This is a great, quick meal. I found this recipe online, at Bigoven.com when I was looking for something to do with frozen halibut steaks.

Sometimes I make this at night (not even for dinner) and we take it for lunches the next day. It reheats well and is always tasty. Plus, best of all, it is a great use for the wild, frozen halibut steaks that they have at Trader Joe’s. Thus, it qualifies as a Cheap Fish Project.

If you do use steaks, just cut the skin off if you prefer (I do) and defrost if your fish is frozen. You could of course, use fillets here but it works just wonderfully with the steaks.

Mediterranean-Style Baked Halibut Steaks
Adapted from a recipe on Big Oven
1 tbsp olive oil + more for baking dish
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme or oregano
1/4 cup white wine
1 small tomato, diced
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
salt & pepper
2 6-oz halibut steaks

If your halibut is not defrosted, you can do that in some cold water. Just submerge the package for 15 or so minutes and that should do it.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking dish.

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion, thyme, and garlic. Cook and stir 6-7minutes, or until tender and getting some color.

Add the wine, and tomatoes and mix to combine. Stir in the feta. Salt & pepper to taste.

Arrange halibut steaks in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.

Spoon equal amounts of the vegetable-feta mixture over each steak.

Bake 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until fish is easily flaked with a fork.

A blog I love and have just recently discovered, Chez Loulou, hosts a wonderful event called “La Fête du Fromage” and I am super happy to participate in this one. This is the ninth one and although I didn’t post in the eight previous ones, I was certainly there in spirit. At least I hope I am participating in this one, as posts are due today and I have no idea how the Portland to France time difference thing is going to play out. *fingers crossed*

Anyway, the cheese I chose is Robusto, which is one of my most favorite cheeses ever. It was a happy accident — I was walking around the Whole Foods by work about a year ago and they had some Robusto pieces out to sample and I tried one (two. okay, four.). Oh my god, I loved the cheese! It’s kind of sharp and mild all at the same time. Kind of like if Gouda and Parmesan had a tasty, delicious love child.

The texture is a little hard, with a little crystallization like you can get on Parmesan, but the interior yields nicely to a knife. Today, I had a slice on its own but then I remembered that I had made walnut bread the other day, so I put a few slices of the robusto on a some of the bread. Oh my. So good with the walnuts and the creamy-sharp cheese!

I had my cheese and bread snack with a glass (okay, two) of chilled Columbia Crest Sauvignon Blanc from Washington state. The wine was very nice and crisp! But back to the robusto — I love this cheese so much. It has a somewhat nutty flavor and the Internets tell me that it is from Holland and aged about 9 months. If you can find it, I would definitely recommend picking up some robusto cheese!

Okay, so I’m looking forward to reading about all the other cheeses on Chez Loulou for La Fête du Fromage. But really, I think every day should be a day of cheese. Seriously.

This was really good. I used pizza dough from Pasta Works for this, but you could also make your own (this is a good, easy recipe) or use a store-bought crust. I grilled my squash first and caramelized the fennel. You don’t have to do this. If you don’t, use the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to drizzle over the pizza before you bake it.

I also made a balsamic reduction for another part of the meal but we discovered that it was delicious on the pizza also! The vinegar really helps cut some of the richness of this pizza (and with brie and olive oil, it is mighty rich!) Just pour a little balsamic vinegar in a pot and reduce it for a bit over medium heat. Then proceed to drizzle.

On the side we had some prosciutto-wrapped melon which was amazingly good. Pictures below.

If you are going to cook the squash and fennel first, you don;t have to slice that thinly. If you are using them on the pizza raw, slice them very thinly!

Tarragon Pizza Bianca
Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit, April 2004
pizza dough for one pizza, store bought or home-made
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup (packed) grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow crookneck squash, sliced (I used three small yellow squashes)
1 minced shallot
3 ounces Brie, rind removed, cheese cut into 1/2-inch cubes
balsamic vinegar reduction for drizzling

Brush grill pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Grill squash briefly to obtain tasty grill marks.

