Easy Grilled Sea Bass

This summer’s heat wave has been unrelenting, with many places in our area reaching more than 100 degrees. Who feels like heating up the kitchen in this weather? Not I, but I still like to eat well, and can only eat out so often or get takeout before I crave a home cooked meal. This sea bass dish is so simple to make, when you use a disposable aluminum pan on your grill. It keeps the heat outdoors; it’s delicious and good for you too. I cooked the tomatoes in the pan for a few minutes first, before adding the fish, because the fish takes only five minutes on a hot grill, not enough time for the tomatoes to soften, especially since some of them aren’t on the bottom of the pan in direct contact with the hottest part of the pan. Just snuggle all the ingredients in the pan. It’s easy for us to get locally caught sea bass this time of year, but if you don’t have access to it, use another type of fileted fish, like flounder, branzino or snapper. Make sure to use abundant minced herbs. In this case, I used chives, thyme and parsley.

In addition to the capers and olives, I added a couple of small hot peppers to give it a bit more tang. It really wasn’t very hot since I didn’t split the peppers and expose the seeds, so give it a try. I also added some pickled green peppers and they gave it some zip too.

It took only five minutes to cook on the grill, resulting in this flavorful, easy-to-make meal fit for company. I’ll be making this many times before the summer is over, substituting whatever is the freshest catch in the fish market that day. If your fish is thicker, just leave it for a longer time on the grill.

I served it with some rice (and other vegetables not shown). I’ve even been known to plug in my rice cooker in an outlet outdoors, eliminating the need to turn on the indoor burners entirely.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

Easy Grilled Sea Bass

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• one pound sea bass (or any other filleted fish like flounder, branzino, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• about 6 to 8 cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half or quartered if large
• about a dozen olives, pitted
• 2 tablespoons capers
• a couple of red hot peppers
• a few green pickled peppers
• minced fresh herbs (I used thyme, parsley and chives)
• half a lemon
• salt and pepper
• a disposable aluminum pan

Instructions

1. Place the olive oil and butter in the disposable pan.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, a litlte salt and pepper and place the pan on top of a grill.
3. Cook the tomatoes for about five minutes to soften a little, because the fish will take only five minutes and in the tomatoes won’t soften enough if you wait to put them in when you put in the fish.
4. Meanwhile, season the fish with salt and pepper and the herbs.
5. After the tomatoes have cooked for five minutes, remove the pan from the grill and add the fish to the disposable pan, flipping them in the butter and olive oil once to moisten the fish.
6. More liquid will be released from the fish after a few minutes.
7. Add the rest of the ingredients, spreading them evenly around the pan.
8. Place the pan on the hot grill once again, and close the lid on the grill.
9. Cook for about 5 minutes, longer if the fish is thick.
10. Remove to a serving platter aand enjoy.

3.5.3251

 

Peach Upside Down Cake

I don’t know about you, but when peaches are in season here in New Jersey, you won’t find any other fruit that’s as delicious, in my opinion. They’re juicy, full of fragrant flavor and plentiful — although this year, I’ve found that the cost has risen significantly (but what hasn’t?). In addition to eating them in my morning oatmeal, and just out of hand, I had to bake with some of them, and the combo of brown sugar, butter and peaches is hard to resist in this upside down cake. The recipe comes from Cake By Courtney but I skipped the vanilla and added Amaretto liqueur instead. The almond flavor is subtle, but detectable and adds even more reason to dig in for a second or third slice.

The cake has a fine crumb and tender bite to it, and it’s good the second day too, but like most fruit-topped cakes, it’s best eaten the day it’s made, especially fresh from the oven. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side would be most welcome too.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

Peach Upside Down Cake

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• FOR THE PEACHES
• 2 cups (300 g) peeled and sliced peaches about 3 small to medium size peaches
• juice of half a small lemon
• 1 teaspoon (2.4 g) cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons (42.4 g) butter
• 1/3 cup (73 g) brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon Amaretto liqueur
• FOR THE CAKE
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt
• 3/4 cup (180 g) buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Amaretto liqueur

Instructions

1. FOR THE PEACHES
2. Stir together the sliced peaches, lemon juice, cinnamon and Amaretto liqueur.
3. Set aside.
4. Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a cast iron skillet on medium heat.
5. Once the butter is melted, add the 1/3 cup brown sugar.
6. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar has completely melted. Add the sliced peaches and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, just until the peaches soften a bit.
7. Set aside.
8. FOR THE CAKE
9. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
10. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
11. Set aside.
12. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
13. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
14. Stir in the Amaretto liqueur.
15. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and finishing with the dry ingredients.
16. Mix on low speed until just combined.
17. Gently spread the batter in the cast iron skillet over the peaches.
18. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
19. Loosen the edges of the cake with a knife, then using oven mitts on both hands, place a serving platter over the pan and invert onto the serving platter.

3.5.3251