What for dinner? Pt 3

me too debbie

have you tried salmon?

No - have not tried salmon.

Chilean Sea Bass has a very mild taste but is very expensive, fluke has a sweet light taste and is more practical. My DW likes tunafish from the can but "cant stand the taste of fish". I find tuna fish from the can intolerably fishy and rarely eat it. The key to getting fish that doesn't taste like fish is to get the fish as fresh as possible, from an establishment which specializes in fish, not a supermarket. - That being said You can find fresh fish in the supermarket but they will be few and far between.

- Blackfish is another fish that when very fresh, tastes very little like fish. Grouper is another but it's not commonly found and a little more pricey though less pricey than Ch. seabass. My DW once ate a serving of grouper at a restaurant in the VI, but the fish was very fresh and breaded with the aid of milk & fried in a very small amount of light olive oil use salt & pepper sparingly as condiments enhance flavor - in other words make it as bland as possible.

The other way to go is to mask the fish taste:
A tomato sauce & basil base can help mask the flavor of some fish but you will have to correct for acidity with vinegar or lemon as you will have a very alkaline dish otherwise. Celery seed will also help with the tomato base, so will tarragon but leave out basil if you use tarragon as it will compete with the basil and overpower it. Haddock, thick fluke and blackfish are good candidates for this technique. Soaking the fish in a lemon/ water bath before cooking is another technique to cut down on taste and counter the natural oily taste. The more oils the fish naturally has the more fishy it will be, that's why the fish has to be fresh, otherwise the tissue will have started to break down and you'll get that fishy 'cod liver oil taste'.

Very true, WC! I've been told by people, 'How can you like tuna - it's so fishy!!'

BTW DW went to the dentist today so she will be eating soup, I'm having some chilie I just made! (with pound cake and vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon for dessert) ☺!

While in Ixtapa, walking along the shore we came across a fresh fish market. They told us we could come in the back and pick out our fish, I didn't want to so my husband did. So we were seated for lunch, and shortly they brought out our freshly prepared fish, with the head still attached. I picked up the bottle of ketchup and completely covered the head before I could eat it. My husband didn't think I would eat it at all.
Sometimes it's hard to eat meat when I think about it.

OMG! I would sell my first born for some HADDOCK! Can't get it here in NC, just one reason why I am moving back to MA!
I kid you not, when I came home last Summer for a visit, I brought a cooler and bought 10 lbs of haddock to bring back here with me.

Ugh - could not do that! Like Bear Grylls!

Thanks for the additional tips, WC! Something tells me you've caught a few fresh ones...

Lol Victor! I think you would like my Baked Stuffed Haddock I make, I tell my kids it's special chicken and they mmm and ahhh over it. I think cod is a little milder than Haddock personally. When you order fish in a restaurant and it's called scrod that normally means it is either haddock or cod. They are very similar, but I don't see cod available as often. The most important thing with fish is buy it fresh and cook it the same day, sometimes mine has to wait a day but it is best when cooked the same day bought. If you are weary of fish definitely don't buy the FAS (frozen at sea) I tried it once and I thought it was very fishy smell and taste wise, but the worst part was the texture, it was like rubber compared to nice fresh fish. I haven't had fish in the last couple weeks because they've only had FAS. : (

Thanks, Meredith! When can I come over?

Black beans in tomato sauce with veggies on rice tonight. I love fish. Don't like the bones though. Can't stand calimari. Too rubbery.

love calamari - best i ever had was on greek island of santorini - guy pulled the cage out of the ocean and cooked it up right there - melted in my mouth - fantastic

I agree with alot of what WC said and Meredith is right, fresh is very important!

I love Haddock, this is what I use one it........ http://www.mccormick.com/Products/Seafood/Breadings-and-Batter/Oven-Easy-Lemon-Pepper-Seafood-Coating-Mix.aspx

Catfish is superb with this........... http://www.mccormick.com/Products/Seafood/Breadings-and-Batter/Oven-Easy-Cajun-Seafood-Coating-Mix.aspx

and one fish no one has mentioned that is cheap and mild is Talipa.

