language happiness

When I was a kid, I used to love doing word (and math) puzzles. Dell Magazines mostly. One of the only interests from childhood that still exists with me now, actually.

I was 10 when I started. And the harder the puzzles got, the more complicated words I would see repeated in the puzzles. But they were words that, at my young age, I hadn’t yet heard in conversation around me. And rather than look the word up to check pronunciation, I simply said it my way, in my head.

Like segue. I always thought was pronounced "seh-gyoo" until I heard a friend use it in a sentence when I was a teenager.

Really.

Fast forward a couple of decades and guess what? I found myself doing the same thing with food words. Anything I hadn't heard said aloud could take on a ridiculous pronunciation in my brain. Caprese? "Ka-preeze." Orecchiette? "Oh-retch-ee-ett." Mise en place? Don't even ask.

So when I finally did hear these words and phrases said correctly, I had to laugh. I consider myself so good with language, and not just English. I know "the Romance languages" like French and Italian dammit! I can even get by reading news articles in those languages! I'm smart, I swear!

All protesting aside, I am genuinely amused by my mistakes. Because I like not always being smart. Sometimes I have no common sense and I just have to shake my head and laugh at myself.

When I remarked on this to Steve and wondered why I continue to do this, he gave me a funny look.

“Really? You have to ask why?”

And then it dawned on me: Steve and I have our "own language" in which we do this every day. We say everything phonetically and marvel at the hilarity of English. So I must be dealing with these foreign words the same way in my head.

Gwan-kee-all? Um, no. That would be gwan-chah-lay. Good lord.

So what does this have to do with this dish? I’m sure by now you can venture a guess.

It's the word. Spanakopita. Great, great word. I love it. Not only does it sound just the way it's spelled, but it also tells you exactly what it is, no extra brilliant translation skills required.

Spa-nak-o
pita

Spinach
pie

Happiness. Language happiness. Some months back, I woke up in bed one morning with this word in my head. I mulled it over, I said it out loud a few times, and then I giggled in geeky amusement.

Of course I knew I had to make it. Not as triangle appetizers, but as a main dish. Because as I have mentioned in this space before, I am a spinach addict.

And this was wonderful. I'd never even tasted spanakopita, but now I'm hooked. Spinach nirvana.

I didn't use anyone's recipe in particular. I was inspired by Peter and Ivy from the times they posted about it. And I give credit to Tyler Florence for his use of chives and oregano on the layers of dough.

But in the end, this is a recipe that I feel is mine. My own real recipe! On my very first try! I guess it brings me right back to what I said last post... what fun there is to be had when you let go of all expectations of certain results...

Spanakopita

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
2 large eggs
8 ounces feta, crumbled
1 cup ricotta
3 tablespoons chives, very finely chopped
3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 lb frozen phyllo sheets, thawed (my package had two 1/2 pound rolls, each with 20 9-inch x 14-inch sheets)

Method

In large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Let cool and then transfer to large bowl. Add the spinach, salt, pepper and red pepper flake.

In medium bowl, combine eggs, feta and ricotta and beat well to blend. Pour the egg and cheese mixture into the bowl with the spinach and mix well.

Combine chives and oregano in small bowl and set aside.

Melt butter in microwave or small saucepan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush one tablespoon canola oil and a dab of melted butter on the bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch pan.

Carefully unroll the phyllo. Make sure you have a damp towel ready to lay back down on top of the stack as you remove each sheet. If not, the dough will easily become brittle and dry (read: frustrating).

Place one layer of phyllo on the bottom of the pan. Brush with butter and sprinkle with the chives and oregano. Repeat, using 10 sheets of phyllo total, brushing each layer with the butter as you go. The chives and oregano should be added every other layer.

After 10 sheets, pour the spinach cheese mixture into the pan, spreading it in an even layer across the dough.

Continue placing the remaining 10 layers of phyllo on top of the filling, again brushing each layer, keeping the remaining sheets damp, and seasoning with the chive-oregano mixture every other sheet. Make sure the top is buttered and add a dash of kosher salt and ground pepper if you desire. Score the top few layers of dough (preferably in a more logical manner than I did).

Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!

letting go

I have been having so much fun in my kitchen these days. Ever since the pasta ceci experience, I feel that I have completely let go of all worries in my cooking... yet even further, in my blogging.

A few weeks ago I discovered just how absorbed with my online life I really was. So many blogs and people and sites and emails filled my brain that I was behaving like a self-centered asshole. Really I was. I mean, if you have an overload of stuff going on in your head... well, you can't help but walk around simply living in your own head. And that point was driven home when I acted that way to the detriment of someone very close to me. It was painful to recognize what I had done, but the good part is that it set me upon a better path.

