Cheever Sauce

Sometimes I get carried away with what kind of food I can whip up in this little kitchen of mine. I have that mentality that if some of the top chefs in NYC can work out of some of the smallest kitchens in the United States, so can I. But I hear your plea for faster, easier, less ingredient dishes, so I am going to begin posting “Super Super Easy” meals that can be prepped in as little at 5 minutes, and ready to eat in less than 20 (Because I still feel that a lot of my recipes are just Super Easy).  I’m not talking about plain baked fish and steamed veggies here…I do have a certain caliber for what’s considered a delicious dinner. Just some basic ingredients that you might not think to put together, that can offer a wonderful, easy to make meal. 

So if you’re strapped for time, and looking for a last minute meal, resist the urge to visit your best friend Seamless and cook up a Super Super Easy CheeverSauce dish - you’ll surprise your closeted chef self with how easy it can be. The other week I only had salmon, bok choy, and other limited ingredients in my fridge, but this recipe is a classic case of how a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, goes a long way.

Onto the recipe from Serious Eats:

I have to admit I did not feel like cooking today (is it a food blog faux pas to say such things?). It’s 95 degrees here and let me tell you - there’s nothing like a hot, muggy, smoldering, New York City day to kill your cooking buzz. But before I could run (who am I kidding I can barely walk in this heat) out the door and indulge myself in the $3 margarita/mojito happy hour next door,  I pulled myself together and thought there’s no better time to cook my staple I don’t feel like cooking/have no idea what to cook meal. 

Seriously, this is so yummy and so easy to make, I truly find myself making this for myself once a week. The fish recipe comes from countless dinners growing up in the Cheever household and the beans comes from one of Bethenny Frankel’s books.

So turn on that window AC and get cooking! (and if you live in an apartment with central air conditioning…I hate you) 

To Make Fish:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and cover a baking sheet with tin foil (makes clean up a million times easier)
2. Mix in a tiny bowl your fish topping. The mixture should cover the top of your fish so depending on how much fish your cooking, make the mixture 1/3 mayo and 2/3 honey mustard. Spread on top of your fish and sprinkle with pepper.
3. Bake the salmon for about 15 minutes depending on how thick your piece is. The rule of thumb is usually 10 min for every inch. (While the fish is cooking prepare the beans)

To Make the Beans:

1. Lightly coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and bring the burner to medium heat. 
2. Add your string beans (making sure the tops are snapped off)
3. Squeeze half a lemon onto your beans (full lemon if you’re cooking for two and so on)
4. Saute your beans for about 5 minutes.
5. Add a tiny slice of butter to the pan (you know how I feel about butter - fine to use in small amounts. Ever read the calories on a stick of butter? 100 for 1 Tbsp. A tiny slice is like a 1/4 Tbsp, so if you’re psycho about calories, take the stairs up the subway next time because the extra 25 calories is worth the flavor in this dish) and cook for a couple more minutes. 
6. Add a handful of sliced almonds to your pan and continue to saute the beans. The timing of adding the almonds is really based on your preference on how cooked you like your beans. I like mine on the raw side so I added them while the beans were still a bright green color. 
7. Remove the beans from the stove when the almonds are toasted. 

Serve your beans beside your fish and enjoy! 

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