Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Fish in a Flash


SO I went from never cooking fish, to almost never cooking fish, to rarely cooking fish, to fish twice a week.  I never used to even like fish...until I really tried.  Little bites here and there and eventually I grew to enjoy certain fish.  There are a lot of mild fishes out there for beginners.  I like halibut, cod, mahi mahi and haddock.  Salmon is still not my favorite (I'm a nutritionist, I KNOW it's good for me!) but I will have it on occasion with the right sauce.  I choose to cook fish tonight simply because tomorrow is Thanksgiving (i.e. lot's of rich foods, and basically lots of food!)  So in a pinch (nothing was defrosted) I ran into Target, yes Target, and bought some frozen wild-caught mahi mahi filets.  They defrost in 20 minutes, or while you are bathing your baby and getting him to bed.  Out of the package, a quick rinse, pat dry and here goes the rest...

Preheat broiler with rack placed so fish will be 6-8 inches from heat*

Ingredients:
Wild caught mahi mahi filets (or any other wild mild fish you choose)
EVOO
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
herbs de Provence
zest and juice from half a lemon
Kale, washed in hot water, torn in pieces with stems removed
toasted pine nuts
a good aged parmesan cheese

Brush pan or foil with a little EVOO, place filets on pan also brushing with a little EVOO (I used my fingers, few utensils to clean)
sprinkle each filet with salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and herbs
broil 12-14 minutes or according to package

While the fish is broiling, wash and tear kale.  Dry in a salad spinner or by hand.
Toast pine nuts over med/low heat being very careful not to burn (keep moving them around, they will burn very quickly.)
Shave pieces of parmesan, set aside for final plating.

In a bowl, toss the washed and dried kale leaves, EVOO, some lemon juice and lemon zest, salt and a little pepper.
Plate the kale leaves and top with a few pine nuts and some cheese shavings.
Slide next to that a piece of fish, garnish with a little more lemon zest and Viola!  Dinner in 30 minutes or less.

*I used aluminum foil on my broil pan for a fast and easy clean up.

From start to finish this dinner took me less than an hour to cook, eat and then clean up.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Delicata delight


A few weeks ago I had a few friends over for some healthy Saturday night cookin'.  Now I have tasted and cooked many seasonal squash (again, ask me a few years ago and I would've said I didn't like any squash) but that night I was trying a "new to me" squash that had showed up in my CSA box that week...the delicata.  What I learned from one of my friends was that this is one winter squash that you can eat the skin- and boy is it delicious!  It's actually an heirloom variety of squash that has only recently come back into the culinary world.  For the first time trying the delicata, we simply sliced in half lengthwise, baked in a glass baking dish, flesh side down in about 1 cm of water (400 degrees, 30-45 minutes) removed from oven, topped with butter and sea salt and WOW, a perfect snack or side.  I've been hooked on them ever since, always picking up a few each trip to the market.  Pictured here is a last minute dinner idea using what I had on hand.  I am changing the recipe from what I actually did, the chicken pieces and the onion needed to be chopped smaller.  I chose boneless/skinless chicken breast from Fields of Athenry (my favorite source for chicken!) and... read below...
Chicken Delicata Delight
2 servings, with leftovers
Ingredients:
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips/pieces
butter
1 sweet onion (chopped small)
2 delicata squash (halved and seeds removed)
1 apple (peeled and cut into small pieces)
water or chicken broth
cumin
coriander
cinnamon
cayenne
sea salt
fresh pepper
honey* optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place squash halves flesh side down in a baking dish with about 1 cm of water and bake until a fork pierces the flesh easily (about 30-45 minutes)
While squash is baking...
Heat onions in butter in a large sauté pan.  Sprinkle with sea salt and cook on low until they caramelize.
Once onions are a gooey brown, remove from pan and set aside.
Add more butter if necessary and cook chicken pieces thoroughly.
add cooked onions, chopped apple pieces, spices, honey (optional, I just used a little drizzle) cook a few minutes to let the spices soak in.
Then add enough water to create a sauce but not a soup (approx. 1 cm in pan).
Simmer liquid down until it reduces by half and the apples are tender.
Spoon chicken mixture into baked squash halves and enjoy!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Friday Night Fish

Haddock and Asparagus with Caper/Lemon/Butter Sauce
Ingredients:
Haddock (or any other mild white fish such as halibut, cod, etc...)
Lemon juice (fresh if you have it)
Capers
Asparagus
Organic Butter
Cold Pressed EVOO
Sea salt
Fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 375
Rinse fish and pat dry.
Place in glass baking dish lined with parchment paper (I did  this for faster clean up!)
drizzle EVOO and lemon juice over fish, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh pepper.
Bake until done (depends on how much fish, my 2 filets took around 10 minutes, just watch and poke for doneness)
While fish is baking heat 1T butter with a little EVOO over medium/low heat, toss in asparagus.  Sprinkle with sea salt and continue to toss every few minutes until i has reached your desired doneness, I like it with a little crisp bite.)  Remove asparagus from pan just before it has come to the bite you enjoy (I like it still a little crisp) This is done because it will continue to cook even when removed from heat.  Add 2 more T of butter to pan, 1-2 tsp of lemon juice, 1-2 tsp of capers and some fresh pepper.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for a minute or two.  I plated the fish over a few asparagus spears and then spooned over the caper sauce...delish!