Chilean Sea Bass En Papillote

Chilean Sea Bass En Papillote

En Papillote (French: "in parchment"), or "al cartoccio" in Italian, is a method of cooking in which the food is put into a folded pouch or parcel and then baked. The parcel is typically made from folded parchment paper, but other material such as a paper bag or aluminium foil may be used. The parcel holds in moisture to steam the food.

The moisture may be from the food itself or from an added moisture source like water, wine, or stock.

En Papillote is perhaps most often used to cook fish and also poultry. Choice of herbs, seasonings and spices depend on the particular recipe being prepared.

The pouch should be sealed with careful folding. (source wikipedia)

Chilean Sea Bass could possibly be my new favorite fish and cooking En Popillote my favorite method!!

This fish is clean, bright white, succulent and delicious!  Cooking anything En Popillote is the fastest and easiest clean up ever!

As always, start with fabulous fresh ingredients (remember fresh fish is NOT fishy).  This creation started with a beautiful filet of Chilean sea bass, the best olive oil, fresh organic lemons and amazing sweet cherry tomatoes that burst with flavor!

Here's the layering process:

Square of parchment paper, drizzle of olive oil

and 1/2-inch thick slices of lemon

Gorgeous Chillean Sea Bass, Lemon flaked sea salt, Fresh ground pepper and garden fresh Thyme

Lightly sauteed cherry tomatoes

Garlic and flash fried Capers

photo source Google

Beautiful packages ready for the oven!

Chilean Sea Bass En Papillote

The Chef In My Head, Serves 2

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2-8oz filletsChilean Sea Bass with skin

3/4 teaspoon lemon flake sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 thin lemon slices (less than 3/4 inch thick; from 1 large lemon)

8 sprigs fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 1/2 tablespoons drained bottled capers

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Cut a square of parchment paper, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on parchment, place lemon slices on olive oil. Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange fillets, skin sides down on top of lemon slices. Arrange thyme sprigs on top of each fillet.

Heat remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, about 1 minute.  

Spoon hot tomato mixture over fish

   Add 1 tsp olive oil to pan, increase heat to high. Add capers to pan and flash fry.  You are looking for a quick crisp on capers.  Spoon capers over tomato mixture.

Fold parchment paper over, tenting it slightly over fish, and crimp edges together tightly to seal.

Bake until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness of fish); check by removing from oven and carefully lifting up a corner of top sheet of parchment, pulling up sides of bottom sheet to keep liquid from running out. If fish is not cooked through, reseal and continue to bake, checking every 3 minutes.

Transfer fillets with lemon slices to plates using a spatula (be careful not to tear parchment underneath) and spoon tomatoes and juices over top. Serve immediately, discarding thyme before eating.

Enjoy!

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Glowing Green Smoothie

Glowing Green Smoothie (R)

Drinking the Glowing Green Smoothie (GGS) is a great way to incorporate tremendous amounts of greens into your diet – far more than just eating your veggies. A serving of the GGS contains over 3 cups of dark leafy green vegetables, which is more than many people get in a week!
Greens have more valuable nutrients than any other food group on the planet. You might be surprised to learn that greens even have high-quality, easily-assimilated amino acids – enough to build the protein that supports the muscle mass of the mighty, greens-eating gorilla, which pound-for-pound is the strongest animal on earth!
Blending helps make greens’ full spectrum of nutrition readily available to the body. Nutrients are encased inside plant cells and getting their benefits requires these cells’ walls to be ruptured. Greens need to be worked down to a creamy consistency, but most people simply don’t chew that much! Blending addresses this problem, helping your body absorb the maximum amount of nutrition from your greens.
This is the drink that I drink every day, and have all my clients drink to feel and look their best. I hope that it will become part of your daily life as well.
I generally recommend starting out consuming around 16 ounces of the Glowing Green Smoothie, and then working up to 24 ounces or more. A Vitamix blender is definitely recommended to make this smoothie, so that it’s smooth, silky, and delicious in only a few minutes of prep time and cleanup.
The advantage of making a big batch like this one is time and convenience. Unlike juice, the Glowing Green Smoothie will keep in your refrigerator, as long as it’s covered, for about two and a half days. You can share it with your family or roommates, or have it yourself over that time period. You can also freeze portion sizes of it in glass containers and thaw out the night before in a bind.
Ongoing cleansing is a critical way to reach your highest potential of health and beauty. The Glowing Green Smoothie retains all of the fiber of the greens and fruit, rather than removing it. In nature, vegetables and fruit are found with both their fiber and juice intact, and we can’t improve on nature. Fiber is critical for ongoing cleansing by sweeping out toxins on a regular basis, helping to keep your digestive tract and body clean, and also keeping you more full so that you tent to eat less heavier and/or acidic foods throughout the day.
Note: I encourage you to mix and match your greens and fruit. Vary this recipe with kale, chard, arugula, and the like. Just avoid melons, as they don’t combine well with other produce.

