Louisa's Baked Haddock with Lemon Sauce

As you must know by now we hail from Massachusetts and as such do enjoy sea food. Well haddock happens to be one of the finest "white fish" available from the cold local waters. Often breaded and deep fried (Superior to be sure), Louisa makes this dish (with my meddling) which we both enjoy. We hope you will also.

INGREDIENTS:

2  6 oz. Haddock fillets
4 Tbsp. dry white wine
2 oz. water
dash fresh ground black pepper

Breading:

1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp fresh parsley
pinch of pepper

PREPARATIONS:

Wash the fillets removing any fat or bones, pat dry. Wash and finely chop the parsley. Mix the breading ingredients together and set aside. Measure out the wine, water and pepper. Place the fillets in a 9" inch baking dish* and set aside.

The Lemon sauce:

3 oz. Dry White wine                                               1 small Shallot
1-1/2 Tbsp fresh Lemon juice                                  1/2 cup heavy cream
3 black pepper corns                                               6 oz. Cold unsalted butter

Prep:

Peel the shallot and cut it lengthwise into quarters, do not separate the pieces. Juice the lemon and measure. Cut the butter into 1/4" slices and put back into the refrigerator for now. Preheat oven to 425 deg.

Cooking: Set a small sauce pan over low heat and add the pepper corns, shallot, wine and lemon juice. Simmer to reduce to about 2 Tbsp. with a syrupy consistency. Add the cream and continue to reduce the sauce to about 4 Tbsp. Remove the pan from the burner, and recover the butter from the refrigerator and begin adding a slice at a time, all the while stirring. Let each slice melt before adding the next until all are melted. If the last slice or two won't melt, return the pan to the heat and gently warm the sauce while stirring. Strain out the shallots and pepper corns and set the pan aside on an extremely low burner just barely keeping it warm.

ROASTING:

Having made the sauce, pour the water and wine over the fillets to moisten them. Grind on some fresh black pepper, top by spreading the bread crumb mix over the fillets. Pop the baking dish into the preheated oven and roast for 7 to 8 min. Check for doneness by pressing the fillets looking for a springiness, not mushy or hard resistance with a fork.

Remove the fillets to a serving dish neatly arraigning them. Drizzle the lemon sauce over the fillets and garnish with parsley sprigs.

* baking dish may be sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Charcoal Grilled Chateaubriand

Of course the tenderloin steak (Buffalo or beef) is one of the most expensive cuts, but if you want to make a meal that is sure to impress, this is a good one to choose. Remember Chateaubriand* is a recipe and not a cut of meat.

INGREDIENTS:

1 center cut Tenderloin (approx. 1 to1-1/2lb.)

Ground black pepper
2 tablespoon butter, softened
Sprigs of fresh tarragon

PREPARATIONS:

Wash the roast and trim the excess fat. Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat until it turns a bit cloudy and bubbly. Paint the roast with the melted butter and season it with fresh ground pepper to taste.

Fill your chimney starter about ¼ full and set it ablaze. (3 ½ to 4 scoops)

GRILLING:

When the coals are ready, dump them into the grill and let the grids heat for a few minutes. Paint the grids CAREFULLY with the remaining butter where you will place the roast. Have a spritzer handy!
Place the meat on the grids with the charcoal elevater to within 3 to 4" of the gids. Do not move it at all for at least 3 minutes. Again paint an area of the grids with butter, then using tongs, carefully move the tenderloin there on its side and brown it for 3 minutes. Repeat the same browning process on all exposed surfaces of the meat.

Now lower the charcoal all the way down and place the tenderloin onto the center of the grids on a newly painted area.Close the cover and roast the beef 10 minutes for medium-rare (125 deg), 15 minutes for medium (130deg), and 20 minutes for medium-well. Transfer the chateaubriand to a cutting board, lightly tent it with a single layer of foil, and allow it to rest, untouched, for 10 minutes.

