The King is dead, long live the King!!

Until a few years ago I used to think that ketchup was the undisputed King of Condiments. Heinz ruled the tomatoey kingdom (and still does as far as all things ketchup go). But times change, and with my ever expanding world view (to go with my equally expanding waistline), I am now an Aioli Advocate.

Garlicky mayonnaise. Is anything simpler, or more versatile in the condiment firmament? On burgers, with grilled fish, shrimp, veggies. Dipping french fries. Yum!! Plus it takes well to riffing, as the following will attest. Add a few spices into your mix, and you can tailor it to suit any edible exploring that may be happening. I did this particular Smoked Paprika Aioli to go with some sautéed shrimp and fried okra poppers (I'll post those as soon as I get them just right...I'm very close) I was feeding my friends for an app course before a recent dinner party. It was fantastic, and received glowing reviews. And sure, you could make your own aioli from scratch, and I have and it's actually even better, but I agree with Bittman, there's nothing wrong with using a Best Foods (or Heileman's, depending on your geographic location) base. Follow this or do your own take. So good!
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Smoked Paprika (Pimenton) Aioli
adapted from Mark Bittman/How to Cook Everything

This would also be an awesome condiment with the Spanish Roast Halibut mentioned at the bottom of this post, which is divine!

ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton)
1-1/2 teaspoons finely minced garlic, or to taste

method (now read this carefully, because it gets REALLY complicated):
1- Mix all the ingredients together.

Wow, can you believe you made something so complicated? Take that, Keller!
This actually improved given an hour or two in the fridge, and will last several days for further enjoyment.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: Happy Holidays with this incredible Standing Rib Roast with Rosemary-Thyme Crust

Through suffering comes appreciation....

A person can gain great appreciation through suffering. Take last Sunday for example....









That's me above, early on the snowshoeing trek, in happier times, before I fell over in deep snow and lost a glove while smashing the sandwich that was unfortunately located in my fanny pack in too close proximity to my ass as it hit the snow. And I swear that w was laughing at me and not with me as I was wallowing in the snow trying to get back up. Eventually achieving verticality and continuing on this frozen death march at Old Man Pass only to have......





......w walk away, leaving me behind, tired of hearing my incessant complaints about being hungry and thirsty. But I trudged on, through too deep powder, my snowshoes sinking in a foot or more with every step, finally catching w and begging for understanding. After much eye rolling, she relented, leading me out of the cold and into the warmth of Walking Man Brewing in Stevenson, Washington.......





....where as you can see, I'm thoroughly enjoying my drinking companion. No, not that guy behind me, but the 1/4 barrel of Walking Stick Stout that they were serving cask conditioned right off the bar, an awesome way to deliver malted drinking pleasure. Equilibrium returned, we made our way home where for dinner we had one of my new favorites fish dishes that you might have read about in a previous blog post, Spanish Roast Halibut, which if you haven't tried yet, move this up the list. Adapted from a recipe in Anya von Bremzen's cookbook The New Spanish Table, this was even better than we remembered. A great fish dish that will kill on your dinner table, click on the "Spanish Roast Halibut" link above to get the recipe! A bottle of wine and a full tummy later, I was fairly sure the reward scale had tipped in my favor...at last!

Spanish Roasted Halibut

Are you like me? Always pulling, tearing, and downloading recipes out of newspapers, magazines, and the net? You know you are. I have folders and manila files filled with recipes from various sources, things I saw and thought "Man, I have to make this immediately!" Then my wandering food eye kicks in, and about five other recipes end up piled on top.

Such was the case with last night's dinner. I was looking through one of my recipes files the other day searching for a copy of the Good Eats Meatloaf I posted a couple of days ago. As I was fruitlessly searching for that recipe, this one kind of jumped out at me. I printed it off the NYT website in 2005!! I know, I know...food A.D.D. is a terrible thing! But since we're always looking for new things to do with fish, and on a cold, wet PDX evening something warm and sunny from Spain sounded perfect, this had me salivating. It was worth waiting for, and I'm kicking myself I waited 2-1/2 years to make it. Richly flavored for halibut, the warm flavors of garlic, dried chili, and olive oil with the piquant sherry vinegar soaking into the bed of potatoes were delicious! Another easy to prepare recipe that totally rewards the minimal effort. One of our highest accolades for any new recipe is "Is it dinner party worthy?" I'd throw this down for my friends any day!
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Spanish Roasted Halibut on a Bed of Potatoes
adapted from "The New Spanish Table," by Anya von Bremzen
Time: 1 hour

ingredients:
4 skinless halibut fillets, about 2 pounds
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1.4 pound medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup fragrant extra virgin olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 small dried red chili, like arbol, crumbled
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley.

method:
1. Rub halibut with salt and pepper and set aside. Place potatoes in a saucepan, cover with salted water and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain, allow to cool briefly, then slice about 1/4-inch thick with an oiled knife.

2. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Generously coat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or oven-proof baking dish with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange potatoes in a slightly overlapping layer in pan. Season with salt.

3. Place garlic and remaining olive oil in a small skillet. Heat on medium-low until garlic begins to color, about a minute. Add chili and cook for 15 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer chili and garlic to a bowl. Add vinegar to skillet and cover immediately. Cook 2 minutes, or until oil stops popping.

4. Pour some of the oil mixture over potatoes, add some of the garlic and chili, then top with fish. Drizzle with remaining oil, garlic and chili. Bake about 10 minutes, until fish is done. Scatter parsley on top and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.