10 dishes, 1 cutting board & a food processor later...

   "Baby, I need you to come help me!"
   And so goes my culinary battle-cry. I was deep in the weeds and needed backup, so I called Brandon in from the livingroom to finish the tea.
   What possesses us to take on such extravagant measures when preparing a meal for two people? We stood in the supermarket bargaining over what fish we would be making during the week, (a conversation I never dreamed he would have with me a year ago.) I so wanted to be the pleasing wife, and he wanted to be the pleasing husband. So when we realized they were out of the fresh salmon steaks I had been so excited about, he dashed in with "Well you could make that stuff you made that one time- I liked that." So, recalling the only fish I remember cooking (and him eating), I tossed some tilapia into the buggie and off we went to find sugar snap peas and a bag of oranges.
   Come to find out, he was talking about Tilapia Milanese- Which means a dish that requires 6 different vessels to make. (One for milk and ice, one for flour, one for eggwash, one for breadcrumb mixture, one for frying and one for baking.)



   Here I am rambling on when I need to get to my "new" thing for the week. The whole idea of fish for dinner began when I was rifling through one of Jamie's books and came across "Aioli." Hadn't a clue what it was, but what a beautifully sounding word. "Eye-oh-Lee." Checked the list of ingredients- yup! (Had all the ingredients! Isn't that what we all look at when considering new recipes?) So my mind was made up.
   Aioli is a sort of tartar sauce I guess. It's basically oil and eggs with a few other things dashed in. Although, to be honest, I thought it would call for egg whites, so when it called for egg yolk, I began second guessing myself. I have never been one for eating egg yolks. I started with the yolk and dijon mustard in a small bowl and began whisking it together. I gradually added in the olive oil, little by little, but couldn't help getting that bright yellow yolk out of my mind.
   "Jamie, my boy, you are a Britt and surely you don't understand that I grew up detesting slimey things. Couldn't I just bash out a quick tartar sauce instead? Mmmmm onions and dill..." It was there that he stopped me. "Have a go at it, tuck in, and you'll love it!" *sigh* "Alright Mr. Oliver, I'm going out on an uncomfortable limb here!"

   I kept at the whisking and added in some garlic, salt, lemon juice and a little basil (as suggested.) When the time came, I gently touched the sauce with the tip of my middle finger, closed my eyes and had a taste. It was.... oily. Really...just- yolk and oil flavor. And I'm supposed to put this on my fish?! I continued on in the recipe looking for an escape hatch from this oily, egg-yolky concoction-  'Add a bit more salt and lemon juice to taste.' Did as I was told, and was pleasantly surprised. It was quite tasty! I had a bit of it with every bite of fish at dinner! And so now I know how to make, and enjoy, Aioli. Thanks Mate!
 


   And now to my small accomplishment for the week. I've always been under this grand illusion that breadcrumbs had to be made from stale bread. Not so, my friend, not so. I pulled out the new food processor my sweet husband got me for Christmas, tore up a few pieces of bread, threw in some lemon zest, parsley and salt.. Put it on full whack, gave it a whizz and, before my eyes, there were breadcrumbs!
   I squealed with delight in the kitchen in awe of my new toy and the magic breadcrumbs that had appeared from 3 simple pieces of bread. Brandon, in the livingroom and almost afraid to ask, replied "What?" Beeming with pride, and wanting to show appreciation for my Christmas gift, I skipped in behind him and presented him with the magic breadcrumbs. "Oh." "Good job, Baby." (Which is a total understatement, but he knows that I'm a kitchen nerd and easily amazed.) I applied the crumbs to the tilapia after a dunk in some milk and eggwash, lighted toasted the crust and baked the fish off in the oven. They were divine! Crispy, light, just... fresh. Totally worth the trouble of getting out the food processor!