Piquant Fish Food

FLOUNDER PICCATA WITH HARICOTS VERTS AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Make an ice bath with salted water.
• Blanch the haricots verts in the boiling water until tender but still crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately shock in the ice bath to stop cooking. Drain the excess water and set aside on a sheet tray.
• Coat a small saute pan with olive oil and add 1 tablespoon of the shallots and some salt (save the remaining shallots for the sauce). Sweat over medium heat until softened and translucent, about 1 minute, then add the mushrooms. Stir and cook until the mushrooms start to soften, 2 minutes more. Add a pinch of salt and the crushed red pepper flakes and continue cooking until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the haricots verts to the pan and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
• Put the flour in a shallow dish. Coat a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high until the skillet is hot. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and dredge in the flour. Gently shake off the excess flour and lay the fish skin-side down in the oil. Cook until the outside edges of the first side turn white and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook until the fish turns white and opaque, 1 minute more. Remove the fish from the skillet and set aside on plates or a platter.
• Use a paper towel to carefully wipe out the skillet used to cook the fish. Lower the heat to medium and lightly coat with olive oil. Add the remaining diced shallot with a pinch of salt and sweat until the shallots soften, about 30 seconds. Add the white wine and chopped lemon supremes and cook, stirring often, until it comes to a boil. Add the capers, lemon juice and lemon zest and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the chicken stock and a pinch of salt and continue to reduce at a simmer by half.
• Add a pat of butter and cook, swirling the pan, until melted, then add another pat. As the butter melts, swirl the pan to fully incorporate. Continue adding butter, one pat at a time, until the sauce is thickened. (You should need between 3 and 4 pats total.) If the sauce reduces too much, adjust with a small splash of chicken stock to thin it out. Season to taste with salt and stir in the parsley.
• Arrange the haricots verts and mushrooms next to the fish on plates. Top the fish with the sauce and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

DISHWASHER SALMON WITH A PIQUANT DILL SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut 2 (12-inch) square sheets of aluminum foil. Place 2 fillets side by side on each square and fold up the outer edges. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of lemon juice over each fillet. Season with salt and pepper.
• Fold and pinch the aluminum foil extra tightly to create a watertight seal around each pair of fillets. Make sure the packet is airtight by pressing down on it gently with your hand. If air escapes easily, rewrap.
• Place foil packets on the top rack of the dishwasher. Run dishwasher for the entire "normal" cycle. When cycle is complete, take out salmon, discard foil, place 1 fillet on each plate, and spoon a generous serving of dill sauce overtop.
• Don't have a dishwasher? Bake foil-wrapped packets in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 12 minutes.
• The Instruction Manual: 1. Seal individual-size fillets in aluminum foil. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COOK A WHOLE FISH. 2. Place fish packets on the top rack. 3. Add dirty dishes and lemon-scented soap. This optional step is not recommended for novices. However, as long as the salmon is tightly sealed in the aluminum foil, it will not absorb any soapy taste or smell. 4. Set the dishwasher to the "normal" cycle. Modern dishwashers have "economy" and "cool dry" settings, which are undesirable because they conserve heat. However, on the other end of the spectrum, the "pots and pans" setting tends to overcook the fish. 5. Run salmon through the entire wash-and-dry cycle: approximately 50 minutes for most models. I have poached salmon in almost every make and model, and although the temperatures and duration of the cycles vary with each machine, a little more or less "washing" will not affect it greatly because salmon is extremely forgiving. 6. To heighten the drama for your disbelieving guests, and to prove that you have nothing up your sleeve, let them crowd around the dishwasher when you load the salmon. When the cycle is complete, invite them back to witness the unloading. 7. Troubleshoot. The only time I ever had a problem was on live national TV. Five minutes before going on the air I learned that the heating element in the on-camera dishwasher was broken. After a quick huddle with the producer, I was forced to make the most of the situation by baking the salmon in the (gasp!) oven. To avoid this pedestrian fate, ask yourself the million-dollar question: When your dishwasher last completed its cycle, were the dishes hot? As long as the answer is yes, you are ready to poach.
• Melt the butter over medium heat in a saute pan. Add the leek, jalapeno, and garlic and saute until the leeks are translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add the stock. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. (Adjust heat as required to maintain simmer.) The liquid should reduce by half. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Transfer to a blender or food processor and add the dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Puree until smooth. Reserve and reheat just before serving. Stir in the sour cream at the last minute.

BAKED FISH FILLETS PIQUANT

Steps:

• Marinate fish fillets for 1 hours in wine.
• Drain fillets on paper towels.
• Dip both sides of fish in crumbs.
• Arrange in greased shallow baking dish.
• Mix Mayonnaise, onion, sour cream, and spread evenly over fish.
• Cover with thin layer of crumbs.
• Dust with paprika.
• Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 minutes or until fish flakes.

FISH PIQUANT

Steps:

• If fish is frozen, thaw according to directions. Dry fish between paper towels.
• Dip fish into french dressing.
• Heat butter or use non stick cooking spray and add coated fish sprinkling onions over top, cooking over medium to medium low heat for 8 minutes on each side turning only once. Serve.

PIQUANT SAUCE FOR FISH

Steps:

• Melt butter and add remaining ingredients in the order listed; blend well.
• Heat thoroughly.