Fish

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
¹⁄₂ cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Instructions
1.  Simmer vinegar and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat until vinegar has reduced to thick syrup, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat. 

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over high heat.  Season fish with salt and pepper.  Sauté until golden, about 2 minutes per side, working in batches if necessary. 

3. Rewarm balsamic syrup over low-heat.  Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time.  Season with salt and pepper and serve over tilapia. 

Comments
The sauce comes from an epicurious.com recipe.  I had already planned my own side, so I just used the recipe for the sauced fish component and ignored the rest.  Hindsight ²⁰⁄₂₀, I probably should have reduced the sauce amount to take that into account. 

This is an extremely simple and quick tilapia preparation.  Even with cooking the fish in two batches due to using a smaller skillet, this was on the table in less than 20 minutes.  I opted to use the delicious Pineapple Balsamic Vinegar that I picked up recently and it was a fantastic compliment to the mild (i.e., non-existent) flavor of the tilapia. 

The only thing I would change in the future is the butter to vinegar ratio.  I don’t know if it was due to the vinegar I used or what, but I would have preferred the sauce to be much less buttery and much more vinegary.  Next time I might increase the vinegar to ³⁄₄ cup and decrease the butter to ³⁄₈ cup.  Or something along those lines.  This was so easy, though, that I’ll have no issues with trying it again.  And often! 

Shown here with Balsamicy Pasta Caprese.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 (6 ounces each) pieces cod
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions
1. Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium heat.  Season fish with salt and pepper and sauté until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.  Remove fish from skillet and reduce heat to low. 

2. Add lemon juice, capers, and parsley to the skillet.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly reduced.  Pour sauce over fish. 

Comments
I found this recipe on the blog A Mingling of Tastes.  Lance and I are both cod fans and I was looking to make something other than my typical salmon.  This recipe definitely has potential, but it was entirely too lemony for both of us, and I love lemon!  Next time, I would reduce the juice to just that of one lemon. 

Shown here with Greek Potatoes.

Internet - A Mingling of Tastes

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
6 tablespoons raw or coarse sugar
4 tablespoons kosher salt

Instructions
1. Mix sugar and salt together in a small bowl.  Place salmon, skin side down, in a dish.  Cover the salmon with salt and sugar mixture, cover the dish, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours. 

2. Preheat oven to 500*F.  Place salmon on a baking sheet, skin side down.  Roast for 7-10 minutes or until salmon is done and easily flakes. 

Comments
This recipe is from the blog My Man’s Belly.  Salmon is probably my favorite fish and it’s also one that I know I can always find at the store which is convenient when I’m meal planning.  Lance and I both found this to be a bit too salty, but otherwise it was very nice.  Next time, I’d reduce the salt to 2 tablespoons from the 4 here.  The skin also stuck to the baking sheet, so perhaps pan searing this might have worked better?  This is a fairly simple dish, just be sure to remember the refrigeration time when planning your evening!

Shown here with Rice Cooker Lemon Rice.

Internet - My Man’s Belly

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
6 ounces crème fraîche (I used the storebought kind.)
2 tablespoons white wine

Instructions
1. Pat salmon dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper.  Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and place salmon skin side down in skillet.  Cook for 3-5 minutes per side, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork and is done.  Remove salmon to a paper towel lined plate, skin side up to keep the skin crisp. 

2. Drain the oil from the pan, add in butter and reduce heat to low.  Once butter is melted, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add parsley, crème fraîche, and wine.  Cook, stirring, until combined. 

3. Serve salmon topped with crème fraîche sauce. 

Comments
For those of you following along at home, this was supposed to be Pan Seared Salmon with Sautéed Spinach and Crème Fraîche following the recipe from Chase Blackwell’s blog.  I had all the ingredients out.  I seared the salmon, removed it from the pan, switched out oil for butter, cooked the garlic until fragrant, and then dumped in my container of spinach. 

