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Lobster/Seafood Plate Chowder

Lobster/Seafood Plate Chowder

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Yield: 4 servings
Recipe from Bruce Frankel, Panache Restaurant, Cambridge, MA

We had this for New Year’s Eve… only once? Nope, lobster once, shrimp twice, lobster, shrimp and scallops once. This is wonderful stuff! Very simple to make, the recipe was featured on the cover of Food and Wine around 1987. Not a perfect substitute, but I converted this to use shrimp and scallops, and it is still great.  See photos.

  • 4live lobsters, 1½ lb each
  • – or –
  • 1½-2lb shrimp 
  • 8large sea scallops, foot removed 
  • 8cold-water lobster tails
  • 1½-2lb red potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice
  • 1cup heavy cream
  • ½tsp salt
  • 6TBS unsalted butter
  • 1medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • minced fresh chives
  • cayenne pepper

Lobster version: 

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Drop 2 lobsters head first into the boiling water, cover and cook for 3 minutes. With tongs, transfer the lobsters to the ice water and let soak until cool enough to handle. Repeat with the remaining 2 lobsters.

Break off the tail and claws from each lobster. Remove the meat from the claws and knuckles. Split the tails lengthwise in half, leaving the meat in the shell. Remove the light green tomalley from the body, pass through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside.

Remove and discard any dark green matter from the bodies. Coarsely chop the carcasses and place in a large saucepan. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan, then set the lobster stock aside.

Shrimp version:

Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the shells and tails. Place the shells and tails in a saucepan and add two cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan, then set the shrimp stock aside.

Lobster tail, shrimp, scallop combo version:

Bring enough water to cover the lobster tails to boil. Add the lobster tails and cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Remove to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. When lobster tails are cool, remove from the shells and cut into bite sized pieces.

Add the shrimp shells and lobster tail shells to the saucepan and return water to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan, then set the seafood stock aside. Discard the shells.

All:

Return the stock to the pan and add cream and salt to the reserved lobster or shrimp stock. Simmer over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Whisk in 4 TBS of the butter, 1 TBS at a time. Remove from the heat.

Potatoes:

Meanwhile, place the diced potatoes in a medium saucepan and add cold water to cover by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for about 3 minutes, the potatoes should still be very firm. Drain and rinse under cold water, drain well and set aside.

In a large skillet or saucepan, melt the remaining 2 TBS butter over moderate heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and translucent, for about 2 minutes.

Add the potatoes and cook, tossing, for 1 minute.

Finish sauce and serve:

Pour in the cream sauce and add the reserved seafood. Simmer until the seafood is cooked through, for about 3 minutes, do not overcook.

Spoon the chowder into individual soup plates. If using, add a spoonful of the sieved tomalley to the sauce in each bowl. Garnish each with a pinch of chives and a dash of cayenne.

Wine Suggestion: California Pinot Blanc

Calamari Fritti

Calamari Fritti

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Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Adapted from: Tyler Florence / Food Network

Circa 2008:  I’ve made this a few times and it comes out great.  It’s simple, tasty and just like you get in a restaurant.

  • 1lb whole squid, cleaned
  • 1cup milk
  • 1large egg
  • 6fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • canola oil, for frying
  • 2cups all-purpose flour
  • 2tsp paprika
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • lemon wedges, for serving
  • smoked jalapeno aioli, for dipping, recipe follows
  • tomato-basil sauce, for dipping, recipe follows


Rinse the squid under cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the body of the squid into 1/2-inch rings and trim the tentacles as necessary. Combine the milk, egg, and basil leaves in a bowl; mix with a fork until lightly beaten. Put the prepared calamari in the milk mixture and stick it in the refrigerator while getting everything else set up; it fries better if marinated and chilled for about 15 minutes.

Pour about 2 inches of oil in a fryer or large, heavy pot and heat to 375°F. Mix the flour and paprika in a pie dish or plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Toss the calamari in the seasoned flour to coat. Fry for 1 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to paper towels to drain. Season with salt. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and dipping sauces.

Smoked Jalapeno Aioli

Yield: 1 cup
  • 1cup mayonnaise
  • 1-2canned chipotle chile in adobo
  • 1garlic clove, coarsely chopped
  • ½lemon, juiced
  • 1TBS chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend for 1 minute to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors to marry. Serve as a dipping sauce with fried calamari.

Tomato-Basil Sauce

Yield: 1 cup
  • 3TBS extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4fresh basil leaves, hand-torn
  • 1(16-oz) can crushed tomatoes
  • pinch sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend for 1 minute to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors to marry. Serve as a dipping sauce with fried calamari.