For the fennel, saute in a pan with another tablespoon olive oil, so that it gets a little golden and caramelized.

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425 degrees F. Oil baking sheet. Spread pizza dough out on prepared baking sheet.

Brush 1 tablespoon oil over pizza dough; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons tarragon. Top with brie slices and vegetables. Sprinkle with shallot, salt, and pepper. End with the mozzarella.

Pre-mozzarella.

Bake until cheese is bubbling, about 15 - 18 minutes. Cut each into wedges and drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar reduction. Serve and nom.

Oh and on the side we had these amazingly tasty slices of cantelope, with some basil, wrapped with prosciutto and then drizzled with a baslamic reduction.

Yes, that was as good as it sounds and looks). Here’s another picture of that just because it’s so pretty looking.

But not too pretty to eat, that’s for sure! Now I want more. Hmmm, must find melon and prosciutto immediately. Maintenant!

What is this? Another post? Holy crap, yes, it’s another post. This was another meal we had over the Memorial Day Weekend. It was a very green meal with green herb risotto and some (leftover) pea puree bruschetta. We even had matcha creme brulee for desert. See? very green!

The risotto was good, but I will confess to adding a tad more cheese that the original recipe called for — mainly a few tablespoons of herbed goat cheese and about twice as much Parmesan. That’s just how I roll.

The bruschetta was an afterthought, a little side-snack and a way to show off these awesome garden radishes that jwa pulled up. Grilled, sliced baguette, toasted and rubbed with garlic, then slathered with a bit of the puree, a half cherry tomato and a sliver of robusto cheese. Drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar and sprinkle some chopped chives (also from the garden) to finish. Surround the bruschetta on the platter with the aforementioned radishes.

Pea puree recipe is here.

Green Herb Risotto
Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit (July 2007)
1 1/2 cups (loosely packed) fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp sliced, toasted almonds
2 garlic cloves
6 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
1 medium orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2-3 tbsp goat cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
salt & pepper

Blend first 6 ingredients in processor until thick paste forms. You can do this a few hours ahead of time, just wrap up and stick in the refrigerator.

Bring the broth to simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to very low; cover to keep warm. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and bell pepper; sauté until soft, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

Add rice; stir until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add wine; simmer until absorbed, stirring often. Add warm broth mixture 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next and stirring often, until rice is tender but still firm to bite, about 20 minutes. You’ll use most if not all of the broth.

Stir in herb paste and the cheeses.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately in warm bowls, passing additional Parmesan cheese alongside. I garnished with a few chopped green onions and thyme sprigs. A nice drizzle of ilove oil would be good too on top!

I’ll try to get the matcha creme brulee recipe up this week too!

I love asparagus season. And speaking of, this is a great recipe for the end of April/beginning of May. The goat cheese makes an amazingly tasty sauce, no cream needed. Instead of fresh, chopped tomato, you can also use sundried tomatoes, just rinse them first if they are packed in oil or rehydrate if they are dried.

Linguine Primavera with Goat Cheese and Mint
Recipe adapted from Whole Foods Market
2 tbsp olive oil
1 orange, yellow or red bell pepper, cored and diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces thin asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
12 ounces whole wheat or spinach linguine
3/4 cup fresh or frozen shelled peas
4-5 ounces herb-and-garlic flavored goat cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves, divided

Heat oil in a large skillet and saute onion and bell pepper until soft. Add garlic and asparagus and cook about 5 more minutes. Turn off heat.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While water is heating, place peas in a colander in the sink. Cook pasta to desired tenderness; before draining, reserve one cup of cooking water, set aside.

Pour remaining cooking water and pasta over peas in the colander–the hot water will gently cook the peas while the pasta drains; do not rinse. Return pasta and peas to the skillet with the asparagus, onion, bell pepper and garlic.

Turn heat to low and stir in goat cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano, tomatoes and half the chopped mint. Add reserved cooking water, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring until you have a creamy sauce.

Taste and salt and pepper as needed. Sprinkle with remaining mint and serve immediately.