Kind of a messy and drippy platter, huh? Yes, it was! However, the sauce it’s sitting in it scrumptious, and you can make the sauce ahead a few hours, then all you have to do is broil the shrimp and you have an appetizer all ready! You could also serve this – I think – on pasta. There was ample of the salsa verde (see the plate is almost swimming in it) so it could easy baste a nice mound of linguine. For sure, once you serve this, save all that goop on the plate and use it with the leftovers.

It used to be that “pesto” had only one meaning. Basil. But really the word doesn’t have to mean basil. It can be nuts, or almost any kind of a paste/sauce. Although we think of pesto as purely Italian in origin, it actually originated in India. The Italians adopted it as their own, and once they mixed it with garlic, pine nuts and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, well, a match made in heaven. BUT, this is not about that kind of pesto. Salsa Verde and pesto have many similarities.

Salsa Verde (green sauce) could be a combo of so many things – herbs or even greens like kale. The phrase, salsa verde, can be French, Italian or Spanish. Here in Southern California, even English-speaking people know salsa and verde. In this recipe the green part comes from parsley, basil and cilantro in a combination, with parsley predominating. Then this one has toasted blanched almonds in it (not pine nuts, as in pesto), some garlic and red chili flakes, a jot of white wine vinegar to give it some zip, and then oil to hold it all together. Easy to make, and it surely will keep in the refrigerator for a day – but don’t add the vinegar until just before serving – it will dull all the lovely green in the sauce. After a day the cilantro will start to disintegrate, so I’d use it up fairly quick-like.

The shrimp – use any size you want, really – are tossed with a spice mix. You can use your own combination or you can buy such mixtures at most grocery stores. Paul Prudhomme has one in the spice aisle. See my notes down below in the directions about a spice combo you can make up yourself. The raw shrimp is then coated with some oil and broiled. You could serve these warm – I think I’d like them warm – but do let them cool a bit right out of the broiler because shrimp can burn your mouth if you really served it immediately. This came from a cooking class with Tarla Fallgatter a couple of months ago.

What’s GOOD: it’s all about the sauce. The salsa verde. It’s really, really delicious. Easy to make – just make sure you have blanched almonds. I don’t stock those in my pantry, but Trader Joe’s usually has them. The blanched part means they have no skins on them at all. And they’ve been cooked (and normally salted). Each shrimp made one really tasty bite, I’ll tell you! And remember to save the left over sauce and use it on pasta or rice.

What’s NOT: not a thing – loved this one.

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My friend Cherrie called me recently and said, “I fixed your salmon with tarragon sauce last night.” My mind went blank. Salmon with tarragon sauce?  “Are you sure it was my recipe,” I said? Yes, indeed, she even had my MasterCook print-out that said it was from Gourmet Magazine back in the 1990s. Hmmm. It took me awhile, but I found it in my recipe collection – a search revealed it was under “tarragon” not “salmon.” Obviously I haven’t fixed it in a loooooong time!

Cherrie was nice enough to give me some of it, as it makes a bunch – enough for 8 servings, and there are only two of them. I had it the other night on a nice piece of steamed salmon, along with Brussels sprouts I cooked in garlic, onion and a dash of maple syrup stirred in at the last minute, and some really ripe Plumato tomato slices. A lovely dinner, and a really tasty sauce. I think the sauce could go on chicken also, but it’s ideal for fish. (See, I am cooking a little bit, and my foot managed with me standing at the counter for about 15 minutes. That’s progress.)

In my notes, it says salmon is the best fish for it, and the recipe suggested placing a pool of the sauce on a plate and then adding the salmon on top. I chose not to do it that way – thought being on top would make it more photogenic. The original recipe called for mayo, but at the time I made this, back in the 90s, I was into using lower fat stuff – so you can use your own judgment – full fat or low fat, but don’t use nonfat mayo, okay? What is does require is a bunch of tarragon – 2 bunches. That’s a LOT. It also contains chives, shallot, parsley, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and a bit of Dijon. That’s it. Easy to make. And since Cherrie gave this to me a week ago, it obviously keeps awhile. But eventually fresh herbs will begin to disintegrate and get oozy, so do use it within a few days if you can. I think Cherrie told me she didn’t quite have enough mayo, so she substituted a little bit of yogurt, which should be just fine.

