posting to post

okay, so i'm not all that impressed with the presentation of this meal, or my effort to create a nice presentation. oh how an unlimited budget at sur la table would do me...

anyway, this dish started at the meat counter at vons. i saw these gigantic fresh halibut steaks and remembered how as a kid, halibut was the only fish i'd come close to eating. as i grew up, i learned that halibut was actually a pretty bland tasting fish. however, the great thing about halibut was it's ability to bring together, and enhance, all the accompanying flavors of the dish. so, with that in mind, i decided i'd throw together some kind of "flavorful" halibut plate!

now to be honest, i am still just a rookie in the cooking field. i haven't mastered my tastes or honed down wine pairings. i basically just try recipes and/or flavors i like. this dish was definitely an experiment in this realm. marcela really, really likes eggplant and my parents returned from italy in june exhilarated about their experience as well as their eggplant encounter. so, that was the next ingredient. i've been reading a lot about the use of mint with eggplant so i made a mint yogurt dressing for some grilled, sliced eggplant. with the help of marcela's friend, brenda the culinary educated chef from new england, i put together a tomato ragout side. then, to top off the "bland" halibut, i simply drizzled it with a basil coulis. this dinner was actually very, very, very tasty, but my presentation was, at best, dismal. i really would like to buy a bunch of plates, utensils, serving platters, shooters, picks, saucers, porcelain demitasse's, you get the picture. but, for now, i'll relax and enjoy the fact that i've been blessed with the opportunity to purchase 2" bland halibut steaks!!!

nectarines

so it's hot now. june was awesome this year. normally we get may gray and june gloom, but this year was different. may was gray, but june was awesome. unfortunately for me, i planned on studying for another ARE throughout the supposed gloom. i can't tell you enough how hard it is to postpone a libation and fine dinner for something quick that facilitates stickin' your nose back in the books.

this past friday was the test day. beyond an earlier than usual happy hour beefeaters martini, i had plans to cook something fun, delicious, and commemorative of the time. pork is such a good meat to mix with fruit. most of the time one sees apples paired with pork, but with an abundance of summer fruits in our socal markets, i decided i'd try something else. the dinner was a pork chop with nectarine relish. grill a pork chop to your desired temperature. then, slice a nectarine in half and grill it til you have some marks. mix into a bowl with a little honey, balsamic vinegar, diced pine nuts, and some basil. i made a chipotle corn salad to go with this which was just roasted corn, sour cream, scallions, and diced chipotle peppers. i think the tastes went well together. a little zest vs. pretty much super sweet. we also drank a sauvignon blanc with this meal....