Last night, Mr.S and I had dinner at a small restaurant in the SOMA district of San Francisco, called Fringale.  I had dined there about 5-6 years ago with my friend Grace and had really enjoyed my meal there, so I talked Mr.S. into going back there to dine.  I had had a shitstorm of a week, seriously of epic proportions- my mom passed away, some horrid delinquent went through my neighborhood slashing tires and keying cars (my car was one of the ones that got hit) and to top it off- in the middle of the night, some jerk did a major hit and run on my rental car.  Like I said, shitstorm of epic proportions.  I was beginning to feel a lot like Job.  Anyhow in an effort to clear my mind and calm my nerves, I thought Fringale would be a nice place to grab a pleasant meal of French comfort food. WRONG.

The gentleman behind the bar, that greeted us when we arrived, seemed very friendly and sat us at a nice 2-top by the window.  We had a foie with quince jam appetizer that was okay (Mulvaney's does it better) and a calamari la plancha dish, which was nice but not as memorable as when I had it during my last visit.  It really needed seasoning.  Anyhow, things were fine until we got our entrees.  Both of us ordered the sea bass, which was supposed to be served over a potato puree with artichokes. What we ended up with was potato puree sloppily plopped in a bowl with bits of artichoke and some kind of red broth (hard to tell if it was a tomato or red pepper based broth). On top was a piece of sea bass about  1.5 inches wide and 5 inches long.  This is THE most overcooked piece of fish I have ever eaten. It was dry as the Sahara and tough. Mr.S. gacked on his too but he hates to send things back. So he cut his up and tried to have it absorb some of the red liquid it was swimming in. I had had such a craptastic week that I couldn't deal with it. I very politely signaled the waiter over and explained what the situation was.  His response was to ask Mr.S if his fish too was overly dry.  Mr.S. advised him it was. So he took (only) my plate back to the kitchen.  What? Anyhow, a few minutes later he returned, handed me a menu and brusquely advised me that, "the chef always prepares the fish that way and no one has ever complained." He then informed me that I should choose something else.  At this point I'm a bit perturbed. After the horrible week I'd had, the LAST thing I needed was this snooty French waiter being a dick to me.  I really wanted to tell him that if that's how his chef ALWAYS cooks his fish, overdone to the point that it was not consumable, then that was a sad testament to his skills.  However, at the risk of ruining Mr.S's night too, I ordered the mussels.  I mean really...who can f*ck up mussels, right? The mussels arrived and they were fine. We opted to have dessert elsewhere and I mentally crossed Fringale off my list of restaurants to return to or recommend,

Anyhow, I thought I'd share a fish recipe that we make at our house often.  I ran across it by happenstance-- one of those emailed recipes from Tasting Table.  It's quite good, tasty with or without the ginger yogurt sauce and very hard to screw up (take note, Mr. Fringale chef).

Chile-Garlic Broiled Salmon with Ginger Yogurt Salmon (from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen)

Last week was a great week for two reasons- I made Mr.S. and I the most wonderful dinner on Thursday night (yep, I'm tootin' my own horn) and then on Friday night we saw a fantastic play at the Sacramento Theatre Company. I'm going to take a moment to gush here a bit...if you haven't seen STC's production of Athol Fugard's "Master Harold...and the boys," get your butt off the sofa and go buy your tickets now! This is the second time I've seen this play (I saw it the first time when I was in college) and I have to say this version was amazing. Michael J. Asberry's performance as Sam was so moving that at times I forgot we were watching a play and felt transported to the St. George's Park Tea Room in South Africa. The play takes place in 1950 (during the apartheid era) and tells the story of a 17-year old white boy (Hally) and two black waiters (Sam and Willie) during a rainy afternoon. This timely story of Fugard's does a phenomenal job of discussing oppression and compassion on a large scale (universally) and also on a smaller scale (in our own lives). The content is quite poignant and thought-provoking and the ending will haunt your mind for days afterward (especially when you find out that the play is based on a personal account of Fugard's).

There's a great review in the Bee, if you're interested in finding out more : Master Harold...and the boys. (Btw, this production is not suitable for young children.)


