Fish Florentine

Last week, for my birthday, I made fish.  I frequently cook it in parchment paper, in individual servings, so everyone can have exactly what they like.  My dearly beloved especially loved this creation, and with only one pan to wash, so did I!

FISH FLORENTINE IN PARCHMENT

Parchment paper
White fish filets
Frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
minced onion (optional)
thinly sliced mushrooms (optional)
salt/pepper
butter
shredded Parmesan cheese

Tear off a generous square of parchment paper for each serving.  Spread about 1/2 cup spinach on each piece of parchment, lightly salt it, and sprinkle the onion over it, if desired.  Top with a little parmesan.  Place the filets in single layer atop each bed of spinach, very lightly salt and pepper, then add mushrooms for those who like them.  Top with thin pats of butter and more Parmesan.  Arrange the packets on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.  Serve over a bed of rice or angel hair.

See?  Easy peasy.  One baking sheet, one pan, and you still get your veggies.  And cheese.  Because life is always better with cheese.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Tilapia in Parchment

When we took Ryan to college, we went out for an early dinner after setting up his dorm room.  While proceeding down a major road, Ryan spotted a Red Lobster and exclaimed that he'd always wanted to try one, so in we turned.  He enjoyed visiting with the tank of lobsters (which are high in cholesterol), but we all chose something else for our meals.  I had a tilapia dish which was very nice, and proceeded to attempt to replicate it at home.  Here's my approximation:

TILAPIA IN PARCHMENT

Carrots, sliced and simmered for a few minutes
mushrooms
tilapia
artichoke hearts, quartered
scallions, chopped
grape tomatoes, cut in half
lemon juice
lemon pepper
lemon slices
butter or margarine

Simmer the carrots until they are about half cooked, or else they'll still be raw when everything else is done.  Cut a piece of parchment or foil about 12"x18" for each serving, and layer carrots, mushrooms (if desired) and tilapia.  Sprinkle the tilapia with lemon pepper and chopped scallions.  Top with grape tomatoes and artichoke hearts, drizzle a little lemon juice over the top, add 2 or 3 lemon slices, and add several pats of butter or margarine.  Seal the packets up, and bake at 375F until done, 20 to 30 minutes depending upon the amount of food in each packet.  Serve on a bed of rice (white or wild grain mix).

I enjoyed this because I could leave out whatever each of us doesn't like, and size each packet to the person for whom it was being prepared.  The downside is that it takes a little while to layer and seal each one, but that's the price you pay for not having to cook all the side dishes, right?  Everyone enjoyed it, so much so that I've cooked it twice in the past month.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Lemon Tilapia

Fish is an easy dinner.  I typically serve it on Monday (sometimes other days as well), so I don't start the week feeling weighed down by cooking.  I stumbled upon this idea a couple of weeks ago, and it has been a big hit.

Have you ever seen this product?  I ordered it online, and can assure you that much more will be coming to my house.  It's great in this recipe.

LEMON TILAPIA

1 pound tilapia filets
2 tbsp butter
lemon pepper
1 cup water
2 tsp clam base
1/2 cup cold water
2 tbsp cornstarch

Spray a skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat and place the tilapia in the melted butter.  Sprinkle generous amounts of lemon pepper over the fish (no salt, because lemon pepper contains salt), and cover to cook for a couple of minutes, until the edges of the fish are white.  Flip the fish, sprinkle with lemon pepper again, cover and cook until done.  Remove to a plate and place the pan lid over the fish to keep it warm.

Add 1 cup water to the skillet and stir to loosen any fish stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Stir in the clam base, and heat to a simmer.  Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water, then whisk it into the pan; cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens.  Return the fish to the pan, heat through, and serve over rice.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Salmon Archiduc

Last week, when my nurse daughter was home (because who else could she go visit for her 3 day weekend from Monday through Wednesday?), she went out and picked up a package of salmon for dinner.  I hauled out a New York Times Cookbook authored by Craig Claiborn, and this recipe was there, waiting for me to cook it.  Naturally, it's modified to suit what I had in the house, but isn't that the way it goes everywhere?  Oh, Please, Don't tell me I'm the only person who can't ever cook a recipe the way it's written!

