It’s not often that I can say I wish I had less fish in my diet, but this week that’s what I’ve been saying.  My kids went fishing over the weekend with their brother and brought home a gallon-sized freezer bag of fresh rainbow and brook trout.  Even for a fish lover like me, that’s an awful lot of fish to go through.

Luckily all of the fish came to me cleaned.

With fish this fresh, I didn’t have the heart to do much to them at all.  The flavor of freshly caught fish is something that requires little or nothing to make it perfect.  Because trout can be eaten in its entirety, I simply floured the fish and fried it in a nice hot wok.

The boys didn’t even flinch.  The fish was gone in minutes.

It really does taste better when you catch it yourself.

As for the rest of the fish in my fridge, you’ll just have to come back in a few days to see what direction I’m going with them.  I’m sure you’ll like it.

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I’m usually not the “just grab a bottle out of the pantry and pour over food” kind of guy.  I tend to make my own spice rubs and marinades.  I know which flavors I like and the amount of them that I prefer, but every once-in-a-while something comes along and makes me say “Wow!”

When the nice folks at Lawry’s asked if I’d like to try out two of their new 30 minute marinades I’ll admit I almost said no.  I’m glad that I didn’t in this case.  Their Szechuan Sweet and Sour BBQ marinade is something unique and was the perfect choice for the snapper pictured here.

Grilling the fish gave a depth of flavor to the marinade that I don’t think you would be able to get in any other way, and for me there just wasn’t quite enough garlic or heat to the sauce, but the flavors are amazing, especially with fish or chicken.

In true by the seat of my pants fashion, I added a bit of garlic and a dash of cayenne for that true blast of Szechuan fire that it was missing. you see, Szechuan is about heat, if it doesn’t have the heat, it isn’t right.

In the end it got rave reviews from the kids and from my next door neighbor.  The fish was moist and delectable, perfectly buttery, flaky and light, with just enough heat to let you know it was there.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice and call it perfect.

And here’s the best part.  You don’t have to take my word for it.  Lawry’s and MyBlogSpark wants to give a kit like the one they sent me to one of you.  The kit includes a shiny new set of BBQ skewers, a marinating dish and one bottle each of the Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ and their Tuscan Sun Dried Tomato Marinades.

I have tried both and I’m not sure that I’ll be rushing out to buy the tomato marinade again, but I will be picking up more of the Szechuan.  It’s great on it’s own and also a great base for other recipes.

So leave a comment for a chance to get your own kit.  I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday, July 16th.  Good Luck!

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Summer dishes should be quick.  Who wants to stand in a hot kitchen when you could be out enjoying the weather or escaping the heat in the pool?  There are other, better uses for your time in the long days of summer than standing in front of a stove. (Unless you happen to be a food geek like me of course.)

Heavy meals and warm weather make for terrible bed fellows. A great warm weather meal should also not weigh you down and make you feel sluggish, it should entice the palate and nourish both body and spirit. I think this dish manages to do all of these things.

This dish mingles the heady flavors of fresh baby bell peppers and tomato with the light texture of gently poached cod and just enough rice to make it a more than substantial dinner or with a bit less rice, a great lunch.  It’s a simple meal to make but tastes like something that has had hours of love and caring poured into it.  It’s definitely something I would be happy serving to friends or family on any given day.

Poaching the fish directly in the sauce brings everything together into one unique whole, but still allows the individual flavors of the ingredients to stand out. If you love fish, peppers and tomatoes, this is one dish you really must try.

This dish was prepared as part of the FoodBuzz Family Bites series, so be sure to go check out what others came up with in their series of family friendly meals.

What’s your favorite fish recipe?  Do you prefer smoked, grilled, poached or fried.  We’d love to hear about it.

