After eating so heavy throughout the holidays, I’m always ready to try some lighter fare in January and this weekend we’re back to seafood.  We had a pretty busy Saturday so that meant by the time we got around to talking about dinner, it was after 4:00 in the afternoon and I went for my “go to” meal of tilapia.  I’m calling the entree Pan-Seared Panko Tilapia.  We often have grits as a side dish for seafood, but I’ve been itching to try my hand at a soufflé, so I attempted a Pepper Jack Cheese Grits Soufflé and then added an Arugula Salad.

I’ve been on this appetizer kick for a little while so I wanted something that was light but had a little kick to it.  As I wandered around the grocery store, I thought some bruschetta would be just the thing, so I cobbled together some stuff to make a Spicy Shrimp & Arugula Bruschetta.

Appetizer: Shrimp & Arugula Bruschetta

This is one that I totally made up while walking around the grocery store.  It has a southwestern flare to it and a bit of a kick.

• 1 Baguette or some french bread
• Some Olive Oil
• Enough shrimp for 2 people preferably peeled and deveined (I used 1/4 pound and it was just about right… remember, this is an appetizer.  If you go with the french bread over the baguette, you’ll need a little more of just about everything since the slices are bigger.)
• About 1/2 can Lime & Cilantro Ro*Tel (yep, right out of the can, drained)
• A handful of Arugula (slightly chopped)
• Salt & Pepper (preferably course kosher salt & freshly ground pepper)
• Some white wine

I prepared the bruschetta before even thinking about getting the main dinner together.  I’ve started doing this with the appetizer so we could decompress from the “getting the kids down” ritual and take the edge off our appetite.  Especially since I knew this evening it would take a little while to cook the main course.  Not to mention it’s better not to drink the wine on an empty stomach if I want dinner to turn out decent!

Slice the baguette diagonally into about 8-10 pieces or however many you think you’re going to eat for the appetizer.  Brush each piece with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet.  We’re going to bake these at 350° until just before they turn brown (keep an eye on them!).  The olive oil forms a kind of protective coating so the juices of the topping don’t get them soggy.

In a small frying pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil and saute the shrimp (peeled and deveined) until pink.  Add a little kosher salt & pepper to the shrimp while sauteing.  Remove to a plate for a few minutes.  We’re going to add it back once we’ve cooked the other ingredients and we’re going to chop them up a little, so get a cutting board ready.  Add the drained Ro*Tel to the pan and swish it around a bit with the oil.  Pour in some white wine, around 1/4 cup, and let it reduce, stirring it around.  As it reduces but isn’t yet dry, add the shrimp back (chop it up a little into chunks if you haven’t already), and add the arugula (it should be coarsely chopped too).  Sometime while you’re doing this you’ll need to take the baguette slices out of the oven and set aside (keep a hot pad ready!).  Toss ingredients together until the arugula is slightly wilted, then remove from heat and spoon over the baguette slices.  Arrange them on some cool looking serving dish and serve with a white wine like a savignon blanc.

Main Dish: Pan Seared Tilapia with Pepper Jack Grits Soufflé

The Grits

First I’m going to prep the grits since they will bake for around 40-45 minutes.  This was a challenge for me since all the recipes I found for a similar souffle made a lot… usually calling for at least a cup of grits.  If you’ve never cooked grits before, that’s a ton of grits.  For my purposes, I’m cooking for two, so here’s my modified version.  You’ll probably need to play with it a little and it still makes too much.  I just threw the extra away.

Soufflés are basically made using egg yolks and egg whites to make the dish puffy and light.  So the basic process is to make the grits, add the flavoring of your choice (in this case pepper jack cheese flavor) then the beaten egg whites and bake until fluffy.  If it were always that simple…

• 1/2 cup grits
• 1 1/2 cup water
• salt
• 1/4 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese (more or less to taste)
• 2 eggs, separated
• Dash of cayenne pepper (if desired)
• Some 1 cup ramekins, greased (custard dishes will do, but ramekins look a lot better)

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Cook the grits per the package directions.  I used Quaker grits with the 2 serving directions and it was still too much.  Cook the grits until smooth.  Add butter, pepper jack cheese and egg yolks (and cayenne if desired).  Remove from heat and stir until smooth.  Let the grits cool while you prepare the eggs.    Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form but they are not dry.  After the grits have cooled for a few minutes, gently fold the egg whites in, but don’t mix too much.  Spoon grits mixture into the ramekins, place them on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes until puffy and golden brown on top.  Keep an eye on them, every oven is different.  This will probably make around 6 ramekins with grits left over.

The Fish

While the grits are baking, prepare the fish.  I’ve found that 4 fillets at the grocery store is fine for 2.  Sometimes we have a fillet left over and sometimes we don’t.  Tilapia is great because it’s a mild fish that most folks like and it’s also usually pretty cheap at the super market.  Smell it before you buy though.  Don’t be embarrassed to ask.  Trust me, you don’t want to eat fishy fish for your date night dinner.

• 4 Tilapia fillets
• Olive oil
• Panko bread crumbs
• White Cornmeal
• Parmesan cheese (plain old grated Kraft will do just fine)
• Cracked fresh pepper
• Some buttermilk or a couple egg whites (whichever you happen to have on hand… this is for the wash to coat the fish)
• Lemon slices (for the garnish)

You can bake or pan fry this dish, but tonight I pan seared it because I wanted to little more of a crunch to the fish.  I guess that kind of matched the appetizer and also is a sort of balance for the fluffy grits and the salad.

Wash the tilapia and pat it dry with paper towels.  When the grits have about 10-15 minutes, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a frying pan and heat over medium to med-high heat.  Combine roughly equal parts of the panko bread crumbs and the cornmeal.  Probably 1/3 cup of each will do for 4 fillets, but you basically want to have enough to coat the fish.  Add about half as much grated Parmesan cheese along with enough cracked fresh pepper to where you can see the specks and mix it all up in a bowl or something that is big enough to make sure you can evenly coat the fillets.  I usually use a glass pie shell, which is convenient since it doesn’t take up too much space in the dishwasher.  Soak the tilapia fillets (I usually do 1 or 2 at a time) in either a bowl of buttermilk or beaten egg whites to coat thoroughly.  Dredge the fillets in the panko/cornmeal/Parmesan cheese mixture until evenly coated on both sides and pan sear for 3-4 minutes on each side or until the fish is thoroughly cooked.  The breading should be slightly golden brown and crispy.  Remove to a plate with a paper towel.  Sear remaining fillets.

The Salad

This salad is probably too simple.  Just some Arugula, some fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (you can use the stuff out of the shaker, but for presentation the fresh grated looks and tastes much better), and the salad dressing of your choice.  For this recipe I prefer Brianna’s Real French Vinaigrette (the one with the artichoke on the front), to me it’s the perfect compliment for the peppery arugula.

Then plate, serve and enjoy, again with that same Savignon Blanc if you have any left over after the appetizer and make it a Date Night!