Crawfish Étouffeé

Hey, I thought we were friends!

When I worked at Muirfield Village Golf Club, there was a creek in front of the third green that had flooded after a heavy rainfall. As a couple of coworkers cleaned silt off of the green there was a call over the radio stating that there was a live scorpion on the green. Needless to say, they don't have scorpions in Columbus, OH, but they do have, what we call crayfish, though not as large (or plentiful) as those down in Louisiana.

Imagine how stoked I was when I got an email from Bay Lobsters announcing a shipment of live crawfish. Since I live in Ohio, any étouffeé I've ever had has been made with shrimp. So I was very excited to get my hands and these little guys, since it isn't something that you can just drive down to the grocery store and buy. While Bay Lobsters does carry the frozen already peeled crawfish tails, everything I've ever read on the subject says that the live critters are the only way to go.

As I drove back home with my 2 1/2 pounds worth of my temporary pets, I could hear them "clacking" away on the floor of the car (in a bag). I have to say that I was dreading the idea of boiling these lively little guys. It was going to be murder on a grand scale. As I heated up the water the crawfish kept climbing out of the bowl and falling onto the floor. While unpleasant at first, the boiling of the mud bugs wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I used John Besh's My New Orleans for the recipe. I think the cool thing about this book is that Besh gives a lot of the building blocks of the New Orleans favorites while also offering some recipes from his French culinary background. There is a lot of nuanced information that you don't seem to get with some of the traditional books.This recipe calls for an entire pound of crawfish tails, but he also has a franco-centric dish that calls for just ten tails. I haven't cooked out of this book that much because it isn't very seasonal for this time of year, but when the strawberries come out this thing will be getting a work out.

The étouffeé was very good, especially the next day. I don't know what it was, but when I do it again I will definitely make it the day before. The spice (which is present but restrained), seems to incorporate itself into the tail meat when it sits overnight. Biting into one of these tails doesn't dispense an immediate and overpowering spice, but a slow crescendo that seems to sneak up on your tongue after you've swallowed the bite. When I ate right after making it, there seemed to be two separate flavors: tail meat and then the other stuff. If you make it let me know which way you prefer it.

Chicken Stock
¼ cup canola oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 leek, white part, coarsely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 pound roasted chicken bones and carcasses (Substitute 1 pound of shells from shrimp, blue crab, crawfish, or lobster for Shellfish Stock)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1. Heat the canola oil in a large pot over moderate heat. Cook the onions, celery, carrots, leeks, and garlic, stirring often, until they are soft but not brown, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the shells, the bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, and 3 quarts water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, skimming any foam that rises to the surface, until the stock has reduced by half, about 2 hours.

3. Strain through a fine sieve into a container with a cover. Allow the stock to cool, cover and refrigerate, then skim off the fat. Freeze the stock in batches to use later.

Besh suggests putting the stock in an ice cup tray

Basic Louisiana White Rice (Makes about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon chicken fat, extra-virgin olive oil, or butter
1 small onion, minced
1-1/2 cups Louisiana long-grain white rice
3 cups Basic Chicken Stock (see above recipe)
1 bay leaf
1-2 pinches salt

1. Put the fat, oil, or butter and the onions into a medium saucepan and sweat the onions over moderate heat until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour the rice into the pan and stir for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf and salt.

2. Cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 18 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.

Crawfish Étouffeé with Louisiana White Rice

Crawfish Étouffeé (serves 6)
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
Half a red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leaves from two sprigs of fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 quart Basic Shellfish Stock (see above recipe)
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound peeled crawfish tails (from 2 ½ pounds live)
2 green onions, chopped
2 dashes Worchestershire
2 dashes Tabasco Salt Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups cooked Basic Louisiana Rice (see above recipe)

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk the flour into the very hot oil. It will immediately begin to sizzle and fizz. Keep whisking and reduce the heat to moderate. Continue whisking until the roux takes on a gorgeous dark brown color, about 15 minutes. *I don’t know if I screwed something up but mine only took about half that time* Add the onions, reduce the heat, and cook until the onions caramelize. If you add all the vegetables at the same time, the water that results will boil the onions and their sugars won’t caramelize.

2. When the onions have turned the roux shiny and dark, add the celery, bell peppers, garlic, thyme, cayenne, and paprika. Cook for 5 minutes. Now add the tomatoes and the Shellfish Stock and increase the heat to high.

3. Once the sauce has come to a boil, reduce the heat to moderate and let simmer 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Be careful not to let it burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.

4. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter. Add the crawfish tails and green onions. Season with Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt, and black pepper. Once the crawfish tails have heated through, remove the saucepan from the heat.

5. Serve in individual bowl over rice.

Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp with Garlic and Chile

I always look for a recipe that easily allows me to make half of it spicy and the other half without (for the wife.) I made these with the Chinese Green Beans, but it’s a dish that you can mix with a pretty wide variety of sides.

Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp with Garlic and Chile
By Dawn Yanagihara Serves 4

• 2 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• Pinch of Chinese five-spice powder
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• 5 large cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Serrano Chile, thinly sliced into rounds
• 4 large Scallions (green parts only), sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1-1/2 lb. large shrimp (26 to 30 per lb.), peeled and deveined, tails left on
• 1-1/2 Tbs peanut or canola oil
• 1 small lime, cut into 4 wedges

In a large bowl, mix the cornstarch, sugar, five-spice powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, chile, and scallions; set aside.

Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Line a small baking sheet or large plate with a double layer of paper towels. Add the shrimp to the cornstarch mixture and toss until evenly and thoroughly coated.

In a heavy-duty 12 inch nonstick skillet, heat 1-1/2 Tbs of the oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add half of the shrimp in a single layer. Cook without disturbing until deep golden and spotty brown on one side, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, quickly flip each shrimp and continue to cook until the second sides are spotty golden brown, about 1 minute longer. (The shrimp may not be cooked through at this point.) Transfer the shrimp to the prepared sheet. Add another 1 Tbs of the oil to the skillet and repeat with the remaining shrimp, transferring them to the sheet when done.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 Tbs oil to the skillet. Add the garlic mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the chile and scallions are softened and the garlic is golden and smells toasted, about 1 minute. Return the shrimp to the pan and stir to combine. Serve immediately, with the lime wedges.

Salmon Quick, Salmon Delicious

I think most people that cook with an regularity have a group of recipes that fall under the "Easy and Good" category. There are just some nights where the whole thing is so last minute that you know you're going to have to pull one of the Easy and Good recipes from your arsenal.

I have a client that is particularly difficult when it comes to wanting everything right away. Everything is a crisis and needs to handled immediately. I spent the majority of the afternoon jumping through hoops. Needless to say, last night was one of those last minute meals.

Enter Grilled Salmon with Wasabi-Ginger Mayonnaise.

Written by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Molly Stevens, this is a definite winner. I actually cook this on our panini maker. Since it's non-stick and folds open to convert into an electric grill, last night's warm temperatures made it a no brainer.


Grilled Salmon with Wasabi-Ginger Mayonnaise
by Molly Stevens

• 1 1/2 Limes
• 1/2 C Mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Wasabi Paste; more to taste
• 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• 4 - 6 oz. skinless Salmon fillets
• Vegetable Oil for the grill

Prepare a medium-hot grill fire (be sure the grill grate has been scrubbed clean with a wire brush).

Cut the half lime into four wedges and set aside. Finely grate the zest from the whole lime. Cut the zested lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into a small bowl (save the other half for another use). In a medium bowl, combine 1 tsp of the lime juice with the lime zest, mayonnaise, wasabi paste, ginger, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir to combine. Taste and add more wasabi paste if you'd like a zippier flavor.

Run you finger along each salmon fillet to feel for tiny bones; use tweezers or needlenose pliers to pull out any that you find. Season the fillets lightly with salt and pepper. Spoon about 2 Tbsp of the mayonnaise mixture onto the salmon fillets and refrigerate the rest. With your hands, Spread the mayonnaise in a thin layer over all sides of the fillets.

When the grill is ready, oil the grill grate using tongs and a paper towel dipped in oil. Grill the salmon until crisp and slightly charred on one side, about 4 minutes. Turn and continue to grill until the salmon is just cooked through, another 3 to 6 minutes. Serve the salmon topped with a dollop of the mayonnaise and a lime wedge on the side. Pass the remaining mayonnaise at the table.

Tips:
If you use a non-stick surface you can skip the vegetable oil step. If not, make sure you do use the oil or you will have a mess on your hands.

For grating the ginger I use one of those ceramic ginger graters. Unlike a rasp style grater, it does a better job of keeping the fiberous threads out of the grated portion of the ginger.

You can find the wasabi paste at any Asian market. I've tried the powder (since that's all they had at the grocery store), and it didn't work very well. I prefer the stuff out of the tube.

While you're at the Asian market, I like to use Cupie Mayonnaise. I don't know what it is, but it tastes great in this recipe. Never tried Cupie? I'm not really sure why it's named that. It comes in this crazy, extremely pliable plastic bottle.

Arctic Char in the Arctic Freeze

We try very hard to use sustainably caught or raised fish whenever possible. Arctic Char is one of our favorites. In terms of cost it goes for about $10-11 a pound at Whole Foods. Char is on the recommended list for the Seafood Watch List.

This recipe is for Butter-Basted Salmon (or Char) with Tea from a fantastic cookbook by Rick Moonen & Roy Finamore called Fish Without a Doubt. I think the tea in this recipe is the key to the whole thing. The smokiness of it is present but doesn't overpower the flavor of the fish. I think it should also be mentioned that the accompanying cucumber salad and horseradish cream recipes should be served with them. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like them but in all honesty the whole thing was awesome.


