A piece of cod, not a codpiece

Ranked number one in a recent "Top 25 Restaurants" article in Los Angeles Magazine, Beacon is one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles. Their miso marinated black cod is absolutely divine. You can imagine my delight when the recipe was printed in the Los Angeles Times. Accompany the fish with sesame-tossed green beans or asparagus and white rice. (Also tastes great with Chilean Sea Bass or Salmon.)

Beacon Miso Cod
Total time: 35 minutes plus marinating time
Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup white miso
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sake
6 tablespoons mirin
6 (5-to 6-ounce) fresh black cod fillets, skinned and boned
Rice vinegar to taste

1. In a double boiler over simmering water, combine the miso, sugar, sake and mirin and whisk until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Refrigerate until the marinade is cold, about 20 minutes. Place the marinade in a baking dish and add the black cod pieces, turning to coat thoroughly with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

2. Remove the cod from the marinade and scrape off most of the marinade.

3. Heat the broiler. Place the cod on a greased foil-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet approximately 6 inches below the broiler unit. Broil 7 to 10 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the fish, until evenly brown. The fish should flake easily. If not, broil a little longer. Sprinkle with a touch of rice vinegar and serve immediately.

Each serving: 126 calories; 18 grams protein; 9 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 41 mg. cholesterol; 371 mg. sodium.

Tuna Salad: Think Outside the Can

If the idea of combining canned fish, mayonnaise and pickles sends you running for dry land, think again. Tuna salad can be a quick, nutritious and tasty meal.

The following is not so much a recipe as it is a list of ingredients that I've used to create some pretty yummy tuna salad. Go forth and experiment!

extra-virgin olive oil
sour cream
goat cheese
red wine vinegar
chimichurri sauce
Asian chili sauce

crisp, sweet apples (like Fuji or Gala)
cucumbers
green onions
cilantro
parsley
basil
black sesame seeds
garlic
red onion
red cabbage
red bell pepper (notice a pattern?)
spanish olives
capers

curry powder
garam masala
sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper.....

I'm the sure the list could go on.

For example, last night I made some Chimichurri Tuna Salad. Just the mention of tuna salad makes my s.o.'s* eyes light up.

Ingredients

1 can {packed in water} tuna, drained
extra-virgin olive oil
goat cheese
homemade chimichurri sauce (essentially flat-leaf parsley, olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic)
1/4 Gala apple, cubed
1" thick slice cucumber, cubed
sea salt
Asian chili sauce

Add ingredients to taste. Mmm mmm.

*significant other