Baked Halibut Fillet with a Potato Chip Crust Dinner

• Corn on the cob, white and yellow
• Caesar and caprese salad
• Baked Halibut Fillet with a Potato Chip Crust

Baked Halibut Fillet with a Potato Chip Crust

- Ingredients

1/2 cup crushed potato chips - a good way to crush is to roll under a round wooden pestle or rolling pin
1/4 cup bread crumbs - used Panko crumbs
1 teaspoon dried dill - as I didn't have any dried dill, I ground up 2 tsp dill seed and then sieved out the hard cores, yeilding perhaps 3/4 tsp dill dust; I then added approx. 1/4 tsp curry powder, 1/4 tsp garam masala. Twas delicious, and subtle.
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 large salmon fillet (about 3 pounds), skin on - used a 1 1/2 lb fillet halibut - wonderful
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper

Garnishes

1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
Fresh dill sprigs - I found a leftover green cilantro chutney which was a great idea, which recipe I don't have to hand but should be easy to find one on Internet: google green cilantro chutney.

Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 375° F. - I started out with the oven at 500° F.

In a small bowl, combine the crushed potato chips, bread crumbs, dill, (spice mix) and garlic; set aside. (Note that any contact with the crushed chips leaves a greasy film. Don't be dismayed, as it's the oil in the chips that keeps the fish so mosit as it bakes, I believe.)

Put the salmon (halibut) skin-side down on a lightly oiled, foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Remove any pinbones with a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Brush the surface of the salmon with the mustard, spreading it evenly (and thicker is better). Sprinkle the potato chip mixture over the mustard, packing it lightly with your fingertips so that it adheres to the surface. Season with the pepper.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the salmon is opaque when a knife is inserted at the center of the thickest part, about 30 minutes. (I turned the heat down to 450, then 400. Although the fish was perfectly cooked, moist, tender and flaky, after 25-30 min., the crust only browned nicely where extra had fallen to the side of the fish. I place this pretty crumble on top of the finished fish.)

Using 2 spatulas, carefully transfer the fillet in one piece to a large serving platter, leaving the skin on the baking sheet; garnish with the lemon wedges and dill sprigs. (Or pour the green sauce around the fillet and serve on plates with portions. Extraordinary.)

Serves 6 (our 1/2 portion would have certainly been adequate for 3.)

(Nancy and I didn't quite finish our huge portions. They make excellent leftovers. I served this with boiled fresh yellow and white corn and the same Caesar salad - caprese combo I made for Nancy's birthday. In fact, this fish was to be the other course for her birthday, which we skipped as too much. And it would have been. We drank a nice California Merlot with this. A memorable meal.)

Copyright © 2003 by George Dolese & Steve Siegelman. Reprinted from Firehouse Food without permission from Chronicle Books. Jeanne is a third-generation San Francisco firefighter with a long history of salmon fishing. Her dad, who is now retired, still shows up at the station every now and then with a freshly caught king salmon for Jeanne and the crew. Needless to say, he’s invited to stay for dinner.

Other recipes to be supplied...

Some recipes I'd like to retain or get written down here:

1. Shrimp and scallop seviche with mango - a Mexican recipe from Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless. Bayless suggested avocado. I had, and therefore used, a fresh mango instead.
   
2. Sfogi in Saor - marinated fish, Venetian style. I used a piece of tuna and some catfish. From Peterson's Fish & Shellfish.
   
3. An Indian fish masala from Kerala, from current issue of Gourmet.
4. An Indian coconut rice, from same issue of Gourmet.
5. Another Indian dish, a vegetable dal stew, from my own making, I think. No, it was based on a recipe on the back of a packet of Masala seasoning. I added some variations, of course.
6. Sweet and sour okra, a recipe found on the Internet.
7. 
   

New recipes, events...

• Recipes from Nancy's simple birthday dinner, last Saturday, 27 August.
• Caesar and caprese salad
  
• Crab Gumbo
• Ken's Basil Scallops
• Chocolate torte: I cheated on this and bought a beautiful piece at Whole Foods. Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side.
  
• Caesar and caprese salad
• This made a delicious starter.
  
• The Caesar salad, not quite from scratch.
• Romaine lettuce leaves, torn in peices. Red are nice for color, if available. Use "enough" per person. As the size of leaves is quite variable, think about large torn or chopped pieces roughly half a palm size, if you have large hands.
  
• The dressing is special for Nancy, as she loves anchovies.
  
• Take two anchovy fillets in olive oil and put them in salad bowl. Mash around bottom of bowl with a fork until they are coming apart. Add 1 minced garlic clove. Add 1 - 2 tsp. Dijon style mustard and stir together. Add 1 tbsp. mayonnaise or mayonnaise substitute - e.g., Vegenaise worked fine (this is the not quite from scratch part.) Mix with anchovy mustard. Stir in 1-2 tbsp good quality olive oil. Check for taste. If needed, add 1 tsp or more lemon juice to taste.
  
