YUM - Pistachio-crusted Halibut

I'm not much of a cook. To be clear, I can cook, and pretty well; I just don't do it but once a month or so. I don't like to mess up my kitchen, I'm the clean-as-you-go-type. I worry about everything being ready at the same time. I worry about everything being perfect. My husband and child are loathe to eat leftovers and I'm loathe to waste food. The combinations just don't work out well.

Anyway, I've been Pinning, you know, as in @Pinterest, like half the population, and food is a part of that. I've Pinned so many yummy looking recipes that I have actually succumbed to cooking on occasion.

Tonight was one of those occasions.

I'll definitely be making this halibut recipe again. Super easy, super quick and absolutely amazing.

The Pin / recipe came from the blog: Tartine and Apron Strings . I highly recommend you check it out, great pictures, great recipes and all sorts of dietary information (for instance, this recipe is Paleo-friendly).

Pistachio-Crusted Halibut with Fennel Balsamic Gastrique
I'm just posting the (modified -- see link above for original) halibut recipe because I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the fennel / tomato portion, although the shallots and balsamic reduction were amazing.  

Pistachio Crusted Halibut

1 1/2 pounds of halibut, cut into 3rds (fish monger will do this for you, if you ask)
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 c pistachios, crushed or coarsely ground.

Wash and pat dry, with paper towels, halibut fillets. 
Whisk together oil & vinegar and pour on top of halibut in oven-safe dish. I turned the fillets over a couple of times in the dish to make sure they were sufficiently 'dipped' in oil. Marinate in 'fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400-415 degrees.
While pre-heating, remove halibut from 'fridge and coat topside generously with ground pistachios, pressing into fish.
Cook. The original recipe called for 8 minutes but I found that to be not nearly enough. Perhaps the filets I had were dramatically thicker; I'm not sure but I ended up cooking the dish for at least 20 minutes or so. Prior to serving, check thickest point with fork. You don't want to overcook but the fish should be opaque and flaky, not translucent.

Notes: 

- I had the halibut cut into 3rds since our family is one of 3, not 4.

- Somehow I missed reading the skinned part of the original recipe and finished the recipe with the skin on. It didn't make a huge difference, although I did press the pistachios into the other side, NOT the skin side, of the halibut.

- The original recipe calls for raw pistachios, crushed with a mortar and pestle. I couldn't find raw pistachios at my local grocer, so I went with salted and roasted shelled pistachios. To compensate, I skipped adding the sea salt mentioned in the original recipe. This was definitely the way to go; any additional salt would have been too much. I also, managed to break my mortar when grinding the pistachios, so I ended up throwing the pistachios into my Cuisinart for a coarse chop. 

-  None of the above changes hurt the end product.

First shot at the crockpot - Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

When I got engaged, it was suggested that I go out and register. Kitchen items seemed to be the right thing to register for since they come in all price ranges and sizes. One of the items I registered for was a crockpot. Lucky me, I got one (along not one, not two but, THREE panini makers -- can we declare panini makers the new toaster?). The next question became, 'what do I do with this thing?'

I know, I know, the obvious answer is cook with it. Not much of a cooking goddess, the idea of a crockpot scared me. Silly? Probably but, my family always used Dutch ovens and the thought of plugging something in and leaving it cooking all day seemed a bit dangerous. What if I burn the house down? So, the crockpot sat. And sat. And sat, for well over 5 years, running up to nearly 10.

Along comes Pinterest, muddling my already busy life with another digital habit that I don't need or have time for, and I start discovering crockpot recipes that look easy, recipes that I might actually eat. I start a crockpot pin board. I start thinking, 'I may actually want to USE this thing'. Today, I did.

The recipe I'm trying came from Mommy Savers, whatever that means; as I said, I found it on Pinterest.

The recipe requires 3 ingredients:
* 4-6 chicken breasts (I used organic, free range)
* a specific brand of Hawaiian BBQ Sauce
* a 20oz can of pineapple.

Pretty simple, right? Mostly, except that I couldn't find Archer-whatever BBQ Sauce so I had to find a substitute. Easier said than done but I did find one BBQ sauce that seemed to fit the bill, at my grocer: World Harbors Tropical Honey Mango BBQ Sauce; I bought two bottles since they were smaller than other BBQ sauce bottles.

I'll update after dinner.

...

It turned out all right. The sauce isn't my favorite but it worked with the chicken and pineapple; it also had a bit of kick to it that some people might prefer. The texture of the meat came out great; it shredded easily when cut, definitely something I'll try next time I make Mexican food (cooking the chicken in salsa).

I served it over last night's leftover rice and that worked really well. I'd hoped to find coconut rice at the grocer but the ones they had in stock contained ingredients I didn't think would sell well to the small child.

Next time, I think I'll try it with a teriyaki sauce and two cans of pineapple, instead of one, and see if I like it better. Once I find a sauce that I like, this recipe will work for my family.