From: Adrian Clark <aclark@zappa.u-net.com>
This is a real favourite round these parts (well, in our flat anyway).
There's quite a bit of wine in it, so you can make a real difference to the final flavour just by choosing different wines.
You will require: 1.5oz (40g) butter, 4 pork chops, 2 or 3 finely
chopped
shallots, about 20 capers (roughly chopped), 6 small gherkins (chopped), 1
tablespoon plain flour, 7fl oz (200ml) dry/medium-dry white wine, 5fl oz
(150ml) soured cream, plenty of tarragon (fresh if possible)
1. Melt two-thirds of the butter in a frying pan, season pork chops with
salt/pepper and cook until juices run clear (10-15 mins). Turn over half
way through cooking.
2. Meanwhile, start making the sauce... melt the remaining butter in a
small pan, add the shallots and saute 3-4 mins. Stir in the gherkins and
capers and cook for 3 mins.
3. Stir the flour into the sauce mixture and cook (stirring constantly) for
1 minute. Gradually add the wine... better still, have someone else add the
wine, so you can keep stirring like a maniac... Once the wine is added,
bring to boil, still stirring. Remove from heat and stir in the cream.
4. By now, the chops should be cooked, so pour the sauce around the chops
in the frying pan, making sure to blend all the meat juices in with the
cream.
5. Serve sprinkled with the tarragon. Goes great with slim green beans and
small, boiled new potatoes. And lots more wine.
One of my own recipes for your dining pleasure.
Serves 4 to 6
Believe it or not, and you'd better if you want to produce this fabulous dish, this takes three days to prepare and it's got three different types of booze in it.
It's worth it though....................
Ingredients:
3 pounds of best stewing or braising steak cut into one inch cubes
6 ounces of chopped smoked streaky bacon
8 ounces white or chestnut mushrooms
5 medium onions
5 large carrots
3 cloves of garlic - crushed
2 bottles of cheap red wine
4 fluid ounces of dry sherry
2 fluid ounces of brandy
Thyme - preferably fresh
Parsley - ditto
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
1 ounce of salted butter
Salt and black pepper
Method
1) Marinade the beef, chopped onions and carrots, herbs and garlic overnight in the red wine.
2) The next day, take out the beef and reserve the marinade along with the vegetables and herbs.
2) Fry the bacon in the oil and then add the beef. Brown the meat and then flame with the brandy.
3) Add the sherry and the reserved marinade.
4) Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for about two and a half hours.
(Meanwhile, sautée the musrooms in the butter.)
5) Add the mushrooms and cook for a further quarter of an hour.
6) Leave overnight and then reheat gently to serve.
(If the stock is a little thin, you can add a little plain flour to thicken.)
This dish is great with boiled or steamed new potatoes and steamed broccoli.
The next four dishes are from ZappaLVR@aol.com "Three Things That Smell Like Fish" Stew with Egg/Lemon Sauce
I’m proud of this dish. Probably there are similar recipes to this out
there, but I came up with this one on my own in a flash of inspiration. I
wanted to feed a friend who had sworn off most meat and had temporarily given
up cheese (for Lent), and I love the flavors of Greece, as other recipes in
this book will indicate. Steelhead is not cheap, by the way, but it is very
tasty.
Ingredients:
One Yellow Onion, sliced into strips
Two stalks Celery, chopped
One can Clam Broth
One can Low Sodium Chicken Broth (or more clam broth)
Two cloves Garlic, sliced
Four small Lemons, juiced (1/2 to 2/3 cups)
One small Red Pepper, sliced into strips
One small Green Pepper, sliced into strips
Two large Red Potatoes, cut into long chunks
10 Mushrooms, thick sliced
15 String Beans, trimmed and cut in half
One teaspoon Dried Parsley
One pound filet of Sole
One pound filet of Steelhead (or salmon, or other fish)
Half pound of medium Prawns, shelled
One whole Egg
Three to four egg yolks
Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
Olive Oil for frying
Trim top and bottom from the onion, slice in half vertically, remove skin and
outer layer of onion, and slice into thin strips. Chop the two stalks of
celery into medium dice. Heat a large, deep frying pan to medium, add a
tablespoon or two of olive oil, add the onion strips, and fry until just
starting to brown a little. Add the celery and the dried parsley and cook
for a minute, stirring. Add the can of clam broth and the can of chicken
broth. If you prefer, just use two cans of clam broth, or, better yet,
replace both with four cups of homemade fish stock.
While that mixture comes to a heavy simmer, cut the fish filets into large
bite-sized chunks, removing the skin if it is still on. In a bowl, place the
whole egg and the egg yolks. Start with three yolks; if you need the other
one it is easy enough to add it later. Take the juice from the four small
lemons and add it to the eggs. Whisk until well blended. When the broth
mixture is simmering, add the potato chunks, the cut string beans, the sliced
mushrooms, and the garlic. Let simmer for a few minutes.
