I’ve been a big fan of Of a Kind for a while now, so I was shocked — and disappointed in myself — when I saw them tweet about the 3rd volume of their cookbook a few weeks ago. Third! Where have I been? Not wanting to miss out on anymore one of a kind recipes, submitted by designers featured on their site, I ordered it right away.

Grace Lee’s Miso Sea Bass caught my eye immediately because not only had I not made sea bass in a long time — maybe ever for B? — but also because there are 4 ingredients for the entire recipe. Four! And one of them is the sea bass.

My friend (and former camper) Lara was going to be spending the day with me on Monday, documenting my whole day for her fun new photo documentary project, so I knew this would be perfect to make that evening. After an early morning at work, errands, and spin class, who wants to slave away in the kitchen and try to make sense of a complicated recipe? Not this girl.

I made it over simple, lemon roasted asparagus, but it would be delicious with any vegetable, really. Sea bass is definitely more expensive than other fish at the market, but man, is it worth it. B said it was the best fish I’ve ever made. What more can I say?

Fins! Fins? Or something.

The guy just wrote a book; I’ll cut him a break. This is one fish — and CURRY — he’s not familiar with. BA-DUM.

I got jokes. I also got good intentions when it comes to feeding my man. I don’t feel bad about only cooking fish for him — I don’t eat chicken, turkey, or any red meat, as you may recall — but I do want to mix it up for him, and make sure he’s satisfied with dinner each night. I do it for myself too! Because swordfish is not in our regular cycle of TV Dinners — at least not in the same way that tilapia, mahi mahi or scallops are — I decided it was time. It’s more substantial, more meaty, more steak-like than lighter, flakier fish — but just as delicious and easy to make. So don’t be scurrrred.

And while you may have your preconceived notions about curry — the sauce, not the embattled TV anchor — this one tasted much more like a sweet and sour sauce, then your typical spicy curry. I thought about punching up the spice a bit with some diced peppers or sriracha, but decided to give it a rest for the evening and let the lime, sugar and curry powder shine through. And shine they did. Served atop a bed of brown basmati rice, this was a filling, tasty meal.

Now tell me, how have you prepared swordfish lately? Leave me a comment below.

1. It looks super fancy and special, so by proxy YOU look super fancy and special, when in reality it is the easiest meal to assemble.

2. You can’t screw it up.

3. Each person will open their parchment paper, wrapped like a personalized Christmas present (but not quite as neat, and without the bow) and their face will light up as the aroma of flavors hits them. BOOM. It’s like food magic: you can smell each individual ingredient, but you also smell them blended together, which is so. much. better. than the sum total of their parts. It’s mind-blowing.

4. Did I mention you can’t screw it up?

So grab a roll of parchment paper — sold like tin foil, in a roll — and invite your nearest and dearest over. I used a regular size baking sheet to make 4 servings for my girls this weekend. Each serving needs a piece of parchment paper that’s about that length — enough to fold up on all four sides once stuffed with all its yummy goodness. I adapted my recipe from Love & Lemons — a blog I check daily for both easy, healthy recipes and gorgeous photography — and they have yet to disappoint.

Feel free to swap the cod for any white fish, bok choy for any crunchy, leafy green and use any kind of mushroom — but be sure to let me know what you try, cause I’m always looking for new parchment paper recipes.

I swear I saw tears in B’s eyes as he chowed down on his marinated shrimp and green beans last night. He was in love! Or maybe he’s still in disbelief that such a gorgeous woman is cooking him such delicious meals? Ah, they were probably tears from the heat; this sauce is not for the faint of heart. It’s got kick that leaves fire on your lips and tongue — in a good way, that makes you want to keep going, licking every last drop off your fingers. You can tone it down if you like by adding more brown sugar and ketchup — but why ruin all the fun?

Chrissy Teigen says it’s still the most searched/most talked about recipe on her blog, even though she posted it back in August of 2011. And homegirl’s got a pretty serious arsenal of recipes. Anyway she suggested making enough to freeze for later, so I decided to make a jar of it since I already had all the ingredients. I’m going away with my girls this weekend so I’ll bring it with me and use it when I make that mexican salad with shrimp on top. So the recipe below is for one serving (enough to coat whatever fish or meat you choose, for two-three people) but if you’d like to follow my (and Chrissy’s) lead — just quadruple the servings.

