Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Danish Style Fish

My 12 year old found my copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. It was printed in 1947, and has a leather spine and corners. It belonged to my grandfather, the lawyer from Texas, who died in 1973. This is the only book of his which I have.

In paging through it, demonstrating for the kids and my dearly beloved how the book works, I happened upon this quote from Alphonso The Learned (1221-1284):

"Had I been present at the Creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe."


Boy! Talk about arrogant! And I thought I could be a know-it-all!

Anyway...that's not why we're here today.

For my Catholic friends, it's still Lent. And Friday is coming. I adapted this from a recipe I saw in a cookbook published by Bon Appetit (do they still exist?) way back around 1980. My husband ate this, and declared, "Make this kind of fish every single time you cook it, until I tire of it!" So, here's a suggestion for all of you for Friday night's dinner, with a strong recommendation by my Dearly Beloved.

DANISH STYLE FISH

1 pound fish fillets

1/2 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube or 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
pepper
additional water
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp dill
1/4 cup water

1-1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 green onions, chopped

In an ovenproof/microwavable dish, place the fish fillets, and pepper both sides to taste. Heat 1/2 cup water and dissolve the chicken bouillon in it. Add the lemon juice, and pour over the fish. Bake at 400 degrees until the fish flakes evenly. Transfer the fish to a plate for a few minutes. Pour the liquid in which the fish was cooked back into the measuring cup, and add water sufficient to return the amount to 1 cup. Return this liquid to the fish cooking dish. Whisk in the sour cream and dill. Whisk the cornstarch into the last 1/4 cup water, and whisk this mixture into the sour cream mix. Microwave for a minute or two, whisking every 30 seconds, until the sauce thickens. Return the fish to the cooking dish, sprinkle the top with the green onions, and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or so to heat the fish through, and serve over a bed of rice, boiled potatoes, or pasta.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I have some ideas about creation too! LOL! That was good actually. And the fish looks yummy!

Paula said...

How cool to have your Grandfather's book! Love that quote ... wonder if he voiced his opinion when he reached the pearly gates back in 1284! Ha!

LOVE this fish recipe, and we most definitely will be having this on Friday. You are so good at keeping variety (fish, turkey, beef, chicken) in your menus. Your hubby's recommendation of this recipe is a great one! I think I really like that man! So what makes it Danish? The sr. cream and dill? Whatever the reason, it looks so good to me. I fear I may sample spoonful after spoonful of the sauce before it even hits my plate! Your pasta looks awesome, too. Is that chopped tomatoes and spinach maybe? YUM! Thanks for thinking of us Lent abstaining folk! :-)

Bunny said...

This looks wonderful! I've never seen fish cooked like this before!

Unknown said...

It looks very interesting. My hubby has been doing the cooking and housework while he's recovering. It's so nice. g

Anonymous said...

I have a funny story for you, Marjie. Tonight I finally mustered up the courage to take my breakmaker out of the box and attempt to read the novel that they call an instruction manual.
Really the only reason I decided to do this on a work night is that I am leaving my husband to go out of town this weekend and he made me promise to leave some fresh bread :)
This weekend I bought a huge thing of active dry yeast at Costco (and keep in mind I have never worked with yeast before). I couldn't figure out why it was so hard. The package felt like a little brick. I was trying with all my might to get it to open and finally resorted to trying to use the scissors. They accidentally slipped and pierced the side of the bag. A hissing noise ensued, and suddenly the brick package felt like a package of mush. Apparently they really vaccum-seal those puppies! Anywho, it startled me slightly but all is well now, and your recipe from the other day is kneading away. Thanks again!

Anette said...

That looks very yummy! I might try that, thanks for the idea! It seems my ability to be creative in the dinner departement is a bit dry these days!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

What a great book. Not that I want to add to your long list of to-do's, but you ought to post a quote at leat once a week.

Thanks for the fish recipe, I am going to try it next Friday. It looks and sounds delicious. If your beloved recommends it so highly, I have to try it!

pam said...

Thanks, I am running out of ideas for Fridays! I second the post a quote a week motion.