This weeks recipe for CEimB was picked by Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen. If you visit her blog, don’t go there hungry. Her posts will make you drool.
As indicated in the post title, we all made this recipe using a delicious fish, Halibut. It is mild in taste, flaky, yet firm and moist when cooked correctly. It is also on my list of fish that should only be eaten 6 or less times a month due to their “moderate” mercury content. Halibut is an expensive fish so I can’t imagine indulging too often anyway. An interesting fact about this fish is that it is on a “sustainability” list and almost all the Halibut we purchase on the East coast is brought in from the Pacific.
Ted and Teddy's version with brown rice
This recipe can be found on page 232 of “The Food You Crave” by Ellie Krieger. You can also get it off the foodnetwork. Our opinion of this recipe, and we had 3 taste testers, Ted, Teddy, and yours truly were very much the same: the fish was moist and delicious but the flavor was lacking. I must have missed something because this is my sister’s comment “Here’s the halibut dinner for this week, we loved it. Sue” Her photo is at the end of the blog.
- Super moist
My recommendation if doing this again is at the bottom of this post. But…here’s my story.
First, let me introduce you to my “gadget” of the night. I found this at the back of my cupboard when making the Spring Rolls the other day. It’s amazing what I can find in the back of my cupboards. It’s similar to finding that $50.00 bill you hide in your wallet “just in case”…you know..the one you put there about 10 years ago?!? This gadget, actually it’s a tool rather than a gadget, comes with a wooden cutting board that has an indented surface. You put the herb in the middle and simply rock the super sharp blades back and forth. Easy chopping.
Ingredient changes…. I didn’t use canola oil, I used olive oil. I didn’t have the shallot so I used 1/2 an onion. No cilantro, only fresh flat leaf parsley.
Time changes. The only time difference was with the fish. The Halibut were 2 very large fillets and I had to let them cook 12 minutes.
My fish tales….When in South Carolina last week, I went to my favorite fresh fish store, Murrell’s Inlet Seafood. I was told it was no problem shipping to NY and the fish would certainly keep for months since it was fresh and NOT previously frozen. Apparently you can freeze fish and defrost ONLY ONE TIME. Do not freeze, defrost and refreeze. No good. So in this event, I believed the fish person and was going to order a whooping 4 lbs of Halibut. But the guy on the phone pooh-poohed me and was ready to hang up saying “it’ll cost more to ship”. I could tell by the tone of his voice he thought “silly woman. wasting my time”. Since his tone kind of annoyed me (not the word I would like to use but to be courteous…) I ordered several pounds of different fish, 4 lbs of which were Halibut. It arrived today and was packaged perfectly. I used 2 fillets for our dinner, Susan wanted one, so I am left will one fillet of Halibut along with the rest of the “catch” tucked away in my freezer.
Why I was not thrilled with this recipe… First, I didn’t enjoy the spinach. It needed “something”. Next time, I would saute the spinach with a little garlic, salt and pepper. But I was curious how such a simple method, using the microwave to cook spinach would prove out. Second, the sauce didn’t have that sweetness I so enjoy with my curry. Typically, raisins are added to my curry dishes and I REALLY wish I had included them tonight. There wasn’t enough flavor imparted into the fish. Luckily the natural flavor of the fish carried this dish home.
Joanne's dish - no rice
Thanks to Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen for picking this recipe because it gave us a chance to enjoy a lovely piece of Halibut and also, now I have 20 lbs of fish in my freezer that I can’t wait to use. 
Sue's Version of this weeks CEimB
Your fish dish looks great! Did you you use curry powder or the red paste? I wish I could try some halibut but it’s so darn expensive around here…and that’s the frozen kind!
Great photos, you dish looks delicious!!
I added a little sugar to increase the sweetness but i think i’ll use some chillies to spice it up as well. Great recipe to fiddle around with.
I am definitely going to give this another try when I get my hands on some curry paste or powder. Looks good, though.
Wow, 20 pounds of fish!
I am glad I bought the curry paste, perhaps that will make a difference in the flavor. We will see later on tonight.
Mmmm, your pictures look delicious! I’m sorry you weren’t really a fan, but hopefully you’ll come up with other yummy ways to prepare the fish. I hadn’t tried halibut before, but I liked it quite a bit; it seems pretty versatile.
Sorry this one was disappointing! I used the cilantro and some extra curry paste and it was great. I can’t imagine how I could fit 20 pounds of fish in my freezer, but it sure would be great to have that much to choose from!
You may not have enjoyed it but is looks great. Especially the one with the fok. Great pics! And I love that gadget.
I love reading your posts because I always learn something. I didn’t know that halibut was so high in mercury.
well I skipped out on this one this week. It just didn’t sound good to me. But all of yours looks like it was wonderful. I’m just not that into thai food. Great job on yours however!
You hit the nail right on the head with the sauted spinach/garlic. That is EXACTLY what I was planning on doing last night, until I realized my home was bereft spinach.
Will be making this tonight, hopefully this + red Thai curry powder will give it the zing I’m looking for.
Too bad you didn’t really like the curry. Next time I’ll also try a different way to prepare the spinach. As for the halibut… I actually used chicken: Yum!
I love the fish it looks cooked perfectly.
I must say, the pics of your halibut look delicious! And that gadget!! SO COOL! I love kitchen gadgets!!
20 pounds of fish – you are stocked! I’ve been reading mixed reviews about this one. Sounds like the fish was perfect, even if the flavors could have used a little tweaking. It looks beautiful!
Sorry you didn’t love it! It still looks good to me!
Maybe some chiles would help boost things. Or homemade curry paste, if you are feeling ambitious:)