I am just so inspired to write this article for my friend Jethro Reyes.  His wife is in the Philippines now and will be back in few days.  I can tell he misses his wife so much, not only because he was left with the kids at home but also with all the chores and cooking! lol!

It is funny how dads can feel this way whenever mom is away.  I remember when I had a five-week vacation with my kids in the Philippines more than a year ago, my husband won’t let a day pass without telling me how much he missed us/me.  And when I came back to Sydney…ahhh…I can feel the difference with the way he talked and kiss and hug me!  Whew!  Hahaha!

I jokingly told Jet to cook for wifey when she comes back…and I think Jet will really give that idea a go.

But don’t even think that I was dictating to Jet what to do.  I just want to give husbands out there some ideas that wives would love and make them feel really missed, appreciated and pampered once in a while.

I told Jet to prepare something simple for wifey.  These are my exact words: “View my website for some simple recipes. When is wifey coming home? It’s a good idea to prepare a special dinner at home for her. Simple dish but impressive…. parang fried fish fillet on top of a potato mash with garlic spinach and white sauce….”

Jet had a look here in LMC for the recipe of the meal that I have mentioned.  But the thing is, this meal is a very simple one that it does not need a recipe at all.  Well, simple instructions will do.  Thus, I am providing here those few simple steps.

For the fried fish:  Buy a good fish that has a flaky white flesh which I personally prefer.  You can also try Salmon or Ocean trout.  Buy the filleted ones.  Fry the fish fillet in a pre-heated pan with vegetable oil.  Cook until golden brown.  Season with salt and ground black pepper.

For the mash:  Peel and cut into small cubes few pieces of potatoes.  Boil in salted water until tender.  Drain the water.  While still hot, add in as much butter as you want to make the potato well moisted and not dry.  Mash the potatoes and butter together.  Season with ground black pepper.  You can also add finely chopped parsley for flavor and some color.  Bacon flakes can also be added to the mash for a variety of flavor.  Tip:  If the mash gets too dry, you can add more butter or few spoons of fresh milk.

For the garlic spinach:  Pour vegetable oil in a pan.  Add minced garlic (as much as you want) and saute until soft but not brown.  Add spinach leaves and cook until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.

For the sauce:  Melt half cup of butter in a pan on very low heat.  When the butter is clear, add half cup of thick cream.  Mix.  Add a tablespoon of dijon mustard (or lemon juice).  Mix again until well blended.  Season with ground black pepper and salt if needed.

For the presentation:  Put the fish fillet on a bed of your garlic spinach.  Be generous with the spinach so that it will still be much visible on the plate even with the fish fillets on top of it.  Put mash on the side.  Pour sauce on top of the fish fillet.

You can come up with your own presentation.  Be creative.

With this meal, you can also prepare some Green Vegetable Salad or the very simple Iceberg Lettuce & Sweet Corn Salad.  If you want another main dish to come with this on the table, try  the very simple Pesto Pasta or Spaghetti Garlic Aioli.

Who said only moms can be good cooks?  Dads can also try to cook and be the best cook that they can be.  All they need are simple instructions and lots of inspiration to cook.

Ok Jet, are you really going to give this a try?  Go, go, go Jet!!