Friday, April 18, 2008

There's something fishy about this

Yesterday I was craving a tuna melt (I know, who craves tuna-from-a-can?), and it got me thinking about fish. When I was younger (as in until about the age of 26), I swore that I hated fish, except for tuna-from-a-can. My boyfriend (now my husband) told me that that was ridiculous and that I really should try 'real' fish. After several tentative bites of his salmon at a restaurant, I decided that he might be on to something. I did this again several times before being brave enough to order salmon for myself. Then I started cooking it at home in a pan on the stove but set off the smoke alarm in our tiny apartment the first few times.

This brings me to today's tip. To avoid setting off the smoke alarm when cooking an oily fish like salmon indoors, and also to help curtail the inevitable smell of fish that can linger for several days, start in a pan on the stove and finish in the oven (a pan that goes from stove to oven is one of my 'essential tools' - a future blog post idea that's on my list to write about someday). This only occurred to me after I saw the technique in a recipe, and I wondered why I'd never thought of it myself. Of course, if you're lucky enough to have a grill (which we FINALLY do after 5 years of living in apartments without outdoor space), clearly you can just cook the fish on it, and prevent both odor and smoke problems.

3 comments:

Amanda said...

Welcome to Blogger!

You aren't the only one who craves tuna in a can...though I tend to buy it in those foil pouches now (less mushy), unless I splurge on the italian packed-in-olive-oil stuff.

Finishing your salmon in the oven is definitely the way to go. I haven't made it in ages...thanks for putting the idea in my head!

xta said...

Hey Sarah! I'm enjoying reading your blog, since I have a major passion for good food myself. Don't know if you have a crockpot over in the UK, but I have a killer EASY chicken taco recipe I can email you if you're interested.

I started doing salmon by just popping it on a cookie sheet, salt & pepper, 2 minced garlic cloves and a bit of butter (or substitute). Cook at 350 for 10-15 min or until done...comes out AWESOME!

Hope you guys are doing well!
Christa Robbins

Sarah said...

Thanks Christa.
We don't have a crockpot here...not even sure if they have them...but I might still like that recipe anyway if you're willing to share (you can send it to me on facebook).

The salmon sounds great - I will definitely try it!