Whole Fish and Farmer's Market Vegetables

We're stepping it up. Your date is sufficiently impressed so now it's time to bring in some friends, and have a party, but your wallet's kind of slim these days and you don't want to show it. This is when whole fish and farmer's market vegetables come into play. Fish that has not been filleted is about $2 less per pound, and once cooked falls easily away from it's bones and skin. Enough talk, let's get started. Preheat your oven to 450F.

Here's what you'll need, again the basics: 

A Half Sheet Tray

Olive Oil, Lemons, Garlic, salt and pepper

Cheap White Wine

Whole Flakey White Fish

Vegetables that maintain color and shape for long cooking times

Some Soft Herbs like dill, Italian parsley, chives, basil, fennel fronds, tarragon

Some Hard Herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme

Don't stress out, any one of these herbs are fine.

We're going to make a salad here too with some the the vegetables we picked up last week at the market. Keeping it simple while looking fancy, let's use a mandolin. Also some rice wine vinegar will be nice.

Score the fish by slashing skin to create a vent which will make the meat soft rather than soggy.

Let's prepare some stuffing that won't be eaten but rather will just provide an additional flavor component. If you have soft herbs, remove their leaves and reserve. Cut up some lemons, throw in some black peppercorns,

some smashed unpeeled garlic bulbs and your hard herbs if using. Aggressively season with salt and pepper. Toss with olive oil.

Salt and pepper the outside of each whole fish and open up it's cavity, salt and peppering it up a good deal. Next add the stuffing.

Prepare your sheet pan by placing down foil or parchment, then set aside enough sheets to wrap up each fish individually.

Chop up your vegetables. We used those Brussels Sprouts from last weeks Santa Monica Farmer's Market, purple onion, peeled and sliced garlic, and peppers; Salt, pepper, olive oil and some cheap white wine. That whole elitist edict of not cooking with wine you wouldn't drink is hogwash. Two Buck Chuck is perfectly fine here. Save the good stuff for the table.

For each whole fish, take a piece of foil and add some vegetables to the middle of the foil. Then place the fish on top and drizzle with some oil so the fish does not stick to the foil.

The goal now is to wrap the foil tightly around the fish, pinching the long ends together and folding over, then folding up the two other sides securing the fish to be air tight. 

This method is called "em papillote" and is pretty foolproof, thus it is great for do-it-yourself dinner parties where everyone makes their own "package". You can also get ahead by preparing your fish up until this point the day before and then refrigerating.

Place the fish in the oven for about 20 minutes. It's cooking time will vary by the size of your whole fish. 

For the salad we're using those gorgeous black carrots from the farmer's market last week and we're keeping them raw so they maintain their stunning color. Also we're going to use the sugar snap peas. If you have a mandolin, watch your fingers and slice up some of your vegetables. If this sharp tool gives you the willys, you can use a knife and slice as thin as possible.

Now add those reserved soft herb leaves, some salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, maybe some toasted nuts (or raw if you want to maintain their maximum nutritional value) and some rice wine vinegar. Toss, toss. 

After your fish is fully cooked, take it out of the oven and carefully cut open the foil, as a lot of steam will be released.

Throw away that cheap wine, get out the good bottle and watch everyone marvel at your skills and generosity.

Don't Dehydrate!

Last month I was infirmed, and a nutritionist friend said, "Girl, you need to get yourself rehydrated."

Before I reached for a sugary sports drink she instructed me to slice up some lemons, oranges and cucumber, and cover them with water. Let chill for about an hour and drink up. Delicious and refreshing, I'm still keeping it around. This week I used those beautiful Cara Cara Oranges from the market. 

This concoction keeps for a couple days and like a tea bag can be refilled with water.

Try giving it to your little ones to trick them into drinking more water.

Also it's great to chug after having one too many the night before, not that you or I have ever done such a thing. Tell your friends who do.

Date Night Fish - Less Than 30 Minutes of Show Time

Lest we leave out the sea faring food group, here is a *Super Easy & Fast* fish entree that again uses the same principles of the Chicken and Steak dishes. Yes, there is a pattern emerging here.... cooking can be improvisiational, quick, and of course impressive to your hungry spectators, and also, for an added bonus, really healthy.

So let's get to crackin'. You know whacha gotta do. 

That's right, get that oven going at 500F.

For the fish here, we are going to skip the step of sauteeing and just go straight to the oven which makes this dish faster than the chicken or steak.

Now the cooking time here is going to be less than for the chicken or steak so keep that in mind when selecting your vegetables because they will only feel heat for 10-20 minutes. If you are using vegetables that are not pleasant al dente (potatoes, squash), then cut them up bite size. 

Here I used a couple of our Farmer's Market finds:  Sugar Snap Peas and Purple Sprouting Broccoli. You can throw in some herb stalks, roughly chopped onions, peeled garlic cloves to get your aromatics on, but I didn't have those on hand, so no big whoop!

