Roughy-ing It

To show my deep love,

I make a wholesome dinner.

"Yuck, Mom. What is that?"

I love fish, but like many people, I find it intimidating to cook sometimes. This is compounded by the fact that my two kids rarely are enthusiastic about the results.

But my recent desire to branch out beyond my old stand-by salmon recipes, combined with that leftover bunch of celery in my fridge, helped me screw up my courage and try something new. And this time, I purposefully didn't make enough for the kids. Good thing, too, because this experiment turned out quite well, and my husband and I didn't want to share! The kids had fish sticks from a box - and everyone was happy.

Poached Orange Roughy

This simple dish requires a skillet that can move into a hot oven, but that just makes you look like a fancier cook!

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups baby carrots, sliced lengthwise

1 1/2 cups celery, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 inch lengths)

1/2 cup dry white wine

2/3 lb. fresh orange roughy filet or other firm white fish

Melt butter and oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.

Add carrots and celery, and saute until vegetables soften slightly and begin to caramelize. Add wine and stir briefly to de-glaze.

Lay fish over vegetable and wine mixture. Allow it to steam on the stovetop for 1-2 minutes, then transfer skillet into the oven. Bake until fish flakes easily with a fork, 10-20 minutes. (Time depends on type of fish and thickness of filet, so check every 10 minutes or so.)