More Fish

Whole roasted Lane Snapper, basil, lime, salt, pepper, olive oil.

Roasted at 425 and served with a side of polenta, it doesn't get much better. Share it with a friend and fight over the cheeks and collar. (And yes, one of those slashes went a bit too deep.)

More on this tart later . . . .

Cleveland.com

Thanks for the votes in the poll. With those in mind I gave posting on Cleveland.com a try. Recipe for Provencal style Snapper here.

Not much of a first post for me over there. No real narrative or anything like that. But, we'll see what happens.

Almost French

Four simple courses, starting with the cheese above. For reasons mentioned in the last post, there will likely be more brie in my future. The wine is from the Market Avenue Wine Bar (50% off takeaway wines), which is sadly moving (closing?) in the near future. A biodynamic Cotes du Rhone winds up being about $16--not bad for a decent bottle. The bread source, unfortunately, is not worth mentioning.

Above is a classic vichyssoise (French or not), cooling in a sink half filled with water and ice packs. I followed a Julia Child recipe, available here. Basically it was just boiled leek whites and peeled potatoes pureed in a blender. I thinned with chicken stock from Souper Market, a local mini-chain of soup shops. They've got it to go fresh or frozen. While it may not have been the best stock in the history of stocks, it was definitely serviceable and beats boiling bones in 90+ weather (others around here have been braver). After blending I added just a bit of creme fraiche (maybe a tablespoon for four decent sized potatoes worth of soup) and seasoned aggressively with salt and pepper. Topped with some fresh chives it was perfect for the summer. Reaction from co-diner after tasting: "What kind of cream soup is this?" It took some explaining.

The fish course was meant to be sole meuniere made with whatever looked good at Kate's (see their writeup here, while it's available). Flounder seemed appropriate. Tom the fishmonger suggested cooking it Charleston style (is there really such a thing?), meaning hatched and cooked whole. I gave it a shot, first seasoning the whole headed and gutted fish with salt and pepper and then dipping it in flour before pan frying in a mix of butter and canola oil. After it was browned it went for a quick trip in a hot oven to cook through.

After it was cooked and resting I wiped out the pan and melted some butter with lemon juice and parsley. The fish was taken off the bone at the table and served with a wedge of lemon and some zucchini batons that were sauteed in butter with salt and pepper.
And finally, garden salad greens with fresh local blueberries. The vinaigrette is Dijon mustard, shallot, cider vinegar, honey (it's the year of the honey bee after all), olive oil, and salt and pepper. While I nearly always whisk a vinaigrette or shake it up in a closed jar, I did this one in a food processor and was pleased with the emulsion--it was even worth having to clean the processor. Next time I'll puree the blueberries with the vinaigrette, as the plump berries on the lettuce leaves were tasty, but a bit awkward.

Now, to learn desserts . . . .

A ceviche like no other?

Hog snapper, diced beets, early garlic, cilantro, lime and lemon juice, salt and pepper, a dash of Tapatio.

You can see the acid starting to cook the fish. I love ceviche, and usually go with shrimp in a mix including tomato, red onion, and chilies. But I used what was around, and it was very enjoyable.

And, Ms. Ohio Mom, here you go. While I'm normally not a chain mail kind of guy, I'm no Spice Hound either:

From Cooking in Cleveland . . .
The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Randomly me ....
1. I just bought a house because it has 3 peach trees in the backyard
2. I miss watching local professional ice hockey
3. One of my guilty pleasures is the Taco Bell 7 Layer Burrito with 2 (or 3) fire sauce packets
4. While I love hot dogs with mustard, and even the Chicago dog, the smell of ketchup on hot dogs makes me a bit nauseous
5. My dream as a child was to be a short order greasy spoon chef (The dream lives on.)
6. I'm not sure I'm ready to tag six people, but I may be soon

The True Baked Alaskan

As a guy who once lost a lady to a fellow from Kodiak Island, it may be surprising that I happily eat so much food from up that way. Maybe it's therapeutic? It's certainly tasty.

Roasted Alaskan would be a more appropriate name for the halibut (purchased at the usual place). It was seasoned and then went onto a hot, butter greased cast iron griddle in a 425 oven. A small frond of fennel (a little bigger than the one in the soup) was placed between the griddle and the fish skin, and another fennel frond was laid atop the fillet for roasting. 10 min, give or take, and it was perfect.

