Back in the kitchen

The days keep getting shorter that leaves me with plenty of time to fool around in the kitchen and try out new recipes. Last night, I made two from Allrecipes.com



Sun-dried Tomato Basil Orzo

2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Place basil leaves and sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. Pulse 4 or 5 times until blended.
In a large bowl, toss together the orzo, basil-tomato mixture, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve warm or chilled.

Halibut with Cilantro Garlic Butter

4 (6 ounce) fillets halibut
1 lime, cut into wedges
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat a grill for high heat. Squeeze the juice from the lime wedges over fish fillets, then season them with salt and pepper.
Grill fish fillets for about 5 minutes on each side, until browned and fish can be flaked with a fork. Remove to a warm serving plate.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic; cook and stir just until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter, remaining lime juice and cilantro. Serve fish with the cilantro butter sauce.

Both dishes came out well. Instead of grilling the Halibut I pan-seared it until flaky. Frank thought the cilantro was overpowering, next time I'll cut that back. The leftover orzo made a tasty lunch today, I added shredded rotisserie chicken to it for a complete meal.