By Annette Gooch, Universal Press Syndicate 
Quick sauté of shrimp and halibut. Substitute mango and papaya for kiwi pictured here. - Cole Publishing Group/ Universal Press Syndicate
THE KNACK of pulling together speedy, appetising evening meals consists of simple techniques any cook can develop.
Start by gathering everything you need to make the meal: utensils, equipment and ingredients -- prepared and measured. Now you're ready to apply the most indispensable technique for speedy, efficient meal preparation: keeping several dishes moving along simultaneously so that everything is ready to serve at the same time.
Successfully juggling two or three items at once takes practice to perfect, although mostly it's a matter of common sense. Begin your preparations with the food with the longest cooking time, such as potatoes or a simmered sauce, or anything that can stand a while before serving, such as steamed rice or a salad.
With these dishes under way, you can focus on anything that will be sautéed a quick-cooking method that requires close attention and careful timing. Select a skillet or sauté pan large enough to hold the food comfortably without crowding.
If possible, use a blend of butter and oil for sautéing; the butter enhances flavour while the oil helps keep the butter from burning. Heat the fat until it's very hot but not smoking; then add the food to the pan. Fat of the proper temperature sears the surface of the food, sealing in juices and helping develop a rich, golden-brown colour.
Given the high heat required for sautéing, it's not hard to overcook
delicate fish and tender vegetables, especially if the pieces are thin or small. Learn to use your eye to help judge doneness: When the edges of food begin to curl, it's probably ready to be turned or removed from the pan.
Even when you're cooking several items simultaneously, you can speed or slow the rate of cooking by turning the heat up or down under each item. If necessary to prevent overcooking, you can always remove a pan of food from the heat and return it closer to serving time.
SUCCESS TIPS
Using cookware with extra long handles makes it easier to manage several items on the stovetop simultaneously.
When choosing fish fillets for sautéing, choose pieces of uniform size, preferably short pieces. Long fillets tend to break during turning or transferring from the sauté pan to the serving plate.
This succulent main dish can be ready in as little as 10 minutes. If you prefer, substitute 1 1/2 pounds of fish fillets for the shrimp and halibut.
Seafood Sauté with
Mango or Papaya
2 tbsps. butter or olive oil,
or 1 tbsp. of each
1/2 to 1 tbsp. minced garlic
3/4 lb. cleaned raw shrimp
3/4 lb. halibut or other firm white
fish, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 ripe mango or papaya, peeled
and thinly sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsps. minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup plain yoghurt or
sour cream (optional)
Lemon slices
METHOD
1. In a frying pan over medium heat, heat the butter or oil. Add garlic, shrimp and fish; sauté until shrimp starts to turn pink and fish turns opaque (about 4 or 5 minutes).
2. Push mixture to sides of pan. Add mango or papaya slices to pan and warm briefly. Remove pan from heat.
3. Combine lemon juice and parsley with yoghurt (if used); pour over seafood and fruit, gently tossing to mix. Garnish with lemon slices and serve at once.
Serves 4.
Sautéed Squash With Garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil or butter,
or 1/2 tbsp. of each
1 or 2 cloves garlic,
minced or pressed
3 small to medium
zucchini squash,
cut into matchsticks
1/4 inch thick
3 small to medium
yellow squash,
cut into matchsticks
1/4 inch thick
Parmesan cheese and
minced parsley (for garnish)
METHOD
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil or butter. Add garlic and sauté until golden; do not brown.
2. Add squash and sauté just until tender-crisp, tossing to cook evenly (2 to 3 minutes).
4. Garnish with cheese and parsley, if desired, before
serving.
Serves 4.
Crispy Sardine Pizza
1 can sardines in
tomato sauce
1/2 loaf crusty bread
1/2 cup prepared pizza
or pasta sauce
1 cup Mozzarella
cheese, shredded
1/4 cup sweet green
pepper strips
1/4 cup mushrooms,
sliced
4 slices bacon, cut
into pieces
METHOD
Using the top or bottom half of the crusty bread load, remove 1/2" (1 cm) in depth of the inner bread. Leave outer crust intact. Loosely wrap aluminium foil around the outside of the bread. Spread pizza sauce over the bread. Add shredded cheese. Flake the sardines (with sauce) with a fork and spread over cheese layer. Add green peppers and mushrooms. Add bacon. Place bread with its toppings on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings. Total preparation time: 30 minutes.
Alternate Serving Suggestions: Replace the vegetables and cheese with your favourite
varieties. You can also cut
into smaller pieces and use as appetisers.
Savoury Kipper Cakes
2 cans fish fillets, drained
3/4 cup saltine, cracker crumbs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 egg
1 tbsp. onion, minced
1 tbsp. sweet red pepper, minced
2 tsps. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. parsley flakes
Pinch black pepper
6 to 10 drops hot pepper sauce
Vegetable oil for frying
METHOD
Coarsely flake fish fillets with a fork. Mix all remaining ingredients well and then stir in the fillets. Shape mix into 8 patties. Pan fry the Kipper Cakes in 1/4" (0.5 cm) of oil turning once to brown both sides. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings. Total preparation time: 20 minutes.
Alternate Serving Suggestion: Form into small balls instead of patties, cook and serve as appetisers.