On top of the fish is some caramelized fennel (idea courtesy of Bar Cento), done up just like onions. A fennel bulb was sliced and then slow cooked in some butter with a pinch of salt. I'll be making them lots more, as it's a great alternative to caramelized onions.. The fennel was from Salash Farm over at the Shaker Market. They have great stuff, early.

The carrots were cooked in more butter. Slow cooked over a low flame in a covered omelet pan with a leaf of sage in there for some flavoring. They were great little carrots, from Rootstown Organic Farm.

And the soup. My take on vichyssoise (idea kind of stolen from a Plated Landscape Dinner). Lots of garden stuff in there. I peeled and cubed some potatoes (not quite yet from my garden), covered them by about an inch with water, added some salt and boiled until they were getting soft. Then I threw in some sugar snaps from the garden along with some chopped stems from the fennel (so the fronds, stems, and bulb were used--very full circle). Two minutes or so went by and I added arugula and mint (both also from the garden). About another two minutes and then everything went into a blender with just a touch of creme fraiche (could have been omitted) and aggressively seasoned with salt and pepper. It was enjoyable hot and cold. It's a good, simple soup, and infinitely adaptable.

Also, great music again on Case radio -- Latin Perspectives. Good stuff.

The best of two coasts

The Alaskan coast, and the North Coast (aka Cleveland).

First Alaska. Pan Seared Halibut Cheeks, Copper River King Salmon, and a Smoked Copper River Sockeye Collar (I also had a broiled collar, but forgot to put it on the plate. It was the fish equivalent to the best chicken wing ever.). The fish came from Kate's at Cleveland's West Side Market. While the Copper River Sockeye was first rate, the King was truly special. After being gutted (or "processed," as the euphemism goes) on the boat pre-rigor, the fish are iced and quickly sent to Cleveland, where Tom the fishmonger picks them up at the airport. I don't think fresher, or as high quality, Copper River Salmon are available anywhere else in the area (although one restaurant in town has been known to get its fish from the same Alaskan). It's not cheap, but a little goes a long way. It was difficult for me to spot eating it sashimi style, but I could think of worse habits.

Next, the North Coast. Most of the non-fish things on the plate came from The Shaker Square Farmer's Market. The mayo is homemade with a Plum Creek Egg Yolk, Shallots from a Vendor whose name I don't remember (they're the only one currently selling shallots), Frank's RedHot, Organic Canola Oil, Organic Spanish Olive Oil, Kosher Salt, ground Urban Herbs Tellicherry Pepper, Red Wine Vinegar and some generic Dijon Mustard. It's been said here before, but it's worth saying again, making mayonnaise is very easy.

Between the cheeks and the collar is a vegetable medley. Starting in the order things went into the pan are: diced Parker's Pancetta, sliced immature and super sweet Onions that volunteered in the community garden, sliced Killbuck Valley Brown Oyster Mushrooms, Sage Leaves from the community garden (an overwintered plant was too huge for its own good), chopped Muddy Fork Farm Asparagus, and some salt and pepper. With the rendered pancetta fat and the moisture in the mushrooms there was no need to add any liquid. Cooked over low heat the entire time, it was very ratatouille like.

Between the cheeks and King there's sauteed red and green Mizuna. All that was added to the wet-from-cleaning leaves was salt and pepper. They were sauteed in just a bit of toasted sesame oil. I don't remember the name of the farm they were from either, but hopefully I'll be growing some soon from their starts.

There's also a sliced radish from the same folks who supplied the shallots.

The flowers in the background are from Blissful Acres. If I ever needed to be part of a CSA I'd give them a call (Maybe Muddy Fork too). Blissful Acres also supplied the the original "seed" that led to the second part of this post. I'm no longer in the plot where I grew those, but the Jerusalem Artichokes must not have gotten the message that someone else was gardening there because they self seeded and are growing better than if I had planted them for a second season on purpose.

Really good stuff using the best of what can be found around here, both produced and brought in. Hopefully we'll get some good starches soon.

Kind of looks like a Seder plate:

Mizuna starting to cook:

Tastes like . . . Oregon?

Fresh Snake Hill Farm asparagus, toll caught King Salmon from Kate's Fish (more from them below), and some Quinoa w/ dried apricots, both from the Westside food co-op.

The salmon was a piece from the midsection, and was so thick that half a pound was only around an inch wide across the top. To get decent looking portions with good surface area for searing (however lightly) I split the fish into belly and loin pieces, removed the skin from each of the two pieces, and then laid the pieces on their sides for cooking. Pictured above is the loin piece--the belly was just about the same thickness. If the skin was still on it would be along the edge of the fish piece towards the bottom of the picture. Hate to loose the skin, but for simple stove top cooking it was just easier to cook the fish on its side. Enough of that. It was a great fish with a smooth salmon flavor and buttery texture. Seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked to medium rare in a mix of butter and canola oil, there's not much better.

