Just Another Baked Cod Recipe.

The other day I tried to fry up two one inch thick pieces of cod in a skillet.  A little olive oil over medium heat, seasoned with salt, black pepper and dill; lemon juice splashed over them at the last minute of cooking.  Sounds yummy, right?  Well, I don't know what went wrong, or maybe I do; while the fish did brown slightly on both sides and turn opaque, the middle did not cook through.  I don't think it was the cooking technique, it was because I used defrosted fish; unfortuately, frozen is all that is available for purchase around these parts.  Utah is a landlocked state, so if fish comes in, it was fresh at one time, but now is totally frozen.  Freezing fish changes its texture; even carefully defrosting and cooking, the outside may be flaky, but the deep inside tends to be rubbery.

That doesn't mean that I have given up entirely on fish; I still buy the frozen and still attempt to find ways to get it done right.  This post is another of those attempts; I needed to bake it a little longer than fresh fish, but the rubbery texture was almost...almost nonexistent.  So, while my recipe says to bake 25 - 30 minutes, that is based on defrosted fish; fresh fish should be about 10 minutes less in baking time.

Baked Cod with Squash

 Ingredients:

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup olive oil, divided in half
2 Tbsp Italian herbal mix, divided in half
2 tsp coarse sea salt, divided in half
1 tsp garlic powder
2 (6 oz) cod fillets, one inch thick, bones and skin removed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
 

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a 1 and 1/2 quart glass baking dish, spread the squash slices over the bottom.  Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil over the slices; sprinkle one tablespoon of the herbal mix, one teaspoon of sea salt and the one teaspoon of garlic powder over them.

 

Lay the cod fillets (skin side up) on top of the squash; drizzle with remaining olive oil; sprinkle remaining herbal mix and sea salt; drizzle lemon juice over all.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes; until cod is opaque and flakes easily.  Remove one fillet and portion of squash to plate; spoon liquid from baking dish over all.

 

Makes 2 servings.

 

Mary Cokenour

A Tale of Two Fish Sandwiches.

This is the tale of two seafood companies that provide frozen products to the public; the yellow box of the fisherman versus the blue box of the golden outlined fish.

Gorton's Fish Sandwich Fillets

Inside the yellow box of this fisherman you'll find eight frozen Alaskan Pollack squares (2 3/4" x 2 3/4") at 150 calories each. At 425F they will cook anywhere from 18-22 minutes (mine took 20 minutes) and reduce to a size of 2 1/2" x 2 1/2". The fish is moist and flaky with a mild flavor while the crunchy coating does not overwhelm. You can see the layers of the fish, so when the box says it is a cut fillet, you can see it.

While regular hamburger buns are 3 1/2" round and sandwich buns are 4" round, these little squares would fit better on slider buns which are 2" round. Looking at the picture on the box, a slider bun was most probably used to depict the fish fillet edges extending over the bread.

Van de Kamp's Fish Sandwich Fillets

Inside the blue box with the golden outlined fish at the top you'll find 6 frozen Alaskan Pollack rectangles (4" x 3") at 190 calories each. At 425F they will cook anywhere from 28-30 minutes (mine took 30 minutes) and reduce to a size of 3 3/4" x 2 3/4". Upon taking a bite, you can smell the fish, but it is not easily seen; no flaky layers, it looks minced, but the box states it is a cut fillet. The coating is crunchy, but has an oily sheen and tastes oily; not a pleasant eating experience.

Overall conclusion, while the Gorton's Fish Fillets are smaller than Van de Kamp's, it is greater in taste and value. Sail on with the Gorton's Fisherman, he knows what he's doing.

Mary Cokenour

Elk Burgers, Sirloin Steak and Fish...oh my!!!

This 4th of July weekend was one of quality time - adventures away for the home, barbecuing food up for the family, and doing something I have put off for way too long - cleaning out the garden shed.

Saturday was a day out to Durango, Colorado; a relaxing drive through the mountains, a visit to an Italian eatery (see yesterday's review of Guido's) and just strolling along the streets of historic Durango.

Sunday was a very long day for us both; a 4 1/2 hour drive to Flagstaff, Arizona for lunch before heading off on scenic Route 180 to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Yes, I said the Grand Canyon, and folks around here are amazed, for some strange reason, that it is only a 4 hour drive from our area if you travel directly there. This was the second time we'd visited in a year, the first time was cool and sunny; this time it rained a bit, so it was cold, yet exhilarating.  I took over 200 photos on this little trip (we traveled through Monument Valley also - Doctor Who alert - this was the area the Doctor started this season's first show in), and I'll be posting a few of those at a later date.

Monday, for us Americans, was the 4th of July holiday; the day we celebrate our declaration of independence from the British realm.  It was a quiet day in the neighborhood and likewise in the evening; very few fireworks were set off.  I spent the morning doing a task I'd  promised myself would get done, no matter what...cleaning out the garden shed.  Actually, it only took me about 3 hours to accomplish; not as much junk as I'd originally thought was inside; it became more of an organization task.

Then the cooking began of much of the food I'd prepped on Saturday evening.

Elk Burgers

1 lb ground Elk

1 lb 80% lean ground beef

1 tsp each ground black pepper and onion powder

3 Tbsp Worchestshire sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl; form patties (1/2 inch thick) and keep separated with squares of wax paper.  Place in refrigerator.

When ready to barbeque; set heat of grill to 300F.  Grill burgers for 5 minutes on each side.

Makes 5 burgers.

Sirloin Steaks

All I did for these beauties is rub both sides of the steaks with a no-salt seasoning mixture, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until ready to grill.  I used the same temperature as the Elk burgers (300F); 7 minutes on each side.  There were 4 steaks, each a 1/2 inch thick.

Steamed Fish

I had a 2 lb package of frozen Swai filets, so I simply seasoned them with a sprinkle of salt and crushed dill; dashed lemon juice over all.  Then I placed them inside an aluminum foil grilling bag, placed it on the top rack of the barbeque and let them cook for 20 minutes.  Perfect.

Roy enjoys a good grilled hotdog, so a package of 8 Ball Park Angus Beef hotdogs went on the grill for his snacking pleasure.

All that protein!!!  But I did veggies too.

Grilled Root Veggies

Take one pound each of butternut squash and sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed), 1 lb of fingerling potatoes, a large onion chopped, thinly sliced garlic (4 cloves), 1 cup olive oil and 1 Tbsp sea salt; mix together and place in aluminum foil grilling bag.  Now this has to go on the top rack of the barbeque, set at 300F, for one hour; so plan your grilling to accomodate the cooking time.

Grilled Mixed Veggies

3 each of baby green zucchini and yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch slices; 1 lb of large mushrooms (quartered), 2 packages of sweet mini bell peppers (tops removed and cut in half lengthwise), 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning mix. 

Mix all ingredients together and place in aluminum grilling bag.  Place on top rack of barbeque and let cook for 20 minutes.

....and there you go, the Cokenour 4th of July Family BBQ Feast.

Mary Cokenour