Online life is not bad in and of itself, but I needed a balance that would aid in my participation in the life physically around me. Thus, I've done a lot of cleansing. So many of you... you know you're important to me because I show it. As for the rest, well, the number of blogs in my reader has diminished significantly, as have my Facebook friends. And the sad thing is I don't remember half of who I deleted, just a couple of weeks later. Telling, isn't it?

So maybe I won't get as many comments and maybe my site won't get as many hits because I'm not visiting 70 people that I used to visit. But it doesn't matter. That's not why I set out to blog and I needed to remember that.

From this point forward, I am going to be very careful about who I follow along with and who becomes a part of my day-to-day thinking. Because for as much as I would love to have time and space in my head for hundreds of lovely people and wonderful cooks, I just don't. It's not you, it's me. ;)

And it's been quite a relief. I have felt the effects very quickly. And like I said, I have now had so much fun in my kitchen. I finally reached the place I wanted to reach when I wrote this post back in January. No longer am I worried about anything being "perfect" or the pictures being "post-worthy" or my food being "interesting enough." I'm done with all that.

I'm also done with looking up recipes for damn near everything. Seriously, do I even need one for orzo and sauteed spinach? Of course not. But that's what I was making myself do every night, even for the simplest things. Look up recipes. But I just want to cook!

This main dish came from a magazine I bought on a whim at the grocery store. And it was GREAT. I bought two magazines the same night, both specials from Fine Cooking, and I have made six recipes from them in two weeks. Crazy. I never do that. Fine Cooking kinda rocks on these issues. But I'll rid myself of them once I've finished with the recipes... I should also mention that I gave away all my other cooking magazines and then canceled subscriptions. I can look up all that stuff online, with magazine sites or blogs or just a simple search, and they were cluttering my house. So instead of going through them and picking and choosing, I simply unloaded them all. Ahhhh.

Oh what fun there is to be had when you let go of all expectations of certain results...

Herb and Parmigiano-Crusted Tilapia with Quick Tomato Sauce
courtesy of Fine Cooking, December 2007

Ingredients

2 large cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
Pinch granulated sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, chives, or oregano (I used the first three)
Four 6-oz. skinless tilapia fillets
1 large egg

Directions

In a small (1- to 2-quart), heavy saucepan, cook the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat until it begins to color, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, sugar, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, on a large plate, toss the breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, herbs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Beat the egg in a wide, shallow dish. Dip each fillet in the egg and then the breadcrumb mixture, pressing it on to help it adhere.

In a 12-inch heavy-duty nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 4 Tbs. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add two of the fillets and cook until the coating is nicely browned and the flesh is opaque and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Use a slotted spatula to move the fish. Repeat with the remaining fillets. Serve the tilapia with a spoonful of the sauce.

content

It's not very often that I feel content in my kitchen. Happy? Sure. When I put a good dinner on the table or bake something with success. Of course that makes me happy. But it's more of an "I accomplished something" kind of feeling. It's my methodical, left-brained nature at work.

Contentment is something different. It's feeling like... no matter what I do, the dish will come out fine. That I can enjoy the process. That I can savor the smell and feel and taste of each ingredient as it combines with the next. And I can trust in the idea that it doesn't have to be perfect.

That's what this pasta ceci did for me.

Granted, it's partly in the way Rachel wrote the recipe. Most folks wouldn't tell you to cook a soffrito until it's "floppy" or bring the soup to a "happy boil." There was such a calm, cheerful attitude that came through her words. It was like a friend standing next to me in my kitchen, chatting with me, every so often telling me the next step. And never rushing or criticizing.

In essence, this recipe made that doubting voice in my head go silent. I didn't worry about what size the vegetables I chose were or getting them finely chopped just so. I didn't stress over converting grams or milliliters. In fact, I didn't measure much at all.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was performing alchemy on my stove. That something wonderful was blossoming under my nose and that it was going to make me deeply, blissfully content.

And it did.

I loved this so much. I do remember looking at it when it was done and wondering, just for a moment, if it looked just like Rachel's or like Claudia's... questioning it's consistency... whether I added enough or too many chickpeas. And then I smiled knowing that it didn't matter. This one was mine and it was going to be awesome.

You might think I'm overreaching here. That I'm giving this dish too much hype. If so, then you need to try it for yourself. For something so traditional, so simple, it's astoundingly good. Complex, rich and delicious. I can only hope it brings the same kind of smile to your face as it did to mine.

