Meg, Author at Mostly Balanced

Tilapia with Wine-Simmered Tomatoes and Garlicky Breadcrumbs

September 13, 2020August 13, 2014 by Meg

Ingredients
1 lb tilapia fillets (4 approximately 4-ounce fillets)
1 medium leek
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup white wine
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Buttery Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup bread crumbs.
1 Tablespoon butter, melted

Steps
1. Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Add the leeks and cook until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the cherry tomatoes and wine, cooking at a brisk simmer for another 10 minutes.

2. Using a fish spatula, move the cherry tomatoes and leeks to the sides of the pan, making room for the fish fillets. Add the tilapia to the skillet, cover, and cook 7 minutes.

3. Make the buttery bread crumbs by combining the bread crumbs with the melted butter. Remove the fish from the skillet and top with bread crumbs. Preheat the broiler, then broil for 1-2 minutes (toasting the crumbs without burning them). Serve on top of a bed of the tomato-leek mixture.

Shrimp and Vegetable Lo Mein

September 13, 2020June 24, 2014 by Meg

Buttermilk Olive Loaf

September 13, 2020June 18, 2014 by Meg

Shortly before leaving the North End, we discovered a little bakery that makes fantastic loaves of Italian bread. The North End is full of bakeries: Modern and Mike’s are the classics for pastries, there’s a 24-hour bakery that sells pizza at 2:00 a.m. after the bars close, and a spattering of smaller shops selling Italian classics throughout the neighborhood. Modern and Mike’s are huge tourist attractions with lines out the door most evenings, while some of the smaller ones seem to see so few customers you wonder how they stay in business.

This bakery, Bricco Panetteria, bucks some of the expectations of some of the other North End spots. No cannolis or pizelles here. Instead, they offer maybe a dozen different freshly baked Italian loaves. It’s a small shop with the storefront in an alley, and you descend down a flight of stairs to get to the display of bread. Behind a short counter and cash register lies the rest of the kitchen and prep space, in open view of customers. Two of our far-and-away favorites are the prosciutto & parmesan ciabatta and the olive loaf.

Thai-Style Herb Salad with Grilled Chicken

September 14, 2020June 10, 2014 by Meg

Years ago, as a young professional right out of college (and making not as much as I wanted at my first real job), my cooking repertoire for homemade dinners was kinda limited. One of the big reasons I was afraid to (slash couldn’t afford to) branch out into more recipes was because I hadn’t really learned to cook with herbs. I’d flip through cooking magazines, but recipes with long ingredient lists or lots of herbs deterred me. I hated using just a fraction of a bunch of herbs and letting the rest go to waste after several days in my fridge. Sometimes I’d use dried herbs, but more often than not, I’d just skip the recipe.

Hooray for expanding horizons as we grow up.

Marinated Steak Tips

September 14, 2020June 2, 2014 by Meg

This is my go-to steak marinade. I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to put this up on the blog; I’ve been using this recipe for a quick and easy base for steak tips for at least five years, and it’s totally worth sharing.

Maybe the final push to post is the fact that David and I are now able to grill our steak tips outside (!) over a flame. For the past few years, I’ve been using a grill pan or even pan searing my steak tips, but it’s so exciting to be able to head outside on a warm summer night and fire up the grill. The good news is that the marinade works well with whichever cooking method you use.

Gruyere Egg Bake

September 14, 2020May 25, 2014 by Meg

I made this breakfast bake for a brunch I hosted with several of my friends from the publishing world. Four of my friends, their husbands, and kiddos were some of the first guests David and I have hosted in our apartments. We had three small (but mobile!) infants, a two-year-old, and a four-year-old playing with Sophie on the living room floor.

Simple Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

September 14, 2020May 24, 2014 by Meg

One of the surprises of pregnancy has been the strength with which my sweet tooth has kicked in. I’ve always been one to pick salty over sweet or opt for a glass of port at the end of a meal instead of dessert. But over the past few weeks, I’ve definitely been more enthusiastic about dessert. In a total pregnancy cliche, I’ve become a big fan of ice cream.

I’ve also started baking these oatmeal cookies to nip cravings in the bud. For one, I usually have all the ingredients on hand, so need for a special trip to the grocery store. The cookies come together quickly and easily, which is helpful at times when I’m low on energy (which is pretty much every night right about now).

Quick-Pickled Onions

September 14, 2020May 15, 2014 by Meg

I’ve been making these quick-pickled onions all summer to top off a variety of grilled meats. We’re trying rotating a variety of burgers, and I’ve found these pair best with salmon burgers (and a bit of tartar sauce instead of ketchup) and buffalo burgers.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Breakfast Loaves (or Muffins)

September 14, 2020May 5, 2014 by Meg

We’re beginning to enjoy our first spring in Cambridgeport. The day David and I moved in, it was snowing. Now, we’re starting to see flowers come up and trees in bloom. It’s such a change from the North End, which, while charming, had a lot of brick and cement without a lot of green space. Now we have trees growing right outside our window!

Along with the early flowers of spring come stalks of rhubarb. I’ve been making these strawberry-rhubarb loaves for years. Rhubarb doesn’t have a long season, so it’s fun to make these when you can. They transition well, too, to a strawberry-only version later in the summer. This year, I decided to make them with cornmeal flour, but you can take this recipe any number of ways: as muffins or loaves, with whole wheat flour instead of cornmeal, with more or less rhubarb (depending on how tangy you like things).

Sweet Potato and Pepper Enchiladas

September 14, 2020April 30, 2014 by Meg

We’re in that sweet spot of spring when the weather starts to warm and people come out of hibernating and start to socialize, but we’re not yet to the point of jam-packed summer schedules without a free weekend in sight. Having just moved, David and I have been hosting a flurry of casual dinner parties and brunches. A couple of our friends will join us on a Friday evening after work, we’ll give them a tour of the new space, and then we’ll sit down to a long evening of conversation and wine.