Recipe Corner

Sylvie@spiceblends.com

Create tasty meals in just minutes. 
Unique spice blends to add variety in the preparation of your favorite game meats.

Woodcock "almandine"

Ingredients:

6 woodcock (split down the back)

1/2 cup flour

Salt and pepper

6 tbsp. butter

1/2 cup white wine

lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/4 cup toasted, sliced almonds

Preparation:

Dust birds in flour seasoned with salt and pepper

Melt butter in a heavy skillet

Place birds in hot skillet and saute until nicely browned

Add wine and lemon juice. Cover and continue cooking slowly for 15-20

minutes

Add almonds and cook for 5-10 minutes longer or until birds are fork tender

Serve 2 woodcock per person with wild grain rice and squash seasoned with

cinnamon and nutmeg.

Let's Go Fishing

Spring! This is the perfect time of year for fiddleheads and fresh-caught fish. Whether you enjoy fishing for trout or salmon, smallmouth bass or deep sea fishing, now's the time to grab you kids or grandkids, a friend or neighbor or just go by yourself and head for those favorite fishing spots.

To help with cooking those fish you'll catch, this issue and the next share some favorite fish recipes.

Trout Rolls in White Wine – prepare this with fresh-caught (or market) trout fillets. It’s an unusual way to serve trout, infused in a vegetable/herb broth, that’s sure to delight your family and friends.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry Riesling wine

1 large carrot, cut in fine julienne

1 large celery rib, cut in fine julienne

1/2 small sweet onion, thinly sliced

4 whole black peppercorns

3 juniper berries, crushed

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 (approx. 6 oz. each) skinless trout fillets

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 deg. In medium saucepan, combine Riesling with carrot, celery, onion, peppercorns, juniper berries, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and oregano; bring to a boil. Meanwhile, coat a large ovenproof skillet with oil. Season fish with salt and pepper. Skinned side up and starting from the tail end, roll up each fillet and secure with 2 toothpicks. Transfer trout rolls to skillet. Pour  the Riesling wine mixture over the trout rolls and bake 15 minutes, or until fish flakes. Let rest for 5 minutes, then carefully remove toothpicks. Transfer trout rolls to warm shallow bowls and spoon vegetables on top. Remove bay leaf, herb sprigs and peppercorns from broth. Whisk butter into broth, season with salt and pepper and spoon broth over trout. Serve right away with some crusty bread for mopping up juices, if desired and a tossed salad. 4 servings.

Spicy Fried Fish – just the right touch of spices season these fish fillets. Try using fresh-caught pan fish (like perch), bass or any similar fish.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

1 teaspoon paprika

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup flour

1 egg

2 tablespoons lime juice (or substitute lemon)

1 lb. thin fillets of fish, cut in 4-inch strips about 1-inch wide

1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges

Heat about 1/2-inch oil in cast iron skillet. In a medium bowl, combine ginger, cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper and flour. In a shallow dish, beat egg with lime juice and about 1/4 cup water; stir into flour mixture and add more water as needed to make pancake batter consistency. Stir in fish. Remove pieces of fish and fry until crisp and golden, turning once – about 5 minutes total time. Serve with lime wedges. Nice served with oven French fries and a cabbage slaw. 4 servings.

Basic Fish Chowder - a perfect meal for a cool or rainy spring day.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. salt pork, diced (garnish)

1 lb. bass or other white fish

1 cup cold water

2 cups potatoes, cooked and cut into cubes

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup water

2 cups frozen corn kernels

3 cups milk

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper

Pan fry the diced salt pork until it is nice and crispy; drain well and set aside. Put the fish in a pot with the cup of cold water; simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, onion, 1/2 cup water and corn. Simmer for another 10 minutes and then add 3 cups of milk; bring to boiling point - but don't boil. Turn off heat, and add a tablespoon of butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve topped with some crispy salt pork pieces. (You don't have to do the fried pork crisps for the garnish, but it adds a nice flavor). 4 servings.

Keep on Fishing

There are still plenty of good days ahead for fishing your favorite trout streams, lakes or coastal spots. This week Recipe Corner shares some more recipes to try for frying, baking and grilling your fresh-caught or frozen fish.

Crispy Pan-Fred Bass with Spicy Sauce – try this for striped bass or freshwater bass. I’ve also made it with cod with good results, so probably any sturdy fish will work well.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup peanut oil more or less

1 to 1-1/2 lb. striped bass fillet, skinned

Flour for dredging

1 egg

1 or 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon peeled, minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1/2 cup fish or chicken stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon chili-garlic paste or hot sauce to taste

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, put enough oil to cover the bottom about 1/8-inch deep; heat until the oil shimmers. Dredge fillet in some flour, dip in egg, then back into flour. Place it in oil and turn heat to high. Cook about 4 minutes, reducing the heat as needed to prevent burning. Turn carefully and brown on the other side for about 4 minutes.  Cook until fish tests done when pierced with a thin knife. Remove fish from pan and drain on paper towels. Wipe pan clean, return to stove over high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Put in garlic and ginger, stir and cook about 15 seconds. Add sherry and  then the stock; let bubble for 30 seconds. Add soy sauce and cook another few seconds. Add chili-garlic paste, stir, turn off heat and pour sauce over fish.  Serve immediately. Nice served with rice and fresh asparagus.3- 4 servings.

Italian Style Stuffed Baked Fish – this recipe uses a vegetable stuffing rather than the more traditional breadcrumbs. Use any firm white fish, such as trout, walleye or pike, as well as any commercial firm fish.

Ingredients:

1 fish, about 2-1/2 lbs.

1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 medium green pepper, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup butter

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

4 slices bacon

1/3 cup dry white wine or vermouth

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Clean fish and pack the cavity with half the sliced vegetables, salt, pepper and a small piece of the butter.  Close the cavity with skewers or toothpicks. Lay a large sheet of aluminum foil at the bottom of a roasting pan; butter it and put the fish on it. Rub the skin with butter and season with salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Lay slices of bacon over the top and arrange the remaining slices of vegetables around the fish. Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes in the oven, basting occasionally with the melted butter from the dish and the 1/3 cup of white wine.  4-5 servings.

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