Sea Bass Topped with Bacon, Tomato and Breadcrumbs with Roasted Potato and Asparagus

• This recipe came up on a whim while using up left over ingredients from the sip and swap.  The best improvisations were broiling the potatoes last minute for a crisp exterior (along with dicing them small), and adding bread crumbs as part of the topping for the fish.

Roasted Potatoes

• Cube potatoes into small 1/2 inch pieces.  Cook in salted boiling water till fork tender (maybe 20 minutes).
• Drain and place onto quarter sheet pan.  Drizzle with good amount of oil and bacon drippings.  Stir to coat.
• Place in 425 degree oven on the top rack.  During the last few minutes of cooking, broil on high till crisp.  Season to taste

Tomato and Bread Crumb Topping

• 3 strips bacon, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 TBSP finely chopped leek or onion
• 3 TBSP chopped parsley
• 4 TBSP bread crumbs

Add 3 TBSP water and bacon to cold pan.  Turn the heat to medium high.  Cook bacon till crisp.  Remove bacon with slotted spoon.  Save some drippings for the fish and potatoes.

Add tomatoes and onion.  Cook until tomatoes start to soften, then add garlic, adding water to avoid burning the garlic.  Once tomatoes start to blister, add bread crumbs, parsley and cooked bacon.  Season to taste, salt probably not necessary since bacon is used..  Set aside and keep warm.

Sea Bass Preparation

• Sear fish on medium-high heat on its best looking side in a good amount of oil to prevent sticking. The goal is to get a nicely browned flesh.  Too much oil will prevent that, too little will result in sticking.
• Place in 350 degree oven for a few minutes till almost cooked through
• Flip the fish over and finish on the stove

Asparagus

• Cut asparagus into 1/4 inch coins and simply saute with salt, pepper and thyme

Assembly

• Place roasted potatoes and asparagus side-by-side on the bottom of the dish.
• Top with fish and spoon tomato bacon mixture on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mahi Mahi in Parchment

Minimal prep and cleanup to create this moist fish with  a healthy side of veggies.  Easier than steaming!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Mahi Mahi fillets
• 1 large leaf of green chard, chiffonade
• 4 baby carrots, cut into 6 matchstick pieces each
• 1/3 zucchini, diced
• 4 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
• 4 baby tomatoes, cut in halves
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 inch knob peeled ginger, thinly sliced into matchsticks
• 1 green onion, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp agave

DIRECTIONS

1. Divide the green chard into 2 equal portions and place on 2 sheets of parchment paper
2. Place once mahi mahi fillet over each bed of chard. Pepper to taste.
3. Top fillets with carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini ginger and garlic
4. Combine soy sauce, sesame oil and agave in a small town and spoon over the fillet and veggies
5. Top with green onion
6. Place a second sheet of parchment on top of each fillet.  Proceed to fold the sheets together to form a packet, with no gaps or holes
7. Place packets onto a baking sheet
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
9. Once done, open the packets on a plate and spoon the sauce over the fish and veggies

Mahi Mahi Salad with Ginger Soy Dressing

Made this for me and my dad

Mahi Mahi Basting Sauce:

• Sesame Oil
• Agave Syrup
• Rice Vinegar
• Garlic Powder
• Soy Sauce

Combine ingredients in a small bowl.  Baste first side of the fish, then place fish basted side down in a skillet over med-high heat.  Baste the top side. Turn after 5 minutes and once first side is browned.  Continue cooking and basting till completely cooked (about 10 minutes)

Dressing:

• Sesame Oil
• Grated Ginger
• Lime Juice
• Mustard
• Agave Syrup
• Soy Sauce
• Pepper

crispy oven baked fish

Usually I prepare fish simply with salt, pepper and dried herbs. But I wanted to try something a little something new. This recipe turns out a crispy coating that was tasty and didn’t fall apart. It was simple, easy and didn’t require much clean-up.

