Cooking: Mahi Mahi with Asparagus in a Butter Balsamic Sauce

Cristina has always been nice to me about my cooking. Now, she will tell me when something is awful. However, I never felt that I wowed her yet with my cooking. I finally achieved that goal this week.

The protein was Mahi Mahi from Whole Foods. While I might not be as picky about where most of my food comes from as I should be, I’m extremely picky about where my fish comes from. I lightly seasoned it with some salt, pepper and a very small amount of cayenne. I melted a pat of butter (truly the amount you would put on a piece of toast) in my pan on low heat making sure the melted butter covered the bottom of the ban. I raised the heat to medium high and cooked the fish four minutes on each side. I then let the fish rest.

The side dish was balsamic butter asparagus using a recipe from allrecipies.com. Before I started with the fish, I placed some asparagus on a baking sheet and salted them with salt and pepper. The recipe then called for me to cover them with cooking spray. I’m not sure why, but I followed the directions. I then put them in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the asparagus and fish were cooking, I then melted two tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan. Once the butter melted, I took it off the heat and added one tablespoon of soy sauce and one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. After the asparagus were done, I placed them in a small dish and poured the sauce over the asparagus.

When I served the meal to Cristina, she was quieter than normal. Finally, she turned to me and said this was a restaurant quality meal.

So yes, Brian, if you are reading this, I can cook.