Fish on Sunda(e?)ys

I appreciate all the work of a complicated meal a lot more when I can throw together something like this in ten minutes on a lazy sunday afternoon. This is the striped bass trimmings I had leftover that I sauteed with a watercress salad and sweet pepper vinaigrette. Normally I wouldn't bother putting up something with zero effort and such a crappy photo, but this was so damn good I just had to post about it.

One of the dinner guests friday was allergic to citrus so I made her this same salad with shrimp in place of the regular shrimp dish. The peppers are pureed with the skins on, making it slightly bitter. It worked suprisingly well with the watercress. I think of complementing bitternesses as a kind of culinary russian roulette with slightly worse odds, but this turned out very nice. The dressing is and sweet and greasy with the fish and crispy greens- mmmmmmm. I'm gonna eat some ice cream and take a nap.

Sweet Pepper Vin.

2 sweet peppers, stemmed and seeded
3/4-1 cup off-dry white wine
2 sprigs thyme
1 small fresh bay leaf
1oz chopped sweet onion
3/4 tsp rice vinegar
1-2T olive oil
salt

Puree the pepper and wine in a blender. Strain the liquid into a pot and reduce with onion and thyme to about 1T. Add the vinegar and oil.

I make this a little heavy on the oil and light on the vinegar so it's more like a sweet emulsified sauce than a dressing. I just put the reduction in one of those little brandname plastic 2oz containers and shake it up with the oil and vinegar.

6 Course Summer Dinner

Menu

Serrano Ham, Marinated Olives
Chateau St. Michelle Blancs de Noirs, Columbia Valley NV

Chilled Hierloom Tomato Soup, “Panzanella” Crouton
Thyme, Basil
Honig Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley 2005

Shrimp with Chilled Charentais Veloute, Avocado Puree
Meulenhof, Riesling, Erdener Treppchen Auslese, Germany 2003er

Warm Buttermilk-Poached Poularde with Sweet Corn Emulsion
Radish, Smoked Paprika
Domaine Weinbach, Pinot Blanc Reserve, Alsace, France 2005

Grilled Wild Striped Bass with Green Curry, Pickled Mango
Grilled Scallions
Theo Minges, Riesling, Gleisweiler Holle Kabinett, Pfalz, Germany 2004

Braised Oxtail Ravioli, Glazed with Red Wine Jus, Roasted Shallot Puree
Santa Rita, Cabernet Sauvignon, Medalla Real, Chile 2004

Tasting of 4 Cheeses
Roquefort Le Vieux, Cave Aged Tallegio, Raw Milk Manchego, Hook's 10yr Aged Cheddar
Brazil Nuts, Dried Fruit

Vanilla Panna Cotta, Blueberries, Honeyied Macadamia Nuts
Bonny Doon Vineyard, Muscat, Vin De Glaciere, California 2005


9 guests, I cooked, my loyal droog waited the table. This never would have worked without an experienced server. In reality most of this food was mind numbingly simple, almost everything was based on a fruit/vegetable puree. I'd like to think everything was perfectly balanced and delicately nuanced. A few things fell a little short. The sweetness of the ravioli was a little out of control as was the spiciness of the curry sauce. The star anise adds an entirely new dimension to the dish. If I made it again I might simplify the profile and single out spices. The flavor of thai basil is amazing, I would have liked for it to come through a little more. It was a fun meal. More photos here.

My biggest regret of the night is not getting the good pictures I wanted. Clearly the presentations in general needed a little work. The shrimp might have benefited from a green melon sauce, the pink on pink wasn't too nice. The chicken looked great, even though the picture sucks.

The soup was about half raw tomato puree folded into the cooked soup. The tomatoes on the crouton were blanched, peeled and marinated in olive oil with salt and thyme. I spooned some of the delicious oil over the grilled bread.

I have developed a new appreciation for chicken breasts. I marinated it for two days in seasoned buttermilk. Brought it up slowly up to about 145-150F in a ziplock bag, mimicking a sous vide method. Right before service I dipped the portioned meat back into the warm salty buttermilk. The result is incredibly tender and delicate.

I have no idea what happened to the sauce for the fish. I added a green chili puree at the last minute to a mussel based sauce with the idea that it would brighten up once heated. It turned a nasty camo brown when it hit the hot liquid. Maybe pureeing the raw chilis affected this somehow. The flavor was good and it seemed to be one of the favorites of the meal.

Anyone looking at the flickr from the party would find it hard to believe that the brown turd on a plate was the most delicious course of the night. The oxtail was braised in red wine, port and beef stock which was reduced to glaze the finished ravioli that sat atop the roasted shallot puree. The filling was just shredded meat seasoned with salt, pepper and a little of the jus.

Steve started eating the last panna cotta before I got a picture.

Green Curry Sauce for Fish

2 1/2 cups white wine
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed, sliced
1 (2") knob ginger, crushed
1 1/2tsp cumin seed
1 star anise pod
1T corriander seed
1 1/2# mediterranean mussels, cleaned
1 sprig basil
5 stalks cilantro
1 bay leaf
6 white mushrooms, chopped

Add everything except the mussels to a pot and bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Add the mussels and cook until they open or are apparently dead. Strain and discard solids, reserve mussels for another use. Reduce liquid to about a cup. Thicken as deemed appropriate. At the last minute stir the green puree into the sauce and adjust seasoning.

Green Chili Puree:
5 jalepenos
1 1/2 bu. green onion, green part only
1 lime, zest and juice
salt and pepper

using a vegetable peeler, peel the jalepenos. Remove the seeds. Puree the ingredients in a blender and strain. Chill immediately.

Sweet Corn Emulsion Sauce

5 ears corn, cut off the cob
3T butter
5 saffron threads
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp white vinegar
3T water
3T olive oil
salt, sugar

Brown the butter in a pan and add the corn. Sweat until very soft. Puree with remaining ingredients. Strain. Should be sweet with a smooth velvet mouthfeel.

Roasted Shallot Puree

3# shallots
2 heads of garlic
2T butter
2T grated parmesan
olive oil

Toss the shallots in olive oil and roast at 375F until very soft. Do the same with the garlic. Puree everything together and strain.

Charentais Veloute

1 charentais melon, chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed
1 2" knob ginger, crushed
lemon juice, and zest
1/2 cup white wine
salt

Add the wine, half the melon, lemongrass and ginger to a pot and cover. Cook over low heat until melon is very soft. Remove the ginger and lemongrass and discard. Puree with the remaining raw melon. Strain.