Mukilteo Musings

Blog Plug, The Culture Queen

I have mentioned before on here that my daughter is a foodie. She has loved to eat from the minute she was born. Thank goodness because nursing her made me skinny after two babies. Our pediatrician said she was one of few babies that actually gained weight the first two weeks of life. To be honest, as a little girl she was roundish but always always cute. Now as a young woman, she is slim and beautiful but her passion for all things edible continues. The point is, you can be skinny and still consume all sorts of wonderful food. The key is moderation, portion control, and exercise.

Kaley every year throws a fabulous Christmas party for her friends. She plans and prepares all of the food. For dinner parties we have given, she has cooked entrees to desserts. She is full of food trivia as well from watching the food channel and spending hours of the day with her nose in cook books. I did not teach her to cook. Like her music passion and abilites, I have no idea where all of this came from. She has surpassed both Dave and me with her skills in the kitchen. Having the job as appetizer/salad chef at Cafe Lago taught her an immense amount of information about fresh local ingredients and the efficiency of a kitchen.

Kaley has started to write a blog about food including recipes and childhood memories of our travels. She calls it "The Culture Queen." As an introduction to her blog, I will describe my now favorite way to cook halibut because the recipe was inspired by my daughter.

Alaskan Halibut Caught by Dave

Take a filet of halibut enough for two people (I don't have weights because they packaged the fish for us up in Alaska and one package is perfect for two people) and rinse and pat dry. Cut into serving pieces. In a shallow pan mix together some flour and panko. In the mean time, heat some olive oil in a saute pan. Brown a couple of cloves of garlic, sliced, in the olive oil. Dredge the halibut pieces in the flour and panko mixture and place them in the hot olive oil with the garlic. Salt and pepper the fish and sprinkle some hot paprika on each piece. Sear a little on one side and flip them over--repeat the salt, pepper, and paprika. Have the oven heated to 400 degrees. Place the halibut pieces in a lightly greased or oiled baking dish. Scrape out the garlic pieces onto the fish. Sprinkle dried tarragon on each piece. Squeeze about 1/3 of a lemon over the fish and/or sprinkle a little white wine over it. Sometimes I also squeeze a bit of lime over it all. Bake in the hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes depending upon thickness and how rare you like it. Serve with pasta or rice or vegetables or whatever you like. And do NOT--I repeat do not let your husband find the tartar sauce in the frig. It ruins the flavors.

And now for a wonderful blog exploring the world of food, "The Culture Queen!"

http://theculturequeen.blogspot.com/

ENJOY