Butter-Basted Salmon (or Char) with Tea
by Rick Moonen & Roy Finamore

• 4 - 7 ounce pieces of Wild Salmon (char) fillet, skin on
• Course Salt
• 2 tsp lapsang souchong tea powder (we got our's at Teavana. To make the powder, spoon some of the tea leaves into a spice grinder and process to a fine dust.)
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted Butter
• Mom's Cucumber Salad (see recipe below)
• Horseradish Cream (see recipe below)

1. Season the fish on both sides with salt, then rub all over with the tea powder. Wrap the fish tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Have a big spoon ready next to the stove as well as a few layers of paper towels. When the pan is good and hot, cut 4 tablespoons of butter into pieces and add them to the skillet.
3. When the butter has melted and stopped sizzling, add the fish, skin side down, putting it in the far side of the pan, leaving space in the part nearest you. Turn the heat down to medium and press down on the fish with a spatula; this helps set the skin, getting it started on its way to being crisp and delicious.
4. After about 2 minutes, cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into pieces and add them to the skillet. As the butter melts, tilt and pull the skillet toward you and start basting the fish, using the spoon to pour the bubbling butter over the fish. You're pulling the skillet toward you so the fish will get the benefit of the heat, even though you have the pan tilted; lower the pan once in a while as you're cooking the fish. As you cook and baste, the butter will brown and its nuttiness will flavor the fish. As the fish cooks, the flesh will turn a milky pink.
5. After 5 minutes, it should feel firm. If you have any doubts, use a knife to poke into your portion; the fish should be rosy inside. Use a spatula to take the fish out of the skillet and set it on the paper towels. Use another paper towel to blot the fish.
6. To serve, pile a mound of cucumber salad in the center of each dinner plate. Set a piece of salmon/char on top, skin side up, and spoon a ring of horseradish cream around the cucumber salad.

Mom's Cucumber Salad

• 2 - Cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4" slices
• Coarse Salt
• 1 - small Red Onion, cut into very thin slices
  
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh Dill
• 1 Cup of Rice Vinegar

1. Put the cucumbers in a colander with a generous teaspoon of salt and toss.
   
2. Fill a sealable plastic bag with ice cubes and put it on top of the cukes to weight them and keep them very cold. Put the colander in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Take the colander out of the bowl and shake the cucumbers well over the sink. Don't do anything like blotting them or rinsing them.
4. Put the cucumbers into a bowl with the onion, sugar, and dill. Toss to combine. Pour in the vinegar; it should just cover the cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

This will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Horseradish Cream

• 1 Cup of Creme Fraiche
• 1/2 Cup grated Horseradish (fresh or prepared), drained
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp chopped fresh Dill
• 1 tsp fresh Lemon juice
• Course Salt and freshly ground White Pepper

1. Whisk the creme fraiche, horseradish, mustard, dill, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whisk again.
2. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight, if you have the time, or for at least 30 minutes.
   

A Quick Scallop Dinner

We typically try to work fish into our dinners at least three times a week. I’m always trying to find something new (and fast) that I haven’t done before. Since we try very hard to only purchase sustainably caught fish there’s a smaller selection for us to choose from. When I saw this recipe in the new Fine Cooking I just had to try it out. Typically anything with hoisin goes over huge with Mrs. Dine O Mite. These scallops were no exception.



Hoisin-Glazed Scallops with Spinach & Cilantro
By Lori Longbotham

Serves Four

• 16 all-natural “dry” sea scallops (about 1#)
• Kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs hoisin sauce
• 3 thin scallions, very thinly sliced
• 10 oz. baby spinach
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ tsp Asian sesame oil

Dry the scallops well with paper towels and season with ½ tsp salt and the cayenne. In a 12” cast iron skillet, heat 1 Tbs of the oil over high heat until hot. Cook the scallops, turning once with the tongs, until golden brown and just opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes per side. As they finish cooking, transfer the scallops to a large plate and brush the top of each with hoisin sauce.

Wipe out the skillet and then heat the remaining 1 Tbs oil over medium-high heat. Add about two-thirds of the scallions and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach, cilantro, and ¼ tsp salt and cook, tossing constantly with tongs, until just barely wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, drizzle the spinach mixture with sesame oil, and toss to combine well.

Serve the scallops with the spinach, sprinkled with the remaining scallions.