As for the asparagus, again, it's asparagus season, so I'm going to get as much of it as I can. Cooked the same way I usually do it. Regarding the side effects, you put up with what you have to. The stuff is worth it.

The Quinoa. A quick rinse and then one part quinoa to two parts water with a little salt and some chopped up dried apricots for good measure. Simmered covered for about 20 minutes, and left to rest covered for another five, and that's all there was to it. The apricots added a nice sweetness to quinoa.

No sauce with this meal. The salmon was rich enough. Still, a sauce would have looked nice.

And some rhubarb preserves. Straight out of The Silver Spoon Cookbook, one cup of sugar to each pound of rhubarb (straight from the community garden), let steep for two hours, and then the resulting mixture is poured into a pan for 30 min. of simmering (with lots of stirring) followed by an additional 5 min. of simmering with some grated orange zest (Here the zest was from a Frog Hollow nectarine? courtesy of Stuart--his Flicker pages are linked on the right.). It's a shame to go from beautiful stalks to a brown blob, but the taste (and preservation power) is worth it. Great with ice cream, maple syrup, and some crushed nuts.

While I associate salmon and rhubarb with the Northwest (where I first tried rhubarb pie--I know, I was raised in a bubble), this last picture is pure Great Lakes. In addition to the salmon, I got a whole Walleye from Kate's for a side project. I got the fish filleted and wasn't in need of the bones, just flesh that day (although I was hoping for eggs, but unfortunately he wasn't a she). After the fish was cleaned and the fillets bagged up, Tom, the friendliest fishmonger in the CLE, was considerate enough to make sure I didn't leave the best part behind. Below are the tiny and tasty Walleye cheeks, skin on, over more of the quinoa with some parsley grown by a wonderful Bosnian couple that sell some great stuff at the Shaker Market every week. Really a nice little appetizer.

Tastes like Spring

Alaskan Halibut from Kate's Fish, Blue Oyster Mushrooms from Killbuck Valley Mushrooms, Bacon from Country Gristmill (organic, Berkshire), and Ramps from another vendor at North Union's Shaker Square Farmers Market. I know I'm not the first person around Cleveland to pair ramps and halibut this season, and I can understand why. Despite today's quick snowfall, the ramps are definite proof that it is spring. Morel's are right around the corner.

Ingredients:
- Halibut (or any fish)
- Blue Oyster Mushrooms (or any mushrooms)
- Ramps, cleaned (no substitute for the taste, but kale cooked with garlic could work well too)
- Bacon, chopped
- Butter
- Olive Oil
- Canola or other high heat vegetable oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Three pans

Method:
- Preheat oven to 425
- Melt a bunch of butter and very slowly saute seasoned mushrooms
- Once the mushrooms are cooked add some olive oil to taste and leave over a very low flame, stirring occasionally
- While mushrooms are cooking render the chopped bacon over moderately low heat
- Once bacon is crispy remove it to a paper towel and add ramps to the pan with some salt and pepper, turning the ramps around to coat with the rendered fat
- While ramps are slowly cooking heat up third pan over high heat and add equal parts butter and Canola (or other vegetable oil)
- Place seasoned halibut in the hot third pan, flesh side down
- Keep on eye on the ramps. I don't think it's too common to cook the stems and roots together, but these roots were thin and it worked well
- Once flesh side of the fish is well browned flip and place in hot oven until it's done
- While fish is finishing in the oven dry the ramps with a paper towel and plate
- Then plate the mushrooms, topping with the fully cooked fish
- Garnish with the crispy bacon

This was a great seasonal meal. Really simple and fresh. I'll likely make pesto with the rest of the ramps, which I'm keeping by storing them on the counter in a cup with the roots barely submerged in water and a plastic bag over stems. The ramps were a great surprise at the Farmers Market, although I think I was one of the few unsuspecting people there.

It's been a ramp filled weekend. Bar Cento is serving the stuff on pizza. It's great, but you may want to bring some gum for afterwards.

Striped Bass

From the fine folks at Kate's Fish in the West Side Market. Lovingly farmed in or around Maryland. Here's what Monterey Bay has to say about them. Sides are a mediocre attempt at coconut rice, and some of the best kale I've had in some time.

