Pineapple Grilled Mahi

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The only real notes here are that 1 large pineapple, quartered, then carefully skinned yields 2 pairs of 6" x 3" "slabs".  So about 4 small servings' worth.  Buy accordingly.

I cut the fish to fit the "planks" (making 1" thick pieces of fish), and had to grill it about 5 minutes more than I would have otherwise (15 minutes total for 1" of mahi, turning once).

The fish tastes slightly of pineapple, but not overwhelmingly.  I made this in the morning to cook for dinner the same night; to prep ahead more in advance, I'd prep all the parts and assemble the fish-and-pineapple planks while the grill heated up.

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Risotto

I used shallots and celery for aromatics, tilapia for protein,
seafood stock, chopped fresh spinach for veggies, savory
for flavoring

I've worked with a delicious seafood risotto recipe for many years.  It's from a fundraiser cookbook called Dewey or Don't We published by the Dubuque Public Library.

I used to follow it to the T, and finally understood that really, it was more like guidelines (as so many recipes truly are).

And then I started being able to use the technique given in that recipe and substitute my own flavors and ingredients, depending on what was in season and available.

No matter what ingredients you use, this is definitely a prep-ahead-friendly recipe.  Chop and measure everything ahead of time, combining ingredients by category.  You can also freeze this as a meal kit...combine ingredients by category, put them in vacuseal bags or ziptop bags, and freeze.  Thaw before cooking.

The use-what-you-have components are:

• fat for sauteing: use butter, olive oil, canola oil, lard, mojo de ajo
• aromatics: use onions, shallots, celery, carrots, leeks or any combo thereof
• stock: chicken, seafood, veggie (not so much beef here)
• protein: fish, chicken, shrimp, scallops, crab (again, not so much beef)
• veggies: chopped bell pepper, snow peas, chopped greens, broccoli, peas, corn kernels, pre-cooked squash cubes
• flavoring: citrus zest, minced herbs

Some favorite combinations are shallots with shrimp, green peas and thyme; celery/onion/carrot with chicken, pepper and savory; crab, leeks, spinach and lemon zest.

Chop, measure, and fridge everything in advance for next-day or same-day cooking.  You can also freeze the components ahead.  To save space with liquids, either freeze wine and stock in ice cube trays beforehand to include in the freezer kit or pour the liquid into a ziptop bag, carefully press air out of the bag, seal and lay flat on a tray to freeze.

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Fez-Style Baked Fish

It's summer, which means on any given day, we're likely to be out playing right up until dinnertime.  So I try to get everything ready for dinner in the morning or the night before so that the most I have to do at dinnertime is stick a prepared casserole in the oven, dump a bunch of stuff into a skillet or even less if possible. 

This is a new twist (for me) on flavors for fish...I love the combination of tomatoes and olives, potatoes and saffron, garlic and cumin but I've never applied it to fish.  The original recipe calls for cilantro along with parsley, but I'm one of those people to whom cilantro tastes weird so I substituted garden mint (read: I can't remember what variety of mint it is anymore) for the cilantro.  I also didn't have cherry tomatoes on hand, so I used a 15 oz. can of cut-up, drained whole tomatoes instead. 

Here's what I did this morning...I mixed up the marinade for the fish (which is still thawing a leetle), parboiled the potatoes and put them in my baking dish, and sliced/assembled the rest of the veggies.  I put the fish in the marinade (even if it's not totally thawed) later in the afternoon before we went out.  When we got home, I put the 3 components together in the baking dish while the oven preheated and baked 30 minutes while wrestling the kiddos into a dinner-appropriate state of cleanliness.  If I had been prepping the night before because I'd be gone all day, I'd go ahead and marinate the fish starting in the morning but not overnight due to the acid content of the marinade.


Another make-ahead thought...if you have leftover boiled potatoes from another meal, use those in this dish!  A single layer of pre-cooked taters in a square baking dish will do you.

One more note...my husband liked this very well as a fish dish, but also thought it would rock as a chicken dish.  Just bake 30-40 minutes for chicken breasts, until they're cooked through.
Adapted from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/dining/baked-fish-fez-style-recipe.html



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Phyllo Wrapped Salmon

A little pastry makes everything more delicious.  So does a little dijon mustard.  And butter.

The idea for this dish is not mine, but I've been making them for so many years that I no longer have the original recipe to attribute to.  It took me some time to work up the guts to try this recipe in the first place.  I was afraid of working with phyllo dough.  So many recipes that use it give caution after caution...handle it gently lest it break...work quickly lest it dry out...keep it covered at all times with a damp towel...brush lightly...fold carefully...it just seemed like a food product that was more trouble than it was worth.  Boy, was I wrong! 

