Tuscan Cod and Pepper-Spiked Polenta

I may have already told you this, but just in case I didn't, I am not a huge seafood fan.  I will eat it on occasion, except for shrimp...I'll only eat shrimp if I forget that I absolutely do not like it.  I have been discovering some new fish recipes lately, and it has been very interesting trying them out.  I do not enjoy seafood when it tastes "fishy," like it just came out of the sea and landed on my plate.  I found this recipe for Tuscan Cod, and it was spicy and delicious.  It didn't taste "fishy" at all!  

I had heard of polenta before and had always wanted to try it.  It's basically a cornmeal mush.  Now, I know that does not sound particularly appetizing, but I thought it went really well with the Tuscan Cod.  It seemed to balance the spiciness of the fish a little bit and added an interesting texture.

  

Tuscan Cod

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup chopped tomato

1 tablespoon capers (omitted)

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 (6-ounce) cod fillets

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes.  

2.  Add tomato and next 3 ingredients; cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes; stirring occasionally.

3.  Add fish to skillet, spooning sauce over fish.  Cover and cook 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.  

Pepper-Spiked Polenta

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

4 cups water

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.  Coat a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray; add water, cornmeal, salt and pepper.  Cover with casserole lid; microwave on HIGH 12 minutes or until thick, stirring after 6 minutes.

2.  Stir in cheese.  Serve immediately.

Source:  The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook

BAM BAM BAM!

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but there was a mix-up with our cable company last year, and my roommate and I ended up getting a bunch of the premium cable channels for free for a few months.  To my delight, this meant I had access to both the Food Network AND the Cooking Channel!  I was in heaven. It was on the Cooking Channel that I discovered Emeril Lagasse.  I had heard of him before but had never seen his show.  He tends to say "BAM BAM BAM!" a lot while he's cooking.

I was looking through some old magazines last summer when I stumbled upon a recipe for Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts.  An Emeril recipe?!  Sweet!  I knew I had to try it.  I've made these tuna melts at least three times since I found the recipe less than a year ago.  They are really easy and quite tasty.  Make sure you exclaim "BAM BAM BAM!" at least once while making them.

Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts

Ingredients:

4 cans (5 ounces each) solid white tuna, packed in water, drained

1/3 cup mayo, plus more for spreading

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

4 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained *we omitted these per my mother's request

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled between fingers

4 slices crusty bread

8 thin slices tomato

4 slices provolone

Directions:

1.  Heat broiler with rack in highest position.  In medium bowl, combine first 8 ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.

2.  Arrange bread on a baking sheet and spread a little mayo on each slice.  Divide tuna salad evenly among slices, then top each with 2 slices of tomato and 1 slice of cheese.

3.  Broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbling (3 to 4 minutes).

Something's fishy here...

I can count on two fingers the number of times I've cooked fish...once was last Friday when I made fish tacos, and the other was tonight!  Since it's Lent, and we Catholics are discouraged from eating meat on Fridays, I thought it would be a good time to try out my fish-cooking skills...well, that and my dad said something along the lines of, "Let's have salmon this week."

So, salmon it is!  I immediately went on the hunt for a salmon recipe, and Taste of Home didn't let me down.  I had no idea it was so easy to cook fish!  For those of you who are unfamiliar with it and uneasy about it, give it a try.  It was even easier than cooking chicken.  The glaze in this recipe gave the salmon a sweet flavor and made the fillets a little crispy on top...yum!

Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 salmon fillets (6 ounces each)

Directions:

1.  Line a baking pan with foil; grease the foil.  Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pineapple juice and soy sauce.

3.  Place salmon skin side down on prepared pan.  Spoon sauce mixture over fish.

4.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork, basting frequently with pan juices.

Source:  Taste of Home, www.tasteofhome.com