Just a little something for dinner. Could have won 100 competitions, should have taken all day

[DFW]

My wife had a cod filet she had bought, and was wondering how to do it up for dinner tonight.

OK, well, let's see, what is laying around?

Rosemary and Thyme (no parsley or sage). So, that goes into a beginning sauce. Then some finely chopped garlic and onions, and then three spices: Pul Biber (don't ask me), Porterhouse and Café de Paris. I saw the packages, she did not make that up. Then dried Italian style tomatoes and long cherry tomatoes, plus maybe ten Greek Olives (not Kalamata, but darker and almost as salty) each. All this heated with some vegetable broth, and let to simmer with the olive oil and some black peppercorns. The cod filet, lightly pan sautéed on each side, was added to heat and cook in the mix, and when it was almost done, a light bit of butter was added here and there.

Served over white Basmati rice.

It sounds like an all day production, but it took less than 40 minutes, and tasted like something you'd expect to get for $150, and wait six months for reservations for the exclusive place that made it.

I asked my wife if she had written down how she made it. The answer? Of course not! She makes these things up as she goes along. This tasted like something "almost Cajun" but more refined, lighter (nothing to thicken it), and not quite as dark or smoky a taste as gumbo. Spicy, but not overwhelming, and each flavor battling for recognition, with no one of them winning domination.

After the cod was gone, I couldn't stop spooning the leftover sauce onto more rice until that was gone, too. Since I fear this dish may never be duplicated to this degree of perfection, I figured I'd tell the tale for posterity!

[MontanaMama]

1. Sounds wonderful!!

I'm guilty of cooking as I go and not writing anything down. I always figure that I'll remember...and I don't!

Glad you have someone making delicious food for you. Cooking = love.

[DFW]

22. I have always had that. When we met, she didn't know much about cooking, oddly enough

She is from a small farm town in northwestern Germany, and had never really been exposed to much more than traditional northern German food. Shortly before we met, she had made her first trips to "exotic" places like France, England and Yugoslavia. English food was so awful, she tried an Indian restaurant, and got her first culinary "wow." Slowly, the Turks, Greeks and Italians came to Germany, and introduced the Germans to the outside world of food.

And then she met me, and that changed things dramatically. I was used to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian, Tex-Mex, Spanish/Catalan, Lebanese and Cajun food, and she had never even heard of half of it. She absorbed it all, and learned how to do most of it herself, and combine styles at random.

If cooking is love, she is now Casanova in her own right.

[SharonClark]

2. Your wife may not have written down the

recipe but I just did. It sounds like dinner tonight.
Thanks for sharing.

[irisblue]

14. For real, I did too.

[niyad]

3. pul biber is an aleppo pepper used in Turkish cooking (I just looked it up).

All I can say is. . yummmmmmmm

[SharonClark]

6. A substitute is a mild sweet chili powder

with smoky paprika.

I had to look up Cafe de Paris and it’s a blend that includes nearly every spice at the local spice store. That intrigues me but I think too much if it would overwhelm the cod.

[niyad]

21. I just looked it up as well, and the ungredient list varies from company to

company. I am guessing that the one you saw was in the yellow tin, with, as you said, every herb and spice. Other versions listed were sonewhat more restrained.

I use Sunny Paris from Penzey's: shallots, chives, green peppercorn, dill weed, basil, tarragon, chervil and bay leaf. Addicted to Penzey's!

[DFW]

23. She is always careful not to use too much of anything

Balancing flavors is her secret gift.

[Emile]

4. I think cod is the best tasting fish in the world. We went to

Turkey Run Inn at Turkey Run State Park last Friday night and had cod. https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/inns/turkey-run-inn-at-turkey-run-state-park/

[woodsprite]

5. Sounds delicious!!! And you documented it!

I cook a lot like your wife, going by taste, a sprinkle of this, a dash of that. They may not be very exact sometimes, but I’ve started writing down my recipes since the kids have been asking how I make things. I found a site where I can enter the recipes, then print books for everyone. Thought I’d have it done by Christmas this year, but it’ll end up being birthday presents for next year.

DFW, sending best wishes to you and your family for the holiday season!

[DFW]

24. Thanks! It's going to be crazier than usual this time.

My wife is on her way to pick up her mom, who is 95, from her village in northern Germany. She will come back tomorrow, pack, and then, on Monday, drive down to the Taunus hills, where our younger daughter lives. Our elder daughter will fly in from New York a day or two later.

I have to be in Spain for work Monday, then Paris Tuesday, and then in Bavaria (München) Wednesday morning. Then, I have to try to get back up here to the Rheinland to meet my nephew who will be coming in from Kyiv, Ukraine. Thursday, we will briefly meet with our colleague from the Netherlands, then pack for the Friday trip down to join the rest of the family in the Taunus. Sunday, my wife's mom gets a designated driver to bring her home, and we will fly by separate routes from Frankfurt to Charleston, South Carolina. My nephew will stay the night with our daughter in Königstein (her town in the Taunus), and then he leaves, either back to the Ukraine or to the USA, he didn't specify. My daughters and their families will travel on down to the Lake of Constance, where my younger daughter and her man have a house (he is from there, originally).

It sounds more like a circus to me than a holiday, but welcome to my world.

[Diamond_Dog]

7. Sounds delicious!

I too am guilty of doing this, and it drives my husband crazy because he is a very precise and exact cook (the few things he does cook, Lol). God forbid it come out tasting different from the last 350 times you’ve eaten it.

