I am constantly inspired by Mike's cooking, and each time I have a new recipe at his house, I attempt my own version of it at home. Instead of the Albacore tuna (which my grocery shop did not have) I tried a Corvina Sea Bass, which I had made once before at Mike's when he attacked his own finger. I pan cooked the fish in a little oil after salting and peppering the flesh for 3 minutes per side. I then added a half cup of white wine, and as it cooked off, I tossed in a small bit of butter and some sliced shallots, then covered the pan. The effect I had in mind was moistening and flavoring the fish, which it did little of either. A better method would have been to sear the fish, then either cover it in the pan with the wine or transfer it to a small dish in the oven, but I did not. I found the fish to be dry and somewhat flavorless, although the resulting sauce certainly helped.
For the pasta, I created my version of Mike's tapenade, only it wasn't as I forgot to pick up the olives. Instead I oven roasted bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic, then peeled each and combined them in a bowl with the juices from the hollowed out tomatoes. I added basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and a bold red wine to taste, then placed in the freezer to cool. And finally, the asparagus, which required a bit of olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 400ยบ for five minutes or so, and you're done!
The pasta was actually quite good, as was the asparagus, but again, the sea bass, not so much. However, my neighbor found it quite delicious and assured me she "licked" every last morsel off the plate. So maybe my food is that good, and my taste buds are not. I still don't trust her. This could be a much better meal.
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