Category Archives: fish

Celebrations: Mom’s in town!

Posted on by

So, I’ve been a bit remiss in my posting because my lovely mom has been in town! Here are some highlights of our time together, which of course revolves around lots of food:

A Riesling tasting at Terroir, with Paul Grieco and winemaker Ernie Loosen.
 
Mr. Loosen, who brought over a vertical of his own wines for the tasting from the Erdener Treppchen vineyard, including a 1976 Auslese and a 2006 Auslese Goldkap.
 Our insalata caprese, with basil from my new herb garden!
Yummy succotash with corn, red onion, zucchini, and squash,
baked with lots o’ butta.
Additionally, we discovered a new French bistro, Bistro de la Gare, in the West Village, which provided a deliciously simply meal. Mom’s summer cannelloni were outstanding, with their paper-thin pasta shell overflowing with fresh spinach and the tiniest hint of ricotta. We also visited Fort Greene, hitting up the Flea and the farmer’s market at the Fort Greene park – here, we bought the most delicious cow’s milk cheese from a farm in Connecticut, as well as herbs for my new windowsill garden. 
Then, we had the best meal (Mom’s emphasis) at Bar Boulud after a show, thanks to Josiah’s able skills as a sommelier and the lovely fresh fish we tried. Between Toni, Mom, and me, we tasted almost all of the fish on the menu, which Josiah paired with a beautiful white Burgundy:
coquilles saint-jacques meunière (me)
dayboat scallops, stone ground polenta
purslane, brown butter, hazelnuts

truite arc-en ciel (toni)
local rainbow trout, roasted corn
olive, zucchini, smoked tomato coulis

limande au four (mom)
baked summer flounder, herb salad
glazed market vegetables
lemon buerre blanc

Each of us thought our own dish was the best, polishing our plates. Then we finished the meal with a beautiful apricot tart (the work “tart” vastly under-represents the presentation of the dish – a puff-pastry-like shell surrounded four distinct apricot-halves, served with a tart and refreshing red currant and lemon verbena ice cream), as well as a plate of the macarons and chocolates. Josiah gave us a taste of a Sauternes – not usually a favorite of mine because it can be quite thick and cloyingly sweet; however, this one was tasty with the apricots and rather refreshingly easy on the palette. Bar Boulud is hands down my favorite one of the chef’s restaurants and, in my opinion, one of the best restaurants in town.
And finally, we had an easy, rustic pizza night at Keste, a Neopolitan-style pizzeria on Bleeker Street. The staff is almost entirely Italian; the wine list features wines from the Campagna region; and the pizza is one of the most authentic I’ve had in Manhattan. We ordered the Regina Margherita and the special, a four-cheese white pizza with prosciutto, whose crunchy parmigiano flavor made it my favorite. We washed down not one but two carafes of Falanghina, a medium-bodied white wine I discovered in Rome last year. Following the pizza and wine, we walked around the corner to L’Arte del Gelato for the finishing touches on a great weekend.
And she comes back today!!

Quick and Easy: Striped Bass with Lemon, Butter, and Parsley

Posted on by
After a wonderful date night at Marea on Saturday night, where I ate my way through four courses and topped it off with a macchiato, I did not sleep. Call it heartburn from too much food or heart palpitations from the coffee or an unhappy coincidence – I was suffering on Sunday from lack of rest. So when it came time for dinner, I wanted something that would be simple and easy, no grocery shopping involved.

