My Best Fish Recipe

I made the most amazing Fish last night. I was inspired by a less than exciting “Halibut au Gratin” dish that I had at one of our local restaurants. To me the “-au gratin” brings up thoughts of cheesy potatoes so perhaps my expectations were incorrect in hoping for cheesy baked halibut. What I got was a drenched in butter and not so much flavor halibut.

I decided at the first bite that I would make the best cheesy baked fish I could. I accomplished my goal last night. I used two enameled cast iron ramekins that my mother had passed down to me in an effort to de-clutter some of her life. I also think I used Haddock not Halibut, it was a white fish and over an inch thick but of the flounder consistency (light and flaky) not the swordfish consistency (more dense and meaty).

I split 3/4lb of the fish into two equal amounts and tried to make a relatively even layer of fish on the bottom of each greased ramekin. The below amounts are per serving and are in the order that I layered.

½ tsp lemon juice

1 ½ tsp mayo

1/8 tsp of garlic powder

¼ tsp of onion flakes

1/8 tsp of parsley

1 pat of cream cheese broken up into pea sized pieces and spread evenly

1/8 cup of shredded sharp cheddar

1/8 to ¼ cup of breadcrumbs depending on how thick a crust you want

Light drizzle of olive oil or help the breadcrumbs brown.

I put a dash of cayenne pepper on top because I think heat and creaminess go well together.

I cooked them in my toaster oven which is not the most accurate of temperature keepers but at least it runs hot. So on average it was probably 425 or 450 for 30 to 45 minutes. I waited until the temperature was 145 and happily counting as I never have enough patience to wait until the thermometer slows to a stop.

I served it with a side of rice and veggies just in case it ended up being more juicy than I expected.

I knew it was a hit because my husband turned to me and said “Honey, write this one down- it is so good”

I hope you all enjoy!

Halloween

Where did October go!!?!?! I cannot believe that Halloween is this weekend! I am a huge Halloween believer, though my husband is not, I think he was hoping that if he didn't bring it up I would forget. HA!

Though we do not have a pumpkin at this moment I am holding out hope for tomorrow, or at least take advantage of some good culinary pumpkins on sale this weekend. 

So, you know that dance that everyone has that goes something along the lines of “it’s freaking awesome and I did it cuz I am the greatest?" Well... wait until I figure out how to post pictures! My costume is incredible. On Monday when I realized that I had to dress up on Friday (obviously) with no costume ideas I had an idea to be the White Witch from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie.  Easy right? Wear all white and find some fake icicles to glue to a headband- done! Well, there are no icicles to be found on the Thursday before this year’s Halloween.

So there I am bumbling around JoAnn Fabrics trying desperately to think of something to be. Let me tell you how inspiring fake flowers can be when you are Mother Nature! Got a few yard of fabric and a bunch of fake flowers and voila! 

The CFO at work bursts out laughing as she caught me going to my office- thats right, it was a work day :D

My cooking super secret

I love spice mixes, I find they are extremely handy. I have a bunch and I use them all the time, either together, alone or as an accent.

When I was looking for information for this post I found that I have my terms confused. The brand that I have most of is the McCormick brand and they have spice mixes for meatloaf, chili and such and they have the Grill Mates line. The Grill Mates line is what I actually use. I have the Low Sodium Montreal Chicken, Lemon Pepper w/ herbs, Mesquite and Roasted Garlic and herb but I have never actually used them for grilling.

If I am making a chicken and beans dish I will add the Montreal Chicken seasoning or the Roasted Garlic herb seasoning as well as garlic and onions to add depth of flavor.

When I make chili or baked beans I add the Mesquite, it adds smokiness as well as some spice.

If I am doing fish, I will use the lemon pepper mix. But I like to change it up, my standard fish thing it to bake it at about 400, I use my totally awesome toaster oven so the temp isn’t exact. Anyways, standard fish is a bit of lemon juice and some butter or margarine. Then I either do the lemon pepper seasoning, low sodium seasoning salt or a sprinkle of both curry powder and ground ginger. Bake for 12 to 20 minutes depending on how thick the fish is. 

Blog Virgin

Though I have never had a blog I have always considered it and have often composed posts in my head about random things. My sister-in-law has a great blog, On My Mind, that I love to follow and my husband has one as well, so why not?

I am unsure as to what I will manage to talk about and if it will be about one topic or all over the place. I love many things and love talking about many things; our cats, my attempts at gardening, cooking and crafts, the weather.. it's snowing by the way. Forty something degrees in the middle of October in Vermont and lightly snowing. I was and continue to be not ready for snow. However I do live in the Vermont mountains, what do I expect for weather?

Well it should be fun and I can already tell that I have a few things to talk about, I just hope that I will last more than a few months.