Well, Easter's gone now, but Tyler Florence's Ultimate Gratin recipe is the bomb. It's got scalloped potatoes and cabbage, which doesn't make it taste cabbage-y, but instead gives it a texture and flavor addition that's out of this world. Too bad I didn't see this before Easter! Here is a link that might be useful: Tyler Florence's Ultimate Gratin

I thnk I'll have to have fish for dinner after reading this thread. Halibut is the fish of choice for me. We live on the West Coast of Canada and Halibut is almost always availabe. I can actually buy it right off a boat at the docks. Nothing better than fresh halibut. I don't follow any particular recipe usually but I have a couple of ways that I like to cook it. The bread crumbs with herbs has been a favourite for years. I like to saute the fresh bread crumbs with a little butter or olive oil and garlic first and then season with parmesan cheese, and some herbs, salt and pepper. Place the in a oven proof dish, top with the seasoned bread crumbs and either bake as is in a hot oven or add some cherry tomatoes,canned or fresh, Kalamata olives, and fresh chopped basil to the pan. This is one of my husbands favourites. The other way I like it is to just brush it with a little olive oil that has been seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper and either it or cook it in a hot oven. Doesn't take long to cook. Salmon can be done the same way on the grill or in the oven. Some of othe thinner fish like Tilapia or fresh sole, I like to dip it in seasoned flour and saute quickly in melted butter or oil and serve with just on the side. They can also be breaded and fried and served with just a squeeze of fresh lemon or something like . It is wonderful with fish or chicken. Not exactly low cal but a little goes a long way. Shrimp, and mussels are easy to cook and are a wonderful addition to pasta. Just make your own fresh tomato sauce seasoned with lots of garlic and fresh basil and toss in a few shrimp or clams and simmer for a very few minutes and serve over your favourite pasta. If you like spicy you might like this Shrimp recipe. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ================= Spicy Prawn Curry Source: the yummyco.com This prawn curry tastes great, and is absolutely fantastic because, instead of being based on spices that need hours of cooking, it's made with fresh herbs, which means that it's quick. For the curry paste: ½ teaspoon ground cumin or whole seeds, crushed 1 teaspoon ground coriander or whole seeds, crushed 2 or 3 whole fresh green chillies to your taste 3 large thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled & chopped 3 fresh lemongrass stalks, trimmed back & chopped 4 cloves garlic, peeled 4 handfuls fresh coriander with stalks 6 salad onions, washed and trimmed The zest of 1 lime and juice of 2 limes 30ml olive oil For the prawn curry: 200g fine green beans, trimmed 200g baby corn 400ml can coconut milk 30ml tablespoons light or dark soy sauce 300g cooked, peeled king prawns, chilled or frozen . Method Throw the all the curry paste ingredients into a food processor and whizz up to a fine paste. In a hot wok or casserole-type pan, pour in a little oil, add the green beans and baby corn and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the curry paste and coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with soy sauce, add the prawns and cook for 1 minute (if using frozen prawns, add them 2 minutes before the end of cooking time). Serve immediately with some light, fluffy rice. Chefs Tips: When the curry paste is made, place in an airtight container and cover with a little oil. It will last for a month in the fridge or even longer in the freezer. Try smearing a little paste over cod, haddock, monkfish or swordfish - it's surprisingly delicate and tasty. For veggies, replace the prawns with mixed vegetables of your choice. To turn this into a spicy chicken curry, replace the prawns with 4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cut into thin strips.

Kim, you really should explore the world of seafood, as it is ideal for fast meal prep. The whole secret with cooking shrimp, scallops, and other shellfish is to make sure you don't overcook it. But the particular critter usually gives you a clue. Shrimp turns pink when it's done. Scallops turn opaque. Clams and oysters curl at the edges. The hard ones are calamari and abalone. But even they give you clues. To clean shrimp you need to remove the shells and the mud vein that runs down the back. This can be done before or after cooking, depending on recipes. Hint: Shrimp cooked in their shells are more flavorful. There are special tools for prepping shrimp. But a regular table fork works just as well. Stick one tine into the shell from the head end, pointing into the mud vein. Then push the shrimp onto the tine. The shell and vein will pop right off. If you look at the Nuts & Bolts thread I've posted a simple recipe for Shrimp & Sausage Carbonade that you might want to try. Finned fishes, too, can broaden your choices. Fish does not require a long cooking time in any recipe (the rule of thumb is to cook ten minutes for each inch of thickness). Virtually any cooking method---from poaching to deep fying, baking to barbecuing---can be used for fish cookery.

I know you've already had your special date, but wanted to share this recipe for Bolognese Sauce, published in O Magazine, February 2007 - "Learn to make this sauce, and find a man worth cooking it for, in that order. Make a meal that will leave him hungry, not for sex, but for you! This sauce will smell better than anything youÂve ever smelled before. Make it only once a year, and keep him hungry! Great for special occasions and wonderful in the fall when itÂs cool. This sauce takes a lot of time  it should simmer for four to five hours  but it does not require much skill or effort. Once the vegetables are chopped, all thatÂs left to do is add ingredients and stir. This gives you plenty of time to shower, tidy up your home, and do whatever else you need to do to prepare for your dinner guest. Ingredients: 1 medium onion 1 large or 2 small carrots 2  3 stalks celery 1 ounce pancetta, very finely chopped 1 lb ground beef (not lean) 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper Pinch allspice 1 cup whole milk 1 cup dry white wine 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes w/ juice 1 lb pasta, such as rigatoni Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for grating Finely chop onion, carrot, and celery. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over low heat, cook pancetta until all fat is rendered and pancetta is just beginning to brown. Add chopped vegetables; raise heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and soft. Add ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon, ¼ tsp (to start) salt, plus pepper and allspice. Cook until meat is brown. Add milk. When it begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally until milk has mostly boiled away, about 30 minutes. Add white wine and cook as with milk, until it has mostly boiled away. Add tomatoes and juice; bring to a simmer. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and allow sauce to cook very gently at barest simmer, 2.5 to 3 hours. Season to taste with remaining salt. Just before sauce is done, bring a pot of water to boil, salt it generously and boil pasta according to package directions. Drain, mix with a third of sauce, the serve with remaining sauce on top with lots of grated Parmigiano cheese. Makes 4 cups sauce."