The Write Ingredients

"Honey, it almost smells like Oceanaire in here!"

Well, almost. Or maybe for a few minutes. Regardless, the kitchen smelled great. And now, you want to know what we made? Well, let me begin. Husband was in Colorado for a couple days and was able to hop on an earlier flight. Sick of eating pasta and leftovers from the depths of the refrigerator, I grabbed a copy of Gourmet and started paging through. There on page 79 was a recipe for Mahi-Mahi wtih Charred Onion, Tomatoes, and Tapenade Vinaigrette. In five days I won't be eating much fish, so I went for it. The bonus? Total time was listed at only 25 minutes.

I ran across the river (Mississippi) to my neighborhood Lunds (closest store to the house) and found a beautiful piece of fish. The butcher/fishmonger and I had a long conversation about Mahi-mahi, and how a friend of mine caught one in the virgin islands, which lead to a chat about St. John, where he told me he'd visited 20 years ago and it was still the best vacation he had ever been to. He stayed at Caneel Bay, and if you've been there, you know that is THE place to stay. Most of us couldn't even dream about being able to afford the place, but he had won the trip. But back to dinner...

So, this dish was really very simple. I tossed some local cherry tomatoes and red onion wedges with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then coated the beautiful piece of fish with the same. With the vegetables on one half of a baking pan, and the fish on the other, I placed it under the broiler for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, a quick wisk of some green olive tapenade (you could make your own, but the 25 minutes limit would be shot), some more oil and a dash of red wine vinegar. When the fish was done, I poured the drippings into the sauce.


So it smelled great, and now I could tell it looked great. But how would it taste. On a sidenote, I’m an onion fan and I love grilled or broiled tomatoes. I love how they juices get juicier and absolutely explode in your mouth. The olive sauce was just a dazzling touch. So, yes, the answer was that is tasted great. I think better than Oceanaire, because there wasn’t a $34 tab attached to my plate.

And the best part? I think I just learned a really easy little trick for preparing fish. I think any firm white fish would work, and it would fun to play around with other vegetables. Maybe some squash, or eggplant next time. Anything is better with olive oil, right? I sure will miss it for the next month….