Ingredient Spotlight - Blackfish Roasted with Olives & Sage

It all starts with one question: 

"What's good today?"

Blackfish with Sage & Olives + a Salad of Lambs Lettuce (Mache), Green Apple,
Shallot and Blue Cheese Dijon Dressing and Baked Potato by my Mom! Photo: NK

I've shared many times that I begin most of my shopping trips to the butcher, fish or farmers market with that very inquiry. The reason? It's a whole lot easier to cook great meals when you begin with excellent ingredients.  Using in season fruits, vegetables and even proteins (did you know it's Oyster season now?) can make a real difference in your food. 

Last weekend the answer was Blackfish. 

Blackfish, huh? I'd never really cooked with it and couldn't recall eating. "What's it like," I asked my fishmonger. "Well, they are firm, white fleshed fish. They like to eat crab, so they're a little sweet. Almost a slight lobster-y quality to them."

Lobstery? 

Say no more.

Baked Blackfish - this easy recipe came out perfectly! Photo: NK 

Even though I cook all the time there's always a little anxiety around trying a new ingredient. 

It's easy to revert to the familiar and foolproof, and with fish (we love cod, flounder, sole, tuna, and all the shellfish under the sun), cook times are much faster, so there's an even greater motivation to time things out just right.

All that said, there's only one way to learn - and that's practice.  Practice, and a good, simple recipe.  

With no Blackfish experience to speak of, I went to the internet and compared some simple preparations. It wasn't long before I stumbled on one from Serious Eats - one of my favorite web destinations for food news and recipes. The super short ingredient list was an instant sell. 

Roasted Blackfish With Olives & Sage 
Lightly Adapted Recipe By Melissa Clark, Cook This Now as published on Serious Eats
Serves 4-6 

Ingredients: 

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 (1 Pound) skin-on Blackfish Fillets, patted until dry
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
10 Large Sage Leaves
1/2 Cup Pitted Kalamata Olives
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Smoked Hot Paprika or Sweet Paprika 

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 425.

2. Drizzle about a Tablespoon of Oil on a large baking sheet. Place the fish fillets, skin side down, in the pan. Season the fillets generously with Salt and Pepper. 

3. Pile the Sage leaves on top of each other, roll them up, and slice them into thin ribbons and in half again. Sprinkle the Sage over the fish and then scatter the Olives on top and around the fish. Drizzle with the remaining Olive Oil. 

4. Place pan in the oven and roast fish until it is opaque, roughly 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle fillets with Lemon Juice and dust with Paprika. Optionally sprinkle with a bit more oil and serve right away. 

The Salad As Art - Five Ingredient Grapefruit & Endive Salad

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Or in the case of today's salad, for how ever long it takes you to eat it. Eye-catching salads are big in my book. Nothing is worse than a boring, or generally bland tasting salad (more about that HERE).  If your dish tastes as striking as it looks, all the better. Today's simple, brightly colored salad of Red Grapefruit and Endive is as pretty as they come. 

Grapefruit & Endive Salad, Photo: NK

This time, I served it alongside a hearty French style Hunter's Stew to lighten the mood a bit, but it would make a great addition to an elegant luncheon or as an extremely quick side for a delicate fish fillet. It's a stunner no matter how you present it. 

A quick prep with a big payoff, Photo: NK 

Ruby Red Grapefruit and Endive Salad
Serves 4 as a light side

Ingredients:
1/2 Large Ruby Red Grapefruit, very ripe, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch sections + 1 Tablespoon Grapefruit Juice
2 Medium Belgian Endives, base cut off and leaves carefully separated
1 heaping Tablespoon Minced Italian Parsley
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1/8 teaspoon Salt
Black Pepper
Flakey Salt to finish (French Grey Salt or other Coarse Sea Salt would be great choices)

Cutting the Endive, Photo: NK

Method:
1. In a bowl, toss Endive Leaves gently with the Grapefruit Sections. 

2. In another small bowl, mix the Olive Oil, 1/8 teaspoon Salt, Black Pepper and Grapefruit Juice. Mix.

3. Drizzle dressing over the Endive leads and toss again. 


4. To serve, arrange Endive leaves as pictured in a long rectangular or oval platter. Place Grapefruit sections as you see fit. 

5. Sprinkle with Parsley and one or two small pinches of Coarse Salt (optional). 

Welcome Weekend - Cocktail: The Gin Hound

      Weekend Update: 

You need a drink. And if you don't, we do. We recommend it be The Gin Hound. 

The Gin Hound, Photo: NK 

Gin has been the alpha and the omega in the cocktail evolution of my life thus far. The first "real" cocktail I ever consistently enjoyed was the Gin and Tonic. They were my go-to whenever I was out on the town for quite a while. I'd sweeten them with a splash of grenadine, ending up with a more drinkable yet still seemingly adult version of a Gin Rickey. 

The next spirit to spark my fancy was also in the clear family - Vodka. Thus, my drink of choice became the Screwdriver. Goes down easy, right?  When a maturer palette allowed me to actually appreciate the taste of certain liquors, I moved to the browns, Whiskey, Bourbon and Scotch, specifically. This also also coincided with the popularity of Mad Men and a major return to classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned and Manhattan. Good times! 