What’s GOOD: it’s really easy to make – providing you’ve got tarragon. I don’t seem to have much luck raising tarragon in my kitchen garden. Don’t know why, so I usually have to buy it. You will need 3/4 of a cup of loosely measured tarragon leaves if you make this batch for 8 servings.

What’s NOT: nothing other than it tastes much better if allowed to sit for a few hours (chilled).

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Don’t be confused that this is shrimp and grits. It has similarities, but it isn’t. The polenta is made ahead and cut into squares (the big shrimp at the top center is sitting on a square polenta cake), but this is a very soft cake with corn in it. Then you make this great corn and green chile salsa to go with it, and with the grilled shrimp. Delish.

Another winner of a recipe from my recent Phillis Carey class that was all about corn. There is a bit of prep to this recipe – you do have to make the polenta ahead of time – an hour or so. It’s a soft, creamy polenta that’s poured into a flat pan and allowed to set. Sort of. It’s still soft, so when it comes time to grill the polenta squares,  you must be very gentle – use a nice thin spatula to pick up the squares then gently place them in a big skillet, or on a flat grill. Then there’s the corn and green chile salsa. Not hard to make, but you do want to grill the pasilla (poblano) pepper and chop it up. You do want to grill the corn, just barely, and mince up the red onion. The shrimp does get marinated briefly in a lime-juice mixture and grilled. So you do have to do some work with each of the three elements. But much of it can be done ahead. If you have someone to do the grilling (the corn first, early, then the shrimp at the last minute) that helps, while you gently brown the polenta cakes just before plating everything.

Poblano chiles have a unique flavor. It’s a deep, earthy flavor that I love. As I’m writing this I just had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and I ordered their stuffed poblano chile. Delicious. If you’re not used to buying them, it’s so worth it for this dish. Photo at right came from www.specialtyproduce.com

What’s GOOD: the combo of the corn salsa (and particularly the roasted poblano chile in it), polenta cake and the shrimp – a little bit of each in every bite. Well, just delicious. I think the lime juice contributes a lot to the flavor. It would make a beautiful company dinner – might be a bit much for a weeknight dinner unless you feel like doing a bit more work than usual. It’s all worth it, though. A great dish.

What’s NOT: only thing I can think of is the time it takes to make it all, but that’s it. Flavors are wonderful.

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Do you like mahi mahi?  If you can find it, this is a really delicious way to fix it. Lemon pieces (that’s what’s on top there, the scorched part that you don’t eat) give good flavor and the really good feta and yogurt mixture that’s on top. Like a tartar sauce except it’s got mint, dill and lemon zest and juice in it.

I do like mahi, and yet I don’t see it everywhere. More often on restaurant menus than in the fish market. I don’t much like to buy frozen fish – I’m sure it’s available frozen in the regular supermarkets, but I generally don’t buy supermarket fish. Period. It could be that mahi is only available frozen anyway (you know the label: previously frozen). I don’t know.

In any case, this recipe, the last fish recipe from the class with Phillis Carey, which is just loaded with flavor, is easy to make. You need fresh lemons, Greek full-fat yogurt, sheep’s milk Feta, fresh mint and fresh dill.

This fish is cooked in a broiler method, but you put the rack way, way low in your oven. The fish cooks without you having to turn it over mid-way through. While the broiler heats up, mix up the yogurt stuff (Greek yogurt, sheep’s milk Feta, mint, dill, lemon zest and juice). That’s spread all over the mahi fillets (do spread it all the way to the edges), then you top it with the drizzle of olive oil. Then the thinly sliced lemon halves (seeds removed) are gently nestled into the yogurt. Try to make it flat – any unevenness will scorch the lemon unevenly (obviously). It’s also good to have mahi mahi pieces that are about the same thickness – thinner pieces will cook a lot faster.

