Down with the quesadillas, on to the fish

The quesadillas were so boringly untasty it's forced me to reevaulate the evils of Taco Bell et al. I'm pretty sure they're putting the same basic stuff in there I am -- and I know they're not filling up on ingredients at those prices -- but yet cheapie restaurants have mastered the filling quesadilla and my empirical attempt was soggy, largely tortilla and quite bland. Huh! as Bridget would say.

On to the next thought. Coming across a couple fish recipes tempts me to try Crunchy Fish, Honey-Soy Salmon, garlic-rosemary potatoes and green beans with almonds. That's all so virtuous that perhaps I will let myself go with some Chicken-Fried Steak (double up on the buttermilk and the potatoes?) 4 + 4 + 3 = 11 estimated entrees. Time: 40 min for the fish and green beans; 40 min for the salmon and potatoes; 40 min for the CFS.... so longer than the previous weeks' menus, but healthier, and really, I've been skipping the sides, so these are full meals. Flavor: Should be pretty good; we'll see. Price: also we'll see. Shopping list is as follows: 4-5 potatoes, green beans, 2 small lemons, garlic, 4 fish fillets, 4 salmon fillets, good hunk of steak, wild rice, honey, pint of buttermilk.

Crunchy Fish

1/3 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 c crushed almonds
1/2 c buttermilk
4 fish fillets

Preheat over to 400. Crunch the crumb/almond mixture up even finer; dip fillets in buttermilk, then coat, and cook on lightly grased baking dish for 10 minutes. Perhaps pair with the rosemary potatoes?

4 fillets should be 4 servings for me, and with only the fillets to buy, relatively cheap.

Since I have the almonds on hand, green beans and almonds in garlic salt are a good pairing anyway with salmon -- especially this dish I used to get at an Asian fusion restaurant near here before it closed. Their green beans were so good I would eat them like candy. The salmon I think they did with a honey-soy glaze; at any rate it was sweet and tart and kinda crunchy. I think this might approximate it, cobbled together from a couple recipes, and with my addition of wild rice:

4 center-cut salmon fillets
wild rice
honey, soy, sesame oil, small lemon

Cook the rice. Preheat oven broiler to high, placing one rack 2-3 inches from heat source. Brush salmon with olive oil on all sides, salt and pepper. Make a glaze with 1 Tbsp soy, 2 Tbsp honey, 1/2 tsp pepper. Grill 3 min each side, brushing with the glaze.

Make a dressing with 4 Tbsp soy, 3 Tbsp sesame oil, 1 Tbsp honey, 2 tsp lemon juice. Put salmon on rice and drizzle all with dressing.

From Hudson's on the Bend chef Jeff Blank's new book:

Oven-roasted potatoes

• 8 small Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves, removed from stems and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. flaked sea salt or 1/2 Tbsp. regular salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss together. The potatoes should be completely covered with the olive oil and seasonings. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. Serves 4. - 'Fired Up!'