Mother’s Best: Pan-Seared Cod Puttanesca

Another double-test tonight. New cookbook + new skillet = fun night for me! Last week, my sister and niece gave me Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again. This cookbook was written by Lisa Schroeder, owner of two popular restaurants in downtown Portland, Oregon - Mother's Bistro & Bar and Mama Mia Trattoria. Mother's Bistro serves homey comfort food - chicken & dumplings, meat loaf, matzo ball soup and macaroni & cheese. Ms. Schroeder's cookbook is stuffed with wonderful comfort food. I chose to prepare Pan-Seared Cod Puttanesca.

Lisa Schroeder's recipe calls for pan-searing flour-dredged cod fillets in olive oil and removing the cooked fillets to a 200° oven while the puttanesca sauce is prepared in the same skillet. The sauce calls for garlic, fresh diced tomato, black olives, capers, white wine, parsley and a little butter - simmered together for a few minutes until thickened. The sauce is poured over the pan-seared fish. The cookbook suggests serving the cod with sauteed spinach and orzo.

I spoke with Lisa Schroeder (thrilling!) (by the way - a fellow RVer) today and she was kind enough to permit me to post her fantabulous recipe on RVGoddess.com. Thank you.

I halved the recipe tonight as I had two nice portions of line-caught cod. I pan-seared the cod and put the fish in the oven while I made the sauce (boiled the orzo and sauteed the spinach).

Tomatoes, black olives, garlic, parsley and capers. What's not to love?

The garlic is cooked in olive oil and then the chopped tomatoes are added and cooked for a few minutes.

Next, the olives, parsley, capers, white wine, salt & pepper are added and the sauce is cooked down until thick and fragrant - about five additional minutes. Schroeder suggests in her notes that dried chili flakes can be added, and I did add a large pinch.

The resulting dish was simply delicious. So pretty. Thank you, Lisa Schroeder, for this easy (and quick) week night recipe.

Here is where I gush about my new Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 9-Inch Skillet. It has surpassed my expectations. At lunch, I made DT an omelet (tomato, spinach and herbed goat cheese). I put a teeny bit of butter in the skillet and dang if that omelet didn't just slide right off the skillet. I am in love. The skillet is so pretty, I keep it on the stove top for all to admire. The pan is ridiculously expensive, but I will have it the rest of my life - lifetime guarantee on all Le Creuset cookware! I can now proudly proclaim Taylor Manor a Teflon-Free Zone!

It was a lovely evening... where we also enjoyed the television replay of the University of Oregon women AND men winning the Pac-10 Track & Field Championships from Tucson (last weekend). GO DUCKS!

Until my next update, I remain, your well-fed correspondent.