With Apologies to My Mother

It can be difficult for me to pick a dinner menu when my parents come to visit.  My father has Celiac Disease which means I generally stay away from dishes involving gluten (which rules out all pasta).  My husband won't eat red meat or pork (which is my normal life) but my father isn't overly fond of vegetarian.  Which means that unless I'm going to serve chicken every night, I'm going to have to make fish.  So the last time my parents were here, we were standing in Whole Foods and I said to my mother, "I'm going to get cod for supper."  My poor mother.  She is not overly fond of fish, especially when it tastes like fish (and not like teriyaki sauce or fried deliciousness or the like).  My father hates fish that does not taste like fish.  So it was with grim determination that my mother said "ok."  But.  This cod is tasty! Delicious even! I'm about as much of a fish fan as my mother (show me a crab, lobster, clam, shrimp, squid or octopus and I'm there, but fish? eh) and I like this!  But I did not waste my breath trying to convince her.  I simply made the cod, with a light fresh tomato and balsamic topping and let it do the convincing.  I think we may have won her over.

CRISPY COD WITH TOMATOES AND BALSAMIC

Equipment: You really do need a cast-iron skillet, large enough to fit your cod without touching.  A small pan will make this much harder to make and also, it will not turn out as well.  Why?  Well, you want your cod to be crisp (or at least kind of crisp) and the fish will give off moisture as it cooks.  Too many filets in your pan means too much moisture, means no crisping.  Also, you have to turn the fish over.  It can't just sit there.  And if you've crammed the pieces in, there is no room for the spatula.  Oh right, also, you need a spatula, and you'll be far happier with a fish spatula, you know the long narrow metal kind.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb cod per person
1 tomato per person
1/2 T balsamic per person
fancy balsamic to finish - I have some aged orange balsamic that is amazing.
olive oil
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
For the cod -
Make sure your cod is deboned.  I buy mine from Whole Foods and generally don't have any trouble with it, but you may have a few pinbones in there.  If you do, pull them out gently.  Pat your fish dry then, sprinkle it with salt and pepper.  Add about 2 T of olive oil to your cast iron pan.  Basically you want a very thin covering over the whole bottom of the pan, so don't try to undercut the amount, and don't pour a ton, you're not frying it.  Heat the pan on medium or until the oil looks a bit shimmery.  Then add the cod.  Reduce your heat to medium low (cast-iron keeps the heat) or even low if it seems out of control sizzle-y. Cook for 4 minutes.  It should come up easily for flipping.  Try nudging your spatula under one edge.  If it doesn't budge, you may have to let it go another minute.  If the fish flakes apart and you can't do a perfect turn, no worries, you can hide it under the tomato sauce.  Anyway, flip the fish over and cook it another 2-5 minutes.  The cod should be white and flaky.  Carefully transfer it to a plate.
For the tomatoes with balsamic - 
In a small pot or non-stick fry pan, pour about a teaspoon of olive oil.  Chop up the necessary tomatoes (I cored mine, then cut in a large dice) and toss in the pan over very low heat.  Add the balsamic.  Let cook while your cod is cooking, you should end up with the balsamic thick enough to coat a spoon.  Right before I pulled it off the heat, I added an extra tablespoon of my fancy balsamic (I served 4 people, so I guess that's a 1/4 tablespoon fancy balsamic per person).  If you are lacking in the fancy balsamic department, just add an extra tablespoon of the regular stuff at the start.  It will cook down just fine.

Spoon the tomatoes on top of the cod.  Please fish lovers and the fish neutral alike.

Korean Obsession

Sometimes, it is really hard to order at our favorite restaurant, so many things sound delicious.  And it is a rare, rare night when we order wrong.  But a few weeks ago, the unthinkable happened.  Ryan ordered an appetizer that was not great, but merely fine.  And maybe he could have lived with that, but he made the mistake of asking for more details about his second choice, the Korean Rice Cakes.  When he heard the name of the sauce, he said something along the lines of "that stuff is the shit," and promptly pulled up an e-mail he'd sent to himself earlier in the week consisting of exactly one word: gochujang. For the rest of the meal, those rice cakes were all he talked about.  By dessert, it was time for extreme measures.  After a brief consultation with our favorite waiter who advised "Just do it, or you'll be in her ear about it for the rest of the night," he ordered the rice cakes for dessert.  It was a very happy time for him.  But he hasn't really let it go.  He can't stop thinking about the gochujang.  Finally, we made a trip to a massive Asian grocery and bought some of our very own. Of course, I had to make something using it right away to shut him up show my love.  I'm nice like that.

SALMON IN GOCHUJANG
recipe from Indonesia Eats,
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb salmon
1/4 C gochujang
2 T + 1 t rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T honey
1 T vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together the gochujang, rice wine vinegar, soy, garlic and honey.  Rinse the salmon and pat dry.  Pour the marinade in dish large enough to hold the piece of salmon.  Place the salmon in the marinade skin side up, then flip and place it skin side down, then return it to the skin side up position once the salmon is fully coated.  Marinate for 1 hour.

Heat up a large skilled with a little bit of cooking oil, something flavorless is best.  On medium high heat, cook the salmon 3-4 minutes a side or until an opaque pinkish-salmon color.

If you'd like to use the marinade as a dipping sauce, transfer it to a small pan and heat to a boil.  Then you're all set to use it again.