Ok, now back to our regular programming...the awesome dinner I made Thursday night was: pan-fried halibut cheeks accompanied by Israeli couscous mixed with fresh asparagus and mushrooms. Mmm! Simple but super delicious. If you've never had halibut cheeks before, you should definitely try it. It's the sweetest most tender part of the halibut. The cheeks kind of remind me of scallops but flakier.

Now I had never cooked halibut cheeks at home before so I asked one of the friendly fishmongers at Sunh Fish for some direction, his call- just gently pan-fry them. I'm so glad I followed his suggestion  because this is seafood that definitely does not need any futzing. I also made some Israeli couscous to go with it but these cheeks would have been just as good on a bed of sautéed greens.

(If you're unfamiliar with Israeli couscous, it's a wheat-based pasta that's rolled into tiny balls that resemble Nerf pellets. It has a nice nutty taste when toasted.)



Pan-Fried Halibut Cheeks

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh halibut cheeks
2 tablespoons AP flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Gently pat your halibut cheeks dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

2. Spread the 2 tablespoons of flour on a plate then very, very LIGHTLY dredge the cheeks through the flour. Set aside.

3. Place the skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Place your halibut cheeks on the skillet. Space them out a bit so that they do not touch each other. Let them cook for 2 minutes.  Then using a spatula flip them over. Allow to cook for another minute to a minute and a half.  (Be careful not to overcook the cheeks.)

4. Repeat with remaining butter and fish.

3. Plate. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley (optional).



Israeli Couscous with Fresh Asparagus and Mushrooms

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup Israeli couscous
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch of asparagus (woody stems removed, sliced into 1-inch pieces)
1 8-oz. package of crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 small sweet onion, diced
3-4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a medium sized pan , heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add couscous. Over medium heat, toast the couscous until it's lightly browned.

2. Add 1 3/4 cup of boiling water to the saucepan and couscous. Stir well to combine. Bring the whole lot to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes (or until all the liquid is absorbed). Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a separate pan, heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. When it begins to shimmer, add garlic and onions. Cook until onions begin to slightly soften, then add asparagus and mushrooms. Cook 6-8 minutes (depending on how crisp you like your asparagus). Stir occasionally.

4. Remove from heat. Add veggie mixture to cooked couscous. Add grated Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss. Serve.

This past weekend, Mr.S. took me and the kidlets on an impromptu field trip to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery so we could see all the salmon jumping about. It was quite incredible...salmon, salmon everywhere, as far as the eye could see! We were all pretty much in awe. I even took a few photos while we were there:





If you get a chance stop by there. Kidlets will love feeding the fish in the "nursery" tanks and watching the fish jump up the fish ladder.

So to celebrate all the salmon in the American River, Mr. S. and I decided to cook up some salmon for dinner Wednesday night. Can you say yum?! (Salmon is also rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which is good for your cardiovascular health.)  I stopped by and picked up a nice big piece of fresh salmon at Sunh Fish and cooked it up in a no-frills manner: olive oil, a few pinches of herbes de Provence, lemon slices and a boatload of garlic (we love garlic!). We then tented it up in foil and chucked it in the oven. In less than a half hour, we had some wonderfully moist and flavorful salmon dressing up our plates. Keeping with the healthy theme, we also made some roasted delicata squash and a mushroom and asparagus quinoa pilaf...but more on that later this week. ;)





Oven-Baked Fresh Salmon

Ingredients

1.5 lbs fresh (wild) salmon - you can cut these into smaller individual fillets or roast it as one giant fillet

Extra virgin olive oil

Herbes de Provence

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

4-6 garlic cloves, minced

3 small lemons (2 sliced, 1 in wedges)

Aluminum foil


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place a large piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil on it and spread it out.

3. Place salmon on the middle of the foil sheet, skin side down. Lightly coat the fish with olive oil.  Season with a few pinches of herbes de Provence, several minced cloves of garlic, some Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Squeeze some fresh lemon across the top.

4. Place slices of lemon across the top.


5. Fold the sides of the foil upward and over, creating a small tent-like packet. Make sure everything is covered and all the sides are sealed tightly.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes (or more if you have really thick fillets), until salmon is fully cooked.
Tip: cook the fish 10 minutes for each inch of thickness.