Excerpts from Kymberly Snyder's Official Website

I encourage you to peruse her website, it is 

loaded with healthy goodness and valuable information!!

Glowing Green Smoothie (R)
The Beauty Detox Solution
Ingredients (64 ounces / 2-4 servings)


1 ½- 2 cups very cold, filtered water
6 cups spinach, chopped (I used kale)
5 cups organic romaine lettuce, chopped
2 stalks of organic celery (I used several of the tender baby stalks)
1 organic apple, cored and chopped
1 organic pear, cored and chopped
1 organic banana
1–2 Tbs. fresh organic lemon juice
Optional Ingredients
Ice cubes (the extra coldness can help newbies with the taste)
1/2 cup of organic cilantro
1/2 cup of organic parsley
Directions
Add water, spinach and chopped romaine to the blender. Starting the blender on a low speed; mix until smooth.
Gradually move to higher speeds and add the herbs, celery, pear, and apple. Add the banana and lemon juice last.


*For 1 serving, cut out one of the fruits and the celery.
Remember, your overall diet and lifestyle, and how you are cleansing out waste regularly are critical to you getting the results you want. You can’t just drink the GGS and expect maximum results…Be sure to read The Beauty Detox Solution to learn the entire program! It includes the crucial information to understand how to eat for beauty, as well as recipes, meal plans, and much more.


That's right, you guessed it....the Vitamix is on it again!!!

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Lemony Baked Chicken

With fresh herbs, white wine and tangy lemon juice this is a recipe to use both on chicken and fish.  It's so easy to throw together and pop into the oven and ready in well under an hour.  Oh and did I mention, it's healthy too!  Perfect to pair with Escarole & Cannellini Beans with Parmesan & Hazelnut Crust.

Lemony Baked Chicken adapted from Weight Watchers

The Chef In My Head

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz halves

Juice of one lemon

1/2 C white wine

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 Tony's

1 T.  fresh Thyme, chopped

1 T.  fresh Parsley, chopped

1 medium lemon, quartered for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a small , shallow roasting pan with olive oil cooking spray.

Season both sides of chicken with dry seasonings.  Transfer chicken to prepared pan and drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with lemon juice, thyme, and parsley.  Pour white wine around chicken to coat bottom of pan.

Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes.  Garnish with lemon quarters and serve.

Enjoy!

Serves 4

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Part 3 ~ Lemon Mousse

Lemon Mousse

There is plenty of intense lemon flavor in this lemon curd lightened with whipped cream.

Can also be used between cake layers for a delightful filling.

Lemon Mousse

2 T cold water

1 tsp powdered unflavored gelatin

6 large egg yolks

Grated zest of 4 lemons (about 4 tsp)

1/2 C lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)

3/4 C sugar

1/8 tsp coarse salt

1/2 C (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2- inch pieces

1/2 C heavy cream

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the cold water over the gelatin; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and salt, and whisk to combine.  Set over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.  Do not boil.  Whisk in the gelatin.

3. Strain through a fine strainer into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat until slightly cooled, 2 to 3 minutes.  Beat in the butter a little at a time, and continue beating until smooth and completely cooled.  Transfer to a large bowl and let stand until the gelatin just begins to set, about 10 minutes.

4. Wash and dry the mixer bowl.  Add the cream and beat with the whisk attachment until medium peaks form.  Fold into the cooled lemon mixture and refrigerate until very cold and the mousse is set 2 to 3 hours.

Thank you Susan for a lovely meal!

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Guest Post ~ Crab Cakes and Baby Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette

I Want To Be Barbie, That Bitch Has Everything!!

My dear friend Barbie (a real friend, not a Barbie Doll) is a treasured friend.  What makes her such a good friend?  Well lots and lots of things.  She's fun, she's smart, she listens to my crap and makes me laugh about it, she's well grounded, she's sure of who she is and what she wants, she adores her husband and she makes me feel better about myself after I have spent time with her.  And.....she's a fantastic cook! 

