more food porn

Today was not nearly as miserable as yesterday. I still had to shovel some, but the sun was out, the wind was mild, and it was a much nicer day all around. The weather forecast calls for four days with no snow or rain, so I went to the lumber store and picked up some lumber for a project I am working on. That's a good feeling. Gonna fire up the compressor tomorrow and bang some high-speed nails. Yee-haw. Or whatever. It's gonna be cool, I know that.

So tonight I decided to use the nice little pieces of flounder I found at the store yesterday. Six fillets weighed just 1.25 pounds - just more than we need for dinner.

Now this is a recipe that has a history to it. In 1983, my grandmother died. It was my freshman year at college, and it left my aunt and I very much alone in the world, it seemed. I came home for the funeral and such, and then had an already planned weekend home a couple of weeks later. I came home for it and we didn't quite know what to do with ourselves. Not without Nana there. Fortunately, a friend brought over this dish with easy instructions and a recipe card attached. It is so easy that we immediately adopted it as a staple and still enjoy it to this day. It is light and elegant and takes less than a half-hour from start to finish.

Ingredients:
1 pound flounder or sole fillets (SERVES TWO! Add two fillets - or one half pound - per additional person)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 box frozen broccoli spears, thawed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
sliver the almonds if you were cheap and bought whole ones like I do


Line pan with foil and drizzle olive oil in the bottom

Lay the fillets in the pan, ugly side down and put the thawed broccoli on the fillets.


Sprinkle the slivered almonds onto the broccoli.


Fold the fillets over the broccoli and almonds.


Put in the oven for 10 minutes.

This is a good time to shred the cheese. I love these cheese graters - this is the sister one to the one I used last night to make soup. My aunt slices the cheddar to put on the fish, because, well, these graters used to be my grandmother's and now they're mine and my aunt can't for the life of her remember where she put hers..... ahem.


Remove fish from oven to discover that the fillets have UN-folded themselves. Bastards.


Try to fold the fish back over the broccoli (usually with limited success).


Turn the oven to BROIL.
Sprinkle the fish and broccoli with the cheese.


Put back in the oven, using one of the lower racks. (I used the next-to-the-bottom one. Cook for 5 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbled.


Serve with rice pilaf or couscous.


Enjoy!