Am I the only one who reads cookbooks like novels?  Sometimes it’s embarrassing when I am asked “what are you reading?” because my nightstand is stacked with cookbooks, nutrition books and cooking magazines.  Of course it’s inspiring to look at new recipes and techniques, but more than that I find it relaxing.  A cooking nerd I most definitely am.

I was super excited to dig into Laurie David’s new cookbook, “The Family Cooks.”  I recently had the opportunity to meet Laurie at a party for the launch of her new book.  I think she is such a powerhouse and I love her message about making time to cook from scratch and eating together as a family.  I’m so on her wavelength.  All her recipes look good, but since she urged me to make the miso-glazed cod first, I didn’t waste any time.

The first time I had miso cod was many years ago at a very fancy restaurant in LA called Nobu.  The cod is so silky, it just melts in your mouth and has a little sweet-salty thing going on which is my favorite flavor combo.  This recipe is very similar although I appreciate Laurie’s use of maple syrup over processed cane sugar.  It is a very impressive dish, yet it only takes minutes to prepare and uses very few ingredients.  I also love that you can marinate it for a whole day if you want and then all you have to do is broil it before din

I am always looking to expand our fish repertoire with good sustainable options.  We tend to eat a lot of wild salmon, wild halibut and (when my husband is not home for dinner) wild shrimp.  Whenever I want to know what the current status is for a particular fish, I go to seafoodwatch.org, an organization which helps consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans. Their recommendations indicate which seafood items are “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives,” and which ones you should “Avoid.”  Black cod, which is also known as sablefish, is considered to be a “best choice.”  The whole family (except Daughter #2 who still doesn’t eat most fish and didn’t try this) loved it.  Serve with a simple steamed rice or cauli-rice, and a green vegetable and you have an easy, delicious and healthful dinner.   I made it recently with a kelp noodle salad and some sautéed beet greens!

There are a few ingredients that you may not normally have on hand, namely miso, a fermented soybean paste, and mirin, a sweet rice wine.  Both are easy to find in many grocery stores and they have a very long shelf life so you have plenty of time to make this recipe again!