Grilled Swordfish with Blood Orange Sauce

Recipe: Grilled Swordfish with Blood Orange Sauce
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Date Cooked: January 6, 2013

This is the last of the fish recipes in A Great American Cook and for this project. I had to wait to do this recipe till blood oranges came into season. So once I saw them in the grocery store, I knew exactly what to do with them. Of course grilling outside in the cold wasn't completely ideal, but hey all in the name of good food.

Ingredients: Blood oranges, poblano chile, jicama, red onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro, swordfish steaks, and unsalted butter

I zested one of the oranges and juiced it. I sliced the tops and bottoms off the rest of the oranges, sliced off the remaining peel, and cut whole segments of the fruit.

Blood orange zest, segments, and juice

I roasted the pepper till blackened and blistered, steamed it in a bowl, peeled, and diced it. I peeled the jicama and diced it. I also sliced the onion.

Left: Diced jicama
Right: Sliced red onion

I combined some of the blood orange juice, olive oil, chile, jicama, and onion together. I seasoned it with salt and pepper. I also added in the blood orange sections along with half the cilantro.

Jicama and red onion salad

I rubbed the swordfish steaks with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I grilled the swordfish steaks, turning once, and until they were cooked through.

Grilling swordfish

I combined the rest of the blood orange juice, zest, and remaining cilantro in a saucepan. I whisked in the butter and added the leftover orange sections.

Blood orange sauce

I was now ready to plate. I put the jicama salad on the plate, topped it with a swordfish steak, and drizzled it with the blood orange sauce.

Grilled Swordfish with Blood Orange Sauce

I loved the way this looked on the plate, all the colors, it was beautiful. The orange sauce incredibly flavor and the swordfish was cooked perfectly. I loved the texture of the salad. The crunch and freshness of the jicama was just great and kind of made me want to eat more jicama. Personally I love raw red onion, but I could see how for other people this could be a bit overpowering. Overall, it was easy to prepare, had complex flavors, and was delicious.

Enjoy!

Curried Catfish with Apple-Corn Fritters

Recipe: Curried Catfish with Apple-Corn Fritters
Page: 212
Date Cooked: November 17, 2012

This recipe appeared to have a bit of a Southern flair to it. You have the catfish, apples, corn, and of course a fritter. This a definitely a complete recipe as well - there is a bit of a salad, an entree, and even a side. Accordingly, there are a lot of components to this recipe. I had to make one substitute, the recipe called for watercress but I used baby arugula instead.

Ingredients: Lemon, lime, apples, orange, corn, unsalted butter, Kosher salt, pepper, eggs, lager, all-purpose flour, arugula, corn oil, white wine, catfish fillets, milk, cornmeal, and curry powder

I peeled, cored, and diced the apples. I put the diced apples in a bowl and squeezed a little lemon and lime over the apples. I then juiced the orange, lemon, and lime into a small bowl and set it aside.

Right: Diced apples
Left: Bowl of citrus juices

I cut the kernels from the cob and sauteed the corn with some butter, salt, and pepper. I then let the corn cool for a bit.

Sauteed corn

I separated the eggs. I added beer to the egg yolks and whisked in some flour. I then added the corn and apples to the batter and set aside. I beat the egg whites till they formed soft peaks. I folded the egg whites into the batter and seasoned it all with salt and pepper.

Batter for the apple-corn fritters

I added a few tablespoons of the batter into hot oil for each fritter and let it cook until golden brown. I let the fritters drain on a paper towel and kept them warm in the oven.

Apple-corn fritters

I combined the wine with the citrus juices in a saucepan and let it reduce to half and turned off the heat.

Citrus-wine reduction

I put a cast-iron skillet on the stove to get hot. In the meantime, I seasoned the catfish with salt and pepper. I poured milk into a bowl. I also mixed cornmeal, curry, and flour into another bowl - seasoned with salt and pepper. I dipped the catfish in the milk, dredged each fillet in the curry-cornmeal mixture, and set it on a plate.

