No Reservations - Montana?

I'm a little confused by this one myself, but I am excited to see what the mountains of Montana have to offer on this week's No Reservations. Check out a clip below that highlights some of the experiences Tony has this week:

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Flounder "Picatta"

Since I have been running around like a nomad, I decided that last night I needed to cook myself dinner and better yet, a healthy dinner; eating out has really made the calories and dollars start to add up...

I had several friends and family friends in town this past weekend and the lovely, Dr. and Mrs. Jutras took me out in Little Italy for some food by my people. I ordered the chicken picatta and almost ate the whole plate. Served with pasta and bread I knew this wasn't the healthiest of meals, but the flavors were so clean and fresh, I kept thinking how delightful this would be with my farmer's market fresh caught flounder (which I have later learned is overfished - go figure...) so I committed to making this delightful dish this week.

Cooking in a new place is always an experience. I had all my ingredients ready to go, but for some reason I was nervous. I told myself just to calm down and let everything happen organically and let me tell you, this was one of the finest meals I have created!

Ingredients (for one, as per usual)

• 1 filet of any white fish (tilapia, flounder, sole etc.)
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 lemon
• 1 shallot
• butter

Directions

Heat a skillet on medium heat and add enough butter to coat the pan - make sure butter does not brown! Salt and pepper your fish filet and add to the pan. Cook on each side for about a minute and a half (don't want it to be completely done cooking yet). Remove from pan and set aside.

Add shallots to pan (add more butter if necessary) and cook until they are clear, about 3-4 minutes (depending on how finely chopped), then add in capers and squeeze the juice of half a lemon. This will "de-glaze" the pan and be sure to move everything around and get all the good stuff off the bottom of the pan.

Add the fish back in the pan and let everything cook together for another 1-2 minutes. If you like more lemon, now is the time to add it.

The salty, briny-ness from the capers, mixed with the sweetness of the butter and shallots really makes for a dynamite dinner. Serve along some pasta tossed lightly in olive oil or with a side a green beans, really this will go with just about anything!

I am going to re-create again so I can take pictures, but this is definitely a favorite in my book!

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mmmmmmm Thailand

Tony does it again, this week traveling to Thailand. I love some thai food, although admittedly I keep my choices PG. No frog here, but for some reason this man makes me want to try new things. Check it out!

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Top Chef Master

So this was interesting...I thought last night's episode was really a true challenge - to see how these chef can lead in the kitchen. I dont want to give too much away, but what did everyone think of the episode last night??? Twists and turns around every corner huh?!

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Easy Potato Salad

This recipe was completely inspired by the new potatoes that Dory and I had from Prune. Light, fresh, clean dill and tangy mustard really make this one a WINNER. Not to mention it includes no mayo so it's lighter on the waistline :) Get ready to impress your friends:

Ingredients:

• red potatoes (I like to get 2-3 per person depending on size)
• djion mustard (something like grey poupon)
• olive oil
• fresh dill
• fresh thyme
• finely diced shallots (1 big one or two small ones)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Place potatoes in pot with salted water before you start boiling (this will make them cook more evenly). Bring water to a boil and let potatoes cook till you can easily stab a fork through them (20-25) minutes.

Once potatoes are cooked, drain them and place in fridge. This can be done way ahead of time since you need the potatoes to be cold.

Once potatoes are cooled, cut into chunks (should be about 8 per potato, or more if they are larger) and place in a big bowl. Then, drizzle with some olive oil, sprinkle salt, pepper and toss in shallots. Once everything is added then add fresh dill and thyme to taste. I like a lot of dill. Finally, add in mustard to taste, I would say a spoonful at minimum and toss all together.

Place back in fridge until ready to serve. It's out of this world!! TRUST ME!!

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Stay Connected!!

So I've added a couple of things to the Frugal Foodies recently in attempts to help everyone stay connected to your food lifeline - me!

You can become a "fan" on Facebook here

You can follow me on Twiter here

You can share any post that your little heart desires by clicking on the "share this" link a the bottom of each post!

I encourage everyone to write on the Facebook wall, "@" me on Twitter, like my great friends Dell and Marcy, and comment on here! I generally get back to everyone because all five people reading this are pretty vocal, but I love to chat with anyone!

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Crazy Couple of Weeks...

So things have been nuts around my place(s) for the last couple of weeks. I have been slowly moving from one apartment to another one (on foot) which leaves me very little time to cook/write. I will say that I have been to some GREAT places lately (most notably Prune)and am going to Chicago this weekend for Lollapalooza and may possibly eat at Table 52 with my buddy Art Smith. Maybe. I'm poor so probably not, but dare to dream right?

Stay with my foodies I promise to deliver delicious recipes and reviews soon!!

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Walnut Pesto

So as of last week I had never made pesto before. Straight up, I was scared. I was scared of the food processor. I mean how can anything that moves that fast be okay? I feel like once you turn it on you're done, there's no turning back, once it's in the processor it shall be fused together and become one forever -- whether you like it or not...

Acknowledging this fear, and being pushed by my desire for some delicious pesto, I decided to make some walnut pesto, using the food processor.

Ingredients (approximates of course, makes about 1 1/2 - 2 cups)

• 2 cups basil


• 1/2 cup walnuts (more if you like a nutter pesto)


• 2-3 garlic cloves


• 2/3 cup shredded parmesean cheese


• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (approximately 1/3 cup)


• Salt (to taste)

Directions

Ok not kidding this couldn't be easier. Basically you coarsely chop the walnuts and the garlic.

Then, you throw the basil, walnuts, garlic, parmesean and salt in the food processor. This may be the ONLY hard part, once the food processor is turned on, through the top SLOWLY start to add in the olive oil.

Overall, this process should take a minute, maybe a minute in a half.

Once its over you are left with delicious and nutritious walnut basil pesto. Slather this on a tortilla with some mozzarella cheese and there you go - pesto pizza (more on that later...)

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