Smoked Cod and Cannellini

The cooking experience really begins at the grocery store. I made my list of required ingredients and at the ends of my day stopped at Metro to pick up what I needed to make dinner for recipe #1 of Nigella Express. I have to say I was really kinda looking forward to actually getting started on this project so I walked in feeling a little jovial and a little cocky.
First thing on my list..Smoked Cod. Well after cruising the seafood department Metro does not carry smoked cod. No biggie though right? I'll just get regular old fresh cod. Then I pick up the celery, chives, parsley and all that's left that I need to buy is cannellini beans - 2 cans.
First I look in the international section...no canellini beans. Then I check in the "regualr" bean section. No canellini beans. Well what the hell kind of bean is "cannellini" bean then? Luckily I always have the ability to phone a friend when I come to these dilemas in a grocery store because my sister is a certified chef so she always has the answers for me. Dial her I do.

SIS: Hello?
ME: What kind of bean is a cannellini bean?
SIS: It's an italian bean.
ME: Well what kind of italian bean?
SIS: Are you in the grocery store?

Now I should point out here that of all the times I have called my sister from teh gorcery store there is one time that I have never lived down. That would be the time I called her after I had searched HIGH and LOW in the store for "Cream of Tartar" I could not find that God Damned Cream of Tartar anywhere..So I used my phone a friend. When I called and asked my sister "What the hell is "cream of tarter" she said "it's a spice" to which I replied "CREAM of tartar is a spice"? yes she says..."So it's not in the dairy section?" says I...then began the laughing..I don;t need to tell you that I felt a fool - especially after she told everyone we commonly know. But I ask you with a name like CREAM of tartar is it not logical to look in the dairy section? but I digress...
So anyhow when she asks me "Are you in the grocery store?" I can hear the hint of a laugh in her voice and I KNOW she's remembering the cream of tartar incedent but I don't give the satisfaction of laughing at me and press on..

ME: yes I'm in the grocery store. What Bean can I buy for cannellini beans.
SIS: Well they're Italian white kidney beans so just buy white kidney beans
ME: okay thanks.


So haven't even STARTED the cooking yet and already things are not going as well as I had hoped. However I'm not fazed...I'm thinking cooking is all about making proper substitutions and not letting minor set backs get to you that's what seperates the cooks from the non-cooks..and I am definately a cook - I tell myself. I pick up 1 can of white kidney beans because I know I already have another can in the pantry at home and check out.

Once home and starting dinner I've got everything laid out that's called for. And Begin with step #1. Lay Cod in pan with parsley, bay leaves, pepper and celery stalk. Already I'm at my first dilema. Do I chop the celery? It seems wrong to put it in whole? Wouldn't you want to eat the celery? Shouldn't there be some sort of vegetable in this dish? I check the recipe 3 times no instructions of chopping celery. But I decide no one in their right mind would have a dish without some sort of vegetable in it. It must be like a soup where you use celery as part of the base and you don't even know there's celery in it..so I chop the celery.
So all these things go in the fry pan and then you add water and wine to poach it all in. I quickly scan the recipe. 375ml white wine 80ml water. So I pour in 2 cups of white wine that's been in my fridge for about 6 months because I drink red wine 98% of the time. But I figure this is for cooking not drinking it'll be fine. I look back at the recipe book to confirm the amount of water and realize 375ml was supposed to be how much WATER went in and it's supposed to be only 80ml of wine.
SHIT.
Well, roll with the punches I tell myself. I'll just add 80ml of water to keep the liquid at what it should be and really who doesn't like wine better than water. The more wine the better actually. This won't be a problem even if the wine is 6 months old. Alcohol is a presevative afterall.
Once the fish is poached I remove it and am tryingn to figure out what to do with the beans. The next step reads " tip out all but 60ml liquid form the pan" which I do but I can't find where in these directions I'm supposed to add the fish oil that I spent 20 minutes searching my panrty for to make this. I read the directions 3 times again but not mention of adding the fish oil. WTF I'm thinking at this point the ingredient list CLEARLY says 60ml fish-cooking liquid! WTF is going on?????? Then the light goes on...There is no fish oil..it's the shit I just saved from the poaching. And I feel like an idiot.
No matter, just press on. I add the beans to the liquid and "let them warm"
Now perhaps I should mention that once I got home with my one can of "White Kidney Beans" and went to the panrty to collect the other I discover that I did not infact have a can of white kidney beans at home. What I had was a can of "White PEA beans" but I decided to use them anyway.

So by now I've got my warmed beans and I'm added the fish back to it, the chives, parsely, olive oil and that's about it. I'm supposed to add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Which I do. Some for me, some for my husband and dinner is served in about 15-20 minutes.

I was felling nervous about how this would taste with my NON smoked cod. My chopped celery that was not after all supposed to be chopped. My 6 month old wine that I'd added 4 times more than I was supposed to and my white PEA beans. It wasn't bad but I wouldn't really say it was good either. Let's just say I went heavy on the salt and pepper. I ate a very small portion as it was very filling (protein the a side of protein) and when I asked Husband if he liked it he responded " I can't really taste it because of my cold." - I think he was being nice. The give a way there was that I couldn't finish my portion so I dumped what I couldn't eat into the green bin and he immediately did the same. Though I'm not sure he was full.
Anyhow this dish turned out just okay...hopefully I have a bit more luck with recipe #2 though.