• Mix romaine leaves into dressing until leaves are covered. Arrange on a large display plate.
• The caprese salad
• A sufficiency of fresh mozarella - I used a few pieces collected from the salad bar at Whole Foods. Slice in 1/2 in. pieces.
• A fresh, summery ripe, tomato or two, peeled, juicy and bleeding. Cut in wedges.
• Scatter in little collections of tomato and cheese around the outer edges of the Caesar salad.
  
• Cut a bunch of basil leaves, again, a sufficiency for quantity of salad being prepared, in chiffonade. In this case, don't stint on the sufficiency. You want plenty of basil. Scatter the basil over the cheese and tomatoes.
• Finish by drizzling good extra virgin olive oil over the cheese, tomatoes and basil. You might also sprinkle with a little sea salt or even fleur de sel. A crackle of fresh cracked black pepper makes a nice final touch.
• Serve the combined salad with salad plates and either little forks to pick at, or a serving spatula. Accompany with bread and a nice, cold, dry sauvignon blanc.
  
• Crab gumbo
• Starting with several recipes I read, I made this up from ingredients at hand. I had bought a couple of pounds of backfin crab from North Carolina at Frank's in the morning - they were having a "buy 1 lb. and the 2nd is half price" special. I also had on hand a couple of pounds of beautiful okra I had just picked at Clagett Farm that afternoon, as well as a plentiful supply of fresh tomatoes and fresh sweet and hot peppers. I also had green beans fresh from the Annapolis Farmer's Market.
  
• Ingredients
• 1 lb. backfin or claw crab meat, shells picked out
• 1 lb. fresh okra, tops trimmed off, cut in 1/2 in. pieces
• 1 white or yellow onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 2 sticks celery, diced, with chopped leaves
• 1 - 2 medium peeled white or yellow potatoes, large dice
• 1 - 2 lb fresh tomatoes, peeled, chopped coarsely or 1 large can tomatoes, chopped, with juice
• 1 - 2 sweet peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 - 2 or more hot peppers, to taste, chopped. Include seeds for more piquancy.
  
• 1 lb . green beans, (optional), ends snapped, cut in 1-2 in. lengths
• 1 lb . summer squash, (optional), cut in 1 in. pieces
  
• 2 tbsp sweet butter
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups stock - I made fish stock using Japanese shaved bonito in 5 cg. packets; many recipes recommend beef or chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
  
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 tbsp soy sauce or 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Directions
• Prepare the stock: for fish stock using bonito flakes, bring 4 cups water to boil and take of heat; open 2 5 cg. packets of bonito flakes and pour into water. Steep for 5 minutes and strain. Dogs or cats find the strained flakes a tasty treat.
  
• In a deep pan or soup pot saute (braise or sweat over medium heat) onions, carrots, celery and peppers in butter and olive oil until onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and garlic and sweat another couple of minutes. Add okra and sweat a couple more minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the tomatoes and stir.
• Add stock and cup of wine. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer.
  
• Add bay leaves, Old Bay Seasoning and simmer for 20-30 min. About halfway through add in the summer squash - you want it cooked but still intact. There is no need to overcook the vegetables. Use the green beans as a guide. When they seem done enough, everything else should be about right. If using potatoes, they provide a second check - you want them firm but not crunchy.
• Just before serving, add the crab meat. It will be heated by the body of the soup. It is already cooked so needs no additional cooking. Don't overcook or it may toughen.
• Check seasoning. If salt is needed, the soy sauce works well and disappears as a separate flavor if you don't use too much. Add Worcestershire sauce now, also, and stir in.
  
• Serve soup in bowls or cups. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or basil. Bread alongside is nice for sopping up the delicious juice. This makes a fairly dense soup. You may want to thin with additional stock, water, or white wine.
  
• Ken's Scallops (I don't know who Ken is. 'tis just the name of the recipe I found.)
  
  I made these for Nancy's birthday using very large sea scallops at just 3 each per our two servings. They weighed about 10 oz. altogether. Excellent just lightly bronze colored. Bought these beautiful scallops that morning at Frank's Seafood, Jessup.
  
  
• Quick, simple, delicious! What else do you need? Prep
  Time: approx. 15 Minutes. Cook Time: approx. 4 Minutes.
  Ready in: approx. 19 Minutes. Makes 2 servings.
  Printed from Allrecipes, Submitted by Ken Gouge
  
  1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
  1 clove garlic, minced
  1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped
  20 scallops, rinsed and patted dry
  salt
  freshly ground black pepper
  1 wedge lemon
  
  Directions
  1 Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook
  garlic and basil in oil for about 30 seconds, and then add
  scallops. Season with salt and pepper, and squeeze lemon over
  the scallops. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• I turned scallops over after a minute or so, checking that they had just begun to show some color, then cooked on second side until gold color began to show. Remove from heat as soon as they begin to appear opaque through the center - don't overcook!
  
• The quantity of basil is the indefinite "1 bunch fresh basil leaves." I used a couple of handsful from our kitchen herb garden, cut as a chiffonade.
  
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