This recipe came out fantastic! It even won me a $100 bet with the Mrs. - hence the name "Franklin Sole and Vegetables (click for photo)".

It was adapted from this recipe from Ellie Krieger (a Food Network cook):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger-/flounder-and-vegetable-parcels-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

4 (4-ounce) frozen sole fillets (could work with other thin white fish fillets)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini (sliced into 1/8" diagonal slices)
1 medium carrot (sliced into 1/8" diagonal slices)
1 medium red bell pepper, cut julienne style
2 medium shallots (sliced into 1/8" diagonal slices)
12-16 thin asparagus tops (top 2-3 inches) - if thick cut in half
4 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon (sliced into 1/8" diagonal slices)
4 sprigs of fresh dill

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

1. Season the fish fillets with the salt and pepper.
2. Place 1 fish fillet at the center of a piece of foil (around 12-14").
3. On top of the fish, place a equal amounts of zucchini, carrot, pepper, shallots, and asparagus.
4. Put 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil & 1 tablespoon of white wine on each fillet. Add 2-3 lemon slices and one sprig of fresh dill on each packet.
5. Seal the packets securely, leaving a little room to allow the fish to steam. Transfer the packets to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from foil and pour sauce on top of the fish.

Ingredients
1 pound pasta - any will do (I like penne or rigatoni)
4 cloves garlic, chopped (or 4 teaspoons)
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound shrimp (31/40 count) - increase to taste
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, whitecap, sliced
1 package fresh arugula (around 5 oz)
1 package fresh baby spinach (around 8 oz)
4-6 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes - cut into thin strips.
1 bunch fresh basil, cut into strips (you can replace with a much smaller amount of dried basil if you do not have any fresh)
2-3 tablespoons of shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta as directed

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. You will need a big pan for this as the greens need room to wilt.

3. Add 2 cloves (chopped) of garlic, cook for 30 seconds and then add shrimp. Saute the shrimp until they are pink, remove from pan and leave covered under foil to keep warm.

4. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil; add remaining garlic and the small chopped onion; cook for 3-4 minutes.

5. Add chopped mushrooms, cook for 4-5 minutes.

6. Add greens (arugula and spinach). Using tongs (I think that is what they are called), work the greens into the heat until it is fully coated and starting to wilt. As you are mixing, this should take just a few minutes.

7. When the greens are wilted, add sun-dried tomatoes; cook for 1 minute, then add shrimp and fresh basil.

8. Add pasta and mix in the pan, cover for around one minute.

9. Add 2-3 tablespoons of shredded Parmesan cheese and cook for around one more minute.

Adapted from a recipe at Cooking.com

INGREDIENTS

2-3 tablespoons chutney
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (or a little more to taste)
1/2 cup raw sliced almonds (or chopped whole almonds)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups 2 red or green grapes, quatered

1. In a small mixing bowl stir together chutney, light mayonnaise, and curry powder.

2. In a large bowl combine chicken, grapes, and chopped almonds. Add mayonnaise mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours.

That's it!

Here is my favorite restaurant - where we go to celebrate things (job, birthday, Tuesdays, you get the idea).

I think they would be safe to add recipes to their site - because the cook things so well, that you will always go back.

Had the steak salad the other day as a change - it was...great. But my favorite dish is the Cajun Spiced Pecan Whitefish - Man that is good!

Here are the directions.

NOTE: Also went to this restaurant at ALA in Philly - This was an amazing meal. I wish they would post some recipes.

Casual sophistication just off Rittenhouse Square
37 S. 19th St., between Market and Chestnut

Went this is restaurant during ALA in Philadelphia - What a great meal. I am going to try to remember what I had and update this post. But if you find yourself in Philly - add this to your list.

Its all coming back...in 18th Century Lithuania, kids would lose teeth and put them under their pillow for the Caper Fairy. The good children would get the Wild Caperberries and be able to make, for their parents, gigantic Salad Nicoise. This was a plan put into place by misguided parents who thought they could gain wonderful meals by hinging the acquisitions of some of the ingredients to a right of passage that all children go through. This complemented the tradition among Lithuanian children who do well in Middle School to get tuna steaks for each "A."

