Fish

Roasted Halibut with Radicchio-Pancetta Sauce, Peas and Artichokes from “Good Fish”

June 13, 2011
Thumbnail image for Roasted Halibut with Radicchio-Pancetta Sauce, Peas and Artichokes from “Good Fish”

Cooking seafood is one of those things which many people find intimidating. I can understand why; most fresh fish and shellfish need to be cooked quickly, yet with care not to overcook. In addition, many people don’t have a lot of experience eating seafood beyond fish and chips and shrimp cocktail and swear they don’t enjoy fish (most likely because they have a bad association with poorly prepared or low quality product).

Fortunately, there’s a new cookbook out there which can dispel most of this uncertainty in an easy to use, approachable manner. Becky Selengut’s book, Good Fish: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast is one of the most thorough books on cooking seafood I’ve seen in a long time. It’s beautifully presented and the friendly, no-nonsense take on cooking fish and shellfish is refreshing and non-intimidating for novice cooks. In fact, each chapter contains five recipes, ranging from easy to advanced. And because the focus …

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Coriander Crusted Ahi Tuna with Cucumber Slaw and Wasabi Vinaigrette

June 15, 2009

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One of the benefits to working in restaurants is that I have access to product which might otherwise be difficult to get or expensive. Occasionally, I ask one of the chefs I work with if I can buy something and thankfully, they almost always say yes. The company I work for specializes in seafood and the nice thing about buying from them is that I know the fish is of the highest quality and I’m able to get it at a reasonable cost.
I find fish in most supermarkets suspect because it’s too hard to tell quality and freshness, not to mention sustainability issues. There are some local fish markets I like, but when the cost per pound exceeds my age, or I don’t feel like making a special trip, I look to the chefs in my company.

One day last week as I was leaving the house for work, my husband said “…

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Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Tuna & Lemon Vodka Vinaigrette

June 8, 2009
Thumbnail image for Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Tuna & Lemon Vodka Vinaigrette

 

 

Asparagus. Artichokes. Tuna….Vodka?
What do these ingredients all have in common? Not much, but that’s the point.

They are the four ingredients chosen at random for this month’s Paper Chef  Challenge by last month’s winner, Allison of Local Lemons. I almost didn’t participate because I really don’t like vodka. My passionate dislike goes back to an “incident” involving one too many Screwdrivers (the drink, not the tool, though come to think of it, a certain boy was being a tool which is what led to the the Screwdrivers…but I digress) in my freshman year of college. Let’s just say it’s been over 20 years and I still can’t touch the stuff.

So it was with some difficulty I came up with a recipe which included the dreaded spirit. I thought about doing a pasta with vodka sauce, but really, I wanted to be able to eat what I made and I don’t …

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Salmon Cakes with Spicy Yogurt Remoulade

June 1, 2009

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I grilled some wild Sockeye salmon a couple of nights ago and had a few cooked pieces left over. I was going to just toss it in a green salad and be done with it, when I thought, why not try something different? When I checked my ‘fridge and pantry, I had all the necessary ingredients to make salmon cakes.

Traditionally, crab cakes or salmon cakes are served with a remoulade. According to my copy of The New Food Lover’s Companion, a remoulade is a mayonnaise based sauce with “mustard, capers, gherkins, herbs and anchovies”. I’ve also seen it with the addition of ketchup, resembling 1000 island dressing. I wanted something lighter and with a bit of zip, so I came up with a spicy yogurt sauce influenced by the more traditional remoulade.

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