Recipes

Chipotle Glazed Shrimp wrapped in Prosciutto

Contributed by Heather McDaniel

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin (or whole)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons canned chipotles in adobo sauce
1-1/2 lbs uncooked shrimp, divined & peeled leaving tails on
1/2 cup orange juice
2 generous tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 pound Prosciutto, cut paper thin

Heat oil in skillet; add onion and sauté over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, cumin oregano; stir 1 minute. While sautéing, add water, vinegar, and chipotles to a blender, and blend. Add onion mixture to blender, don't wash skillet. Puree mixture until smooth.

Pour half the pureed mixture in a large zip-lock bag a put in the freezer for a couple minutes, when cooled add shrimp and marinade overnight.

Add the other half of the pureed mixture back into the skillet and add orange juice and brown sugar. Cook over low heat until thick and reduced by half. Chill the glaze.

Just before grilling remove shrimp from marinade and wrap 1/2 slice of Prosciutto around each shrimp, skewer. If using wooden skewers, remember to soak in water 1/2 before using, this will prevent them from burning. Put shrimp on pre-heated grill and brush with the glaze.

I've made these many, many times and have heard nothing but rave reviews!

Enjoy

Heather

Kingfish with Potatoes

Often I am asked if I like kingfish and that is a hard question for me to answer with a yes or no. Kingfish is an oily fish and will not freeze well. Large kingfish are strong and need to be smoked. Some people unlike myself. never eat a fish they did not like. There is a criterion that I need to follow closely for me to say yes to kingfish. It will make a big difference in taste and texture that should improve any recipe.

CRITERIA: The fish needs to be about eight to ten pounds, caught that day, and go from hook to ice.

This alone can constitute a gourmet treat.

INGREDIENTS:
kingfish steaks about 3/4 inch thick
onion rings
green pepper rings
thinly sliced raw potatoes
Italian salad dressing (oil & vinegar style)
paprika
black pepper
salt or celery salt

I consider this a one pot dinner that will work out well for an onboard or a camping menu.

On a large peace of aluminum foil, lay out the fish steaks.

Brush the steaks lightly on the top with dressing, sprinkle with seasoning.

Add a layer of onion and pepper rings, salt and pepper.

Add enough sliced potatoes to match the portions of fish.

Add dressing, seasoning and dust with paprika for color.

Fold up sides of foil and leave partially open at the top.

Place in oven 350 degrees, cook until potatoes are done.

The dressing can be varied in many ways to suit your taste or to give the recipe a new character. One variation is lemon, butter and fresh herbs. My favorite is a simple combination of olive oil, fresh lemon and malt vinegar with only one (1) fresh herb. Oregano is a popular herb to use but dill, fennel, tarragon and many others will give the recipe a new freshness if desired.

NOTE: Use dressing sparingly as not to saturate fish stakes with oil while cooking. The onion, green pepper and potatoes will mellow the fish flavor and the potatoes will taste wonderful. A baking dish will work well in place of foil.

Capt. Bob Smith

Oyster dressing

Enough for a 4-pound fish or the crop of a turkey.

Melt:
6 tablespoons butter.
Sauté in the butter until brown:
1/4 cup chopped onion

Add:
1 tablespoon chopped parsley.
2 cups dry bread crumbs.
1 cup whole or chopped oysters: 1/2 pint.
3/4 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon paprika.
2 tablespoons capers.
1/2 cup drained chopped spinach.

Pickled Bluefish

Fillet bluefish. Remove all skin and dark meat. Wash fillets thoroughly before cutting them into bite size chunks, and to make a one quart jar of the "Herring," use these measurements:

3 cups bluefish chunks
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 heaping tablespoon pickling spice

Marinade:
1-1/4 cup white or wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons salt

Mix bluefish, onion and pickling spice in jar. Stir together ingredients for marinade and pour into jar.

Fill to the brim. Close jar and store in refrigerator for one week, remembering to shake the jar once a day to allow the spices to blend evenly. You'll be amazed how closely the taste of bluefish "herring" resembles the flavor and texture of classic Pickled herring. Before eating I add sourer cream.

TIPS:

Select bluefish of about three (3) pounds When caught, cut throat and allow to bleed in saltwater (5 to 10 minutes) until dead Immediately chill on ice before cleaning

Fillet and skin, cut out red meat and belly with bones Wash and chill fillets in saltwater slush (heavy mixture of ice and water) for 15 minutes

NOTES:

Like most people I do not like to eat bluefish, but I do love pickled herring, and this is the best I ever had. Also bluefish are plentiful around the winter holidays.

The slush is something I use on all fish before bagging

Pompano in Parchment

This is a traditional method for cooking pompano in most of the best restaurants. Pompano is a fatty fish and not for frying.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place on hart shaped parchment paper, 2 medium size skinned pompano fillets.

Cover with Shrimp sauce.

Close the parchment paper, fold the edge and bake for 15 minutes until the paper is browned and puffed.

SHRIMP SAUCE

Prepare 1 cup white sauce

Melt over low heat, 2 tablespoons butter.

Add and blend over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons flour.

Stir in slowly, 1 cup milk

For better consistence, you may scald the milk beforehand; but be sure to avoid lumping, that the roux is cool when you add it.

Add:

1 small onion studded with 2 or 3 whole cloves, 1/2 small bay leaf.

Cook and stir the sauce with a wire whisk or wooden spoon until thickened and smooth.

Add:

1/2 cup whipping cream.

Rub through a fine sieve, 2 table spoons shrimp butter.

Instead of shrimp butter, you may add 1 tablespoon finely ground shrimp made into a smooth paste with 1 tablespoon butter. Heat to boiling point.