Add the fish pieces to the simmering mixture, stirring them in gently. Add
the prawns (shrimp) at this time also. Finally, add the red and green pepper
strips, turn the heat to low and cover. Let this cook for four or five
minutes. Remove the cover, and, using a slotted spoon, gently take all the
fish and vegetables out of the broth and set them in a warm dish. Bring the
broth back to a simmer. Pour about a half-cup of the hot broth into the egg
and lemon mixture you prepared earlier and whisk until blended. This will
help temper the eggs so they don’t scramble.
Pull the pan from the heat, and add the egg mixture to the hot broth. Whisk
in thoroughly, then place back on medium low heat. Bring to a simmer,
stirring constantly. The mixture should begin to thicken to a nice sauce
consistency, so that it coats the back of the spoon. If it seems too thin,
add the extra egg yolk and mix in well. Taste the sauce and add salt and
pepper if necessary. Be gentle with the seasonings: a half-teaspoon of each
should be plenty.
At this point you can either gently add the fish and vegetables to the sauce,
or, if you are worried that the fish will break up too much, simply put
individual servings of the fish and vegetables onto the warmed dinner plates
and spoon the sauce over them.
An optional garnish is a sprinkling of either chopped fresh dill or fresh
fennel leaves over each serving. Serve with good, chewy bread, and a Greek
salad.
THING FISH "San Qeuntim" Garlic Mashed Potatoes
This is very simple food, but I must admit that I love it. Try to find good,
fresh russet potatoes; large ones are easiest to peel. Remove any dark
parts or dried bits and rinse well before boiling. I like mashed potatoes
best when they are made with plenty of real butter. I know, I'm awful, but I
just can't help myself.
Ingredients:
Four to five large Russet Potatoes
Six large cloves of Garlic (plus two cloves)
Water for Boiling
Salt
Four tablespoons of Butter (plus one tablespoon)
One-third to one half cup of Milk
White (or Black) Pepper (to taste)
Peel and clean the potatoes as described above. Cut into two inch pieces and
place in a large pan of simmering water, salted with a teaspoon of salt.
Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high, add the six cloves
of garlic, and simmer for about six minutes.
While the potatoes cook, melt the extra tablespoon of butter in a small
frying pan on medium heat, crush the extra cloves (or two) of garlic and fry
it in the butter. Turn down the heat so you don't burn or brown the garlic.
Remove it from heat if necessary.
Check potatoes for doneness. You do not want the potatoes over- or
under-cooked. They should take a fork with little resistance, but not be
mushy. The garlic cloves will be soft also. Drain off the water, and reduce
the burner heat to low.
Return the potatoes to the dry pan. Add the fresh butter and the milk,
starting with the lower amount. Using a set of electric beaters, mix the
potatoes at high speed. You must move the mixer blades around the pan to
break up all the little chunks of potato and the garlic cloves. Finally, add
the melted garlic butter and mix a bit more to belend. If the potatoes seem
too dry, add a little more milk. You do not want to have runny mashed
potatoes, though, so be cautious. Taste, and add salt, pepper, and more
butter (if you are evil), if desired. Serve while still very hot. Mashed
potatoes will keep on low heat for about ten minutes covered before they get
steamed and less pleasant.
Marinated "Yellow" Shark
This is a very tasty recipe for any firm, salt water fish (like swordfish,
marlin, or even tuna). The secret to this recipe is the marinade, which
later becomes the sauce. The lime juice makes this very tangy, and garlic
and fish sauce give it a unique flavor. One important thing to remember is
not to cook the fish too long.
Ingredients:
Two pounds Shark Fillets (more or less)
The Marinade:
Juice from two Limes
One quarter cup Rice Wine
One quarter cup Rice Wine Vinegar
One quarter cup Olive Oil
One tablespoon Asian Fish Sauce
One clove Garlic (crushed)
One half teaspoon Dill Weed
One half teaspoon dried Oregano
One cup Sweet Onions (red or white, sliced)
One half cup Mushrooms (sliced)
For the Sauce:
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
One tablespoon cold Butter
Mix the marinade ingredients, minus the onions and mushrooms, and beat
thoroughly with a wire whisk. Place a few onions and mushrooms in a
casserole dish large enough to hold your fish fillets. Cover with a quarter
cup of marinade and top with a fish fillet. Cover the fish with more onions,
mushrooms, and marinade. Top with more fish and cover with the remaining
ingredients until all the fish is covered with marinade and vegetables.
Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, for at least one hour (two would be
better).
After two hours, remove the fish from the marinade and gently scrape the
excess marinade from the fish fillets. Heat a large frying pan to medium
high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and sauté the fish fillets on one
side until lightly browned. Remove the fish from the pan, and place it fried
side down in a baking dish; the fish should be in a single layer in the
baking dish. Meanwhile, place the remaining marinade into the hot frying pan
after you remove the fish. Stir and scrape the pan to remove any fish
residue. Bring to a vigorous simmer and cook for a few minutes. Then pour
the partially cooked marinade, onions, and mushrooms over the fish fillets.
