Sunday, March 18, 2007

Fish and Noodle Packets and Sugar Snap Peas

It's been awhile since I've made time to record one of my recipes, but I did some experimenting with dinner tonight that turned out nicely so I wanted to share it.

Yesterday, I watched an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown where he explained packet cooking. I downloaded a recipe for shrimp noodle packets from the Food Network site and then discovered I didn't actually have a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer like I thought I did so I pulled out some thinly cut tilapia fillets instead. I also substituted sherry for the mirin since I didn't have time to make it to the specialty market to get some. I cooked the packets for the same amount of time specified in the recipe (15 minutes at 400F) and they turned out great. I definitely recommend giving this one a try whether with fish fillets or shrimp. It's fast to put together and yummy!

For a side dish, I pulled some sugar snap peas out of the freezer but I wanted to do something more exciting that simply eating them up. Here's what I did:

In a microwavable bowl, combine:
1 bag (14oz) sugar snap peas
2T water
2 tsp butter
2 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Microwave according to package directions.

They turned out really great and far more exciting than if I'd just left them plain. Even my three year old enjoyed them!