SALMON ARCHIDUC

2 pounds salmon
4 tbsp butter
1 onion, minced
1-1/2 cups warm milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup cold water
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a large skillet, cook the onion until soft, then add the salmon, season with the salt, and cook, flipping once, until it flakes apart.  Remove the salmon to a plate, and put the skillet's cover over it to keep it warm.  Add the milk to the skillet with the pepper and sherry, and heat to a simmer.  Whisk the water and cornstarch together, then whisk into the milk mixture.  Heat until the sauce thickens, add the cream, and turn down the heat so it doesn't boil.  Stir in the parsley, then put the salmon back in the pan for a minute to get it hot again.  Serve with rice.

Everyone liked this.  Well, OK, maybe my littlest fussbudget just tolerated it.  But even my dearly beloved said I should make this again soon, and he's not the world's greatest fan of salmon. I call that a win!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Fish With Capers

I was running really late the other night, in no small part because my dearly beloved had decided to reorganize a file containing 17 years worth of records, and I had to assist.  So I did something I've probably never done before, and cooked an entire meal on the top of one stove.  It's a little crowded, isn't it?

And, yes, it was 10PM.

Anyway, because it would be fast and easy, I decided to cook fish, borrowing an idea from Larry, AKA Big Dude.  Here it is.

FISH WITH LEMON AND CAPERS

White fish filets
1 tbsp margarine or butter per pound of fish
1 tsp lemon juice per pound of fish
1 tsp capers per pound of fish
pepper
No Salt!

Melt the butter in a pan.  Saute up the capers for a minute, then stir in the lemon juice and add the fish.  Note: Mine were really thick, so I cut them into chunks to make the cooking go faster.  Cook the fish until it's done, turning partway through the cooking.  Don't add extra salt!  The capers are quite salty, and that's all you need.  Serve over a bed of rice or pasta.

See?  Fast and delicious.

Happy Monday, everyone.

Orange Fish

After the rain Monday night, it was cool enough to use the oven for dinner. I wanted fish, and this was the result.

Fair Warning: This is a very typical Marjie recipe. I usually think about them more carefully to come up with measurements and whatnot, but this one just didn't lend itself to such contemplation.

Every time I buy oranges, I take the orange part off the peel with a great Pampered Chef "Zester", put the peel in a glass dish, and freeze it. That was the inspiration for my fish. Here goes - a classic non-specific recipe!
ORANGE FISH

1 pound of white fish (or whatever amount you need)
Salt - about 1/4 tsp
Fresh or Frozen orange zest
Butter - 2 to 3 tbsp

Spray your pan to prevent sticking. Put your fish filet in the pan. Sprinkle a tiny amount of salt over the fish. Spread copious amounts of orange zest over the fish. Line up pats of butter over the orange zest. Bake at 400F until the fish is done (mine took about 12 minutes). Serve over rice with a salad and a nice green veggie.

Only one picture - sorry! It was just one of those days!

Baked Fish Parmesan

Last night I needed a fast and easy dinner to make, because the girls and Dan had places to go and things to do (translation: Trivia Night at a local restaurant with friends). So I adapted an idea from the box of fish fillets I get from my restaurant supply house, and this meal came to be!

BAKED FISH PARMESAN

1/2 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 slice bread, ground into crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried minced onion
1-1/2 pounds fish fillets
1/4 cup melted butter

Thoroughly whisk together the milk, egg yolk and salt in a flat bowl. In a separate flat bowl, stir together the pepper, bread crumbs, parmesan and onion. Dip each piece of fish into the milk mixture and then the dry mix, rolling to coat well. Place in a greased baking dish, and pour the melted butter over the fish. Bake at 450F for 5 to 10 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the fish fillets (mine took 10). Pour the melted butter from the bottom of the pan over the fish after it's been served.
I served this with long grain and wild rice flavored with chicken broth, onion, carrot, celery and diced tomato, and a salad. The rice took 25 minutes, the longest of any item, and everyone was happy!