This message was edited Jan 21, 2010 8:08 PM

- Yes!! Talipa is very mild and holds up better than flounder, though a little harder texture...

Ha ha that would be quite a ride for dinner! : ) I'll give you the recipe if you want it's really easy!
Right now, I am eating baked beans with cut up hot dogs in it. I baked it in the oven and put ketchup on it! It's actually pretty good to me, maybe just because I haven't had it in years. : )

I used to eat tilapia but won't anymore

Does Brian fish, Celeste?

i do not eat tilapia either.

I tried Tilapia, after having it recommended to me and I couldn't even finish it. I am very picky about cooked fish, however I used to love sushi and ate it quite often. Tuna is probably my fave when it comes to sushi.

I don't love Talipa but I thought i'd throw it out there. :)
Yes Victor, he likes it ALL! LOL You should of known that was a silly question!!

I don't appreciate the diet of the tilapia and it is a source of bad fatty acids

I don't eat Tilapia either, but it is a less oily fish, generally I don't like any freshwater fish, too bland...

Debilu, Hmm what is it's diet? Is it a bottom feeder like catfish? I tried that once too and I thought it tasted like what I imagine mud would taste like! ; )

yes, or at least the show I watched about it grossed me out

Thats why I don't eat Brown Trout but will eat Brook Trout

I love white perch for a chower!!! OMG!!

Haddock, Cod, flounder, swordfish and salmon. That is all I eat. Now scallops, clams and shrimp and lobster are another topic!

Love grilled swordfish with just lemon juice and pepper....all 3 have to be fresh of course. ^_^

I choose grilled swordfish at the four seasons restaurant in Manhattan, my DW friend knew the head chef there and he let us take a mini tour of the kitchen, gave me some tips on the swordfish too! - the swordfish 'melted' like butter in my mouth! lol!

I love all seafood. I was going to mention tilapia also, very mild.
Always have to make sure it's wild caught though. I spend 20 mins in seafood section reading labels. Drives me nuts.


Had a real kid friendly dinner hotdogs and kraut(for me and hubby), fries and carrot sticks. I had womens kitchen group tonight so tried not to eat a lot since we usually eat a ton, but no one was there tonight(which was totally weird) it was just me and the host with my apple pie and her pear pie.

Bill, I think if I had calamari the way you described, I'd love it too!

Had pork tenderloin , sweet potatoes, and a veggie stir-fry.

Tilapia and catfish are a couple of fish that are heavily farmed and considered sustainable resource. Farm raised catfish is much better, in my opinion, than fresh caught, river bottom mud suckers. Preparation of a fresh catch is critical to the taste, fresh water trout, if bled out and iced live will taste as different as canned tuna to fresh Ahi tuna. Some shark needs this same treatment or the amino acids in their system start to break down. I love fresh and smoked salmon but if I want to prepare salmon for Holly it''s gotta be canned. LOL
Made pepper steak and egg noodles last night. It was tasty but could have used some 'shrooms. Ric

Did you ever see a documentary on farm raised fish? you'll never eat farm raised again

Gotta have shrooms with pepper steak.

Thai peanut chicken with vegetables and rice noodles using a commercial dry sauce mix. Not bad.

scrambled eggs and toast last night. probably some form of hamburger concoction tonight.

Not all fish farms are gross, some are environmentally conscious programs to the point they were a feature on 60 Minutes.Sustainable food sources have to be developed, although I'm a sport fisherman and we eat fish at least once a week, I'm very picky as to what I keep, cook, or order from a menu. Ric

Thanks for the info Holly.I always wondered about fish farms.

When I was a kid i used to go to the fish market with my mom. It was always crowded and noisy and stinky. One day we were there and my mom was picking out the freshest fish laid out in front of us on ice. Well, one of the supposedly dead fish actually jumped off the table near me and I screamed bloody murder.

Everybody came running to see what was wrong but all they saw was my mom, screaming "I want that one!!!' Yes, we bought the squirming fish off the floor,while the fishman started bellowing " Freshest fish in New York, right here!"

Everyone thought it was funny except me. After that, I would wait for her outside....