Lup de Mer en Papillote (a fancy way for saying sea bass in parchment)

I've read about really fancy versions of this dish (Julia Child used brioche dough instead of parchment paper to steam the fish), and I had it recently at Mexique, whose chef always gives these traditional dishes his own flair (he uses jalapenos on his!).  In its simplest form though, it is so tasty.  With the intent of making a fancy dinner for my sister last night, I took the opportunity to try my own version of this dish.  Pictured below is the sea bass out of the parchment accompanied by fennel citrus quinoa and garlic sauteed spinach.

An impressive dish

Served with a bottle of wine

Makes a fine evening!

Ingredients

• 2 portions of fresh sea bass
• olive oil
• 1 small fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 medium heirloom tomato, chopped
• fresh thyme
• black pepper
• lemon
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed and minced

1. Lay out two pieces of parchment paper, large enough to envelop one piece of the fish.  Brush with olive oil.  Preheat the oven to 390F.
2. Lay down a bit of fennel, tomato, and a spring of thyme on each of the parchment pieces.  Wash and lightly oil the fish and lay, skin side down, on each of the parchment pieces.
3. Top each piece of fish with more fennel, tomato and thyme and add freshly grated black pepper, a clove of crushed and minced garlic, and approximately one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.
4. Close up the parchment paper around the fish, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes.

A good side dish to the fish is quinoa cooked in the same ingredients.  Cook the quinoa while lightly sauteing what you have left of the fennel, garlic, and a shallot (if you have one).  Add some vegetable broth, fresh lemon juice and the remaining tomato.  When the quinoa is ready, add this vegetable mixture to the quinoa and heat to reduce the liquid.  It should be ready just in time to accompany the fish!

This meal is delicious served after an appetizer of Butternut Squash Soup and followed by Sweet Dessert  Guacamole.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

As the main course to our Christmas dinner this year, this leg of lamb was perfect. It is easy to make, though it was a bit time consuming and expensive.

Roasted Leg of Lamb
Tastier than it looks here
Celebration food!

Ingredients

• 1 small leg of lamb, about 6 - 7 lbs, trimmed of all visible fat *
  
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into 6 slivers each
• 1 bunch rosemary
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 
  
• 

1. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 1 hour before starting.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Make 8 small slits in the lamb on each side, and place a sliver of garlic and a leaf of rosemary in each slit. Massage the olive oil into the meat, and season with salt and pepper.
4. If you have a rack, place the lamb on the rack on top of the remaining rosemary and garlic. If you don't, simply put the meat on top of the rosemary and garlic in a roasting pan.
   
5. Cook uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted away from the bone registers 125F. Remove the lamb from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Serves 6 - 8.

* Make sure you leave ample time to trim the fat from the lamb as it is a hefty job and takes longer than you think it might.

Recipe from Ruth Reichl's book Garlic and Sapphires.

Paella

Paella is such a versatile dish and can be made to anybody's tastes.  This dish served four with leftovers and followed a table of tapas.

A family-style meal

Sparks lively conversation

Colorful; Hearty.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lemon, cut in wedges
• 6 oz medium button or cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cups organic vegetable broth
• 1/8 tsp saffron threads
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 4 fresh plum tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
• 1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 can, or 6 thawed (from frozen) artichoke hearts, quartered
• 8 sea scallops
• 8 black mussels
• 8 shrimp

1. Steam the rice according to directions.  Set aside.
2. Add oil to a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic and mushrooms and saute until onion is soft and mushrooms have given up most of their liquid, stirring often, 5 - 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring the broth to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Stir in saffron, paprika, cayenne, and bay leaf.  Stir in onion mixture, rice, tomatoes, zucchini, and artichoke hearts.  Return to a simmer, cover, reduce heat, and cook until rice has absorbed liquid, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, steam the mussels and the shrimp while pan-searing the scallops.
5. Add the scallops and shrimp to the rice mixture, cover and let sit 5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.  Gently fluff with a fork to combine.
7. Serve topped with mussels and lemon wedges.

This dish can be altered by adding sausage or chicken, edamame, or serving it as a vegetarian dish of just vegetables!  Adding a red bell pepper to the onion mixture would also be delicious.  

Recipe adapted from Mariel's Kitchen.