fillets balsamico

[Oldsarge]

Here's one for those of us who either hunt fresh water or only managed to bag a bunch of perch in the surf. You Brits might try it on bass.

Fish fillets
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp dill weed
1 tsp dry thyme
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
another Tbs butter

Mix the flour, dill, thyme and salt and pepper "to taste" together and dredge the fish in the mix. Heat a pan then pour in the oil and melt the first Tbs. of butter in the oil. Cook the fish 10 minutes per inch of thickness (2.5 cm, if you insist!) then remove to a warm plate. Deglaze the pan with the stock and vinegar and whisk in first the mustard then the butter and pour the sauce over the fish. Serve with cottage fried potatoes, your favorite green vegetable, a cold melon and wash down the whole mess with cold lager. Not bad, by damn, not bad at all!

(burp!)

 

[podge]

Sound great all I need is a bunch of perch or a couple of Bass.

 

[spaghetti]

thumbs up, Oldsarge: the aceto balsamico is every day on my table. (But it must be from Modena!).

 

[Oldsarge]

Unfortunately, we get all sorts of ersatz "balsamicos" here and trying to sort them out one from the other is challenging. The two best we've had so far are Fini and Colavita. Neither of them, of course, are of a quality that one would put on an aged Romano with an eye-dropper but for cooking and salads, they'll do. The truly extraordinary brands simply aren't available anywhere I go.

 

[spaghetti]

Fini is fine. It's a commercial brand, but with quality and tradition. Moreover, Fini is based in Modena, the town where they make the real balsamico (and Ferrari cars too).
Of course the best are the limited productions from countryside farms or small artisanal distilleries: I tasted a homemade balsamico that was 50 years aged and you could feel all the 50 years in its taste. However, if you have access to Fini's, that's good and "the real thing".
What do you mean as Romano? Pecorino Romano sheep cheese? So you know how to eat well! Try it with honey (either blonde honey and/or bitter brown honey). And try our Pecorino Toscano too: it's less salty than the Romano, but with a more complex taste.
Good appetite!

 

[Oldsarge]

Pecorino Romano with honey??? Now for some reason I'd never have thought of that. Can't imagine why not, though, I love prosciutto with either melon or figs. Salty and sweet is a great combo, like peanuts, raisins and chocolate.

 

[spaghetti]

Approved!
Prosciutto with melon is the typical summer dish on every italian table, then in september melon out and figs in. Honey on aged cheese is fine, also with parmesan (Grana Padano, or Parmigiano Reggiano): I prefer the brown bitter honey with it.
Oldsarge, tell me the truth: you're not american, you're an italian in incognito. Your real name is Fefè Scognamiglio, AKA "Pummarola", and your secret identity is now revealed!

 

[lemoni]

If you are unable to get good Balsamic you can always reduce a poor quality one down two about 1/2 the volume, kind of cheating but it improves it.

 

[Oldsarge]

Spaghetti,
My father's family immigrated from San Angelo de Bari just before WWI broke out. My great-grandfather had three sons and he didn't want the Italian army to get any of them. During WWII, Dad married this English/Welsh descended girl he met in Montana but she decided that his family's food was a lot more interesting than her's. Everyone in my family cooks. In fact, both Mom and my son are trained professionals and we can do just about any of the Southern Italian recipes out of our heads. Now the food of the mangia faggioli needs looking up in a book.

 

[Mr. X]

Sarge, I think I'll give your recipe a go. I have been looking for a tasty way to cook some pollock (which has a reputation for being a little bland).

BTW Did your mother ever cook you Welsh cakes or leak & potato soup? Lava bread? (Did she "lampoon you"?)

http://www.lastminute-wales.com/default.asp?id=21

Fini is fine. It's a commercial brand, but with quality and tradition. Moreover, Fini is based in Modena, the town where they make the real balsamico (and Ferrari cars too).
Of course the best are the limited productions from countryside farms or small artisanal distilleries: I tasted a homemade balsamico that was 50 years aged and you could feel all the 50 years in its taste.
...What do you mean as Romano? Pecorino Romano sheep cheese? So you know how to eat well! Try it with honey (either blonde honey and/or bitter brown honey). And try our Pecorino Toscano too: it's less salty than the Romano, but with a more complex taste.
Good appetite!

Stop, stop all this talk of good food is making me hungry! Although malt vinegar (a byproduct of brewing beer) is more traditional in the UK, we normally also have Balsamic vinegar at hand - great with salads, fresh home grown tomatoes & fish (mackeral). We get whatever is available at Lidls or one of the local supermarkets (which varies) - probably not in the "Ferrari" Balsamic vinegar league though!

