Grilled Halibut with grilled red pepper harissa: you need to get this fish on!!

Just so you know, if the recipe appears in the column to the left under the "Recipe" heading, then it is something I am pretty confident you'll like. Believe me there are plenty of things that, to put it kindly, didn't quite make the list. The recipe at the top of the heap right now, and printed below, would most definitely not fall into the "kitchen disappointment" category. In fact both w and I thought it was a spectacular success. I was putzing around home yesterday and playing with my new favorite iPhone app, the free epicurious download, and entered "grilled halibut" into the search. Thankfully this delish dish, which has immediately been added to our regular rotation, was one of the top 3 search results.

I had never made harissa, that pungent North African condiment, before this. I've had it plenty of times, but I don't know if I've ever had it better. The smokiness imparted by the grilled peppers, jalapeno, and garlic was incredible when combined with the cumin, coriander, and olive oil. Traditionally served with couscous, it went unbelievably well with the grilled halibut and would be a fabulous condiment with a grilled steak, veggies, eggs, and any other place your hungry imagination takes you. It is so easy to make that there isn't any excuse not to have a container of this in your fridge. Plus, using grilled lemon halves for their juice to squeeze onto the fish was inspired, the juice slightly smoky with a sweet caramelized flavor. This is absolutely a "wow" dish to serve to guests at your next 'que function!

Wine pick: I had a leftover bottle of 2007 J. Christopher Pinot Noir we shared that worked surprisingly well. I also think an ice cold bottle of dry rosé would be stellar.
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Grilled Halibut with Grilled Red Pepper Harissa
from Bon Appétit

yield: Makes 4 servings

ingredients:
1 red jalapeño chile
1 garlic clove, peeled
4 5- to 6-ounce halibut or mahi-mahi fillets
2 large red bell peppers, quartered lengthwise, seeded
Olive oil for brushing plus 1/4 cup
2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
2 teaspoons ground coriander, divided
1 lemon, halved

when the peppers are almost done, the fish goes on

method:
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Thread jalapeño and garlic clove onto metal skewer. Brush jalapeño, garlic, fish, and red bell peppers with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle fish with 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon coriander. Grill fish, bell peppers,jalapeño, and garlic until vegetables are tender and charred and fish is just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side for fish and 6 minutes per side for vegetables. Grill lemon, cut side down, until charred, about 3 minutes. Transfer fish to plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Peel charred parts of skin from bell peppers and cut stem from jalapeño, and transfer to blender, discarding peel and stem. Add garlic clove, remaining 1/4 cup oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, and 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander to blender. Process until coarse puree forms. Season sauce generously to taste with salt and pepper.

Place 1 fish fillet on each of 4 plates. Squeeze grilled lemon over. Spoon sauce over fish and serve.

bb’s note:: The time it takes to grill the veggies will vary with the heat of your fire. Mine took much less time, maybe 5 or 6 minutes per side. If the seem to getting too done too quickly, move them slightly off the direct heat.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: hunting wild mushrooms at the farmer's market!

Cellar report: 2002 Chateau de Chorey...aka "Real pinot noir"

Today's first economics lesson: Good Product + Good Price = Happy Customers

I'm thinking about this because last night I was swilling down this awesome 2002 Chateau de Chorey les Beaune. A French pinot noir, this is everything domestic pinots wish they could be at a lower price than way too many of them. The economics lesson comes to mind because I have a wine shop in the heart of Oregon wine country, where over-inflated pinot noir pricing is seemingly a rite of passage. Now there are some guys, actually a lot of producers, who seem to keep their egos in check and offer their customers good value for every dollar spent...Cameron, St. Innocent, Westrey, J. Christopher, Patricia Green and many others. Then there are those who seem to have insatiable egos that are only fed by emptying their victims...er, customers wallets as fast as they can with their one dimensional, over-ripe, over-oaked wines....Archery Summit, Beaux Freres, Domaine Serene, Bergstrom come to mind. There are a couple of Oregon wineries who actually charge $100+ a bottle for their wine. To which I can only reply "Are you fucking kidding me??!"

Today's second economics lesson: If you pay more than $50 a bottle for Oregon pinot noir you are a sucker. If you do it more than once you're an idiot.

I always think of this when I drink yet another satisfying bottle of French Burgundy like the Chateau de Chorey. Now this is a around a $38 retail bottle, not cheap, but it delivers more pleasure than ANY comparably priced domestic noir. 2002 was an underappreciated red burgundy vintage, and the wines are just now creeping out from under their youthful shells. This is a classic case in point. Still tight when the cork gets popped, as it opened up blueberries, spice, fresh flowers and that Burgundian earth came cascading out of the glass. On the palate the longer it sat open, the more "weight" it put on, filling out in the mouth with each passing minute. Beautifully rich, pure fruit. Smooth, elegant, perfect acid balance, with tons of complexity and years of life ahead of it. Plus it was so freakishly good with my grilled lamb chops. The other sad fact of American winemaking is that domestic grape juice will never have the exquisite food affinity the Euros seem to do as a matter of course. Don't think I don't like Oregon pinot. I do...a lot. I also don't expect Oregon pinot to be like Burgundy and get the differences, but when I have something like this I realize how good life can really be.............
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: do you know what white people really like?

Keep 'Em Coming!!

In my continuing quest to not let any tomatoes that are dropping off of my plants almost faster than I can eat them go to waste, last night I trotted out another new recipe at the 50th Avenue kitchen. I had halibut on my mind, a cold bottle of J. Christopher Zoot Allures Blanc in the fridge, and a pile of cherry and roma tomatoes to get through. After doing a little recipe research, I came across this one at epicurious. Now, before you judge the dish by the picture, I admit this isn't my finest photographic effort. I should've served the compote alongside as per their suggestion. But I was slingin' food, and trust me when both w and I found this to be pretty damn delish, and we went with their whole serving suggestion of grilled zucchini and buttered egg noodles. Everything worked, and once again this was a quick, easy, seasonal plate of satisfaction. Oh, and the sauv blanc based Zoot was a perfect match, it's bright fruit, zippy acidity, and slight grassiness matching perfectly with the sweet, sharp tomato-caper sauce!

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Grilled Halibut with Warm Tomato Compote
adapted from epicurious.com
makes 2 Servings.

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 6- to 8-ounce halibut fillets (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1-2 cups chopped plum tomatoes/halved cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon (packed) chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
1 or 2 tablespoons salt packed capers, rinsed

preparation
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Melt butter in heavy medium skillet. Brush fish on both sides with half of butter. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add shallots to butter remaining in skillet. Cook over high heat 1 minute. Add tomatoes to skillet and cook until juices evaporate, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add wine, tarragon, and capers and boil until compote is thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and keep warm.
Grill fish until just opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Spoon compote alongside fish.