Serve the chateaubriand, sliced on the diagonal. and garnish with Terrigon stalks.

*Chateaubriand is a juicy-on-the-inside, seared and roasted beef tenderloin with wine sauce frequently ordered for a table of two at French restaurants. This chateaubriand recipe is not the traditional version of the restaurant favorite, as it is grilled and not searved with the usual sauce and chateau potates.

Chateau potatoes are potatoes cut to the approximate size of large olives, sauteed in butter until they are well-saturated, then put in a 350-degree oven to bake to a golden brown and served with a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley.

Cumin/Pepper Crusted Chilean Sea Bass

Chilean Sea Bass is a wonderfully rich fish and needless to say, there are innumerable ways to prepare it. However combining it with the ancient spice, cumin seeds adds a twist of middle eastern flavor to it by pan searing the fish crusted with the cumin then roasting to juicy tenderness.
Just as an aside cumin has been used to spice foods from biblical times.

INGREDIENTS:

2 (6-ounce) Chilean sea bass fillets
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp whole black pepper corns
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 lemon wedges
¼ cup of dry white wine
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

PREPARATION:

Wash the bass and check for bones. Remove the skin if present. Pat dry and set aside. Coarsely chop the parsley.

Toast the cumin seeds in a large dry cast iron skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and aromatic (this will take about 10 minutes). Place pepper corns in a spice/coffee grinder and process several times. Add the toasted cumin and process until finely ground. Scatter about half onto a plate, then place the bass fillets top-up and rub spice mixture in. Sprinkle the remainder over the top and press in with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Preheat oven to 375° while toasting the cumin, about 15 min before cooking.

COOKING:

Preheat a cast iron fry pan over med-high heat (7-8). When the rim is hot to the touch, add the olive oil to pan letting it heat just 'till a whiff of smoke arises. Add the bass; searing the bottom and then the top, for 2 minutes on each. Then sear the sides for 1 min each.

Place the pan with the bass into the over and roast 375° for (8-10 min. for 1-1/4" thick) Desired internal temp: 130° no less, when tested with an instant read thermometer. Transfer the bass to plates. Cover with aluminum foil tents.

Deglaze the pan with the wine reduced to about ½ and pour over the bass then sprinkle with parsley.

PRESENTATION SPECIAL: Slice 2 thin slices of lemon and thread a stalk of parsley thru the center of the lemon.

Adapted from Cooking Light, Dec. 2001

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

A pork tenderloin is a wonderful cut of meat and is quite versatile. Combining it with a lemon, Soy sauce and wine vinegar marinade and the grilling yields a juicy, tender meal.

INGREDIENTS:

1 to 1-1/4 pound pork tenderloin

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce*
3/4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 Tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2/3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 clove garlic
2/3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Rosemary sprigs or parsley for garnish

PREPARATION:

Remove any waste and excess fat from the tenderloin, wash is cold water and pat dry. Peel the garlic and squeeze through a press. Grind the parsley and pepper in a spice mill. Then combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk well. Pour 1/2 the marinade into a zippered bag, add the pork tenderloin and the remainder of the marinade. Seal the bag and message so that all sides of the pork are completely cover with the marinade. Marinade for 8-10 hours in the refrigerator. Turn every couple of hours.

Fill your chimney starter about ½ full and set it ablaze about 15 min. before grilling.

GRILLING:

When the coals are ready, dump them in the grill and replace the grids. Wait a few minutes for the grids to heat, Then oil the grids with olive oil.

Grill the pork tenderloin close to the coals for about 3-4 minutes on each of its four sides. Close the grill cover between each turning. Continue grilling with the cover closed until the internal temperature is about 150 to 155 degrees. F.

Remove from the grill to a platter, tent with foil, and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Garnish and serve.

* If you don't use the reduced sodium Soy, the roast will turn out salty!

Adapted from: Rocky and Jolyn B. who got the recipe from Elizabeth R.