Serve the fish with the scorched lemon – but most people will probably set it aside. It can be eaten if you want to. But do make this. It’s good! Serve with rice. If you want, make some extra sauce and serve it to dollop on top of the rice for extra flavor. It’s yogurt, remember, not sour cream.

What’s GOOD: it’s EASY for sure. But you do need to have the ingredients on hand – I never have fresh dill (can’t seem to grow it now matter what I do). I always have sheep’s milk Feta because I use it in salads. And lemons, always. Mint from my garden. Yep. Easy. Just find the mahi and buy dill. The flavor is great – love the creamy sauce and the tart thing going on with it.
What’s NOT: just the finding of mahi mahi, maybe. Easy dinner!

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Most of the time I have salmon in the freezer, so when I need it, it can be defrosted in a jiffy and dinner can be ready a couple of hours later. This is a one-dish meal, really. It has protein (the salmon), vegetables (the fennel in the slaw), fruit (the tomatoes) and a bit of carbs from the bread crumb crust on top. I served it with sautéed spinach and that was dinner. I could have served it with a carb side like pilaf or a piece of toasted cheese bread perhaps.

When I am out of salmon as a staple in the freezer, I go to Costco and buy one of the big slabs of farm raised salmon. If you’re a Costco member, you probably get the monthly magazine they send out. I’ve learned to read some of the articles in the magazine – because they often give some very definitive information about their products. One time it was about the salmon. I’d gone off of it for awhile because of everything I’d read about farm-raised salmon – about the pens the salmon are raised in, how they are so packed in they can hardly move, eating their own detritus. Yuck. But then I read the article and learned that Costco’s salmon are raised differently – larger pens, the salmon aren’t so stressed, they eat well and they’re healthy. So I was reassured that eating Costco’s farm-raised salmon was not so bad for us. I love their farm-raised salmon – they’re big for one thing, and I think the flavor is delicious.

So, I buy the big slabs, cut them into portions. I used to vacuum seal them into 2-piece servings, but now that I’m a family of one (oh, that is so painful to even write that) I vacuum pack it in single portions. When I’m ready to eat salmon, I merely remove the package(s) and plunge it into a big bowl of cold tap water, put a big bowl on top, add something heavy to the center of the bowl to weight down the salmon below the water level and let it sit that way for about an hour. It might take longer if you have thicker pieces. That’s it. Easy.

So, on to this recipe. It originates from a cookbook called Artichoke to Za’atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food. The unique characteristics of this recipe are: (1) sumac in both the breading and the salad; (2) fennel seeds in the breading; and (3) a fresh fennel salad. If you don’t have sumac in your pantry, it’s worth buying it – it adds a citrusy note to anything you use it with – it’s a dark red color. I like sumac and you’ll find it used throughout the Middle East in their cooking.

This isn’t quite a 30-minute meal, but it won’t take much more than that. The breading is only placed on the top of the salmon. You make the salad – fresh fennel cut thinly into rings and pieces, shallots, fresh mint and parsley, a thinly sliced tomato, dried mint, lemon juice and olive oil plus that special bit of sumac. The bread crumb mixture can be whizzed up in the food processor (that’s what I did): sumac, fennel seeds, lemon zest and a bit of fresh (white) bread. You could use whole wheat bread, but I wouldn’t try using a hearty multi-grain bread – it would confuse the flavors, I think. When you have a leftover piece of baguette or a country loaf, or even sourdough, wrap it in a couple of layers of foil, then in a plastic bag and it would be perfect for this crumb mixture.

The salmon pieces are lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and sautéed for just a short-short time to get the pieces golden brown (but definitely not cooked through). You want to do that part in a skillet, but one that can go into a very hot oven (not all handles can get that hot). You gently mound the crumb mixture on top of the salmon and it goes into the oven for about 3 minutes or so – the crumb topping will get a bit golden and it cooks the salmon through. Do test it to make sure it’s just barely done. Once removed from the oven you tent it with foil and allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes. In that time mix up the salad and place it on the serving plate in about the same shape as the fish pieces, then the salmon is carefully placed on top of the slaw. Serve immediately!

