This is a variation on a recipe from Jay Harlow in his cookbook “west coast seafood” the single best cookbook on earth. His is a simplified version of an Aqua dish from back in the day. Sauce and mushrooms can be done in advance. Make sure to do the mashed potatoes in advance as well.

Ingredients (for 4)

• 1.5 lb of fresh halibut
• .75 lb of mushrooms to saute
• Small packet of dried porcini’s
• Olive oil
• 4 tbsp salted butter
• White pepper
• Salt
• 3 tbsp Dry Sherry
• Soy Sauce
• 1 cup Chicken (or beef) broth. I like beef.

First marinate the fish:

1. Cut into 4
2. Season with kosher salt and white pepper (mortar and pestle)
3. Drizzle w soy sauce and a tbsp of the sherry
4. Set aside at room temp for 30 min

Then make the sauce: (if you didn’t earlier)

1. In a coffee grinder, grind up half the mushrooms into small enough chunks to use as the crust (set aside)
2. Grind the other half up a touch, but leave as chunks
3. Heat the broth and add 2 tbsp of the sherry
4. Add the larger shroom chunks
5. Simmer for a while and cook way down (1/2 to 2/3)
6. Strain the chunks
7. Set aside

Now do the mushrooms

1. Get rid of stems
2. Slice up
3. Saute in butter to your liking (more than you normally would)
4. Set aside

Finally, the fish

1. Take the halibut, which is getting close to room temp and dry the heck out of it with a paper towel
2. Coat one side with the mushrooms
3. Olive oil a hot pan (can add a touch of butter)
4. Sear, crust side first
5. After a minute or a bit more flip it (dont burn)
6. Finish, either in oven or in pan…..however you normally perfect Halibut

Finally:

1. Reheat the mushrooms and the sauce.
2. Plate the fish along side mashed potatoes and an in-season vegetable.
3. Swirl the butter into the sauce slowly, once its perfect, add a touch of thickener
4. Spoon over fish
5. Spoon mushrooms over fish
6. BAM

Pairs with earthy Pinot in spectacular fashion.

Ways to ruin:

• Marinate the fish for too long
• Burn the mushroom crust
• Skimp on butter
• You MUST have mashed potatoes, the crust and sauce swirled into a bite of mashers is sublime
• By not tipping your fishmonger and getting crappy fish

This is a coconut crusted sea bass with mango salsa for 4 people. Very easy but reliant on a great piece of fish. Shout out to Zach for the basic recipe.

Ingredients:

Fish:

• 1 lb of fresh sea bass
• shredded coconut
• 1 egg
• flour
• butter
• salt
• pepper

Salsa:

• 1 mango (or two)
• 1 small white onion
• cilantro 2 tbsp coarsely chopped or more to taste
• 1 red bell
• 1 serrano, finely diced with seeds and all. if it smells hot use half
• 1 lime
• salt….just a touch to taste

Make Salsa first:

1. Dice up all the goods, toss into a bowl.
2. Add pinch of salt and juice from lime
3. Mix and let it sit for a while

Now the fish:

1. Cut the fish into 9 smallish cubes (2 each and a taster for done-ness)
2. Dry the fish well
3. Salt and pepper fish lightly
4. Dredge each in flour
5. Dip in beaten egg white
6. Roll in coconut
7. Heat large pan
8. Add 2 tbsp salted butter
9. Cook a few minutes per side, don’t overcook
10. done

You can screw up by:

• not drying the fish
• using lame fish
• using too high of heat….burns the coconut
• overcooking…use the 9th piece to pull out and taste
• not using enough serrano (it offsets the intense sweetness of the mango)
• also if you need to, use more mango.

Great shrimp appetizer dish we have come to know over the years. A garlic paprika shrimp that if you do it right is a perfect way to post up and elongate the meal. This is a very texture oriented dish so the “dont’s” at the end are critical.

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb shrimp, larger is better for plumpness.
• Butter 2 tbsp (+)
• Paprika
• Garlic (5 cloves)
• Fresh Parsley 2 tbsp chopped (not necessary btw)
• Salted butter
• Lemon
• Olive oil  (use top shelf, it’s a big deal)

1. Clean shrimp if un-shelled, dry very well (key for searing) and set aside @ room temp for at least 15 min
2. Sprinkle one side of the shrimp with salt and paprika (liberal on the paprika)
3. Press the garlic up and set aside
4. On med-high setting, cover a good large non stick pan with top shelf olive oil Make damned sure they aren’t crowded, it will steam the shrimp if they are and all is lost. Fry the seasoned side to get a nice paprika char crust, not very long, 3 mins maybe.
5. Once you have a nice restaurant level char, turn over and sprinkle  with paprika. Fry for 1-2 minutes tops. Seasoning in the pan gives the butter some love.
6. After 1-2 minute’s (and now charry crust love on both ends) push all the shrimp into a pile into the corner and move that section of pan away from fire
7. Drop 2-3 tablespoons of butter into the edge of the pan still over fire, tilt so it pools towards you. Melt the butter, it will go quickly
8. Add the shrimp into the butter and cook softly. This will allow it to cook without burning. About 60 seconds tops
9. Once its fragrant and cooked,  toss it into the rest of the shrimp to cover them all. Toss gently to disperse the garlic and butter and toss in the parsely
10. Serve in a boat like dish, after they have cooled 60 seconds hit dish w lemon
11. BAM

