We decided this first effort should be undertaken with rockfish–or striped bass, as it’s called outside the Mid-Atlantic area–because it’s one of Frank’s favorites. And who doesn’t like a local specialty?

Thankfully, the selection at the Fish Market looked good. Frank took the fish in to a little stand to be cleaned; it’s cheaper than you think–only 90 cents for our 2 lb. fella. (Let the record show that a skiddish Katie waited oh-so-patiently outside.)

We didn’t follow a recipe, because it seemed simple enough: Salt and pepper the fish, inside and out …

… and stuff it with the appropriate goodies (in this case, garlic, lemon, parsley and thyme).

We grilled it on both sides over direct heat …

… and let it hang out for bit on the cooler half of the grill while we cooked the zucchini.

It sounded like a no-fail plan, and it didn’t fail per se, but I was disappointed that the “stuffing” didn’t have a bigger impact on the flavor. Anyone have suggestions on that? From the reading I’ve done, the only partial solution I’ve come up with is to cook the fish covered instead of with the open air. I also read a recipe for herb-stuffed grilled fish–but it was wrapped in bacon, and when it comes to flavor, that’s cheating, my friend. Like I say, I wouldn’t call this a Foodventure Fail by any means; I am interested, however, in how we can make it better for next time. Please post a comment with your own experiences cooking whole fish.

Oh, and the zucchini–brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper–was amazing!

View a photostream of all the photos from our Foodventure, or watch the slideshow below:

Related posts:

1. Chesapeake Cioppino
2. Leftover Monday: Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce

Venture into an American city that is new to you and you will more than likely encounter ethnic neighborhoods with distinctive cultures all their own. As new waves of immigrant groups replace the ones that come before, the neighborhoods develop a whole new character, and the food takes on a whole new flavor.

“The Hill” in St. Louis, MO bucks the trend. Since the days Italian immigrants first settled in St. Louis, The Hill has been the center of the community. To this day, there are many restaurants, delis, churches, and businesses that speak with a distinct Italian accent.

Katie’s family is a part of this proud tradition. Favazza’s restaurant has been a Hill mainstay for more than 30 years, and it continues to serve some of the best Italian-American dishes in town. Katie is justifiably proud of this history, and she’ll readily admit to missing it when she’s in Washington.

In that spirit, tonight’s Foodventure is a tribute to Favazza’s on the Hill. Meat-free Lent calls for a fish dish, and Katie instantly suggested sole piccata, sauted sole or other firm, white, fish topped with a lemon butter sauce. I am familiar with chicken and veal piccata, but this technique with fish was new to me.

For a side, we strayed from The Hill and opted for Mark Bittman’s linguini with slow-cooked onions, pulled from the pages of How to Cook Everything. Katie was skeptical that this would be good, but I prevailed and it made the menu.

Knowing that we’d be hungry while we cooked, Katie lobbied for a mainstay from the Favazza’s appetizer menu,  fried artichoke hearts. These are a favorite of mine too, so it was a pretty easy sell for her.

The basic ingredients were gathered at Safeway, and then it was off to the Fish Market to grab the “sole.” Katie called her brother Mark, the head chef at Favazza’s, for a pre-meal consultation, and he informed us that sole piccata is hardly ever made with sole, but usually cod. Cod was easy to find at the Fish Market and at about $7 per pound, a pretty good deal. A filet weighing in at about 1.25 pounds went for $10 even, and I’ll probably get two more meals this week out of it.

The artichokes came first. We brought a few inches of canola oil to 350 degrees in a saucepan, and drained a can of artichoke hearts. The artichokes were then rolled in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs before a swim in the hot oil. Drained and topped with Parmasean and a squeeze of lemon, they were the perfect pre-meal snack.

Meanwhile, we tackled the pasta with slow-cooked onions. Bittman always requires a leap of faith, and the idea of putting onions in a stainless skillet without any oil was a little frightening, but the low heat drew the moisture out slowly so nothing stuck. When the onions were soft and starting to brown, a little olive oil was introduced to make the onions brown further and really caramelize the sugar.

I’ve had great success with Cooks Illustrated’s chicken piccata recipe, and I figured that the cod would make a pretty fair substitute. The cod is dredged in flour and seared on all sides in olive oil.

When the fish is brown on all sides, stash it in a warm oven to hold while you build a pan sauce of stock (veggie in this case, thanks to Lent), lemon juice, a dash of vermouth (at Katie’s insistence), and to finish, butter.

This was a big success from start to finish. The fish came out perfect, and the sauce was balanced, with the freshness of the lemon stealing the show. The pasta was exceptional as well. The sweetness of the onions was a nice counterpoint to the tartness of the piccata sauce, and the two mixed together nicely on the plate.

Sole piccata may not be as familiar as its poultry cousin, but it was a big hit tonight. Does anybody have any stories of a major substitution coming in big in the clutch?

Related posts:

1. Leftover Monday: Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce

So when it crossed my mind to give up meat for Lent this year, I didn’t mention anything to him right away. He suggested–rather unexpectedly–that we attempt this sacrifice together. For the first Sunday Supper documented on this blog (and knowing that there’s 6-10 inches of snow expected overnight), Frank and I decided on cioppino. With friends like these, who needs meat?

Like many a prior, undocumented Foodventure, this one begins at the Fish Market.

Located along the waterfront of Southwest Washington, D.C., the Fish Market has recently become the only place I like to buy seafood. This town can be so dreary, so full of folks who want to step on top of each other to get to the top. Shopping at the Fish Market, however, is liberating; it transports you from the Beltway to a seaside vacation. Aside from the happy mental state that comes with walking along the water, the fish is also incredibly fresh and the folks who staff the Fish Market know their stuff. (I’ll write another post soon about the time a fish guy taught me about Carolina shrimp–seen in the middle of the photo below–and how it changed my life.)

Meanwhile, back to cioppino.

Before we arrived at the Fish Market, Frank and I had a rough idea of what fish we wanted to include in this batch: rockfish (a local favorite) and salmon as our fin fish selections, plus clams, mussels and shrimp.

When I asked for clams, the fish guy asked what size I wanted. He must have figured from my blank stare that I didn’t know how to answer his question. We chatted about the menu, and he suggested that I go with the larger of the two sizes he had available (on the right in the photo below).

In retrospect, I’m not sure the clams brought anything noticeable to the party. They were cheap, but definitely the least exciting of the fishies included in this batch. Next time, I think I’d leave them out.

While I talked to a separate vendor about clams, Frank picked out the piece of salmon that he wanted (see photo below) and ordered our rockfish and Carolina shrimp.

Back at Frank’s house, I got some olive oil going in his enameled cast-iron dutch oven and the cooking was underway. We more or less stuck to Giada’s cioppino recipe. Both the Harris Teeter and Safeway near Frank’s house do not sell fish stock, so ultimately, instead of 5 cups of fish stock, we used 4 cups of vegetable broth and 1 cup of water. Despite the fact that we did not cut this recipe down for 2 servings, we only used a half pound of clams–for no good reason other than the fact that we’d never prepared clams before–and a half pound of shrimp.

All in all, the stew came out pretty good. I did miss the fish stock, and would go further out of my way to make sure it was included next time. We were also a little shy about the salt, but an extra tablespoon wouldn’t have hurt.

I snagged some leftovers to bring home and I’m looking forward to a possible snow day tomorrow to experiment with the yummy broth.

Related posts:

1. Can we cook a whole fish?
2. Foodventure Fail: Shrimp Fried Rice and Veggie Egg Rolls
3. Leftover Monday: Mussels Mariniere