What’s GOOD: I loved the flavors of the sumac, mint and dried mint. Big time. And the fennel seeds too. Fresh fennel bulb is a favorite of mine too – for some it’s a bit out of the ordinary –  it would make a lovely company meal, no doubt. I had a dinner guest that night. We both loved this preparation. The fennel salad is so refreshing, especially with the sliced tomatoes. Loved that combination too.

What’s NOT: there is a bit of preparation – the breading mixture and the salad. None of it is difficult, but it will take a few minutes to do it all.

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Of the 4 fish recipes I got at the last Phillis Carey class, this was my favorite. It’s something you could make in a jiffy, and as long as your kids like soup and cod, it’ll make them happy too. The garlic toasts just “make” the dish, in my opinion anyway. The broth isn’t a lot – you could make this more into a soup by adding more chicken broth. A nice big chunk of cod with the tomatoes and well, that’s it. Make extra garlic toasts – they’ll disappear.

When Phillis began demonstrating this, someone in the class asked where she’d bought the cod. Like that person, I don’t see cod hardly at all in our markets (California), but they said it came from a local grocery store and she particularly recommended we seek out Alaskan cod. She did say we could substitute mahi mahi, sea bass or halibut (but NOT tilapia or salmon). Sole would work too, but we’d want to roll the sole up into little pinwheels in order to make the whole dish work. I loved it with the cod, and next time I see it I’m buying some. Generally I prefer using fresh fish whenever possible (two exceptions are shrimp and salmon) but I might make another exception here since I think it would work okay.

So here’s the drill: You sauté garlic and red pepper flakes (just a tiny, tiny pinch) in olive oil, then you add canned tomatoes (the good kind, San Marzano brand for sure – Phillis was insistent on that part), then you add white wine, some water – then the aromatics (bay leaves, saffron, salt and pepper) before adding the nice big chunks of cod.

Meanwhile you make the garlic toasts – ideally you’ll allow the oil to sit with the garlic for about an hour so you’ve got some good garlicky flavor – then that’s brushed on the slices of bread, placed on a baking sheet, good Parm is added and it’s baked for 8-10 minutes. Serve the fish with the tomato broth and stand a slice of bread up in the bowl, leaning on the side. You definitely want to dip the bread into the broth. Altogether delicious.

What’s GOOD: the flavors just work – the saffron, the bay leaf, the good San Marzano tomatoes. A very low calorie dish providing you don’t gorge on the bread (which would be easy to do).

What’s NOT: nary a thing. Well, you’re not getting any vegetables in this dinner (remember, tomatoes are a fruit). Serve some quick cooked green beans as an appetizer maybe?

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No question about it – I love salmon. And truth be told, Asian (soy sauce style) sauces or marinades aren’t particularly my favorites, but this one? Well, it was pretty darned good. A little on the salty side, but everyone else who ate it thought the salt level was fine.

This is another fish recipe from the class I took a couple of weeks ago at Great News. A Phillis Carey class all about fish, more fish, and more fish. I liked every one of them. This one is marinated in an Asian-style mixture (soy and fish sauce – see photo at right of the three crabs brand). It can be marinated for an entire 24 hours if you want to. Phillis did it for about an hour. Salmon is a sturdy fish and can handle 24 hours of marinating – most fish cannot – it would start to “cook” and the marinade would overwhelm.

The sauce is super-easy to make (ginger, garlic, sugar, lime juice, water, fish sauce and a tiny bit of chili paste or sriracha, all whizzed up in the blender). You just spoon the sauce over the top (and on the rice). So, you see, it’s really easy to make. Prepare rice to serve on the side and a green vegetable of some kind (so the plate has some color). I would probably do broccoli, asparagus or green beans. Any of those would work.

What’s GOOD: the Asian flavors are really nice – if you’re not familiar with fish sauce look for the 3 crabs on the label – that’s a good brand. And don’t smell it – as Phillis said – if you ever smell fish sauce you’ll likely not ever use it. So just don’t. But it lends lovely flavors to things. Trust me on this one. And if you haven’t used the fish sauce within about 6 months throw it out and buy a new one (that tip was news to me at this class).

