Friday, October 29, 2010

Finally! Rutbuster!

It was bad, y'all. New recipes, none of them fantastic. Then not even any new recipes that I wanted to try.

Oddly enough, life went on. And by "went on" I mean that Mr. Stinkycheese has been working his !@#$ off and I started re-caulking the windows and - wait - this scraper is not supposed to go straight through wood. Nor is wood supposed to splinter and crumble like foam.

This can't be good.

For some reason I expected Mr. Stinkycheese to know what to do, even though he's a first-time homeowner as well. "Your dad has rehabbed a lot of old houses. Should we call him?" I said. "I know what he'd do" replied Sweetie. "He'd have someone who knows what they're doing come out and fix it."

What a GREAT idea! Ever mindful of the time, I quickly changed clothes, consulted the computer, and high-tailed it to Chef Nancy's baby shower. Whew, that was a close one!

The window frame is being fixed (and caulked, might I add) and I even found a recipe to celebrate with. It would never have occurred to me to serve tuna with cannellini, but it rocked. Asparagus was the perfect side dish.

If you're also looking for new ideas - and not at the expense of your Nostinkycheese perusal - I highly recommend cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com. Tell them Stephanie sent you.


Pan-Seared Orange Tuna with White Beans


2 tablespoons grated orange zest (I didn't have any, it was fine)
2 tablespoons firmly-packed brown sugar (too much! I'm going with 1 TBSP next time)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper

4 (4 to 6-ounce) 1-inch thick sushi quality tuna steaks
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (I didn't have oranges, so Tropicana it was)
1 tablespoon Champagne or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups cooked white beans (right out of the can and rinsed, as far as I'm concerned)
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

In a small bowl, combine the orange zest, brown sugar, garlic, mustard, cumin, basil, salt and pepper. Reserve 1 tablespoon of this mixture for seasoning the white beans. Rub the remaining mix on the tuna steaks, coating them well.

In a heavy bottomed sauté pan warm the olive oil. Increase the heat to high and place the tuna in the pan. Sear for 1 minute, then turn over carefully, reducing the heat to medium. Sear the other side for 1 more minute until medium rare. Remove from heat.

In a large saucepan whisk the orange juice, vinegar, and reserved spices. Bring to a simmer. Add the white beans and basil, tossing well until hot.

Place the beans on a large platter or individual serving plates; drizzle with olive oil. Place tuna steak over the beans and serve. Makes 4 servings.

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