Using a pound of NFM “ground” wild salmon, dried with paper towels, then salt and lots of KH, cooked quickly in the grill pan. Not sure if that helps, but maybe the ridges add some extra sear.
Made a good sized batch of the chimichurri, with lots of our garden oregano, parsley and window sill basil. And a diced jalapeno.
Pan fried a bit of prosciutto in butter then the sugar snap peas.
Kathy made us a good drink before, with proseco, then we had a light red with the meal.
We were very lucky this day to get a delivery of fresh caught haddock from New England Fishmongers by Captain Tim himself. He placed it in a cooler on our front porch, all social distancing protocols properly observed.
We got hooked on cooking fish this way when we were up in Newfoundland in 2018 and had their wonderful fresh caught cod often. Its really simple, cut the fish up into bite sized pieces, salt & pepper, flour and then pan fry in a modest amount of oil. Hint: on the small pieces near the tail you can fold it in half, skin side in, set them carefully in the oil that way and they will stay folded.
I like to make my own tarter sauce, I use a really simple recipe from Rebecca Charles of the Perl Oyster Bar in NYC.
Just mix all of those together.
For a bit of crispyness I did some Crispy Kale, a simple version. Cut kale from the stem and then cut into moderate pieces, sprinkle with a bit of Diamond kosher salt and some David’s Devil Dust. Make sure the seasonings get evenly distributed, kale has wrinkles and folds that can fill up, then give it a good coat of oil and massage it in. Yes, hands work best, and the kale loves it.
Spread on parchment on a baking sheet and in the oven at 350 convection roast for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it and give it good toss and turn about half way through. Go a little longer if necessary, but what you want is just crispy, not desiccated. I shut off the heat and leave the oven door ajar to keep them warm as the rest of the dinner comes together.
French Fries would be fun, but I have some lemon potatoes made a few nights ago that will be just fine. After a brief warm up in the microwave in a cast iron skillet they go to get a bit of fresh sear on them.
An there you have it!
5 July 2014
I’ve been having fun with cooking on stone this year. I read about it, and looked for cooking stones, there are a number of them available but its not clear how long they last without cracking. I have a bunch of cut offs from a slate floor we did a few years back, Why not? Turns out to work just fine. The slate separates into layers after a few times, but still works for a while, and after all, it’s not usable for anything else so I feel good about using it.
This is a take off on a recipe I found in Men’s Health about he-man grilling. Sometimes Market Basket has whole cleaned trout which is good, but you have to deal with the bones. Not a big deal, if properly done, the bones come out easily. But this time they had fillets, so I bought four and then reassemble the with string and bacon. Kathy called it pure genius.
They are stuffed with red onion, lemon slices, fresh thyme from the garden, Finessence and salt. I tried lime once but that did not work. Too sharp. Make some small slits in the skin so more flavor gets in and they curl less. Wrap with bacon slices then tie with kitchen string and add a bit more Finessence.
I made a good bed of coals in the Weber and put on the small grate that actually sits down on the coals, and then added the slate. Let it get hot and then put the trout. The hot slate nicely fries the bacon while the fish cooks. I turned often and basted with a baste of oil, parsley, serranos, shallot, salt and pepper. Took about 17 minutes, Perfect!
I have served this with a green salad, Red Cabbage Slaw or Radicchio and Fennel salad, all of which have been good.
Here’s a great tasting, easy to make appetizer I found a while back in Bon Appetit: Make a single layer of kettle cooked sea salt and black pepper potato chips, top each with some of smoked salmon, top each with a dab of creme fraiche mixed with lemon juice and then sprinkle with diced chives. Eat quickly.
(The kettle cooked chips tend to be sturdier and hold up a bit longer.)
Tip: Seaport Fish in Rye, NH has there own hot smoked salmon that is really amazing. Or try their smoked salmon pastrami.
11 June 2010
Idea taken from Saveur June 2010
Removed skin, good idea, folded length wise and the tail in to make a log, then laid over four strips of bacon and lots of sprigs of thyme, wrapped and held with toothpicks. Seasoned with Finessence and salt.
Grilled on Weber, two zone fire, off direct heat for about 25 minutes. 
Heated pan for greens, added olive oil and garlic, then lowered heat and tossed greens until wilted.
Bulger Salad was from another meal recently.
(and 29 January 2010)
With Acme Smoked Whiting from MB, $7.99 a pound, 1 1/4 lbs. Used edamame again instead of Lima beans. Lots of printouts, followed Gourmet 3/94. Bacon, Onions, russets, celery, frozen edamame, frozen corn, half and half and milk.
With a green salad with pear, pistachios, champagne vinegar and Sicilian olive all. Pears bathed in lime juice.
Irony Chardonnay, Napa 2008, Hannaford $10. Portuguese rolls.
14 April 2011
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Mussels from BA June 1999 filed under TAPAS.
Forgot the tomatoes unfortunately, they are a good addition. Could add chorizo or other sausage. Maybe fresh jalapeños. Do not salt at the end! Plenty from the other ingredients. Two pounds is good for two, four pounds is a bit too much for the big Calphalon pot, but can be done.
Make sure you have good bread.
Salad would be good.
15 February 2011
I went over to Taylor Seafood to see what they had and noticed that the marque still said, “TREAT YOUR VALENTINE TO SOME SEAFOOD!” OK, its not too late then.
with
Variation on the Roasted Swordfish with Tomato-and-Olive Confit recipe in FILE, Swordfish, from Home, March 1998. I simplified a bit, diced a fresh roma tomato, and put in the small copper sauce pan with olive oil, added olives, fresh tarragon, and opps! forgot the garlic! Heated over a low flame while creating the rest of the meal. Also tossed in some sun dried tomatoes in olive oil for good measure. (Pastine brand). Used as a base in the baking dish, and then topped the fish with the same.
Fish was a nice piece of halibut from Taylor Seafoods. From Alaska, $16 I recall. On the skin, one lb cut into three pieces, salted and then seasoned with French Kiss.
Salad is a favorite from Cooking Light, March 2008. The one on unami. Did not have walnut oil, used? truffle? Blood Oranges were a nice touch. Instead of croutons, which Kathy will always push to the side, I crispy fried the prosciutto. Which is fun, and makes a nice touch.
Cascadian “Baby” sic French Green Beans. Not sure how they come up with this . Not much baby or French, i.e. fancy about them. Ordinary green beans on the small side. Nothing like the Trader Joe ones. We have to do a foraging expedition to get more of those.
Dinner
4 December 2010
Trout with Red Cabbage, Jimica & Chipotle Slaw
Grilled Butterflied Trout
with
Red Cabbage, Jimica and Chipotle Slaw
Sautèed Brussles Sprouts with Shallots
Brown Rice
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Trout from Bon Appetit December 2010
I can’t find boneless trout very often, particularity whole boneless. So I deboned it myself, tedious and you loose some meet, but it works. Get bigger trout if possible. these were plus or minus of a half pound. The bigger one worked better. Then flatten it out, looks like a flat fish now. Nice presentation too.
Brussels were leftover from 11/24, recent Cooking Light recipe.
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