Fish

Tomatoes Provencal, Guacamole and Skate with Capers, Cornichons and Brown Butter Sauce – FFWD

July 7, 2014 by Renee

This week, I am catching up with my French Fridays with Dorie posts. There were three recipes in all to recreate- Skate with Capers, Cornichons and Brown Butter Sauce, Guacamole with Tomatoes and Bell Peppers and Tomatoes Provencal.

I was almost on time with the skate recipe- it was made just a day late-on that Saturday morning- then it was eaten for breakfast because that’s what happens when you are trying to get several posts completed at once. The cooking, photos taken and edited, and the writing just wound up being too much to get done in those last few weeks of ‘end of school’, graduations and ‘off to camp’ preparations.

The “breakfast” Skate with capers, cornichons and brown butter sauce was reminiscent of Ari’s FCI day’s when he was learning to prepare Classic French dishes, cooking a similar dish for the school’s restaurant, L’ecole, sans the cornichons. Even with the addition of these mini sour French pickles, it was just as delicious now as it was way back then.

The fish’s delicate, sweet, white meat is perfectly suited to the brown butter sauce and zingy capers. It’s one of my favorite ways to dress a light fish. You can also add a few toasted almonds into the butter and make it amandine as well. It’s a great summer dish and if you eat it at the right time of day- any time after breakfast, say, then you could pair it with a nice glass of wine- a white Bordeaux or a Juracon Sec.

This week we had a BBQ with neighbors and made both the Guacamole with Tomatoes and Bell Peppers and the Tomatoes Provencal.

Well, guacamole is a really a non-recipe. It’s avocado, tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers, onion and cilantro mashed together with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime. It’s never the same twice (unless you actually measure the ingredients) and we always add or leave out different things. It just depends on what’s on hand. Also, since we eat multiple avocados in our house weekly, guacamole is something that we make as a condiment really. It’s great on toast for breakfast, in tacos and burritos, on top of baked potatoes and of course with a bowl of tortilla chips. You may even find us just eating slices of the fruit just because. Love avocados.

The Tomatoes Provencal was a bit of a disappointment for me. They tasted okay, and everyone else liked them. But for me they were not what I expected. The mixed garlic and herb topping was very tasty, especially with a healthy grating of gruyere and a large drizzle of olive oil I brought back from Puglia, but the tomatoes were not as sweet as I would have liked. I used larger tomatoes when I should have used plum, and I would have preferred slow roasting them to condense the flavors. These tomatoes reminded me of the ones you are served in England at breakfast. I like them at breakfast, but these were just not what I expected. Perhaps they are meant to be this way.

Ah well, next time I make a Full English Breakfast, I’ll add these.

This week’s recipe is Shrimp Filled Zucchini Blossoms – but since I don’t really like shrimp- stay tuned for an alternative Zucchini Blossom recipe- pending my garden’s cooperation of course!

For details on creating these recipes, check out the FFWD site and see others who are also cooking the book-

You can also buy the book here:

Moules Mariniere or Fisherman’s Mussels – French Fridays with Dorie

January 24, 2014 by Renee

Last Spring while travelling in England on the drive up to Cley Next the Sea, my friend Michael and I had stopped for lunch at the White Horse Inn in the tiny village of Brancaster Staithe. This inn has gorgeous views across tidal marshes and sandy beaches and their food and locally brewed Oyster Catcher beer are excellent. Here, we had a mega portion of mussels each, literally a bucket full, and they were probably the very best mussels I have ever eaten. They were done simply- with a white wine, cream and garlic sauce and hunks of bread on the side.

There must have been a hundred mussels in my pot that day and I ate every last one of them.

Needless to say, I love mussels. But I must confess, I have never made them at home. I’ve never even thought to make them at home. It was always one of those things you order in a restaurant- like lobster or steak tartare. An indulgence and something you splurge on!

This recipe was incredibly easy. Once I got over the thought of cleaning them at home, soaking and rinsing and taking the beard off, it really was a simple process.

Moules Mariniere or Fisherman’s Mussels is actually a quick, easy and inexpensive dinner that only seems extravagant.

