Nantucket Baked Cod

Like Suzie, I too have been reluctant to cook fish. After a series of unfortunate experiences with fish and shrimp, I spent most of my life convinced that I did not like seafood. In fact, on Robert and my first date he cooked me tilapia for dinner, looked at me and said, "When you said you didn't eat seafood, you didn't mean tilapia. Right?" That was the first night I had eaten a bite of fish since I was ten.

Since then I've regained my taste for shrimp, but fish has still taken a while. Suzie's leap into cooking cod and salmon inspired me to try cooking seafood at home. Robert loves fish and frequently requests for us to eat it, so I knew that he would be more than pleased when I offered to make this dish.

The combination of spices, tomatoes and parmesan made this recipe look absolutely delicious, even for a reluctant seafood eater like myself. So I decided to take the plunge and give it a whirl. Not only did I make my husband happy that he had a home cooked fish dinner, but I liked it! This is definitely one to keep on the rotation.

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Nantucket Baked Cod

Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

dash of black pepper

dash of cayenne

1 lb fresh cod fillets

2 Roma tomatoes, sliced

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut each fillet into 4 smaller pieces and place in a baking dish.

Melt the butter in a small bowl and brush over the cod pieces.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cayenne.

Stir together and sprinkle evenly over the cod pieces.

Slice the tomatoes and place 1-2 slices on each piece of cod.

Sprinkle Parmesan on top of the tomatoes.

Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes, then switch the broiler on high and cook for 8 minutes longer, until the cheese has browned and crisped.

Remove from the oven and serve with rice.

Source: Adapted from Dine and Dish

Healthy Sunday Supper for Two: Breaded Cod, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Spinach Salad with Apples

Bunker travels every week for work, and so we try to make the most of the few dinners that we get to share with each other. Sunday night is my favorite night to stay home and cook something new and hopefully delicious. Bunker loves fish, I have never been such a big fan. I also am incredibly intimidated by the whole process of cooking fish: choosing which type of fish, choosing the right amount, choosing the best looking fillet, and then you get home with it, and yikes, you actually have to figure out what to do with it in the kitchen!! It has always struck me as being so delicate and temperamental, I have always just avoided the whole idea and let Bunker enjoy his fish dinners at restaurants.

Well, as you know by now, it is hot in Dallas, exceptionally hot. And for some odd reason, fresh fish really sounded like just the right thing for dinner this past Sunday. Something fresh, light, summery, healthy, and indeed, something my husband would love to eat at home. So I dove right into the deep end and made fish! Cod to be exact. It has a very subtle flavor and is very light and flaky. Turns out, choosing fish is not so hard, just ask the fishmonger at the grocery store. Mine pointed me in the perfect direction and chose how much we needed for two people (a little less than 7 ounces), which fish to choose based on my aversion to fishiness, and made certain that we were getting the freshest of fillets.

I then came home to tackle the fish in the kitchen. And honestly, this was one of the easiest dinners to prepare! Few ingredients and little hands on time! I accompanied the breaded cod with roasted sweet potatoes, a crusty loaf of bread, and a fresh spinach salad with sliced apples, almonds and cranberries. I cannot say that it helped with the heat, but it certainly was a delicious dinner that left us feeling satisfied but not uncomfortably full.  

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Ingredients:
1/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of cornmeal
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasonings
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 or 7 ounce fillet of cod (I left mine whole, but you can cut yours into two pieces)
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Gather all of your ingredients.

3. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, cornmeal, oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Stir together until mixed.

4. Spray the bottom of your baking dish with non-stick spray.
5. Place the cod fillet in the baking dish, and fold under any of the thinner pieces so that everything will cook evenly.

6. Brush the cod with he egg white.

7. Sprinkle the breading onto the cod.

8. Bake the cod for 10 to 12 minutes. You will know that the fish is finished cooking when the fish flakes easily with a fork.

9. Enjoy with roasted sweet potatoes, a crusty loaf of bread, and a fresh spinach salad with apples, cranberries and almonds!