While we were running errands one day she suggested we stop by our favorite place to buy fresh seafood, Groomer Seafood.  We love this place and I promise to share more about it in a later post (It's worth one all by itself).  Well, Barb went home and created this beautiful dish.  I know you will enjoy it!

Hi! I'm Guest Chef Barbie and I want to share a fabulous recipe!

Last week, Leslie and I went to one of our favorite culinary secrets - Groomers Fish Market in San Antonio. I was hungry for crab cakes so, like any normal person, I bought a pound of lump crab with no recipe in hand. That day, my crew and I set out to find a recipe. Little did we know, the Culinary Gods (yes, I believe in them) would smile on us and give me the best and easiest crab cake recipe ever! These crab cakes have very little breading so the rich flavor of the crab really comes through. And the vinaigrette adds just the right about of citrus.


Yield: Serves 10 as first-course, but I was able to make 8 nice sized cakes. The salad and 2 cakes makes a yummy, filling meal.

Crab Cakes and Baby Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette


3/4 cup Panko
1 pound fresh crabmeat, drained well, picked over
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 cups mixed baby greens
Additional chopped fresh chives


Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Place 1/2 cup Panko in a shallow dish. Mix crabmeat, mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons chives, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, hot pepper sauce and remaining 1/4 cup breadcrumbs in medium bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in egg. Using 2 tablespoons for each, form crab mixture into twenty 1 1/2-inch-diameter cakes. Coat crab cakes with Panko in dish, pressing Panko to adhere. Transfer crab cakes to prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.


Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add crab cakes to skillet and cook until golden brown and heated through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer crab cakes to paper towel-lined plate.


Place mixed greens in large bowl. Toss with enough Lemon Vinaigrette to coat. Divide greens among 10 plates. Place 2 crab cakes alongside greens on each plate. Drizzle 1 teaspoon vinaigrette over each crab cake. Sprinkle with additional chives and serve.


Lemon Vinaigrette


1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon sugar


Whisk all ingredients in bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)


I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my husband and I did. Though they didn't actually get to eat the crab cakes, my kitchen crew gave this recipe 14 paws way up!


Barbie

Molly, a face only a mother could love.

The Crew!

Did I say they were animal lovers??? 14 paws!!  See for yourself.  Barbie and her husband Ray are both very special people with tremendous hearts.  The German Shephards are Ray's babies, the little guys are Barbie's babies.  The white one is Roger (I think he might be my favorite).  Barbie and Ray take in hospice dogs, which is one of the most loving things about them.  God only knows what kind of vet bills they actually have on an annual basis but I have never heard them complain about it.  I know there are many sleepless nights for them with dogs with seizures and various ailments and again, no complaints.  Barbie and Ray are exceptional people with exceptional hearts and I love them both.  Our lives are better with them in it.

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Scones with Dried Apricots and Lemon Rind, served with Lemon Curd

When you forgot to bacon, you're out of bread and the Bisquick box is empty, you get creative.

I love scones, let me be specific, I love fresh scones.  Everytime I order them out, I find myself asking why would anyone want to eat something so dry and tasteless.  I kept thinking there has to be something I'm just not understanding here.  The English love them right?  So what is my problem.  Then I made them myself, and oh what an amazing difference!  And let's just say Lemon Curd could probably improve the taste of pickled Herring (yuck).  So here is my experiment, and now I "get it".  These were moist, flavorfull and really pretty!

Scone Recipe:

2 C flour

1/4 C sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt (I had lemon sea salt and used that)

1/3 C butter, very cold and cut into tiny pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C whipping cream

1/3 dried apricots, small diced

grated rind of 1 lemon

2-3 Tbls. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, wisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add the lemon rind and the butter pieces and cut into the flour with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.  In a measuring cup, combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla.  Add this mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir just until combined.  Do not overmix.

Knead the dough gently on a lightly flour surface just until it comes together.  Pat the dough into a circle about 8 inches in diameter.  Cut the dough into desired sized triangles.  Place triangles on cookie sheet a couple of inches apart.  Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream to help them brown.  Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until lightly browned and tested for doneness.  Remove from oven.  Turn oven to Broil.  Sprinkle tops of scones with powdered sugar.  Return to oven and watch closely to brown further.  Remove to rack to cool.  Serve with Lemon Curd. 

I used a jar of  Dickinson's Lemon Curd.  Have you read a recipe for lemon curd?  Yikes!  The jar is well worth every penny.

