Seafood

D4One:Perfect Broiled Haddock

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There is a restaurant near my work that we frequent often. It is a little Greek place in what used to be a bank. I would link their website if they had one. The place is pretty darn fabulous. I pretty much love it there. I also pretty much go there every time I eat out at work, which isn’t often so that’s saying something.

They have this lunch special every week that is mouthwateringly fabulous. It is a broiled haddock served with a rice pilaf, broccoli and warm rolls. My stomach is rumbling just thinking about it, it is so good, and so simple! How do I know? I spent quite a few nights trying to figure out their recipe. I asked the wait staff a few times what was in it to get the jist, and then I went through quite a bit of haddock to perfect it, but now I think I have it, and dare I say mine is better? Well I’m sure that’s dependent on who is eating it. I prefer more sherry to butter, other may prefer more butter to sherry, so I guess it’s a wash.

Since I am making this dish for lonesome self, I decided it was fine to be bad and make extra sauce to toss pasta in instead of making rice pilaf. This was a fabulous decision! Especially after I topped it with fresh chopped parsley (about ¼ cup – you know how I love my herbs!), and a touch of parmesan cheese.

Now if you just want enough sauce for fish, then half the recipe below.

Broiled Haddock in Sherry Butter Sauce

½ a stick of butter (unsalted)

¼- ½ cup of sherry

½ lb haddock fillet

1 cup pasta cooked aldente

Preheat the oven broiler. In a large oven safe skillet melt the butter and allow it to brown slightly. Add ¼ cup of sherry and allow it to cook roughly 1-2 minutes. At this point you may choose to add more sherry or not, but if you add it allow it to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add fish to the pan and baste with sauce. Place skillet in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until fish breaks apart with a fork. Remove fish and add pasta to pan to toss with sauce. You may need to add a little butter or oil if it has reduced too much. Serve fish and pasta together, topped with parsley and parmesan cheese to taste.

Can you say divine? I can because it was. I felt like I was riding on clouds while I ate it. I am so happy I was able to figure this one out. Now I just need to figure out their creamy chicken soup.

Serving a Steaming Bowl of Consolation

By Jessica

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Chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation. ~Clementine Paddleford

Could this be any more true? I never really knew how much I liked seafood chowder before I met ol’ Chuckles. It’s one of his favorites, so of course I had to learn how to make it for him!

There couldn’t have been a more perfect fall afternoon for it. We had spent most of the day outside and gotten rained on here and there. We were a little chilled and tired after an eventful weekend, so tired in fact that I fell asleep in the car on the way home. I woke up when “All my Life” by The Band Perry came on the radio. Seriously I will never get enough of that song.

As I serenaded Chuck the rest of the ride home we swung into the grocery store and picked up some clams, cod, and a small loaf of fresh baked French bread. As a side I sliced, the bread and brushed it with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Then popped it in the oven for a while (10-20 minutes depending on size) at 425 degrees. The burst of rosemary flavor blended so beautifully with the creamy deliciousness of the chowder that I jam packed with seafood.

Seafood Chowder

¼ lb bacon, cut into ¼ inch cubes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 ½ cups chopped celery

1 quart fish stock

2 large potatoes, peeled & chopped

2 bay leaves

1 lb little neck clams

1 lb skinless, boneless cod fillet, cut into chucks

1 lb medium shrimp, shelled, deveined

½ cup frozen corn

1 cup heavy cream

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt & pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan or dutch oven cook bacon, and drain grease. Add olive oil and heat for roughly 5 minutes. Add onion and celery, cooking until soft. Add fish stock and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, and add potatoes, cooking until they are just tender, roughly 15 minutes. Add shrimp, clams, fish and corn. Simmer for another 5 minutes. All the clams should open. Heat cream in a small sauce pan over low heat, and add to soup pot. Add final seasoning and serve hot.

Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Grilled Salmon

By Jessica

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Here is a fairly simple recipe that I really enjoyed, I think even better than the Maple Salmon one I posted recently, though Chuck doesn’t agree, then again being a Vermonter he has a special affinity for anything maple flavored.

This recipe is pretty quick and simple, though there are a number of ingredients. I paired it with what was supposed to be summer vegetable risotto (I’m still working on perfecting that one).

Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Grilled Salmon

3 tbsps brown sugar

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsps butter

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tbsps soy sauce

2 tbsps olive oil

1 tbsp finely grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)

Vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each

Melt the brown sugar, honey and butter in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger. Let cool and pour over salmon. Allow to marinate for roughly 20 minutes. Grill on medium for 6 to 8 minutes to medium doneness, turning once after 5 to 6 minutes.

Fresh Tomato Sauce & Clams

By Jessica

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Sometimes when Chuck is out of town I treat myself. He’s not a HUGE fan of seafood like I am, so I take the time when he’s not home to indulge. I actually made this dish for my friend Amy who came over for the evening but since I have also made it for just myself a few times I decided to make it part of my Dinner 4 one Series.

This recipe I love for summer because I can so easily walk out to my garden and collect nearly everything for the sauce. In fact this time around everything in this recipe came from my garden or someone close to me. There is no lying when they tell you fresh is better. It is! And the delicious smell that continued to waft through my house the rest of the evening and into the next morning could not be more welcome.

The recipe for Fresh Tomato Sauce is below, for the clams I simply grilled them on medium heat until they opened up. It’s the same idea as steaming, or boiling them, but this is perfect for summer because it doesn’t heat up the house, and there is way less mess.

Once everything is done cooking I lay down some fettuccini, the warm clams and drown them in sauce. The recipe can be a little on the garlicky side for some (I can’t ever seem to get enough), so some may want to reduce it down to 1 or two cloves depending on taste. I really hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 large tomato, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

½ a small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup dry white wine

Melt the butter in a skillet, add onion and cook until the onion has softened. Add garlic, and cook for roughly one minute. Deglaze with wine, and allow some reducing. Stir in fresh herbs, and simmer roughly 3-5 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced to half. Serve over prepared pasta.

Asian Marinated Grilled Scallops

By Jessica

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE scallops. It’s definitely one of the things that I picked up from my mother because I always remember her cooking them up at home, of course at that time I thought they were weird and refused to try them, only later did I realize how much I missed out! Not only are they delicious but being made up of protein, omega-3’s, and a little sodium they don’t make me feel guilty at all!

Here is a scallop recipe that I love, the marinade is light, yet flavorful, and so very easy. I can basically make it out of stuff I already keep in the house anyway., so its perfect for a night alone. I find I like to have scallops and shrimp alot for my alone nights because they can easily be kept in the freezer and are quick to defrost and cook up, so I don’t have to plan anything until my stomach starts to rumble.

Asian Marinated Scallops

½ lb medium sea scallops

¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp honey

½ tbsp ground ginger

¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Combine soy, lemon, oil, sesame oil, honey, and spices in a
medium sized bowl. Add scallops and toss to coat. Allow the scallops to
marinate for 20 minutes, but no more than half an hour or they will become rubbery.
Skewer the scallops on soaked wooden or metal skewers and cook over a preheated
grill or broiler for 2-3 minutes per side. They should become firm and opaque,
but not hard. Serve immediately. (serves 2)

I like to make sure when grilling these bad boys that there is a little char on the outside to add a little more flavor. This recipe goes well over my basic Garlic Parmesan Pasta,or a salad with a soy-ginger dressing. I have also made this recipe and paired it with grilled steak and sides for a surf n turf dinner that will satisfy any crowd.

Try out this recipe for me and let me know what you paired it with!

Seafood

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