What’s NOT: nothing at all. Don’t add any salt, that’s all I recommend. It doesn’t need it.

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The sea bass is completely invisible. It’s underneath that small (yes, really, the potato part is not very thick) mound of nicely browned potatoes. There’s more crispy potatoes on the bottom as well, and then there’s a little lemony aioli on top. Really delicious.

Before I tell you about this recipe, let me just say a couple of things – first, the fires in Southern California aren’t anywhere near where I live. They are near where one of our daughters lives, however, but they’re okay.

Secondly, I’m slowly coming out of my severe grief. It’s been 8 weeks now, and although life, my life, will never be the same, I’m beginning to adjust to being alone (although I’ve been very busy so haven’t had a lot of alone time), adjusting to having no one here at home when I come home. Shopping for one isn’t so much fun, that’s for sure. I’ve had several houseguests, and as I mentioned, my social calendar has been really very busy. My friends have rallied around me. I’ve learned that I must go “out” and do something every day. Whether it’s just to go to the grocery store, the post office or run an errand or two. Cooking for one person hasn’t been very appealing, but with houseguests I’ve actually entertained. Sleep still eludes me more nights than I like, even with medication.

A dear friend lost her husband about 2 weeks ago. They moved to No. California some years ago and he developed a rare form of dementia (Lewy body dementia). Had been in a “home” for almost 4 years. His adult children had a reception here (where they used to live), so Susan (the widow) came down for it and stayed with me. As new widows we had a lot to talk about. Her husband had been in the men’s bible study group my DH had been in for 15 years. So, I did a dinner for the group and their wives. Someone brought appetizers and another brought a dessert. Yet another flew home from visiting family in from San Francisco and picked up some fresh-fresh sourdough bread (oh my was that ever delish). I did the entrée (which I’ll post soon), a new risotto recipe (yes, another post), and a green salad. I made one of my standby favorite salad dressings, so now I have a big jar of it in the refrigerator – my #1 favorite – the Creamy Garlic Blue Cheese Dressing. Although I’ve begun doing something different to the preparation. Guess I should write that up. One of these days.

In addition, earlier this week my friends Cherrie and Yvette and I went to a cooking class with Phillis Carey. The whole class was about fish, and I liked every single recipe, including the lemony bars she made for dessert. You’ll see them all here on my blog eventually. Then last night (as I write this) Yvette’s husband Joe (the one of mushroom fame here on my blog) has been staying with me. Two days ago the I-5 (the major highway artery that goes from the Mexican border north to the Oregon border, some along the coast, and further north it goes up the center of the state) was closed in both directions for several hours because of smoke and fire which crossed the freeway. Joe was stuck for 2 1/2 hours, sitting still on that freeway (along there, there are no exits as it goes through Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corps base). All this in 100° temps. To have the I-5 closed is catastrophic in our part of the world. Fortunately he had a full tank of gas so was able to sit in somewhat A/C comfort and work on his computer as he and thousands of cars were backed up for miles and miles. Anyway, the first night I served him leftovers from my dinner party earlier this week and last night I made a new salmon recipe that I liked a lot. All coming up on the blog sometime soon.

Now, back to this recipe. Of the 5 recipes, this may have been my favorite. Although there was another one (a cod one served in a kind of tomato saffron broth, sort of like a soup) that I liked a lot too. Really, I liked them all.

In this one, leeks are finely chopped and mixed with freshly grated potato. You put a mound of the potatoes in a hot frying pan, then place the fish on top, then another mound of the potato mixture. Once browned on one side, it’s turned over and browned on the other side. If the fish is thick, the whole pan may need to go in the oven (otherwise the potatoes would burn) for a short bake. Meanwhile, you make a mayo-based aioli with lemon to dollop on top. It’s pretty simple, really. And extra tasty.

What’s GOOD: first and foremost, the flavor. Loved the sea bass (who doesn’t?) and loved the aioli on top too. It’s easy enough to make and is very worthy of a company meal.