Pasta ceci
courtesy of rachel eats via cook eat FRET

Ingredients

250g dried chickpeas soaked overnight and then simmered for 2 hours until tender or 450g tinned chickpeas
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
medium carrot peeled and finely diced
stick of celery finely diced
mild onion peeled and finely diced
2 tbsp tomato concentrate
small sprig of rosemary
500ml vegetable or chicken stock or water the chickpeas were cooked in with more plain water added to make up the 500ml if necessary (use the chickpea water!!)
optional - 500ml extra water or stock for if you cook the pasta in the soup.
Parmesan rind
salt and freshly ground black pepper
225g small dried tubular pasta (I was able to find ditalini, but you can substitute any number of pasta here)
your nicest oil for on top

Method

Prepare your soffrito of finely chopped onion, carrot and celery, sauteing them gently and slowly in the oil in a large heavy based pan until soft and floppy and translucent.

Then you add the tomato concentrate and a sprig of rosemary, stir, and then add 2/3 of your cooked chickpeas.

Stir again and then cover everything with stock or water, throw in a Parmesan rind. Bring the pan to a happy boil, reduce to a simmer and then leave the pan to bubble away gently for about 20 minutes.

Now remove the rind and rosemary and pass everything through the mouli or give it a blast with the hand blender to create a smooth gloopy soup.

Now you add the rest of the cooked chickpeas and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Now the two choices:

1. you can either add some more water or stock to the soup, bring it to the boil and cook your pasta directly in the soup

or

2. you can cook your pasta separately in some fast boiling salted water and then add it to the soup, then let things rest for about 5 minutes so the flavours mingle.

Serve dribbled with more extra virgin olive oil and some freshly grated Parmesan.

Serves 4

**I'm also submitting this soup to Presto Pasta Nights, founded by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, and hosted this week by Daphne at More than Words. Come by on Friday to check out all the wonderful pasta and noodle dishes in weekly roundup #118!

the best one

Yesterday marked an interesting occasion for me and Steve. It was the 15-year anniversary of our commitment to one another. Not our wedding, but when we started "officially" dating, the way you think of those sorts of things when you're young.

15 years. Damn. It was always easy for me to remember the date, as I am good with numbers anyway, but it's also 3 days after my birthday. So it was a good time of year overall I suppose.

I remember I had just turned 19, he was still 18 for three more months. We were sitting in front of 7-11 in my mom's hand-me-down Oldsmobile, which I inherited when she moved to Florida. We were eating nachos. Don't judge. Back then, especially with utterly unrefined palates - not to mention virtually empty pockets - those nachos were awesome.

I asked him if he wanted to be "committed." Funny choice of words hehe. But it had been a while coming. We actually lived as roommates for a while, along with his brother. We were best friends. We spent all our free time together. And just a couple of weeks before that, we had moved to different places but missed each other terribly. We even had said 'I love you' days prior, with him going first, out of the blue one day getting ready for work.

And here we are. 15 years later. And more in love than I could have possibly imagined back then. It just gets better with age. And a lot of good work. ;)

So I made rib eye steaks to commemorate the occasion. And a garlic mushroom sauce (butter, a load of minced garlic, half a pound of sliced mushrooms, homemade chicken stock and salt) and mashed potatoes and peas, all with no recipe. A big deal in my world. And we loved it oh so much, which made the night that much sweeter for me.

Steve may not cook for me, and I do lament that on occasion, I do. But at least he went to my favorite Thai place with me for my birthday, which was huge. And he loved it ohthankgod. He also very, very rarely does the dishes.

But I can tell you that I haven't cleaned the cat box in 5 years nor have I picked up a vacuum in probably 7. He does those things himself. He also cleans the bathroom, dusts and splits the laundry with me. No complaints.

And he's so damn loving and emotional and affectionate. I love that about him. And truly, even more so after all these years, he is my best friend. We still spend all our free time together. Okay, mostly. I do have girlfriends I see on my own and I also love being alone for a time on the weekends. But still. We finish each others' sentences, think the same thoughts, laugh at the same things. It's almost startling sometimes. We say we share a brain.

I am so lucky. And so is he. He's the best one. The best one for me. Nothing greater can be found with another human being, should you choose to walk that path. I am very blessed. So here's to another 15 with a lot of growth and a lot of love. I can't wait.

I get to give gifts!

I played fair and used the random number generator online to come up with my five acts of kindness winners. And here they are!



8. Karen
11. Judy
18. Julia
23. The Home Cook
27. katie

Please send me your mailing addresses so I can have it when the time is right. I have 12 months, but I hope to send something much sooner. And don't forget to post about this on your blog so you can pass it on.