I gave a healthier twist using the whole grain bread and whole wheat flour I had in the pantry

INGREDIENTS

2 white fish fillets, about 5-6 oz each

1 egg,beaten 1 tbsp mayo 1 dash of hot sauce bit of cayenne and paprika to your taste pinch of salt and pepper 1-2 tbsp flour

2 slices of sandwich bread of your choice 1 tbsp melted butter dried oregano salt and pepper

flour for dredging, seasoned with salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Prepare the breading. Pulse bread crumbs, oregano, butter, salt and pepper in a food processor until wet crumbs are formed. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until golden brown and dry, turning the bread crumbs twice whille baking. Remove bread crumbs from oven and allow to cool. Increase oven temperature to 425 to bake the fish.

Prepare the batter. Whisk egg, mayo, hot sauce, cayenne, paprika salt and pepper together in a flat bottomed baking dish. Add flour to thicken slightly

Place the seasoned dredging flour in a separate baking dish

Cut the fish fillets into 4 equal pieces. Pat dry. Dredge in flour, then coat with egg mixture, then coat with breadcrumbs. Place on a greased wire rack for baking.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of fillets.

Serve immediately.

fried fish with chili sauce

The Lunar New Year celebrations has always revolved around food in our household.  Many foods eaten during this time of the year are enjoyed to bring good things for the coming year.

Dishes that we have every year include
Lion’s head meatballs
A vegetarian dish full of lucky foods: lotus root, moss hair, bean curd sicks and noodles
Fried dumplings
My grandma’s dish of cauliflower, shrimp, mushroom and pork
Whole fried fish

Serving a whole fish (head and tail and all) symbolizes wealth and bounty.  This year, we purchased an already fried fish from the Chinese market and made our own spicy chili sauce at home to serve over the fish and hot rice.

Chili Sauce for Fried Fish:
Garlic
Ginger
Chili Sauce
Soy Sauce
Chinese Black Vinegar

In a small frying pan, hat up the oil (about 2-3 TBSP) under medium heat
Add minced garlic and ginger and fry gently until soft and fragrant (do not brown)
Add a few tablespoons of prepared chili sauce and allow oil to incorporate
Add soy sauce to taste
Take sauce off the heat and add black vinegar and more soy sauce if needed.
The sauce should be somewhat thick and chunky
Pour over thee prepared fried fish

Seafood Stew (modified Ciopinno)

Using up left over fish in the freezer, I pay homage to the City By the Bay, making cioppino.  What I have hears is that ciopinno did not originate from Italy as the name may suggest.  It is a San Francisco dish created by fisherman who wanted to make use of the leftovers from their catch.  The very nature of using whatever is around lends to the variety of seafood that is in the dish.  Apparently some purist believe that a fish stew is not cioppino without the one of the Bay Area’s best catches, dungeness crab.  Therefore, I will be calling this simply a stew.

INGREDIENTS
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 large can of stewed tomatoes, no salt added
1 can of chicken broth
1 c white wine
bay leaf
handful of basil
salt and pepper to taste
4 sprigs thyme
a bit of oregano
handful parsley
chili flakes
assortment of seafood (shrimp, clams, fish, calamari)

soften onion and garlic for about 10 minutes
add wine until alcohol evaporated, then add the rest of the inredients except for the seafood
simmer for about 1 hour
add seafood and serve immediately

*Cleaning Shellfish*
remove shellfiish

Red Curry Fish

I had left over coconut milk and defrosted ono (again), so I tried this quick recipe of fish simmered in curry and coconut milk.  I was able to again make used of our fresh herb garden in the back yard.

8-12 oz fish fillets
1/2 can coconut milk
healthy spoonful red curry paste
kaffir leaves
knob of ginger
basil leaves
cilantro
fresh chili pepper
fish sauce
salt
chicken broth

Heat oil on medium and add curry paste.  Stir till fragrant.
Add coconut milk, ginger, fish sauce and kaffir leaves and bring to a gentle boil.
Boil till a layer of oil form on the top.
Add fish chopped into 1 inch cubes, chilis and enough broth to cover.  Simmer for 3-4 minutes until fish is done.
Add a bit more coconut milk for desired consistency
Remove from heat and ad basil and cilantro
Serve over rice

pan seared ono with sake-soy sauce

B has been a fan of meatier fish: mahi, swordfish and shark. When we saw that Costco had individually wrapped frozen ono for a reasonable price, we had to take some home. Ono was a selection served at our wedding. It came with a lemongrass cream sauce. It was supposed to be served with rice, but it got ruined and wasn’t served at all!