First of all, phyllo is not hard to work with.  It may tear a bit...that's OK.  It may get a bit dry as you work...that's OK.  You don't really need to be working at super-speed or with damp towels or anything like that.  Most preparations using phyllo involve brushing oil or butter between the layers and as we  know, butter fixes everything.  It works as a glue to hold the phyllo sheets in place, it patches tears, it moisturizes dry dough.  You and your phyllo will be A-OK. 

Where to get phyllo?  If you're really bonkers, you can make it yourself (I most emphatically do not).  It comes frozen, usually in the area where frozen pies and Cool Whip live (usually next to the puff pastry).  You'll need to put it in the fridge overnight or on the counter for about 4 hours before it's workable.  The brand I buy comes in 1 lb. boxes which contain two plastic-sealed tubes of rolled phyllo sheets.  You'll only need one tube for this recipe.  You can use the 2nd tube to make more of this recipe or make some genuine Greek goodies like spanakopita (spinach and cheese pies), teropita (like spanakopita, but without the spinach) or baklava. 

If you make these ahead to freeze, you will need to be attentive to wrapping them very, very well in plastic wrap.  In prepping them to cook immediately, you don't need to worry so much about the phyllo drying out, but for longer storage, drying does become a problem.  I wrap each packet individually in plastic wrap before putting them in a larger ziptop bag to make very sure they're protected.  And then of course, when you bake them off, a healthy brush of oil or butter goes a long way toward correcting any freezer dehydration they may have suffered.


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Fish Tacos

Seasoned fillets

I am in love with fish tacos right now.  It's a different way to get fish into the menu and a really nice way to make use of whatever fish happens to be on sale at the market...tilapia, catfish, cod, halibut, mahi, just about any firm fleshed mild-tasting fish will work. 

It's ridonkulously easy to put together, cooks fast and allows each family member to build their preferred plate (ever the joy of Taco Night).  I'm putting it on my freezer kit list because you can shop ahead for the taco components (tortillas, salsa, cheese) and freeze them/store them in the pantry to have on hand for last minute taco dinner.  You can put a dry rub on the fish and freeze the spiced fillets as well.  The addition of final fresh ingredients like shredded lettuce and diced tomato are optional. 

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Cinnamon Marinated Fish

Cinnamon is usually thought of as a sweet spice, but it has a savory side.  In the absence of sweeteners, cinnamon has a peppery smoky quality that pairs nicely with fish.  The cinnamon comes across more strongly in the aroma of the finished dish and is subtle in the flavor.

If you want to do a "taste-test" batch of cinnamon oil, use just 1 cinnamon stick and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.  It will be enough for 2 or 3 marinades.  When you crush up the cinnamon sticks, just pound them in a plastic bag with a meat pounder until they look like mulch. 

It's tempting to buy cheapie spices for this or use cinnamon sticks that have been hanging around since last autumn's spiced cider kick, but the fresher and more strongly flavored the cinnamon is, the better the marinade will be.

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Stay In Take Out: Fried Fish

This is a lighter version of take-out batter-fried fish, but just as crispy.  Adapted from the Frugal Gourmet's Three Ancient Cuisines (again!)...it was actually a "freebie" meal that I prepared in order to have leftover fried cod (sounds weird, I know).  It turns out the fried cod itself was better than the stirfry the leftovers were destined for!  Depending on which carry-out joint you want to mimic, you can serve this plain with horseradishy-mayo dip or on a bun.

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Pistachio Tilapia

Sort of a lower-carb fish amandine recipe.  Suitable for a freezer kit or prepping ahead for same-day or next-day cookery.

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Salmon Pastrami

This is desert island food for me.  As in, if I were stuck on a desert island and could only have one thing to eat, this would seriously be it.  The recipe is adapted from the cookbook from the world-famous, but currently-defunct, NYC restaurant Tavern on the Green.

This is technically a kind of ceviche, as the salmon is cured by the acid from the vegetable-lime juice mixture.  The "pastrami" part of it is the peppery crust you build on top with layers of molasses and coarsely crushed spices.  It's a process that takes days to finish, but is so worth it.  You can freeze it at just about any point once the curing is done: you can freeze the cured, uncrusted fish and apply the spice crust later, you can apply the spices and freeze it whole, or you can freeze it sliced.

Which piece to use

You'll need a fairly large piece of salmon (fussing with pre-cut "fillets" makes slicing it later a pain in the patoot).  You can do a whole side of salmon, but that does make a LOT of pastrami.  If you want to use a smaller piece, I suggest cutting (or have the guy at the fish counter do this) the piece outlined on the picture at right.  The "tail" piece behind it is too thin to slice nicely, and the rest of the fillet ahead of it tends to be wider than a standard knife, which makes carving the finished pastrami difficult. 

