 tbsp honey
salt
flour water – to thicken (equal parts of flour to water ratio)

Preheat oven to 425. Clean & pat dry your chicken & season the cavity well with salt & pepper. Into cavity insert 1/2 onion, 1/2 orange & a few sprigs of rosemary. Tie legs together with kitchen string or silicone bands.

In a small bowl add butter & season with salt & pepper. Add 2 -3 sprigs of rosemary that have been finely chopped. Mix together well. Using a paring knife, remove the skin from the breast meat. Careful not to tear the skin. Insert herb butter underneath skin, pushing & massaging butter as far down as it will go. Take your whole onion and slice it thickly. Place the slices onto your roasting pan. These will act as a trivet/bed for your chicken. Place chicken on top of onion slices. Tuck wings under. Massage any extra herb butter onto the outside of the chicken. Season outside of chicken with salt & pepper. Place into oven and cook for 1 & 1/2 hours. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes and then drizzle your glaze on top!

While the chicken is resting make the glaze. To a sauce pan, add your orange juice, whole sprig of rosemary, honey & cayenne pepper. Stir well & cook over low-medium heat. Season with salt. Gradually whisk in your flour water to thicken sauce. Continue until sauce has reduced down by half. Remove rosemary sprig & ladle glaze over top of chicken. Garnish with any remaining sprigs of rosemary & orange slices.

For the french beans, I simply placed them into a steaming bag purchased at the local store & cooked according to bag directions in the microwave. Season with s/p. Easy peasy. For the squash, I simply sauteed it in a pan with some olive oil & seasoned with s/p & cooked until tender. I added 1 tbsp of butter at the end to glaze.

Here’s your plate, Buon Appetito!

Thank you SO much Paula! This looks fantastic, and reminds me how much I love roast chicken! I’ll be trying this soon, no doubt!

Now, before I forget, two days ago, the adorable Sweetie Pie from This Is Just Sweet Enough bestowed upon me this fantastic blog award:

Here’s what you do when you have received the “Super Blogger” award:
-Tape it up on your blog somewhere.
-Pass it along to 5 fellow super bloggers, and comment on their blog to let them know how lucky they are today!
-When you present your Super Blogger awards, link back to the super blogger who gave it to you.

So, I have to pick 5 bloggers I want to share this award with… It really is difficult, but I’m going to go with the people who have been amazing friends to me both in the blogging world and out!

1. Jenn from EatingBender.
2. Miss GC from Gliding Calm
3. Rose from On a Lobster Placemat
4. Miss VeggieGirl from Veggie Girl
5. MizFit from MizFitOnline

You have all been amazing friends, inspiration, and support when I’ve needed it, and I appreciate you all more than you can ever know. This little .jpg file? Just a token…

And on that note, I’m going to have my after-school snack of cereal and soy milk (since the evening is back-asswards after all) and watch the rest of ANTM (yeah, I know.)

Have a wonderful night!

 

 

P.S. What do we think of this font? Do we like it?

Tagged as: award, dessert, fish, Guests for Dinner