Lemon Sole with Pine Nuts with Corn Bread with Molasses-Bourbon Butter

Tonight I dipped my toe into Southern style but kept the fish light and breading-free. The delicate sole paired perfectly with just a bit of fresh lemon and pine nuts, delicately flavored and cooked until it will melt in your mouth. This lightness was balanced by thick, fresh cornbread lathered in a healthy molasses-bourbon butter that truly hit the spot.

I rounded out the meal with a maple acorn squash. With fall comes acorn squash, and I love just roasting these delicious veggies with some brown sugar and maple syrup. They're soft enough to scoop with a spoon and the sweetness goes a long way, meaning just a little sugar and syrup satisfy your sweet-tooth without going overboard in calories.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $11.90

Jewish Apple Cake

A little late, perhaps, but in honor of this post: L'Shanah Tovah! Not sure what that means? Don't worry - this apple cake is delicious enough to be served year-round by all religions. Don't miss out on this cake for lack of celebrating the Jewish New Year.

This healthier apple cake is delicious for dessert yet close enough to a coffee cake to allow you to reason eating it for breakfast as well. It's rich yet light, sweet with a touch of savory, and satisfying without being overwhelming. Make it for yourself or whip it up for a party. You'll be sure to make some friends when you show up with this delight.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 1 hr 30 min

Blackened Turbot with a Remoulade with Two-Cheese Macaroni and an Arugula Salad with Grilled Onions and Sesame Seeds

It was a Southern style kinda night. Pick some fresh peaches, put on a big hat, enjoy some hot weather, and then whip up this meal. Accents are optional and tobacco is strongly discouraged. Tonight included some blackened Turbot with a refreshing, cooling remoulade paired with a healthy mac and cheese in my continuing quest to make a delicious yet healthy version of this ultimate comfort food. However, I then branched away from the Southern style for a light salad featuring some nicely grilled red onions and a homemade Sesame vinaigrette.

This meal has a nice combination of comfort and excitement and you can always mix and match to play up or play down various features. If it is hot out, pile on the remoulade and maybe just take a small amount of the mac and cheese, but if you're feeling the fall chill then take a little more! Just keep in mind while that this is a much healthier version of the classic, it's still hardly guilt-free. Eat in moderation!

Difficulty: Medium-Easy
Time: 1.5 hrs
Cost: $22.25

Thai Pineapple-Coconut Shrimp Curry

Yummmyyyyyyy! Perhaps if you are really trying to be healthy you won't make this. While the recipe itself is safe, you'll keep eating and eating until you burst. This simple but delightful curry is full of flavor while still being mild (a plus in my book) and combines the refreshing tastes of coconut, pineapple, and lemongrass with fresh vegetables, tantalizing spices, and delicious rock shrimp. I'll certainly be making this, and variations of it, again and again.

I mixed some nationalities here and served this Thai curry with some samosas. As mentioned in the recent blog entry on them, you can easily freeze additional filling. I had done that since I had made so much the first time (only half on purpose) and simply let it defrost overnight in the fridge before using it here. The samosas came out very well and I was even able to use the tamarind sauce I had kept in an air-tight container in my fridge. It was easy AND delicious!

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 35 min
Cost: $19.69

Maple Salmon with Sauteed Squash with Asiago

Cheese makes a meal. I know I'm a huge cheese fan, but seriously, who doesn't love cheese? Here, I sauteed some absolutely delicious fresh squash from my local farmer's market, added a bit of cheese and fresh basil, and ended up with a delicious, healthy, and easily prepared dish. Once again, when you use fresh and tasty ingredients it is easy to make everything taste good. And to make it taste even better? Add some cheese.

In addition to the squash-fest going on, I prepared a maple glazed salmon. This rich, oil-filled fish just works so well with a sweeter topping that helps to cut its powerful flavor. This is the perfect meal to make with all of your squash still in abundance at the end of the summer but the notes of maple adding a reminder that fall is also still approaching with a nip in the air.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 30 minutes
Cost: $27.23

Mango Curry Shrimp with Samosas and Tamarind Sauce

Woohoo! I have forayed deeper into Indian food! Today's menu is full-throttle Indian, featuring a Mango Curry with Shrimp over Basmati, samosas, and tamarind sauce. That's right, I was lucky enough to receive a gift of Tamarind seeds just so I could make some fresh Tamarind sauce for use with my samosas.

