Truite rose envelopee de la poitrine fumee et farcie par le romarin

I have a confession to make: I'm squeamish about fish. Not eating fish; I'm perfectly happy to eat it, including the gloopy jarred gefilte fish almost none of my friends can stand. And I rather enjoy cooking fillets. But I can't deal with a whole fish. First of all, in order to even cook it, you have to gut it, which is always a big bloody mess that makes your kitchen reek for weeks afterwards. I don't usually have a problem with blood; I eat my meat rare, or saignant [literally, bloody]. So maybe it's fish blood. I don't like fish blood.

But today I went to a market in search of fresh spinach and passed by a fish stand. The little pink trouts were so cute--just the right size for a meal for one. And they were inexpensive. Since Davey's in Amsterdam until tomorrow and the Boy is back in the States for a few weeks, it was just me for dinner tonight. And when I'm not feeding anyone but myself, I'm always more inclined to experiment. I decided to go for it and bought one trout, asking the saleswoman to "la vider, s'il vous plait [literally, to empty it out]." I brought the gutted fish home and it lay in its blue plastic bag in my fridge until I mustered up the courage to deal with it.

When I finally took it out of its bag, I almost hid it back in the fridge. There was blood everywhere, slowly dripping out of the hole in its stomach. But I rinsed it under cold water, convinced myself that it wasn't actually still bleeding, and set about making dinner.

You know what? It was delicious. I served it with my spinach and a thick slice of pain de campagne, also from the market.

Truite rose envelopee de la poitrine fumee et farcie par le romarin
(based on a recipe at Food Network.)

Serves 1.

1 whole pink Trout, cleaned
Salt and Black Pepper
1 sprig fresh Rosemary
3 slices Bacon
1/2 Lemon, sliced

Pre-heat broiler. If, like me, you don't have one, simply raise the rack of your oven so a glass baking dish will be close to the heat source. Then set the heat to about 300 C.

Dry Trout with paper towels and rinse off any residual blood. Stuff Salt and Pepper into the cavity, along with the Rosemary. Salt and Pepper the outside of the Trout and wrap three slices of Bacon around it.

Put the Trout in a glass baking dish and broil for 5 minutes. Flip the Trout, being careful not to let the Bacon fall off. Broil for another 2 minutes. Add Lemon slices to pan, lower heat to 250 C (if not using a broiler) and cook 2 more minutes, until Bacon and skin of Trout are crispy and Trout is cooked through. Serve.

Tagliatelle aux petits pois, asperges et lardons

Tagliatelle with fresh peas, asparagus and lardons, smothered in freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Whenever I don't know what to make for dinner, I make pasta. It's usually a one-dish meal and, as long as I make sure to throw fresh veggies in, a reasonably healthy one at that. Asparagus has been beautiful lately and the fresh peas looked fresh as well. When I found out that Davey (a.k.a. Best Friend and Brother) had never shelled peas before, I knew he'd have fun doing so and that convinced me to buy some. He insisted on onions as peas and onions are a favorite combination of his. And we also added a package of lardons, one of his favorite French foods which apparently don't exist in the States. They're basically little strips of bacon, but they're full of flavor and, if heated up in a pan, add a delightful layer to an otherwise vegetarian meal. And if you're wondering why the bit of onion in the photo looks florescent, it's because of my favorite secret ingredient--saffron.

Tagliatelle aux petits pois, asperges et lardons

1 bunch Asparagus, ends removed
500 g Tagliatelle
.1 g powdered Saffron
3 tablespoons Butter
1 medium Onion
250 g shelled Garden Peas
1 package Lardons (substitute bacon bits or small pieces of ham)
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
Salt, to taste
Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Cut Asparagus into 1-inch chunks. Roughly chop Onion. Bring large pot of Salted water to a boil over high heat. Add Asparagus and cook 3 minutes. It should still be quite crisp. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out asparagus and set aside in a bowl. Add Tagliatelle to boiling water and cook according to package directions, approximately 7 minutes.

While Tagliatelle cooks, place medium skillet over medium heat. Add Saffron, then Butter. Cook until Butter melts, moving it around so the Saffron is evenly distributed. Add the Onion and cook until translucent. Stir in Peas and cook another 2 minutes. Add Lardons and cook 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add Chicken Stock and Asparagus, cook another 5 minutes, until Asparagus is heated through and peas and asparagus are tender. Add salt to taste.

When Tagliatelle is ready, drain it and toss with the Asparagus mixture. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

WBW #9: Cotes du Rhone Rose

Cotes du Rhone Rose, bouteille pleine

If I had to pick a favorite wine since I've been out here, it's Cotes du Rhone. A glass of red Cotes du Rhone is always the cheapest glass of wine at the bar and, in my opinion, the most reliably good. I recently discovered that there is also a white Cotes de Rhone, which was good, but had nowhere near the body of a red.

So last night, in preparation for Think Pink! Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by the delightful Sam at Becks & Posh, I headed to Nicholas, the chain liquor store near me and noticed, to my delight, that not only are they having a special on Cotes du Rhone, but there was also a Cotes du Rhone Rose for only 5,20!

This bottle is from Domaine de la Berthete. It says on the back of the bottle (I just found out that wine bottles often say things on the back!):

"Situe dans la plaine du Plan de Dieu, le Domaine vous invite a deguster ce Cotes du Rhone rose aux aromes fruites; rose de saignee elabore a partir des cepages: cinsault, grenache et carignan."

"Situated in the plain of the Plan de Dieu, the Domaine invites you to taste this Cotes du Rhone rose with fruity aromas; this blood-colored rose is particularly special because of its vines : cinsault, grenache and carignan."

