I made the most delicious dinner tonight!!!
It was the first official day of summer vacation from school for me.
The last couple weeks of school are always crazy, so we've been eating
lots of carry-out and pizza. I decided it was a good day to enjoy some
of my extra time by cooking up a feast!! We ate out on the back deck,
in the early-evening light that's still warm but the sunlight isn't
direct, so it's cooling down after a hot day. It was a lovely way to
greet the season.
We ate mediterranean-style stuffed flounder, with a white wine-caper
sauce, mashed potatoes, and a lovely green salad with an orange
vinaigrette.
Here's about what I did:
Saute 1 diced onion in olive oil until soft.
Add about 5 ounces diced mushrooms and saute until soft.
Add 1 10-oz box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, along with
about 1 t salt, 1 t pepper, 2T chopped parsley, 1t fresh thyme, 1 t
fresh oregano, and 4 diced chives. (These came from my herb garden. I
have a brown thumb; herbs seem to be the only thing I don't kill.)
Saute for a few minutes to let the flavors blend and the spinach warm.
Lay out your fish filets on a baking sheet lightly greased or sprayed.
Put a big spoonful of filling in the middle. Crumble some feta cheese
over it. Fold filets in half and top with a little more feta. Brush
with olive oil.
Bake at 375 for about 7 - 8 minutes, until fish flakes with a fork.
Now, the sauce. It was good, but it wasn't what I was attempting to do.
I wanted to make something like a white wine reduction, but although I
simmered it for quite a while, it never really became sauce-like. More
like a flavored butter.
I used about 4 T butter, melted, about 1/2 c white wine, 2 T lemon
juice, and some capers. I whisked everything together and cooked it on
low for a while, and it tasted good spooned over the fish, but the
consistency was simply that of melted butter, not quite as thick as I
had hoped it would reduce to.
I made the mashed potatoes with buttermilk, so they were nice and
tangy.
I made a salad of butter lettuce, grated raw zucchini, grated asiago
cheese, and toasted hazelnuts. The dressing was olive oil, cider
vinegar, orange juice, a little sugar and a little salt, and 2 minced
chives.
The fish was a concept that I think I saw on a restaurant menu once,
but certainly not like something I've had. Around here (coastal waters
along the Chesapeake Bay) most stuffed fish is stuffed with crabmeat.
Of course that's delicious too, but I wanted to make somethng kind of
greek with spinach and feta. I am really happy with the stuffing and I
think it could become one of my show-off dishes.
Nice way to start the summer!!!