#EdenCooks - Thursday, April 14th at 8pm EST

Contributor: Alys Alys
Welcome to our second ever meeting of Eden Cooks

I’ve got an awesome meeting planned for everyone this month. During tonight’s meeting, I’ll be sharing a recipe I’ve come up with for a Mediterranean fish dish that can be easily converted for people who won’t eat fish for whatever reason.

Besides the awesome recipe I’ll also be giving away TWO $25 EF gift certificates during the meeting: one will go to the winner of our monthly Guess the Gadget contest, and the other to the winner of a trivia contest, so be prepared to pay attention to fun facts along the way.

Are we ready to get started?
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
Welcome to our second ever meeting of Eden Cooks



I’ve got an awesome meeting planned for everyone this month. During tonight’s meeting, I’ll be sharing a recipe I’ve come up with for a Mediterranean fish dish that can be easily ... more
Yup. Let's go. I'm curious to see which of our recipes is better
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
Yup. Let's go. I'm curious to see which of our recipes is better
Mine, of course
04/14/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
She's my mom. I just wanted her to know about what's going on in my life. She took it like I figured - you'll appreciate this Alys - she mostly shook her head and laughed.
It's good of you to keep your mom up to speed with your life
04/14/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
Welcome to our second ever meeting of Eden Cooks



I’ve got an awesome meeting planned for everyone this month. During tonight’s meeting, I’ll be sharing a recipe I’ve come up with for a Mediterranean fish dish that can be easily ... more
Yay starting time!
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
First I’ll give you the list of ingredients and then I’ll walk you through the recipe with lots of yummy pictures

Ingredients:

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved lengthwise
1 can of artichoke hearts, quartered
4 flounder or similar whitefish fillets
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, cut into wedges for serving

(Like with last month, I’ll get into possible alterations that I can recommend as we get into the recipe a bit more. Also please feel free to take this recipe and make it your own if there’s an ingredient you don’t like or would like to include… GO AHEAD! Recipes (except in baking) are more guidelines than hard and fast rules.)
04/14/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
First I’ll give you the list of ingredients and then I’ll walk you through the recipe with lots of yummy pictures



Ingredients:



1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and ... more
Mmmm, kalamata olives and feta. I miss living near an arabic deli.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Mmmm, kalamata olives and feta. I miss living near an arabic deli.
I'm part Greek, so we always seem to have some on hand
04/14/2011
Contributor: dv8 dv8
It's odd to see the phrase "extra virgin" on EF.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
First I’ll give you the list of ingredients and then I’ll walk you through the recipe with lots of yummy pictures



Ingredients:



1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and ... more
Very similar to what I make to go over pasta. The only real difference is that I sautee onions and add pine nuts. Otherwise...pretty identical.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
It's odd to see the phrase "extra virgin" on EF.
LOL
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
Very similar to what I make to go over pasta. The only real difference is that I sautee onions and add pine nuts. Otherwise...pretty identical.
Oh, and garlic.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
It's odd to see the phrase "extra virgin" on EF.


We don't discriminate by experience (or lack thereof)


Hahah
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
Very similar to what I make to go over pasta. The only real difference is that I sautee onions and add pine nuts. Otherwise...pretty identical.
It's weird, but to me pine nuts taste like tin cans.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
It's odd to see the phrase "extra virgin" on EF.
Haha, you're so right.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Alys, any particular varietal you recommend for the wine?
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
It's weird, but to me pine nuts taste like tin cans.
Why do you eat tin cans?
04/14/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
It's weird, but to me pine nuts taste like tin cans.
You're the first person I've ever heard of who doesn't love them. Ever.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
Alys, any particular varietal you recommend for the wine?
I usually end up using sauvignon blanc, or any other fairly fruity, not sweet, white wine
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
You're the first person I've ever heard of who doesn't love them. Ever.
I did say it's weird.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
First of all preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (approx. 190 Celsius).



This is where we can get all of the prep out of the way. If you notice, I’ve got my kalamata olives pre-pitted, but if you’re not as lazy as I am you can pit them yourself by bashing them with the flat of your knife, which will split the olive and let you get the pit out quite easily.

I cut the grape tomatoes in half so that they don’t split as they cook, which can get a bit messy, and if they don’t split you’ll find yourself biting into little packets of delicious but screamingly hot liquid.

Fun Fact: Kalamata olives are named after a city in Greece and are most often cured in olive oil, wine, or vinegar.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
You're the first person I've ever heard of who doesn't love them. Ever.
I'm kind of ehh about them myself. *shrug*
04/14/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Cool! Anyone know which regions produce black and green olives, specifically? I've never really researched...
04/14/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Cool! Anyone know which regions produce black and green olives, specifically? I've never really researched...
That's a really good question, I've never looked into it either.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Cool! Anyone know which regions produce black and green olives, specifically? I've never really researched...
IIRC, green olives are immature, whereas black olives are ripe.

California grows some really good olives, as to most Mediterranean countries, of course. Australia is another good place for olives.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Cool! Anyone know which regions produce black and green olives, specifically? I've never really researched...
The difference between green and black (the purple ones, not those really black colored ones that come in cans) is that the green are picked unripe, and the black are allowed to ripen before picking. The black ones in the can are actually picked unripe and are dyed in the processing.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
The difference between green and black (the purple ones, not those really black colored ones that come in cans) is that the green are picked unripe, and the black are allowed to ripen before picking. The black ones in the can are actually picked ... more
I'm not stepping on your toes, am I?
04/14/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
The difference between green and black (the purple ones, not those really black colored ones that come in cans) is that the green are picked unripe, and the black are allowed to ripen before picking. The black ones in the can are actually picked ... more
How interesting! And so many people claim to taste a difference...
04/14/2011
Contributor: Alys Alys
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
I'm not stepping on your toes, am I?
Hahaha, nope. Apparently I'm just the slower typist of the two of us.
04/14/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Alys
Hahaha, nope. Apparently I'm just the slower typist of the two of us.
It amazes me that anyone types slower than me.
04/14/2011