Baking Halibut With Orange Juice And Mustard

I saw something similar to this done on a TV show once, so today when I fumbled through an almost empty freezer and found a package of halibut, it sort of came back to me...sort of!!

What was that cooking sauce?  It had some orange juice and some fancy mustard in it is all I remembered, so I had to improvise!  Believe it or not, it worked!

I thawed the halibut by placing it in a resealable plastic bag in cold water.  In about 15 minutes it was soft to the touch, but hard toward the middle, which was good enough for me!  I was hungry!

All the while, my wife pealed some Yukon Gold potatoes and I cut them into quarters and eighths for baking.  She salted and peppered the potatoes and put them into a 350 oven for about 35 minutes.

I went to the computer and posted some Fine Art America photos, while she found a can of green beans and prepared to fry them; shaking salt and some hot and spicy pepper flakes over them.  

In a small bowl, I mixed up a tablespoon of some Grey Poupon, honey, pineapple preserves (orange marmalade might have been more appropriate, but I used what was at hand), soy sauce, and orange juice, with a couple of strong shakes of black pepper!  No salt was added because the soy contains plenty!  I used this mixture to baste both sides of my halibut.

At the appropriate time I basted the fish (both sides), and placed it in a 350 degree oven.  I arranged the fish on a metal rack, sitting in a large pan to catch the drippings.  In 8 minutes, I removed the fish and turned it over, basting the upper side once more.  I put it back in the oven for 10 minutes, this time turning it up to 375.

When the timer went off, I turned on the broiler for 3 minutes.  The top of the fish will begin to rapidly bubble about half way through this period, so you can watch it until it gets as dark as you like it.

The fish was thoroughly cooked and flaky once on our plates.  I surrounded the fish with the potatoes and beans, and we really enjoyed a quiet Sunday afternoon meal.

Cooking Steak In A Skillet

So, like most of you, the rain has pushed me indoors this summer; curtailing my grilling!

I wanted a nice juicy New York Strip yesterday, but alas, it rained, yet again, on my grilling parade!

No more will I suffer, or do without my steak.  Like the fancy chefs on TV I managed to pull off a perfect steak on and in my electric stove!

The big fat potato had to cook for over an hour.  I didn't have to pick out the largest specimen they had, but I wanted enough to satisfy both wife and me.  

That done, I begin to saute the medium size pieces of baby Bella portabella mushrooms and onions in butter, some salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

I put about 2 teaspoons of real butter in an iron skillet and got it up to high heat.  I forked in the salted, peppered, and garlic powdered steaks, fitting the round side of the strips comfortably into the rounded sides of the skillet.

I browned each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until a pleasing brown appears on each steak.

I then popped the skillet into a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes for medium rare, or 20 minutes for well done.

My wife prepared the potato by halving the huge spud, cutting them into sectioned pieces, salting and peppering them, spreading on some butter, then layering on some cheese and sour cream.

I placed a steak on each plate and smothered them with the mushrooms and onions.

This is the way you do it when your grill is being rained on!  As a matter of fact, I my not crank it up again all summer!