7. Use a spatula to transfer fillets to plates. Serve with lemon wedges.

I remember once Mr.S. commenting that he loved that my friends were such amazing cooks...and you know what? So do I! I'm a lucky girl indeed. Last night, I had the pleasure of dining at my friend Lacy's new house. When I got there, I found out she had picked up some whole branzinos at Sunh Fish and was going to cook them in a salt crust. I was totally excited since I'd been dying to try this method for quite awhile. The technique turned out to be quite simple. The salt crust essentially steamed the fish and the fish came out amazingly moist (and not overly salty at all). I think I may have to do this one for Mr.S. soon!


Pesce al Sale

Ingredients

1 (3 lb. box) coarse Kosher salt
5-6 large egg whites
3 (1 lb.) fresh whole branzinos, scaled & gutted (leave the head and tail intact)
3 fresh lemons, 2 thinly sliced and 1 cut in wedges
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a large mixing bowl, incorporate salt and egg whites together. What you want to end up with is a sand-like consistency.


3. Rub the exterior of the fish down with olive oil.

4. Stuff the cavity of the fish with lemon slices, herbs and garlic (optional).


5. On a large baking sheet, evenly spread out a thick layer of the salt paste. You want it to be around 1/2 inch in thickness.

6. Place the fish on top of the salt bed. Then cover it with the remaining salt mixture, making a salt shell. You want all of the fish covered. Firmly press the salt mixture into the flesh.



7. Roast for 20-25 minutes. (Until thermometer reads 135 degrees.) The crust will turn golden brown and hard.


8. Remove baking sheet with fish from oven. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

9. Tap the salt crust with the back of a heavy spoon. The mound should crack and come apart. Lift the larger pieces of salt crust off and brush away smaller pieces. Gently using a knife or small spatula, peel off the skin of the fish. Lift the exposed fillet off the fish and transfer it to a serving plate. Then lift the tail and pull upward, lifting off the bones from the bottom fillet. Extract the bottom fillet from the skin and place on plate.


10. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

1900 V Street, Sacramento, CA 95818. (916) 442-8237.
M-F 8-5pm, Sat & Sun 9am-3pm. Accepts plastic.

When my friend, Cate, decided to throw a sushi party two years ago for her birthday I accompanied her to Sunh Fish on Broadway to pick up a few seafood items. I had heard about Sunh Fish before but had never stopped in there. The seafood we got there was great and I kept meaning to get back over there again, but life got busy and I never did. Flash forward to this year, I read about Sunh Fish moving to 19th and V Street into the old Verge Gallery. It was now within walking distance from my cottage! But did I ever get there? Nope...not until this week and I could kick myself that I haven't visited sooner.

Earlier this week, a chef acquaintance of mine had posted a tantalizing photo of some plump Tiger shrimp and creamy looking stone ground grits on his Facebook and noted that the shrimp were from Sunh Fish. Mr. S. and I had just been lamenting recently that there was such a limited selection of places to buy good seafood at in Sac; so when I saw that post, I decided to shoot the chef an email and ask if Sunh Fish sold whole fish retail and whether the fishmongers there would gut and scale the fish for you. I got an enthusiastic, "Yes!" back. So on my way home from running errands Thursday afternoon, I popped in there. Sunh Fish has a nice (free) parking lot, so you can swoop in and out easily. As I entered the building, I immediately noticed that the "store" area was one big room- warehouse big! There was an office to the left and then a large display case housing sushi-grade sashimi and salmon. Also in the case were fresh diver scallops, mussels, about four different kinds of prawns and an assortment of other delectable seafood. Walking up, I was immediately greeted with a friendly smile and an offer of assistance. I knew I wanted a whole fish to grill but I wasn't really sure what kind, so I asked the gentleman behind the counter for some recommendations. He suggested the Branzino (aka loup de mer, a European sea bass that has firm meat, not too many bones and is sustainable). I bought two, which came out to roughly two pounds. While I was waiting for him to scale and gut my purchase, I chatted with an elderly Japanese lady (a fellow customer) who had nothing but rave reviews for the store and suggested next time I try out a few of the oysters. I also wandered over, perused the cold case on the adjacent wall and noted that they carried several different kinds of tobiko and other sushi odds and ends. As I was checking out, the gentleman that had been assisting me was kind enough to answer my numerous questions about grilling fish whole and offered a few helpful cooking tips.

