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I remember the first time someone told me about a grilled romaine salad. I believe I turned my nose up at the thought. I couldn’t get past the idea of cooked warm lettuce. Blech. Luckily, I will try anything once, and I’m so glad I did. Now a whole world has opened up, and that world includes smoking greens like escarole and frisée (see Smoked Sardines with Piquillo Pepper Sauce on page 203). This is a very simple recipe for a late-summer or early-fall evening.

SERVES 4

Oil the rack of a grill with vegetable oil and heat it until it is very hot.

With your hands, rub 1 tablespoon of the olive oil all over the romaine sections and the char. Season with salt and pepper. Grill the romaine until it is wilted and slightly charred, 5 to 7 minutes, turning as needed. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Grill the char fillets starting skin side up, for a total cooking time of 8 to 9 minutes per inch of fish (measured at its thickest point). Transfer to a plate, cover, and set aside. Grill the bread and set aside.

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the red onions and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onions are caramelized. Add the grapes and balsamic vinegar, and cook until the vinegar evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes.

Spoon the onion-grape mixture over the grilled fish and romaine, and serve with the grilled bread.

PAIRING: A Soave Classico, such as Inama Vigneti di Foscarino 2008, Veneto, Italy, or a vernaccia.

char katsu with ponzu sauce and cucumber-hijiki salad

For the ponzu sauce:

1½ cups water

⅓ ounce (about ¾ cup) dried

bonito flakes, also known as

katsuobushi

⅓ cup soy sauce

¼ cup freshly squeezed citrus

juice (a mixture of lemon/lime

and even grapefruit is nice)

1 tablespoon seasoned rice

wine vinegar

For the char katsu:

1 pound arctic char fillet,

skinned49 and cut into 4 equal

portions

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons all-purpose

flour

1 egg, beaten

½ cup panko

¼ cup high-heat vegetable oil

Cucumber-Hijiki Salad (recipe

follows)

4 cups cooked rice

I was lucky enough to go to the Seattle Culinary Academy, where one of my favorite instructors was K. G. Miyata, a champion ice carver in his native Japan, and as far as I’m concerned, the fastest hands with a knife ever. I got what many other culinary school grads don’t: a really nice background in Japanese cuisine and sushi making. This recipe goes out to you, chef K. G.

SERVES 4

To prepare the ponzu sauce, put the water in a deep pot and heat over medium-high heat. Just before the water boils, add the bonito flakes and turn off the heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Let the bonito sit in the water for 10 minutes. Strain the stock into a small bowl through a coffee filter or tea towel.

Take ⅓ cup of the stock (save the rest for use in soups or marinades) and mix it with the soy sauce, citrus juice, and rice wine vinegar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

To prepare the char katsu, lightly season the char fillets with salt and pepper. Set up a plate with the fish, a plate with the flour, a bowl for the egg, a plate for the panko, and a final plate for the coated fillets. Using one hand for wet ingredients and one hand for dry, bread the fillets by patting them into the flour and tapping off the excess, dipping them into the egg and letting the excess run off, and, finally, coating them in the panko.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil, and when it is hot, fry the fish fillets until brown on both sides, about 4 minutes each side, for a total cooking time of about 8 minutes per inch of fish (measured at its thickest point).

This is casual, family-friendly food. Place the fillets on a platter with a small bowl of ponzu sauce and a spoon. Pass the Cucumber-Hijiki Salad and rice separately.

PAIRING: A riesling, such as Poet’s Leap 2008, Columbia Valley, Washington, or a Junmai-shu sake.

CUCUMBER-HIJIKI SALAD

1 English cucumber, sliced in

half lengthwise, then sliced

into thin half moons

2 tablespoons hijiki,50