fish en papillote

Sounds fancy. Looks fancy. Tastes fancy. So obviously it must be... super easy to make! If you google "fish en papillote recipe," you'll find tons of recipes, some more complex than others. I opted for something less complicated: halibut seasoned with lemon, garlic and thyme, over asparagus. It took me all of 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to bake. Simplicity at its finest.

Fish en papillote (in parchment) was on my Hit List of foods to make in 2010, and I can call this one a success. It's a really light meal, a quick weeknight meal. Added bonuses: asparagus is in season, fish is good for you, and this used hardly any oil. The moisture from the fish, which is sealed in the parchment while baking, will steam and cook everything else which is why you don't need much oil. Healthy too! Heart.

Fish en Papillote

1 6oz fillet of halibut

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lemon

asparagus, cut down to the same size as the halibut

olive oil

fresh thyme (I used dried, fresh will be better)

salt and pepper to taste

Special equipment: parchment paper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut 1 large piece of parchment -- enough where you can fold it in half and there's plenty of room that the fish would fit. Cut out a big heart. (I actually cut mine a little small - another 2" would have been just right.)

Slice 1/2 of the lemon into thin slices and set aside. Zest the other half. Arrange the asparagus in the middle of one half of the parchment heart. Squeeze some of the lemon juice over it, sprinkle the zest, and salt it. Lay the fish on top of the asparagus, then generously season with salt, pepper, thyme, a half the garlic clove. Or a whole one if you love garlic. Drizzle a little olive oil over it. Arrange the lemon slices on top of the fish.

Fold the other half of the parchment heart over. Fold the edges of the heart over so it seals it in. (The beginning of this video shows you.) Place on a baking sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes.
Open. Eat. (Or if you want to be fancy, transfer to a plate and eat!)

my first strawberry jam

Two days ago, when it was 95 degrees and sunny, I would have told you we skipped over spring and went straight to summer. That weather (not the pound of over-ripe strawberries in the fridge that I couldn't figure out what to do with :-D) inspired me to make something summery. Glad I did because the rain last night dropped the temperature some 30 degrees, and I'm back to using my seat warmers in my car at night. My new car is so sweet. So is this jam. This is a pectin-free recipe (rough translation: no added gelatin to firm it up), which means this is a looser jam... Looks (cuz it is) home made with love. And vanilla beans. Instant love. (Aside: vanilla is easily my absolute most favorite ingredient for sweets EVER, and I'd choose it over chocolate any day. There, it's out there. Digest that. Aside over.) The vanilla adds a cozy warmth - a flavor that both mellows and complements the strawberriness. Didn't have my camera today so relied on Brandt to take this pic of it spread on a bagel with cream cheese (thanks Brandt), so no crystal clear shot of the little flecks of vanilla seeds I wish you could see throughout the jam. Check the Wash Post link below for the original recipe that has some helpful pointers on where to find beans.

One last thing - the original recipe calls for 6 lbs of berries, so I used my handy dandy math skillz to divide. This small batch recipe produces 8oz of jam. Because of that, I didn't need to sterilize the canning jar to store it.

Small Batch Strawberry Vanilla Jam

adapted from The Washington Post

1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/3 C sugar

2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl for 30 minutes or until a puddle of liquid forms at the bottom. Dump into a pot and cook over medium high heat. Stir it ocassionally and cook for about 15-20 minutes and looks thickened or, if you have a candy thermometer, until it hits 220 degrees. Remove and discard the vanilla beans. Either ladle it into a small glass container, or allow to cool and store in a plastic tupperware.

Easter dinner recipe overload

Since I'm working backwards with my Easter dinner recipes, next up is the main course. Don't really need to explain it, just show a pretty picture and the recipes for the lamb with asparagus and roasted smashed potatoes. This is not only a great holiday meal, you can impress a date with it, too. This is me, looking out for you. Oh yeah.

Timing wise, roast the lamb first. While it's roasting, boil the potatoes. While it's resting, roast the potatoes and sautee the asparagus. Boom, you'll have a complete meal done at the same time. Booyah.

Roast Leg of Lamb

3-4 lb boneless leg of lamb, rolled and tied

2 heads garlic, of which 4 cloves pulled off and minced finely

1 tbsp lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)

2 tbsp fresh thyme, minced

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, minced

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the 4 minced cloves, zest, thyme, rosemary and olive oil and rub all over lamb. Place on roasting pan. Chop about 1/4" off the tops of the garlic heads and rub with oil and place next to the lamb. Roast for 70-80 minutes, or until meat temperature reaches 130 for medium rare. (For a chart of meat doneness, check this out. Shout out to the Reluctant Gourmet, too, for answering one of my questions about how long to put a rub on meat.)

When it reaches your desired doneness, take out and allow to rest while you roast the potatoes.