Seasoned catfish

I added butter to the cast-iron skillet and added the catfish fillets. The fillets fried until crispy and brown, just a few minutes on each side.

Fried catfish fillets

I reheated the citrus-wine reduction and whisked in some butter. I also seasoned it with salt and pepper.

Citrus-wine sauce

I was then ready to put it all together. I arranged the arugula on the plate and put a catfish fillet on the arugula. I spooned the citrus-wine sauce over the catfish and arranged the fritters around the plate.

Curried Catfish with Apple-Corn Fritters

Just based on the title of this recipe, I thought it was actually going to be a catfish curry. But coating the fish with the curry powder gave it a really beautiful color and was also quite simple. While making the fritters, I was a bit concerned. Before I added the egg whites, I couldn't really see how the batter was going to hold together. In actuality, they also were not difficult to make either.

So how did it taste.... It was good. The fish was cooked exactly right. The fritters were delicious. I loved the sweet and tart flavors of the apple. The first bite I took didn't have much of the citrus sauce and the dish felt flat. But when I did take a bite with the sauce it was really great. Overall, the dish was good and it looked beautiful on the plate.

Enjoy!

Salmon with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

Recipe: Salmon with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce
Page: 202
Date Cooked: September 20, 2012

The sauce in this recipe is a take on the mother of all sauces, the classic sauce vin blanc, white wine sauce. It's based on a broth of fish bones, white wine, and other aromatics. It is later enriched with cream or butter. Upon some further research, it appears that the sauce vin blanc is commonly served alongside salmon, as seen in this recipe.

Ingredients: Garlic, unsalted butter, Kosher salt, pepper, white onion, fish bones, parsley, bay leaves, dry white wine, heavy cream, green beans, turnip, radishes, radicchio, red bell pepper, salmon fillets, peas, and olive oil

I began by making the sauce. I cut the top of the garlic head, placed it on a sheet of foil, topped it with butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I wrapped the foil and baked the garlic until it was soft.

Garlic head before baking

In the meantime, I thinly sliced the onion and rinsed the fish bones in water. I put the onion in a pan with butter and cooked for a few minutes. I then added the fish bones, parsley, and bay leaves; cooking for a little more. I poured in the wine, added black pepper, and let the broth simmer.

Fish bones and white wine broth

I strained the stock into another pan and reduced it down to approximately 1/2 cup of liquid. I squeezed the soft garlic out of the skin and added it to the reduced fish stock. I then stirred in the heavy cream.

Sauce vin blanc

I then proceeded to prep the vegetables. I topped and tailed the green beans; peeled and diced the turnips; trimmed and halved the radishes; cut the radicchio into a julienne; and stemmed, seeded, and cut the red pepper into strips.

Prepping the vegetables

I sprinkled the salmon with salt and pepper. I brushed a baking pan with melted butter, rubbed the salmon with remaining melted butter, and baked the salmon.

Salmon before being baked

While the salmon baked, I blanched all the vegetables in a saucepan of boiling salt water. I drained the vegetables, placed them in a skillet, and set it on the side.

Blanching veggies

When the salmon was done, I set it aside in a warm spot. I reheated the sauce and put the finishing touches on the vegetables. I added olive oil to the vegetables, heated them through, added the radicchio, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Finishing touches on the vegetables

I placed the salmon on a plate, surrounded it with vegetables, and poured the sauce on top of the salmon. I heated the plate in the oven for an additional two minutes and then served.

Salmon with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

This dish was restaurant quality good. Vegetables cooked to perfection - crisp, tender, and the right amount of seasoning. The salmon was amazing. I don't know if I had ever cooked a better piece of salmon before this. The sauce was really flavorful as well, and added just the right amount of fat to the dish. I would make this again. It was beautiful on the plate and tasted great.

Enjoy!

