It’s not very often that I have to take meetings on Sunday, but this particular Sunday had me in Newport Beach for the afternoon. It’s pretty much a given that a stop at Whole Foods was necessary on the drive back home. As soon as we stepped into Whole Foods, Daniel spotted a display of green beans from a local farm. It reminded him instantly of his Grandma’s fresh green beans that she used to make when he was kid.

After a quick call to his mom, we decided that Panko Crusted Halibut with Homemade Tartar Sauce would complete this week’s recipe. Neither one of us have much experience cooking fish (besides the occasional grilled Salmon I used to make on my Foreman Grill), so we were a little nervous when we realized the fresh Halibut alone would cost about $35. We only had one shot of getting this right so after a major googling session, Daniel crafted the recipe while I prepped the camera for this latest foodie shoot.

I could tell Daniel was a little nervous about possibly ruining the Halibut and I was just happy that I was in charge of making sure the photos came out decent. Thankfully, dinner turned out delicious! The homemade tartar sauce was the perfect complement to the crusted halibut. Granny’s Fresh Green Beans also made the perfect side to complete the meal. Hope you enjoy cooking and remember that taking risks and trying new things has a delicious pay off. 😉

Homemade Yogurt Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup Greek plain yogurt
2 tablespoons of white or yellow onions
2 tablespoons of chopped gherkin pickles
2 tablespoons of pickle juice from the jar
1 teaspoon of finely chopped cilantro (or parsley)
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground salt and some pepper to taste

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients together and mix well.
2. Cover and let it chill in the fridge for an hour before serving..

Granny’s Fresh Green Beans
Ingredients
Approximately 2 cups of fresh green beans prepared
1/4 pound of thick cut bacon
3/4 cup of chopped onions
1 cup of water
1-2 teaspoons of salt
Pepper to taste

Directions
1. Break off tip of stem and then break in half.
2. Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour or until tender.
4. Broth should be rich and flavorful , if not add salt and pepper for additional seasoning.

Panko Crusted Halibut
Ingredients
Halibut Filet (6-8 ounce halibut filet)
1/2 Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of fresh dill chopped
2 tablesppons of fresh chives chopped
2 tablespoons of finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
1 teasppon of salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk

Directions
1. Eggs, whisk together and season with salt and pepper in a bowl
2. In separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
3. Spray grill or pan with cooking  spray. We used a panini press for 3-4 minutes on High. If you don’t have a panini press, pour 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry on medium high heat. Cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer Halibut onto baking pan and bake for 6-8 minutes 450 degress or until fish flakes with fork.
5. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges.
6. Pair it with your favorite beer or wine and serve with sourdough bread!

P.S. We did have a minor mishap with the knife during this foodie shoot. I couldn’t pass up the chance of sharing a picture of Daniel rockin’ the only bandaid I had available. 😉

Although California weather still feels like summer, we are ready to officially welcome Autumn this weekend. I love stepping out the front door in the morning to the cool, crisp air and the smell of the dewy grass. With that being said, here are my Top Five Fall Favorites to make sure my kitchen is ready to welcome my favorite season!

1. Spiced Pumpkin Scented Candle – I’ve pretty much been obsessed with candles my whole adult life. I burn scented candles throughout the whole weekend when I’m able to spend more time at home. I tend to favor baked goods scents like “Birthday Cake” and “Cookie Dough”, but when Fall comes around it’s time to swap them out with scents like “Spiced Pumpkin” and “Autumn Wreath”.
http://www.yankeecandle.com/detail/YCC/11422?green=0EBB3C4D-364A-52F5-ACFA-C0DF7BCC25B7

2. Hot Apple Cider – There’s nothing like having a hot cup of apple cider on a cool evening. My favorite is Green Mountain Natural’s Hot Apple Cider. Hot Apple Cider from Green Mountain Naturals squeezes the fresh-picked goodness of sweet orchard apples into convenient K-Cup packs. Throw in a warm blanket and a good movie and you basically described my favorite Sunday night.
http://www.keurig.com/coffee/hot-apple-cider-k-cup-gmn

3. Faux Fall Berry Wreath – Fall Wreaths are a nice way to greet your guests when you have them over for dinner. Colorful berries, leaves and pinecones—you can’t get any more Fall than that. http://www.pier1.com/Faux-Fall-Berry-Wreath/2701123,default,pd.html?cgid=savings-clearance#icid=hp-left-savings_clearance&start=5

4. Fall Leaf Piecrust Cutters – Dress up your pies with a little Fall decoration. Use these piecrust cutter to top your pie with an oak, maple and elm leaf to tie in the Fall season.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/fall-leaf-piecrust-cutters-set/?cm_src=PIPRecentView

5. Lidded Pumpkin Pie Dish – Crafted to be used for many seasons to come, our covered dish is a festive way to keep baked goods protected and fresh.
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/harvest-pumpkin-stoneware-lidded-casserole-pie-dish/?pkey=cthanksgiving-entertaining&cm_src=thanksgiving-entertaining

This by far is my favorite recipe to date on Supper For One.  After a day in Orange County, my friend Daniel and I stopped at Whole Foods. I don’t know if you have a Whole Foods in your area, but it’s like food Disneyland to us. It’s definitely the happiest foodie place on earth.  My only wish is that I lived closer to one (the closest one is 45 minutes away). Coming into the Fall season, Whole Foods reminded us that it was Squash season with so many different types of squash on display.