Here’s a few tips I learned about buying, storing and cooking mussels-

1. Buy fresh mussels from a reputable seafood counter. The mussels should close when tapped or should already be closed. If they are broken or chipped or don’t close, they might be dead. Discard any that may be dead. They should always be alive when you buy them. (For a tip on when to find fresh Mussels, just remember the “R Rule”. Shellfish are generally harvested in any month that has the letter “R” in it.*)

2. You really should cook mussels the same day you buy them to ensure freshness, but if you do have to store them, if even for a few hours, place them in a bowl. Don’t store them in a plastic bag. Remember, they are alive and you really want to keep them that way. A bag would suffocate them.

3. To clean mussels, soak them in a bowl of fresh water for 15 minutes, scrub any barnacles or dirt off the shell and rinse them. Remove the “beard” (a long dark frizzy string) by pulling it towards the hinge. It may be hard to do, and you may have to use pillars or brute force! Drain the dirty water and sand from the bowl and add fresh water and let them soak again for another 15 minutes. Rinse and they should be ready to go.

4. The key to cooking the mussels is steaming them in a broth or wine or a combination of the two. They cook very fast and with the lid of a pot securely on, it takes only about 3-5 minutes. After 3 minutes, all the mussels should be open. If not, replace the lid for another 2 minutes to see if any unopened mussels will open. Throw away any that didn’t open. (These are the ones that will make you sick!)

I did make a few minor adjustments to Dorie’s recipe. Right at the end I added a bit of cream to the broth and I left out the lemon peel. I was trying to recapture the flavor of those mussels from Brancaster. These didn’t quite compare, but they sure were good nonetheless and I am excited to make these again very soon!

* The R Rule, while it may folklore nowadays with suppliers from all over the world providing shellfish to stores and fishmongers, it’s still practiced in some parts where shellfish are locally harvested. Basically, in warmer months- May-August – the water temps rise and red tides, vast blooms of algae that collect along coastlines in warm weather, can spread toxins that are soaked up by the shellfish. Also, summer is a time when shellfish spawn. As any oyster lover (not me!) can tell you, a fertile oyster apparently turns thin, milky and soft — kinda more gross actually! So unless it’s been shipped in, avoid the local oysters in the summer. And of course, shellfish can spoil easily on a hot day if not stored properly. This won’t really make them toxic but it will make them stinky and might cause some serious tummy troubles.

While I cannot share the actual recipe, you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. Looking forward to next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

Buy the book:

Shrimp and Cellophane Noodles- French Fridays with Dorie

January 24, 2013 by Renee

Of the three dishes we have made since we joined French Fridays with Dorie, this was by far the easiest and the quickest to prepare. This Shrimp and Cellophane Noodles recipe is Asian inspired with an attempt at being Italian. It certainly seems a bit confused. Since I am the only one who would even consider eating the shrimp, I reduced the portion size to just one bowl.

It’s always fun to bring out the wok and the smell of sizzling onions and garlic is a fond scent wafting through the house. Like popcorn in the microwave, it draws peers from around corners with the expectant question “What’s ya makin’?“. But unlike the cheers freshly buttered popcorn, or a Chicken Pad Thai would bring, one mention of mushrooms and shrimp sent everyone scampering away deflated.

Ah well. I continued on.

The ingredients are simple- Chinese Five Spice, sugar, a dash of Cayenne mixed with onions and garlic. A bit of sesame oil, shrimp, mushrooms and noodles. Sounds good right? It has spice, heat, and sweet. But then you throw in a strange homage to Italy in the form of tomato puree and the whole dish takes a nosedive. All of the characteristic Asian flavors were masked by the tomatoes. While I do think the puree was supposed to be the acidic feature- ginger, lime and soy sauce would have made a welcome replacement for the tomato puree.

So while this dish LOOKS great, it isn’t. At least not for me. I wonder what the original dish Dorie’s friend made tastes like. Because I would hope it was better than this recreation and that I made some terrible mistake along the way.

Meanwhile, I will have to make a real stir fry to make up for it.

I cannot share the recipe (and I’d advise you to skip this one anyways)- but you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. And I can’t wait for next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

Buy the book:

P.S. The noodles we used are Banh Pho medium sized. We make Pho and Pad Thai a lot here and have several bags in our pantry at any given time. So we just used them. I don’t think they affected the flavor in any way! I am so looking forward to next week’s dish!