Welcome Autumn with a Toast and a Sea Bass Fish Roast

The leaves are turning and the cider is fresh and crisp as the wind. Here's a fish roasted with fingerling potatoes that catches the last flavors of summer even as it embraces the textures of autumn. Savor each bite of sea bass and potato roasted with garlic and oil and the pungent flavor of basil. Let it linger on your tongue.

Sea Bass Roasted Italian Style

2 pounds of fingerling potatoes ( I used white, red, and purple) I sliced them in bite sized pieces.

6 cloves of garlic, put through a garlic press

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup fresh basil leaves, slice thin

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 pounds fresh sea bass ( or one fillet per person)

juice of one lemon

1/4 cup of white wine

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix together potatoes, garlic, basil leaves, olive oil in a 13 by 9 poasting pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Roast in the oven for about twenty minutes until the potatoes are very close to done. Remove pan from oven and remove the potatoes from the pan.

4. Lay the fillets on the bottom of the pan. Pour the wine and lemon juice over the fish. Place the potatoes back on top of the fish.

5. Return to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes or until the fish is done and easily flakes with a fork.

Serve and enjoy!

We served with an antipasto salad and homemade blue cheese dressing.

Fish in the Fall Is Great For All!

The nights are getting chilly, and while I certainly don't want to abandon the grill altogether, my thoughts turn to warm and cozy casseroles. The kind that make you feel all snug and warm as the rain streams in cold rivulets down the window pane. So.. why not try to make one with fish? Here's my first attempt.

Autumn Fish Medly

1. Grease a casserole dish and place a 6-8 oz fish fillet in it for each person you are serving. I had three fillets, 1 mahi mahi, one halibut, and one sea bass. Drizzel over them with just about a teaspoon of olive oil.

2.Thinly slice an onion and a green bell pepper and arrange around the fish. Sprinkle with fresh chives, thyme, and oregano; about a teaspoon or so of each.

3. Coarsely chop a mixture of olives. I used about a quarter cup of both green and black. These will add both texture and richness to your meal. Sprinkle on the fish.

4. Pour a 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes over the fish.  Add enough white wine to just cover. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in a 375 degree oven for about 15-18 minutes. The fish will be opague and flake with a fork.

5. Serve over rice or quinoa with a crusty slice of bread to soak up all the juices.

Enjoy!

Great Fish for Game Day, Oh Yea!

As the season for fall sports gets into full swing, you want to enjoy your favorite team with some great game food. This recipe is an all time winner! It is true pub grub from the Brazen Head, on Lower Bridge Street in Dublin, a bar that has been in the pub business for some 800 years. Try this dish, then just sit back and enjoy!

Mussels in Garlic and Guinness

2 pounds of fresh mussels, scrubbed

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon minced flat leaf parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced

1/2 cup Guinness

1/2 cup half and half

2 tablspoons unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter

lemon wedges for serving

Fresh bread for serving (I used a whole wheat baquette)

1. Put a stockpot over medium heat. When the pot is hot, add the mussels and remaining ingredients and cover. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mussels open.

2. To serve, divide the mussels among shallow bowls and ladle the broth over them. Sprinkle with extra parsley and serve with a slice of lemon. Yes, it's that easy! And the fresh and delicious taste is one you won't soon forget.

Note: We served hot peppers fresh from the grill on the dipping bread to add a bit of spice to the meal. Also, to make this more hearty fare, just serve over pasta. There you have it: healthy, easy and delicious food for your next game.

 Move over pizza and wings you just got some serious competition.

Go Irish!

At the End of Summer, Some Still Like It Hot

It's the end of summer and the peppers are hot, and so is this salmon. I love the smell of salmon on the grill; put it on a cedar plank and it will plump up moist and delicious; top it with pepper jam and expect a sizzling treat for your taste buds. Now, you can buy many kinds of pepper jam, but I'm going to give you a recipe that will make about six jars. Enjoy the jam mixed with cream cheese on crackers or bagels. But save a half a cup of the jam to grill on a large salmon fillet and bask in the heat this jam can generate!

Some Like It Hot Cedar Planked Salmon

Make the jam anytime before you plan to cook the salmon: a day, a week, or a whole season.



Darlene's Pepper Jam

4 cup of chopped peppers - I use half hot peppers and half bell peppers, and I love a mix. My favorites are from stall 118 at the Rochester Public Market, but choose your own favorite hot peppers.

1 cup of cider vinegar

5 cups sugar

1 1.75 oz pkg of pectin (I like Sure Jell)

1. Have six jam jars (8oz or smaller) complete with lids in boiling water. Keep the water on a low simmer.

2. In a large pot put the four cups of peppers, cider, and pectin.

3. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.

4. Stir in sugar quickly. Return to a full rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

5. Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water and ladle in the jam to near the top. Wipe the edges very clean.

6. Put on the two piece lids and tighten. Set the jars on the counter and listen for them to "pop." That mean the lids are sealed.

Now you have some delicious pepper jam!

Back to the cedar planed salmon.

1. Soak a cedar plank in some cold water for a half hour. Then place a salmon fillet (whatever size fits your needs). We had a bit over a pound and a half for three people. Plenty to eat and some for leftovers.

2. Place the plank with fish in a grill set on medium high for about six minutes.

3. Open the grill and spread a generous coat of the pepper jam over the whole top of the fish. I used between a third and a half a cup. Close the grill lid and wait for the salmon to finish. Ours took about another 20 minutes.

The salmon will be moist and succulant on the inside with a glittering finish and a bit of a bite. Try this for another great way to enjoy fish!

Start with a Can and a Plan

Last week's fish cakes were delicious, and I decided to repeat the process this week with salmon because Giada De Laurentiis' newest cookbook, Weeknights with Giada had an intriguing dinner called "Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Caper Yogurt Sauce" that used canned salmon as the basis for the recipe. Could canned salmon be as good in fish cakes as the fresh fish was in last week's recipe? Well, every recipe I have ever made from any of her cooksbooks (and I will confess to owning them all) has been above average good. So... that's this week's new recipe.

Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Caper Yogurt Sauce

salmon cakes

1(14.75 oz) can bonless, skinless pink salmon, drained

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped

26 saltine crackers, crushed (1 1/3 cups)

1 cup corn kernals

1/4 cup mayonnaise, plus more if needed  (I used salad dressing)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Using a fork flake the salmon into 1/2 inch pieces into a medium bowl. Add the egg, chives, 1/2 cup of crushed crackers, corn, mayonnaise, mustard, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix gently until just combined. Form into 10 patties (I actually made 8 patties), each about 3/4 inch thick. If the mixture is too dry, add mayonnaise 1 tablespoon at a time (I did not need to add any).  Carefully coat the patties with the remaining crushed crackers and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil and butter together over medium  heat. Add the salmon patties and cook for 7 to 8 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy. Drain the patties on paper towels.

Sauce

1/2 cup full-fat plain reek yogurt

1 1/2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and chopped

1 tablespoon gradted lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grouind black pepper

In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together.

It may seem like this recipe takes a fair amount of ingredients, but when I looked in the cupboards after reading through it for the first time, I only needed a can of salmon and some saltines, everything else was on hand. It goes together quickly. I had the whole meal on the table in slightly over a half hour, but I must confess that I did not chill the patties in the refrigerator. This tasted really, really good, and it was a toss up about which fish cakes indeed were superior.

This is well worth trying, enjoy!