I must admit that the samosas themselves are not truly authentic. While the filling should taste quite familiar to Indian-food lovers, I used phyllo dough on the outside instead of making my own dough. This allowed me to bake the delicious appetizer and achieve a crispy effect without having to deep-fry fresh dough that is great at absorbing oil.

And a quick note on spice levels... For those of you who have read my posts before, I'm not a big fan of spicy foods. At all. So while my dishes will be very flavorful, they are not going to have a hot kick to them. If mild yet delicious works for you read ahead, but if you like spicy you might want to sneak in some chili powder when no one is looking...

Difficulty: medium (simply due to it being new to me)
Time: 1 hr 30 min
Cost: $33.64

Creamy Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese with Southern Succotash

I am on a quest to make absolutely delicious yet healthy macaroni and cheese. This comfort food favorite is just too good to throw out of my life, yet each time I enjoy this treat I feel as if I need to go to the gym for 24 hours straight. And so let the quest begin. This is my second attempt and is certainly creamy and thick and delicious, but doesn't have the thick cheddar flavor that you get from the real stuff. So enjoy this dish - it certainly satisfies a mac and cheese craving without giving in to massive waistlines - but know that my quest will continue and the mac and cheese will keep getting better.

Also keep in mind that while this is healthier, it's still a cheese dish. Eat in moderation!

This week I paired the mac and cheese with cajun catfish and southern succotash for a truly soul-food filled meal. So open your windows, let a warm breeze in, kick off your shows, sit back, and enjoy this table full of (much healthier!) Southern style food.

Difficulty: 35 minutes
Time: easy
Cost: $14

Swordfish in a Garlic White Wine Sauce with Brussel Sprouts Afelia

Brussels sprouts, you ask? Trust me, they are good. I tasted my first Brussels sprouts just a couple years ago but have quickly become a fan. At first I only ate them in sweet sauces, convinced I only liked them due to the sugary flavoring that honey or maple syrup provided. And then I went to Zaytinya, a Jose Andres restaurant here in DC. It is a mezzo restaurant (small plates) that includes Greek food with a twist. There, I tried the Brussels sprouts afelia and fell in love. The crisp leaves and earth-y taste was accented by fresh garlic, coriander, barberries, and Greek yogurt. It was unbelievable and I set out to recreate it. While still perhaps not quite as good as the original, I believe the recipe I include below is not a bad attempt for a Jose Andres-less kitchen!

Here I paired the Brussels sprouts with a simply prepared swordfish. The basic garlic-white wine sauce allows the natural fresh flavor of the fish to shine through. Cook this when swordfish is in season and delight in the natural, delicious flavor of this thick, meat-y fish. Finally, I rounded out the meal with some delicious roasted fingerling potatoes.

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $27.28

Sweet Citrus Tilapia and Zucchini Stuffed with Arugula, Cous-cous, and Mozzarella

I have a new appreciation for all things stuffed. While I may have experimented recently with a few other creations, these stuffed zucchini truly take home the grand prize. Perhaps I was just extra hungry when I made them, but the blend of sharp arugula with creamy mozzarella and savory cous-cous blended perfectly with the ripe summer zucchini for a delicious creation. The fun of stuffing it all together and even eating it as finger food made it all the more fun. Seriously, doesn't food taste way better when you get to use your fingers? I see a great restaurant idea somewhere in here.

Along with the zucchini I prepared a sweet yet citrus-y tilapia. The simple marinade was delicious and could easily be used for other varieties of fish beyond basic white fishes, such as salmon or swordfish. It would also work very well with chicken.

I served a white wine blend, La Petit Tour '09 from Saddlehorn Vineyard at San Martin, with the meal. It's a California table wine, made mostly of Chardonnay and Semillon. The Semillon was a bit fruity, giving the wine a very crisp finish while keeping it incredibly light. The Chardonnay made it a little butter-y with a richness, even as it was incredibly smooth and delicate. It accented the fish and the zucchini perfectly.

Difficulty: easy-medium
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $17.66