Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Baked Tchoupitoulas

Thank you for your support and well wishes during my job search. I've had several interviews lined up these past several days, along with a lot of testing. I have three second interviews lined up the remainder of this week. The job search is consuming a lot of my time these days and I am also working on a few recipes for review with the possibility of publishing a cookbook. I'm trying to work on my posting this morning. This afternoon and this evening I am hoping to get caught up on your blogs. Wow, I miss all of you so much. Let's bake some fish!


Did I get you with the word "Tchoupitoulas"? Can we all say it together? Chop-pit-tool-us. See it's really not that difficult! Once you taste the flavors this dish renders, you will have no problem fitting Tchoupitoulas in your vocabulary!


Fish is a summertime staple. It's a blank palette where your imagination is your limit, plus it's a light and satisfying main course that most of us seem to crave during these warm summer months.



Did you know that A.J. has a green thumb? Yep, I think he can make a shoe grow. These are two of his tomatoes I picked to make this dish. Aren't they beautiful?




Two orange Roughy fillets were used. You can use any kind of sturdy fish, such as halibut, talpia and red fish.


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking pan with sides with foil and spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Chop 1/2 of a medium onion, 3 scallions, 2 ribs of celery and 2 tomatoes. Evenly spread the chopped vegetables over the bottom of the pan.

Thoroughly clean your fish and pat dry. Liberally season fish both sides with season salt, lemon pepper and garlic powder. Season ONE SIDE ONLY with a pinch of cayenne.







Place the fish on top of the vegetables in the baking pan. Lay lemon slices on top of the fish, overlapping slightly and sprinkle the top with paprika. Place the pan in the oven and bake uncovered for 1 hour.



Remove the pan from the oven and carefully move the fish fillets to a platter and tent with foil.



Pour the veggies and drippings into a pot and bring to a boil.


Once the drippings come to a boil, add in one cup of dry white wine. Allow the sauce to reduce by half over medium high heat.


Once the sauce has reduced, your kitchen will smell amazing...people will wander in, even the non-fish eaters, and start nosing around. Once the sauce has reduced pour the contents into a strainer over a heat safe bowl. Mash down on the veggies to force out all of the liquid. Discard the veggies and pour the liquid back into the pot.


Heat the sauce over medium-high heat and add in 4 tablespoons of cold butter cut into cubes. Add a 2 to 3 cubes at a time.




Add the cubes and very gently stir or swirl the sauce until the butter is melted before adding more cubes.



Whisk 1 tablespoon of flour into the sauce to thicken it slightly. Simmer sauce for about 10 minutes to cook flour.




Ladle sauce over fish and serve. Oh my, talk about mouth watering!


52 comments:

Rachel said...

Best of luck with your second interviews you have lined up for this week...that's always pretty promising!!!

Your fish looks wonderful--we're always looking for new ways to make fish and I'm bound and determined to start making more of it to get back on the "healthy eating kick" I've been trying so hard to stay on!

Cathy said...

Good luck with all of the interviews!! I rarely can find orange roughy here, but your dish looks delicious! I could eat fish or seafood every night and never get tired of it.

Pearl said...

yum Katherine - looks like a great dish!
and good luck with the job interviews!

JodieMo said...

I wish you lots of luck on your interviews. We went through the job search last year and it sure wasn't easy, so I know what you are going through.
Alas, white fish is not allowed in my kitchen, the hubby is allergic. Which really stinks because I LOVE fish of all kinds and this looks right down my alley. Oh well, si le vie.
Well, I can't wait for the cookbook!

Greg C said...

Can I have the fish without the sauce. I am not a big sauce on fish kind of person. :) We cooked fresh fish on Sunday. It was less than two hours from ocean to frying pan. Is that fresh enough?

Anonymous said...

Delicious fish preparation, great for summer! Good luck with all the interviews!

gigi said...

Oh my, lets talk about a COOKBOOK instead of mouth watering fish! Sing me up and where will your first book signing be???? I need to start saving my money :) Just how cool would that be?!?

Good continued luck with the job search and interviewes.

Smiles.

MsTypo said...

Good luck with yoru 2nd interviews!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you! :))

Becca's Dirt said...

That sounds so tasty. I will try this recipe. I love fish and the sauce sounds so good.

Good luck with those interviews. I know the competition is fierce out there.

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

Sounds wonderful! Good luck with your second interviews too.

Mary Bergfeld said...

A second interview in this job market is not an easy thing to accomplish. I'm thinking good thoughts and sending those vibes your way. The recipe looks fantastic. Here's to a great day!

Jane In The Jungle said...

Good luck with all the interviews!!
Seconds are always good!!

This looks amazing and we LOVE fish around here!

Debbie said...

Best of luck Katherine with your interviews. I know it can be very nerve wracking! I didn't know you were thinking of possibly publishing a cookbook...Wow! That's great. Your recipes are terrific...The fish looks fantastic. I love fish in the summer but could eat it all the time!

theUngourmet said...

Hope the interviews go well for you!

The Baked Tchoupitoulas looks delicious! :0)

Marguerite said...

My,my, Katherine, this recipe looks fabulous! I will definitely try it.
Best of luck with your job search and cookbook. I will be looking forward to owning a copy.

Chef E said...

I am always looking for new fish recipes to make, and this looks great!

Good luck with the job interviews...

Unknown said...

Oooh! This sounds really good! I love fish, especially Salmon, but have very few recipes. I'll have to try this one. I wish you well with your second interview's Katherine!

