for the love of mahi mahi

this past week the girls were asking for mahi mahi

every.single.night

Monday or Tuesday of last week
{obviously I cannot remember which night}
we had mahi mahi burgers

courtesy of Trader Joe's

they are delish

if I do say so myself

but every night there after they wanted mahi mahi fillets

so Friday we headed to Trader Joe's

to get those fillets
 they are such a good price at tj's

and taste wonderful

{fyi...they are in the frozen section}

usually I just cook the mahi mahi fillets

very simple because I love their flavor naturally
I typically just rub them in olive oil

and season with lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper
and saute or grill them

but I came across a great recipe in one of my old

Food and Wine magazines

the July 2010 issue

and I said

"that's it"

we are trying something new tonight {Saturday}

and I was so excited that most of the ingredients I had in my pantry

which is not usual

{chuckle}
I really wish I could get better at stocking my pantry
but it seems impossible right now

so here we go

the name of the recipe is

Grilled Fish with Artichoke Caponata

recipe by Michael White

from the July 2010 Food and Wine issue

here's the final dish...
but I'll show you step-by-step
with the recipe at the bottom
{lighting in my kitchen is not the greatest so excuse the pictures}

first here's the ingredients:

 make sure you have a deep skillet

{it's just easier}

I'm a big fan of my Rachael Ray pan that my parents got me a couple of Christmas' ago

absolutely *love* it

first four ingredients to use...olive oil, onion, celery, and garlic

start with the olive oil

and heat the olive oil until shimmering in your skillet

add the diced celery and onion
I *always* use a white onion
just my preference

then garlic, thinly sliced

give it a stir and cook on medium heat until softened

about 4 minutes

about like this

next

add the seasoned tomato sauce

I just bought a basic sauce and seasoned to taste according to our preference

which for my family...is garlic powder {never garlic salt}, basil, parsley, and oregano, and a few other things I cannot remember right now

add a dry white wine
I laughed because I was saving the already opened bottle that had about a 1/2 cup left in it
to make this recipe
poured it in a glass without thinking
and took a sip...since I forgot I was going to be cooking with it
so I guess I had a little less than called for

{obviously I like to cook while enjoying a glass of wine at the same time
so my typical red was poured shortly after}

*oops*
but it still turned out just fine

and here's the wine...pour in the skillet

next pour in the white wine vinegar

artichoke hearts

pitted green olives

pine nuts

which i completely forgot about

but would have been yummy

if i'd remembered

next I added organic cane sugar

drained, small capers

then add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

*i always do a lot of pepper*

simmer until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is reduced

about 8 or so minutes

lastly...add the shredded basil

i roll my basil leaves and slice that way

it's so much easier

and they stay nicer...

I'm sure you all know that

but took me a couple of years to figure that out

when basil is added, stir
 and let cool while you prepare the mahi mahi fillets

for the mahi mahi fillets
it actually calls for six 7-ounce fillets
I just bought one package for us four which usually has 4 fillets
but the package I picked up happened to have two extra large fillets
so I knew I would have extra sauce
but we are an extra sauce kind of family

on to cooking the fillets...

here's our mahi mahi fillets
that we rubbed with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper

the recipe calls for grilling the mahi mahi

but being that it's super cold and we don't have an indoor grill

I just sauteed them by coating the pan with water

and a little more extra virgin olive oil so they wouldn't stick

you only cook them a couple of minutes on each side

it doesn't take long

and here you go...

next it's time to plate the mahi mahi

just put the amount of artichoke caponata on top as preferred

I did extra
since I loved the sauce and vegetables so much

for sides

I steamed some broccoli while the girls and Bobby made mozzarella cheesy~bread

for the broccoli

i seasoned with my homemade herb vinegar I did a couple months back

it is so yummy and made from freshly grown herbs out of my mom's yard

recipe found from this blog here

I added the herb vinegar while the broccoli was boiling as well as a tiny bit on top after

then I sprinkled the broccoli with trader joe's parmesan cheese

and voila!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup EVOO, plus more for rubbing

4 tender celery ribs, diced {1 cup}

1 onion, finely chopped {I always use white onions}

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 pound marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons of sugar {organic cane sugar is the best}

2 tablespoons small capers, drained

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons shredded basil

Six 7-ounce skinless mahi mahi fillets

1. In a large, deep skillet, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil until shimmering. Add the celery, onion, garlic and cook over moderate heat until just softened, 4 minutes. 

Add the tomato sauce, wine, vinegar, artichokes, olives, pine nuts, sugar, and capers. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is reduced, approximately 8 minutes. Stir in the basil, and then let cool.

2. Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Rub the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat, turning once until cooked through, about 9 minutes. Transfer the fish to plates, top with caponata and serve.