Cod With Lemon Onion Sauce

It begins with the freshest seafood available. In this case, cod.
We recently judged a Seafood Recipe Contest at the Westin Copley. In Second Place was Israa Muezzin, who prepared a cod dish with a lemon onion sauce that I thought was just fantastic. You would think the onion would be overpowering but accompanied with the lemon flavor it worked beautifully. So, we thought we'd share the recipe for all our readers to try at home.


Then, the other ingredients must be prepped.


Israa hard at work during the competition.


The finished plate.

Cod fish with onion lemon sauce. It can also be made using any other kind of white fish.

Ingredients:
* 4 Cod fish fillets
* 1 large onion chopped
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 cup of flour
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* zest of one lemon
* juice of one lemon
* extra virgin olive oil
* butter
* 2 cloves of garlic chopped
* salt and pepper

Directions:
Put the flour in a large plate and season with salt and pepper. Coat the fish with flour completely. Heat 1 table spoon of butter with 2 table spoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry the fish fillets, 2 at a time, for about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown from the outside. Remove the fish from the skillet and put them on a plate. Add 1 table spoon of butter to the same skillet then add the chopped onion to caramelize them until they become golden brown. Then add the chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and salt and pepper. Stir for a few minutes then add a pinch of flour to thicken the sauce. Pour the sauce over the fish and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Israa


Second Place winner Israa Muezzin is pictured second from left.

The Look Of Food

Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago sketches out his food ideas as the first step in the creative process. When the idea bubbles up he reaches for a pad to draw and is quite the talented artist. The whole idea of a blueprint for taste intrigues me, as a writer and photographer. In this digital, speedy world it's very cool to see a fascinating method to actually create in simple, slow and revealing ways.

Social Media Madness

Confused about where to begin in the maze of Social Media?


Want to know where to start? How? Why?











If you own a restaurant, specialty shop or any type of business you really should be taking advantage of the many benefits of using Social Media applications to stay competitive. It's free and it's easy. If you're not sure how to get started then this is the seminar for you. We'll cover all of the most popular applications and how to get started.

Event: Navigating The Social Media Madness
Where: The Career Source
186 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite 310 Cambridge, MA 02138
When: Friday, December 3, 2010
Time: 8:30AM-12:30PM
(Continental Breakfast at 8:30AM, Program at 9:00AM)
Cost: Free
Registration: Limited, Call 617-661-7867 Ext. 0
Host: William McAdoo, Publisher @TheBostonFoodie

Leftover Suggestions

You've got leftovers from Thanksgiving, right? If you're like us there's lots of stuffing. Here's a breakfast idea: poached egg on stuffing. What are some of your creative leftover suggestions? Email them to us or post a comment to feature your best ideas.

Pizza in Rome

Food is great but the people behind it remain for me the far more interesting story. Courtesy of The Sartorialist, we bring you to the Piazza delle Copelle, Rome. I just think it's amazing when fashion and food come together and convey the feeling of being there. Black and white photography evokes classic images. It's not great for food pics but for the people ... THE best.

Via delle Coppelle 5 00186 Rome Italy :)

Holiday Shopping and Phantom Fidos

Well, one family holiday down and a few more to go. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! If you are like me you are always looking for something to spiff up your home for holiday entertaining. That's where our friends over at CSN Stores come in. I am always recommending them to friends for everything from counter_stools to cookware. Quality goods at great prices and the best customer service you can find. Check them out and don't get caught this holiday without that one gadget or kitchen utensil you need or that one piece of furniture that could change the entire look of a room. You can view all of the bargains at CSN.com.

Holiday seasons are full of fun and we recently participated in something very fun that we always wanted to do: a flashmob.



Wikipedia: A flash mob (or flashmob)[1] is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then disperse.[2] The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.



Our flashmob was the opening dedication ceremony for a new Dog Park in Somerville, Massachusetts. They Mayor was there to cut the ribbon and say a few words when suddenly, out of nowhere, dozens of people were walking around with seemingly invisible dogs.



The key to a flashmob is to stay totally in character and act as if what you are doing is totally natural. We talked to the other dog owners about our pooches, cleaned up after them, and walked them over the exercise ramps.


Isn't my little pug named Sarge the cutest thing you've ever seen?

This event was organized by the Societies Of Spontaneity Boston. Here is a link to more pretty funny pics.

And, although it's not exactly a Flashmob, if you want to participate in a fun public event the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra will be attempting to assemble the world's largest group of Christmas Carolers on Saturday December 4th at the Prudential Center. For more information click on this link: Tanglewood Festival Orchestra.

The Stuffin Muffin

As most of you, I have been in the kitchen for a few days now. While I was baking yesterday I was eyeing an extra few boxes of Olivia's Stuffing scattered amidst all the pots and pans. I spotted one of my favorite cupcake tins which makes square cakes. What would happen, I wondered, if I mixed up a batch of stuffing and baked it in the muffin tins?

To the cornbread stuffing I added onions, chopped up, leftover, sausage, dried cranberries, chopped cashews and celery. I packed the mix into the tins and baked them. Once they cooled I tasted one and was immediately hooked. What a perfect breakfast food! Easy to make ahead and heat up in the morning, full of flavor, protein and fiber. I had invented the Stuffin Muffin!



You could make these with any kind of bread or combination of meats, vegetables and even cheese. If you try it, please let me know what you think.

From our family table of seventeen this year: HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Baking Thanksgiving Pies At Rialto

We spent Monday morning this week in the kitchens of Rialto with Chef Jody Adams, who led her staff on a pie making mission for Community Servings. The goal: to make 100 pies. This year the entire staff was involved, including front-of-house, who all pitched in for this very worthy cause. As the only food blogger there, I am happy to share some of the photos from the project. Thank you Rebecca Fetner for inviting me to join the gang!