These days, I've come full circle. I still like all the others but I've come to appreciate the clean, herbal qualities of Gin all over again. Though it may be at its best with only light embellishment - give me a Gin and Cucumber-based cocktail any day - Gin also does great when paired with big flavors like Grapefruit. There's no need to dispense with fruit-driven libations when the winter months roll around. Grapefruit just happens to be great right now. You may even want to cook with it. Enjoy and thanks to the Food52 contributor who came up with this easy and delicious cocktail. 

The Gin Hound
Recipe from Food52/JRDSquared
Yields 2 Cocktails
Ingredients: 
3/4 Cups fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice
1 Tablespoon fresh Lemon Juice
4 Ounces of Gin *we like Bombay Sapphire
1 Ounce Sweet Vermouth
Ice 

Method: 
Combine the Lemon and Grapefruit juices. Fill a shaker with Ice and add the Gin, Vermouth and Juice. Shake well and serve on the rocks. We like to garnish ours with a wedge of Grapefruit. Cheers!

In Season: Apricots - DIY Apricot Butter

Fruit Butters are a great way to make use of overripe fruit. They're also a bit easier to make than jellies and jams. Today, we're using the stone fruit star of the season, the Apricot, as the base for a smooth and tangy fruit butter that is irresistible by itself on bread or crackers, or, better yet, alongside butter, cream cheese, ricotta, or even sinful mascarpone. (We admit to an Apricot obsession this summer - check out our recent Apricot Mint Sorbet).

Homemade Apricot Butter, Photo: NK

We love our recipe all the more because it employs ingredients you'll find handy in your pantry (except for the fresh Apricots of course), and in just an hour and fifteen minutes' time, only a bit of which is spent actively cooking, you'll emerge from your kitchen with two cups of Apricot Butter that tastes just as good or better than anything you can find in a gourmet store. Enjoy it yourself or cool the mixture and spoon into a mason jar for a charmingly homemade hostess gift. Apricot Butter can be stored in the fridge for up to a week for a taste of summer anytime the mood strikes. 

Apricot Butter
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Gorgeous, ripe Apricots. Photo: NK

Yield: 2 Cups 

Ingredients:
10 or 11 very ripe medium-sized Apricots, carefully pitted and halved
1 Cup Orange Juice
1/3 Cup Water
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 good pinches of Salt

Method:
1. Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Partially cover and over moderately-high heat, allow the mixture to to simmer. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on it for about 10 minutes. Apricots will become very soft.

2. Uncover the pot and and lower the flame tp just under medium. Continue to cook simmer, stirring every few minutes, until the mixture is very thick. About an hour. 

3. Scrape mixture into food processor or high powered blender (we used our Vitamix) and blend until quite smooth. Allow the mixture to cool fully before refrigerating in an airtight container. Apricot Butter will keep up to a week in the fridge. 
ENJOY! 

MISSION: FIGS - In Season & Ready To Eat

Mission Figs (come into season in June), Photo: NK

So much of my weekly menu-making is dictated by what looks fresh and in season at the market. When I am not ordering the heck out of the great produce often available at Freshdirect.com, I am perusing the aisles at specialty stores and, when I can, farm stands. Nothing brings me inspiration faster than grabbing a good lookin' ingredient and building a menu around it. 

Entire food movements swing on this very basic principle, and you don't need to be a serious home cook to benefit from using it yourself. 

Next time you have the urge to create something in the kitchen, try starting with whatever item calls to you, and build and research what you'll do with it from there. With the internet at all of our fingertips, there's never been an easier time to get creative. Today's ingredient muse is in-season Figs, just now appearing on the scene at stores everywhere. The world of figs is a wide one, but we'll be using the well known Mission Fig variety. 

Beautifully ripe, Photo: NK 

With these beauties ready for prime time, I decided I'd turn them into a very simple yet flavorful salad using just a few ingredients. Peppery Arugula would be a great foil for the sweetness of the Figs. A mellow mix of Balsamic Vinegar,Olive Oil, and a bit of Dijon Mustard serves both as a marinade for the Figs and a light dressing to tie the greens together. Shaved Parmgiana curls provide the salty counterpoint. Let your figs sit for thirty minutes in the marinade, and from there, this 4-ingredient salad makes itself. Dress it just before serving and enjoy (and never forget to let the season inspire you!). 

Marinated Fig & Arugula Salad, Photo: NK 

Marinated Fig & Arugula Salad
Loosely adapted from Southern Living
Serves 4 

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 teaspoons Agave or Honey
1 teaspoon Grainy Dijon Mustard
A few pinches of Salt
A few pinches of Black Pepper
8 Ripe Figs, sliced in half (we opted for Mission Figs)  

1/8 Lb Parmigiana Cheese, shaved into curls 
5 Ounces Wild Arugula (Rocket), hand torn
1/4 Small Red Onion, very thinly sliced

Method:
1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the Figs, gently stir, and allow the Figs to sit in the Marinade 30 Minutes. 

2. In another bowl, combine the Arugula with the sliced Red Onion. When Marinating has finished, spoon out a 2 to 3 Tablespoons of the Marinade onto the Arugula. Toss slowly and add additional dressing as needed, taking care not to overdress salad and make it soggy.

3. To serve, plate the arugula down the middle of each bowl. Place 4 of the marinated figs on each portion or to the side of it. Finish with shavings of Parmigiana cheese and some extra Black Pepper. Serve immediately.