Tuna with Peanut-Chile Sauce

Recipe: Tuna with Peanut-Chile Sauce
Page: 208
Date Cooked: September 2, 2012

The idea of a tuna "roast" was a novel one and I was curious to see what exactly that entailed. Luckily the fish guy at my grocer was able to get me the right kind of piece of tuna. So there may be a bit of advanced planning for this recipe.

Ingredients: Tuna, olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper, jalapeno chile, peanuts, red bell pepper, lime, garlic, unsalted butter, cilantro, plum tomatoes, sherry vinegar, and zucchini

I rubbed the tuna with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then set it aside.

Tuna "loin" with olive oil, salt, and pepper

I roasted the jalapeno on the stove top till blackened and blistered all over. I placed it in a bowl, covered, and let it steam for a bit. I peeled the jalapeno by hand, stemmed, seeded, and diced.

The jalapeno journey

I tossed the peanuts with a little olive oil and water, placed it on a baking sheet, and roasted them in the oven until golden brown.

Roasting peanuts

With a mortar and pestle, I mashed 3/4 of the peanuts with the jalapeno, a garlic clove, and some olive oil. I cut butter into chunks and integrated that into the peanut-chile mixture along with fresh lime juice. Finally, I stirred in the chopped cilantro and diced red bell pepper. I also seasoned the sauce with salt and pepper.

Making the tuna-peanut chile sauce

I diced the tomatoes. I whisked vinegar with salt, pepper, and olive oil. I added the tomatoes and set the bowl aside.

Tomatoes in vinaigrette

I sliced the zucchini into strips. I heated olive oil in a skillet and added the zucchini, seasoning it lightly with salt and pepper. I sauteed the zucchini for a bit and kept it warm.

Sauteeing the zucchini

I placed the tuna on a baking sheet and roasted for a few minutes on each side. I removed the tuna and let it rest.

Resting tuna

Then it was time to plate. I put the zucchini on the plate first and sprinkled it with the tomato vinaigrette and the remaining peanuts. I topped it the a piece of the tuna and some of the peanut-chile sauce. Finally, I garnished it the some cilantro.

Tuna with Peanut-Chile Sauce

So I made one major error... I overcooked the tuna. This itself was devastating since it was such a beautiful piece of fish. However, in spite of this, the dish was delicious. Beautifully balanced with texture right and left. The peanut-chile sauce was great - it was dense but the acidity of the lime brightened it all up. Then the combo of the zucchini with the tomato vinaigrette played so nicely together. And then the crunch of the peanuts. The tuna itself held up so nicely to the other flavors. Like I said, it was wonderful dish. And I loved how it looked on the plate as well. I would make it again, and watch carefully not to overcook the fish.

Enjoy!

Grand Red Snapper Stew

Recipe: Grand Red Snapper Stew
Page: 210
Date Cooked: April 28, 2012

Living in Central Pennsylvania means there is a high premium for fresh (or as close to fresh as possible) seafood  and availability is sometimes in question. Furthermore, I shouldn't be surprised that it was hard to see red snapper at my grocer since they are said to be over fished. However, I did read an article saying that the fish was returning "from the brink." Regardless, if you can't find red snapper or prefer using another fish, JW does mention halibut, cod, grouper, or monkfish as suitable substitutes.

Ingredients: Fennel, red onion, garlic, celery, leek, olive oil, parsley, dry white wine, bay leaves, saffron, salt, pepper, red snapper fillets, unsalted butter, tomato, and sourdough bread

I began by prepping the components of the stew. I trimmed the fennel, keeping some of the fennel fronds. I thinly sliced the fennel bulbs. I cut the onion into thin strips. I thinly sliced the garlic. I cut the celery into pieces. I cut the carrot into coins. Finally, I sliced the leeks.

(1) Sliced fennel (2) Sliced red onion (3) Carrot coins

(1) Sliced celery (2) Sliced garlic (3) Sliced leeks

I heated olive oil in a Dutch oven and added the fennel, onions, garlic, celery, carrot, and leek. I sauteed the veggies for a minutes. I then added the parsley along with some wine, water, bay leaves, and saffron. I brought the stew to a simmer and let it cook. Finally, I turned off the heat and removed the bay leaves.

