Mustard-Roasted Fish

We all love fish but I'm not great at changing up how we eat it. We have two family favorites - homemade fish sticks and tilapia francese. I buy a club pack of frozen tilapia filets and those are the two dishes I make over and over again.

Then Ina's recipe for Mustard-Roasted Fish came into my life. I follow Ina's page on Facebook and it was re-posted there as an easy weeknight meal recommendation. I've had a jar of grainy mustard in my pantry for ages just waiting to be used and this sounded easy and delicious.

Ina recipes never steer me wrong but this was outstanding. I loved the flavors in the sauce (I was glad I made rice to sop up the extra) and it really was one of the easiest meals I've ever made. All you do is mix the sauce ingredients, put the fish in a baking dish, top with the sauce and bake. I'm happy to have a new fish dish in the rotation.

Mustard-Roasted Fish
From Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Cooking spray
4 fish fillets (tilapia, cod, red snapper, etc.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces creme fraiche
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons drained capers

Preheat the oven to 425.

Spray an ovenproof baking dish with cooking spray. Place the fish fillets in the dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine the creme fraiche, 2 mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. You want the fish to flake easily at the thickest part (test by pulling at the fish with a fork).

Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.

Chewy Café-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookie recipes are a dime a dozen and everyone seems to have a favorite. I wanted something sweet to bring to our friend's house and remembered Mary Ellen posting this recipe for Chewy Café-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies. She raved about the recipe so I was excited to give it a try.

You have to chill the dough, which means planning ahead if you want to make these, but they're worth the wait. I'm still not sure rolling the dough into balls, then tearing them apart and smashing them back together is worth the time and/or energy, but in the interest of following the recipe I did it this time. Next time I may just scoop the dough loosely and see how that works out.

These were delicious (and huge). Full of chocolate chips, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Not too sweet, either. I, unlike most people, didn't have a go-to recipe before this one and I don't think I need to look any further. These were everything I like in a chocolate chip cookie.

Chewy Café-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
As seen on Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations, from Host the Toast

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the cooled melted butter and the sugars with a hand mixer for about one minute. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until just combined.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix just until there are no flour clumps left. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 325 degrees, making sure you have one rack in the middle of the oven. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper (I needed 5, but it you don't have that many you can always reuse them once they've cooled).

Scoop 3 tablespoons of cookie dough at a time and roll into balls. Pull the balls apart by pulling on both sides, then put the two halves together again with the lumpy, torn sides facing up. Place the dough on a baking sheet, making sure the cookies have plenty of space to spread. (I was able to fit 5 cookies per sheet).

Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating half-way through, or until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden, but the center of the cookie still looks soft and just slightly under-cooked. Remember, every oven is different, so you can start with just one or two cookies on the tray to see what baking time works best for your oven. Mine took 13 minutes.

Let cool on the baking sheets until the cookies are firm enough to remove. Place the cookies on wire cooling racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batches, until all cookies are baked. Store in an air-tight container.