For the fish, I rinsed and dried the fish with a paper towel (I nearly always do), lightly scored the skin, seasoned with salt and pepper, and lightly dusted with cornstarch. Then I sauteed it in a mix of equal parts butter and canola oil. I made a little brown butter in the cleaned out pan. This post had got me thinking. With the fish the saute can take some time, so a little patience is required. It's great rare/med-rare with the crispy skin, but if you're looking to go more well done it could stand to be placed in a hot oven for a minute or two to get it cooked through.

The rice was standard Basmati cooked with coconut milk instead of water. 2:1 ratio liquid to rinsed damp rice, brought to a boil together with a little salt, then simmered covered for about 12 min and left to sit covered another 5.

The kale. Gown in a wood fire heated hoop house with compost and manure, it's some of the earliest local green available around here. For it I heated some olive oil in pan over a fairly low heat. While the oil was heating I rinsed the kale and just barely shook it dry. Then I added the kale to the very warm, not super hot, oil along with some salt and pepper. I turned the kale over to make sure it was evenly coated in oil and then covered the pan, rotating the kale occasionally. It took something shy of 10 min over slow heat to get wilted leaves and tender crisp stems. When it was done I drained them on paper towels, adjusted the seasoning, and kept them warm in a 200 degree oven. (I used the same wiped out pan to cook the fish.)

[Sadly, I forgot to top with pomegranate seeds, which were easily removed from the fruit by bashing the skin side of a pomegranate, which had I split along the equator, with a large metal kitchen spoon.]

Cuisine Soignee, or Cooking With Care

Not so much, but naming what's on the plate would be a bit long for the title line. Arctic Char with Barley/Shiitake Risotto and Rosemary Infused Blood Orange Beurre Blanc. "Risotto" and "Beurre Blanc," however, may be misnomers. There's no rice in the risotto, and this beurre blanc doesn't contain any shallots, nor is it blanc, obviously. But regardless of the looseness of the aforementioned culinary terms, the meal was good, and the components will show up again in my future meals.

A few things before the recipe. First, Arctic Char is proof that not all farmed fish are bad--the folks at Monterey Bay approve. This piece came from my standard fish monger, at Kate's Fish in the Westside Market. Second, the idea for the barley risotto came from here. Check out the second video. And due to the food co-op, there's no shortage of grains around here. Third, the shiitakes. They're from these fine folks--Killbuck Valley Mushrooms--who make the weekly trek to sell their wares at the Indoor Winter Market. That covers that. Here's the recipe:

Barley/Shiitake Risotto
Ingredients:
-Barley
-Shiitake caps, big dice
-Shallots, dice
-Butter
-Olive Oil
-Stock, kept near a boil (I used duck, but any would do)
-Salt and Pepper
-Chives, little batons (optional--I wouldn't have used them if they weren't laying around)
-White wine
Method:
- Slowly saute shiitakes in butter
- As the shiitakes are cooking, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil
- When shiitakes are to your liking set them aside
- Sweat shallots in butter
- When shallots are sweated, add barley and stir well
- Add some white wine to the shallots and barley and cook it down
- Now add stock to the mixture and cook like you would any risotto (here's my post on the subject)
- When it's close to where you want it add mushrooms and stop adding liquid
- Once it's how you're going to serve it, season with salt and pepper and stir in the chives (I didn't add additional butter because the stock I used wasn't skimmed, so there was plenty of fat in there. No cheese because I'm generally not a cheese with fish kind of person.)

Arctic Char
Ingredients:
- Arctic Char, fillet
- Butter
- Oil, for high heat
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- I rinsed and dried the fillet--some people skip this step
- Salt and pepper the fillet, both sides
- Heat up a pan (I used nonstick) with some butter and oil
- Once the pan and fats are hot, add fish flesh side down
- When the flesh side has some color, flip the fish
- Cook on the skin side until cooked through (The skin should get crispy.)

