Flashback Friday: Spring!

We lost power for five days during the "hurricane" with no name! Lost two 45 year old trees that my parents planted when they first built the house. But the house was fine and so were we! We will plant two new ones!

Saturday night one of the trees caught fire and burned the power line. It landed by our driveway and stayed there for five days! The electric company had people guarding it around the clock until they were able to send people to fix it. Took five days. They were all really nice and it was pretty scary! The street was blocked off, no garbage pick-up, no mail, no nothing!

All's well that ends well. Time for spring. The weather was a big contrast to last weekend! It's been a gorgeous few days! I picked up a bunch of tulips. It made a really beautiful day even better!

Was so nice to have heat and electricity! On Thursday we sat down to a nice family dinner, didn't have to wear coats indoors, no shivering no candles and no flashlights. We tried a new recipe and joined Suzy from Kitchen Bouquet and Flashback Friday with a flashback recipe! The new one is very good, Cilantro-Chipotle Tilapia! The flashback was Cherry-Chipotle Wings. A staple of our grilling season. And so it begins. Grilling. Mr. Griller will be very busy, it's supposed to be a nice weekend. We've had enough takeout for quite a while. Even for us!

Chipotle-Cherry Barbecue Glaze
Source: Food and Wine Magazine - June 2005, recipe by Grace Parisi,
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped (I just sliced the onions, it'll get whizzed up when you use the stick blender or food processor)
8 ounces cherry preserves (3/4 cup) (I use a bit more!)
1/4 cup minced seeded chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I use 2 – 3 chipotle's, and leave them whole – it’ll get pureed when you put it in the processor or blender. I use an immersion stick blender)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until bubbling, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let cool before using. The glaze can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

NOTES : Use this spicy, smoky, sweet barbecue sauce to glaze grilled meat or poultry in the last few minutes of cooking. It can also be served on the side.

Cilantro-Chipotle Tilapia
Source: Gourmet - February 2009, recipe by Ian Knauer
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotles in adobo (I used more like 2 tablespoons!)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 (6-ounces) tilapia fillets

Preheat broiler.

Purée cilantro, oil, chiles with some adobo sauce, water, cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a blender until smooth, then coat fish with sauce.

Line rack of a broiler pan with foil, then broil fish 3 to 4 inches from heat until just cooked through, 6 to 9 minutes.

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