So if you're thinking of cooking up some seafood, I would highly recommend paying Sunh Fish a visit- excellent, quality seafood and phenomenal service. Plus they're open 7 days a week.


RECIPE
Here's some quick instructions and tips on how to cook whole Branzino. The prep, cooking and clean up turned out to be quite simple. Although we had a bit of an issue with the fish sticking a bit to the grill, it tasted fantastic - light, flaky and fresh. We'll definitely be opting to cook fish whole more often...maybe next time we'll try the salt crust method.

Grilled Branzino

Ingredients

2 one pound whole Branzinos, gutted and scaled
extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1 bunch of fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
kitchen twine

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill (medium-high heat) or if using charcoal, start your fire. Word to the wise- make sure your grate is extremely clean and be sure to rub it down with LOTS of oil (or use an oiled fish basket). We thought we had used enough oil on the grill but the fish skin still stuck. Boo! Next time we'll have to use more.

2. Rinse the fish under cold water (inside and out- be careful of the dorsal fin, it's spiny and sharp) and pat dry. Cut vertical slits into the side of the fish, about 1 inch apart. Turn fish over and repeat.

3. Rub the fish inside and out with olive oil.

4.Season the inside of the Branzino with salt and pepper. Then gently massage the outside of the fish with salt.

5. Place lemon slices and thyme sprigs in the cavity of the fish.

6. Cut two pieces of kitchen twine for each fish. Tie them around the thickest part of the fish to secure the inside ingredients from falling out.

7. Place the fish horizontally on the grill over direct medium-high heat.

8. Rule of thumb: grill the fish about 8-10 minutes/a side per 1-inch of thickness.

9. Place a spatula under the fish (or use two spatulas- one on top, one underneath) and flip the fish over.


10. To check for doneness: insert a metal skewer or a small knife into the thickest part of the fish's flesh, if it's done it should have some give and slide in easily. The skin should look crispy and the flesh will be moist and flaky.

11. Remove from grill, allow to rest for 4-5 minutes. Serve warm with lemon.

Wow, after that jag of autumnal weather I thought for sure I'd be making roasts, soups and various comfort foods by mid-October but it looks like Mother Nature decided to throw us a curve ball and plop us into an Indian Summer. The weather in Midtown's been lingering around the comfortable high 70's/low 80's and the canopies of trees with their thick green leaves are holding strong. In fact most of the plants in my yard are still looking pretty joyous, take a look:







So going with the weather, instead of a typical October stick-to-your-ribs heavy stew I ended up making a refreshing dish of pepperfin for lunch today. It ended up being perfect-- light and quick and it tided me over until dinner time.

Viva la summer!

2-2.5 t. lemon juice

6 tsp regular soy sauce (not low sodium)

2/3 tsp sesame oil

dash or two of chili oil (optional)

sliced fresh  jalapeño

Instructions

1. Slice tuna into 1/8-1/2 inch pieces, against the grain.

2. Arrange on plate. Garnish with jalapeño slices.

3. Mix sauce ingredients in bowl. Spoon sauce over fish.  Serve.

* I will confess I did dump all of the sauce over the fish "Mikuni"-style after the photo was taken. :)

I'm always looking for food recipes where I can get Mr. S.'s kidlets interested in food, so imagine my delight when both kidlets expressed an interest in what I was cooking last Wednesday. What drew their interest to my fumbling in the kitchen? Banana leaves. They were enamored with the idea of cooking with them. Although banana leaves can be found at pretty much any Asian market in South Sac, for two kidlets growing up in the suburbs and eating mainly mainstream American food; the idea of cooking with banana leaves seems exotic. So once I had the sauce whipped up, I enlisted their help in wrapping up the fish in the leaves. Now if you've never cooked with banana leaves before, they're great for steaming or grilling fish. The leaves keep the fish moist and tender. Now while cooking, the leaves impart a green tea-like fragrance...it wafted about making the kitchen smell wonderful!


