We had friends over for dinner a couple of nights ago. They’re both fairly picky and I wanted to stretch their palates a little bit further…time to get creative. So I made up a pasta dish and cooked a very mild fish to go along with it. Oh, and Scallops too…they were on SALE! Moohahaha.
See this?
You have to get one. Don’t have an extra $250 laying around for a Le Creuset?
See this?
It’s an Immersion Blender aka Stick Blender aka Smart Stick aka Boat Motor.
See these spices?
Click da pic.
Click da pic.
I’m going to be using them for the forthcoming food and I’d highly recommend purchasing them from www.thespicehouse.com — I really should be making some money for how much I’ve been pushing this company lately.
Dear Spice House,
If you’re reading this. Please give me some free stuff.
With Love,
Ryan Detzel
Moving right along to…
Creole Spinach Pasta!
You’ll need:
Olive Oil
1 Large Shallot
6 Cloves Garlic
Small Bag of Spinach
Handful of Fresh Tarragon
2 Cups Chicken Stock or Broth
1 Cup Cream
Creole Seasoning
Parmesan Cheese
Pasta of Choice
First, add a few tablespoons of Olive Oil to your pan over medium heat…
We’ll get things going with a Large Shallot and 6 Cloves of Garlic chopped…
Oh…hold on a second. Allison is swinging Finn around and he’s laughing…
Now add a small bag of Spinach leaves to the pot…
Keep cooking over medium heat until the spinach gets nice and wilted…
To that, I’m adding a nice handful of fresh Tarragon…
And then 2 cups of Chicken Stock or Broth…
1 Cup of Cream…you can use half and half if you prefer…
And let that all simmer together for a few minutes…
1-2 Tablespoons of Creole Seasoning can be added to the sauce…
1 Cup of grated Parmesan would do well here…
And now it’s time to buzz it all together!
This will finely mince up all of those Spinach Leaves and Tarragon stems into a nice, creamy sauce…
Let the sauce simmer until you can add your cooked pasta of choice…I’m using Fettuccine…
And there you have a new creation, Creole Spinach Pasta. This smells dangerously tasty.
Next up is a delicious and delicate, farm-raised Turbot. It’s good to eat and it’s a sustainable fish…
Seasoned liberally on both sides…go big or go home right? I’m using Back of the Yards seasoning…
Here, I’m implementing a “bronzing” technique as described in this post. Sear the Fish on one side for about 2 minutes and then pop it into a 375 degree oven for about 6 minutes without turning the fish over. I cut my Turbot in half to fit in the pan properly.
While that Turbot is in the oven, I might as well use something to pick up that extra seasoning from the plate…how about Scallops?
Crusting the top and bottom…
Hot pan with just a small bit of oil…
Sear on each side for about 90 seconds…
And that’s it! Let them rest for a couple of minutes and they’ll be perfect.
Time for the fish to come out of the oven…
Flip that fish over to reveal the beauty…
Dinnertime!
As for the picky eaters? They loved it.
This post is forever long and I’m sure I’ve missed stuff…feel free to ask questions if something is unclear! Other than that…Bon Appetite!
Hmmm, will have to try the spinach pasta dish, not so sure about the fish. We aren’t fish lovers in my house….Thanks for the new recipe!
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The creole spinach pasta looks & sounds absolutely delish! thanks for sharing
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Wow….I’m drooling here! That meal looks amazing! Question? I noticed you have a ceramic stove top. Have you had any difficulty with scratching from cast iron or other pots? I had so wanted such a stove….but sure hearing alot of negativity about it. They say it is also hard to clean. What has your experience been? Thanks for the great post! Ina
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dang!!! that looks amazing! i mean seriously…screw the diet. you just had to go and make all of my faves in one post. i can hear myself getting fatter.
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I love the sauce; will definitely add that to my rotation!!
So, how did the picky eaters like all of this?
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wow, that is really my kind of food! yummy and super easy… i may try that for my next date night dinner
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the only thing you missed is sharing if ava ate everything…i’ll be supremely impressed if that little darling has cultivated tastebuds.
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I absolutely love each ingredient of this dish. I had such a spinach craving today – reading your post helped relieve it…but only a bit. I need to cook it! You are doing an awesome job!
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How did your picky eaters like it? I am friends with SO many picky eaters and I’m always trying to convince them to try new things, but it’s terribly hard! They’d rather not eat anything at all!
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I am not a big fish eater, but that looks just yummy! The rest? Doubly so!
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My wife and I are the picky eaters. I am actually extremely more picky eater. I actually didn’t try the scallops, but I loved everything else. The pasta and the fish were perfect. Usually don’t like much fish, unless its fried, but this was not real overly fishy. It had a very good clean taste to it! My wife liked the scallops a lot.
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Ha this post made me laugh… Sometimes the way you word things makes you sound like my mom when she’s being goofy. ok no, nevermind, you don’t sound like a woman, just remind me of one… oh that sounds bad too… sheesh…
It made me laugh.
