Monday, January 28, 2008

Light Baked Fish | Cook's Illustrated

I went cross country skiing for the first time on Saturday and now my legs are useless appendages attached to my body trunk. I cannot move them voluntarily. In order for me to put my pants on this morning I needed to hold one pant leg in one hand, and then use my other hand to manually lift my leg and aim it at the pant hole and thrust it in. I have not felt this kind of pain since my last marathon. Its the kind of muscle soreness that defies all logic in your brain. Usually your brain sends the message to your leg, telling it to move up or down or get your leg into that pant hole, but today there is no connection between what my brain tells my leg to do, and what my leg is actually physically capable of doing. Today at work, in order to cross my legs I had to pick up my left leg from under the knee, with both hands, and heave it over my right. And I call myself an athlete...I'm so not today.

Yesterday I saw a man riding in a convertible, in Vermont, with the top down. Can you say asshole. It's freaking freezing out. Here's a tip, if you have to wear multiple coats, a fleece hat and big ass bulky gloves that make it near impossible to grip the steering wheel correctly, it's too figging cold to have your stupid top down.


Welcome to the post that has no direction, where will it go now?


I'm Irish, Fish and Chips is as traditional as turkey on Thanksgiving and crying while watching Billy Elliot. I'm just kidding, I didn't cry during that movie, however if you do ever fly to Shannon direct on Aer Lingus, you will be forced to watch that movie.


I was super excited to see amongst my Cook's Illustrated recipes one for Light Fish and Chips. This recipe was just a complete knock-out in my house when I made it, and I can't wait to make it again, it's that good.


Lighter Oven Fried Fish Best of Cook's Illustrated Light

1(5-ounce) box plain Melba toast , broken into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3
large egg whites
1 tablespoon
Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1-inch-thick cod fillets (about 6 ounces each)
Vegetable cooking spray
Table salt and ground black pepper
1
lemon cut into wedges for serving

1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Process the Melba toast into coarse crumbs in a food processor, about twelve 1-second pulses. Spread the crumbs in a shallow dish and toss with the oil.

2. In a separate shallow dish, whisk the egg whites, mustard, thyme, garlic powder, and cayenne together.

3. Pat the cod dry with paper towels then season with salt and pepper. Working with one piece of fish at a time, dip it into the egg white mixture, then coat with the Melba crumbs. Press on the Melba crumbs to make sure they adhere to the fish. Lay the coated fish onto the prepared wire rack and spray the tops with vegetable oil spray.

4. Bake until the coating is golden and the fish just flakes apart, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with the lemon wedges and Tartar Sauce.

Per Serving:Cal 300; Fat 7 g; Sat fat 1 g; Chol 75 mg; Carb 21 g; Protein 35 g; Fiber 2 g; Sodium 530 mg

Rating = So Damn Good

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I just ordered Cook's Illustrated's Best Light Recipe cookbook and I can't wait to try great recipes like this one. It looks delicious.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Oh, JB, I felt like that on my vacation, I walked too much. :S

This recipe sounds and looks divine.