Sunday, September 26, 2010

Dungeness Crab topped Halibut with Hollandaise

I was lucky enough to get close to 30 lbs of Halibut from Alaska which we’ve been eating for months now and not one recipe has made it on my blog. When preparing Halibut I always go back to my Caper Lemon Butter sauce from an episode of Wolfgang Puck, but last night I was in a hurry and threw this recipe together and it was worth sharing. I even ate it for Breakfast this morning with a poached egg and fresh baked croissant; it was like a buttery Crab and Halibut Benedict, Yummy!

1 ¼ lbs halibut filets cut into 4 or 5 pieces
½ lb fresh Dungeness crab meat
2 TBS Butter / ¼ cup Olive Oil
½ cup grated parmesan
½ cup flour
Salt
Pepper
Trader Joes “Fresh” Hollandaise
White Wine or Lemon Juice (1 to 2 TBS)

In a small sauté pan place Trader Joes Hollandaise and heat on medium adding 1 to 2 TBS White Wine or lemon juice stirring occasionally till combined and starts to boil and then reduce to low or remove from heat entirely. Water could be substituted in lieu of wine or lemon juice. Do not microwave this as the butter instantaneously separate from the solids.

In a large sauté pan place Olive Oil and Butter and heat on medium to medium high. In a pie pan or shallow bowl place parmesan, flour, salt and pepper and dredge halibut filets in this mixture and pan fry until golden brown. Depending on thickness of the halibut the total fry time should be around 7 or 8 minutes. If you are using larger thicker pieces, you can place the sauté pan directly into a 350 oven until cooked through. This prevent the over browning of the fish as the oven cooks it from all sides.

Place the Halibut Filet on a plate, top with crab meat and drizzle hot Hollandaise sauce over it.

For those without access to Trader Joes you can always make a hollandaise sauce from scratch (butter, egg yokes, etc.) but it’s work. If you must use a mix, McCormack’s brand is way better than Knorr, but a little white wine is the ticket.

Many thanks to Deb for the fresh Dungeness crab and of course Howard for the abundance of Halibut.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Chicken with Broccoli Parmesan Pesto




Chicken:
3 or 4 Organic boneless / skinless chicken breasts
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Smoked Paprika
Lemon Pepper
Olive Oil
Citrus Mrs. Dash
2 cloves crushed garlic

Broccoli Parmesan Pesto:
2 cups broccoli
1 handful flat leaf parsley
3 cloves Garlic
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbls Lemon Juice
Zest of one lemon
1/3 (+ / -) cup extra virgin olive oil

Garnish: Shredded Parmesan cheese

Place chicken on cutting board between two pieces of saran wrap and pound out chicken. Remove top saran wrap and spread garlic, olive oil and sprinkle both sides with dry seasoning until evenly coated. Let rest at room temperature till grill pan or barbeque is at temperature.

Blanch broccoli in heavily salted water for 2 minutes drain / rinse. In a food processor place garlic cloves, flat leaf parsley and broccoli until smooth. Add almonds, salt, lemon juice and zest, parmesan and EVOO till desired consistency.

Grill Chicken on grill pan and serve broccoli pesto on top of chicken topped with additional parmesan cheese.

Picture seen with Honey Roasted Dijon Potatoes and Pineapple Spinach Salad with Cranberries (see previous postings).

Enjoy!