Baked Fish Parmesan easy fix, but not mundane

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By Carol Rini, Contributing Writer 5:40 PM Thursday, July 2, 2009

The youngest was at work, her sister was out for the night, and my husband and I were looking at several hours of uninterrupted alone time.

“You want to?” he asked.

“You bet!” I replied, and we bought a couple of tuna steaks and grilled them to decidedly pink perfection.

My girls aren’t big fans of tuna steaks, so we usually end up grilling a couple for us and something else for them.

I was never one to force food on my kids. Even when they were younger, they could make a peanut butter sandwich if they didn’t like what was prepared.

This puts me at odds with several experts, who say the kitchen is not a cafeteria. If kids don’t like what’s served, wrap it up and refrigerate it. If they get hungry later, offer it again. If they still don’t like it, they don’t eat.

But it’s just as easy to prepare a meal that everyone likes as it is to make one they don’t like. And I was lucky that my kids aren’t particularly picky. They probably wouldn’t eat Brussels sprouts, but neither would I.

I was concerned my kids would be in for a rude awakening when they entered college, where, I recall, the scrambled eggs were powdery, the gravy was gelatinous and the hamburgers were seasoned with a touch of sawdust.

Times have changed.

If I can be accused of catering to my kids’ tastes, I am only following the road paved by our institutions of higher learning.

While perusing menus at Ohio State campus meal sites, I found that, on any given day, students can choose among the following: Mediterranean Nine-Grain Salad with Grilled Salmon; Pizza Rustica with Grilled Vegetables; Black Bean Hummus; Meatball, Chicken Parmesan or Portabello Mushroom sub; Mongolian Beef Stir-fry; Pasta Primavera; Hunan Orange Chicken; Chipotle Chicken Wrap; sushi; Crab Cake Sandwich.

They can wash it down with a Tall Chai Tea Latte or a Mango Fusion Fruit Smoothie.

This represents only a few choices among the campus eateries open during the summer. One can presume it only gets bigger and better when 50,000 students descend in September.

Suddenly I’m not concerned about my kids adjusting to college food, but rather how my relatively mundane dinners will stack up after they’ve had a taste of the good life. So many choices, every day, and many of them sound fanatically healthy.

Grilled tuna steaks are a healthy — high in protein, low in fat and a moderate source of Omega 3 oil, known for its cardiovascular benefits. But its nutritional value goes down to zero if you don’t eat it.

When a friend returned from a fishing trip and gave us two pounds of fresh, cleaned grouper fillets, my husband and I were excited but knew it might be a hard sell at home. This recipe made a convert out of one daughter. It’s a light, crispy top coating that enhances the flavor of the grouper without overwhelming it.

I think the other daughter had a peanut butter sandwich.

BAKED FISH  PARMESAN

Makes 6 servings

2 pounds fish (grouper, flounder, etc.)

1 cup low-fat sour cream

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon Tabasco

Chopped parsley for garnish

Place fish in a well-greased baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and spread over fish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until fish flakes.

Contact this writer at carol.rini@gmail.com

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