Simple and spectacular.

"Thanks for dinner. I've never seen potatoes cooked like that before." ~ Jonah, from Sleepless in Seattle.

Apologies for a bit of a break -- I've been on vacation! My family went to Snowmass, Colorado, where we've been skiing ever since I was a snow cub. We went with some family friends who share our love for skiing and cooking, among other things. Lots of updates from the week to come (both cooking in and eating out), but first I wanted to share a recipe from a book the same family friends gave me a couple weeks ago.

A few weeks ago, Uncle J and Auntie J (nicknames coined over several bottles of wine this past trip) sent me Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman's joint effort, Simple to Spectacular. This amazing cookbook (the photography alone is delicious) consists of 250 recipes, all varying degrees of difficulty off a collection of basic recipes. Each level takes one simple recipe and elevates the technique, ingredients, or other aspect to reach spectacularity. For example, the book starts off with four chicken soup recipes, taking it from a basic "one-hour" chicken stock to a rich, roast chicken stock; then adding lemongrass and ginger for extra depth of flavor, then layering on other ingredients and cook time until the final version is incredibly complex.

My inaugural test recipe was a potato-crusted halibut. The book actually calls for red snapper as the fish and mustard as the sauce base, but I only had halibut, and I figured I could substitute a tart Champagne vinegar for the mustard (with a little adjusting, it turns out I was right). The end result was, in my humble opinion, both simple and spectacular...one of those dishes that looks impressive but is quite easy to execute. The key to the crisp potato crust is to get out as much water as possible and resist the temptation to poke at the fish in the pan while the crust is browning. The tartness of the sauce cuts the salty, earthiness of the potatoes (think ketchup on fries), and the fish was juicy and just tender by the time the potato was cooked. Looking forward to trying more recipes!

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Sautéed Halibut with Potato Crust
(Adapted from Jean-Georges and Mark Bittman's Sautéed Red Snapper with Potato Crust)


2 medium baking potatoes (about 1.5 lb)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 6-oz halibut filets
2 T olive oil
3 T butter
1 c Sauvignon Blanc
2 T chopped shallots
3 T Champagne vinegar
sugar to taste

Peel and grate potatoes, and season with salt. Squeeze grated potato with paper towels to extract the excess liquid. Season fish with salt and pepper, then press a thick layer of potatoes on both sides of each filet.

Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add oil and 2 T butter. Add filets to the skillet and cook, turning once, until potato crust is nicely golden brown (about 8-10 min. total). When the fish is done, remove to the oven.

Add wine to skillet and reduce to half a cup over high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add shallots and cook for a minute or two. Add champagne vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning -- the sauce should have a little bite but not be overwhelming. Finish the sauce with the remaining tablespoon of butter for richness and a velvety texture. Spoon over hot fish and serve immediately. (We added mushrooms sautéed in butter and served with roasted asparagus.)