The porch project (I need to come up with a more clever name for that fiasco) has continued to absorb most of my time, so cooking has gone out the window. Recognizing that tonight was going to be the last nice night of the year (below freezing temperatures arriving this week) I mandated myself to grill. The Bride requested a "nice piece of fish" last night, so on the way home from work I stopped by Hyde Park Fish Market where I was informed that they no longer carried Sea Bass, the fish I wanted to cook for her. Thus, I headed off to Fresh Market, the place the fishmonger recommended I could acquire such a fish now. I was a little (read: a lot) disappointed that it was previously frozen, but at this stage in the game I was getting frustrated enough and just settled. I quick stop by my herb garden completed what I needed for the Mediterranean Sea Bass on page 303.
Similar to making a rub first, as in most of the recipes here, I began by making the paste. It was interesting to use the dried lavender that I had been sitting on since using some to make lavender-infused honey earlier in the summer. This certainly had a Provencal feel to it.
I had the idea to just toss the fish in the bowl instead of trying to smear the paste on the fish. This also saved a dish later when it came to washing up after dinner.
While The Forge was heating up, I gathered the little I needed for the super easy Grilled Asparagus With Prosciutto And Orange Mayonnaise on page 373.
The recipe called for both 1 tablespoon of orange juice and 1/2 teaspoon of orange zest, so I just bought one orange to take care of both, as I don't keep orange juice at home.
I added in both parts of the orange, some lemon juice, and some cayenne before whisking. If you look closely, you can see the flecks of cayenne.
Asparagus essentially has three parts: the tip, the fleshy stalk, and the woody stalk. The fleshy stalk and woody stalk will naturally split from each other in the right spot if you take each end of the spear and bend it in the middle.
From there you can line up this piece with the others to see where to cut them.
You can now quickly trim all of your spears to the right length in very little time!
I'm glad I separated the pieces of prosciutto ahead of time, as they were a pain to peel apart. I would not have been happy standing over a grill trying take them all apart, watching one piece burn before I even had the other pieces separated.
The fish was oddly cut by the amateur person behind the counter at Fresh Market (I've ranted about this before, but was left without a choice today), but I managed to cook it to temperature without scorching or drying the fish.
The asparagus and prosciutto cooked up rather nicely, and were even done before the fish started to get cold.
This all plated quickly as well, so we were eating in no time at all.
I'll go ahead and say it myself...this looked pretty. Even better, it smelled heavenly. Sea Bass, with its high fat content, is naturally tasty; but with the addition of fresh herbs that have a southern French feel to them it becomes exquisite. The fresh squeeze of lemon adds an acidity that cuts through the fats to create a melded and broad set of flavors.
The asparagus was good, but I wasn't thrilled with it. In theory it should have been superb. I mean, what's not to like? There's grilled cured pork, mayonnaise-based sauce spiked with cayenne, and my favorite citrus fruit. Together, they offer a variety of textures and flavors, from sweet to spicy to vegetal. I appreciated all that they had to offer, but it just didn't float my boat.
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