Vermouth-poached Tilapia with Mushrooms and White Grapes

Part of having people over for dinner and serving them a home-cooked meal is the "Wow" factor. You want them to walk away from the table being satisfied, yet being impressed at your culinary prowess. It's always good to have recipes that look as if you spent all day in the kitchen, slaving away over a hot stove, but in actuality only take minimal amounts of time to prepare. That's where a recipe like this comes in. Just the title of this dish sounds gourmet and time consuming, right?? Yet I had this on the table in less than 15 minutes. The most time consuming thing you'll do is slice mushrooms and chop grapes, and then it's just a matter of a few minutes in the pan. This would be the perfect recipe to prepare ahead of time and throw together right before serving. I can guarantee you that your guests will be sufficiently "wowed" by this masterpiece.



Vermouth-poached Tilapia with Mushrooms and White Grapes
Serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 tilapia fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper
1/4 c dry vermouth*
1/4 c dry white wine
1/2 c seedless white grapes, quartered

In a flat-bottomed pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add lemon juice and mushrooms and saute until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are starting to become tender. Push mushrooms to the side of the pan and add seasoned tilapia fillets. Pour vermouth and white wine over top of fish, cover, and simmer util fish is almost done. (Mine took about 3 minutes in total) Right before fish is completely done, add grapes to pan and stir, being careful to not disturb fish. Cook until done. Serve fillets topped with mushroom and grape mixture.

*If you do not have vermouth, simply substitute more white wine.