Kitchen Gadget of the month: April Edition

I love watching cooking shows.  All of them.  Lidia's Italy, Simply Ming, America's Test Kitchen, and, of course, anything with Julia Child.  My hero.  I also love watching "Mexico - One Plate at a Time" with Rick Bayless.  Rick has an interesting way of describing how food tastes - my hubby does a dead-on impersonation.  Never fails to crack me up.  We were fortunate to be able to dine at his Frontera Grill in Chicago a couple years ago.  The food was amazing!

Lemon Squeezer

I mention Rick Bayless because I first learned about this month's kitchen gadget on an episode of his show.  Mexican food uses a lot of limes and Rick had a really cool lime squeezer.  OMG...I have to have one!  Of course, amazon.com is my go-to place for all things food related.  I found both a lemon and a lime squeezer - yellow and green respectfully.  I thought to myself:  do I really need two?  Wouldn't the lemon squeezer also squeeze limes just as well?  A resounding YES!

This is a truly useful gadget.  Not only is it good for squeezing half a lemon or lime, but also oranges or grapefruit.  Obviously, you're not going to fit a half of a grapefruit into this gadget, but it works with pieces of the fruit too.  Need just a little juice?  Drop a slice of whatever fruit you're using into the squeezer, squeeze away and get only juice - no pulp or seeds.  Pop it in the dishwasher and you're done!  Get yours today at my amazon store:  Lemon Squeezer

So.....we have a fancy lemon squeezer - probably need to make something that has lemon juice in it, eh?  Who better to turn to for a recipe than my hero, Julia Child!  Sole Meunière was the first meal Julia had in France.  I absolutely love that scene in Julie and Julia where Meryl Streep coos......butter!  Somehow, however, this dish did not make it into her cookbook. Some say that it is because it is too easy of a dish to create...some think it is old fashioned.  It is pretty easy to make, but the results are perfectly delicious!

Sole Meunière

1/2 C finely ground almond flour (make your own - click here)
4 sole fillets (each about 3 to 4 ounces)
Coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 TBLSP extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
2 TBLSP (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 C (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 TBLSP chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 TBLSP fresh lemon juice
Lemon wedges

To prepare sole:   Place flour in pie dish. Rinse fish; pat with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides of fish with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge fish on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Place on platter.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until oil is hot and shimmers. Add butter; quickly swirl skillet to coat. When foam subsides, add fish and cook until golden on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully turn fish over and cook until opaque in center and golden on bottom, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide fish between 2 warmed plates; tent with foil. Pour off drippings from skillet; wipe with paper towels.

To prepare sauce:  Place skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and lemon juice (sauce may sputter). Spoon sauce over fish. Serve with lemon wedges.

Bon Appetit!