Baked Veggie Fish

Last night, my little guy requested fish. Never one to ignore a reasonable request form my youngest picky eater, I came up with this. I cooked it in the oven, because it's still cold here, melting notwithstanding. It was easy and good.

BAKED VEGGIE FISH

Thick fish fillets, 4 to 8 ounces per person
2 carrots, peeled
1 medium onion, peeled
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/4 cup (1/4 stick) butter
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

In an ovenproof pan, melt the butter (I used a pyrex baking dish and melted the butter in the microwave). Grate the carrots and onion, mix with the celery, and stir into the melted butter to coat. Slide the veggies aside, and add the fish; scoop the veggies over and beside the fish. Pour the cream over the entire mixture. In a measuring cup, whisk the milk with the cornstarch and salt. Pour evenly over the fish and veggies. Grind plenty of pepper over the top of the fish, and bake at 425F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with white or wild rice cooked with grated onion, grated carrot, sliced celery and parsley.
My older boys grumble about fish, so they weren't all that wild about this. But my dearly beloved and the "little" boys greatly enjoyed it, so this will grace our table again.

And since I only have one rather blurry picture of this fish, how about a typical picture of everyone's friend, indulging in his favorite activity, meditations!

Fish in a Sherry Cream Sauce

I need to confess right now, so you can all hate me and get past it. I lost 3 pounds Thanksgiving week despite drinking 2 quarts of eggnog all by myself. It's all because I was so busy cooking that I didn't want to eat. Absurd, yes, but that's how it went. Sorry!

So, last night was the first time in nearly 2 weeks that I've been hungry. And I was ravenous. So I decided to try something new with fish, adapting a recipe I found in the classic red plaid cookbook.

FISH IN A SHERRY CREAM SAUCE

2 pounds fish filets, 1" thick
melted butter
salt and pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
8 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sherry
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
more pepper

Brush the top of the fish with melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook about 5" under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes per side if frozen, about 5 minutes if not frozen, and when you turn the fish, brush the second side with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan, and saute the garlic and scallions until lightly browned. Stir in the sour cream and let it start to melt, then add the chicken broth and sherry and heat until it begins to boil. Whisk the cornstarch into the milk, and stir into the sauce. Stir until thickened, and spoon over the cooked fish.

I served this with flavored rice (tomato powder, vegetable flakes and spinach), broccoli with cheddar cheese, and a salad. It was heavenly. I told you I was hungry!

Fennel!

I've heard of fennel, but never used it. My life has been so limited. On the other hand, I grew up in a house where garlic powder was considered an exotic spice, so my learning curve was pretty steep.

Fennel jar in hand, I went to several cookbooks, trying to learn of a purpose for fennel. I learned that it's great with tomatoes and chicken, and used in Italian cooking. So here's what I dreamed up!

FENNEL FISH

2 pounds white fish fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, minced
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 tomatoes, coarse diced
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup coarsely chopped chives

Melt the butter in a skillet, add the onion and fennel seed, and saute a minute or 2. Add the tomato and carrot, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. At this point, this becomes a flexible recipe: don't you just love flexibility?

Option 1: Add the fish to the skillet, cover, and cook over medium heat until done.
Option 2: Place the fish in a small baking pan, pour the vegetable/seasoning mix over it, and bake at 400F until done.
Option 3: Place portions of the fish on individual 12" squares of foil, pour the vegetable/seasoning mix over the portions, seal tightly, and grill (you know I don't know the procedures for grilling, but I know that you do).
See? Easy peasy. This was really good. There was only rice left for Thor. But that's OK, because Thor likes rice.