Marea, photo courtesy nydailynews.com
I had thawed the striped bass fillets Stevie had given me the night before, so I knew that they would be the central component of the meal. Looking in the fridge, I found: lemons, garlic, parsley, zucchini, lettuce, and half of an avocado. Most of these ingredients consisted of produce that was looking not quite as fresh as it did two days ago and thus needed to be used. 
Check out the beautiful globular zucchini I found at the market
Stevie had pan-seared her fillets in butter and topped them with an herb sauce, and since I happened to have a lot of parsley on hand, this seemed like a good (and quick) way to prepare my fish. I heated some butter in a frying pan and added some chopped garlic. Once I rinsed the fish, I dusted the fillets with a bit of sea salt. When the butter was hot,  I added them to the pan and let them sit in the fat, two minutes per side. To finish them off, I stuck the pan in a 500-degree oven for another two minutes, then promptly removed and plated, drizzling them with the pan juices and some freshly squeezed lemon, topping with loads of parsley.
Seared bass with garlic butter, fresh lemon juice, and parsley
Meanwhile, I was thinking about lunch. This June, I have placed a little budget bet with myself, and one of the ways I have been keeping on track is by bringing my lunch. Sounds simpler than it is, I’m afraid, especially given how busy and tired I usually am in the evenings. However, creativity prevailed, and I decided to slice and stir fry the zucchini… until I realized I was already frying fish. I quickly changed course when I discovered some frozen peas, and rather than try to thaw and risk overcooking them, I threw them (ice crystals included) into a saucepan with my salted zucchini. Although I had to periodically remove excess liquid, the result was a pot of crisply-steamed green vegetables. I threw some fusilli into boiling water, and my own version of pasta primavera was done in 15 minutes.
Dinner is served!
In a salad bowl, I added the lettuce and avocado, tossing it with the rest of the lemon juice, s&p, and a dash of Croatian olive oil. All of this took about 20 minutes between prep to table. That, combined with the lovely green palette, made this a very satisfying, light, and healthy meal that did not keep me up at night.

Celebrations: Fish Tacos for a New Job

Posted on by

To celebrate my new job at Saveur, Stevie invited me over for some lovely fish tacos. Josiah, her bf, had caught a 22-lb. striped bass a few nights before out on Long Island, so she had obviously been brainstorming delicious and creative ways to use up all that goodness filling up her freezer. Enter tacos – fresh, tasty, and easy.

the necessary fixings: radishes, avocado,
cilantro, onion, and lime

Stevie was busy julienning her radishes when I arrived, so I took over fish duties. I gently massage the flesh until it began to flake and fall apart. In a separate bowl, I threw together some whole wheat flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, then heated some olive oil in a pan (we had decided to fry in olive oil based on the recent Saveur article that focused on olive oil’s frying capabilities). Each batch was cooked for about a minute and a half each, then set to drain on some paper towel, sprinkling them with lemon juice while they rested momentarily.

the fish, resting

Then, assembly time. Stevie heated oil in a separate pan to fry up the tortillas, which resulted in crispy, half-moon taco shells. We filled our individual tacos with fish, avocado, radishes for some kick, white onion, and cilantro, then drizzled lime juice over each one. Stevie had brought a Chinon rose for us to sip on – 100% Cabernet Franc and delicious. What a way to celebrate!

‘ze tacos, before they were devoured

Dalmatian-style Dinner

Posted on by
On Sunday, I was treated to a lovely dinner, made Croatian-style. Cooking fish has long been one of my worst phobias, one I inherited from my mother. I am always afraid of the fillet falling apart or over-/under-cooking the tender flesh. However, fish is a staple of Mediterranean cuisine, especially for countries along the coast.

Toni went to the source for the perfect recipe – his mom and grandmother. We then paid Whole Foods a visit to pick up ingredients: whole branzino, red potatoes, vegeta (a vegetable-based seasoning from Croatia), parsley, and garlic. I also picked up frozen blackberries for dessert.
 
We began by making potatoes dalmatian style – krumpir na dalmatinski način – which were essentially pan-roasted red potatoes. These we thinly sliced sliced and layered in a small saucepan, which was lightly coated in olive oil. In between layers, we added parsley, garlic, and vegeta. We covered the potatoes with a bit of olive oil, a bit of white wine, and water, then set to simmer over medium heat until the water evaporated.

Meanwhile, I prepared a blackberry cobbler while Toni set to work on the fish. He salted the exterior and, after slicing it open down the sternum, sprinkled the inside with sea salt and pepper as well. The fish was placed in a pan covered in aluminum foil and lightly coated with olive oil. Both were set in a 350 degree oven to cook – the fish for 10 minutes each side, the cobbler for an hour. 
I paired the meal with Florian Mollet’s Sancerre, a beautiful, delicate, crisp Sauvignon Blanc – in fact, one could call it perfection in a glass. The minerality perfectly accented the sea-salty goodness of the branzino, and I was sad when I finished the last drop. We cleaned our plates, making sure to eat even the cheek meat… I had never thought to do so before, but apparently it’s the most tender part of the fish. After an heirloom tomato and avocado salad, we finished the meal with a still-bubbling cobbler and bourbon vanilla whipped cream. Summer has arrived!