Salmon Poached in Parchment Paper

So I am in the middle of writing Part II of our European Tour post.  It’s taking me a little while because I want to include just the right photos and summary so my dear readers can enjoy a virtual trip.  

In the meantime, back to a Dinner Club post.

First, last Sunday was my Annual Ornament Exchange Party.  As usual, it was a blast…lots of food, spirits and rousing competition.  As in past years, there were a few fiercely sought favorites…an accordion, a red fox, a winged-tipped convertible that plays “Low Rider”, a hunk of ceramic cheese and an ambulance.  

My meatballs and gravy, were a big hit….I think there might be a revolt if I ever eliminated them from the menu!   And oh, I made these adorable little Red Velvet Cup Cakes decorated with candy strip bows…..Martha (or her elves) taught me the bow trick and you know I’m all about the bows.

And polka dots.

Our Wednesday dinners have also resumed after a brief hiatus to accommodate our world travelers.  Last week we had dinner at M.’s house.  In addition to the fabulous crab cakes she served, we were treated to a showing of her newly bedazzled home…it is certainly quite lovely.  Built-in cabinets, a stunning fireplace surround, soft teal/blue fabrics, painted furniture and lovely accent pieces all beautifully complement each other and her charming1920’s home.  I felt like I was back in the designer showcase house!   I was so smitten that I forgot to ask about the crab cake recipe!  As you can imagine, they were delicious.

This past week, it was A.’s turn to host and she made salmon poached in parchment paper (you see it, up there, to the left).  Lately, I am a fan of salmon and I especially like it pan-seared or grilled and tossed on a salad.  But then I tasted this little number and, oh my goodness, I'm swooning.  The flavors serendipitously meet in an adorable (and utilitarian) little parchment pouch and frolic together producing mouth-watering magic. 

Like a little culinary meet-cute. 

I’m half Italian.  I like to romanticize food…it makes the eating experience much more fun.  “Meet-Cute” is referenced in one of my favorite movies EVER….The Holiday.  I could watch that movie a gazillion times and never be bored.  Younger daughter refuses to watch it with me more than once each Christmas.

She's such a kill-joy.

This salmon recipe is as easy as could be and also a little fancy.   It will surely put a smile on anyone's face.  I know we were smiling….from ear-to-ear!

Salmon Poached in Parchment Paper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to envelop a piece of salmon (about the size of a small pear).  Brush a little olive oil on the paper and place the fish on top of the parchment paper.  Add salt, pepper, chopped leeks, a few lemon slices, a capful of white vermouth and a sprig of dill.  Fold the parchment to form a tight seal.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.  Serve the wonderfully poached beauties in the pouches.  

So seriously good.  

After dinner, we had  tea and dessert - ginger cake with pistachios - and exchanged Christmas gifts…we had a lot of fun taking turns opening our treasures.  I cherish these moments.

Grilled Branzino

We had dinner at Singer’s house last week.  We spent a lovely evening dining on her porch sipping fruit-infused prosecco as the sun peaked through the wisteria-laced pergola.  Our gracious hostess was busy preparing the pièce de résistance.

We could not wait to eat.

She made grilled branzino, European sea bass.   This little silver fish with a white belly typically weighs about two pounds. Its low in fat and the white meat is firm and tasty with very few bones that are easy to remove.

Branzino, also known as spigole in Italy, lubina or róbalo in Spain, and loup de mer in France can be baked, poached or grilled.  Singer grilled her two little treasures for 10 minutes on each side after rubbing each with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper and filling the cavity with herbs.  She presented the whole fish slathered with a simple parsley verde.

For the parsley verde mix together:

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/4 cup of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
Bunch of chopped parsley
Dash of hot pepper flakes
Dash of kosher or sea salt

Drizzle on fish before serving.  This sauce perfectly balanced the sweetness of the fish.

To serve the branzino, cut off the tail and place a slit near the head. Carefully insert a paring knife into the back and gently pull the flesh away from the backbone. The bones of this fish are very soft and some dissolve during cooking, keeping the meat flavorful and moist.

This is fancy (but easy) fish eating indeed…definitely not the boxed fish-fare served up courtesy of some craggy old dude in a yellow rain slicker!

