September 22, 2011: Using a Cedar Plank for Grilling

If you’ve never barbecued your fish on a cedar plank before, you’re missing out on a real taste treat. Skinless fish, in particular, absorbs the fragrance of the smoking cedar. Although salmon is the traditional fish to cook on cedar, other types such as cod, halibut, tilapia, tuna or even trout, work just as well.

Just take any piece of cedar (you don’t have to buy the expensive planks they sell at the store; just visit your local building materials store and ask them to cut a length of it into sizes appropriate for your barbecue) and soak it in water for at least one hour before placing on the grill. Place the marinated fish on top, skin side down, and “bake” it, turning once when the fish is almost done. The beauty of this cooking method is that you can use any type of marinade; since the fish isn’t in direct contact with the grill, an oily marinade won’t cause flare ups.

The bottom of the plank will char – just be sure it doesn’t catch on fire! My husband keeps a spray bottle filled with water nearby for putting out flames. The planks are not reusable (trust me on this; I've tried before!).

August 31, 2011: Halibut Topped with Dill Sour Cream Recipe

This recipe is one from the back of a package of Waterfront Bistro frozen halibut. As typical, I altered it slightly. I never know if a new recipe is going to please my husband, but this one did – he really loved this fish and didn’t even need to smother it in tartar sauce!

Halibut topped with dill sour cream served with coconut Jasmine rice and snow peas sauteed in sesame oil

Halibut Topped With Dill Sour Cream

2 6-ounce halibut steaks

2 t. fresh lemon juice (about 1/3 of a lemon)
1/2 t. citrus peel seasoning blend

Garlic salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup sour cream

2 T. panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 t. chopped fresh dill

Place halibut steaks in a greased pan. Squeeze lemon over the top of the fish. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Spread sour cream over the top.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and dill. Sprinkle over the top of the fish.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 – 20 minutes, until fish flakes easily. If desired, place under broiler for a couple minutes to crisp crumb topping.

May 14, 2011: Honey Ginger Grilled Salmon Recipe

Here’s another recipe that’s great to slap on the grill during these warm spring-almost-summer months. This one is healthy as well as being quite delicious. And because fish never requires more than a half hour or so of marinating, it’s an easy dish to make at the end of a work day (plus using the grill means fewer dishes to clean up afterward!).

Honey Ginger Grilled Salmon served with roasted leeks and sweet potatoes and Alfredo broccoli and rice

Honey Ginger Grilled Salmon

1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
¼ cup honey
1 t. each freshly grated ginger and minced fresh garlic
1 green onion, finely sliced
4 salmon steaks

Mix all ingredients together except for salmon. Microwave on high for 30 seconds to melt the honey. Pour the marinade over the salmon in a nonmetallic dish or Ziploc bag. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Grill over medium high 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily.

Tip: If the salmon steaks have skin on one side, grill longer with the skin side down and just finish off the cooking process by searing the skinless side for a couple minutes.

April 18, 2011: Halibut with Balsamic Reduction Recipe

Here’s another Friday fish recipe that’s a lot healthier than the fried variety. I found this one online at foodnetwork.com and selected it because it was easy and sounded quite tasty. I did modify it slightly by adding butter to the sauce in order to make it richer. I also served my halibut with a tasty mango salsa. (I don’t know why but I can’t say “mango salsa” without thinking of that old Geico commercial with the cavemen eating in the fancy restaurant.)

Thoughts of cavemen aside, this is a tasty, fresh recipe perfect for spring.

Halibut with Balsamic Reduction served with cheesy rice and crispy asparagus bundles

Halibut with Balsamic Reduction

2 halibut steaks (about ¾ pound)
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 T. honey
1 ½ T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix together the sauce ingredients and place in a nonreactive bowl. Add the fish and marinate in the refrigerator about half an hour. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the halibut steaks from the marinade and place on a greased baking pan. Bake about 18 minutes, or until fish flakes with a fork.

