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Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love + Giveaway

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Today’s recipe is from Cristina Ferrare’s gorgeous new cookbook Big Bowl of Love ,  a wonderful collection of over 150 of her favorite recipes that are great for quick week night dinners and special occasions.  I was excited to receive a copy to preview, especially knowing that the stunning photos were the brilliant work of none other than local food photography rock stars, Todd Porter and Diane Cu of White on Rice Couple,  and was pleased to discover how Cristina’s natural warmth, generosity, and passion for cooking shines through in her anecdotes and recipes.

Clams and Linguine - ShesCookin.com

Big Bowl of Love offers a wide variety of recipes, from starters and lunches to dinners and desserts; and includes dishes that Cristina has created and cooked over the years and enjoyed with her family and friends.   American and Italian influences are apparent and I was impressed with how approachable the recipes are; from her #1 favorite pasta sauce, fresh roma tomato sauce, to mac and cheese and strawberry shortcake, she shares it all, along with helpful tips to cut down your time in the kitchen. Her passion for food has made her a New York Times Best Seller and a host of her own cooking show, Big Bowl of Love, on the Oprah Winfrey Network.  I’m excited to be able to share a recipe from this gorgeous cookbook and offer a copy to one of my readers!

strawberry shortcake - ShesCookin.com

With all this deliciousness, it was hard to decide what to showcase from Big Bowl of Love. Because we’re fish lovers, for heart-health reasons and because we love it, and I’ve mastered many ways to prepare fish, I decided to make the Sea Bass with Soy Glaze and Cucumber Salsa. Cristina says this is the dish she makes when she wants to impress her dinner guests big-time 🙂 with its wonderful glazed sauce paired with the cool cucumber salsa, its quite impressive!

Sea Bass with Soy Glaze and Cucumber Salsa

6 servings | from Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love

Cucumber Salsa
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1½ teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Sauce
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup mirin
¼ cup sugar *
2 tablespoons dry white wine

Fish
6 (3-ounce) sea bass fillets *
½ cup all-purpose flour
a4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions:

Salsa: Make the cucumber salsa first. In a glass bowl, combine cucumber, soy sauce, vinegar, scallions, and cilantro, and mix well. Cover and set aside.

Sauce: In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and wine. Stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce into a small bowl and set aside.

Dredge the sea bass in the flour. Heat a skillet on medium-high until hot. Add the olive oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Saute the sea bass for 2½ minuts on each side, until browned. Reduce the heat to medium, then pour in the sauce mixture and cover with a lids. Cook until the fish is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness.

Place fillets on a platter, and pour the pan juices over the top. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and top with salsa, or the salsa on the side if you prefer.

* The only changes I made to the recipe were substituting Pacific Halibut for the sea bass and brown sugar for granulated. I make a similar glaze for salmon and brown sugar works beautifully.
Enjoy 🙂

Here’s how to enter the Giveaway for Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love cookbook:


Leave a comment below and tell me what dish represents a big bowl of love to you.

Bonus entries:

1. Like Cristina Ferrare on Facebook

2. Like She’s Cookin’/TopMomBlog on Facebook

3. Follow Cristina Ferrare on Twitter

4. Follow She’s Cookin’ on Twitter

5. Tweet the giveaway: “Cristina Ferrare’s Cookbook #Giveaway from @shescookin.  Enter here: http://bit.ly/lokHfq ”

For the bonus entries, be sure to leave a separate comment letting me know. Also, if you already do any of the above, let me know that with a separate comment, too 🙂

The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.  (sorry international readers…)  The giveaway will end at 10:00 p.m. PST on Monday, June 20, 2011 and a winner will be chosen by random drawing. The winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond, if the winner does not claim their prize by responding within 48 hours, the prize will be forfeited and another winner will be chosen.

Good Luck to all!

Just one more… Aren’t the photos and styling breathtaking!

Disclaimer: I was sent a complimentary copy of Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love cookbook. One random winner will also receive the same. The opinions however, are my own.

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Comments

  1. I love watching Cristina Ferrare cook. An example of a big bowl of love that I make is matzo ball soup with a latin twist taking inspiration from the food my Cuban husband has introduced to me over the years. I’ll add yucca or malanga or even plantain to the soup as well as such things as leeks, kale or anything else I find in the fridge.

  5. I like the cucumber salsa too and I have a ton of cucumbers planted in my veggie garden so I will be making this over the Summer. I’m going to have to look at my copy of Big Bowl of Love again and give all the photos another once over with a new found appreciation for their beauty;-) Congrats on a lovely give a away and I will go and be friendly on Facebook just for the fun of it;-)

  21. Hi Priscilla – I’m off to amazon to order the book on your recommendation. Sounds fabulous, looking for to seeing Todd and Diane’s photos too.
    LL

  23. Wow it’s got all the components of a good cookbook: beautiful pictures, delicious recipes, simple techniques and ingredients, wholesome food. Awesome giveaway! 😀

  28. Your sample of the cookbooks leads me to think that I’d really enjoy it. I was just thinking about having seabass again today so the dish is especially enticing. The salsa hits all the right notes, too. This is lovely!

    As far as a big bowl of love, hmm, there are a few but nothing beats a big bowl of rice or spaghetti bolognese! 🙂

  29. The cucumber salsa looks terrific! o man…wish I could just go to the supermarket and pick up cucumbers without worrying about E-coil. Great giveaway! Good luck to all.

  34. The cucumber salsa sounds like a great addition to any fish meals.
    WOW, the photos in the cookbook are truly amazing. I’ll go with a big bowl of pasta salad seasoned with lots of love 🙂

  39. I love the soy glaze and the cucumber salsa sounds perfect with the dish! A big bowl of love for me would be a light garlic & oil pasta with herbs. Brings back memories of travel, family, and so many others! I love that the cookbook features fast weeknight dinners 🙂

  47. Oops! Didn’t think the first comment came through! Just disregard that last one…and I’m a FB fan of CF!

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