27 years ago I had the honor of becoming a Godmother to a beautiful baby girl. Her name, Carla. Through the years she has only brought joy into my life. Her mother and I have shared in all her accomplishments.
Now she is leaving New Jersey and making the grand move to West Hollywood, California and we are taking that journey with her to help her settle down in her new apartment and this new adventure. I would be frightened leaving all behind and moving to a place where I know no one, but not my Carla…she is brave and loves a challenge.
We got together the other night and I made dinner.
I had little white beans that I had cooked and used it as the base for the cod.
I took two pints of tomatoes with some olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 sprigs of thyme and 1 of oregano, calamata olives, capers and heated them through until tomatoes burst; topped the fish, added basil, wrapped it in double sided parchment paper
and baked for 20 minutes. So simple, but bursting with flavors.
The salad consisted of blanched asparagus, corn and yellow beans. The rest was raw…shaved brussel sprouts, endive, watercress, radicchio, radishes and the zest of one lemon, lemon juice, virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
A fruit salad with her favorites adding a few tablespoons of Grand Marnier liqueur and orange zest.
I will miss having her around, but now I have an excuse to fly to California. Any of my blogger friends living in West Hollywood or surrounding area?
BUEN PROVECHO!
platanosmangoes.com 
That fish dish has my mouth watering. I love fish and beans (part of my Spanish heritage) and do it a lot, but it’s been a while since I did any kind of parchment parcel in the oven. I think I may make something like this for this week’s dinner service.
Val Harrison
I seem to be unable to comment on WordPress blogs these days but your fish baked in parchment is full of wonderful flavour Norma…yes and an excuse to fly to California is a blessing.
Each dish looks like a symphony of flavors. Love the raw brussels sprouts addition to the salad. And, what a treasure to be able to be that someone special in girl’s life.
Beautiful photos of interesting food. I wish Carla the best in LA. My son, who is now 22, moved there also without knowing anyone, first to go to UCLA, then to work in film production. It’s a tough but fascinating city. I wish her much peace and success.
I’ve never seen cod prepared thsi way but it sounds so tasty! Your goddaughter must have loved this meal and I’m sure she’ll be inviting you over to the west coast to cook for her imminently!
I’ve seen many recipes prepared “en papillote,” but it’s a technique I’ve never tried. Your dish looks wonderful, and I feel inspired to give it a whirl!
What a gorgeous meal! I would have never thought up of putting beans on an en papillote preparation. What great inspiration, Norma. Hope you enjoy your trip out West!
Oh how wonderful. I am glad she has you both – what a blessing. The dish looks delightful – excited I am. All the best on the trip to Cali!
Best of luck Carla! I am sure you will do big things in Hollywood! I’ll make sure to try some of these dishes…. they look amazing!
what a yummy meal! have a great trip!
Gorgeous baked cod, bursting with flavors and colors;-)
You’re a wonderful aunt! You did the en papillote method beautifully. Grand marnier as a topping on a fruit salad sounds delish too. Gotta try it out sometime. Thanks for sharing!
Uhmmm!!! que rico está este bacalao Norma! Pronto haré esta receta, este es mi pescado favorito. Gracias por enseñarme una nueva forma de prepararlo.
Besos.
Mucha suerte a tu nieta en su mudanza y nueva vida en California.
It’s very common here to have Bacalao for Easter holidays, basically on Holy Friday. But you know, it’s very expensive, we don’t have that fish in our ocean, so it’s imported, so you can imagine…!!!
What a wonderful fish creation Norma! Everything looks delicious. Wishing your goddaughter the best in her new home!
Norma, such beautiful colours on your table that night! All the best to Carla for her new adventure!
What a scrumptious looking dish! I love the way you prepared it. My kind of food.
Cheers,
Rosa
Qué nieta tan hermosa !!! (sale a la abuela..!) Te felicito! y qué bueno compartir un tiempo con ella con ese plato tan sabroso….
Everything looks wonderful!