Here is how you screw up this very simple recipe, I know, I have made all these mistakes

• Overcook the shrimp
• Mess w them while they are searing
• Crowd the shrimp
• Season both sides outside of the pan (the extra salt and paprika that doesn’t make it on the shrimp does wonders for the final butter love)
• Add the lemon to the pan
• Cook shrimp w garlic in pan (you will have major garlic/shrimp charring conflicts)

Barbacoa

This is a family recipe that has been adapted and scaled down from the original. It’s a barbacoa recipe, the perfect slow cooked meat for gatherings. For those feeling their oats, the original has the same format as below except you use a full cow buried in a pit and custom sealed barrels that can hold up to 200 lbs of beef each, cooked overnight using a cord of mesquite wood, 50 lbs of onions, 3 gallons of wine, 6 gallons of jalapeno and whiskey to keep the guys warm who tend to it overnight. My parents donated a cow each year to the big church fund raiser. My dad and his cohorts would go out cut a cord of wood then go find a suitable cow in the herd, bring it around, shoot it, butcher it, cut it up and cook it down. Here now is a version for feeding less people that just takes a trip to the grocery store and a full morning. This is a very simple process but it does take two days.

You need to cook this in one of those big electric cooking dealies you can get at walmart as pictured below

Ingredients:

· 24 lbs lean Chuck

· 4 medium cans of pickled whole jalapenos (28 oz each) drained. They must be whole or the jalapenos will dissolve and your acid and heat will be too high. And they must be drained

· 4 large white onions

· 3/4+ bottle of Merlot

· Salt to taste

2 cups water

 

Process:

1. Cut the chuck into tennis ball size, all same size

2. Cut onions into quarters

3. You will create layers in the roaster. (see photo below)

1. lay down a bed of tennis balls
2. lay down a portion of your onions
3. lay down a can of whole jalapenos across the bed
4. splash your merlot across the bed of love
5. add a cup of water
6. liberally salt the layer
7. Do this two or three times, your roaster will be full. Add another cup of water along the way
8. Roast at 350 until it simmers/boils..
9. Once it simmers/boils go for 30 minutes at the 350.
10. After that go another 3 hrs at 250 for the slow braise
11. If necessary, push exposed meat down every now and then to make sure none dries out
12. Go that 4 total hours ish or until it can be taken apart easily with fork.
13. Once cooked separate meat, shred meat by hand, discarding fat. Do the shredding while it’s hot with those wolverine shredder dealies. This shredding is the only real work and you must be diligent about it.
14. Separately strain the liquid (separated from flotsam) and set aside to cool overnight in a refrigerator
15. The next morning skim off the layer of fat, it will be quite a massive chunk of fat. Toss it. You will likely get close to 2 lbs of fat
16. Recombine the liquid and the meat in the roaster. Heat up low and slow for a while and you are done.

Serve with salsa, lardy tortillas, rice and refried beans.

Orange Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 white onion
• 1/2 large Serrano
• 1.5 lb nice carrots
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Salt
• Cilantro
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds

Directions

1. In a pan, sauté onion 3-5 minutes
2. Decrease heat and add carrots and Serrano to sweat carrots, about 5-7 more minutes
3. During #2, toast coriander seeds then crush in mortar and pestle
4. Add coriander to the carrots and onions
5. Add broth and bring to boil
6. Simmer for approximately 40 more minutes
7. Puree in blender
8. Pour back in pan and whisk in cream (can go without cream)
9. Simmer for 10 minutes
10. Top with fresh chopped Cilantro at serving

Got this from Oak Hill Farm. Amazing and simple. Ingredients, Ingredients, Ingredients is the name of the game.

Ingredients:

• 10 small zucchini’s (diced)
• 2 large bunches basil
• 2 medium leeks (sliced)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Saute the leeks in butter until soft
2. Drop in the Zucchini, saute a bit longer until soft.
3. Slowly add the chicken stock
4. Reduce by half or a bit more.
5. Turn off heat
6. Add the fresh basil (dont cook)
7. Toss in a blender.
8. If too thick, add stock accordingly

And done.

Simple fennel salad. Ideal to make just a bit ahead of time to allow for minor maceration. The key here is shaved, not sliced fennel. The following is for a single serving and each of the ingredients amounts is very much a personal taste thing but start with the baseline. I recommend topping with sushi grade ahi.

Salad:

• 1 medium fennel bulb
• 2 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan or Reggiano
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Pink Peppercorns
• 2 tbsp good olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp cilantro (or more)
• salt

The salad:

1. Shave the fennel very thin with a mandolin
2. Combine all ingredients. (thyme, salt, fennel, olive oil, lemon, pinks, parmesan)
3. Let it sit on table or fridge for an hour if you have time to macerate

The tuna:

1. Use only top shelf, dry ahi tuna steak
2. Bring to room temp (or close)
3. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
4. Heat olive oil in cast iron, get hot.
5. Sear for 1 minute TOPS per side.
6. After it sits a touch, slice thinly against the grain

Serving:

• Stir up the fennel salad
• Serve on plates
• Hit with hand cracked peppercorns
• Shave on grana/parm
• Lay out the thin sliced tuna on top of each plate..
• Depending on taste, you can hit with salt on the tuna or not