I’m all about homemade sauces and dressings, because they are so much healthier. The ones you buy in a store — even the “healthy” ones — are loaded with so much sugar and salt. Homemade tastes so much better, too. I just whipped up a jar of my super secret spicy dressing last night that I’m also bringing with me this weekend to feed my girls; I’ll share that recipe with you when I get back. So stay tuned. Let’s be done with store-bought sauces and dressings!

So I fell into the BuzzFeed trap — happily, I might add — and clicked, scrolled, emailed to B, grocery shopped and cooked it. Oh wait, I missed a step — arguably the most important in BuzzFeedLand — I tweeted about wanting to make it. [And now I’m blogging about tweeting about it, natch.] But I can’t help myself when something looks this delicious, healthy and fun to make; I’m gonna tell the world about it. Or at least the 8-odd-thousand that follow me on the 140.

So John, Mister Winter Stew Correspondent, humbly suggested poaching an egg on top of the stew, something I do not know how to do. Originally I thought I’d give it a try — but luckily my friend Leslie (hot blonde on the left) is an old pro at it — so she jumped into Sous Chef-mode and nimbly handled that finishing touch. If you don’t know how, learn along with me via this tutorial. [Disclaimer: I’ve already ruined three eggs trying; it looks a lot easier than it is.]

Meantime the stew was everything I (and John) had hyped it up to be. (I left out their cinnamon and sherry vinegar and it was still perfection.) In fact Leslie’s husband Isaac gushed about how delightful it was for a guy who usually eats meat to have such a satisfying, filling vegetarian meal. B loved it too; he said the kale was cooked to the perfect consistency. My very own Winter Kale Correspondent.

Good thing too, cause these are B’s favorite foods — healthy foods, I should say — lord knows he loves himself a good chocolate chip cookie. But at least making him what he loves isn’t a chore. (It never is, honey!) Want a cute/fun TV Dinner Rewind? Of course you do! Lookie here — it’s the same thing I made him last Valentine’s Day, the first time I ever really cooked for him. Different sauces, different styles, but you get my drift.

But tell me — how do you prepare scallops and brussels sprouts? Leave me a comment and I’ll try your recipe on B next! For now, check out my version after the jump — and enjoy!

Cioppino is as delicious as it fun to say, in your best Italian accent of course. Say it with me now, CHI-PEE-NO. (Don’t bother calling it fish stew, it does the goodness of this dish no justice — none whatsoever.) It’s filling without being heavy, adequate for both the guys are girls (which isn’t always easy!), and best of all — impossible to screw up. That last quality is of the utmost importance when you have friends over and the wine (and tequila) start flowing.

Follow this recipe to a T and you too will have those same rave reviews I did last Saturday night. This one’s a keeper. Enjoy.

The payoff? B not only told me this was his favorite dinner party meal yet, but he also confessed this: “I realized this was going to be my first time ever having tacos without cheese — and I was nervous — but they really didn’t need it. The slaw and avocado cream were more than enough flavor.”

So it passes the true litmus test: my meat and dairy eating boyfriend loved the no meat, no dairy meal.

And don’t worry about the prep time — the best part of this meal was that I could make everything well in advance — the fish marinade, simple slaw and avocado cream. (And I even think it got tastier while in the fridge for a few hours.)

Next time I’m going to make the tortillas a little crispier and have more toppings on the table — maybe some peppers? — let me know in the comments what you put on your fish tacos.

There were plenty of other exciting flavors in the meal — starting with the chile-lime cashews — and followed by the delicious mango, cucumber, jicama salad, which I’m going to post tomorrow. Stay tuned for that recipe — and others! — there are still 3 more parts to this Mexican fiesta dinner party extravaganza.

PS: another reason to make your own guac at home — Grub Street says you’re shelling out big $$$ for it at your fave Mexican joint.

That’s what Phil, one of my dinner guests, told me after scarfing down these delicious veggie balls. B said the same… and I was thrilled, because I definitely want to make these again soon. Next time, maybe I’ll try ’em with pasta, in a sandwich, or over a salad. The best part is, they’re hearty enough to be a meal all their own. And they’re healthy! It’s lentils, veggies, herbs, walnuts and eggs.

So where did I find the recipe?

Instagram, naturally. My little brother Brian posted a picture of the meal he cooked with his girlfriend Tiffany and straight away I asked him about in an email. He sent me the link to The New York Times Thanksgiving special where she found it and I was off to the races.

He said next time he’s gonna try it with different vegetables — zucchini perhaps? — but the ones in this recipe were perfect. If you have a meat-eater at home — someone you’re trying to win over with the goodness of the veggie life — make these. They are the most meatball tasting meatless meatballs they’ll ever have.