The Kitchen Chronicles

snapper & salsa

Not feeling too ambitious, I just baked a red snapper fillet with some Trader Joe's bottled habañero & lime salsa on it and chopped cilantro with lemon slices. Fresh corn from the market also. The fish was surprisingly good, reminding one that the bottled sauce rescue technique can be hugely effective in a pinch.

Extra protein dessert was yogurt with slightly stewed blackberry and huckleberry (from the farmers market bursting out with berries these days) mix on it. Very fantastic – just a little sugar in the fresh berries and cooked slowly and lowly in a saucepan.

turkey burgers + favas

Turkey burgers (ordinary, with salsa verde & worcestershire integral) plus steamed green beans, and a surprise success of fava beans – probably the last of the season. Blanched them first to remove the outer shells, then sauteed slowly with garlic and cilantro until slightly browned. Cilantro isn't always good when cooked, but this version, with the garlic, worked very well.

braised halibut

Made braised halibut from the Rose Pistola cookbook (p. 150), pretty much exactly from the recipe. Too many anchovies and too much wine without the pasta to soak it up. Needs another herb like thyme, and shallots also. Watch out for hot oil splashes when flipping the fish in the pan. Let the wine reduce a lot before putting the pan in the oven. With refinements, a very guest-worthy offering.