Pan Seared Rosemary Flounder

From time to time, I read the recipes that come with packaged products, and this time I actually tried a recipe that was printed on the package of flounder flillets I purchased.  Lucky for us, this turned out to be delicious.

Here's what you will need to prepare this dish:

2 flounder fillets, thawed

1 Tbl. olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, stem removed

flour for dredging

1 Tbl. butter

salt and pepper

lemon wedges

Directions:

1)  Heat oil in pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and rosemary to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes.  Garlic should start to brown, but be careful to avoid burning it.  

Remove garlic and rosemary, transfer to a bowl and set aside.  Leave the oil in the pan.  Along with the garlic and rosemary into the bowl, add 1 Tbl. butter, and a wedge of lemon.  This will be used to make the pan sauce.

2)  Pat the fillets dry.  Dredge fillets in flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.

3)  Put the fish in the pan in the oil.  Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, turning only once -- flounder is very delicate and can easily break apart.

4)  Place fish on serving plates.  Return the garlic/rosemary to the pan, add 1 Tbl. butter and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Once the butter has melted, stir and pour over the fish.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy friends!

Chilean Sea Bass

We were shopping at Whole Foods and splurged on two filets of Chilean Sea Bass.  Those babies were pricey!  As in $12.99 each!  But looked delicious and so we bought them.  After reading several recipes and watching a chef on YouTube, we decided that pan searing would be the way to prepare the sea bass.

Well before time to cook, make some clairified butter which will be paired with olive oil to sear the fish.  If you are not familiar with clarified butter, just google it.  It does take some time to make clarified butter.

Coat one side of the fish with salt, pepper, and some flour. (this will make for a crispy crust on the fish).  Note, we chose to remove the skin from the fish.  Some cooks leave the skin on.

Get a non-stick skillet ready, add 2 tablespoons of light olive oil, and heat it up. 

Don't add the clarified butter yet.

Place the fish in the skillet, with the seasoned side down.

Here's where you will be tempted to move the fish around.  Don't!

Let the pan do the work.

While the first side of the fish is searing, sprinkle the other side with salt, pepper, and some flour.

This is my husband doing the cooking!

Add the clarified butter at this point.  About 2 tablespoons.

The clarified butter has a high smoking point,

and it won't splatter at you.

Looking for about 120 degrees before flipping and basting.

Flip the fish over, let it sear a bit, then start basting by tilting the pan 

and pouring the oil, butter over the cooked fish.

This is a fancy technique used by professional chefs!

Continue basting, check the temperature.  You want the fish to be at 130 degrees.

Look at the crisp crust!  Way to go, honey!

When the fish reaches 130 degrees,

remove the fish and place on paper towels.

Get ready to serve.  Chilean Sea Bass is a very mild fish, but also fatty,

in a good way!

We had french green beans steamed, then saute'd with butter, garlic, shallot, and panko.

Enjoy friends!  We will be making this again.

Homemade Tartar Sauce

We are having fried fish tonight courtesy of my brother Mike!  So I wanted a really good tartar sauce. I found just the right recipe over at "Simply Recipes" and here it is.

Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Yield: Makes about a cup and a half of tartar sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
• 1 teaspoon capers, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons chopped shallots
• 2 Tbsp chopped scallions
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 6 drops Tabasco sauce or more to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and place in the fridge until time to eat.

Tilapia en Papillote (in Parchment)

I have known about this technique for years, but this summer I watched Mario make Halibut en Papillote on "The Chew" tv show.  It seemed like a light delicious way to prepare fish and especially for a summer dish.  So here it is:

Gather the ingredients and let's get cooking!

4 (4 ounce) tilapia fillets

salt and fresh ground pepper

1 large tomato, chopped

1 clove garlic thinly sliced

1 shallot thinly sliced

4 fresh basil leaves thinly sliced

1 1/2 tsp. capers, drained

4 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 Cup white wine

1 Tbl. butter

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Oil a baking sheet with some olive oil so that the bottoms of the parchment packets will brown when baking.

Prepare four sheets of parchment paper by folding each sheet in half and placing a tilapia fillet centered onto one of the sides.  Season the fillet with salt and pepper.  Top each of the four fillets with equal amounts of tomato, garlic, shallot, basil, and capers.  Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Dot one Tbl. of butter on top, drizzle with white wine.

Lay the other half of the parchment over the half with the fillet.  Start folding and creasing, folding and creasing until the entire fillet is sealed up. One chef brushes the edges of the parchment with egg wash to help it stick together.  (So that's what I did.)  Place the parchment packets on the oiled baking sheet you prepared earlier.  Drizzle the tops with a little olive oil.  Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Look at this beauty after baking for 20 minutes.

To serve, cut a slit with a sharp knife in the center, then tear the packet open.  The steam will escape so be careful.  When the packet is opened, the aroma of the fish and all the toppings will knock your sox off!  Serve immediately in the parchment packet.  If you have guests, let them open their own packet and be amazed at what a great cook you are!

Enjoy friends!