The F Word

The husband is a devout food Catholic. Meaning, he rarely attends church outside of significant holidays but is unwaveringly committed to the practice of meatless Fridays. I'm constantly awe-struck by his acts of self-sacrifice.

So, in honor of this tireless dedication, I decided to bone up on my fish cooking skills. Since we bought 400 lbs of orange roughy at Costco last month, what better time than now (a week before Easter)? Better late than never.

A writer and cook I admire, Emily Nunn, recently started a blog, Cook the Wolf. In it, she details her love of fish and the simple preparation it needs to reach peak fishliciousness. The following is simple, unintimidating instruction for fish prep, according to Emily:

My standard dish is a fish en (faux) papillote. It is nothing new, but it is something quite good.

I preheat the oven to 400. Take a filet of salmon or roughy or whitefish (If I'm alone, I eat a big piece: 10 ounces or so, with nothing on the side), place it crosswise on a foot-long sheet of tinfoil, top it with some thinly sliced mushrooms, some chopped tomato, chopped parsley, a few fresh herbs if I remember them (basil is always nice; tarragon), a bit of crushed garlic. Splash of white wine, splash of cream (optional), tablespoon of butter in pieces, salt and freshly ground pepper. Another good combo is thinly sliced seeded cucumber, thin onion, white pepper, some cream. Herbs if you like, but a sparing amount.

I bring the two ends together at the top and roll it tightly together, then down the sides, to make a roomy envelope that will serve as a steam room for the fish. Place on a sheet pan and cook it according to how thick the fish is, in this case about 25-30 minutes. You should try to wait as long as possible before you check it for readiness (fish flakes at the thickest part when it's done), because you'll lose good steam once you open it, but don't wait too long because overcooked fish seems more expensive than perfectly cooked fish.
I like this dish because it ends up being almost like a stew, which I tip from the foil packet into a big bowl and gobble down with a spoon.

Easy, right? One would think. I chose the first option (tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, tarragon, cream and wine). It looked so lovely nestled in the foil before I added my finishing touch - a splash of white....F$#@! (I think I said fishsticks. Or not..)

*MegPasz Tip: Always read the wine label to ensure it's not RED before buying
*Additional MegPasz Tip: Try not to drink all the reserve bottles of white wine in your house while watching The Real Housewives of New York.