Shrimp Bisque

Shrimp Bisque

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Yield: 4 Servings
Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking ‘97

I use shrimp in a lot of dishes and try to buy raw split and cleaned shrimp. I save all the raw shells and tails in the freezer. When you have a gallon bag full, it’s bisque time. Note: the original recipe says you only need the shells from 1 lb of shrimp. In my opinion that is nowhere near enough.

For the Stock

  • 5cups water
  • 2cups dry white wine
  • 2cups fish stock (or 1 cup water and 1 cup clam juice)
  • 2cups beef stock
  • 1lb raw shell-on shrimp and shells from 1 to 2 lbs of shrimp

For the Mirepoix

  • 4TBS unsalted butter
  • 1cup finely chopped onion
  • ⅓cup finely chopped carrots
  • ⅓cup finely chopped celery

For the Bisque

  • 1½cups, peeled, seeded, chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned.
  • ⅓cup rice.
  • 1-2bay leaves
  • 1½tsp minced fresh tarragon, or ½ tsp dried
  • 1tsp sweet or hot paprika
  • ½tsp minced fresh garlic
  • ½tsp salt
  • ¼tsp dried thyme
  • ⅛tsp ground red pepper

For the Shrimp

  • 3TBS unsalted butter
  • ¼cup Cognac or brandy
  • ¼tsp salt
  • ¼tsp pepper, preferably freshly ground white
  • Reserved shrimp

For Final assembly

  • ½-1cup heavy cream

For Garnish

  • fresh lemon juice
  • salt
  • freshly ground white pepper
  • ground red pepper
  • tarragon or parsley

To make the Stock
Bring liquids to boil in a large stock pot. Add shrimp, boil 2 minutes and remove. Set aside until cool enough to handle and shell. Refrigerate shrimp meat, return shells to broth. Reduce heat, simmer shells for 30 minutes. Remove and discard shells. Reduce liquid over medium high heat until reduced to 6 cups.

While the stock is reducing, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion, celery and carrots, and cook, stirring until tender but not browned, 5-10 minutes.

Add the mirepoix and other bisque ingredients into the reduced stock and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer partly covered for 40 minutes.

To prepare the Shrimp
Meanwhile, cut all but 8-12 of the refrigerated shrimp into ¼ inch dice. Melt the butter over medium heat, add and sauté shrimp until heated through. Add remaining ingredients.

Cook stirring until almost all the liquid is evaporated. Set the 8-12 whole shrimp aside. Add the diced shrimp and any leftover juice to the simmering soup. Remove the bay leaves and discard.

Final assembly
In a blender, puree the soup in small batches until smooth. Return to the saucepan and stir in cream and reserved whole shrimp. Heat over low heat. Thin, if necessary, with clam broth or milk.

To garnish and serve
Remove from the heat and season with drops of lemon juice to taste, salt and freshly ground white pepper and/or ground red pepper. Serve and garnish with fresh tarragon or parsley.

Note: Leftover soup will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, or it can be stored frozen in quart freezer bags or other freezer containers.

Salmon en Papillote

Salmon en Papillote

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Yield: 2 Servings
Scott Nowell

Circa 1993: I don’t make this often, but I’ve been doing it for a long time. This is a delicious fish and vegetable dish and you can vary the veg for new versions. I have included a simple dish of Sliced Potatoes with Chives below. Both recipes double or triple easily. You’ll get extra practice crimping parchment.  I will get some photos together soon showing the crimping process.

  • 26-8 oz boneless skinless salmon fillets
  • 1leek
  • 2carrots
  • 1medium zucchini
  • ½lb snow pea pods
  • dry white wine
  • vegetable oil
  • salt & black pepper
  • Parchment (baking paper)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper.

Cut the base from the leeks and cut the leeks in the green white area. Discard the dark green leaves or save for stock. The remaining leeks should be about four inches long. Cut the leeks vertically in half. Separate the leaves and wash under running water to remove any grit or dirt. Re-stack the leaves and cut in half to make stacks two inches long. Julienne the leaks to form slender match sticks. All the vegetables should be cut to the same size.

Peel the carrots and cut into two inch lengths. Cut lengthwise and julienne to form match sticks the same size as the leeks.

Slice 1/8 to 1/4 inch planks from zucchini lengthwise. Julienne on the diagonal.

Remove the vein from the spine of the pea pods and trim the ends. Julienne the pea pods on a diagonal to the same width as the carrots and leaks.

Cut about a ten inch square of parchment and fold in half to make a 5 by 10 inch rectangle. Fold the open sides over to make about a half inch seam. Open the parchment again and brush a light coating of oil around the edges. This will help seal in the steam when the packages cook. For a fancier presentation, cut the paper into a ten by twenty inch rectangle, fold over to form a 10 by 10 square and cut into a heart shape. Be sure to leave one edge uncut.