Szechwan Chili Cod (Hongshao Yupian)

I've been toying with making Cod to come up with a flavorful presentation of this sometimes bland fish. It is quite plentiful in the waters off New England and Alaska so I put a Chinese twist to it and here's the result.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Cod fillet, boned and skinned
4 Tbsp sherry, dry - divided
2 Tbsp soy sauce - divided
1/4 cup bottled chili sauce
1-1/2 tsp Szechwan chili sauce
2 tsp sugar
4 1/4" slices fresh ginger (diam. of a quarter)
2 cloves of garlic
6 green onions
3 Tbsp peanut oil

PREPARATION:

Wash the cod, checking for bones. Pat dry with paper towels and cut it into 1" wide strips then to 2" lengths. Add 2 Tbsp of sherry and 1 Tbsp of soy sauce to a large resealable bag. Then add the cod massaging to distribute the marinade. Allow it to marinate for a half hour or so at room temp while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Peel the ginger and chop finely, place in a small cup/dish. Peel the garlic and chop finely, placing in a separate cup/dish. Wash the green onions, chop off the root then cut into 1/8" rounds including the lighter green tops. Continue by chopping the rounds finely. Measure out the remaining Soy sauce and sherry into a small bowl and add the sugar, mixing to dissolve. Measure the Szechwan chili sauce* into a small dish and add the chili sauce mixing to combine.

COOKING:

Set a large wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke. Add the peanut oil and continue to heat until just a whiff of smoke comes off - (now you know it's hot enough to cook properly!)
First add the ginger and S/F for 30 sec. or so then the green onions and S/F another 30 sec.. Add the garlic and S/F 'till it just starts to brown; Quickly pour the fish and marinade into the wok. GENTLY S/F** the wok contents so as not to break the fish apart for 2 min or so and move the fish away from the center of the wok to allow the marinade to bubble for a min or so. Add the sherry/soy mixture continuing to S/F a short time. Add the Chili sauce mix and S/F another min. or so just 'till the sauce starts bubbling.

Scoop out and serve.

Garnish: you can sprinkle a few 1/8" rounds of "green" onion over the dish.

* If you can't find the Szechwan chili sauce, 1 tsp of red pepper chili flakes may be substituted. The Szechwan chili sauce can be found at most Asian markets.

** S/F means Stir Fry

SALT

Just a little commentary on salt in cooking. Some of the bad points about salt:

• It numbs the taste buds so the subtle flavors of the dish are obliterated leaving salt as the only detectable flavor.

• Salt draws out the juices in meat leaving the dish less tender and not as juicy as it might have been.

• Salt contributes to high blood pressure with The FDA recommending 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day maximum. Each teaspoon of salt contains 2,000 mg of sodium (salt).

My recommendation for flavor and good health is to learn to enjoy food's natural taste. Put the salt shaker on vacation or at least cover up half the holes on the shaker and don't add any while prparing foods. At first your food may seem bland, but give it a chance. Over a relatively short time, your taste buds will recover from the constant desensitizing of salt and will find new and wonderfull flavors you never knew existed.

Here is a list* of some of the worst offenders for sodium(salt) content:

Onion salt
Celery salt
Garlic salt
Seasoned salt
Meat tenderizer
Baking powder
Baking soda
Monosodium glutamate (msg)
Soy sauce
Steak sauce
Barbeque sauce
Catsup
Bouillon cubes
Mustard
Worcestershire sauce
Salad dressings
Pickles
Chili sauce
Relish
Salt shaker

*Source: Sodium in the Diet, by J. Anderson, L. Young, E. Long and S. Prior

Some suggestions for non-salt flavoring/seasonings :

• Lemon Juice/Peel
• Orange juice/Peel
• Lime Juice/Peel
• Rosemary
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Thyme
• Basil
• Marjoram
• Oregano
• Sage
• Dill Weed
• Savory
• Pepper