What’s NOT: it does take just a bit of fussing to mound the potatoes, nestle the fish, make another mound of potatoes, and the gentle-ness you need in the turning-it-over to brown the other side. It’s not hard, though.
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It’s a little hard to tell there’s a sauce on this but the mascarpone is what gives the pasta a shine (a shine in food means either fat or sugar). When this says “sauce” it doesn’t exactly mean it’s a “cream sauce” as in a cooked, thickened sauce made with cream. The mascarpone is the only creamy substance in this and it’s so very easy to just stir it (and toss and toss) into the hot pasta. It just melts. Yum.

There’s something about shrimp and pasta. They’re one of those matches that just work in the culinary world. The palate and taste rule here. Or maybe in this case it’s the mascarpone cheese which provides the bridge between the two. Whatever it is, it works. If you’re looking for something nice to fix for Valentine’s Day, this would be a good one. It satisfies, for sure, with the pasta, and the shrimp (especially if you buy big ones) make it a treat. The dish is NOT hard to make at all – just get everything ready ahead of time.

One unique thing here is the use of sliced garlic. At the cooking class with Phillis Carey, she explained that sliced garlic is her new go-to method. It doesn’t brown as fast (however, you do need to cook it over medium heat – higher than that and the garlic, no matter sliced or not – will burn, and that you don’t want). I have this gadget – Chef’n Garlic Slice. The photo I found at Williams-Sonoma, though the link is to amazon. It’s about $12.00, I think. Anyway, the peeled garlic cloves go into the top, you put the lid on and begin turning the top and thin, perfect slices come out the bottom. Bingo!

The sliced garlic isn’t quite as intense in flavor, either. So you can use a bit more than usual and not overwhelm the dish or someone’s palate.

Anyway, back to this dish. Shrimp are cleaned, deveined and if you choose, slice them in half (through the back so you have 2 perfect halves that curl up so cute when you cook them. Phillis calls them swans when they do that. Okay. Anyway, the shrimp are tossed with lemon zest, salt and pepper while they wait to be called to the pan. First you heat some butter in a nonstick pan (use a big one because everything goes in there eventually). The garlic is added and a tiny bit of red chili flakes and it’s cooked for a whopping minute. Then you add the shrimp and cook that for about 3 minutes, then add the dry white wine (Phillis used Pinot Grigio) and lemon juice briefly. I added some mushrooms to this – because I had them – and because I thought they’d taste good in this dish.

Meanwhile you will have cooked the linguine in very salted water until it’s just barely done but still with a bite (because you cook it some more in the pan). And it’s here where you must save some of the pasta cooking water because it’s used in conjunction with the mascarpone cheese to make the sauce. Lastly you add the pasta to the shrimp mixture, toss and toss and toss, then garnish with lemon zest and fresh basil, salt (maybe, but probably not) and pepper. This dish requires more salt than usual – if you don’t heavily salt the water, then add salt at the end.

Here’s where I detoured – I did add some Parmesan cheese. Just because I can. It added a nice fillip to the dish, I think. But you don’t have to. I also used a whole lot more basil because the original recipe calls for just 2 T of basil shreds. Definitely not enough. If you prefer, you could add Feta cheese to the pasta instead of Parm. That would be a very interesting combo – and a good one, I think. And I also added some sauteed mushrooms too – I cooked them in a separate pan in a little bit of butter, then re-added them to the finished dish to heat them through before adding the mascarpone, etc.

What’s GOOD: You don’t get the feeling (taste) that you’re eating a creamy pasta. This is nothing like using heavy cream, or a carbonara. There is just 1/2 cup in the entire dish that serves at least 3 people. It’s different – loved it with the shrimp. If you’re a bit light on the shrimp, cut them into pieces, but it looks quite pretty to serve it with the cute shrimp curls. Altogether delicious.
What’s NOT: nothing, really. I liked it from the get-go.

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If you’re not into new gadgets, you may as well skip on by this post. I’d been eyeing this new thingamabob for several months and finally decided to bite.

