Tasty Talapia

Source: Delish

This is an extremely simple way to prepare fish, and it's probably a good spice mixture for chicken, too! I used halibut filets, which are a little thicker, so I needed additional cooking time on the stovetop. This is a great recipe for a weeknight dinner!

Tasty Tilapia

1 1/2 lbs tilapia fillets
2 tsp low-sodium cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil*

Combine cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, dried parsley, crushed red pepper, garlic and onion powder. Evenly season fish on both sides. Melt butter (or heat olive oil) in large skillet over medium heat. Add fish. Brown each side approximately 3-4 minutes per side (tilapia cooks quickly). Adjust cooking temperature if needed. Serve hot.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Sesame Seed Crust

Source: Cook's Illustrated

I have a penchant for smothering most of my seafood in cream-based sauces. As one of my favorite comedians Jim Gaffigan has said, "You know what's good on fish? Anything that kills the taste of fish." 

When I saw this recipe, I had originally planned on making the suggested chutney, too, but had to skip it when I was missing several key ingredients. I ended up being glad I didn't, because this was SO GOOD. It came together incredibly quick. I ended up using skinless fillets, and I just loved the crust that the pan-searing left on both sides of the fish. The combination of salt, pepper, and sesame was heavenly.  Simple and filling. You must try this recipe!

Being that my fish was skinless, I kept the sesame seeds to one of the tops and sides, and started searing the fish on the seedless side first. 

Pan-Seared Salmon with Sesame Seed Crust

1/4	cup sesame seeds
4	salmon fillets skin-on, each about 6 ounces and 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick
	Table salt and ground black pepper
3	teaspoons canola oil or vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat a 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet for 3 minutes over high heat. Spread sesame seeds in a pie plate. Rub salmon fillets with 2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then press flesh sides of fillets in sesame seeds to coat.

2. Add remaining oil to pan; swirl to coat. When oil shimmers (but does not smoke) add fillets skin side down and cook, without moving fillets, until pan regains lost heat, about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-high; continue to cook until skin side is well browned and bottom half of fillets turns opaque, 4 1/2 minutes. Turn fillets and cook, without moving them, until they are no longer translucent on the exterior and are firm, but not hard, when gently squeezed: 3 minutes for medium-rare and 3 1/2 minutes for medium. Remove fillets from pan, being careful not to break sesame crust; let stand 1 minute. Pat with paper towel to absorb excess fat on surface, if desired. Serve immediately.

Seafood Gratin

Adapted from: Barefoot Contessa at Home

Boy, oh boy. If this doesn't make you go out and buy one of Ina's cookbooks, I don't know what will! I saw this on Smells Like Home and what with my seafood addiction and all, had to make it! This is the best dish I've cooked so far in 2009! So incredibly tasty and flavorful. If you like seafood, this is a must-make dish!

A couple of drawbacks: yes, the dish is expensive. You need 8 ounces each of lobster, fish, and shrimp. But as the Smells Like Home blogger notes, you really could not get 4 servings of a dish like this at a restaurant for $30!

The prep time is also lengthy. For me, it took about 2 and a half hours from initial prepping to the table. Part of that is I truly suck at julienning...well, anything, so that step took me a good 20 minutes or so.

I cannot wait to heat this up again tomorrow...yum!

Seafood Gratin

1 cup clam juice

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons white wine, divided

3 tablespoon tomato puree

8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails cut off and cut in half crosswise

8 ounces halibut or cod, cut into 1-inch chunks

8 ounces cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch chunks

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups julienned leeks, white and green parts (2-3 leeks)

1 1/2 cups julienned carrots (3 carrots)

1 cup panko

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place 4 individual gratin dishes on sheet pans. (I used a square baking dish.)
2. Combine the stock, cream, 1/2 cup of the wine, and the tomato puree in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and add the shrimp. After 3 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to a bowl. Add the halibut to the stock for 3 minutes, until just cooked through, and remove to the same bowl. Add the cooked lobster to the bowl.
3. Continue to cook the sauce until reduced by half, about 12 minutes. Mash 1 tablespoon of the butter together with the flour. Whisk the butter mixture into the sauce along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saute pan. Add the leeks and carrots and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender. Set aside.
5. Combine the panko, Parmesan, parsley, tarragon, and garlic. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and mix it into the crumbs until they’re moistened.
6. Divide the seafood among the 4 gratin dishes. Strew the vegetables on top of each dish. Pour the sauce equally over the seafood and vegetables and spoon the crumbs evenly on top. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot.