I can't wait to send something to my recipients. I love giving, and I know many of you do as well. So for the rest of you, please also feel free to repost and find your own readers to pay it forward. It's not like there can ever be too many acts of kindness or thoughtfulness, right?

you are what you eat

I find this at once sad, startling, amusing and enlightening. Check out 18 households' refrigerators in all their unedited glory (including oft intriguing personal info on each one):

Mark Manjivar - You Are What You Eat

acts of kindness

courtesy of Cute Overload. See the first photo here.

I'm having my first giveaway. This isn't any kind of normal giveaway. This is one in which you, the winners, will have to work to pass on to others what you have won.

But it's not hard. Just reach out, do something kind, make someone happy. Easy. Here’s how it works:

1. Leave a comment on this post no later than 8 pm PST Monday, May 25. I’ll pick 5 comments by random, on whose authors I’ll bestow an act of kindness, and I’ll announce the winners Tuesday morning.

2. My kindness can be anything of my choosing. It might be handmade and it might be purchased, but it will be selected just for you. It will be given to you sometime in the next 12 months. I make no guarantees that you’ll love it (or not find it odd or quirky), but I guarantee that it will be heartfelt on my part.

All you have to do, dear readers, is have a blog and be willing to pass on the kindness by creating a similar post. If you don’t blog but you Facebook, pledge to bestow a kindness on five Facebook friends. If you do neither, play the game the old-fashioned way: find a neighbor, stranger or friend in need and fill it.

Won't that be great??

Many thanks to Mayberry Magpie. You, my dear, are a gem. Thank you for your kindness.

make this or I will hunt you down and kick you in the shins, part 2

aaand I'm back!

No, you're not seeing things. I wasn't sure it could happen, but it did. Henceforth, this will be known as:

"The Recipe That Made Me Love Lamb Again"

I had to try it again, I just had to. I hate not liking something, especially a meat that looks as great as this one always does. Magazine after magazine, post after post, I saw pink, succulent, beautiful lamb and I was determined to bring that back to my table. So I printed out about a dozen recipes and settled on this one.

And oh my. No words. For as much as I raved about the chicken dish, as much as I threatened with the shin kicking, this recipe... well, this blows that one out of the fucking water.

We could not stop talking about it for days. It made me love - not like, love - something I thought I hated. HELLO!

Steve, already the ultimate lamb lover, was so excited about this when it came off the stove, that he styled his own food. I think he's better at it than I am.

My plate:

His plate:

It was pretty hilarious, actually, when I stopped taking pictures of mine and looked up only to see him artfully arranging his chops and asparagus. Heh.

The blend of herbs, spices, oil and vinegar that soaked into the chops... 10 different flavors... it defies description. The best we could come up with was that it tastes like what lamb *should* taste like. Like it was meant to be. And if that wasn't enough, you have a mint vinaigrette on the asparagus and you know about mint with lamb. Like bread and butter.

I know there are a few folks who don't like lamb and I won't push you to feel otherwise (even though I did ha!). But if you already love lamb, you must, MUST, MUST try this. Forget the shin kicking, I will kick your ass if you don't make this.

Don't make me come over there!

@)#($*%&%^ MAKE THIS DAMMIT!

Herb-and-Spice Lamb Chops with Minted Asparagus
recipe by Chef Jason Wilson of Crush
courtesy of Food and Wine

Ingredients

Lamb
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
1/4 cup rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons marjoram or oregano leaves
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground fennel
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
12 lamb loin chops, 1 1/2 inches thick

Asparagus
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds pencil-thin asparagus

Directions

Marinate the lamb: In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the oil with the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, 4 minutes. Transfer the garlic oil to a blender. Add the rosemary, parsley, marjoram, salt, pepper, fennel, cumin, cardamom, vinegar and the remaining 3/4 cup of oil and puree until smooth.

Arrange the lamb chops in a shallow baking dish. Pour the marinade on top, turn to coat and refrigerate overnight. Return to room temperature before grilling.

Prepare the asparagus: In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and shallot and simmer over moderate heat until fragrant and softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a blender, add the lemon zest and let cool. Add the mint and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and puree to a chunky paste.

In a large skillet of boiling salted water, cook the asparagus until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain the asparagus and run under cold water to cool; pat dry. Transfer the asparagus to a platter and drizzle with the mint dressing.

Light a grill or heat a grill pan on high heat. Remove the lamb chops from the marinade and grill over high heat, turning occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes for medium-rare meat. Serve the lamb chops with the asparagus.

make this or I will hunt you down and kick you in the shins, part 1

You know how you make a new recipe sometimes, a recipe you're fairly confident and excited about and then you make it and eat it and it turns out so unbelievably great, you want to just RUN to your blog, post about it and say:

"PLEASE, PLEASE, PEOPLE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE THIS!"

