568868 Sat Nov 01 04:44:02 -0700 2008 11 31 Home Cooking 0 4142234 November 2008 COTM: Alice Waters - The Art of Simple Food Please post your full-length reviews of recipes for fish and shellfish here, including those recipes that fit in these categories that are in the first section of the book. Please mention the name of the recipe you are reviewing and the page number, if possible, as well as any modifications you made to the recipe. A reminder that the verbatim copying of recipes to the boards is a violation of the copyright of the original author. Posts with copied recipes will be removed. Thanks for participating! Sat Nov 01 04:44:02 -0700 2008 10985 MMRuth 1 4146567 Pan-Fried Fish (page 332) Not really a recipe so much as a technique. You place seasoned fish fillets in hot oil and weight them down with a foil-covered skillet. When almost cooked through, you flip them over for just a minute or two. I used bluefish fillets and it worked very well. She suggests pouring off the fat and making a pan sauce with tomatoes, but I just deglazed the pan with lemon juice and added a bit of butter and bunch of chopped up thyme leaves. I had freshly caught bluefish so this was really very, very good. And I’d use the technique again were it not for the fact that it does require quite a bit more oil than I’d like. Perhaps I’ll save this for company. I served it with Long-Cooked Broccoli (page294) and Roast Potatoes with Olive Oil, Rosemary, and Garlic from "Roast Chicken and Other Stories" (page 163). These were, by the way, remarkably similar to the descriptions of the "Molto Italiano" potatoes and I suspect anyone who liked those would like these as well. The report on them is here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/505105#4146550 Mon Nov 03 11:20:30 -0800 2008 4142234 11407 JoanN 2 4146901 JN: I was eying that recipe as well so thanks for the info. Couldn't you use less oil and get largely the same result? The weighting down sounds as if it'd work with even just a small amount of oil...maybe not as cripsy or whatever, but pretty good. Whaddya think? Mon Nov 03 13:13:32 -0800 2008 4146567 10245 oakjoan 3 4146984 Waters specifically says,"When cooking fish with skin, add more fat to the pan, about 1/8 inch deep." I think I skimped a bit too much. One of my fillets released just fine, but the other one stuck to the pan. Still tasted good, just didn't look very pretty. If I'm just cooking for me, I'll definitely go with less oil and take my chances on presentation. But If the presentation is important, I think the greater amount of oil is indeed necessary. Mon Nov 03 13:40:43 -0800 2008 4146901 11407 JoanN 4 4147000 Thanks, I have some ling cod and am going to try it out this week. Mon Nov 03 13:44:05 -0800 2008 4146984 10245 oakjoan 1 4152837 Steamed Sole with Beurre Blanc--or, more appropriately, the suggested variations Steamed [Halibut] with [Salsa Verde], pg 331 Similar to JoanN's report, this is almost a report on a technique, rather than a recipe. We had some super-thick fillets of halibut that we steamed for the full 7 minutes, then served topped with Salsa Verde (pg 45)--overall, really really lovely. And thank goodness for the salsa verde (reported on in the sauces thread), otherwise this would have been an all-beige meal, as I served it with the farro salad (reported on in the grains thread) and cauliflower salad (reported on in the salads thread). Hardly earthshattering, but delicious and simple. The salsa verde with it is a definite winner--even my caper-hating husband liked it and it turned what would have been something excruciatingly boring into something really interesting. ~TDQ Thu Nov 06 04:33:35 -0800 2008 4142234 12005 The Dairy Queen 2 4152942 does alice water have any recip for lobster or crab? Thu Nov 06 05:55:09 -0800 2008 4152837 200474 hae young 3 4153031 Regarding the lobster, she really just tells you how to boil or grill it, However she does have a "recipe" for the grilled lobster that just involves serving it with her recipe for an herb butter. There is only one recipe for crab and it is for crab cakes, although she does tell you how to prepare crabs in general. Thu Nov 06 06:40:01 -0800 2008 4152942 57199 clamscasino 1 4155479 Baked Fish, Pg. 329 As someone said before me, this is really about technique as much as it is about good eating. We had a lovely piece of Pollock which was seasoned with salt and pepper, smeared with Pesto then baked on a bed of sliced white onions, celery and carrots. A half cup of white wine, a half cup of chicken broth was poured over all along with a drizzle of EVOO. A lot of aromatic flavors combined to create a very tasty dish. I served this with the Braised Belgian Endive... great combination for us. Didn't even think to slice some crusty bread we were so enthralled with the taste of it all..... Fri Nov 07 05:09:46 -0800 2008 4142234 75332 Gio 2 4155512 Hmmmmm...I'm thinking of having seafood for dinner, but seemed to have missed this baked fish recipe! I must go investigate! Thanks for the enticing report! ~TDQ Fri Nov 07 05:48:45 -0800 2008 4155479 12005 The Dairy Queen 1 4159634 Sauteed Shrimp with Garlic and Parsley, pg. 343 I made this last night. It is a very last minute, easy prep. I served it over rice (with a pinch of saffron), and with a green salad. I added some scallions and red pepper flakes. I left the shells on the shrimp, which really impacts the flavor, though is a pain when it gets to the dinner table. Next time, for ease, I will remove the shells before throwing them in the pan. I stir fry shrimp quite often, but somehow this method of throwing in the garlic at the end instead of the beginning is an idea that I have not done before. The garlic flavor in this dish was perfect for the garlic lovers in my family! Sun Nov 09 08:16:03 -0800 2008 4142234 16407 Jane917 1 4193537 I had been meaning to try the pan-fried fish technique on p. 332-333, and tonight I finally did with great results. As JoanN says here, it's very simple. You put a bit of olive oil in a pan, heat it up, add the fish fillets and then weight them down, pressing them against the bottom of the pan evenly, with another pan. She covered hers in foil, I just used the undressed pan. It works very well. My fish was 1 piece of rock cod and a couple of pieces of ling cod. The pieces all came out brown and crispy even though they had no skin. I served them with a sauce made of meyer lemon juice, chopped parsley, a bit of minced garlic, olive oil and butter. Oh, and s&p. We both really liked this a lot and I loved it's simplicity and quickness. Alongside we had some roasted squash from the CSA box which I Olivered (cut in thirds, slathered with olive oil mixed with coriander, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. I usually add red pepper flakes but tonight just added some more pepper) and some halved "fresh-dug German Butterball potatoes roasted in olive oil and garlic alongside the squash. I also made a cole slaw out of part of a giant Napa cabbage which was quite refreshing. I just made a dressing with a bit of mayo, some garlic, some capers and parsley along with some Meyer lemon juice and olive oil (Best Foods Mayo will accept olive oil w/out breaking - an extremely good trait IMO) whizzed in the blender. All in all, it was a great success. Fri Nov 21 22:45:52 -0800 2008 4142234 10245 oakjoan