Improving my cooking skills (2003)

[snowangel]

Absolute and total detour here. Paul is out of town, and the kids decreed breakfast sausages, waffles and scrambled eggs. Fortunately, my mom stopped by this afternoon, and since she was having unexpected company for dinner, took my fish and asparagus. Breakfast for dinner was wonderful. I'll try to do the "real" meal early this week.

[Varmint]

Well, I used gray sole that I found at Whole Foods. Filets. That means they needed one minute per side -- hardly enough to get any sort of crust on them.

I'm not sure about the meuniere -- it was tasty, but I could have browned the butter a touch more. A bit more lemon would have helped, too. Even a dash of salt!

Accompanying it with sauteed spinach was perfect. Good complementary flavors. The duxelle stuffed potato worked well, but I had to hold it in the oven too long, causing it to collapse. Flavor was outstanding, however.

Fried pies kick ass!!! I used granny smith and braeburn apples that I had cut into 1/4 inch dice. I cooked them earlier today with applejack, cinnamon, sugar, and lemon until there was no liquid left. Once the apples cooled, I made a simple pie crust using mostly vegetable oil and a bit of very soft butter for flavor. I pan fried them in vegetable oil, dusted them with a cinnamon/confectioners sugar combo, and served with the egg nog ice cream. The pies were nearly perfect, although next time I may add a touch of sugar to the pastry.

I did take pictures with my son's camera, but I can't find the USB cable. Bummer.

Looking forward to others' reports.

[hjshorter]

Excellent report. I usually find that with the capers we don't need salt, but maybe our capers are saltier than yours.

I went to the Chinese market and had them club some live tilapia for me but I judged them too skimpy and just steamed them for last night's dinner. I'll look for something thicker today.

[marie-louise]

I usually find that with the capers we don't need salt, but maybe our capers are saltier than yours.

I usually rinse my capers-do you?

[SethG]

I made my version of the menu last night.

Fish: I bought some blackfish fillets at the Brooklyn greenmarket. I couldn't bring myself to buy flounder, even though that was the obvious substitute. I'd never had blackfish before, and I was told that it's a flat, white fish (with pinkish overtones), so it seemed like it would work and be a little more interesting. And I thought it worked very well. The fillets were thick, so I sauteed them for a good three to four minutes per side, producing a nice, light browning on the outside and the slightest hint of rosiness remaining in the center. I went with Rochelle's meuniere technique-- this was serious fun. I got the pan really really hot, then threw chilled butter in there and watched it melt in just a few instants. Like Varmint, I was worried about overdoing the butter, but if anything, I pulled it off the heat before it was browned enough. It did have that slightly nutty browned flavor, but it could have used more. Unlike Varmint, I thought we had plenty of lemon juice and capers, but as I did these by feel, I'm not sure I followed the recipe. I've never made fish using this technique before, and I found it to have an extremely pleasing satisfaction-to-effort ratio. I've been wanting to cook more fish at home, and this experience will definitely lead to more similar meals.

I also roasted asparagus as per marie-louise's suggestion. This too I've been meaning to try, and it too was so easy and satisfying.

As was the rice, although I took advantage of Jacques' permission to skip the vegetable garnish entirely. Still, just cooking the rice with sauteed onions, stock and thyme made for a nice, interesting counterpoint to the fish.

All in all, a wonderful and quick meal. We had two friends over, and they brought some champagne, which we drank through the whole meal. And it tasted great with everything-- even the asparagus, I thought-- but maybe I was just light-headed. I was pretty tired by the time we ate!

Next time I'd like to try actually filleting the fish. I have filleted a fish or two in my time, but I could certainly use the practice.

[Varmint]

No fried pies???

[SethG]

Oops, forgot to mention the pie. No, I didn't make one. My friends brought over a key lime pie, though.

[snowangel]

No fried pies???

Doing them for dinner tonight with the kids. Will report.

[Malawry]

Mmm, pie.