Now season: salt, pepper, olive oil. I use very little oil, a tablespoon or so just to make a film over most of my veggies, but Matt likes to aggressively season until the vegetables are coated with oil which works as a barrier against the high heat. I like my vegetables more crisp, so I use less oil. It's just a matter of preference.

Toss.

Now pull out a sheet tray and put down some foil or parchment paper for an easy clean-up. Swish some more olive oil down on your foil or paper (so the bottom of your dish does not burn), and spread your vegetables out evenly on the tray.

Go ahead and place some nice flakey white fish fillets into the same seasoning bowl. Bass, snapper, and trout are great here but you can use salmon also. Choose whatever is wild as it will then be rich in Omega-3's and superior in taste. 

Season, dress with olive oil and toss.

Place the fillets, skin side up, atop the vegetables.

Now cut up some lemon slices and place them on the skin where they will add additional protection against the heat so your fish doesn't dry out, yuck.

Now you leave the rest up to your oven. Easy, right? These fillets here took 15 minutes to cook, but check after 10 minutes. Obviously a thicker cut will take longer.

Matt had whipped me up some cole slaw (I am a lucky lady), which made a nice pairing for this dish. Any kind of potatoe, rice, or even tortillas for tacos works great too, but you already know that.

Farmer's Market, March 18th

We've Got the Scoop!

This morning Matt and I outdid ourselves Who, us? with an off the charts breakfast at Huckleberry in Santa Monica (More on this spot later). Do yourself a favor and have your next morning caper on the west side. This place just opened a couple weeks ago yet Zoe Nathan is already showing Los Angeles what a full-service bakery is supposed to be. She's a rock star.

Plenty full and happy, we then trotted on over to the Farmer's Market to check out this spring's offerings. Just wanted to give ya' all a Head's Up! on what's coming in and looking good....

Harry's Berries is the reason you trek a half hour (on a good day!) from Silverlake to Santa Monica on a Wednesday morning, especially now because Gaviota Strawberries are currently peaking through May. Scarlet in color... inside and out... these juicy berries are too delicate to ever be commercially distributed, and at $5 a pint, their price reflects how truly special they are.

More intense than their green cousins, Baby Purple Artichokes are available year round but are best in the spring, and are a great source of vitamin C and thiamine. Try making a versatile confit to have on hand or just peel and then steam them and serve with aioli or a mixture of yogurt and mayonaise.

Loaded with iron and protein, Sugar Snap Peas are great because you don't need to cook them. Slice lengthwise for a sweet crunchy addition to a wild green salad or toss in a stir fry for a minute or two. They steam and saute quickly and can be shelled and pureed into a soup.

Black Carrots are said to contain anti-cancer compounds and inhibit LDL (the bad) cholesterol. To maintain their dramatic color, keep these varietals raw. Slice thinly (preferably on a mandolin) and toss in ice water so they curl up pretty for a salad or crudite platter.

Although Brussel Sprouts are available year round, they are cool weather vegetables and thus their peaking time will be ending soon. They contain calcium and vitamins A, C, and E as well as fiber. Cut them in half and braise or roast or steam, and pair them with anything smokey.

Get it while you can because Purple Sprouting Broccoli has a short season but is available now with all the nutritional glory of it's green counterpart. Look for thin, young stems as they will be the most tender and perfect for tossing raw in a salad. Try blanching then gently saute with butter and serve them with pine nuts and plumped golden raisins. 

Hosting a mild flavor Baby Leeks are suitable to serve raw when sliced thin. Cooking just slightly brings out their natural sweetness and bringing them to a caramelization creates a very rich flavor. They can be used in soups, stews, grilled and served as an appetizer, placed on flat bread, and they also make a lovely garnish to nearly any meal while providing vitamins B and C and small amounts of minerals.

The difference between Navel oranges and Cara Cara Oranges is mainly cosmetic. Cara Cara oranges have a vivid orange peel and a reddish pink flesh. They of course are packed with vitamin C, and are sweet and delightful enough to eat on your way back home from shopping which is exactly what we did.

See you next week at the market!

Date Night Steak - 30 Minutes of Show Time

For those of you who prefer your meat red, use the same principles as with the Date Night Chicken. Buy the best quality steak you can afford-- make sure it is prime, has a good amount of fat marbling, and has no silver skin. You can use any cut that is suitable for a medium-rare temperature like (in order here from most ideal to most affordable) New York Strip, Rib-Eye, Flat Iron, or Skirt Steak.

Here we go.... get a pan so piping hot that you can steam your face and clear your pores over it. Turn that fire on and just forget about your pan while you do your prep. Preheat oven to 500F.

Salt and pepper all sides of your steaks. Roughly chop onions and any other veggies you want to add to the dish. Cauliflower, squash, peppers, greens, whatever, and you can add tomatoes towards the end of roasting like we did for the chicken dish if you'd like. Explore your inner gardener.

You can cook your veggies separately like we did for the chicken or you can dirty up just one pan.... stand by for those instructions.

