1lb halibut fillet, no skin
5 ears fresh sweet corn (2 white 3 yellow)
Gomashi (toasted sesame seeds and salt in a grinder, use a mortal and pestal lightly if you dont have one)
Rainbow microgreens
3 green onions/scallions
Hazelnut Oil
Sesame seeds
Soy Sauce
1T butter
Olive oil

Marinate the halibut in soy sauce, touch of olive oil, and sesame seeds for at least a couple of hours, but not more than 12.  Cook it in a nonstick pan just big enough for it, so it’s nice and tight. More on this in a moment.

Cut the corn off the cob. Slice the scallions thinly into the green.

In a large nonstick pan, heat 2 T hazelnut oil and butter (alternatively use a lightly flavored oil or olive oil and toast actual hazelnuts in it–crush them well first, use low heat for some time to infuse, but it’s just not the same) at medium heat, and add the corn. Add Gomashi mixture to add saltiness. Taste as you cook to add regular salt if needed, depending on proportion of your gomashi.

In a small nonstick pan, cook your marinated halibut on medium, top side down first. Once getting opaque, flip it over and cover it at least loosely with a lid, reduce heat slightly and continue cooking through.

When corn starts to color, add the scallions. Keep tossing until some kernels are browned and all are cooked. Place this on the base of your plate.

Top with clean microgreens, then portion the halibut onto each plate. This serves four with an appetizer (we had some heirloom tomato sauce & red pepper linguini, very small amount).

There is also now a Chilean Sea Bass & Spinich version of this dish.

Peaches in Wine

4-5 peaches (you can mix apricots too, and yellow and white peaches)
White sugar
Rose or dry white wine

No need to skin them unless you don’t like the skin

Slice evenly and toss in a bit of sugar, then cover in rose or dry white wine, most of the way. Cover and refrigerate for several hours at least. I served them on shortcakes and reduced the liquid to syrup in a pan, putting on top.

This was a weeknight meal, which, admittedly, didn’t flow all that well together (couscous vs fish & sauce), but was very tasty and healthy.

Israeli Couscous (with amendment: pine nuts instead of almonds, though I prefer the latter almost, and this is also one of the most delicious and easy things you’ll ever make, and it’s surprisingly versatile)

Snapper, dredged in flour and fried in butter (3 fillets) until cooked but definitely not over cooked

Basil sauce (In the food processor, fresh basil, juice of one lemon, olive oil, two cloves garlic, puree until it looks like above)

Roasted Tomato & Pepper sauce (Roast heirlooms with spring onions in olive oil, salt, pepper until soft and in their own liquid. Puree in food processor, add chunks of fresh gypsy peppers, add salt)

Roasted fennel slivers (tossed in olive oil, cut cleanly and evenly, not too heavily coated, some salt, and into the oven for some color and texture)

I can’t remember who it was, but someone was talking to me about how effortlessly the French will whip up a souffle for dinner, something on par with opening a can of soup or mixing rice a roni in an American household.

I do love a good souffle, and while I’ve been more partial to Alton Brown’s cheddar souffle (and sometimes adulterate it with blanched broccoli or asparagus pieces), I was inspired by Molly from Orangette‘s recipe in Bon Apetite, which I bookmarked some months ago (it uses gruyere–I used a combo of comte affinee, a more sweet gruyere very snack worthy and not stringy at all, and a 4 month cave aged gruyere). Granted, while I was making it I made some adjustments in line with my beloved Alton Brown recipe (like the mustard powder..), but I thought sharing both with you would make sense. I did use a 5 qt souffle dish and it serves 2-4 people depending on how much cheese your boyfriend likes to or is willing to eat.

Alton Brown’s Cheese Souffle Recipe

Molly Wizenberg‘s Everyday Souffle (maybe it was her story..)

I rushed home from a Saturday morning outing to cook dinner for two boys. We ate in the backyard, it was gorgeous and sunny, and I had very little time to prep. I bought some amazing artisinal corn tortillas (taco size, one pack in chipotle and one in white corn), some pre-marinated tri tip (a faux paus but a sometimes necessary evil–I did not prep the night before), shallots, etc and made a pretty grand meal of it all. They were satisfied, anyway.

I got so excited, though, I failed to take a picture of an actual taco, instead only of the fixin’s. We had a size of grilled yellow squash, and cuban black beans too.

3 shallots, sliced thinly on the diagonal
4 radishes, sliced thinly
1 lime, cut into 12 peices (in half as if juicing, and then into 6 slices each half)
cilantro (washed, but let people pick off their own leaves to save time)
tortillas
1.5lb-2.5lb tri tip, marinated
hot salsa

Assemble as you please.

More Pizza at Home: this one with yellow flower squash, gypsy peppers, anchovies, mozarella & tomato.

Is anyone feeling generous?  This one I have mixed feelings about, though.

I like to make pizza at home, but it’s almost always a ton of work. I haven’t made it in probably 18 months. Mostly, in the last year, I’ve been afraid. I have a small, electric oven. My pizza stone, upon moving in, took a spot next to the cleaning supplies under the sink–it doesn’t fit by a good four inches.

But, tonight, I stomached it. I made it. I did it. I went back to my favorite recipe for pizza dough, followed it to a T, produced a tender and silky pizza dough, made the mistake of using fragrant chestnut honey (go with the stuff in the bear container), and then ate it up with sardines and basil. You can do that too.

Let’s not reinvent the wheel. And by wheel, we mean the pizza.

Use Wolfgang Puck’s recipe as linked above for your dough. I don’t use a mixer, I do it by hand, and it comes out just fine. And probably with less dishes.

I like my pizzas lumpy sized. I don’t pride myself on the perfect circularity of my skins. It’s not important. Let’s talk about something more interesting…like salt. That sauce you’re putting on there? Why don’t you taste it and make sure you’d want to dip some boring bread in it before you put it on your pizza skin. And then add some salt until you think it is actually salty.

I used some Pomi strained tomatoes and let them simmer a few minutes. Minimal work. This was a weeknight dinner. Press dry some fresh mozarella in paper towels, slice it up, get some fresh basil, some anchovies in oil. I think you can probably figure this out. Don’t overload it.

Two main notations: Put your oven as hot as it will go. You will thank me later for the ensuing sauna of your studio apartment. And, use a pizza stone if you can. I tried to even cook mine crooked on it, but it would not fit. Too much slant, so I used my silpat. It was soggy in the middle, a problem I’ve never had before. So trust me, that $20 for a stone? Well spent. You can make scones, cookies, breads and more on it, too. And if all else fails, it makes most (uneven) ovens more evenly heated, just by leaving it in all the time. Souffle is happier.

2 water duck breasts, trimmed nicely
Chinese 5 spice powder (2 T)

1 can black beans
2 T olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 C water
1 tsp-2tsp oregano
1 T cider vinegar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground chili
black pepper & SALT

Score the duck breast skin in diamonds, add light salt, chinese five spice powder generously on skin side. Heat skillet large enough for all duck to high heat, add large grain salt. When hot, add duck breast skin down, brown, and turn over afterwards. Turn to low medium heat, cover, and cook a few minutes longer until medium rare or medium. Take out of pan and rest. Cut into slices and serve.

Ahead of cooking the duck, sautee the onions in a taller sided pan (quart?), adding garlic early on, and then  when translucent or sweating well, adding all spices. Cook 1 minute with spices. Add black beans, vinegar, and water. Cook on medium high until thickened and water is gone or absorbed. Beans should be broken up. Inspired here.