Sunday, August 30, 2009

Dim Sum Sunday - In the Bag

This, my dear bloggy friends, has got to be one of the simplest Dim Sum Sundays ever. Throw some protein, some veggies, your favorite herbs and seasonings and a little liquid in a bag, parchment or foil, plop it in a hot oven for a short period of time? Why don't more folks cook this way? Oh yeah, no special gadgets with celebrity chefs names on them. OK, OK, I'm sure Martha has her own brand of parchment paper but frankly I prefer the Home Economists, Pat and Betty's parchment paper.My dish started off at the Washington Post's Obelisk Halibut en Papillote. I used limes and curly parsley instead of lemons and the flat leaf that the recipe recommends. But I wanted a little more umph to my quickie meal so I added sugar snap peas, asparagus, green onions, and sliced mushrooms.Quick and delicious. Tender flaky fish laced with the tang of lime and flavored with bay leaf and thyme. Serve it with a nice crusty French bread or a hearty whole grain rice and you'll be enjoying great flavors with this incredibly healthy dish.

Which is good because you need to save room for Dessert. Chocolate Bag with White Chocolate Mousse and Berries.

22 comments:

Susan said...

Great minds ... delicious, super easy baked cod en papillote over at Black Street. Delish. Thanks for this jog to the cooking brain. Haven't done "in paper" for ages and it really is so good. Can't wait to see what's for dessert - I was trying to dream up a dessert and that lead me to remembering my Girl Scout days (or years). Did you do those camp-out tin foil, wet newspaper, more tinfoil dinner packages ? that you threw right into the coals and hoped the potatoes didn't burn ? and biscuit dough in a stick over the fire. Bananas with their skins sliced open and stuffed with squares of Dairy Milk chocolate. Sigh. Oh to go back in time. Don't I wish.

h said...

Fancy vittles. What are those olive-looking things? I'm up!

Big Shamu said...

Susan, I think I blocked out my Girl Scout memories. If there was a badge for mischief I had at least two.

Yes Troll, those are some wonderfully spicy olives.

MakingSpace said...

OMG. Did you make that dessert too? OMG. OMG. OMG. I can't breathe. I just got done eating chocolate chips straight out of the bag and you give us THIS? I. Can't. Breathe.

Big Shamu said...

It's still in the fridge if you want some.

Susan said...

Yummo! to coin a Rachel Ray phrase - which I barely "ever" do. That looks delicious and one I might even try to make - but you know, hate to admit it but I'm a milk chocolate girl so I would adjust the bag recipe accordingly. Excellent challenge B.

Big Shamu said...

Susan, that was the little version. Whole Foods has little grocery bags they made for their gift cards. I also made the bigger version bag from a clean coffee bag. Gotta find one with the interior waxed. Makes ALL the difference.

MakingSpace said...

You had leftovers of that dessert? I think I still remember my way around your neck of the woods. I'll be there shortly. Hide the squirrels.

Dani said...

YUMMY! YUMMY! YUMMY!

The chocolate bag ROCKS! I can't wait to try and do one with Elizabeth.

I'm up over at my place. :)

Big Shamu said...

Dani, if you do give chocolate bags a go, make sure you have plenty of space in the fridge and work in stages. It also helps if you don't have warm hands. Gets a little messy but really, is it a problem to lick chocolate off your fingers?

Jenny said...

you made that chocolate bag?

impressive.

Dani said...

Ha! Nope, I got no problems with messy fingers and chocolate.

Big Shamu said...

And that Dani, is why we love you.

LaDivaCucina said...

Sham, you continue to amaze me with your dishes and photos! Funny, I usually do a halibut in paper too, it's such a nice chunky fish that won't fall apart (I do the halibut simply with lemon, dill and then serve it over lemon risotto.)

I'm LOVIN' the choccie bag! yay! The nastursium flower is adorable, I used to put these in my salads when I grew them in California. (can't grow 'em here, boo!)

When working at Spiaggia Cafe in Chicago years ago, I served a lady a spag/tom/fish dish in paper and it was my job to cut it open table side. I was doing so good until the paper came out of my forks and unrolled and "snapped" back and all the orange grease splattered on her lovely white pant suit. I stood there in disbelief and embarrassment! She was pretty nice about it but it was one of the many restaurant debacles that made me HATE waiting tables and learn to bar tend instead!

Great job and Happy DSS!!!

Big Shamu said...

Thanks so much La Diva. It's a delicious fish. That's a funny story about flying juices. I'm guessing drunk people are much less picky about what might happen to them at the bar.
This is the first year I've tried nastursiums. It's a cute little flower and I'll have to make sure I do more than one plant next year.

LaDivaCucina said...

The nastursium is also a vine, so a great climber for a back fence if you have a bit of lattice or something to coax them. You can gather the seeds very easily for next year, they look just like chick peas. You can eat the flowers as well as the smaller leaves, they are quite peppery.

Me and food serving do NOT get along. I was always putting my thumbs into the food when I carried the plate and my arms aren't long enough to carry more than one plate on!

Dani said...

It's good to be loved. :)

The chickens are crazy about nastursiums! Gotta grow them up front just so they can't get to them.

LaDivaCucina said...

Sham, I was hoping to participate but time is not on my side today. I was going to do my dish in banana leaves. Today I was going to go out on my bike and see if I could find any banana trees around the neighborhood OR get to Little Havana on Calle Ocho to go to the Latin grocery, but time is escaping me today and I won't be able to! (and it's about to storm in a major way!) I even took my secaturs with me to our friend's house in South Miami yesterday, but no joy!!!

So, another time! But thanks so much for the invite, it is one of my fave ways to cook!

Big Shamu said...

Dang, that's too bad Diva, a banana leaf bag would have been awesome. Still I hope you do it as a regular post, still would like to see it.

LaDivaCucina said...

We'll see what tomorrow (and this evening's bike ride!) brings! I've been itchin' to cook in banana leaf for a while now, time to find a nice plant close by!

moi said...

Miss Shamu, you are a true artist. I'm wondering if I can get it together enough to make ten of those bags for my next wine group fete. I got a coupla weeks in which to practice :o)

Big Shamu said...

I'll send you the patience you'll need. Not as bad as tomato water but close.