[Varmint]

I'm in. I dunno 'bout apple, though. That artificial lemon sounds mighty tasty.

(I'm kidding.)

So, Dave? Did you do the pie?

[hjshorter]

No pie for us, and no fish either.

My Atkins following father-in-law wanted beef and salad. That's it, just beef and salad. We made buttermilk mashed potatoes for the kids.

[snowangel]

Fried pies kick ass!!! I used granny smith and braeburn apples that I had cut into 1/4 inch dice. I cooked them earlier today with applejack, cinnamon, sugar, and lemon until there was no liquid left. Once the apples cooled, I made a simple pie crust using mostly vegetable oil and a bit of very soft butter for flavor. I pan fried them in vegetable oil, dusted them with a cinnamon/confectioners sugar combo, and served with the egg nog ice cream. The pies were nearly perfect, although next time I may add a touch of sugar to the pastry.

Yes, fried pies kick ass. They were an afternoon activity, not dinner dessert. We may not need dinner! Haralson apples in this house. Plain vanilla ice cream (I wasn't up to a shopping trip with the three kids).

Thanks for your advice. I did add a touch of sugar (not measured) to the crust. Dynomite.

[hjshorter]

Fried pies would be a great use of Scott's deep fryer. We haven't used it in a while. Fried pumpkin pie, maybe?

I want to make profiteroles next week. I haven't made pate a choux in years, and I need some piping practice.

Or maybe I'll whip up some pastry cream and make eclairs. Scott would be on cloud nine.

[SethG]

Hey Dave, Erin? Wha'ppen?

I want to put in an early vote for duck next weekend. Since it's really cold all of a sudden here in NYC, I'm of a mind to do something hearty like Jacques' Skillet Duck With Parsnips & Shallots. This dish is a meal in one pot, but if anyone wants to suggest other stuff, like a salad or something, I'm more than open to suggestions.

Also: Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. Some of you may have noticed that I've been kind of fixated on this particular holiday in recent months. Despite the fact that I spent some time trying out one kind of turkey recently, I'm tempted to give either Julia's Deconstructed Turkey or Jacques' Galantine (or both!) a try. If any of you are also thinking about it, my fate is sealed. What say you, fellow explorers? We have nothing to lose but dry breast meat, right?

[snowangel]

I want to put in an early vote for duck next weekend. Since it's really cold all of a sudden here in NYC, I'm of a mind to do something hearty like Jacques' Skillet Duck With Parsnips & Shallots. This dish is a meal in one pot, but if anyone wants to suggest other stuff, like a salad or something, I'm more than open to suggestions.

I also vote for duck, about which I have a few questions, but those shall wait until we get a consensus.

Don't count me in for anything on Thanksgiving. I leave that day for four days of R & R with 4 college friends at a posh resort on Lake Superior. I have known these women since the mid-70's, and although the resort has a couple of very good restaurants, we choose to cook. And, cook we do, along with drinking wine and cocktails, relaxing in an outdoor hot tub on the shore of the lake (yes, in November and in Northern MN), yak, nap (I also knit).

Anyway, I digress. Duck. I'm up for it. Let's get a vote before the weekend because I'd do this on Friday since we have our first Twin Cities eGullet potluck on Saturday!

For me, the fish will wait until I can catch my own (either via ice fishing or next summer).

[hjshorter]

Duck sounds good. Duck with parsnips and a green salad.

Anyone feel like joining me in making cream puffs? I'd like to make a double batch and freeze some before the holidays hit.

Edited November 10, 2003 by hjshorter (log)

[snowangel]

Anyone feel like joining me in making cream puffs? I'd like to make a double batch and freeze some before the holidays hit.

Yes! I love to make them; there's something just magic about the way the dough comes together. And, piping is a good skill to practice. I love to eat them even more.

[marie-louise]

No pie for us, and no fish either.

My Atkins following father-in-law wanted beef and salad. That's it, just beef and salad. We made buttermilk mashed potatoes for the kids.

