Honey, the Corn Exploded on Our Tilapia
Some times you just have to return to your roots. That’s exactly why tonights dinner is an ode to the South. We’re eating baked tilapia fillets simply seasoned with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The tilapia is served on a bed of garlic sage yellow corn grits and braised collard greens then topped with sauteed corn, red peppers, onions, hot italian sausage, parsley, and sage.
Tasty tilapiaT: there was a lot going on with this dish.
A: heheheh yeah… maybe too much. it definitely looked like a tornado had deposited random shit all over the plate.
T: it looked like a las vegas christmas special exploded onto the scene.
A: 😛 thank god it didn’t taste like a las vegas christmas special explosion. i actually thought it was all really quite tasty. i enjoyed taking a bite with all the different elements but there were perhaps a few too many for that to be an easy task!
T: I think the corn was the straw that broke the camels back for me. It put it over the top. The fish was quite tasty, the collard greens were awesome, the sausage was delish, and the grits were scrumdiddilyumptious.
A: really? for me the corn part of the dish was really what enhanced the whole meal. i really liked the bright sweetness of the corn and bell peppers in contrast with the savory italian sausage and fish. i liked the collards alright but you know… they were still a little bitter and i just slightly overdid it with the sherry vinegar. together i thought it all tasted nice and balanced. still WAY too much going on though. i agree with that.
T: yeah. Folks have certainly eaten way worse than this. So… what do you rate the meal?
A: man, you know, i want to rate it high because i thoroughly enjoyed it and ate every single bite, but the overkill has to lower my rating some… i give this meal a 4.25/5. maybe if i had omitted the grits and toned down the sherry vinegar it would have gotten a super high score.
T: For me the meal would have gotten a higher score if the corn medley had been omitted. I would give each item a high score by itself, but I give the meal as a whole a 3.9/5. It just didn’t seem as cohesive as most of what you make. Tasty, but crowded.
A: yeah, four items was a crowd, but i disagree on the cohesion factor. i thought the elements went well together for the most part. when i had envisioned this meal, in my mind it was a really small portion with small neat layers of each of the items… kind of like the sea scallop app we blogged about last year. this thing just grew way out of control.
T: anytime corn, chopped up red peppers, and pieces of ground meat are poured over the top there’s the risk of it looking… digested.
A: eloquently put.
T: It is risky to pour it over the top of an already-full plate. We learn something new every other day.
A: sadly, i think today was the off day.
i see your points t & a (haha i said T&A), but i love all those individual ingredients. methinks it looks like a fine dish! i’m anxiously awaitng the recipe for yellow corn garlic sage grits you speak of, mmmmmmm!
Next time, just make it a smoothy!!!! but add gin and lots of it
BOOM! Yeah, I know how it goes. You had some good intentions with all the ingredients but sometimes things just don’t work out in the end. Maybe if you served a French sized portion on a HUGE plate, deconstructing the entire dish…
Or maybe just leave out the explosion next time 🙂
btw – you’ve been tagged.(that means YOU Tyler)
Ever cooked tongue? Its big for Jewish holidays like Rosh Hashana and Passover. If I ever get to the farmer’s market again, I’ll see if I can get neck and lamb’s tongue. Talk about good eating!!!!
Does it ever get cold enough to eat lamb shoulder braised with beans turnips and potatoes in San Diego?