While the halibut is baking, make the balsamic reduction. Take the remaining marinade and pour it into a small, heavy pan. Heat over low heat until it begins to gently boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce reduces by half. Just before serving, remove the sauce from heat and add a teaspoon of butter. Spoon sauce over cooked halibut.


Mango Salsa

1 mango, peeled and diced
1 green onion, finely diced
3 – 4 pickled jalapeno slices, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. dried cilantro (or 2 t. fresh cilantro, minced)
1 t. rice wine vinegar
Splash of sesame oil

Combine all ingredients. Let sit, at room temperature, for at least half an hour for flavors to meld.

Mango salsa is great served with any type of fish or pork. It’s also good in a salad.

April 13, 2011: Teriyaki Tuna Recipe

Here’s another recipe for your meatless Fridays during Lent. I know we’ve only got a couple more to go, but this recipe is also great for summer grilling. It’s perfect served with a fresh pineapple or mango salsa and skewers of grilled vegetables.

Teriyaki Tuna served with crispy asparagus rolls and slices of fresh tomato.

Teriyaki Tuna

2 tuna steaks (about 1 to 1 ¼ lbs.)
2 T. pineapple juice (reserve the juice from pineapple you prepare for salsa)
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. honey
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. lime juice
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. finely minced ginger
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste

Rinse the tuna steaks and pat dry. Whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over the tuna and marinate for half an hour.

Prepare grill. Grill over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Do not overcook!

Tip: To determine if the tuna is done correctly, look at the sides of the steaks. You should be able to see a thin line of bright pink in the middle; tuna should never be cooked so that the meat is entirely “gray”.

April 11, 2011: Friday Fish Fry Recipe

Since we’re in the Lenten season, I thought you might enjoy a recipe for fried fish that my husband really loves. Occasionally we’ll go out to dinner on a Friday night at Torreon Golf Club and they serve a fabulous all-you-can-eat fish fry. It’s very delicious but I wanted to try my hand at making similar at home.

Last year when my church did the Secret Sister thing, my secret sister Margaret gifted me with a cookbook called America’s Most Wanted Recipes. It contains homemade recipes that are very close to the dishes you get in restaurants. One of the recipes was for Arthur Treacher’s fried fish. Now I haven’t been to an Arthur Treacher’s in decades; this chain is in the Midwest and we went every so often when I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin but they don’t have those restaurants here in the Southwest. Although it’s been a long time, I still remember how yummy their fish was.

So that’s the recipe I started with but – as you surely realize by now – I couldn’t just use it verbatim! So I made a couple changes and here is the recipe I developed. By the way, my husband thinks this dish is just as good if not better than the fried fish they serve at Torreon.

Fried Fish Fillets

1 pound cod fillets
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ cups flour
2 cups pancake mix
1 ½ cup beer
1 T. onion powder
1 T. seasoned salt (your choice of flavor; could also use Old Bay seasoning)
Oil for frying


Cut the fillets into pieces of equal size. Dip them into the beaten egg, then into the flour, completely coating. Let them rest on a piece of waxed paper for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the pancake mix, seasonings, and beer, stirring just until combined. The batter shouldn’t be too thick or too thin; the texture of cornbread batter is just about right.

Place oil in a deep fryer or frying pan, enough to cover, or nearly cover the fish fillets. Heat to 450 (deep fryer) or 350 (electric skillet) degrees. When the oil is ready, take one fillet at a time and dip it into the batter. Let the excess batter drip off then carefully place it in the hot oil. Cook a few minutes per side (use the instructions for your deep fryer) until done.

Notes: the length of cooking time depends on what type of vessel you are using to fry the fish and the size of the fillets). I've tried making these in my deep fryer with a basket and the batter ALWAYS sticks so now I use an electric skillet instead.
I usually serve the fish fillets with homemade tartar sauce (mayo, horseradish, lemon juice, dried minced onions, garlic, and dill weed).