Thai Fish Baked in Banana Leaves ( from About.com )
Yield: Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 2-3 fillets fish (I used fresh pink snapper from Oto's)

• 1 pkg. banana leaves (if frozen, thaw for at least 1/2 hour)

Marinade/Sauce:

• 1 shallot

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, sliced

• 2 tsp. ground coriander

• handful of basil leaves

• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce

• 1/2 can good-quality coconut milk

• 2 kaffir lime leaves, snipped into slivers with scissors, or 1 tsp. lime zest

• 1 fresh red chili, sliced & seeds removed

• 1 tsp. chili powder

• juice of 1/2 lime


Instructions:

1. Place all marinade/sauce ingredients in a food processor and process well.

2. Place fish fillets in a large bowl and add 1/2 the marinade. Reserve the rest for later.

3. Slather the marinade over both sides of the fish, then let it sit in the refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes.

4. When fish is done marinading, spread a banana leaf approximately 1 foot square on a working surface (you will have to cut the leaf). Place one fillet in the center of the leaf.

5. Fold both sides of the leaf over the fish, then fold both ends to create a square "packet". Turn it seam-side down to keep sides from opening (or secure with a skewer, like I did). Do the same for the other fillets.

6. Place packets in a glass casserole dish or pie plate (to catch the drippings in case packets leak) and bake for 15 min. at 350 degrees, or longer depending on the thickness of the fillets.

7. After 15 minutes, open one of the packets. Insert a fork into the center of the fillet (the thickest part) and gently pull back. If inside flesh is opaque and no longer transparent, the fish is cooked. If not, return to oven for another 5-10 minutes.

8. Over low heat, warm up the reserved sauce/marinade.

9. To serve the fish, scoop several spoonfuls of rice onto the side of the fish. Spoon some of the sauce over the fish, then add a sprinkling of basil and/or garnish with diced red/yellow/green bell peppers.

I hope everyone's having as wonderful of a New Year as I am. Mr. S. and I rang out 2010 by making a spontaneous day trip to SF yesterday. We perused all the little shops in Nihonmachi (Japantown), slurped up some noodles at a ramen-ya and closed out the afternoon by exploring Fort Point out by the Presidio. We decided to spend NYE at home with his kidlets and leave the drinking and rabble-rousing to the amateurs; but we did manage to stay up until midnight and greet the New Year with horns, poppers and LOTS of laughter. 1/1/11 started out great as well...we all slept in (even the dog) and Mr. S. made an amazing breakfast of eggs, beef hash, thick bacon, SPAM, and OJ/milk/coffee. Mmm! And yes, I did say SPAM. Shhh, it's my dirty little secret! I would not eat green eggs and ham...but I sure as heck would eat fried eggs and SPAM!  ;)

Anyhow, what better way is there to start a new year than with a clean slate and a little "present."  Fish en Papillote aka Fish in Parchment Paper is delicious, easy and involves very little clean up (yay!). The nifty part is that you can use this basic cooking method and switch out the type of fish, veggies and/or sauce and each time you'll have a different dish. If you haven't had Fish en Papillote before, you're in for a treat! The first waft of aroma you inhale when you "unwrap" the package is heavenly. Now get to it, time's a wastin'!



Fish en Papillote


Ingredients

Parchment paper

4 (6 to 7-ounce) portions of Alaskan cod (low in fat and calories, high in protein)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 large carrot (I like to use a vegetable peeler and "shave" long slices off, it looks prettier than chunks)

1 lemon, sliced or wedges

3 to 4-inch knob of ginger, grated

4-5 large cloves of garlic, minced

6 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons rice vinegar

6 tablespoons Kikkoman soy sauce


Instructions

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

- Rip off 4 pieces of parchment to form packets each about 12-inches long.

- Season fish with salt and pepper.

- Place a piece of parchment in a shallow dish then in the center of the paper stack 1/4 of the green onions/ shiitakes/ carrot peels, sprinkle with grated ginger and minced garlic and top with fish.

- Combine the honey, vinegar and soy sauce and pour 1/4 of the sauce over fish.

- Fold over the top of the parchment then roll the sides in tightly to form a sealed pouch.

- Repeat with remaining parchment sheets and ingredients.

- Arrange the pouches on a baking sheet and roast in hot oven for 20 minutes. (Sometimes the parchment paper will turn brown...no worries, it's fine as long as it's not burning)

- Serve on a plate with a side of lemon.

- To open: you can slice the packet open with a sharp knife or carefully unwrap it, your choice. Be careful, the steam will be very hot.

Makes 4 servings.


( Recipe adapted form RR's Ginger-Garlic Fish in Parchment )