And then, once the spinach was all in the skillet, I started noticing that there were ladybug-size bugs on it.  Yuck.  Since the spinach was already wilting, I decided that I couldn’t really take it back out of the skillet and wash it properly, so I opted to get out another skillet and make the sauce shown here. 

The moral of this story is always wash produce! 

Thankfully the salmon with the sauce turned out lovely, but I sure do wish there had been spinach as well.  I guess this just means I’ll have to make the dish again in the future. 

Shown here with Super Simple Oven Potatoes.

Internet - Chase Blackwell

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
¹⁄₄ cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
¹⁄₂ cup white wine
4 teaspoons capers
4 pieces of aluminum foil

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F. 

2. Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary.  Place each piece of salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal.  Top each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons wine, and 1 teaspoon capers.  Wrap salmon tightly in foil packet. 

3. Place foil packets on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the salmon flakes easily.  Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis and originally called for a grill or grill pan.  I opted to bake the salmon in the oven instead and found the dish to be very successful.  I served the salmon with the accumulated liquid from the foil packets, but found that this made things to wet.  Next time I’ll leave the liquid in the foil. 

Shown here with Farfalle with Broccoli.

Internet - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 ¹⁄₄ pounds fresh tuna, cut into 1-inch cubes
¹⁄₄ cup teriyaki sauce (I used my favorite Soy Vey.)
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup onion, cut into thin half moons
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
1. Combine the lime juice and tuna in a medium bowl. Combine teriyaki sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add tuna mixture; stir-fry  for 2 minutes. Add teriyaki mixture; stir-fry 30 seconds or until slightly thick. Serve over rice, and sprinkle with cilantro.

Comments
As you can see by the title, this recipe from Cooking Light did not turn out so well.  The tuna was overcooked, which was all my fault, not the recipes.  I cooked it for longer than the recipe called for.  I was mainly displeased with the use of bottled teriyaki sauce, especially after having Teriyaki Flank Steak the other night.  Next time I make this dish, I’ll be using the teriyaki sauce from that recipe instead.  I also found the cilantro to be very… strange.  Which is unusual since I love cilantro.  I think that, next time, I might toss the lime juice and cilantro in with the rice prior to serving instead.  That could work. 

I will make this again, and it will be amazing.  Oh yes.

Cooking Light

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Zest of 1 lemon; lemon cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¹⁄₈-inch matchsticks
1 medium leeks, white and light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and cut into ¹⁄₈-inch matchsticks
4 tablespoons dry white wine
4 skinless cod fillets, 1 to 1 ¹⁄₄ inches thick (Haddock, red snapper, halibut, and sea bass are acceptable substitutes.)

Instructions
1. Combine butter, thyme, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₈ teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Combine parsley, zest, and garlic in another small bowl; set aside. Place carrots and leeks in medium bowl, season with salt and pepper, and toss together.

2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450*F. Cut eight 12-inch sheets of foil; arrange four flat on counter. Divide carrot and leek mixture among foil sheets, mounding in center of each. Pour 1 tablespoon white wine over each mound of vegetables. Pat fish dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper and place one fillet on top of each vegetable mound. Spread quarter of butter mixture on top of each fillet. Place second square of foil on top of fish; crimp edges together in ¹⁄₂-inch fold, then fold over three more times to create a packet about 7 inches square. Place packets on rimmed baking sheet (overlapping slightly if necessary).

3. Bake packets 15 minutes. Carefully open foil, allowing steam to escape away from you. Using spatula, gently slide fish and vegetables onto plate with any accumulated juices; sprinkle with parsley mixture. Serve immediately, passing lemon wedges at table.  (If you’re not using all 4 pieces at once, you should still open them to allow the steam to escape to prevent the fish from overcooking.) 

Comments
Since salmon is my favorite fish, that tends to be the fish I cook most.  I do, however, love other types of fish and Lance is quite the fan of cod.  This recipe from the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual caught my eye and I decided it would be a good one to try when Art was out of town. 

