Animal Kingdom

Here is an archive entry from last month, enjoy!:

February 16, 2011 we watched Animal Kingdom, with Oscar-nominated supporting actress Jackie Weaver. To accompany the movie, we served up something from the 'animal kingdom:" Spicy Sauteéd Shrimp with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes (which tasted a lot better than it looks in this photo! We are working on improving our photography...)

This is the first time I had seen a film written by David Michôd, who is also the director of Animal Kingdom. I thought both were jobs well done. The movie tells the story of a teenage boy who was born to a drug-overdosing mother, nephew to a set of bank-robbing brothers, and grandson of a seriously mentally detached grandmother (kudos to Jackie Weaver for her much-deserved Oscar nod!). The family is being hunted by the police and "J" lays in wait for seemingly the entire movie before making his move... I really enjoyed the subtle directorial links between human and animal behavior which made for really great suspenseful action.

The fish recipe was really easy, which made the depth of flavor spiciness sort of a surprise. I would highly recommend it with any type of white fish:

Spicy Sauteed Fish with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup olive oil

2 lbs tilapia, red snapper, or orange roughy filets - we used tilapia

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper

4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

6 garlic cloves

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add half of fish to skillet and sauté until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer fish to platter. Repeat with remaining fish. Add parsley and crushed red pepper to same skillet; sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes, olives, and garlic; sauté until tomatoes are soft and juicy, about 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper; spoon over fish.

Brussel Sprouts with Buttered Pine Nuts

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup pine nuts

3 TB butter

3/4 teaspon salt

2 lbs brussel sprouts, trimmed

1/2 TB minced garlic

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Toast the nuts in a shallow baking pan at 350 degrees until fragrant, or in a toaster oven as we did.

Cook the sprouts in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking. Drain sprouts and pat dry.

Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase heat to moderately high, then add sprouts and sauté, stirring occasionally, until browned in patches, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, pepper, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt, then stir in nuts and serve.

Adapted from this epicurious recipe.