Anyhow, I stumbled across a recipe that used sake in the marinade. We had a set of sake that was given to us as a gift, so I took the opportunity to use it for diner tonight.

Marinade
1/4 c dry sake
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
grated ginger
OJ

Fish
2 Ono fillets

1. Combine the marinade ingredients with the fish and marinade for 20 minutes at room temperature
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Heat non-stick skillet on high
4. Remove fish from marinade and sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Sear fish till one side is golden brown (about 2 minutes)
6. Transfer to oven till the fish is cooked
7. Meanwhile concentrate sauce in a small sauce pan, adding OJ and sugar to taste (I had to use a sieve to remove the proteins from the fish floating in the sauce to make a clearer sauce)
8. Plate the fish and spoon over sauce

Happy Birthday!-Crab Stack, Scallops with Cilantro Pesto, Salmon with Pomegranate Balsamic Glaze

Tonight we have our siblings over to celebrate B’s birthday.

MENU:
Crab stack salad with mango and avocado
Seared scallops
Pan-seared salmon with pomegranate balsamic glaze
Sprinkles cupcakes! – Red Velvet, Black and White, Carrot, Banana

CRAB STACK – Inspired by a dish prepared by two local restaurants. I was looking for something that was both tasty and pretty to look at. The prep is easy and can be done well in advanced (except for the avocado).

Crab Salad – Lump Crab, Mayo, Rice Wine Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Lemon Zest, Pepper
Mango Salsa – Mango, Lime, Red onion (sparing amount), Red pepper, Jalapeno, Cilantro
Avocado Salad – Avocado, Lime
Garnish – Greens

Next time would add: Diced cucumber, serve with something crunchy

Bottom layer: Avocado
Second layer: Crab
Third layer: Cucumber
Fourth layer: Mango
Garnish

SEARED SCALLOP with Cilantro Pesto

Pesto: Cilantro, Salt, Pepper, Lemon, Olive oil
Process cilantro in food processor with salt, pepper, lemon juice. Slowly add olive oil. Add more lemon juice to taste.

Scallop Prep: 1 quart cold water, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp salt – Soak in 30 minutes. Then dry scallops between 2 cookie sheets lined with towels

Scallop Searing: Heat cast iron skillet to high with olive oil. Cook scallops for about 2 minutes. Turn over when browned. Add about 1T butter to pan, spoon over scallops. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Drizzle w/ pesto sauce

PAN-SEARED SALMON with Pomegranate Balsamic Glaze

Glaze: 3T pomegranate juice, 3T light brown sugar, 2T balsamic vinegar, 1T mustard, 1t cornstarch, pinch cayenne

Boil for 1 minute. Keep warm

Salmon: 4 Salmon Steaks, 1t brown sugar, 1/2t kosher salt, 1/4 cornstarch

Season salmon w/ salt and pepper.
Rub salt/sugar/cornstarch mix onto salmon
Brown in pan at medium-high heat until well browned (about 1 minute).
Flip salmon over and transfer to 300 degree oven until done

Thai-inspired fish soup

We had left over pompano from our CNY celebration the night before, so I decided to try a tom yum style soup. Although traditionally the soup base is made with a seafood base, I used water and chicken and waited to add the fish at the last moment to ensure tender meat.

SOUP BASE
Water
Chicken broth
Fish Sauce
Salt
Thai Chili to taste
Galangal, sliced
Garlic, smashed
Kaffir lime leaves
Shallot, thinly sliced
Lemongrass, sliced
Chili sauce cooked in oil (prepared in a jar)
Limes and Lemons, juice and rind – added towards the end

OTHER INGREDIENTS
Pampano added at the end of cooking
Mushrooms
Cilantro for garnish