 

[Oldsarge]

Mom's family emigrated clear back in the 1690's so about the only thing Welsh left is the name, Williams. Come to think of it, we did try pasties a couple of times. They were pretty good but would have been better with garlic and rosemary in the filling. Her main style of cooking was Great Plains Heartland. Roasts with mash and gravy, boring vegies, super fruit pies and that sort of thing. Pretty obvious why she converted to the South of Italy!

 

[Mr. X]

Garlic pastiesrofl...not [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Carry-Henry-VIII-Gerald-Thomas/dp/B000051WC2"]v. British [/ame]but an interesting idea.:hmm

Although British food is much maligned and we enjoy a wide range of foreign food (often cooked at home), my favourite meals are still British ... usually variations on the theme of meat & 4 or 5 veg (inc. potatoes in one form or another). Pheasant in cider sauce (Shooting Times recipe) is probably my all time favourite (the recipe includes apples, onions & cream). Although roast chicken & home made stuffing is hard to beat. Roast beef & Yorkshire pudding was a favourite with American friends...although for some reason they thought pudding would be like Angel Delight. What better than a simple bacon buttie, or cheese and onion "cob" at the pub.

If room allows, for dessert/pudding: apple pie & custard (never did understand the nationalism of the saying "as American as motherhood and apple pie" - I guess it is a wholesome image), black current pie & ice cream, trifle, fruit salad or, for cold, high activity days, some form of suet pudding (perhaps with sultanas or topped with jam/syrup/...) served alone or with custard. This is not low energy food, of course - nor particularly heart friendly. Intended for a more physical life style than most have these days.

I don't know anybody that doesn't enjoy Italian food though (...except perhaps some of my father's generation).

 

[island_sands]

:inlove :inlove
this thread is making my mouth water... mmmmmmm I love italian food and will put balsamic on (just) about anything rofl

 

[pkotik]

With caution in sultry climes, on account of the flies.

 

[spaghetti]

I have been looking for a tasty way to cook some pollock (which has a reputation for being a little bland).

Pollock is not a common fish in our waters. But I'm sure you would love it "a la venexiana" (Venice style, AKA "in saor"). Fry the fish (simply fried) and then cover it with a dressing made with thinly chopped onions previuosly cooked in a panel with white wine and white vinegar (non balsamic). Just drop this onion dressing on the fried fish. Use a very little salt and pepper. Drink: a dry and slightly fruity white wine served cool, as the dish itslef may (may) be served cool or warm (not hot). Will give its best if you let the dish "resting" under the dressing (i.e. marinating) for a night. The fruity wine (but definitely NOT a sweet wine) is okay because it "meets" the sweet of the onions.

PS-Oldsarge will certainly help, as he knows southern italian recipes: every fish becomes tasty in one of those sicilian red sauce dressings with black olives and salty anchovies!
PPS-As an italian who enjoys cooking, I could flood this forum with recipes for those like you who love italian food, and I could enjoy your exotic ones for myself. Unfortunately, I simply ignore the proper language, there are too many "technical" words I lack in english: cipolla=onion; Aceto=vinegar; padella=panel...But all the others are a big hole for me. I should learn this fundamental language as quick as possible!!!

 

[Oldsarge]

Spaghetti,
Pelegrino Artusi's classic The Art of Eating Well is available in English. As I am sure that you have the latest edition in the original, I suggest that you get the English version. I cannot imagine a more entertaining way to learn culinary English than via the Master.

 

[island_sands]

With caution in sultry climes, on account of the flies.

Paul, that's your second reference to flies...... have i missed something?

 

[Mr. X]

Re. Paul's flies comments...anything to do with the old water melon joke?

Spaghetti, that recipe sounds wonderful. I was a little under the weather today - streaming sinus headache - & helping somebody, so I did not get to cook the pollock. We ended up having it with spaghetti & tomato sauce though (tomatoes, zucchini & herbs all from the garden). The sauce & pasta were very tasty but the fish did not really contribute anything other than fish protein (perhaps because of its reputed blandness) - although it did not detract from it either. I think next time we do pollock we will try a different approach, perhaps pan fry it, maybe coat it...try it "dry", for want of a better word, so that we can taste it (if it has taste) - perhaps served with Sarge's sauce (we were missing one of the herbs today).

BTW Island_Sands...is your signature a quote from the guy sat on the Island opposite you in your new picture?!