Lyndas recipe box said...

This is amazing looking fish... My mouth is watering as I type this!
Good luck on the interviews!

Wow, a cookbook in the works; how excicting!

Jennifer said...

Wow that was fast, glad to hear you are busy interviewing. I am not a huge fan of fishies but yours sure looks good!

Julie said...

I suck at making fish...this looks like something I might could do :)
Good luck with interviews!

Marjie said...

I was worried about you; glad to hear it's a good busy time! Looks like a great dish. Have you ever tried cornstarch to thicken? Half the amount works, plus it doesn't turn your sauce whitish. Just in case you want to experiment more!

Gladys said...

Could you sound that out phonetically? Chap-a-two-lus? I couldn't make this cause I would have to call it baked fish with some yummy sauce.

The JR said...

Wishing you the best of luck too. Fish looks good. Looking forward to hearing good job news soon!!!

Ramona

Heather S-G said...

Wow, this is a great dish, it sounds and looks delicious! And OMG...a cookbook- go for it! That's so exciting :D

Joanne said...

Good luck with all of your interviews, I know how tough finding a job can be these days!

Fish is perfect for summer meals, it just feels so much lighter than other meats. Love this recipe!

Swamp Sisters: 77 Day Journey said...

That looks so yummy! I'm going to get some fish tonight for sure!

tavolini said...

Holy cow, that looks excellent! I've got some flounder that might work with this...I'd have to reduce cooking time, they're pretty thin.

Good luck with your interviews AND your cookbook :)

Dewi said...

Oh my, I wish the best of luck for the job interviews. I am sure you are going to do well.

Your Tchoupitoulas is so difficult for me to pronounce it, but sounds so delicious.

sherri said...

Looks like summertime in a pouch! beautiful dish.

Unknown said...

Bless you! Can't pronounce that, but sounds DE LISH Great Post! Stopping by from SITS!

Penny said...

Katherine, Will be thinking of you in your second interviews. That in itself is a good sign. The fish sounds wonderful. Will show this to my fish cooking hubby. He will love it!

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Tchoupitoulas-thanks a ton for making it so easy to pronounce!!Chop-pit-tool-us-HA,that was easy :)
Lovely recipe-the gravy looks awesome!

buffalodick said...

Hope you find a job that suits you! Fish and sauce looked great! Sauce is a bit involved, but worth it-right?

Pam said...

What a delicious dinner - the sauce sounds soooooo good.

Good luck with the 2nd interviews this week - I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Lucy..♥ said...

Katherine ,You have certainly got my attention w/"tchoupitoulas" which left me thinking :-), the fish looks amazing.

Best of luck, hoping that you'll be hearing great news soon!

Christo Gonzales said...

what a great dish - this choppy tool us - and a cook book too - sweet!

Juliana said...

OMG, this fish with veggie puree looks terrific...yummie. Great pictures...and good luck with your interviews.

teresa said...

Best of luck with the interviews, fingers and toes crossed for you!

This looks like such a unique and delicious way to make fish!

pam said...

Wow, good luck with everything..from job searching to cookbook publishing!

Reeni said...

Hugging you back - when you weren't around for a few days I had the feeling that you either had gotten a job or were busy looking. Lots of luck with your remaining interviews. And yay! for the cookbook - lots of luck with that too. But you don't need luck! Your delicious recipes speak for themselves. This one looks nothing short of amazing! I love how you made the sauce - just divine!

Selba said...

The word Tchoupitoulas sounds so cute :) Looks delicious!

Good luck for your job interview, I've been also doing a few of job interview these days.

MaryBeth said...

Good luck and I will keep you in my thoughts, If you do a cook book I would love to have a signed copy... The fish looks wonderful

Claudia said...

Perfect summer dish. Just gorgeous. You are in summer mode and I wish you all modes of luck with the cookbook. Best of luck with the interview - getting seocond ones are huge! Times couldn't be tougher so every step forward is a good one.

Anonymous said...

wow, that looks so good and healthy! Haha, at first I thought you were talking about dinosaurs. :-)
I'll be keeping you and your job search in my prayers, Katherine!

Melissa said...

Even the *process* of this one looks delicious at every step! What a great dish and one I will come back to next time I buy a meaty fish. I'm getting into the habit of doing it once per week and I can use new and savory ideas.

Best of luck to you in your job search and your second interviews. I wish you all the best and that you find the right place to be.

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Wow - that looks so good Katherine. Good luck with your job search. I have my fingers crossed for you!

XOOX
Jen

Laurie said...

Fabulous recipe! I've never heard of that kind of fish, but we're catching and eating fish almost everynight at our house. Free food, don't you know.

I'm so jealous you have tomatoes.

Good luck with the interviews (and a cookbook!!!) Sending you a bunch of good thoughts...

Marguerite said...

p.s. Katherine, Come on over for a visit, I have an award for you, cher!!!

Jamie said...

Gorgeous! I have always been nervous cooking fish but this looks not only easy but scrumptious and worth the effort.

Good luck on the job hunt!

Debbie said...

Delish! I baked salmon last night. Fortunately, before the electricity went out.
I am so jealous of those tomatoes. This is pretty early to have them.

Ginger said...

I know that you are going to get a job SOON! Your fish looks unique and really delicious. YUMMY!

lk- Healthy Delicious said...

thanks for the update! I'd been wondering how you're doing! good luck on the interviews!
and a cookbook? how awesome would that be?!