I found the flavors the fish absorbed to be fantastic, the lemon and garlic worked well with the vegetables and it was a nice dish.  The fish pieces were a bit on the small side but this just meant that Lance could have two!

Shown here with Lemon Potatoes.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
4 (6 to 8 ounces each) skin-on salmon fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 ¹⁄₂ cups kettle-cooked potato chips (I used Lay’s kettle cooked original.  Be sure to measure the chips in their uncrushed state.)
1 slice white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions
1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pat fish dry with paper towels, rub all over with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange salmon, skin-side down, on prepared baking sheet and broil on upper-middle rack until fish is lightly browned and edges flake when gently pressed, about 8 minutes.

2. Pulse chips, bread, dill, and lemon zest in food processor until coarsely ground. Remove salmon from oven and brush evenly with mustard. Sprinkle chip mixture evenly over fillets, pressing gently to adhere. Transfer salmon to lower-middle rack and broil until crust is golden brown and crisp, about 2-4 minutes. (Watch it as it cooks, since it can burn in a matter of seconds.) Serve. 

Comments
I always try to take advantage of Art being gone by making fish.  Since salmon is one of my favorites, I thought this recipe from the 2008 Cook’s Country Annual looked interesting enough to try.  Lance and I both thought it was delicious.  I did make the mistake of smooshing the chips down while measuring them and, as a result, I had way too much coating left over and the dill and lemon zest flavors weren’t super strong.  So don’t make that mistake.  In spite of my mistake, this was still delicious and I’ll definitely be making it again in the future.

Cook’s Country 2008

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ pound pasta (I used linguine.  Next time I’d use a whole pound instead of half.) 
1 tablespoon butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
4 ounce cream cheese
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 cups frozen peas
4 ounce smoked salmon, skinned and cut into small pieces (This works with lox as well.)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried dill
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Cook pasta 1 minute less than package directions until just al dente, drain and keep warm. 

2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add broth and cheese; cook 4 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Add tomato, peas, and salmon; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in dill, salt, and pepper.

3. Combine pasta and salmon mixture in a large bowl; toss gently.

Comments
I believe this recipe is from the 2006 Cooking Light Annual and I think it was one of the first recipes I made with fish once I had Lance to eat fish with me.  I picked it to make this week after Aikido because I knew it would be quick and easy to pull together.  I did think that the salmon sauce to pasta ratio was a bit too high and, next time, I’ll try to remember to use a pound of pasta instead of the ¹⁄₂ pound the original recipe calls for.  Aside from that, this is a very flavorful dish and it was extremely satisfying after an evening of training.

Cooking Light 2006

Ingredients
2 carrots, chopped (Or two small handfuls of baby carrots.)
1 small onion, chopped
1 ¹⁄₂ cups white wine
4 sprigs fresh dill, plus 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1 lemon, sliced
Salt
6 cups water
¹⁄₂ cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pepper
4 skin-on salmon fillets, about 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds

Instructions
1. Bring carrots, onion, wine, dill sprigs, lemon slices, 2 teaspoons salt, and water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine yogurt, capers, lemon juice, chopped dill, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl.

3. Add salmon to pot, cover, and simmer gently until fish is opaque and flakes easily at thickest point, 8 to 10 minutes. Using slotted spatula or tongs, carefully transfer salmon to serving platter. Serve with dill-yogurt sauce. 

Comments
I love fish and for years never made it at home since Art wouldn’t eat it.  However, now that Art travels for work from time to time and I have Lance who will eat fish with me, I try to serve it at least once a week when Art is traveling.  I found this recipe in the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual and picked it since it looked good, tasty, and simple.  And because it uses capers.  I love capers. 

I wasn’t let down and both of us found the dish to be delicious.  I did have a hard time finding plain frozen salmon, so I used some lemon garlic pepper marinated salmon instead.  The flavors of the marinade were in line with the flavors in the poaching liquid, so everything worked out well. 

Shown here with Brie Spinach Risotto.

Cook’s Country 2007