Sadly, the desired outcome was not in the cards for these Lithuanian parents. Students revolted by doing poorly in school (thus not 'earning' tuna). They also developed a clandestine dental education program to extract baby teeth at school so the parents never knew that the Caper Fairy had to visit. The two outcomes of this still leave an imprint on world culture and cuisine. The small group of parents who conceived this idea were banished and settled in Paris. This is why Salad Nicoise is considered a 'French' dish. Second, almost every dentist in the world can trace their lineage back to Lithuania.

It must be true - I found this on the Wikipedia.

From the New York Times:

The Curious Cook - Dip Once or Dip Twice?
By HAROLD McGEE
Published: January 30, 2008
A scientific report, inspired by an episode of “Seinfeld,� may cause football fans to take a second look at that communal bowl of dip.

--notes--

I just hit that episode the other day...I can never dip anything into salsa without thinking of that show.

The Curious Cook - The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen
By HAROLD McGEE
Published: January 2, 2008
Every cook relies every day on the power of heat to transform food — but most don’t understand it.

OF all the ingredients in the kitchen, the most common is also the most mysterious.

It’s hard to measure and hard to control. It’s not a material like water or flour, to be added by the cup. In fact, it’s invisible.

It’s heat.

--click link for article--

This is always the biggest challange for me as a cook! Thought I would share this great article from the Times.

I love the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks and have a number at my house.

I was just poking around on the internet and found their recipe site. This is a great site when you want to do something a bit on the fancy side!

3-4 pounds Chicken Breasts
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons lite maple syrup
6-8 sprigs fresh thyme

Heat oven to 400° F.

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Cut off excessive skin.

Arrange the chicken and sweet potatoes in a roasting pan. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and vegetables and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Drizzle with the maple syrup and top with the sprigs of thyme.

Roast, stirring once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs Chuck or English Roast
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (1/6" thick or so)
1 lb baby carrots or 5-6 regular carrots cleaned and sliced 1/2" thick
6-8 Red Skin Potatoes, cleaned and cut into quaters
1 package of onion soup mix (any variety)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (any variety)
1 cup of beef broth
kosher salt to taste
pepper to taste
cooking spray or olive oil

1. Place the onions in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Salt and Pepper (to taste) both sides of the roast.
3. In a pan over medium-high heat, heat cooking spray or olive oil and then brown the sides of the roast (about 4-5 minutes each side). Place the roast in the slow cooker.
4. Add carrots and potatoes to the slow cooker, filling the sides and above the meat.
5. Sprinkle the onion soup mix across the top of the roast. (NOTE: add dried minced onions if you would like)
6. Spread tomatoes across the top and then pour in the broth. Add additional salt and pepper if desired.
7. Turn on low and cook for 8 to 10 hours.

Ingredients

1.5 lbs stew meat, cut in 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1.5 cups of baby carrots
7-8 small red potatoes, cleaned and sliced into quaters
1 package onion soup mix
1 cup beef broth
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
3-4 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste

Layer the ingredients this way:

1. Add onions on the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Dredge the meat in the flour (with salt and pepper), place meat in the slow cooker.
3. Add carrots and potatoes to the sides and top.
4. Sprinkle onion soup mix on top
5. Pour in broth & tomatoes (with liquid).
6. Cook for 8-10 hours & serve.

They have some nice recipes that can be used for their flat bread or others...I imagine. You have to go to their flash site to get the recipes. I will try some of them and put down how it all came out.

Ingredients:

1 pound baby red potatoes
3+ tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 tsp of fresh rosemary, chopped (you can replace with dried)
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of dried parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Scrub potatoes. If using baby red potatoes, cut them in half. (NOTE: if you are using full-size redskin potatoes, slice them in wedges - about 8 per).
3. Toss the potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, parley, kosher salt and pepper.
4. Place potatoes in baking disk or baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and tender.

NOTE: If using fresh parsley, mix in at the end.