Maybe you & I can make catch-up fish some other time. Somewhere between dinner and dessert last night, my refrigerator died. Grrrr-we were planning on dim sum and a hike on our day off, then a nice fish dinner. Now it looks like we'll be hanging around for a repairman and eating lots of soup w/ all our thawing stock!

[hjshorter]

Yes! I love to make them; there's something just magic about the way the dough comes together. And, piping is a good skill to practice. I love to eat them even more.

Me too! They're OK sweet, but I love them stuffed with chicken or tuna salad, or even homemade ham salad. They disappear from a buffet faster than deviled eggs.

I'm not sure if I'm up for boning a turkey, but would cook one if everyone else wants to do it. Should we do more festive stuff in practice for the holidays?

[MatthewB]

Well, given that I didn't see any appealing fish & I had a busy weekend schedule, I cooked other stuff but not our meal.

I'll look into ordering duck.

FWIW, tonight I'm making 4 quarts of tomato sauce to freeze and for dinner I'm making butternut squash & bourbon soup plus a stuffed pinwheel pork loin w/ salad + bread and, of course, wine.

[guajolote]

I made the fish recipe last night with black cod, the fishguy said that it had just arrived that morning and was the freshest thing they had. He also had fresh shrimp which we had for dinner Saturday.

I really liked the recipe but I wouldn't do it with black cod again, I think it's better suited to a milder fish. The leftover sauce was really good spooned over the pilaf. I liked the technique of pouring the hot butter sauce over the herbs to "crisp" it up.

Served this w/ peas (frozen, sauteed in garlic and olive oil) and a 2000 Chateau de Lancyre, a white wine from the Languedoc.

[Dave the Cook]

I did everything but the fried pie. However, I did get an apple filling cooked down, so I'm going to give it a try later in the week (Mrs. Dave is dubious: "You mean like McDonald's?" "Not necessarily dear. More like the thing that made McDonald's think it was a good idea." "Hmmm.")

The flounder (no sole) was about two millimeters thick, so I went with orange roughy. The thickness (about 3/8") was just about perfect for getting a good crust in the required cooking time, but it's kind of a lumpy filet, and a better crust formed on the flatter, ugly side than on the nice side. I, too, liked crisping the parsely with the hot butter, and it made a really cool sizzling sound -- bonus.

G is also right about the sauce on the pilaf, and it worked on the asparagus, too. I found myself mounding up forkfuls of random food, swiping it through puddles of sauce, and stuffing my mouth.

I've never made profiteroles. I've done a fair amount of duck, but never the recipe up for consideration.

[Malawry]

Did anybody try the meuniere with thin fillets of fish? Thin fish never bothered me, or seems to overcook when I make it. Do J&J recommend that you not use very thin fish fillets? Everybody seems to have rejected them. The coating should protect the fish from overcooking. I've never overcooked a meuniere type dish and I've made this a number of times, sometimes with very thin fillets.

Next time try brown butter sauce on choux buns.

(or not.)

If ya'll do profiteroles I highly recommend a coconut pastry cream instead of a standard one. (Unless you want to make ice-cream-filled profiteroles, which are even more glorious than pastry-cream ones.) Use coconut milk instead of cow's milk and add a dash of coconut-infused rum. Mmmmm.

[Varmint]

I used thin filets of gray sole. I would have overcooked the fish had I let it brown thoroughly. As I said before, I probably didn't brown the butter enough.

Here's the fried pies:

Pre-folded pie

Pan frying those pies

Plated pie with cinnamon eggnog ice cream. It needs some color, as did everything with this meal. Too brown.

[MatthewB]

Varmint, nice work & great contributions to the thread!

I guess I'm feeling a bit guilty about taking a "bye week" on our dinners . . .

So I'm cooking . . .

Big pot o' tomato sauce is making a huge mess on the oven backsplash.

I butterflied a pork loin for the first time tonight. Quite easy really. Loin is nearly ready for the oven.

Butternut squash & bourbon soup is in the first simmer stage.

Anyway . . .

FWIW.