Marinated fish bakes on a cedar plank.

Byline: THE $10 GOURMET By Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Like many professional chefs, Chris Galloway has spent much of his career thinking big - first cooking for large hotel chains in the San Diego area, and now ruling the kitchens at the Market of Choice in the Delta Oaks area of north Eugene, watching over its daily array of pizzas, salads, breads, entrees and pastries.

In between, he ran a catering business, planning and carrying out "upscale dinner parties" for upward of a dozen guests.

Even so, Galloway had no trouble scaling down last week and cooking up a dinner for two for pennies less than $10 by choosing a relatively inexpensive fish - farm-grown tilapia - and relying on a tasty marinade and an unconventional method of baking to elevate it to "wow" status.

As accompaniments, he chose ever-popular mashed potatoes, with a surprise ginger flavor, achieved by simmering milk and cream with a generous grating of the pungent root.

Galloway rounded out the meal with a salad featuring mixed greens, segments of a blood orange, narrow, julienned slices of jicama and an unusual dressing flavored by roasted shallots and lime.

Then he finished the meal with a strawberry tart topped with a dollop of whipped cream - again flavored with ginger - and amply drizzled with a sweet-tart syrup of balsamic vinegar and sugar.

Of course, Galloway had the advantage in the Market of Choice kitchen of sliding the marinated tilapia on a water-soaked cedar plank into the 500-degree heat of the market's Wood Stone oven. But he says home cooks can achieve the same effect in their ordinary ranges.

"I'd say people should preheat their ovens to 475 to 500 degrees," Galloway said. "If they use a cedar shingle instead of a cedar plank, they should really soak it to get it very wet."

It's probably a good idea to turn on the overhead fan, too. As Galloway's tilapia baked in his huge professional oven, the cedar plank not only gave off frequent popping sounds but also emitted plenty of delicious-smelling but definitely smoky aromas.

It's a matter of touch to tell when the mild, white tilapia meat has baked long enough, he said. Before it goes into the oven, press it with a finger and see how "Jell-o-ee" it feels, Galloway said. As it bakes, the fish becomes firm, but it shouldn't be hard or it will be overdone, he said.

Cedar Plank Tilapia With

Soy Wasabi Butter Sauce

For the fish:

Cedar plank or shingle

1 tablespoon olive oil 

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (available in the Asian food section of many markets)

2 tilapia (fish) fillets, about 5 ounces each

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar 

2 tablespoons cooking sherry

2 teaspoons wasabi

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Soak the cedar plank or shingle in water, long enough for the surface to absorb moisture.

Combine oil, soy sauce and garlic chili sauce; brush on the fish. Marinate 15 to 20 minutes.

Oil an area of the plank or shingle the size of the fillets. Place the fish on the oiled section of plank and bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Fish will be done when it feels firm when pressed with a finger.

While the fish bakes, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sherry and wasabi in a small skillet. Bring to a boil and let reduce for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter.

Put fish on serving plates; drizzle with sauce.

Potatoes Mashed

With Ginger Cream

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated

2 large potatoes

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and white pepper to taste

Simmer the milk and cream with the grated ginger for 15 minutes; pour through a sieve to remove ginger bits; set aside.

Peel and boil potatoes until tender. Drain and mash. Add the ginger cream, butter, salt and white pepper. Adjust the amount of ginger cream to achieve desired creaminess.

Grilled Asparagus

6 to 8 asparagus spears

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven broiler or gas grill. Wash asparagus and trim or peel woody ends. Lightly brush spears with oil; grill 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender.

Blood Orange Salad With

Oven-Roasted Shallot Citrus

Vinaigrette

3 shallots

Canola oil 

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 lime, juice and zest

Pinch sugar

2 blood oranges, sectioned

Mixed greens to serve 2

1 cup jicama, julienned (cut in narrow strips)

1 large carrot, shredded

1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Peel shallots; brush with a small amount of oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in 350-degree oven 10 to 12 minutes, until soft. Cool, then chop coarsely. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon oil, rice vinegar, lime juice and zest and sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. Add shallots and mix.

Arrange orange sections in a circle around edge of salad plate; place mixed greens in center and top with jicama and carrots. Top with dressing and sprinkle with almonds.

Strawberry Tarts

With Balsamic Syrup

For the tarts:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 large strawberries

For the syrup:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar 

For the whipping cream:

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, powdered sugar, butter and salt with fork or fingertips until combined. Press into two shallow tart pans (usually about 3 1/2 inches in diameter). Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Combine balsamic vinegar and granulated sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until it thickens to a syrup. Set aside. Whip the cream until it holds a peak; stir in sugar.

Place 1 strawberry in the center of each tart. Slice remaining berries and arrange around the outside. Drizzle with syrup. Top with whipped cream. (A bit of ginger - fresh or ground - in the whipped cream adds zip to this dessert.)

SETTLING THE BILL

The $10 Gourmet challenges professional chefs to design a menu home cooks can use to prepare a meal for two without exceeding the $10 limit. The cost does not have to include small amounts of staple ingredients.

Tilapia (fish): $2.55

Mixed greens: 40 cents

Blood oranges: 63 cents

Carrot: 15 cents

Jicama: 55 cents

Shallots: 48 cents

Potatoes: 74 cents

Ginger root: 55 cents

Cream: 99 cents

Asparagus: 35 cents

Sliced almonds: 32 cents

Strawberries: $2.27

Total: $9.98

CAPTION(S):

Tilapia is served with ginger-infused potatoes and grilled asparagus (left), as well as a blood-orange salad and a strawberry tart. Chris Galloway of Market of Choice tops a strawberry tart with ginger-flavored whipped cream. The dessert is then drizzled with a sweet-tart syrup of balsamic vinegar and sugar.