Beer Poached Salmon with Tarragon Mayo
4 salmon steaks, 1-inch thick
12 ounces beer (nothing too hoppy…I prefer Bitburger)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
3 or 4 peppercorns
Tarragon Mayonnaise:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon minced chives
1 teaspoon chopped green onion
1/ 4 teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon minced parsley
ln a skillet, combine beer, lemon juice, onion, celery, salt, bay leaf and peppercorns, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salmon steaks, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Combine ingredients for tarragon mayonnaise and serve with salmon.
Dungeness Crab Cakes
Look for Old Bay Seasoning in fish markets and some supermarkets.
1 pound cooked Dungeness crab meat
1 egg, beaten
Panko or 1/2 cups finely crushed saltines (about 35 crackers) (use as little as possible to get the cakes to bind)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion, including some tender green tops
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Red Bell Pepper Sauce recipe follows)
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Flake crab meat into a large bowl. Add egg and 3/4 cup of the crushed crackers and mix well. Add lemon juice, mustard, onion, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt, Old Bay Seasoning and pepper. Mix well and form into 8 crab cakes each about 1/z-inch thick.
(Optional) On a piece of wax paper, spread remaining 3/4 cup cracker crumbs. Coat cakes on both sides with crumbs or panko.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter with oil. Add cakes and cook, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a warmed platter and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve immediately with Red Bell Pepper Sauce. Serves 4.
Red Bell Pepper Sauce
1 large red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, cut up
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup light sour cream or nonfat plain yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat broiler. Cut pepper in half lengthwise and remove stems, seeds and ribs. Place skin side up on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 4 inches from heat, turning to expose all sides with skin, until evenly charred and blackened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and fold foil over pepper and allow to steam for 15 to
20 minutes. Peel off skin and cut pepper halves into pieces and place in food processor. Add all remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Makes 1 cup
Fish Meuniere with Browned Butter and Lemon
0.5 c all-purpose flour
4 sole or flounder fillets, 5 to 6 ounces each
Salt and ground black pepper
2 T vegetable oil
2 T unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
Browned Butter
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 T chopped fresh parsley leaves
1.5 T lemon juice
1 lemon, cut in wedges for serving
Instructions
1. *FOR THE FISH:* Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set 4
heatproof dinner plates on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees. Place
flour in large baking dish. Season both sides of each fillet
generously with salt and pepper; let stand until fillets are
glistening with moisture, about 5 minutes. Coat both sides of
fillets with flour, shake off excess, and place in single layer on
baking sheet. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over
high heat until shimmering, then add 1 tablespoon butter and swirl
to coat pan bottom; when foaming subsides, carefully place 2 fillets
in skillet, bone-side down. Immediately reduce heat to medium-high
and cook, without moving fish, until edges of fillets are opaque and
bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using 2 spatulas, gently
flip fillets (see illustration below) and cook on second side until
thickest part of fillet easily separates into flakes when toothpick
is inserted, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer fillets, one to each
heated dinner plate, keeping bone- side up, and return plates to
oven. Wipe out skillet and repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon each
oil and butter and remaining fish fillets.
2. *FOR THE BROWNED BUTTER:* Heat butter in 10-inch skillet over
medium-high heat until butter melts, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Continue to
cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is golden brown and has
nutty aroma, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes; remove skillet from heat. Remove
plates from oven and sprinkle fillets with parsley. Add lemon juice
to browned butter and season to taste with salt; spoon sauce over
fish and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Shrimp or Scallops in Diablo Sauce
Ingredients:
– (Salt to taste)
– 1 teaspoon cumin ( seed)
– 1 tablespoon ginger (fresh finely grated)
– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 3 shallot ( peeled and chopped)
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
– 3 habanero ( or serrano chiles; seeded and chopped, up to 5)
– 1 juice (limes ; of, up to 2)
– 1/2 mango (ripe peeled and diced)
– 1 pound shrimp (large peeled and deveined)
– 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
– 2 red bell pepper ( chopped)
Directions:
Make the Diablo Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a pan, stir in shallots, garlic, and cumin, and saute for several minutes, until they are an even golden brown. Adding one item at a time and stirring every ten seconds between additions, add the chiles, ginger, and red peppers; when they are all in, stir for 30 seconds more. Stir in the mango and toss briefly (15 seconds). Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes to blend flavors and soften peppers. Puree in blender, transfer to a bowl, season with lime juice and salt. For the shrimp: Season shrimp lightly with salt. Set a frying pan over high heat, add the oil, and when very hot and almost smoking, toss in the shrimp. Toss and turn for a minute, then pour in enough of the Diablo Sauce to coat well, and continue tossing and turning until the shrimp are fully cooked, a minute or so more. Notes: Diablo Sauce will keep for a week refrigerated, or may be frozen. Serving Ideas: Serve over rice.
Baked Stuffed Lemon Sole Recipe
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small zucchini, unpeeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2 pound sea scions, chopped
1/2 pound small (“salad size”) peeled and deveined shrimp (if using larger shrimp, coarsely chop)
1 1/2 teaspoons seafood seasoning blend (recommended: 01d Bay)
1 3/4 cups crushed cracker crumbs (about 1 1/4 sleeves of crackers) (recommended: Ritz)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 thin lemon sole or other whitefish fillets, such as haddock (about 2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Lemon wedges
Directions
In a 1arge skillet, heat the butter and oil. Add the onion, zucchini, and mushrooms. Cook over medium—high heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened and 1ight1y browned, about 6 minutes. Add the scallops, shrimp and seafood seasoning and cook, stirring, until the seafood is just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add the cracker crumbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. (The stuffing can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Leftover stuffing can be frozen. Bring to room temperature or take the chill off in the microwave before stuffing the fish.)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush a 1arge glass baking dish generously with melted butter. Season the fish fi1lets on both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange 4 of the fillets in the baking dish. Cover with stuffing, pressing it in to make an even layer, and top with the remaining fillets. If some of the seafood stuffing spills out into the dish, that’s fine. Brush the fish with melted butter.
Bake in the preheated oven unti1 the fish is opaque in its thickest part and the stuffing is heated through, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Garnish with lemon wedges for squeezing over the fish.