We also had roasted potatoes, field greens, fig, cherry and blue cheese salad and a luscious bottle of red wine.  For dessert…fresh strawberries with coconut gelato. 

A perfect late spring evening.

Oven Roasted Sea Bass

We had dinner at Foodie’s house on Wednesday and she served Black Sea Bass filets that she prepared with a light brush of olive oil, seasonings and blood oranges and then roasted for about 20 minutes at 350º. She served these little lovlies with leeks (on which the fish sat while baking) accompanied with basmati rice prepared with coconut oil, fresh ginger and fried shallots.

Wikipedia explains that the “black sea bass is an exclusively marine or saltwater fish that inhabits the coasts from Maine to NE Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Sea bass spend most of their time close to the sea floor and are often congregated around bottom formations such as rocks, man-made reefs, wrecks, jetties, piers, and bridge pilings.”

Although Foodie baked the bass we devoured, this tender and flakey white meat fish is delicious grilled as well. Sea Bass is an extra lean fish with a subtle flavor that can be accentuated by any number of herbs, spices, fruits or vegetables. It is often referred to as the fish equivalent to chicken breasts, making it perfect for fish tacos, tossed with pasta and topped on a salad.

When Foodie was in our local Co-Op buying the Sea Bass she asked the fishmonger if he had any fish bones because she wanted to make fish stew….he gave her the skeletal remains of a Striped Sea Bass. We had some of that beautiful bottom-dweller as well!

We also enjoyed a delicious field green salad with strawberries and raspberries and a delightful bottle of French red wine. My assignment was dessert….watch for that post in a few days!


Black Sea Bass image from Google.

"Chipa Ina"

It was Singer’s inaugural dinner on Wednesday.

All we could say was yum.

And bravo.

She made the most amazing Cioppino. What, you ask?

Cioppino is a fish stew that is a signature dish in San Francisco. Whatscookingamerica.com explains that “fish stew first became popular on the docks of San Francisco in the 1930s. Cioppino is thought to be the result of each Italian immigrant fisherman adding something from their day's catch to the communal stew kettle on the wharf. Many historians believe that the name is the adaptation of Italian fishermen yelling for all to "chip in." It is also believed that the name comes from a Genoese fish stew called cioppin.” The first explanation makes for a better story so that’s the one I’ll choose to believe and promulgate.

Whatever the origin of the name, this blend of different kinds of fish, vegetables, and herbs is simply delicious and relatively easy to make. And as with any stew, you can throw something in you like and leave something out you don’t. The dish is typically served with toasted bread or baguette and of course, your favorite wine.

Cioppino
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian

2 tbs of Olive Oil
1 Large fennel bulb, chopped finely
1 large onion finely chopped
1 tsp salt
4 large cloves of Garlic finely chopped
3/4 tsp of dried crushed pepper flakes, plus more to taste ( I tend to go for it)
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cup of wine
2 8 ounce jars of clam juice
1 cup of water
1 bay leaf
Chopped parsley and basil to garnish
1 pd of little neck or manilla clams
1 pd of mussels
3/4 pound of shrimp
3/4 pound of scallops ( cut large in half)
1 1/2 pound of firm fleshed fish (halibut, monk, tilapia)

Directions
Heat the oil in a very large pop over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion and salt and saute until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes and saute for two minutes. Add the tomatoes with juice, wine, clam juice and water, and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes. When finished use an immersion blender to puree slightly. Note: This sauce can be made in advance and reheated when ready to serve.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes until they open. Add the shrimp, fish and scallops until just cooked and clams are open, stirring gently about 5 minutes longer. Season to taste, with more salt and red pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and basil.

"The trick to this dish is to be careful not to overcook the shellfish -- otherwise, it will become rubbery." -- Giada De Laurentiis

Serve with garlic/olive oil bread: Broil sliced Italian Bread on one side and then brush with Olive oil, crushed garlic, and kosher salt and broil till bubbly and brown.

The Italian fishermen would be proud.

We also had a Caesar salad served in the lovely traveling salad bowl and we opened three bottles of wine. Three is a first for us. Mercifully, we did not finish the third.