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I don’t eat fish, but the spinach sauce is something I’d make to ladle over pasta, just without the Creole seasoning. I know, I’m boring. Anyway, the cast iron pot you have, I’ve been eying it at Sam’s and wonder how easily it washes up. Is there something I could buy to get rid of any brown build up on the bottom after it’s been used for a while? (My other pan bottoms could use a good cleaning too, but I can’t get the gunk off.) I’ve read reviews that say the red color of this cast iron pot turns almost black if put in the oven. Hmmm…
I use plain old steel wool to scrub everything out of the dutch oven. It’s got a nice, thick enamel on it and I’ve had no problems doing this for more than a year. I put mine in the oven too and it’s not turned black on me. Steel wool is probably preventing that too.
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Dang picky eaters always calling ahead to see what is for dinner.
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I was super excited to recently acquire a stick blender, but have yet to use it. I am gonna give your pasta sauce a whirl. Thanks
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Ryan I do believe you are on a roll food-wise. Now I know what to ask for Christmas and/or birthday and see I can probably get both as I’m not into name brand, just good quality. The stick thing has to work so much better than putting the hot liquid sauces in a regular blender.
Niki is funny “give your pasta sauce a whirl”
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So…. when are you coming over to cook for me??? =) This looks seriously amazing! Good food, good wine, good people!
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ok, i actually went to the store this afternoon and bought cream and tarragon (had the rest of the ingredients including homemade chicken stock) and made this immediately. i cheated on the fish. used parmesan crusted talapia from sams club. but the pasta was fabulous!
not a total winner with my kids (2 out of 3 didn’t like it) but my dh and i loved it. i used 1TB of emeril’s essence as i don’t have the exact creole seasoning you have but it was great.
thanks so much for helping me round out the dinner meal.
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This looks so good!!! I love all of your cooking posts! You should do the cooking week more often!
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Looks yummy. I have never heard of a turbot, but I see it looks like a halibut. I love sea scallops, wrapped in prosciutto, dipped in melted butter and grilled. I had to laugh at your shameless plea to the spice house, I hope they send you something. Thank you for sharing your life with us. hugs from HW.
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Looks great. The Spice House is only a twenty minute drive from here. When you walk in you have to just stop and breathe….it smells that amazing!!
Why haven’t I been in a while?
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Love it! Food that’s crazy simple is usually the best, and just reading this made my mouth water!
Love my immersion blender too! Still wondering how I was able live without it!
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Yum, Pastor Ryan! I love all your latest food blogs!! Check out the food blog from here in Seattle.. “not without salt.” I made her spicy carmels….they were AMAZING!!!!! I added sea salt to the tops of them. Everyone died a few deaths eating them!! I’m not kidding check it out! I have never made carmels before but her photos looked good enough to eat so tried my hand at them. Let us know if you make them. I’m making more to give away at Christmas!
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Love the Spice House! We visit the one in Geneva whenever we are out that way visiting relatives.
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The fish looks delicious! I’m always a bit apprehensive about cooking fish cuz I always end up overcooking it and I have to force myself to eat a dry, rubbery piece of fish.
How do you know if a fillet has cooked all the way through? Do you use a thermometer or can you tell just by looking at it?
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[...] This Is Reverb » Food Week: Creole Spinach Pasta w/ Turbot & Scallops… http://www.thisisreverb.com/2009/11/food-week-creole-spinach-pasta-w-turbot-scallops.html – view page – cached We had friends over for dinner a couple of nights ago. They’re both fairly picky and I wanted to stretch their palates a little bit further…time to get creative. So I made up a pasta dish and… Read moreWe had friends over for dinner a couple of nights ago. They’re both fairly picky and I wanted to stretch their palates a little bit further…time to get creative. So I made up a pasta dish and cooked a very mild fish to go along with it. Oh, and Scallops too…they were on SALE! Moohahaha. Read less [...]
Looks amazing! Really. I want it all. I want to try it all.
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Sounds so delicious, Ryan! As soon as I unpack and organize my kitchen, I’m turning to this recipe! And thanks for the “Finn aside.”
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How can I tell if my pans are safe to go in the oven?
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I love your cooking lessons. Not only are the photos spectacular, but you’re entertaining to boot.
To top it all off the recipes sound great too!
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The whole menu looks fabulous. I especially can’t wait to try the pasta recipe. Thank you for posting it.
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I couldn’t agree with you more on the Iron Chef pick. I felt the exact way.
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I am happily chowing down on this right now. Delicious! It was certainly a trip to make. I don’t have an immersion blender. So I stuck it in the real blender. It worked great except for the spinach explosion at the beginning. Unfortunately, the peanut butter fudge I made last night was a casualty. Unless anyone would care for some spinach pb fudge? Free shipping!
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(Thanks for your tip! I am now the proud owner of a Sam’s Club dutch oven. Someday Le Creuset, but for now, this is wonderful)
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there are many kitchen gadgets that you can buy online and offline but when you buy, make sure that they are energy star certi “”
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i like to search the internet for new kitchen gadgets to add to my kitchen ‘.”
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I am impressed with this website, really I am a fan.
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