So, thank you, Debbie, for the spices. I will be finding other ways to use fennel seed (suggestions are welcome), and I think next week will bring experiments with saffron. We shall see.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sole in Lemon Cream Sauce

This title sounds waaaayyyy more complicated than it is. This was my favorite kind of meal: pile stuff in a pan and stuff it in the oven for a little while. Other than the salad, which is always time consuming, this meal went together in a snap!

SOLE IN LEMON CREAM SAUCE

1 pound sole or other white fish fillets
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried tarragon, crumbled
2 tbsp fresh snipped chives or scallions
2 tbsp fresh snipped parsley
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cream

Put the fish in your baking pan; salt and pepper both sides of the fillets. Pour the lemon juice over the fish, sprinkle the herbs over it, pour the cream and milk on the fish and herbs, and bake at 450F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. That's it! Really!
I served this with a colorful veggie rice that went something like this:

1 cup of rice
1 tbsp tomato powder or 2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 minced onion
1/2 grated carrot
2 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 tsp salt
2 cups water.

Put everything in a pan in this order. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes without stirring, or until all water is absorbed. Probably serves 2 to 3. I doubled this, and Thor very much enjoyed it. He recommends it to all humans who are owned by deserving dogs. (The humans liked it, too, but Thor wanted to put his 2 cents' worth in here.) Can you tell he's excited that tomorrow is Thorsday? He has a surprise for everyone!

Christmas Fish and Christmas Rice

No need to get excited here. This is not named for the holiday, but for the color.

I was looking for a way to dress up a monotone, nutritious but visibly boring dinner. This is the result.

1 pound white fish
1 cup rice
1 tsp salt
2 cups water
1 pound fresh or frozen spinach
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp butter

Start the rice with the water and 1 tsp salt. About 5 minutes before the rice is done, add half the spinach and half the tomatoes; stir in 2 tbsp of the butter when it's done. Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet, and cook the fish over medium heat with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. When the fish is finished, remove it to a plate and cover with the pan's lid. Add the cream to the skillet, whisk the milk with the cornstarch, and whisk into the skillet. Cook until it starts to thicken, then add half the spinach and half the tomatoes. Add the fish back to the pan and heat briefly. Serve immediately, topping with grated parmesan if desired.

Brochet Buerre Blanc

Last night, I wanted my fish prepared differently. I didn't know exactly what that meant, other than different. So, I hauled out an old Bon Appetit cookbook I bought at one of the spring book sales, started reading, and found this. The recipe calls for a whole pike, which I didn't have. I'm a New England girl. I'm pretty certain that "pike" is short for "turnpike", as in toll road. So I used a haddock fillet. Still, my dearly beloved liked it, and that's the real test hereabouts.

BROCHET BUERRE BLANC
(Pike in white butter sauce)

2 pound fish
1 finely chopped onion
1 shredded carrot
1 cup white wine
4 cups water
1 tsp thyme
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 whole cloves

Toss everything except the fish in a wide pot (it doesn't have to be too deep). Bring to a simmer, cook for 45 minutes, turn off, and let cool. Add the fish and poach for about 25 minutes just below the boiling point. When the fish is done, serve immediately with the white butter sauce:

Buerre Blanc (White Butter Sauce)

2 finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
juice of one lemon

Heat the vinegar and shallots; reduce until almost dry. Remove from the heat, and add the butter one piece at a time, beating until foamy. Add the lemon juice, and serve over the fish immediately.

This recipe is supposed to have come from Normandy, I think. I scooped some of the finely chopped veggies from the fish broth and spooned them over top of our fish before adding the Buerre Blanc, and served it with angel hair in olive oil. Truthfully, I feel like the sauce recipe could have been doubled or tripled, or maybe a Bearnaise sauce would have worked as well or better. But as I said, my dearly beloved liked it, and in the end, that's what matters.

By the way, the liquid in which the fish was poached could be strained and frozen for use in a recipe that calls for fish stock. I believe the cookbook called it "court bouillon".

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.