Later we watched the Phillies tie the Braves in the 9th inning and go on to win the game in the 13th inning, breaking a Club all-time win record with 102 wins for the season! They did it for Charlie.

Patty Cake

We had dinner at Foodie's last night and she made Salmon Patties. I usually use regular bread crumbs when I coat stuff to pan fry or bake, but Foodie’s recipe called for panko bread crumbs, and because I like to know the “why” of things, I decided to explore and share what makes panko bread crumbs different regular bread crumbs.

Wikipedia explains that “panko (パン粉) is a variety of flaky bread crumb used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods. Panko is made from bread baked by passing an electric current through the dough, yielding bread without crusts, and it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine.”

But what makes panko bread crumbs different from regular bread crumbs…the answer is in the processing. Panko bread crumbs look like flakes or slivers of bread rather than their crumbly counterparts. Each panko flake or sliver covers more surface than a traditional crumb which results in a crispier, lighter coating. To me, panko kind of looks like coconut.

And these patties were light, crispy and delicious indeed! Perfect topped with the sauce.

SALMON PATTIES
1 1/2 pound fresh salmon - diced into small pieces
1/2 onion - grated
2 pieces of white bread (pepperidge farm) diced very small
2 tablespoons mayo
Lemon zest and juice from one lemon
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

Combine all of above, shape into patties and place in freezer on parchment lined sheet pan for 15 -30 minutes

Coating preparation
Beat 2 eggs with a little oil and water in flat dish
Put flour in another flat dish
Put panko bread crumbs in a third flat dish

Dip patties in flour, then egg, then panko. Fry in a mixture of olive oil and butter until golden and cooked through.

Sauce
Combine ½ cup of mayonnaise, ½ cup of sour cream, lime zest and juice, chopped cilantro and finely diced jalapeno to taste. Add salt and pepper or whatever else you want.

We also had a zesty green salad with almonds, pears and gorgonzola cheese served in the lovely traveling salad bowl and for dessert, fig and mango gelato with fresh berries. We were serenaded all evening by an assortment of artists while listening to a custom Pandora network channel. A lovely evening.

Foodie got a fantastic new refrigerator...a shiny white number from LG. She gave us a chilly tour of its features....very fancy.

Tilapia

We had dinner at the architect’s house the other night and she made pan fried tilapia with sautéed fennel and wild rice. As usual, it was delicious…she coated the tilapia with a bit of flour and cornmeal then lightly pan fried it in a bit of olive oil and butter. Tilapia cooks up quickly and is not too fishy so it’s a great way to serve fish to those finicky family members or guests who claim not to like fish! *** BoNuS *** tilapia is a lower-fat fish than some oilier companions but still provides high levels of protein and heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). This is a familiar trio of letters to those of us you who take a fish oil tablet every day to control cholesterol!

Tilapia is a fresh water fish -- shallow streams, ponds, rivers, lakes – and China and Egypt are the largest producers in the world although most of the fresh tilapia fillets consumed in the US are imported fresh daily from South America.

Some of you are probably thinking...gosh, that girl is smart (humor me)… she sure knows about a lot of stuff. And while I certainly do know a lot about some stuff, I am very grateful to Wikipedia, my cookbooks, and knitting books for providing the information to make these posts (loosely) informative and accurate. I try to learn something new each time I write a post so maybe I can FINALLY Go To The Head Of The Class.

Remember that game? We used to sit on our concrete landing and play for hours. When Trivial Pursuit was first introduced I remember thinking it’s just a fancy-schmancy version of the beloved game kids have been playing since 1936! The game offered junior, intermediate and senior level questions in subjects such as science, math, history, literature and geography so that kids of all ages could play against one another. Below is a sample game card…do you know the answers? If so, post a comment!

Don't you just love memories!

Back to tilapia.

There are many ways to prepare tilapia and since Architect pan fried hers, I offer a baked recipe that I found on all recipes.com.

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

Ingredients
4 tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice over fillets, then drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley, and pepper. Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 30 minutes.

No dessert this week but we had a delicious field green and grapefruit salad in the lovely traveling salad bowl.