Nothing says Cape Cod like scrod and sea scallops for an entree. Flaky white scrod is excellent for rolling and stuffing. Sea scallops make the stuffing moist like the ocean air of a Cape Cod morning. The Newburg Sauce tastes good on just about anything, but for some reason it seems to tastes better on a cool spring night east of the Bourne Bridge.
If you are wondering what scrod is, Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “a young fish (as a cod or haddock)”. Scrod in restaurants is indeed just young cod. There is a small difference in the quality of the meat in the immature fish. I’m sure a sophisticated palate could probably make the distinction, based mostly on texture. The truth to buying scrod is to make sure that it is fresh. When scrod is frozen, the flakiness of the fish tends to form more ice crystals within the layers. This sometimes can make the frozen fish taste synthetic, so always try to buy it fresh.
When Susan Fernald raved about this dish she had at Starlight Café in Nantucket I confess that, at first, I didn’t even understand what she meant by “gingersnap fluke.” And when I did, I thought it sounded downright weird. Boy was I wrong. The ginger, sweet, and acid deliciously offset one another. If you weren’t told what they were, you wouldn’t be able to place the flavors—but the results are excellent and really unique.
Bill and Denise Atwood from The Red Pheasant served this tuna preparation at the restaurant last summer to great acclaim. The salad combination is unusual but the balance of tart, sweet, and salty combine well and it is delicious. It is worth searching out the finest tuna–try Cape Fish and Lobster in Hyannis. Â
Summer is the season when we move the bulk of our cooking out of the kitchen and onto the grill, and when vegetables, salads, and fruits move from the sidelines to the center of our plates. Keep in mind that fruit doesn’t have to be relegated to dessert; it makes a lovely savory companion to fish and meats when grilled with olive oil and sprinkled with herbs or used in a fresh salsa as follows. The recipe is courtesy of Elsa Sampou, who offered us a batch to go with the striped bass her husband Andre caught and was kind enough to share with us. The sweet fresh fruit offsets the rich taste of the wild bass and it would also be delicious made with local peaches, although it was awfully good made with supermarket mangos.Â
If possible, grill over lump hardwood charcoal as it imparts a nice smoky note to the fish, but a gas grill or even an oven at 350 degrees works just fine.
This recipe is courtesy of Chef David Ogren from LeveL Bistro in Provincetown. The recipe is unusual in that there is no thickener other than the potatoes and it uses bacon instead of the traditional salt pork. We thought that the bacon might be too assertive, but there is very little of it and it adds a subtle smoky note that is nicely balanced with the brightness from the brandy and the lemon. The recipe calls for canned clams but is great with fresh quahogs (that you raked yourself).
This recipe is courtesy of Jay Coburn the former Owner and Executive Chef of restaurant Chester in Provincetown. Jay will soon be opening Chester at Home a gourmet catering firm that will create small dinner parties and intimate events. Find out more at www.chesterrestaurant.com. Jay says that this dish is great for a dinner party because it can be prepared in advance, held and then quickly completed just before service. (See tip in the recipe).
The secret to this dish is the delicious stock. You can make a simple version by boiling the lobster bodies in water to cover for 20 minutes, but Jay’s version is much better. We prepared the lobsters by boiling them but at the restaurant they kill the lobsters first and then steam the bodies, claws and tails separately. Our approach works but the restaurant way yields more flavorful meat although we know that many home cooks are uncomfortable doing it that way. Either way keep the meat a little under done so it doesn’t over cook when heated in the risotto.
When you read the list of ingredients in this recipe—lobster, cognac, butter, buttery crackers—you just know it is going to be delicious. As is typical of so much of his cooking, Stephen from The Bee-Hive Tavern really does the ingredients justice with this delicious and elegant combination.
Thisdish is a satisfying New England classic and it is particularly good when madewith exceptional smoked haddock. The recipe is from Peter O'Donovan of NantucketWild Gourmet & Smokehouse, so do be sure to try the dish with their smoked haddock, which has a nice balance of smoke and restrained saltiness.If you use another brand of haddock, taste it before starting to cook; if it is very salty rinse it in cold waterfor a minute or so.
Thecheese is optional and when we were testing the recipe we thought it would betoo rich but found that it added another dimension that we like.Peter loves to serve Finnan Haddie withfluffy mashed potatoes or peeled boiled potatoes that have been tossed ina little butter and freshcracked pepper and salt. When cornis in season adding an ear or two of freshly cut kernels at the end of cookingis a nice treat.
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