It's also best to use fish that's not been previously frozen.  Fish, like fruit, is very delicate at the cellular level and a freeze-thaw cycle makes the flesh mushy.  When you carve the finished pastrami, the firmer it is the better. 

How to slice finished pastrami

It's hard to write instructions for proper slicing of the finished pastrami (at least for me it is).  You want to slice thin slices on the diagonal, kind of like cutting a beef brisket, without cutting through the salmon skin.  Use a knife that's at least 2" wider than the fish.  Hold the knife parallel to the front edge of the fish and angle it diagonally in the vertical plane (like a forward slash if you're looking at it from the side, and you're right-handed).  Saw the knife gently toward the skin following the diagonal line, and then lift at the last millimeter to cut the flesh away from the skin. This -->     picture illustrates the angle of the cut pretty well.

And then there's serving the finished pastrami.  You can put a single slice on a cracker with a pinch of sour cream for an appetizer, or serve it rolled in a flatbread with capers, blanched onions and sour cream (my favorite) or put it on rye toast for a faux Reuben.  You can put a little or a lot of work into preparing the extras for a salmon pastrami sandwich, so I'll have a separate post regarding my preferred condiments.

And now...the recipe:

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Salmon Stuffed with Spinach Pesto

Eat more fish.  And spinach.  It's good for you.  And tasty if you do it my way.  What else can I say?

Today's I Screw Up So You Don't Have To: I added olive oil to my pesto and it was more "sauce" than "paste" and didn't want to stay stuffed inside my salmon fillets.  My recipe is altered to give a thicker result, though my pictures show the runny attempt.

To cut "pockets" in the salmon fillets, try to buy salmon from a counter rather than in freezer packages so that you can try to find the thickest fillets possible.  Use a small, very sharp knife and cut into the thickest part of the fillet.  Work the knife in a fan motion (moving the tip while keeping the "butt" of the knife as stationary as possible at the front of the fillet) to cut as far into the fillet as you can without creating a gaping hole up front.  If you don't want to bother or can only find thin fillets, just slather the pesto on top of the fish to bake.

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Lime-Herb Tilapia

 

Chives and Sage

This is a spin-off of a South Beach Recipe that calls for a quick marinade of the fish in lime juice.  To make it freezer-friendly, I use zest instead of juice as lime juice goes from marinade to ceviche in about 3 or 4 hours.  Tasty, but not what we're after here.

I love that this recipe uses fresh tarragon and chives, two of my garden's early risers.  Well before you can get parsley or thyme starts in the ground, these two are up and at 'em, ready to snip and cook.  If you garden and cook at all, a little bit of space for perennial or self-seeding annual herbs is well worth it.  Sage, tarragon, and chives will come back year after year with no effort on your part, and annuals like savory and basil require very little encouragement to drop seeds and pop up the following year. 
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Fish Burgers and Veggie Croquettes

The common theme with these two recipes is that if you make them ahead to freeze, they need to spend some time in the freezer firming up before you squash the daylights out of them with a vacusealer.  Vacusealing will keep them both much fresher-tasting, but they're prone to going completely out of round if they don't freeze pretty solid first.

The veggie croquette is one of my faves for its dual vegetarian main/side dish status, its repurposing of leftovers that usually won't get consumed and its general old-fashioned-ness.  In fact, the original recipe came from a WWII-era home economics textbook that belonged to my husband's grandmother.  Reading old cookbooks and trying out vintage recipes is as close as I get to liking history, but I must say that it is such an insightful history lesson to cook as women did in another time and place.  There's a moment of connection across generations when you realize that the face your husband made about Meatless Monday Rice Patties with Flourless Cheese Gravy is the same face somebody's husband made about the exact same dish in 1944.  But I digress...
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Apple-soy glazed trout

This is a very easy meal to put together even if you don't do the prep-ahead/freezer thing.  But it does freeze ahead nicely, and that saves me the aggravation of discovering that I've run out of apple juice, struggling to open a new bottle of soy sauce while my children are tearing the living room to shreds, getting ingredients out, putting ingredients back, etc.  It's just one less thing to do at the craziest hour of the day...dinner hour.

Sorry I don't have a picture of this one being cooked, only a picture of the prepped freezer kit.  Like I said at the top of the week, it's been a busy week ergo the freezer meal bust-out and no daily picture-taking.  That's how life goes sometimes.
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Asian poached fish with peppers



Prep-ahead mise-en-place



This is such a great non-recipe.  It works with whatever you've got on hand in the way of fish, aromatics, poaching liquids and vegetables.  I do always use bell peppers, but you could use anything that will steam fairly quickly...bok choy, thin sliced carrots, frozen broccoli or peas.  And it's crazy-fast to make, even if you don't prep ahead.

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