Almost every Sunday night I go out to my parents house and cook a meal, usually another sibling shows up, maybe more. It’s a dinner that could be for as many as four to ten people, and I usually don’t know about the extra six until I get there. These dinners are a good time for experimenting, trying new products and working on my improv skills. Since some of these dinners turn out to be something pretty cool I thought I would start keeping track of them. And, it’s a good way to see how my mind works in creating these menus off the top of my head.
SUNDAY NIGHT DINNER
June 22, 2008
Farmers Market Salad
Broccoli, Dried Cranberries, Blue Cheese, Balsamic Vinaigrette
Spicy Cabezon
Seared Potatoes, Olives, Herbs, Oranges, Avocados
This weekend the products I had to work with were very exciting, this was the Cabezon (a rockfish) that I had just bought at the farmer’s market! So fresh, I didn’t need to do much to the fish to make it taste great. This is what I did:
Cabezon – I found chilies and garlic in my Mom’s pantry and I had just clipped some fresh herbs out of my garden before I came over. So I seasoned the fish with salt and pepper, seared it (serving side down first) in a hot saute pan. Once could see the fish starting to cook up the side and it had come loose in the pan, meaning it was sufficiently seared, I flipped it.
Once flipped I added some sliced garlic, sliced chilies and a pat of butter. Then tilt the pan to the side and start spooning the butter over the fish, this helps to cook it but it also adds another level of flavor. Just a couple minutes and it’s done. Fish should still be transparent when you cut into it, not dry and flaky, perfectly cooked fish is a very wonderful thing.
Potatoes – These were made just from random items found in the fridges and cupboards of my parents house. I took some Yukon Gold potatoes, simmered them whole in salted water until they were a little more than half way cooked. Then I took them out, cooled them just a bit and sliced them into 1/2″ thick rounds. In a saute pan I sauteed some onions, olives and garlic then pulled them out and heated the pan back up. In that very hot pan with oil I seared the potatoes, making sure to keep plenty of oil in the pan for the potatoes to fry in. Once they were all seared I added the onions and other pre-cooked items back in, along with some orange zest, orange juice, avocados and fresh herbs.
1 Comment
August 3, 2008 at 4:17 am
Thanks !