Without food, and pleasantly chilled, this rose had a clean, crisp flavor, slightly sweet and almost no aftertaste. This makes it an excellent aperitif. Unfortunately, it works less well with food. In fact, the duck leg I served it with over-powered it so much that my Best Friend and dining companion refused to finish his wine until after the meal. Cherries didn't work well with it either, making the wine taste bitter and overly alcoholic. However, it might work very nicely with something lighter and savory, such as fish or chicken.

All in all, an excellent wine for an aperitif if not necessarily for a meal.

Cotes du Rhone Rose a cote de cuisse de canard, petits pois et pommes de terre nouvelles.

Oeufs brouilles aux crevettes

Scrambled eggs and shrimps

Yesterday afternoon I was down in the fourteenth, which means near a really nice, big fish store. So, wanting an easy dinner, I bought some already cooked shrimps (they were having a special) and decided to make scrambled eggs, since the Boy had bought quite a few eggs before he left. I also picked up some crunchy Chinese noodles to sprinkle on top for a change of texture. It all came out quite good, rather light, with the world's largest artichoke and a vinaigrette to make it into a balanced meal (or something). And a fruity white wine.

Oeufs brouilles aux crevettes

4 Eggs
2 tablespoons Milk
Salt and Pepper
Oil
2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
250 grams cooked Shrimp, peeled
handful Chinese crispy noodles

Crack Eggs into bowl and beat, with Milk, until creamy. Add Salt and Pepper. Heat Oil in pan over medium heat until it spits when water is spritzed on. Lower heat to medium-low and pour in Egg mixture, stirring to keep it from sticking to the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add Garlic and Shrimp, moving everything around, until shrimps are heated through. Remove from flame and crumble crunchy noodles on top. Serve.

Les patates douces sont oranges

Fuzzy Patates douces

Intelligent as I am, it did actually take me until a few days ago to realize that sweet potatoes are orange, so mashed sweet potatoes would also be orange. Yeah, I know this kind of sounds like a cop-out, but the Boy left yesterday and I'm here with the Best Friend, or Brother, so I didn't want to do too much experimental cooking. Also, it was the Brother who took the photo, so don't blame me that it's fuzzy. And it would have been more orange if we hadn't mashed it with the skins.

Without further ado, here's my mashed yams, which, by the way, are Kosher for Passover even though I didn't happen to make them until after the holiday. And I promise I'll be better about the next IMBB.

Les patates douces fondantes

2 Sweet Potatoes
3 tablespoons Butter, melted
Salt and Black pepper
Pinch grated Lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
Generous pinch Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 200 C. Poke several holes in Potatoes with the tip of a knife and place in a pan in the oven. Bake until tender, about 60-75 minutes. Remove from oven. Mash with a fork (with or without skins, as you desire). Add Butter, Salt, Pepper, Lemon zest, Cinnamon and Brown sugar. Continue mashing until smooth all over. Serve warm.

Cabillaud aux tomates, rhubarbe et oranges

Cabillaud aux tomates, rhubarbe et oranges, avec pommes de terre nouvelles.

Sorry for the extended silence; my folks came out here for Passover, so most of the eating has been with them, which, while it was fantastic, I didn't end up posting. Also, it's still Passover, which means lots of dietary requirements, so I was having trouble coming up with exciting Kosher for Passover meals.

I also missed the orange-themed IMBB because of my visitors, but I decided to play around anyway. Sadly, this turned out more red than orange, so keep an eye out for more orange-colored food.

The sauce should be sweet-and-sour, a very Jewish flavor combination in my opinion. I like my sweet-and-sour sauces more sour than sweet, so feel free to increase the honey and decrease the lime juice.

Cabillaud aux tomates, rhubarbe et oranges

Sauce

3 Oranges
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 finely chopped Onions
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp + 2 tsp Thyme Honey
Salt and Black Pepper
4 stalks Rhubarb, poisonous leaves cut off as well as white bottom of the stalk, fibrous strings removed with a vegetable peeler
1 cup 100% Orange juice
Cinnamon to taste
1 can peeled plum Tomatoes, quartered and 1/2 cup liquid
Juice of 3/4 Lime

Using a vegetable peeler, take a long strip of zest from one of the Oranges. Place it in a small saucepan covered in cold water and bring to a boil. Drain and pat dry, then mince finely. Peel 2 Oranges, including white surrounding the flesh. Chop, removing all seeds. Set minced zest and chunks of Orange aside.

In a skillet, heat Olive oil over medium heat. Add Onions and cook, stirring every so often, for 5 minutes. Add orange zest, Ginger, 1 tsp Honey, Salt and Pepper. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring, for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, start on the Rhubarb. Cut the stalks into chunks and place them in a pot. Add 1/2 cup of the Orange juice, 2 tsp Honey, Cinnamon and Salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer at medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes.

Once the onions are soft and sweet, add remaining 1/2 cup Orange juice and boil for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides to prevent burning. Stir in Tomatoes and juice and turn heat up to medium-high and cook about 10 minutes. Add Rhubarb mixture and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add orange chunks and simmer over low or medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add Lime juice and Salt and Pepper to taste.

Let sauce cool to room temperature, then place in fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 12.

Fish

4 fillets Cod
Water
Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 180 C (350 F). Place Cod in glass baking dish and cover with Water. Add Salt and Pepper. Cook about 9 minutes, until fish flakes easily.

Cover Cod in sauce and decorate with wedges of remaining Orange. Serve room temperature or even chilled.