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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The easiest baked fish ever

I make this stuff at least once a week. Ro and Ree adore it, and now ask me suspiciously if I made enough this time, because they eat an entire fillet each and then eye my plate. They never get mine (I’m just not good at sharing) but they eye it just the same. (Printable recipe page here)

Anyhow, here’s what we do (this one’s so easy that the girls are usually in charge of making it). Get some thin mild white fish fillets (I use a package of frozen White Ruffy fillets from Trader Joe’s because they defrost so quickly and we all like the taste. You can also find this fish labeled pangasius or catfish. We never use tilapia because our whole family dislikes it.). Preheat your oven to 375. Brush the bottom of a pan with olive oil. Place your defrosted fillets in the pan and brush them with olive oil too. Then season them with fresh-cracked salt and pepper along with some dill. (Ro doesn’t like dill, so her fillet only gets salt and pepper, it’s the naked-looking one in the middle there.)

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Bake for 24 minutes or until fish becomes solid white instead of translucent. (I learned this doneness trick from the fish gods at Legal Sea Foods, and it works with any fish. That old “cook it ‘till it flakes with a fork” is a good way to have nasty overcooked fish. I used to be scared to death to cook fish until I learned this tip, and it really is foolproof.)

Here is the printable recipe page.

Yummmmmm! Melts in your mouth like butter. I made this fish for Catherine on her last visit, and she can attest to the meltiness.DSC_8944LR

Dig in! (and don’t get between the kids and their food):DSC_8950LR

My pics aren’t sharp enough because I had the wrong settings on my camera darn it. And the food didn’t last long enough for me to get retakes...DSC_8952LR

DSC_8953LRRo also REALLY enjoys this bread I get at Trader Joe’s. It’s called “Mom’s White Bread” and I swear she practically stuffs it in her nose before eating because she likes the smell that much. (This picture is small because her fingernails are so dirty and disreputable that I was ashamed...).

PS: We had another girls’ night dinner last night, by the way, which was gnocchi. The only reason I mention it is because Ro and Ree kept calling it Pinochi. Bwah ha!! You can’t even imagine how many times I asked various cleverly worded questions to get them to repeat that word. Just love it. Oh, and we have this when TubaDad’s gone because he turns up his nose at artichoke (which the girls and I madly love), saying it’s “too much work for too little food.”

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PSPS: Ree’s arm is going to be just fine, thank goodness. We went to the doctor’s appointment on Monday for our second opinion, and he took new x-rays and then said the exact same thing her first doctor said “She is going to be absolutely fine, that bone looks bad to you right now but it will fill in and you won’t even be able to tell it was broken a year from now, she does not need surgery to reset it.” Huge massive sigh of relief. And worth every penny (and hour) spent for that peace of mind. She gets the new short neon yellow cast off on the 1st.

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous9/15/2010

    "You might also like" referred me to an old post about Mango missing. Did he turn up?

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  2. Anonymous9/15/2010

    According to Dr. Oz, artichokes are a food that should be eaten every week. It is one of the five cancer fighting foods (the flower and bud of the artichoke, not the leaves) along with bok choy (1/2 cup 3 times a week), cooked tomatoes (1/2 cup 2 to 3 times a week), flounder (3 servings a week), and strawberries! He advises to eat 1/4 cup of artichoke a day. If I recall, your kids like them all.

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  3. He never did turn up. We still miss him and think about him all the time -- he was just the best little buddy. The girls still talk about him and every once in a while roll down the car windows and call his name while we're driving near our house. :-(

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  4. Anonymous9/15/2010

    I am so time challenged! Thanks for the awesome (and simple) recipe. I've got 24 minutes.

    Ilene

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  5. Yum...we love fish here. Both girls too. Yah! Yours looks delish.

    I laughed my head off at your tiny picture because of dirty fingernails. You're a nut. I like that!
    :)

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  6. Oh yes..it's deeeeelish!!! I have looked for Whte Ruffy here a number of times and just can't find it. Ah, if only we had Trader Joe's! You know your fish so is there any other type of fish you would recommend? Sounds like this might make it to our dinner table next week as I've been thinking about it ever since you served it to us.

    SOOO happy to hear about Ree's arm. Was just about to pop you an email and decided to check the blog and yup, there was the answer. So glad to hear that she won't have to go through another surgery!

    Now, off to research fish!