Salmon Pesto Pasta

Adapted from: Pillsbury Complete Cookbook

I am not stalking you, Bridget! Well, actually, I am stalking The Way the Cookie Crumble's 2008 favorites, which gave me the idea to make my own list for last year. I make a lot of salmon filets, but I've never mixed it in with both pasta and pesto, so I thought it would be a fun new dish to try.

I used jarred pesto, so the recipe came together quickly. I thought it was very good; I'm sure making your own pesto only enhances the flavors as Bridget does in her posted version. But pesto IS the overwhelming flavor in the dish, so if you're not a huge fan, you may want to take a pass. As I was setting out the bowls, my husband said, "I don't really like pesto." Whoops. I guess this was one of those occasions I was "cooking for my blog," as he so often jokes.



Salmon Pesto Pasta

Serves 2

8 ounces pasta
12 ounces salmon
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
5 ounces evaporated milk
½ cup pesto (recipe follows)
grated parmesan, for serving

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; stir to separate pasta. Cook pasta until al dente; drain. Pour evaporated milk into empty pot and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup. Add cooked pasta to pot and stir to combine.

2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Line a baking sheet or pan with aluminum foil. Season skinless side of salmon liberally with salt and pepper, sprinkle with zest, then rub with olive oil. Broil until salmon is no longer translucent and is firm when pressed, about 10 minutes. Remove from broiler and sprinkle with lemon juice. Use fork to flake into bite-sized pieces. Skin will stick to foil and can be discarded.

3. Add salmon to pasta mixture and stir over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Top with parmesan.

Almond Crusted Halibut Crystal Symphony

Source: http://www.allrecipes.com/


You may be thinking, "WTF is up with this recipe name?" Yes, this is by far the snobbiest-named dish I have ever made, but it is also, by far, THE BEST FISH DISH. Maybe that has something to do with the 12 tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup of heavy cream, but the combination of the beurre blanc (I don't know what that means but it sure sounds FANCY!)cream and breadcrumb/almond topping is TO DIE FOR. It's a great company dish!

My suggestion would be to prepare as much as you can ahead of time. Chop the chives, slice the butter, and get out all the pans, measuring cups, spoons, and dishes that you'll need. I'm pretty slow in the kitchen, and this takes about an hour to put together. I used halibut today because it was available, but it IS expensive ($30 for 2 filets). Tilapia will do just fine.

Seriously, make this just for the sauce.

1/3 cup of dry white wine
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of minced shallots 1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup heavy cream
10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces and chilled
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
6 (6 ounce) filets of halibut (I used 2 big filets, I probably only needed one)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of fresh bread crumbs (I just use the boxed Progressive brand)
2/3 cup of minced blanched almonds (buy the slivered almonds and then pound with your mallet)
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten

To make the beurre blanc: in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine wine, vinegar, shallots, thyme, and bay leaf. Boil until liquid has evaporated--about 5 minutes. While the ingredients are boiling, now is a good time to chop the chives. Then, stir in cream, and boil until liquid is reduced by half; decrease heat to low. Whisk in butter, 1 piece at a time, adding each new piece before previous one has melted. Do not allow sauce to simmer, or it may separate.

Strain sauce through sieve into a glass bowl. Stir in chives, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. At this point, the recipe tells you to put the bowl in another bowl filled with hot water to keep warm. I just left it as is and microwaved in on low heat in 20 second intervals right before I served the dish. You'll have enough dishes to do by the time this is done without adding another.

Preheat oven on broiler setting. Pat fillets dry, and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute fillets for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned and just cooked through. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, stir together bread crumbs, almonds, and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Brush tops of fillets with egg, and spread with almond mixture. Broil fillets 1 to 2 minutes. Watch carefully so the topping does not burn.


Place fillets on individual plates, and spoon bleurre blanc around it. Prepare to have compliments lavished upon you, and resist spooning the bleurre blanc directly in your mouth without eating any of the fish.