In the center of one side of the parchment make a bed of the vegetables, using one quarter of each per package. Place one of the salmon portions on top of each vegetable bed. Pour a tablespoon of white wine over the salmon. Close the other side of the paper over the salmon and re-fold the packages. Fold the paper a couple of times and crimp the edges well to insure a tight seal.

Place the completed papillotes in a shallow sided baking sheet and bake for approximately fifteen minutes.

The papillotes will be very hot when taken from the over. They can be placed on individual plates and opened at the tables or opened in the kitchen and the contents placed on the plates. In either case, you might want to cut a small slit in the edge of each papillote and tip the package to let the excess liquid drain before serving.

Serve with Sliced Potatoes with Chives and a white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.

Sliced Potatoes with Chives

Yield: 4 Servings
  • 4medium potatoes
  • water
  • 1tsp salt
  • 2TBS butter
  • 1TBS minced chives

Peel and slice potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place in 1 1/2 quart sauce pan. Rinse a couple of times to remove excess starch, then add enough water to the pan to cover by 1/2 inch. Add 1 teaspoon salt to pan.

Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to strong simmer. Cook until tender, approximately 12 minutes.

Drain potatoes but keep in sauce pan. Add butter and chives to pan and cover for a few minutes. Carefully stir or swirl to coat and place in serving dish.

Honey Garlic Butter Salmon In Foil

Honey Garlic Butter Salmon In Foil

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Yield: 4 Servings
Cafedelites

Summer 2016: This is similar in concept to “en Papillote” preparations, but the foil is a little easier for most people to use. The honey adds a nice sweetness to complement the garlic. You could use this recipe on the grill or on a campfire.

  • ¼cup butter
  • ⅓cup honey
  • 4large cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2TBS fresh lemon juice (juice of ½ a lemon)
  • 1-2½lb salmon or whole filet (reduce other ingredients by half for 1 lb.)
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • Cracked pepper, to taste (optional)
  • Lemon slices (to serve)
  • 2TBS fresh chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking tray / sheet with a large piece of foil, big enough to fold over and seal to create a packet (or 2 long pieces of foil over lapping each other lengthways to create your salmon packet, depending on the width of you fillet).

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the honey, garlic and lemon, and whisk until the honey has melted through the butter and the mixture is well combined.

Place the salmon onto lined baking tray | sheet. Pour the butter/honey mixture over the salmon, and using a pastry brush or spoon, spread evenly over the salmon. Sprinkle with a good amount of salt (about 2 teaspoons) and cracked pepper. Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon to cover and completely seal the packet closed so the butter does not leak.

Bake until cooked through (about 15-18 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish and your preference of doneness). Open the foil, being careful of any escaping steam, and grill / broil under the grill / broiler for 2-3 minutes on medium heat to caramelize the top. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with lemon slices.

Braised Halibut with Leeks and Mustard

Braised Halibut with Leeks and Mustard

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Yield: 4 Servings
Adapted from ATK

Spring 2017: This was featured on an episode of America’s Test Kitchen. It looked so tasty I made the next week. I think they went for 135°F, but I prefer fish more cooked through. I’m sure I hit at least 140°F. It makes a flavorful dish.

  • 46 oz boneless, skinless halibut
  • 6TBS Butter
  • 1lb cleaned sliced Leeks, white and pale green part only, about 3 cups
  • 1tsp Dijon mustard
  • ½tsp salt
  • ¾cup dry white wine
  • 1tsp lemon juice
  • 1TBS chopped parsley
  • Fish spatula/ turner is very useful to get fish out of pan


Prep:
Remove the root end of the leeks. Cut the tops of the leeks where they start to turn dark green. Save the top for stock. Split the white and pale green part of the leeks in half and slice thinly. Rinse in cold water very well.

Cook:

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add fish, skin side up and cook 3 minutes. Remove fish to plate.

Add leeks to butter with 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp Dijon mustard. Sauté leeks for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add wine.

Bake:

Return fish to top of leeks, skin side down. Cover and cook for 10-14 minutes until fish is 135-140°F.

Remove fish and leeks to platter, cover.

Reduce sauce 3-4 minutes, add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over fish and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Salmon With Anchovy-Garlic Butter

Salmon With Anchovy-Garlic Butter

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Yield: 2 Servings
Adapted from NY Times

July 2016: Anchovies? No, never! This recipe convinced me that anchovies add a nice umami complexity to not just this dish, but many others. I have expanded the directions here because the original ones burn the heck out of the garlic. The extra anchovies keep just about forever if embedded in oil in the refrigerator.

  • 3TBS plus 2 TBS unsalted butter, softened
  • 4anchovy fillets, minced
  • 1fat garlic clove, minced (or 2 small ones)
  • ½tsp coarse kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2(6-8 oz) skin-on salmon fillets
  • 2TBS drained capers, patted dry
  • ½lemon
  • Fresh chopped parsley, for serving

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small bowl, mash together the 3 tablespoons of butter, anchovies, garlic, salt and pepper.

