1 ISHERMAN'S PAN STEW with Fettuccine and White Wine Cream
Serves 4 to 6
SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
whole black peppercorns, slightly bruised tablespoon thyme leaves cup white wine cups heavy cream tablespoon mustard
3or4 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely diced 12 mushroom stems (reserve caps for later) 1 bay leaf
1 pound fresh fettuccine, homemade 1 carrot, cleaned and sliced into very
or store-bought thin julienne
4 tablespoons butter for cooking the fish 1 stalk celery, cleaned and sliced into
pounds assorted fish and/or shellfish very thin julienne
meat, cut into V2- to 3A-inch pieces 12 farm or wild mushroom caps, sliced
1 leek, cleaned and sliced into very thin % cup white wine
julienne 1 tomato, concassee
1 zucchini, cleaned and sliced into very
thin julienne
1. Make the sauce: In a large, heavy saucepan, heat butter until foamy. Add the shallots, garlic, and mushroom stems and cook until soft. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns, and thyme leaves. Stir.
2. Add the wine and reduce until almost a glaze. Add the cream and reduce until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in the mustard and then strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Hold for service.
3. Cook the pasta and drain.
4. In a large skillet, heat the butter and add the raw fish (if you have some cooked fish, for instance smoked salmon or steamed mussels, wait until last on these), and shake the pan. Add all the vegetables except the tomato, and toss or stir evenly. Add the wine and simmer a moment; now add the cream and pasta and toss together.
5. Lift the mixture into heated bowls or onto plates, and garnish evenly with the tomato concasse. Serve.
VJRILLED SWEETBREADS IN CORN CAKES with Kumquat Jelly
Sweetbreads as an entree are discussed on page 172. In this preparation we have sweetbreads as an appetizer. This is another situation where you can reduce the amount of work required in preparing certain foods by using a bit of foresight. You might plan on blanching an extra pound of sweetbreads when you serve a dinner of sweetbreads on Friday night; then you can cash in with a light meal or appetizer of sweetbreads on Sunday.
It is not crucial to grill the sweetbreads-they can be sauteed; but do grill if you can, since the grill's smoke goes well with the sweetness of the jelly.
Serves 6 to 8
SWEETBREAD PREPARATION
1 pound sweetbreads, blanched and
trimmed (see page 173) 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1 leek, white part only, chopped medium 3 tablespoons herbes de Provence vinegar
CORN CAKES
2 cups fresh corn kernels 'А cup milk
'/з cup flour
'/з cup cornmeal
'A cup clarified butter
2 large eggs
JELLY
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
6 kumquats, pitted and chopped medium
6 pearl onions, blanched and peeled
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
PA cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon basil leaves 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
Salt and pepper
Clarified butter for frying cakes
12 ounces orange marmalade 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1. Fire a grill to medium high.
2. Oil and season the sweetbreads with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and keep them cool.
3. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter. Add the leek and cook until just softened. Add the vinegar and pearl onions and reduce a moment.
4. Add the chives, tarragon, and cream and reduce by half. Now add the Dijon and cayenne. Stir. Taste and adjust as necessary. Chill.
5. Grill the sweetbreads until medium-rare and chill.
6. Make the corncakes: Process the corn kernels with a few tablespoons of the milk in a food processor until not quite smooth.
7. Put corn mixture in a bowl and add the remaining milk, the flour, cornmeal, and
lA cup clarified butter. Whisk. Add the eggs, egg yolk, herbs, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
(reci8. Cut up the sweetbreads fairly fine and mix with the reserved leek and mustard cream. (Be sure they are in proportion to each other. In other words, add just enough of the cream mixture to bind and flavor the sweetbreads.) Chill.
9. Prepare the jelly: Heat the vinegar in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat a moment. Add the kumquats. Add the marmalade and cayenne. Mix well and keep warm
10. Prior to serving, remove the sweetbread mixture from the refrigerator and allow to
11. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough clarified butter to just coat the bottom of the pan. Fry the com cakes (use about 2 ounces of batter per cake) until golden brown on each side and put on a plate.
12. Spoon a little of the sweetbread mixture on the top right-hand area and bottom right-hand area of the cake. Fold the cake over, covering the two dollops of sweetbread mixture. Cut the cake in half to form 2 quarter-cakes.
13. Repeat until all the com cakes are prepared, filled, and cut.
14. Spoon the kumquat jelly in the middle of each small serving plate, surround with 4 quarters of the filled com cake, and serve.
with Mustard Bearnaise
Crab meat for cakes is traditionally from the blue crab, which can be found in many parts of the world, especially in Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. There are different grades of fresh meat available from mid-spring to very late fall, depending on the weather. For crab cakes, I usually use 'flake" meat.
warm.