lemon-rosemary swordfish

A little more than a month ago, the D.C. metro area was swept by a storm to end all storms. A storm that felled 100-year-old trees, a storm that blew lounge chairs into pools – a storm that robbed my apartment complex of power for almost two days.

Fortunately for me, a good friend nearby – who used his wizardry to somehow emerge from the wreckage as the only Arlingtonian to retain electricity – hosted a barbecue for those less fortunate. And at said barbecue, another friend prepared a fish I’d never before enjoyed off the grill – swordfish.

Cue all-out obsession. There was Facebooking, tweeting, gchatting, somnambulating…I quickly became a woman possessed by the idea of making a swordfish to rival his.

i'm not as juicy as i look

Unfortunately, last night’s effort fell far short of such a goal. It was good, to be sure, but the mere 10 minutes under the broiler proved about three too many and the fish, alas, emerged almost dry.

In my defense, it is predominantly the fault of one Pentagon City Harris Teeter that did not carry swordfish, forcing me over to the local Giant, which only sold the frozen variety. I therefore had no choice but to forgo my best-laid marinate-and-pan-sear plan for a haphazard baste-and-broil method (since the marinating half-hour became a thawing half-hour). This, in turn, led to less moisture for the fish, which led to less flavor in the meat, which led to a nearly parched piece of swordfish landing on my plate. Just one more example of the wide-ranging implications of the butterfly effect.

lemon-rosemary swordfish (next time: marinate for an hour to right my wrongs.)

lemon juice

chopped rosemary

honey

olive oil

butter

swordfish

garlic

salt & pepper

lemon pepper

Whisk together lemon juice, chopped rosemary, honey, garlic and olive oil. Marinate swordfish in mixture for an hour. Preheat a greased broiler pan, add swordfish, season with salt, pepper and lemon pepper. Broil one inch from flame for seven minutes. Serve with quinoa and salad.

broccoli quinoa

quinoa

butter

chopped broccoli

chives

veggie broth

salt & pepper

Cook quinoa in veggie broth according to package directions. While quinoa is cooking, sautee broccoli and chives in a little butter, season with salt and pepper. Stir into cooked quinoa.

lemon-pepper crusted salmon with roasted garlic broccoli

In the year 2008, I had somehow miraculously obtained the trifecta of urban stability: a rewarding career, a wonderful relationship and a beautiful apartment. Over the past four years I've experienced various incarnations of these blessings, but the one thing that's since then remained steadfast has been my friendship with my work family from that time.

My Monday mornings weren't filled with week-starting dread; rather, they launched with an excitement and anticipation to see my colleagues. We laughed so loud at times there were tears; we played Uno, shared baked goods, fabricated utterly outlandish inside jokes, ichatted, gchatted, out-loud chatted, chat-rouletted and once even threw chairs across the room when the rest of our office was out of town. I can't make this stuff up.

We've all since moved onward and upward career-wise, but still meet for a monthly dinnertime gigglefest. There are three of us: A is the brains of the operation and inventive baker, S is our moral compass and creative genius, and I'm pretty sure I am there solely for entertainment value. And for this:

joy to the fishes (that are still) in the deep blue sea...

lemon-pepper crusted salmon
salmon
panko bread crumbs
lemon-pepper seasoning
Italian dressing
butter & olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 350. Marinate fish in Italian dressing for 25-30 minutes. Season panko crumbs with lemon pepper and salt, coat fish in crumbs. Heat skillet over medium-high heat, melt in butter & olive oil mix. Sear fish, skin side up, for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to baking sheet and roast in oven for 15-20 minutes or until the middle looks juicy and awesome.

roasted garlic lemon broccoli
broccoli florets
FRESH garlic
olive oil
lemons
salt

Toss broccoli florets with minced fresh garlic, olive oil and salt. Roast for 20 minutes at 350, season with lemon juice before serving.


We had salad (nothing special), bread (from the bakery) and scalloped potatoes, too, but I'm ashamed to say they were of the Bob Evans pre-made variety so there is no recipe to be posted. My sincerest apologies...