Vanilla-Scented Halibut with Asparagus and Hollandaise was not a hit. It was okay, but no where near good enough for me to want to subsidize my father’s fishing trips to Alaska each year. The important thing is I now have a bit of experience if a nice halibut steak ever falls into my hands again.
But will I seek it out? Halibut is such an incredibly nutritious food, I might. Or I might coax my father into giving me a few more steaks from his freezer so that I can do additional experiments.
The vanilla-scented halibut was so pale and delicately flavored; it might have stood up better served in an elegant Nordic restaurant, on fine china, with a great white wine. In my own kitchen, on the everyday dishes, it just didn’t quite stand up to the bright lights and daily life. I'm sure, too, that I overcooked the fish disastrously. It turned out way too tough and chewy.
That's why I can't recommend Kitchen of Light as a very good cookbook. It’s a beautiful coffee table book, but the best cookbooks not only tell you what to do, but also warn you what not to to do. No where was it mentioned that halibut was extremely easy to overcook. The instructions said to cook the halibut until opaque throughout. If I were to do it over again, I’d cook until I could still see a bit of translucence, figuring it would continue to cook a bit even after I’d pulled it from the oven.
I’m not going to let one disappointing experiment with this beautiful fish put me off halibut for life. I’m just going to keep my eyes open for a different recipe, although if a lovely vanilla bean and fresh, free halibut find their way into my kitchen at the same time ever again, that might be a sign to give the vanilla-scented halibut another chance--in the dining room, by candlelight, and on the good dishes.
9:11:59 AM 
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