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Sometimes I think that a dish I make is going to be far too humble to find its way here, but then I do a double take and scramble for my camera gear.  This is one of those cases.  A simple fillet of fish nestled in greens with a bit of dressing.  It’s so uncomplicated and unassuming that it nearly escaped my attention yet in its own way it’s the perfect dish, especially if you’re in a hurry.

As with anything, there is a story behind this little bit of perfection.  Our two oldest boys had joined some friends at a Wednesday night church function, which left just the littlest and myself at home for dinner.  Since his idea of a good dinner and mine differ wildly (Chicken!), I decided to let him have his favorite dish (Chicken!) and fend for myself.

The freezer did not disappoint. It yielded a bag of almost-forgotten mahi mahi fillets that had been hiding behind something far less nutritious (Chicken!) so while I finished getting the little guy’s dinner ready I tossed a few pieces of fish under cold running water to defrost.

By the time Ll’ B. was done eating his gourmet meal of chicken strips with a side of grapes and bananas and was safely tucked off in his room the fish was ready to go.  The weather has been foul here for the past few days, so I decided that perhaps I could trick nature into bringing summer our way by making something light; a salad felt like just the thing, but with a bite.

So toss some arugula with some greens, season and cook the fish and plate, drizzle with Italian dressing… And realize that from the aroma alone, this dish just had to have a place in the spotlight.  So scramble for the camera, the EGO light and reflector so that I can share something simple and perfect with the world:

My plea to nature must have worked, because today is bright and sunny.  Birds are singing, the squirrels are playing in the back yard and the temperature is comfortable.  It looks like summer may finally be on its way.  All because of a piece of fish, some greens and a little house dressing.

And that’s the story of the simplest dish I’ve made this year.  Cook time about 6 minutes, total prep 10 minutes.  Perfect flavor and buttery texture: Priceless.  This one is a winner for any time you need a great meal in a huge hurry without having to do any planning, and it’s perfect for summer as well… Now that it’s here.

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of HealthyTuna.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

A lot of people contact me to write posts for them.  Most are horribly unsuited for this venue, but every once in a great while one comes along that gets my attention, not just because the people behind the product are willing to compensate me for my time, but because what they have to say is relevant, important and has an impact for the most important people in this blog’s world; You, the faithful readers of CBSOP. This is one of those instances.

Several of my female food-blogging partners in crime either are, or have very recently been pregnant.  This post is dedicated to making sure that their health and the health of their children is in the forefront at all times.  It seems that a lot of women avoid seafood during pregnancy due to concerns about mercury.

While it is certainly a good idea to avoid high-risk seafood such as shark, mackerel, swordfish and tilefish, studies have proven that the high levels of Omega3 fatty acids present in seafoods such as salmon and tuna help to prevent depression as well as helping the development of your baby, both in the womb and while breastfeeding.

Since I am not a doctor (I just play a chef on the Internet), I will refer you to the studies provided by healthy tuna. I’ve looked them over and they seem to be reputable, I give them credit and will vouch for them insofar as being worth a good-hard read, at which point I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

The lovely Veronique at healthy tuna also sent along a few recipes with a request that I give one a try and share it with all of you.  From the group sent, I chose the Southwest Tuna Salad for the sake of simplicity.  The original instructions were for a salad that would very likely have been tasty, but on film would have been far from appealing.

After a few days of conversations, I was allowed to play with the recipe a bit, as I am wont to do with every recipe I touch on occasion.  I decided that the salad would be far more presentable if presented as a composed salad, sort of in the bent of a Cobb salad (remember those from the 80′s?) and I was off.

The original recipe is presented as given to me, my changes are detailed below.

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I can’t get enough seafood lately.  I’m not sure why, but something about fish keeps me coming back time-and-time again. Even though it is the beginning of fall and I should be craving heavier dishes, I find I just want seafood, fish in particular.  I can’t shake the craving.

Luckily I still had some Tilapia in the freezer.  A little foraging in the pantry and I decided that I was looking for some richer flavors than the last few dishes I’ve made, but not so heavy as to leave me tired at the end.  This was the result.