Cheddar Fish, but not Goldfish

Last night, the little boys were sick. Sleep all day, sneeze a little, cough a lot, leave poor Thor lonely...you get the picture. Anyway, dinner needed to be fast and easy so I could get my sickos back to bed. This fish was fast and easy, and everyone liked it. There's not much of a recipe here; it was more of "winging it"!
Saute the fish filets in 2 tbsp butter until cooked. Remove the fish from the skillet, whisk in 1 tbsp cornstarch, then add 3/4 cup heavy cream and 3/4 cup milk to make white sauce. Return the fish to the skillet, top with diced tomato and thick slices of cheddar. Cover and simmer until the cheese melts. I served this with heart attack potatoes - so dubbed by my middle daughter when she was about 13. Sliced red skinned potatoes, boiled, with the skin on, until tender, then stirred with 1 stick of melted butter, copious amounts of freshly ground pepper, and 1/4 cup chopped parsley per 2 pounds of potatoes. Her reaction the first time I made them? "Heart attack goodness on a plate!"

Fish and Homestead Bread

Last night, I wanted fish without fuss. What to do? Fish out the ol' skillet, of course, and fill it with fish. This isn't really a recipe, so much as an idea; I make variations of this often, and it sits well. Plus, it was easy to chew, always a plus (although the gums are nearly healed up; now, if only the temporary crown was level....).

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a pan; shave some onion into the pan and saute it a minute. Slice in a carrot and a rib of celery, then toss the fish in the pan and cover it for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the fish, recover and cook another 3 to 4 minutes, and you're nearly done. Remove the fish from the pan, whisk in 1 tbsp cornstarch and a cup of milk plus a touch of cream, then add a touch of sherry. Return the fish to the pan for a minute, and it's all set! I served this with angel hair stirred with diced tomatoes and cream, plus some nice whole green beans; it was a good meal.
Last night, I also made a batch of homestead bread. Since my bread machine was Kaput, I did it in the mixer again. Try this; it's really good - not too filling, nice and light!

HOMESTEAD BREAD

1-1/2 cups warm water
6 tsp yeast
4 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Soften the yeast in the water and add the sugar. Stir in the flour, salt and oil, then knead for about 10 minutes. Let the dough rise for about 10 minutes; split into two loaf pans, and let rise for another 20 to 30 minutes, and bake at 375 for 22 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Let it cool for a few minutes, and slice. This is a really soft bread, and it makes excellent toast.
I was greatly perturbed when my bread machine died Monday, to say the least. (And, Paula, the appliance gremlins had better darn well have left the building, because I will be severely honked if a stove or refrigerator bites the dust!) Anyway, Monday night, I ordered a Sunbeam bread machine from amazon.com for $42, and, of course, I wasn't about to pay $16 for shipping to get it faster. Well, it arrived this morning. I wonder, if I had paid the $16, would someone have trotted to my front door on Monday night? This bread machine has a pretty big footprint (deep, but not terribly wide), but I have a little nook on one counter where the bread machine lives, and this one tucks right in there. So, I'll doubtless give this machine its inaugural run tonight, but if anyone's in the market, this one appears to be a reasonable bread maker at an excellent price! I'll report back tomorrow!

Haddock Florentine

Another installment of fish cooked in parchment yielded this simple twist on a classic recipe. My husband wanted to know why there wasn't more ("Because I feed you, remember? So you don't overfeed yourself...").

HADDOCK FLORENTINE IN PARCHMENT

1 tomato, sliced
1/2 pound frozen spinach
4 slices swiss cheese
1 pound boneless haddock fillets
sliced mushrooms
chopped scallions
butter

Lay the half tomato slices in a line on each piece of parchment, approximately the dimensions of the fish. Put 1/4 of the spinach on each liine of tomatoes, and top with one slice of cheese. Put the fillet atop the cheese, divide the spinach evenly between each portion, top with mushrooms (if desired) and scallions, and put the second slice of swiss cheese on top of the whole thing. Fold the top of the parchment over, then roll the ends closed. Bake at 500 for 12 to 15 minutes, and serve immediately. Can also be made in foil on a hot grill.

