Coating fish with nuts and baking or sautéeing is an easy, foolproof way to prepare an elegant entrée. The nutty flavor of this simple but rich coating pairs beautifully with flaky white fish fillets.

Nuts add even more protein to your dinner, as well as these health benefits.

You can use any nut you like (pistachio is one of our favorites), along with a mild white fish like cod, flounder, halibut, sole or tilapia.

There are more affordable white fish, too: Look for orange roughy, walleye pike or other species recommended by your fish monger. Fillets should be about 1/2 inch thick.
 
TIPS

Coat your favorite fish with your favorite nuts. Photo courtesy EatingWell.com.

 
RECIPES

Turn the catch of the day into delicious dinner in only 25 minutes, with this recipe from Betty Crocker. Hot pecan-crusted fish fillets are cooked easily on stove top and are served with lemon wedges.

Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

Preparation

1. MIX the pecans, bread crumbs and lemon peel in shallow bowl. Beat the egg and milk with a wire whisk or fork in another shallow bowl.

2. SPRINKLE both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Coat the fish with the egg mixture, then coat well with the pecan mixture, pressing slightly into the fish.

3. HEAT the oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; add the fish. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook 6 to 10 minutes, turning once carefully with 2 pancake turners, until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is brown.

4. SERVE with lemon or lime wedges.

RECIPE: PATRIOTIC MILKSHAKE

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
*You can use leftover strawberry syrup in club soda, cocktails, iced tea, lemonade, on angel food cake and pound cake, ice cream, pudding, sorbet etc.
 
Preparation

1. PLACE the blueberries and 1/4 cup of strawberry syrup into a medium-size bowl. Mix until the blueberries are fully coated. Refrigerate until needed.

Drink the patriotic colors. Photo courtesy QVC.

2. DRIZZLE 1 teaspoon of strawberry syrup in a spiral design on the inside of four tall glasses (we used a squeeze bottle). Freeze until needed.

3. PLACE the ice cream, strawberries and milk in a blender with a large pitcher. Mix until smooth, 40–60 seconds. Pour into the prepared milk shake glasses.

4. TOP each glass with 1 ounce whipped cream and the blueberry mixture, dividing evenly among the 4 glasses. Serve immediately.

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY SIMPLE SYRUP

Cook time is 25 minutes, total time is 40 minutes. The syrup should last, refrigerated, for 4-6 weeks. You can substitute any berries in this recipe,

Ingredients For 3-1/2 Cups

 
Preparation

1. RINSE, hull and pat dry the strawberries. Cut into small pieces and place in a medium sauce pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil.

2. REDUCE to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, skimming any foam. After 20 minutes, the strawberries should be pale and the liquid should be a deep pink color. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. STRAIN the strawberry liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot. DO NOT press down on the berries to extract more juice; it will make the syrup cloudy. Discard the berries.

5. REMOVE from the heat and cool completely. Pour into a glass container, tightly cap and refrigerate.

 
SALADS & SIDES

Ricotta spread with honeycomb and toasts. Photo courtesy Davanti | Chicago.

DESSERTS

While you may not have leftover whey begging to be made into ricotta, you can make your own version from milk and cream. Sure, it’s easier to buy it ready-made; but if you like to cook, you’ll enjoy the experience. This recipe is adapted by one from Chef Anne Burrell, who makes it to serve as an appetizer spread with toast.

And it’s easy! Prep time is 5 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes, draining time is 15 minutes.

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the milk, cream, vinegar and salt in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and slowly bring to a simmer. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, until curds begin to form.

2. LINE a mesh strainer with several layers of damp cheesecloth. Gently pour the curds and whey through into the strainer and let drain for 15 minutes. Gather the cheesecloth together and gently squeeze some of the excess liquid from the ricotta. Transfer the ricotta to a serving dish and drizzle with big fat finishing oil.

3. PREHEAT a grill or broiler. While the ricotta is draining, slice the bread into 1/2-inch thick slices. Toast the bread on the grill or in the broiler on both sides. Swipe the garlic 2 times on each piece of toast and drizzle each piece with finishing oil. Serve the ricotta, slightly warmed, with the grilled bread.

[2] Powdered sugar, also known as confectioner’s sugar and 10X sugar (photo © The Nibble).

[3] Meringue powder is available from King Arthur Flour.

Want to bake cookies for July 4th?

1. MIX up and roll out your favorite sugar cookie dough (or other rolled cookie dough).

2. USE a star cookie cutter to cut shapes. If you have small and large star cutters, make large and small sizes.

Here’s a set of 6 nested star cookie cutters, that you can also use for Christmas cookies.

3. BAKE, cool and ice the cookie tops white royal icing (recipe below); then decorate with red and blue stripes. Voilà: the Stars and Stripes.

Check out the different types of cookies in our delicious Cookie Glossary.
 
 
RECIPE: ROYAL ICING

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the icing. Mix the first three ingredients together for 7 to 10 minutes, until the icing stiffens.

If the icing appears too stiff, add more water, one teaspoon at a time. You want the icing to be thin enough that you can pipe it easily.

Tint 1/4 of the icing red, and 1/4 blue (see instructions below).

2. DECORATE the cookies when they are cool. Use an offset spatula to ice the cookie tops white. Then place the tinted icing into separate piping bags fitted with a very small round tip.

3. CREATE the red and blue stripes. If you don’t have a steady hand, wavy lines are fine.

Keep the tip about 1/2 inch above the cookie as you ice. This helps to achieve a straighter line.

Variation: Instead of piping stripes, you can sprinkle red, white and blue star decorations on the white royal icing base while it’s still wet.

Here are large stars and small stars.

4. DRY the cookies completely, usually 1 to 2 hours.

Then, pour in sparkling or still wine or white spirits (gin, tequila, vodka) and serve with a spoon. As the sorbet melts into the wine or spirit, it creates a special cocktail.
 
 
MAKE IT A PARTY ACTIVITY

For a fun dessert, make pairing dessert cocktails a dinner party activity, with each guest mixing and matching to find his/her favorites.

There are no wrong pairings; it’s what your palate likes. Here are some matching ideas for starters:
 
 
WITH CITRUS, MOST FRUIT & LIGHT FLAVOR SORBETS

[1] Lemon sorbet with citron vodka and Limoncello (photo © Auremar | Fotolia).

WITH BERRY, CHOCOLATE & STRONGER SORBET FLAVORS

 
 
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