Michael (nice hat Mike), Tom, Annie, Taira and Sean working those pie crusts (and boxes).


Julia, Kristen and Steve were on apple pie duty.


In the kitchen with Chef Jody Adams.


The rich pecan pies being filled before baking.


Lots of apples needed to be sliced. One hundred apple and pecan pies were prepared and baked.


David Waters, CEO of Community Servings, stopped by to personally thank the staff.


General Manager Sean was in charge of, what else, folding up the pie boxes.


The finished pecan pies fresh from the oven.


Pastry Chef Susan Abbott presents a few baked pecan pies to David Waters.

Here's a short video clip of Jody and David explaining what will happen with the pies next. The proceeds from the sales of each of the 14,000 pies will help feed a critically ill person in the Boston area for an entire week. Great work guys! Keep in mind that you can still get your pies until 4:00 PM today, Wednesday, at the Park Plaza Castle.



To everyone at Rialto, Community Servings, volunteers, friends, fellow bloggers and readers of TBF: HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE. We hope that next week you will share with us your most inventive Thanksgiving recipes.

Seafood Cookoff at Westin Copley

Richard Auffrey of The Passionate Foodie and Jacqueline Church of The Leather District Gourmet joined me last weekend to serve on the judging panel for the Seafood Cookoff at the Westin Copley hotel. Our goal was to pick the winner and, ultimately, choose the next recipe for the hotel restaurant: Turner Fisheries. It also included a tour of their fantastic kitchens and an afternoon of fun and many new friends enthusiastic about great food.


Israa Muezzin entered with her recipe: Cod with Onion Lemon Sauce.


Fina Coxe entered the contest with her recipe: New England Seafood Salad, which she described as chowder and salad together. Fiona is also the author of A Boston Food Diary.


Dave Copeland entered the competition with his recipe: Mussels with Chipotle Pesto.


I took a few moments to look over the ingredients at each Chef station and everything seemed to be the ultimate in quality and freshness.




The peppered scallops waiting to be cooked up for Fiona's salad.




Our tour of the incredible kitchen facilities and operation was led by Executive Sous Chef Chad Kennedy, who also served with us on the judging panel.


The kitchen at the Westin Copley is easily the most massive I have ever been in and must be the largest in Boston. This does not even include a second kitchen or the kitchens at Turner Fisheries!


Here are the huge kettles used to cook up that world famous New England Clam Chowder. Turner Fisheries has won 1st Prize at The Chowderfest so many times that they are no longer allowed to compete but are proud to be in the Hall Of Fame.


Here is one of the vats which had just been used to boil up some chicken stock.


In the pastry section I had happy memories of my 12 hour days working at the bakery when I saw these familiar Hobart mixers.


The tour included a brief stop at this cutting-edge oven from Germany called: The Rational. It's basically a self-cooking oven. It controls temperature, moisture, doneness and everything else via a USB port you plug in. Just explain what you want and it cooks it for you.




Using this oven was so interactive-friendly that I immediately dubbed it the "Smart Oven." The cost for this new technology: $25,000 per unit.


After the tour it was back to the line to watch the contestants and their assistants finish off their dishes.




David Copeland finishing off his presentation plates.


Dave's dish was Mussels with Chipotle Pesto. The smokiness of the pesto was an instant flavor sensation with the judges. All of us agreed that it was an inventive new twist to the typical garlic and herbs.


Israa presenting her dish.


Israa's Cod with Onion Lemon Sauce. A beautiful presentation and and my personal favorite. I had never tasted the combination of lemon and onion in this way and thought the execution was perfect, a delicate balance and a very clean taste. The others thought that maybe rice and cod was not quite innovative.


Fiona presenting her dish. This recipe had definitely intrigued me the most when I read it.


Fiona's dish was a very ambitious New England Seafood Salad. With many ingredients and flavors the judges felt it was, perhaps, too many. We were also expecting a flavorful, creamy dressing or vinaigrette. I thought some texture, maybe carmelized scallops, or a frisee that could withstand a heavy sauce, would have improved the plate.


The winners: 3rd Place went to Fiona Coxe, 2nd Place to Israa Muezzin and the winner is ... Dave Copeland for his amazing Mussels with Chipotle Pesto.


The winners were presented with their prizes which included some very nice cookware packages as well as very generous gift certificates. Dave Copeland's recipe will be the latest new addition to the menu at Turner Fisheries at the Copley Westin!

Here is the winning recipe:

This is a favorite week night meal that can be served as a first course or as a meal when paired with crusty bread and a salad. It’s my own variation/combination of several different recipes.

Ingredients:
3-4 chipolte peppers in Adobo sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (reserve 2 TB)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 TB pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 cups dry white wine
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed
2 teaspoons honey

Directions:
1. Coarsely chop chipolte peppers and put them in a food processor or blender with cilantro, garlic and pine nuts. Process until smooth, then slowly add olive oil with the motor running. When emulsified, season with salt and pepper. The pesto can be made up to a day in advance.
2. Bring the wine to a boil in a large pot. Add the mussels and steam until opened, about 3-5 minutes.Use a slotted spoon to move the mussels to a serving bowl, discarding any unopened mussels.
3. Return wine and cooking liquid to a boil and reduce by half (about 10 minutes). Whisk in pesto and honey. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the left over cilantro.
4. Pour the mixture over the mussels and serve immediately.

Turner Fisheries
The Westin Copley Place
10 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
Telephone: 617.351.7433