Making the stew

In the meantime, I prepared the garlic toasts. I placed the bread on a baking sheet and toasted them in the oven. I rubbed each slice of bread with a garlic half and brushed with olive oil.

Garlic toasts

To finish off the stew, I cooked the red snapper fillets. I salt and peppered the fillets and cut them into bite sized pieces. I melted butter in a large skillet, placed the fillet pieces skin-side sown, and cooked for only a minute.

Cooking snapper fillet

I added the snapper pieces to the stew and brought the stew to a simmer.

Adding snapper to stew

As the stew simmered, I sliced the tomato into rounds. I placed the tomato and garlic toasts into bowls. Finally, I ladled the stew into the bowls and garnished it with the reserved fennel fronds.

Grand Red Snapper Stew

I thought this dish was delicious. The fish held up nicely in contrast to the flavors of the root vegetables. I really enjoyed the licorice flavor of the fennel, it balanced well with the mild leek flavor and provided a textural contrast to the carrots and celery. Everything was seasoned to perfection. The sweet acidity of the tomatoes was great as well. And I think every great soup/stew needs a piece of bread to sop up all the flavors at the end. I could definitely see myself recreating the stew, but perhaps with the different piece of fish. Furthermore, it looked soo beautiful in the bowl.

Enjoy!

Sautéed Monkfish with Spaghetti Squash

Recipe: Sautéed Monkfish with Spaghetti Squash
Page: 205
Date Cooked: January 30, 2012

I walked up to my grocer's seafood counter and indicated that I wanted some monkfish and my fishmonger replied with, "Monkfish, the poor man's lobster." I guess I would have been more intrigued by this statement had it not been the exact opening line of this recipe in JW's A Great American Cook. Never having cooked monkfish or spaghetti squash before, I was excited to see how this recipe would turn out.

Ingredients: Monkfish fillets, salt, pepper, olive oil, spaghetti squash, unsalted butter, lemon, dry white wine, and sage leaves

I sliced the monkfish fillet into equal portions and flattened each portion slightly with the back of my knife. The fillets were then salted and peppered. I put olive oil on a plate and placed the fish on the plate coating each side with the oil. I covered the plate and put it in the fridge.

1. Monkfish fillet in portions 2. Adding salt and pepper 3. Coating fillets with olive oil

Moving on to the spaghetti squash. I cut the squash in half and removed any seeds. I dotted the halves with butter and added salt and pepper. I roasted the squash until it was tender. I then used a large fork to flick out the stands of the roasted squash. And I finally realized why it was called spaghetti squash - the strands really do look like spaghetti, it was kind of fun.

Strands of spaghetti squash

I melted butter in a large skillet until the butter turned a hazelnut color. I added the fish and cooked it for a few minutes on each side and then placed the fish on a baking sheet.

Cooking monkfish

I added white wine to the skillet and reduced the liquid by about half. I then lowered the heat and added the squash, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sage leaves. I cooked the squash for a few minutes and added some salt and pepper as needed.

Cooking the spaghetti squash in a white wine reduction with lemon zest, lemon juice, and sage leaves

When the squash was close to being done, I reheated the monkfish under the broiler for just a few minutes. I formed a nest of squash on a plate and put the monkfish right on top....

Sautéed Monkfish with Spaghetti Squash

There are 9 "Fish" recipes in A Great American Cook. I have now made 4 of the 9 recipes....this is the best fish recipe I have had thus far. It was amazing. I could not get over how freaking delicious the spaghetti squash was. Perfect amount of acidity. Perfect seasoning. Honestly, I have no words for how amazingly good it was. The meaty texture of the monkfish was the right accompaniment. It was so ridiculously simple but the flavor combination was intensely complex. I have to give this recipe rave reviews and there is not a single doubt in my mind that I will make this again. Heck, I wish I had some right now...

Enjoy!