The company that makes Lékué is in Spain. And when you try to SAY the word, speak it fast – you don’t languish the word out but quick step it fast. The product appears to be made of silicone (like Silpats, for instance – it has a similar feel to it), but nothing says exactly what or how. Other than it can withstand microwaving at 800 watts and the oven up to 400° F. It’s not a hard surface – it’s very soft and pliable but sturdy enough to stay put, although if you have food in the steam case (that’s what I bought – they have lots of other products as well) it will bend. Hence you walk from counter to microwave holding both ends of the Lekue Steam Case with Tray for 1 to 2 Persons.

Obviously the products have met the standards of the EU, since it’s manufactured in Spain. Everything says its very safe for storing, cooking, baking and microwaving. I’ll take their word for it since the EU is far more strict about these kinds of things than we are here in the U.S. Photo at left is from the company’s website. (Yes, they make them in green like mine, or orange or clear.)

What you see there is the smaller of the two types of steam cases. It has a slightly rounded bottom, but the little soft, silicone tray sits inside it (removable because you can cook without it).

Since I’m retired, you’d think I’d have endless time on my hands to cook whatever and whenever with no concern for the time involved. Not so. I don’t know how I found time to work, back when I did. I’m SO busy. I treasure my time at home on the occasional day when I don’t have any plans. The evening I used my new steam case I was pressed for time. I’m guessing you are also, so ride along with me as I explain how I made dinner in about 15 minutes flat.

There you can see my about-to-be cooked dinner. The tray thing is in the bottom – the fish is sitting on it.

Into the bottom I poured in about 1/3 cup of water, then I squeezed a half of a lemon in the water also. The water or liquid is below the tray and although the tray has holes in it, the fluid didn’t come up over the edges. The tray went in and I gently placed the fish on top.

I sprinkled the top of the salmon with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, then I spread about 2 teaspoons of butter as best I could all over the salmon. That part was a bit difficult because the salmon was moist and the butter, although soft, didn’t really want to spread. You can see how well I did there in the top photo.

Next I drizzled the top of the salmon with a little tiny bit of olive oil. I don’t exactly know why since I’d already spread butter on it, but the recipe said to use both. Okay.

Then I sprinkled about a tablespoon of capers on top of that and sprinkled about a tablespoon or more of freshly chopped Italian parsley on top of that. The lid was closed. Easy. Up to this point I think it took me about 2 minutes, including the time it took to walk out to the garden to find Italian parsley. Well, I may be a little off – maybe 3 minutes total.

Into the microwave it went to 2 minutes. I do need to go find my instruction booklet for my Dacor microwave because I think mine is higher wattage than 800, and the recipes are all for 800 watts. So I might need to cook whatever I do make in this at a lower power setting.

The recipe I followed was for fillet of sole, and my salmon was actually quite thin – not much thicker than sole, but I did cook it for 2 minutes, rather than the 1 1/2 minutes suggested for the sole. And sure enough, it was perfectly cooked. Wow.

The rest of the dinner was all ready (yellow crookneck squash and a big green salad with lots of vegetables in it and my favorite Creamy Garlic Blue Cheese Dressing that I make many times a year). I quick-like dished up the vegetables and the salad, then lastly I put the salmon out on our dinner plates and we sat down. It might have been better had I taken the steam case to the dinner table – it would stay hotter longer – but it was still piping hot when we ate our first bites.

What’s GOOD: first and foremost, the speed at which I got this dinner on the table. Wow. The vegetables were left overs, so all I had to do was warm them up. The salad took about 15 minutes to make. The recipe was a good one – we could taste the citrusy aspect of this, and of course, the capers give it lots of flavor anyway. Sometimes fish is just best done the simplest way. It was juicy and tender. Only a couple of little edges (that leaned up against the inside wall of the steam case) were a bit overcooked, but still edible. I’ll watch that next time. So far so good, I’d say, with my new cooking utensil investment. I’ll be trying other dishes. One intrigues me – you can make scalloped potatoes (like au gratin) in no time flat.
What’s NOT: so far, nothing at all. I like this thing, this Lékué and I liked the recipe.

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