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Texas Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Toasted Pecans

So evidently my husband did not know there are anchovies in Caesar Salad and evidently he discovered he likes them.  I like them too, but in small doses.  I am also kind of a wimp because I like mine to come from the tube instead of looking at their hairy little bodies in a can or jar, but that's just me.  The recipe is below.

My weekends are usually spent doing a few chores in the kitchen for the upcoming week.  It's hard to actually think of them as chores because I like doing them.  Invariably, I have left over Sour Dough and/or French Baguettes.  I hate to see it go to waste but God knows my waistline can take it all.  Although, I am sure, if I had to, I could live on French Bread.  So I make my own bread crumbs in my super crummy food processor, remember I am still on a quest to break it so I have to replace it.  Here she is.  Understand?    So I suffer.  Oh it's true.  Anyway, so we now have all the fresh bread crumbs I can use for a while.  The Sour Dough quickly turned into Garlic Croutons.

Texas Caesar Salad

(In Texas, most every meal has a pecan in it somewhere)

For Dressing:

1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, shredded

1 Tbl Anchovie Paste

3 Tbl Lemon juice

Grated lemon rind from half a lemon

3 large garlic cloves, large dice

2 Tbl Dijon Mustard

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3/4 C Good quality olive oil

For Salad and Pecans:

Three heads of Romaine, discard outer leaves and tear the rest into large bite size pieces

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 C Pecans

In the bowl of a food processor, combine cheese, anchovie paste, lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, dijon and pepper.  Process on high and slowly pour olive oil in a stream to combine while processor is running.  Dressing will be thick.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat small saute pan on medium heat, place pecans in dry pan and toast. Set aside to cool.

In a large serving bowl with romaine, toss with dressing a little at a time until it is coated with a desired amount.  You will have some dressing left over, it should be sealed tight and will keep refrigerated for up to a week.  Garnish salad with remaining parmesan cheese, croutons and toasted pecans.  Ya'll enjoy!

Serves 4-6.  You can also add rotisserie chicken to salad to serve as a meal. Note:  I did not add raw egg to dressing because we had a guest for dinner I was unsure would want that.  This dressing is thick and rich enough that it stands alone fine without it.

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We Rolled Away From The Table

I'm not eating again for at least a week.  So good and deliciously rich.

 Blackened Mahi mahi with fresh Crab, Shrimp and Bay Scollops with Bearanaise Sauce

4 Mahi mahi steaks about 1/2 pound each

1/4 C butter + 2-3 Tbl for coating fish

approx 3 Tbl Tony Chachere's seasoning, or your favoite cajun seasoning

1/4 C dry white wine

Juice of one lemon + 1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch chives, finely minced

1 Tbl fresh tarragon, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp cayenne

3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and devined

3/4 pound bay scallops

8 oz lump crab meat

1 recipe basic Bearnaise Sauce (you can use a package in a pinch)

Rinse and dry Mahi mahi steaks.  Spread 2-3 Tbl butter on steaks to coat both sides, season liberally with Tony's seasoning on both sides.  Heat dry/clean large cast iron skillet frying pan on high until smoking hot.  Once pan is very hot, lay filets down carefully and cook for approx 4 minutes on each side until cooked through, do not overcook, you want the fish to stay moist.  Set aside and keep warm.



Please note:  This will smoke ALOT, you need good ventilation.  If your skillet is seasoned well and hot enough your filets should not stick. 

To prepare sauce, in a separate large skillet melt butter on med-high heat, add tarragon and saute garlic until soft, do not brown.  Add lemon juice, white wine and cayenne. Cook until reduced by half to concentrate flavors.  Add shrimp and scallops, saute until just cooked through, do not overcook.  Add crab, 1/2 of chives and lemon rind, heat until warmed through.  Combine with prepared Bearnaise Sauce.

To serve, transfer filets to warm plates.  Ladle sauce over each filet, garnish with chives and serve.

I served this with Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom Pilaf and Steamed broccoli with lemon and butter.

Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom Pilaf

1 C. wild rice prepared to package directions

1 C dried wild mushrooms, hydrated

1/2 C celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 lg clove garlic, minced

2 Tbl butter

3 Tbl Teriyaki Sauce

Just before rice is ready, melt butter and saute, mushrooms, celery, onion and garlic until softened.  Add Teriyaki sauce and continue to saute until almost all of liquid is absorbed.  Add mushroom saute mixture to wild rice and toss together lightly and serve.  Serves 4

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