Baked Fish with Pistachio Butter

I love to attempt dishes in my kitchen inspired by ones I have enjoyed in a restaurant. Recently, my husband and I had a wonderful baked halibut at a fabulous local restaurant called Peter's Inn. The owner of this establishment is an artist with food. His menu changes weekly and one never knows what sort of concoction he will come up with while playing in his kitchen, but we are usually quite impressed with the results. Such was the occasion when this buttery filet entered our mouths. The fish was firm, but delicate and covered in a pistachio butter. We devoured it in a matter of seconds and have been talking about it for weeks. I rolled up my sleeves last evening and made an attempt to recreate the delicate flavors. The results were more than satisfactory and I am sharing them below.

Pistachio Butter

1/4 cup shelled, salted pistachios
1/4 cup butter
1 juiced lime
2 cloves garlic
10 basil leaves

Pulse in food processor and chill.

Place desired fish (I used salmon) in baking dish with 1/2 cup white wine.
Bake (uncovered) at 400 until opaque (about 15 min.)
Top with pistachio butter and bake for 10 min. more

Enjoy!

Infamous Strawberry Cake

When I was about ten years old my mother asked me to prepare dinner for the family while she worked. I was a little more than shocked to receive the phone call that gave me permission to enter the downstairs freezer. It was always locked with a key that was hidden out of us kids' grubby little hands and now I had mine on it. I did as she asked and placed a frozen pork roast in a pan, but only after I had made a creation of my own with a bag of frozen strawberries. The roast was raw and dinner was ruined, all except the delicious strawberry cake with strawberry icing. My mother was furious as she watched my father gulping down huge slices while asking why she couldn't bake like me. It has taken me 42 years to attempt that cake again, but I did so last week and it was worth the wait. The recipe is below.

Strawberry Cake

3 1/3 cups of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of half & half
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag organic frozen strawberries

Mix all, adding strawberries last and divide into 2 buttered and floured 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 min.
Let cool in pans, revert on baking rack. Let cool some more before frosting.

Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/8 cup creme
1/4 cup organic strawberry jam