This is an easy, flexible recipe. Squash isn’t a dominant flavor so you have more room to add to it what you enjoy. Remember that cooking should be fun and you shouldn’t be afraid to step out of your comfort. Experiment and have fun!

Ingredients:
1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
2/3 Pound Ground Beef
1/3 Pound Ground Chorizo or Italian Sausage
2 Cups of Chopped Mushrooms
1 Bottle of Marinara Sauce
1/2 Diced Onion
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Chopped Red Pepper
1 Chopped Green Pepper
Salt & Pepper
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (4 to 8 oz)
Olive Oil

Directions
1. Cut your squash in half lengthwise. Remove all the seeds.
2. Lightly brush some olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and roast for 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven).
4. In a large saucepan, combine the ground beef and ground chorizo sausage and brown.
5. Add in onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms.
6. Add in the bottle of your favorite marinara sauce. Feel free to season your sauce to taste. We went ahead and added in some Italian seasoning, basil and red pepper flakes.
7. When done, take off heat and put off to the side.
8. Take your Spaghetti Squash out of the oven and let it cool for about 5 to 10 minutes until it is cool enough to handle.
9. Take a fork and scrape your cooked squash to create the spaghetti noodle effect.
10. Top each half of the spaghetti squash with your finished sauce.
11. Top with Parmesan cheese and put back in the oven for about 5 minutes to melt.
12. Serve with your favorite crusty bread and enjoy!

Hello Supper For One readers! My name is Sara and I am the imperfect home chef behind the blog My Imperfect Kitchen! (http://www.myimperfectkitchen.com) I’m very excited to be sharing my Deep Dish Pizza recipe with you. A few weeks ago, my husband Steve and I were sitting in the living room, discussing dinner ideas. Now that we’re nearly empty-nesters, dinner for two (instead of five or more) is a bit of a challenge. We were making a mental list of some of our favorite dinners when Steve said: “What if we tried making our own deep dish pizza in a cast iron skillet?” What a brilliant idea, right? We’ve made pizza on the grill before, but a smaller, deep dish pizza for the two of us, sounded perfect!

Twenty minutes and a few Google searches later, we discovered making deep dish pizza in a cast iron skillet at home was not an original idea. It seemed easy to do though, so after reading through several recipes, we decided to try our own!

Using store-bought pizza dough, our favorite homemade pizza sauce and a bunch of our favorite toppings, the new-to-us, deep dish pizza project began! For this recipe I used a 10″cast iron skillet.

I like the prepared dough we get from Trader Joe’s, but feel free to make your own! Let the dough sit on the counter and come to room temperature before you start working it. It will be easier to stretch, if it isn’t cold.

Lightly flour a large work surface and roll out the dough into a 14″ circle. Gently place the dough in the skillet and roll down the excess to form a crust around the edge. If your pan is well seasoned, you won’t need to oil it. Ours is still fairly new, so we put a few drops of oil on a paper towel and rubbed it around the bottom of the pan. We also sprinkled a tiny amount of corn meal on the bottom of the pan to give a little extra flavor and crunch to the crust.

One of the recipes we saw, used cheese sticks rolled up inside the excess dough to make a cheese filled crust! We didn’t do that, but I thought it was a great idea!

Spread 1/3 – 1/2 cup pizza sauce on the dough and top with your favorite pizza things! We used Italian sausage, pepperoni and red onion.

We topped that with slices of mozzarella cheese, then added more toppings and a bit more sauce.

Now here is the secret to a great crust… heat the skillet on the highest setting on your stove top for three to five minutes. You won’t notice any difference in the toppings, but heating it this way will help create a crispier crust on the bottom of your pizza. Make sure you use pot holders to transfer the skillet to the oven. It will be super hot!

Place the skillet in a 450 degree oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let cool 5 minutes before cutting. You can either serve it in the pan, or slide it out and serve off a plate.

One of the best things about this dish (aside from not having to share with the kids!) is that it comes together easily in 30 minutes or less! Enjoy!

Deep Dish Pizza For Two
1 14 oz pkg prepared pizza dough

For the tomato sauce
6 fresh basil leaves, fairly large
2 cloves garlic
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 TBLS tomato paste
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Toppings
1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked and drained of fat
20 slices pepperoni
1/4 of a medium red onion, diced
1/3 lb sliced mozzarella cheese
Italian Seasoning to taste