The Naptime Chef

This month I am going to be sharing some delicious and easy fish dinner ideas with my friends at Sea Cuisine. I first started working with this company when they sent me to Thailand in 2012 to research Thai seafood. I came to appreciate their product even more when I returned home and started eating it regularly. Their commitment to sustainability and freshness is something I really admire and can stand by. This year Sea Cuisine is going to be highlighting lots of great fish tacos you can make at home with their products. I, for one, adore fish tacos and couldn’t wait to try their first recipe for classic Baja fish tacos made with their Tortilla Crusted Tilapia.

This is a quick post about a basic roasting method everyone ought to know. It relates to a great recipe I am posting next Tuesday and I thought everyone might want a little refresher. I use roasted garlic in lots of dishes. It lends terrific flavor to soups, salad dressings, and sauces. It also makes the best kind of garlic bread when you squeeze it onto a piece of toast and sprinkle a little cheese on top. Next week I am going to use it in a new favorite way – in salad!

It have been in a weekend breakfast rut this winter. We’ve mostly been eating oatmeal almond pancakes, poached eggs on pesto toast, and enjoying the occasional strata. Don’t get my wrong, it has been wonderful, but over the weekend I wanted to breathe a little new life into this tired repertoire. Last summer I tested a great recipe for baked egg cups for my new book and we loved them. Since I had some herbed tomato salad on hand I want to add them to this already simple recipe to make a new breakfast nibble.

I didn’t plan to write about this because I’ve been beating you over the head with so much citrus lately. But after I made this last week I was so smitten that I had to share it. It really is that good. The orange and ginger combination tasted like my favorite spiced winter cocktail. The scent almost reminded me of a pomander. I call this recipe “simple” because it is just that. I don’t use any complicated slicing and dicing techniques. In fact, I used mostly mineola oranges but threw in two naval oranges I had on hand to make the measurement a full eight cups. You could really use any kind of orange you want.

Given that I am still working my way through the incredibly generous citrus care package I thought I’d share a few things I’ve been making! My friend Barbara turned me on to this awesome marmalade cake recipe that was in the New York Times last month. It makes sense since she’s the one that got me on my marmalade making kick to begin with. Since I have plenty of Meyer lemon marmalade on hand, as well as a dozen or so oranges, I decided to combine the two to make my own citrusy confection.

It is time to brighten the mood in here. I’ll admit this winter, with the endless gray skis and perma-layer of snow is beginning to wear me down. I am cooking a lot of the same old stuff and am feeling somewhat uninspired. Time to snap out of it! Luckily, to help me take a step in the right direction my pals at Sunkist sent me a huge box of amazingly fresh citrus last week. The little oranges and apples were perfect for my children’s hands, we’ve all been chowing down. I also made yet another batch of Meyer lemon marmalade because I am truly dealing with an addiction at this point. This sweet care package is definitely helping me move in the right direction mood-wise. So, I thought today we’d talk about getting back in the swing of things and thinking spring.

Given that the our winter weather seems to have no end I am sneaking in one last great soup to cap off the season. This is a riff on my favorite caramelized onion soup. I make it with shallots, add a little season, and skip the cheese topping. I know, I know, it is sacrilege not to have the cheese topping so I’ll go ahead and say you can add it if you want. However, if you don’t, I don’t think you’ll really miss it. This is one of those soft, nourishing soups that is filling without being too heavy.