Pasta & Mushroom with Parmesan Crumb Topping

I love all kinds of mushrooms. So when I see a recipe using lots of mushrooms, I am immediately sold and know that I have to make it! Mum knows that I love mushrooms. So she always cook Chinese Braised Mushrooms with dried oyster and scallop when I am home. Too bad I couldn't reproduce this dish here, but I get my mushroom fix through experimenting other dishes. Some works, but some don't. When a dish with mushrooms in it turns out disappointing, I blame the person who develops the recipe.

And yes, I am blaming the one who develops this recipe. It looked all promising when it came out from the oven. I have such a high hope on this.

But it was really bland!

I am glad I made something else too, because I won't be able to eat this pasta alone. On the scale of 1 to 10. If eating boiled pasta without any sauce was rated 1, then this pasta & mushroom casserole would rate 3, at most 4. Definitely not pass as a stand-alone dish. This leads us to the next dish that I made, which savaged the dinner.

I made a simple fish dish - Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce. Lucky for us, the balsamic butter sauce has an intense flavor, that paired well with the pasta. With the help of the tilapia, we managed to finish half of the pasta. As for the other half, I am still thinking what to do with it......

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce
adapted from Bon Appetite

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 4- to 5-ounce tilapia fillets

Simmer vinegar and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to thick syrup, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large skillets over high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Sauté fish until golden, about 2 minutes per side.

Rewarm balsamic syrup over medium-low heat. Whisk in 1/2 cup butter 1 piece at a time.

Drizzle sauce on Tilapia.