Poissoin Italienne en Papillote

Yeah, I made that name up as I went along. Seriously, though, this was good fish. I bought a case of tomatoes with Friday's grocery order, and this was an excellent use of one. Again, no-mess cleanup

1 pound white fish
1 tomato, pureed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 T butter
2 scallions, chopped
shredded mozzarella
4 mushrooms per serving (optional)

Melt the butter with the garlic & spices. Arrange the mushrooms, if desired, in the center of each of 2 squares of parchment which have been positioned on a baking sheet. Place the fish atop the mushrooms, followed by half a scallion per piece, then half the tomato puree, the remaining half a scallion, and the mozzarella. Drizzle the butter/seasoning mix over the fish, fold the parchment closed, and bake in a preheated 500 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. This can also be done on a grill by substituting foil for parchment. I served it with mini penne mixed with scallions, pureed tomato and butter.

For the Man Who Dreams of a World with No Pans, Part 2

I'm down to very few main dish selections in my lovely domicile, because the restaurant supply house delivers Friday. Accordingly, last night was steak for the kids, and fish for the parents. Having a broiler pan to scrub was enough; I decided to try wrapping my fish, with seasonings and such, in parchment to see how it worked. This was a wonderful dish; if you used foil, it could be cooked on the grill instead of in an oven. Personally, I don't grill, for 2 reasons: (1) I hate black lines on my food, and (2) I can't stand the thought of eating outside with insects and crawly things, much less eating food which has been prepared on a cooking device that lives outside with insects and crawly things. Yes, that's the same mental block which caused me to smash one of my own plates after a guest fed my dog off it, instead of handing the plate to me so I could put the food in my dog;s dish. Anyway, I digress.

FISH IN PARCHMENT, VERSION 1

1 pound boneless haddock filet, split into servings
1/2 cup carrots, sliced lengthwise (use the food processor & save your fingers)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, optional
1 lemon, sliced thin
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. dill weed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. greshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cornstarch

Melt the butter; stir in spices and scallions, then add cornstarch and stir well. Add lemon juice.

Arrange the carrots as a bed in a square of parchment, then add mushrooms for those who desire them. Place the fish atop the mushrooms, then top the fish with lemon slices. Pour the butter combination over the fish, and fold the parchment closed, first bringing the ends up to prevent leakage of the liquids, then folding the sides up, paper bag style. Put the fish packets on a baking sheet, and bake at 500 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with the fork. Serve with rice or noodles. Cleanup involves tossing the parchment, and wiping the baking tray - near nirvana for the man who dreams of a world with no pans (as opposed to the man I saw at a university recently, who was wearing a dark green kilt, and who is said to never wear pants: he may be a man who dreams of a world with no pants!).

Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce

Most of my kids don't like fish, so I only cook it once or twice a week; they have steak while the parents dine on fish. Having been to a grocery store on Friday night, for the first time in about 6 months, and having seen a lovely bag of lemons, "Lemon" seems to be my theme of the week. This was simple and fast!

FISH WITH LEMON CREAM SAUCE

2 tbsp. butter
1 lb. haddock (or other) fish filets
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 lemon, sliced

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet. Lightly salt and pepper the fish. Cook the fish over medium-high heat for about 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and finish cooking the other side. Remove the fish to a plate and keep it warm while making the sauce. Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet. Whisk in the cornstarch; when it's smooth, add the cream and milk, whisking until smooth. Heat until it thickens, then stir in the tarragon and lemon slices. Simmer for one minute, return the fish to the pan, and reheat for another minute. Serve with white rice and spinach or a salad.

My youngest son, Mark, likes fish, as long as it's "food fish" not "friend fish" (maybe we've seen too much of Nemo?). When he was 4, we got him this funny bear for his birthday. When you squeeze his paw, the Fish Bear growls and the ends of his fish flap. The first time it happened, the poor little guy screamed and hid his face against his Daddy. I was forced to explain, most sincerely, that this was a very nice bear who was not harming the fish, but, in fact, saving him from drowning.