Unlike the chicken, add very little oil to your hot pan because the steak will release fat quickly over the high heat. Carefully add the meat fat side down, away from you so it doesn't splatter in your eye causing temporary blindness.

Next, get you sear on, toots! Use tongs or a spatula to push down on the meat, repeating on all sides until it has a universally decadent milk chocolate color.

Hey! Watch it! Your kitchen's going to get rather smoky  so it's best to turn on your hood or open a window before this occurs-- no need for your date to get all kinds of jumpy because the fire alarm went off.

Remove meat from the pan and pour out all the fat, but leave in the little bits stuck to the bottom. Return the pan to the high heat and add just a little clean olive oil. Toss in your flavorings like garlic cloves (this time peeled but left whole and smashed), chopped onions, and herbs if you've got them. 

Go ahead now and put in your leafy greens or other chopped vegetables you want to add and saute until their juices come out and release the fond (little money bits leftover from the steak). 

When your veggies have a caramelization starting to form or your leafy greens begin to wilt, return the steak back to the pan over the vegetables and into that 500F oven it goes. Cooking time depends on the size of your cut and how rare you and yours like things. Generally speaking, a 10-12 ounce steak needs to cook about 6 minutes in the oven for rare, 9 minutes for medium rare. 

If you're cooking past medium, you might as well go to Mc Donald's. 

Check your temperature by cutting into the middle of the steak and observing the redness keeping in mind that it will continue to cook as it rests outside of the oven- which is an important point: let the steak rest once it has been removed from the oven. 4-6 minutes is good. Cut thinly and dress with sea salt. Serve with romesco sauce or ranch dressing or anything else you take a fancy to. Dig in!

Date Night Chicken - 30 Minutes of Show Time

So I fell for the Face Book chain letter (Hey! Feel free to friend us... Heirloom LA),  25 Random Things About Myself, and got some action on #17. Something about how I was this strict vegetarian for an inordinate amount of time, but (my oh my) now I can show you real quick how to make a chicken dish that's got the power to knock out (in a good way) anyone who eats bird.

Well inquiring minds want to know so here goes:

First off, you want to buy good quality, organic chicken. I know it's more expensive, but the flavor it renders will reward you and the antibiotics and hormones it doesn't contain shall not be missed. Make sure the skin's on and the bones are in because again, more flavor.

Salt and pepper both sides of said chicken.

Turn your oven on 500F! Raise your fire to 

***HIGH!!!!***

And get a pan holy smokin' hot, hot HOT!!!

Next, add olive oil.

No joke! Here lies the secret to this dish: a pan that is hotter than Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. You've gotta see smoke arising in a sweltering plume out of this baby.

Place chicken skin side down in the hot pan carefully as there is no place for injury while showing off. Toss in some flavoring for the oil: herbs, chopped onions, unpeeled garlic (so it turns to mash and doesn't burn), shallots, pepper flakes, whatever floats your yacht.

Drizzle with some more oil, dash in some sea salt, and let it sear. Get a nice caramel color going, and smell that garlic, oh yea! Survey says you're aiming to please at this point.

Next, if you want to do some veggies, chop up bite size a variety like bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, onions, herbs and mix them with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

If you've got tomatoes, hold onto them, same for broccoli or mushrooms or leafy greens. Place all other veggies on a (lined for less mess) sheet tray and chuck them in that 500F oven. 

Now attend to your chicken (and kiss your date 'cause you got it all under control, honey). Once you have a beautiful sear going on, throw the chicken in the oven too.

Not only does a proper sear make a lovely color, but it also serves to protect the meat from drying out in the oven.

Roughly chop those tomatoes and season with oil, s & p. Once your mixed veggies are soft, add the tomatoes to the medley and put it all back into the oven.

Tear up the brocolli if you have it, keeping it long, or for mushrooms, clean them of dirt and tear these apart also. Same for the leafy greens if using. Set aside.

Cut a couple lemons in half and get rid of any seeds you see.

Once the skin is crispy, take out your chicken from the oven and place the pan on the stove over high heat.  Remove the chicken from the pan and arrange the broccoli (or mushrooms or greens) in it's place, letting it get a little carmelized, then deglaze with some lemon juice.

Replace the chicken, skin side up, over the broccoli and drizzle with a couple lemon halves. The juice from the lemon will evaporate and leave a sweet and sour essence on your finished dish. Divine. Return to the oven.

The veggies should be pretty soft by now, so remove them and smash the tomatoes to release their juices. Now put these in your broiler so they can get a little char. Keep a good watch. Burned food is not sexy!

Take those veggies out, take the chicken out and plate it up real pretty because... We eat with our eyes first, folks.

What you've got left behind is little bits and juices that are money so put them back on the fire and reduce them down by half to make a rouse of a sauce.

Hey! Look what you did! Sooo much better than take out. 

P.S. It is Matt who prepared this dish for you here that I got to eat

 and hence it is he who has swooned me. 

Now you go get to swooning!!