Place the baking dish, uncovered, into a preheated 375 degree oven. Bake for
about twenty minutes, or until the fish is done to your taste. Remove the
fish from the pan and place on a hot plate. Re-heat your frying pan, and
strain the marinade/cooking juices into it. Reserve the onions and mushrooms
to garnish the fish. Cook the sauce for a few minutes and let it reduce
slightly.
Just before serving, add a tablespoon (or two) of cold butter to your
developing sauce and stir in well. Taste, and add salt and pepper if
desired. Place a portion of fish on each serving plate. Cover with a few
mushrooms and onions (optional) and pour some of the sauce over the fish.
You will probably have too much sauce, but do not drown the fish in sauce!
Either discard the remaining sauce, or save it, as mentioned below, to make
another recipe. When I first made this, I served it with Pesto Potatoes and
a green salad. Delicious!
If you cook two pounds of fish, you should be able to serve four to six
people with this dish. If you are serving fewer people, cook the whole
recipe anyway. Then, you can use the leftover fish and sauce to make the
tasty recipe that follows.
Jewish Princess Latkes (Potato Pancakes)
I learned how to make these tasty little suckers while working at the
now-defunct A. Jay's Deli and Restaurant in Seattle. I was a prep cook, so I
made large batches of the batter for these. I'm afraid that latkes are not
health food; to really make them tasty you must cook them in large
quantities of oil and butter (at the restaurant they fried them in schmaltz--
rendered chicken fat). They are great for a treat once and a while, though.
If you cannot find (or don't wish to pay for) matzo meal, try substituting
crushed crackers or prepared "cracker crumbs."
Ingredients:
3-4 large Potatoes, peeled & shredded finely
One large or two medium Yellow Onions, grated or processed
Two Eggs
1/2 to 1 cup Matzo Meal (or Cracker Crumbs)
Onion Salt, to taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Butter and Olive Oil for frying
To prepare the latkes, shred your potatoes (about one medium potato per
person) into a bowl. If you have a food processor this is much easier. Have
another bowl handy, and when you have shredded all the potatoes, take as much
shredded potato as you can comfortably fit in your hands and squeeze the
extra potato juice back into the bowl. Continue taking handfuls and
squeezing them, placing the squeezed potato into your clean bowl. When you
have done all the potato this way, you should have a bowl of dryish potato
shreds and another bowl filled with "potato liquid."
Set the liquid aside, and add the two eggs, slightly beaten, to the potato
shreds. Add about a teaspoon of onion salt, and the shredded or processed
onion. The onion is best if it is virtually liquid, without large chunks.
You can get it this way by grating it on a fine grater (though this is
difficult and you might grate your fingers), or you might try chopping the
onion into coarse chunks, placing the chunks in a blender or food processor,
and blending them. Mix the onion into the potatoes and eggs.
At this time, retrieve your bowl of potato juice and pour off the liquid.
You should have a quantity of white sediment remaining in your bowl. This
sediment is fresh potato starch. Scrape it up from the bottom of the bowl
and add it to your latkes batter. Grind some black pepper, to taste, into
your bowl of batter.
Now you should add about a half cup of matzo meal to the batter and mix well.
If this still seems too runny for a good pancake, add a little more matzo
meal. The batter should be a little lumpy and not too runny.
To cook, heat a thick-bottomed pan (cast iron is terrific) to medium high.
Add about two tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the pan.
When the butter stops sputtering (and before it starts to burn), pour about
a quarter cup of batter per pancake into the pan. You should be able to cook
two at a time in a largish cast iron pan. Each latke should be about four
inches in diameter and no more than a quarter inch thick. Use a spatula to
push down and spread the batter thinly. You should also try to shape each
latke into a round (or oval), flat cake.
Cook on one side until it browns nicely, then turn and brown on the other
side. You might have to add a little oil for the second side, but hopefully
not. These will, however, soak up a lot of oil. If you have done your job
right, when they are done the latkes should be thin and crispy. Serve two or
three per person, with applesauce and sour cream on the side. If you have a
large griddle, latkes are much easier to cook in quantity.
"This is from a book, but the book
was hand-written in the 1890s and is unpublished (my wife and I were
going to publish it). My wife found it when she was a kid in an old
piece of furniture that came with the house her folks bought in the
'50s. This is a cool book, it has recipes including opium and cannabis
tincture! The author was Petronilla Mayo."
lemon juice 1/4 pt
loaf sugar 3/4 lb
rum 3/4 pt
brandy 1/2 pt
_boiled_ water 2 pts
lemon peel 3/4 of a lemon
(c) 1998 by David Porter & Melinda Niekum, editors