Arctic Char with Hoisin Glaze and Wasabi Butter Sauce

Doug Katz, the chef and owner of Fire Food and Drink has been recognized by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program for his commitment to offering sustainable seafood choices on his restaurant’s menu. It’s the only place in town where I can go knowing that any seafood dish I choose doesn’t require me to refer to my handy dandy pocket sized Seafood Watch guide …no Atlantic Salmon, no Snapper, no Chilean Sea Bass, etc. So when I discovered Artic Char on his menu this April, I was intrigued...it wasn’t I fish I had really heard of and I sure as heck didn’t recall seeing it at my local markets. When I tasted his crispy skin artic char with white asparagus and lemon risotto, I was smitten. I love salmon, so it makes perfect sense that I would be taken with the char as well. I would consider it a cousin to salmon, but with a milder flavor. Many describe it as somewhere between salmon and trout.

When I got home from that dinner, I began an almost immediate quest for Arctic Char recipes. However, I found out all too quickly, with the help of my friends at Google and Yahoo, that there is a real lack of mainstream exposure for this tasty, largely sustainable and relatively low cost fish. Why no love for the char, people? Is it because you’re consuming that terribly cheap and ecologically unsound Atlantic Salmon (don’t be ashamed, I too once was a fan of Atlantic Salmon, until I learned its dirty little secrets).

Through the Spring, I continued my periodic searches for char dishes and even went back to Fire Food and Drink and ate it again for my birthday dinner…just as good as the first time around, if not better. Then I discovered Fish Without A Doubt by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore at the bookstore and low and behold, it featured Artic Char and best of all, it had a recipe with one of my favorite ingredients (as a lover of all things asian), hoisin.

I’ve since found the char at my local Whole Foods…it was hard to find this summer and then a few weeks ago, there it was, calling out to me at the seafood counter….eat me.

So today, I finally had the time to make this dish and it was fantastic. The authors of Fish Without a Doubt suggested a side of Bok Choy or Cabbage…instead of using their recipe though, I turned to www.epicurious.com for a suggestion. Their Braised Baby Bok Choy was a perfect accompaniment to the sweet and salty hoisin glaze and wasabi butter with the char.

Before I jump to the recipes, I just want to express my love for this book. It’s educational, focused on sustainable seafood choices and it gives you ideas for fish substitutions and side dishes. It’s a well rounded book that tops out at over 450 pages and yes, it has lots of Artic char recipes…I can’t wait to try the next one.

Sauteed Char with Hoisin Glaze and Wasabi Butter Sauce

(Adapted from Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore)

2 6-8 oz. Artic char filets with skin on
Kosher salt and fresh ground white pepper
All purpose flour
Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter


Hoisin Glaze
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (we prefer Lee Kum Kee brand)
Juice of 1/2 lime (we used a whole lime)
Coarse salt
1 teaspoon honey
1 small garlic clove, minced or put through a press
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

Stir the hoisin, lime juice, honey, garlic, and cilantro together in a small bowl. Season with salt.

This can sit on the counter for a couple of hours; or store it, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days.


Wasabi Butter Sauce

2 tablespoons wasabi powder
2-3 teaspoons dry vermouth
Basic Butter Sauce, just made (see below for recipe)

Moisten the wasabi powder with the vermouth, stirring to make a smooth paste. Add the wasabi paste to the butter sauce and mix with an immersion blender. Serve or keep warm for up to 1 hour before serving. Add a few drops of water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Basic Butter Sauce

1/2 cup slices shallots
3/4 cup water
1 sprig thyme
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Coarse salt

Put the shallots, water and thyme into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium and cook at a low boil until the shallots are very soft and water has reduced to a generous 1/4 cup.

Remove the thyme and turn the heat to very low. Use an immersion blender to start pureeing the shallots. Add a piece of butter and continue to puree, emulsifying the water and butter. Continue to add the butter piece by piece, incorporating each bit of butter before adding another. Tilt the pan as you work and keep it over the heat. The sauce will become light and very pale yellow.

Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, pushing down any solids that remain with a wooden spoon. Return the sauce to the pan and season with salt.

Serve right away or keep at the back of the stove for an hour, whisking occasionally. Add a few drops of water if sauce becomes too thick.

For the main dish:

Heat a saute pan over high heat. Season char on both sides with salt and white pepper. Dust the skin lightly with all purpose flour.

Add some olive oil to the pan. Set the fillets, skin side down and reduce heat to medium-high. Press down on the fish with a spatula, listening for the sizzle that tells you you're making a good crust. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan, breaking it into smaller pieces so it will melt quickly. Once melted, tilt the pan and baste the fish with the butter. Cook for about 3 minutes on the 1st side. You will see the fish cooking from the bottom up. When almost cooked through, turn over the fish, turn off the heat and allow the fish to sit for 30 seconds or so. Transfer to paper towels.

To plate, put baby bok choy on the plate and set the fish on top of it. Add hoisin glaze as you like and drizzle the wasabi butter sauce onto the dish.

Braised Baby Bok Choy (from www.Epicurious.com) – Serves 2