Roasted Smashed Potatoes

adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

2 or 3 small round potatoes per person

same herbs used in the lamb for a "cohesive meal, lol" to taste

salt and pepper to taste

oil

Boil the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork into the middle (fork tender). After you take the lamb out, turn the oven up to 450. Spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet and use a masher to smash down (you can see pics on the above link). Season with salt, pepper and herbs. Generously drizzle olive oil. Shake the pan a bit just to distribute the oil evenly on the bottom. Roast for 20 minutes or until the edges are browned and crisped.

Lemony Asparagus Tips

1 lemon, half zested and cut in half

as much asparagus as you want to eat - about 1/2 lb per person

kosher salt

olive oil

Cut asparagus tips into about 5" stalks. Heat olive oil to medium high heat. Cook until the thick end is soft enough for a fork to easily poke, but the stalk has some snap to it. Take off heat. Toss with a pinch of salt, lemon zest, and the juice of 1/2 of the lemon. Serve hot.

Easter dessert: mini pavlova with lemon curd and fresh berries

Hoppy Easter!!! I'm pretty sure my tummy is distended from a fantastic Easter dinner. That I made :-D

Over the next couple days I'll post some recipes of that 3.5 course meal. I'll begin with dessert first. Actually I already started on posting my dessert recipe 2 days ago - that lovely lemon curd was part of this crisp and airy pavlova. You can see that yellow curd peeking out from under the fresh berries. Pairing it with tea made for a bright, light finish to a very filling meal.

Note: Make sure all your cooking utensils - the mixing bowl, whisk, your hands - are oil free and spotless. Oil is the arch nemesis that thwarts any meringue's attempt at greatness. Also, when separating the eggs, no yolks allowed! Not even a speck - pure egg whites only.

Pavlova

adapted from Cooking Light

4 egg whites, room temp
1/4 tsp cream of tarter

3/4 C sugar

1 vanilla bean

chopped pistachios (optional)

Preheat oven to 250. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and draw 4 4"-circles (or whatever shape you'd like) on them. Space them well because the meringues will spread. Flip over so it's drawn side down. Split the vanilla seed and remove seeds. Mix into sugar so evenly distributed.

Put egg whites and cream of tarter in a mixing bowl and. using the whisk attachment, start on medium speed and gradually ingrease to high, and beat until foamy. Then add sugar a tablespoon at a time while it continues to beat. Beat until stiff stiff peaks form - that is, stick a spoon in there (while the beater is off, duh), pull out quickly, hold peak side up, and if the peak stays straight and doesn't lean at all, you are done.

Evenly divide the meringues between the 8 circles. Make them nest-like: edges are higher than the center, so you can put the filling in later. This is where you can sprinkle with the pistachios, too, if you want nuts on it. Oh, and these are pretty close together - there was less than a centimeter between them after baking - you may want to put more space between them.

Bake for 1 hour, rotating halfway through for even baking. Turn off oven, leave the meringues in there, and leave for another 2 hours. Remove and allow to cool. Carefully remove from parchment.

To assemble the pavlova: spread about 2 tbsp of the lemon curd in the center of the meringue nest. Arrange the fresh berries on top. Serve immediately.

OR: The meringues will keep, topping free, in an airtight container for a couple days. I made the meringues on Saturday and put it together Sunday night. Easy breezy.

lovely lemon curd

Since I'm making a full out Easter dinner this year, I'm getting ahead of the curve by making anything I can ahead of time. First thing on that list: lemon curd. On Sunday it'll be paired with berries on top of a pavlova. It turned out smooth, creamy, sweet and tart. Luscious, actually, and lovely indeed.

I'm quite excited to eat it, actually... so excited I made 2 batches tonight :-) It came together so quickly - about 20 min start to finish - that making it twice was a snap. As you can see it doesn't make that much, about 10 oz per recipe, but if we don't finish it all on Easter, I can have it with scones or cookies or inside cupcakes or on waffles. Or, ya know, I can give it away. It'd make a really fantastic gift for a food lover. Ahem. Anyways, enjoy!

Lemon Curd
adapted from Joy of Baking

1/3 C fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1 tbsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
1/2 C plus 1 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
4 tbsp butter, room temp, cut into 4 pieces
Special equipment: fine mesh strainer, double boiler (optional)

If using a double boiler, bring water to a simmer in the bottom pot and whisk together the juice, zest, sugar and eggs in the top layer. Otherwise, in a stainless steel bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest*, sugar and eggs. Fill a small pot with about 2" of water and bring to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and put the bowl on top. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bowl.

Cook, whisking continuously until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon - about 8-10 minutes. Strain the curd into a clean bowl. Mix in butter pats, stirring to melt and combine completely. Cover with plastic wrap so a film doesn't form, and allow to cool.

* Note: In the first batch I only combined the juice, eggs, and sugar in the 1st step. I added the zest to the custard with the butter and didn't strain it out. It turned tarter for sure, but zest kept getting caught in the back of my throat. Ew, annoying. The second time I made it I did as written - putting it in early then straining it out. It produces a mellower flavor with a decidedly smoother, luscious curd. Take your pick.

Should keep in the fridge 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for a couple months.