    PS - We have a cat and 3 kittens that showed up on our deck last week. They're looking for a good home. Want me to send them to you??? ;o)

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  7. That looks easy and yummy. I wish we had Trader Joe's here. Naomi LOVES fish.
    Last night I made porcupines which is just meatballs with rice (add the rice in dry) then cook in tomato sauce and the rice cooks and sticks out to make the meatballs look like porcupines. It's a family favorite.

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  8. Anonymous9/16/2010

    I'm going to try that fish for my fussy, fussy, fussy eater. Did I mention she was fussy?
    Gliad to hear that Ree's arm is going to be O.K.

    Lisa V

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  9. Funny you say what the girls call gnocchi, Rieley calls the soup at Olive Garden Pinocchio soup. Will have to try your fish recipe. Glad to hear all is good with the arm,

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  10. Anonymous9/16/2010

    Catherine-I bet tilapia filets would work well. they are thin mild white fish. I think I will try this with tilapia. I buy the frozen filets at sams club. Easy peasy!

    Stace

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  11. Stace, you're right, it does work with tilapia. When we make this dish with tilapia, we squeeze some lemon juice on the fish and also lay on some paper thin slices of lemon before cooking. The tilapia has a much stronger taste to us, and the lemon seems to neutralize it all.

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  12. My husband and the Tongginator will want to try this with tilapia for sure. I, on the other hand, am not allowed to eat fish. *sniff, sniff*

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  13. I told you that stuff was fabulous!! And you can't beat the price! Easy, quick, good for you, and no fishy smell!! My kids LOVE that fish and I never, ever, ever have leftovers. Did I mention, never??

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  14. M3,
    could you tell us how you cook your Artichoke? I love it, but never cooked it before.
    thanks
    Krista D

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  15. Hi Krista, there are a whole bunch of ways to cook artichokes, but microwaving is the only way I know and it's easy and fast. I get three medium-sized chokes, cut off the stems and a smidge of the bottoms, then put them in a glass cooking pot with a lid (like this one), fill the pot with about two inches of water, put the lid on, then microwave for 8-10 minutes. They're done when you can easily pull out a leaf. Easy peasy. I give each person a little bowl with a mixture of mayo, lemon juice, and dill for dipping.

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  16. I just got done eating lunch....and I could eat again after reading this post!

    The fish sounds delicious......and ARTICHOKES....YUMMO!

    Glad to hear Ree's arm is going to be A Okay:)

    Hope you and the girls have a great day~

    Lisa

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  17. Good news on the arm! And thanks for the recipe. I am always looking for new things.

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  18. Cute cute cute!

    Ben informed us he is going to be a cook when he grows up and his special is going to be pi-gnocchi and sausage. I love when they still say cute things.

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  19. How I wish I liked fish. Any fish. Mostly, I just think it's gross. It's too bad, it's supposed to be really healthy for you. I love that you already have the girls hooked. I think that's key!!

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  20. Thanks for sharing! I made it exactly the way you said for dinner tonight and it was gobbled up bythe 6 year old and hubby. I even showed them the pictures of your prep and finished product while they were eating :)

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  21. Hey M3, I'm going to try your recipe tonight. I know how much my kids liked it lightly breaded so now I'm going to try it with dill! I'm pairing it with TJ's sweet potato frites! Mmmmm....

    Can't have too many recipes with this fish, I tell ya!

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  22. Really good! Definitely on my short list of go-to recipes! I may have to start buying 2 bags of that fish for dinner now.

    By the way, LOVE Legal Seafoood. Went there while visiting a friend who was doing an internship in Boston. Yum!

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  23. Anonymous10/10/2010

    Hi M3,
    this is H1 Dirk's sis from Germany. I love your blog and when I've seen this receipe I had to try it. We have Pangasius fillet once a week but I used to grill it in a pan and it used to fall into pieces... Last night I tried your receipe and it's sooooo easy and soooo tasty and the fish kept in one piece and we all loved it. We named it "Pangasius a la Salsa" :-)
    Thank you so much for sharing this receipe !

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  24. I just made this fish recipe - SoOoOoOo good! Keep sharing the recipes! Thanks :)

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  25. Anonymous10/19/2010

    Just made this fish recipe last night. My 7 year gobbled it up! My husband and I had to share ours with her - I think I got 3 bites!!!! We will definitely be making this again at our house! Thanks and keep the recipes coming!

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