Karin's Bonus Week 31 Recipe: Poached Fish in White Wine

I think I've been watching too much Top Chef lately, as I seem to want to try out recipes and cooking techniques that seem complicated. We had some tilapia steaks that needed to be cooked before our trip to New York City later this week, so I was on a hunt for a fish recipe. This recipe also finished up the rest of the white wine from last week's bonus recipe. The recipe is from the Joy of Cooking, and once again, I had all the ingredients on hand, so I went ahead and tried out a new fish cooking method.

Poached Fish in White Wine

2 c dry white wine (I used Wollersheim Winery's Dry Riesling)
2 c water
2 T rice, sherry, or white wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1 tsp salt
10 whole black peppercorns, Penzey's Tellicherry Black Peppercorns
10 coriander seeds (didn't have this, but used a scant 1/2 tsp of ground)
2 whole cloves (same situation as the coriander)
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove
several sprigs parsley, thyme, or tarragon, or 1/2 tsp dried (I used Penzey's French Thyme)
1.5-2lb fish steaks, rinsed

Find a pan big enough to hold the fish steaks in a single layer, and deep enough to hold the liquid. Place all ingredients other than the fish into the pan. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 min. Gently place fish into poaching liquid, cover the pan, and simmer for 8 min. Check for doneness. Remove fish when flesh is slightly translucent. Serve hot, at room temp, or chilled. Sauce is optional.

This recipe went together quickly and easily, and did not make the kitchen too hot. This was a bonus, as it was 85deg outside by 11am today. It also smelled really good while it was cooking. The poaching was much easier than I had thought, and I didn't even need a special fish poaching pan. This method of cooking kept the fish nice and moist, and gave it a nice light flavor. Nate voted to have it served with a sauce next time, due to the fact that he thought it was too boring in texture. I might try this again, now that I know how easy it is. I'll just have to find a sauce to go with it.

Karin's Week Ten Recipe: Salmon with Rosemary Sauce

This week, salmon was on sale, and we haven't had fish in a bit, so I thought this would be a good week to look for a fish recipe. Interestingly enough, there is apparently not a huge call for doing things to salmon other than baking or pan-frying. After checking the Joy of Cooking, Julia Child (vol 1 & 2), Martha Stewart, and various ethnic cookbooks with little success, I ended up with a recipe from Betty Crocker again, this time from the 40th Anniversary Cookbook.

Salmon with Rosemary Sauce

1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves
4 fresh parsley sprigs (I used dried, about 2 tsp)
3 peppercorns (I had a 4 peppercorn blend, so used 3 of 4 varieties)
1/4 lemon
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth (I used the organic kind from a box, as it's much healthier)
1 lb salmon or other fatty fish
1/2 c half-and-half (Did not have this, so used 1/4c cream and 1/4c 1% milk)
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp salt (I used 3 twists of the grinder)

**All spices in this recipe were from Penzey's, so an excellent substitute for fresh.

Place first 4 ingredients into a cheesecloth bag and tie securely. (I could not find my cheesecloth, even after excavating our basement storage, so didn't tie them up nicely.) Heat broth and cheesecloth bag to boiling in 10-inch skillet; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 min. If fish fillets are large, cut into 4 serving pieces. Place fish into skillet; add water to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 5-10 minutes until fish flakes easily with fork. Remove fish to warm serving platter. Reserve 1/3 c broth mixture. Discard cheesecloth bag and remaining broth.

Mix half-and-half and cornstarch. Heat mixture, reserved broth, 1 tsp rosemary and the salt to coiling in skillet over medium heat. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour over fish.

This was a very quick and tasty way to cook fish. I hadn't really done a poached fish before. I also decided that the cheesecloth was not particularly necessary, as you put more spice leaves into the sauce anyways, so floaty things were not a big concern. I did remove the lemon and peppercorns when discarding the broth. This version of salmon got a thumbs up on taste and ease of prep. I will probably make this again sometime, as it's a nice change from my normal salmon prep methods.