Season to taste and garnish with finely chopped shrimp.

Pompano with oyster bread dressing

You can simply bake, broil or grill pompano hole or fillets and use the seasonings you like but my favorite is to stuff it with oyster dressing and bake the pompano whole.

I leave the head on the fish so that it will hold more stuffing. To clean the fish, I cut along the stomach up to the lower lip without splitting the lip and remove the gills and stomach. Eyes and fins are optional but leave the skin on. Wash the fish well and salt the inside. Stuff the fish well and cook until dune but do not over cook.

OYSTER BREAD DRESSING

Enough for a 4-pound fish or the crop of a turkey.

Melt:
6 tablespoons butter.
Sauté in the butter until brown:
1/4 cup chopped onion

Add:
1 tablespoon chopped parsley.
2 cups dry bread crumbs.
1 cup whole or chopped oysters: 1/2 pint.
3/4 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon paprika.
2 tablespoons capers.
1/2 cup drained chopped spinach.

Preparing mild fish

One of the first questions I received in reference to my recipes page is: "Where are your recipes for grouper, snapper, flounder, snook, etc.?"

I had to stop and think about that. These are the fish I eat the most and I don’t have a recipe for them or is the recipe in itself, the less you do the better it is for these mild flavored fish.

Let’s put the fish in two categories, fatty and non fatty. Fatty fish have a strong taste that only a few enjoy without a sauce, marinade, or cooking method to subdue the oily flavor. Mackerel, salmon, bluefish, tuna, and redfish are some of these fish.

On the other hand, non fatty fish such as grouper, flounder, snook, and snapper when cooked FRESH have a delicate flavor that could be easily lost in a sauce. Non fatty fish can be cooked in any method you like. Just season the fish with salt and paprika for color. Use olive oil, butter, or light oil to keep the fish from sticking. Do not overcook, but cook long enough to acquire the firmness you like. Serve your condiments like lemon, malt-vinegar, tarter sauce, etc. on the side. If you need to disguise your fish, non fatty fish can be used in most any recipe for stronger fish as long as you can match the thickness of the fish your recipe calls for.

Deep-fried fish is a favorite of many! I save this cooking for outside because of the smoke. You need lots of very hot oil, with very cold fish and batter. I put my fish and batter in bowls surrounded by ice to keep them chilled and get the oil hot with a gas burner. Hot oil and cold fish is the key to a crispy coating with less oil saturation.

Fatty fish is usually not deep fried but some people do enjoy them sautéed in a frying pan. Fatty fish is considered to be best when broiled, baked, or put on the charcoal grill.

One thing about fish is that you never want to over cook it because no matter how fresh a fish is, if you overcook it and it starts to burn, it will stink like old rotten fish.

Capt. Tony Blizzard

Scallops

8 ounces julienne chicken breast
2 small eggs
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon white truffle oil
12 ounces B grade Hudson Valley foie gras
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoons finely chopped chives
½ cup chopped morels
1 small bag fresh soy beans, endaname
1 bag 50 thin, round won ton wrappers
4 large, U8 day boat scallops

In a food processor, puree into a mousse the chicken, eggs, cream and truffle oil. Add a very little bit of ice to keep the temperature cold. Then add the foie gras and puree until very smooth. Transfer the mousse to a chilled and ice BainMarie stainless steel bowl and fold in the chives and morels. Make shumai with thin won ton wrappers. Garnish with endanames and steam for 8 minutes.

CARAMELIZED SHALLOT BROTH

1 cup sliced shallots
1 tablespoon peanut oil
½ cup sauterne wine or a late harvest wine
4 cups chicken or duck stock
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig

Salt and pepper to taste

Caramelize shallots with the oil until golden brown. Deglaze with wine and reduce by 80 percent. Add stock, bay and thyme and reduce 20 percent. In a hot pan, sear scallops until golden brown then flip and roast in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes or until medium rare inside. Place scallop in the middle of a soup plate and surround with shumai.

Ladle in broth with the shallots. Garnish with shiitake chips and drizzle a little truffle oil.

Yield: 4 portions

Sea scallops with Mexican Chorizo sausage

By Heather McDaniel

16 large sea scallops

8 ounces finely chopped chorizo sausage – Mexican, not Spanish, it has the consistency of ground beef
1/2 to 1 cup bread crumbs
dash of salt & cayenne pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 egg, slightly beaten with 3 tablespoons milk
Olive oil for pan-frying

In a hot sauté pan, render the chorizo for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a food processor, pulse the chorizo with the bread crumbs until the mixture binds together. Season. Season the scallops. Dredge the scallops in the flour. Dip the scallops in the egg wash, removing any excess. Dredge the scallops in the chorizo crust. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, pan-fry the scallops for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden.

Drain on a paper-lined plate.

Shrimp sauce

Prepare 1 cup white sauce

Melt over low heat, 2 tablespoons butter.

Add and blend over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons flour.

Stir in slowly, 1 cup milk

For better consistence, you may scald the milk beforehand; but be sure to avoid lumping, that the roux is cool when you add it.

Add:

1 small onion studded with 2 or 3 whole cloves, 1/2 small bay leaf.

Cook and stir the sauce with a wire whisk or wooden spoon until thickened and smooth.

Add:

1/2 cup whipping cream.

Rub through a fine sieve, 2 table spoons shrimp butter.

Instead of shrimp butter, you may add 1 tablespoon finely ground shrimp made into a smooth paste with 1 tablespoon butter. Heat to boiling point.

Season to taste and garnish with finely chopped shrimp.