Rosemary Infused Blood Orange Beurre Blanc
Ingredients:
- Blood Orange, juice (Typing this now I kind of wish I used just a bit of the zest too.)
- White Wine
- Rosemary, small sprig
- Butter, pieces (for a small amount of sauce I used around a quarter stick of butter cut in four or five pieces)
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Add equal parts juice and white wine to a small sauce pan (a few tbs of each) with the Rosemary sprig (traditionally minced shallots would be included here)
- Reduce the juice and wine over pretty high heat (with the sprig in there) until there's just a little left and it's syrupy
- Remove Rosemary sprig and discard
- Lower heat as much as possible and whisk in butter pieces one at a time, waiting for one piece to incorporate before adding the next
- Once all the butter is incorporated season with salt and pepper
- If the sauce is too thick for your liking thin with a drop of water
- To hold the sauce put it on a burner that's as low as possible, whisking occasionally
- If you're really worried about the sauce separating add a small drop of cream when the juice and wine are reducing to stabilize the sauce, but with so little butter (comparatively) this sauce is pretty sturdy

This is a nice meal on a cold winter day. The mushrooms go very well with the barley, and the somewhat rich and bright sauce complements the char well. The sauce looks a bit cornstartchy in the picture--I think it's the lighting--but the color was very nice.

Quick snack and late harvest

First the snack, skinless and boneless sardines packed in olive oil with some water crackers. As it was the first sardine experience for The CFT, it seemed like the appropriate baby step to go without the skin and bones, but with minimal accoutrements to interfere with the flavor. It won't be long before I go for this snack again (nice alternative to tuna), although I'll probably give this somewhat fancy brand a chance, and not omit the skin and bones.

Regarding the harvest:

Not quite a bumper harvest of Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), especially considering the tall plants and decent flowering, but I'm looking forward to eating them nonetheless. The light harvest is likely due to the mediocre sunlight in that part of the garden. Hopefully I missed a few and they'll volunteer next year. Besides the sunchokes, I gathered the last of the potatoes and tomatillos, a few Brussels sprouts, and some underdeveloped fennel that was also grown in the shady part of the garden. The only things still growing are some herbs, chard, kale, and broccoli, along with a few shoots of recently planted garlic getting a head start on the Midwestern winter. Not too long before the whole thing is covered with snow.

A rose by any other name . . .

Sablefish, Black Cod, Butterfish, Alaska Cod. Whatever name you prefer, it's a great fish, and it couldn't get a better rating from the Monterey Bay folks. Even Daniel Boulud recognizes the fish's greatness here. If you click on that last link, you'll see that my people were ahead of their time, along with the Japanese. And sorry for the title, I still haven't gotten over the last post.

As usual, the fish came from Kate's at the West Side Market, and the snow peas came from the veggie section of the Market. While I prefer the produce at the North Union markets, I was already at the Market, and you generally can't beat the prices or the breadth of the selection. Of course, caveat emptor, here more than most places.

The meal was very satisfying, with sweetness coming from the sauce/marinade and the rice, sour from the same place, salty from soy sauce, and savory from fish.

For the rice, you can go here and find the link. I enjoy sushi rice very much.

Fish (adapted from Kate's recipe--unsurprisingly, Kate's Fish is owned by Kate)
Ingredients:
- Fish
- Soy sauce, one part
- Honey, two parts
- Vinegar, splash
- Ginger, minced
- Salt and pepper
- Oil (I mixed sunflower and toasted sesame oil, about 80%/20%, respectively.)
Method
- Mix all ingredients except the fish and oil
- Marinate fish in fridge for around half an hour
- Turn on broiler
- Heat up broiler safe pan
- Lightly oil the hot pan
- Place fish on pan (reserve marinade)
- Place pan about six inches from flame and cook until it's done to your liking (the fish will flake easily and have a great texture)

Peas
Ingredients:
- Snow Peas, washed and still a bit wet
- Ginger, minced
- Soy sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Oil (Here I mixed sunflower, toasted sesame oil, and a little chile oil.)
Method:
- Preheat a pan--get it very hot (I used a carbon steel wok.)
- Add oil to hot pan
- Add peas, ginger, salt, and pepper and mix well
- Move peas around relatively often
- When peas are about done add soy sauce
- When peas are to your liking place on plate
- Reduce fish marinade in pan while it's still over heat
- When the marinade is well reduced (It will be much thicker off the heat than it is in the hot pan. Be careful not to over reduce.) add it where you'd like (I put it on the peas.)
- Plate everything together and enjoy

It's a great mix of flavors, and everything can be adjusted to taste--the salt, sugar, and vinegar in the rice, the ratio of the things in the marinade, and the oils. I wouldn't go too much sweeter though, as the fish has a lot of sweetness on its own. Added spiciness might be nice.

I know I missed the wagon with this one, as Miso Black Cod long ago joined the ranks of braised short ribs as a ubiquitous restaurant offering. But like short ribs, there's good reason for its commonplace--it's hard to screw up, and it's good. This really is a great fish, and it's a shame I took so long to join the crowd.

Here's another shot of the dinner.