fishy business

I like to explain my lack of appreciation for fish cuisine by describing the landlocked foothills whereupon I grew up. No sea, no decent seafood, you see. But the fact is that all of my siblings grew up right alongside me on those arid mountains, and most of them love fish. Also, what about trout? The mountain streams and valley lakes were teaming with them. Blaming geography is something of a smokescreen; I don't know where the dislike originated, but I turned my nose to fish almost from the time I could smack fishy lips.

Twenty years after leaving home I'm trying to make amends. All eight of us could use more of the good stuff in fish. Aside from a little tuna here and there, some strawberry-flavored-cod-liver-oil and the random fishy crackers, we've been fish-free too long. But no more.

I've been reading about food quite a lot the past few years ("please don't get her talking about food," my husband says. Ahhh, but you're too late love. I'm already four paragraphs in). I've been reading about fish and thinking about fish and finally decided it was time to cook some and serve it up. So I asked around. Everyone said to go with salmon for an inaugural run.

Even in dim light with a dark plate, I'm sure you can still see just how delicious this salmon looked. Honestly. Even to me. And I'm pleased (and slightly stunned) to report that very nearly the entire family decided it tasted delicious as well. Only the fourteen year-old didn't want seconds. Unbelievable.

So now that we've made it past the novice level with flying colors, the question becomes --

What fish comes next after salmon? And how soon until I let the little girls bring home something with the eyeball still attached? They've been begging, but for the sake of the hesitant older kids -- and my husband -- I have demurred. And also, what is the best way to cook fish? Our neighbors moved and gifted us their grill, which seems like a good fish cooking kind of a place . . .