A Fishy Week

Top Chef is better when I cook my own meal to go along with it, as I learned this evening.  While I am gravely disappointed about the judges' decision for Kenny to pack his knives and go, I was comforted by the fact that I'm still the Top Chef in my own kitchen.

Tonight's dinner marked my third fish meal in a row.  It's my own homage to Shark Week.  Sushi last night, today's Mediterranean lunch at Milos, and a Mediterranean-inspired fish meal tonight.  I may soon sprout gills.

As I mentioned in my previous post, work has got me stressin', and nothing relaxes me like cooking and enjoying a meal.  I had already taken out some halibut, so I knew that would be the centerpiece of the meal.  For the main course, I modified a recipe I found on Epicurious (paprika halibut with olives, onions, peppers, and mushrooms), served with feta cous-cous, and then I attempted to replicate the haricots verts from last week's dinner at The Standard Grill.  The aroma was on target, but it was missing a little something.  I think there may have been some nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon at The Standard, though I can't blame them for wanting to keep a few tricks up their sleeve.  My version was not exact, but it was still a great side dish.  The meal was nice and healthy and made me feel a little better about watching Kenny get kicked off, though I know he would have re-created the haricots verts dish perfectly.