Cod,spices, a few veggies over rice …. Oh I wish I had been there to enjoy it too. Mwah! (Chefs kiss)

[DFW]

25. I only cook a few things, too

Tuna steaks with Teriyaki sauce and wasabi, Shellfish curry (Indian, not Thai or Chinese), always with Major Grey mango chutney, or straight filets of cod or monkfish with sautéed onions and slivered garlic cloves (don't forget the sea salt, black pepper or fresh lemon!).

I once, for lack of time and other ingredients, concocted a fabulous dish of scallops in a kind of lime-ginger-olive oil mixture, and then promptly forgot how I did it. My stuff never comes out the same way twice, either.

[burrowowl]

8. Kick!

[Lonestarblue]

9. All I can say is yum! Cod is one of my favorites, so I will experiment with this.

[Rebl2]

15. Does cod have mild taste?

[ShazzieB]

16. Yes, it does.

Cod is a mild white fish, and it is good!

[Lonestarblue]

18. Yes. And it has a nice texture, not too soft when cooked.

[TheRickles]

10. A good cook is like a jazz musician, always improvising and creating something new. Lucky you!

[SWBTATTReg]

11. I think personally this is the best way to 'cook' in the Kitchen, and enjoy one's artistic flair!

Use your imagination and enjoy the results!

[grantcart]

12. We got some Salmon the other night and my wife made sashimi

It was incredible good, restaurant - good restaurant - quality. I am always amazed how raw fish has less fish smell than cooked fish.

[DFW]

26. If you miss the smell....

Let it sit at room temperature for a couple of days.

[erronis]

13. Sounds delish. My partner and I have two very different ways of cooking:

She measures everything, uses every bowl and pan available, every measuring spoon/cup, etc.

I like to use one pot (usually a large cast iron) and transfer ingredients in and out. I never dirty a measuring device - shake it into my palm to weigh/measure and then put in a bit more.

We have this agreement: the cook will do the cleanup of their utensils.

I would always win but I end up cleaning hers also. No complaints. Good food.

[DFW]

27. After either of us gets done cooking anything

The kitchen looks like the Thirty Years War was held on the premises. Somehow, we always get it ready for the next battle.

[DENVERPOPS]

17. And, don't burn your tongue

licking the hot sauce pan she prepared the sauce in......LOL

[DFW]

28. You couldn't have warned me about this BEFORE dinner?.....

[Ferrets are Cool]

19. Sounds like a winner. I have the same problem. I never write down recipes and thus

can never duplicate them.

[OldBaldy1701E]

20. Don't feel badly.

After two great artists who constantly drew on napkins and then tossed them (Yes I dug them out. I am not letting these amazing artworks get away), and a husband who will not write down any of the gourmet creations he makes, I can relate all too well. Folks, when you have someone who appreciates what you do to the degree that they want to save your efforts, please remember this when you are flying along creating something that cannot be repeated (without documentation at least). HUGS!

(I do have one benefit on my side. I am an A/V person so I will grab my camera or my phone and video the hell out of something. And he knows it! He hates being on camera. My reply? "Then, write it down!&quot

[DFW]

29. If my wife were to write it down, it would still not necessarily be preserved for posterity

She is the only one in the world who can read her handwriting.

[OldBaldy1701E]

32. HAH! That is my problem as well. I usually have to type/print things.

Also, I hope you were not shaken and stirred the other day. Everything okay?

[DFW]

34. Yes, thanks!

Sooner or later, it all fades into the background.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

30. Everything sounds great except for the olives to me. It's

A strange quirk to like them but not like the strong flavor change when added to tomato base ? fresh cod from cold waters is infinitely better than the nasty fish in landlocked red state!!!!

[DFW]

31. Although the Rheinland is not on the ocean

The markets here are very well organized. The minute the fishing boats dock at the North Sea ports (Hamburg, Kiel, Bremen), there are trucks waiting to bring their fish overnight to markets around the country where the fish is for sale within hours of the boat docking. Europe is tiny in that respect, and their highways, when not iced up like today, are perfect conduits for getting perishables to market in a timely manner.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

33. That sounds absolutely heavenly! I would venture

To say that many people who hate fish have never tasted fresh fish. Like the chicken and the egg

I could definitely become a pescatarian if I were you

[DFW]

35. I probably could

But my wife doesn't want to, and I'm happy to follow her lead.

She knows that red meat is out for me (serious cholesterol issues) and religiously follows that. She does indulge in steak or pork sausages when I'm not around, and that's fine with me. It's not her fault that my DNA and cholesterol don't get along.

Even when we're on Cape Cod, she's the one who says it's time for chicken or vegetarian after 11 days straight of fish. Since either one of those two is OK with me, the exception is perfectly OK.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

36. Ya, know exactly what you mean. Go to CT

shore every summer and a body does start craving non- fish after a point. Everything in moderation I guess is applicable

[DFW]

37. I don't mind the fish

But I'm not the only one there, and I have no problem going along with the wishes of the others present. It if it's something I'm not supposed to eat, then I don't eat it, but my wife and the others respect that, too (you can tell we're either Democrats or sympathizers), so it all works out.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

38. Lol. That's interesting. Whole family bleeding hearts

but everyone absolutely cares about what they eat. We are a bunch of obnoxious foodies

Have you ever heard of testing for taste buds? Some people have few (low tasters) and some have a lot ( super tasters). We have a friend who told us one time that if there was a hot dog and a lobster sitting in front of him he would not care which one he ate. I think the whole subject's interesting.