Inside Andrea's Mind

Last week, the boss and I took a business advisor to lunch downtown.

We ate at McCormick & Schmicks. We had never been to this restaurant before, but heard it's the best place in town for seafood, so we were both looking forward to lunch. The restaurant is located on the corner of Market & Illinois at the Hilton Hotel.

It's the place to "lunch" if you're dining with attorneys, big wigs or the like. Their speciality is seafood, so of course I had to debate, do I want the coconut shrimp, crabcakes or cashew crusted tilapia. I went with the tilapia. Oh my gosh!!!!!!!! This is the best fish-dish I've ever tasted. I love tilapia anyway but crusted in cashews with a hint of heat (from some habanero peppers) - YUMMO!!!!!!

First of all, the fish was the thickest piece of tilapia I've ever seen. Add the cashew crust and a sweet mango salsa on the side. *ssssiiiiiiiiigggghhhh* We were in lunch heaven.

Well I've been thinking about this fish and thought, surely I could figure out how to make it at home too. So I go to trusty GOOGLE, type in McCormick & Schmick's Cashew Crusted Tilapia and ... wouldn't you know it. I found the recipe!

If you're in town and you want a very special dinner - go to McCormicks & Schmicks - if you want to get a taste of McCormicks on a lighter budget, hit them up at lunch time. (For 2 at lunch, expect to spend a $50.00 bill ) Expensive lunch? Yes, but you won't regret it.

So, here's the recipe for all of you who may not make it to this delicious place:

McCormick & Schmick's Cashew-Crusted Tilapia

4 (5 to 6-ounce) tilapia fillets
Flour, to dust
2 eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons milk
1 ½ cups finely ground cashews
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Jamaican Rum Butter Sauce (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

• Bread the fillets by first dusting them with the flour, then dipping them in the beaten egg mixture, and finally coating them thoroughly with the ground cashews.
• Do the breading an hour ahead of serving time, allowing the fish to rest in the refrigerator before cooking.
• While the fish is resting, make the Jamaican Rum Butter Sauce and keep on the stove, but not over direct heat. (The sauce will break down if it is too hot.)

Jamaican Rum Butter SauceYield: About 1 ½ cups, 4 servings
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1/4 cup white rum
1/4 cup dark rum
Pinch of saffron
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 minced habanero pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 pound cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

• Place the split vanilla bean into a saucepan.
• Add both types of rum, the saffron, lime juice, habanero pepper and sugar.
• Heat to gentle simmer until sugar has dissolved and alcohol has burned off, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter to form into a sauce - a cube of butter at a time, allowing each piece to melt before adding more. Set sauce aside for serving.
• Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or skillet and pan-fry the tilapia over medium-high heat until the fish is golden brown on both sides, 2 ½ to 3 minutes per side.
• Place the fish on serving plates and pour the sauce over them.
• Combine the chopped bell peppers to make a "confetti," and sprinkle them over each portion. Sprinkle on the scallions.

• Note: Habanero peppers are very hot, so use sparingly.