Except you know that, if you're lucky, only one or two people really will because, let's face it, we all use these superlatives to describe our food and other people's food so much, you'd have to use a thesaurus to try to get your point across and even then people will still say "hm, okay, I may try it" but really they won't because we all yell about our food all the time and how do they know that THIS one is really that amazing?

Anyone?

Good.

Because this is one of those recipes.

Sure, it looked tasty in the magazine. But it struck me as more of a satisfying weeknight dinner, nothing to stand up and scream about. We never expected to be floored by it. But floored we were.

I am madly in love with every last thing in this pan.

What's even more mind-boggling to me is that this is one of TWO dinners like that this week! What are the odds? Part 2 to come at the end of the weekend, when I get back home... and if you've known me for a while, you won't believe what it is.

I'm not going to belabor the point.

Okay, yes I am.

MAKE THIS DAMMIT!

Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with Asparagus, Spring Onions and Parsley-Tarragon Gremolata
adapted from bon appétit, April 2009

Ingredients

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons (or more) extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound spring onions, dark green parts discarded, white parts cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, pale green parts cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 1 cup)
3/4 pound slender asparagus, tops cut into 3-inch pieces, stems cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chicken stock (or low-sodium broth)
1 tablespoon crème fraîche

Preparation

Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl; cover gremolata and set aside.

Sprinkle chicken lightly with coarse salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches and adding more oil as needed, cook chicken until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side (if using thicker than 1/2-inch pieces, cook for about 4 minutes per side). Arrange chicken on platter and tent with foil.

Add 1 tablespoon oil and butter to same skillet. Add white and green parts of onions and sauté until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add asparagus. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper and sauté 1 minute. Add chicken stock, reduce heat to medium, and simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender and stock reduces and thickens to glaze, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and gremolata. Season with salt and pepper. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to platter, arranging around chicken. Drizzle sauce over chicken and serve.

the recipe that wasn't

I know from Facebook remarks, emails and the like that many of you saw the recipe for potato wrapped halibut in the March 2009 bon appetit. Like a lot of folks, I was immediately drawn to this recipe, as I anticipated a crispy bit of Yukon gold potato encasing the tender fish.

Check it out. Doesn't it look fantastic?

Alas, it was not meant to be. This is one of those times I really, really wish I had looked online to read reviews. Because if you:

a) Do a Google search for it

or

b) Read the reviews on Epicurious

then you will see that the overwhelming majority of home cooks had a terrible time with it. It's one of those recipes that they make look a lot easier than it is. Nearly impossible without a mandoline to cut the potato slices paper thin and without pieces of fish that are far thinner than normal. Actually, just a bitch of a recipe in general.

Granted, I did have a mandoline. I've always wanted one, but it was this very recipe that gave me the push to buy it. I still didn't slice them thin enough. And Steve, ever the common sense person, looked at my potatoes and fish and asked... "how are the potatoes going to stay around the fish?" Well the answer is they weren't. Not for me.*

The good news is, instead of letting it bother me, I made a fantastic dinner regardless. Hooray for progress with emotional stability in the kitchen haha.

I did a simple sear with the halibut, nothing more than salt and pepper in some better olive oil. I then took the sliced potato pieces and threw them in my cast iron skillet with some canola oil to fry. I also still did the spinach, though without slivered garlic and instead with simple garlic powder.

I'll tell you something. Steve giving me free reign in the kitchen was really, on one level, license for me to just cook more damn fish. I love fish. I crave it, so of course I want him to want it too. He's never even tasted halibut and I presumed it would suit him, being firm and meaty and all that. Which is why I finally tried this recipe. So when it didn't work, I was kind of like "eh, whatever, it will be a bland fish meal... but he still can't complain HA!"

But it wasn't bland. At ALL. I suppose I should know from eating high end sushi that there is something to be said for quality. And like a fine steak, a truly good piece of fish can speak for itself with very little done to it.

It tasted spectacular. We were both genuinely taken aback at how flavorful the fish was. And because of this simple dinner, I could bring home some halibut tomorrow and it would be met with much enthusiasm.

Failed recipe? No worries. THIS is what I consider success.

*The book I mentioned a few posts ago, Fish Without a Doubt, has a potato wrapped fish recipe too and with the method he gives (pesto as 'glue', plastic wrapping and refrigerating for hours), I may try doing it again sometime.