I can’t stress how well this turned out.  I also don’t want to waste any more time getting to the meat of the issue.  I want you to try this and tell me if I’m crazy, because I think I may have just found the perfect Tilapia recipe.  No joke.  It’s that good.  try it and let me know what you think.

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If you’re looking for ways to put more fish on your weekly menu at something like a reasonable price, you’ve probably considered Tilapia. It’s a good choice.  Tilapia is a mild fish, fairly firm and easy to deal with when cooking.  It is farmed around the world and can be bought for less than your first-born child, even if you have plans to feed an small army. And let’s face it, if cooked properly it’s just plain good.

Unfortunately, most of my kids very much dislike fish that hasn’t been through a processing plant and turned into a stick of some kind. To this I say to bad for them!  I can still get my fish fix at lunchtime when they are at school. It also allows me to be more creative in trying to find other things they might like.

I think this relish (or perhaps it’s more of a hot salsa?) is something I might be able to get them to eat on the side. It’s phenomenal in both flavor and simplicity, definitely something I recommend giving a shot and applying your own twists to.

In all I’d give this dish about a 6 out of 10. I have another Tilapia recipe that might have gone better with the relish.  I’ll be trying that one out soon.

What’s your favorite Tilapia recipe?  We’d love to know.

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One of my goals while my wife is away is to perfect my skills with fish.  It’s one of two banes of my culinary existence, the other being duck. It seems no matter how hard I try, it is always too overcooked, undercooked or incorrectly paired for my wife to enjoy it.  since we should be eating more lean proteins, I’ve charged myself with mastering this deficet in my culinary skills when I am the only one who needs to tolerate my mistakes.

In this case, I wish my wife could have been here.  This dish was nearly perfect.  The fish was flaky, moist and incredibly light.  The salad brought a fullness to the dish that the Sole could not have managed on its own and the sauce was wonderfully savory and tangy at the same time.  In short, aside from being a little plain in presentation, it was heaven on a plate.

This success has bolstered my drive to perfect my skills with fish.  I’m hoping that by the time my wife returns from Turkey we can make fish a once-a-week part of our diet.  not only is it healthy, but it’s quick, tasty and light.  Something we both need every few days or so.

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I’ve recently fallen completely in love with seared tuna.  Not just because it’s healthy, but because the flavor of this fish is really quite nice, even when purchased frozen. (The safest bet when you live nearly 400 miles from the nearest ocean.)  cooking time is minimal, the family loves it, and it’s versatile without being terribly expensive.  What’s not to love about it?

This is a second try of a recipe that I originally made with pouched tuna, but the texture of that particular dish was off, even if the flavor was good.  I wanted to try a riff on the concept with fresh tuna instead, and I’m incredibly glad that I did, it was worth the second try without a doubt, as this version had far more flavor and a more pleasing texture by far.

If you’re looking for a lovely little introduction to spring, you can’t go wrong with this one.

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After two months of heavy braises, rich sauces and gravys it’s nice to be eating on the lighter side again.  My palate had almost forgotten the joys of great ingredients cooked and served simply.  With just a few ingredients and a very short cooking time, this dish was an homage to simplicity and the preservation of the flavors that the ingredients bring to the party.

Fish should be served simply.  It’s far too easy to mask the delicate flavor of the fish itself with any type of sauce or glaze, and in the case of tuna this is especially true.  For this dish I took inspiration from both Western and Asian cuisine with striking results.  The flavors were subtle, pleasing and a perfect match from start to finish.  Plating could be done in any manner you choose, as all of the components are far better eated together than they are seperately in this case.

The best part is that this is a complete meal that carries absolutely no guilt.  The entire plate is low in everything that you want it to be low in and high i the things you need, like fiber, Omega 3′s and vitamins.  Quick, simple, healthy and Weight Watcher’s friendly as well at only 9 points for the entire plate!

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