In a large ovenproof skillet, melt the two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the salmon, skin side down. Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat to brown the skin, spooning some pan drippings over the top of the fish as it cooks. Add half the anchovy butter mixture and the capers to the pan and transfer to the oven. Roast until fish is just cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes, depending on your version of cooked through.

Remove pan from oven and add remaining anchovy butter to pan to melt. Place salmon on plates and spoon buttery pan sauce over the top. Squeeze the lemon half over the salmon and garnish with chopped parsley.

Serve with Israeli Couscous and steamed asparagus.

Fish Meuniere

Fish Meuniere

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Yield: 2 Servings
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated & others

Try to purchase fillets that are of similar size, and avoid those that weigh less than 5 oz because they will cook too quickly. A nonstick skillet ensures that the fillets will release from the pan, but for the sauce a traditional skillet is preferable because its light-colored surface will allow you to monitor the color of the butter as it browns.

Fish:

  • 2sole, flounder or small cod fillets, each 5 to 6 oz and 3/8 inch thick
  • ¼cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1TBS unsalted butter

Browned Butter:

  • 2TBS unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
  • 1½tsp chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 2tsp lemon juice from 1 lemon
  • ½lemon, cut in wedges for serving
  • 1TBS vegetable oil


For the fish:

Pat fish dry. 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 oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until shimmering, then butter and swirl to coat pan bottom; when foaming subsides, carefully place 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 2½ to 3 minutes. Using 2 spatulas, gently flip fillets 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.

For the browned butter:

Heat butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until butter melts, 1 to 1½ minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 1½ 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.

Connie’s Baked Haddock

Connie’s Baked Haddock

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Yield: 4 servings
Constance Ann Lafayette Nowell

My Mom and Aunt Joan made this.  It was my child-hood favorite.

Use other white fish if you have to, but there’s really no substitute for haddock. I use cod now, haddock isn’t often available in San Diego or Colorado.  Use two hands for dipping and breading fish, a dry hand and a wet hand. This will keep the mess down a little. Use regular or Panko breadcrumbs as desired.

  • 1½lb boneless haddock fillets
  • salt & freshly ground pepper
  • 1egg
  • 1TBS milk
  • ¼cup flour
  • 1cup bread crumbs
  • butter
  • paprika (optional)


Prep:

Preheat oven to 500 – 525°F. While hotter is better, you can reduce the temperature to as little as 425°F, but it will take longer. We do this to bake fries in the same pan.

Cut fish into serving portions.

To prepare pan in the original way, put it in the oven for 5 minutes to get it hot. Remove and drop a small chunk of butter on the pan and swirl it around to coat pan. You can use a little cooking spray if you’d prefer, but you sacrifice some flavor.

Set up a standard breading station or use plastic bags for the dry ingredients.

Place flour in another shallow bowl or bag. Season with ¼ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix.

In a shallow bowl, beat egg and milk lightly. Season with pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper.

Place breadcrumbs in another bowl or bag and mix with ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste.

Dip or shake fish in flour on both sides. Shake off excess.

Place floured fish in egg mixture with dry hand. Turn to coat with the wet hand. Lift and drain excess.

Place or shake fish in breadcrumb mixture and coat well on both sides with dry hand. Put coated fish on prepared sheet pan. Thin tail pieces may be folded to make them the same thickness as other pieces.

When all fish is on pan, dot fish with small pieces of butter (optional: sprinkle with paprika for color).

Bake on the top rack of oven for 10 to 15 minutes depending on thickness of fish and how well you want it cooked.

Serve with:
Two schools of thought on this.  I prefer mashed potatoes and green beans.  Gayle prefers fries and coleslaw, so we usually have fries and coleslaw.  Either works, but the mash and beans is better, IMHO 🙂

Salmon Shrimp Scallop Medley

Salmon Shrimp Scallop Medley

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Serves: 2 servings
Scott Nowell

Circa 2004: This started out without the couscous. I added it around 2015.

  • 8oz salmon filet, skinned, deboned and cut in half for two servings
  • 6sea scallops, foot removed
  • 616-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1scallion / green onion
  • 1cup Israeli couscous
  • ½cup white wine
  • ½cup clam broth / fish stock / water
  • salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425°F. For direct to table serving, heat 10 inch casserole dish in oven.

Blot seafood dry on paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a 10 to 12 inch skillet over medium high heat, add wine, clam juice and couscous. Cover and cook to half time on package directions. Remove from heat and remove cover.

For direct to table serving, remove casserole dish from oven and pour couscous mixture into dish.

Place salmon fillets in center of dish/pan on top of couscous. Arrange shrimp and scallops in alternating pattern around edge of dish/pan. Slice scallion and sprinkle on top of seafood.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.