Tuna in Portuguese Sauce
Emeril Lagasse
Commander’s Palace
New Orleans LA

Seared tuna fillets arrive covered with a very Portuguese mixture of peppers, olives, tomatoes, and anchovies. This dish, prepared for Great Chefs by Emeril Lagasse when he was executive chef at Commander’s Palace, begins with Commander’s seafood seasoning. You may use cod, haddock, amberjack, or lemonfish in place of the tuna.

Serves 4

4 yellowfin tuna fillets, 5 to 6 ounces each
Commander’s Palace Seafood Seasoning (recipe follows)
All-purpose flour for dredging
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
Pinch of crushed dried red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pitted black olives, halved
1/2 cup pitted green olives, halved
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
4 to 5 anchovy fillets, minced
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sprinkle both sides of the tuna fillets with seafood seasoning. Combine the flour and a pinch of seafood seasoning. Lightly dredge the tuna fillets in the mixture. Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over high heat. Sear the fillets to medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and reserve in a warm place. Degrease the pan and return it to the heat. When hot, add the red and green bell peppers, onion, and celery. Season with crushed dried red pepper flakes. Saute until the vegetables begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic, black and green olives, and chopped parsley. Cook for a few seconds, then stir in the anchovy and tomato. To finish the sauce, beat in the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, then add the olive oil.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Return the tuna to the pan to rewarm, spooning the sauce and vegetables on top of the fillets.

Serve the tuna topped with sauce, garnished with roasted potatoes. This dish can be made a day in advance of service. Refrigerate the seared tuna overnight in the sauce. Reheat or serve cold as a salad entrée.

Commander’s Palace Seafood Seasoning
Makes 2 cups

2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/3 cup salt
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1/3 cup paprika
3 tablespoons granulated onion.

Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly and store, tightly covered, in a glass jar.

Kartoffelklosse (Potato Dumplings)
Gunter Preuss
The Versailles (later, Broussard’s)
New Orleans LA

Gunter Preuss’ alternative to mashed potatoes is a dumpling that starts out as mashed potato — then is transformed, with nutmeg, eggs, and flour, into angled cylinders of potato sprinkled with chopped parsley. The dumplings are firmer than mashed potatoes, and have that hint of nutmeg which makes them more interesting.

Serves 6

3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped

To make the dumplings: Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until very tender. Drain, cover the pan, and return to moderate heat to evaporate all the liquid from the potatoes. Transfer to a mixing bowl and mash. Cool to room temperature, then add nutmeg, egg yolks, salt, and pepper. Gradually work in the flour, using your hands, until the dough forms a ball. Place on a lightly floured work surface and shape into a cylinder. Square the ends with a metal spatula. Cut the cylinder on the bias into 2- to 2-1/2-inch pieces.

Place the dumplings in boiling salted water. When the water returns to a boil and the dumplings rise to the surface, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on a towel. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Every day Great Chefs searches the web for news about our celebrity chefs, here’s an article we hope you’ll enjoy.

garnish with grated white truffle, sauteed mushrooms, or chopped parsley. source: great chefs of san francisco, avon books, 1984 chef: adriana giramonti, giramonti restaurant, san francisco, ca.

Source: http://www.slashfoodie.com/recipes/appetizers/crostini-with-chicken-livers-5/

Cream of Black Widow’s Web
Daniel Bonnot
Consultant/Instructor
New Orleans LA; Nyons, France

Hearty black bean soup is traced with a spider’s web of sour cream for a wonderful first course. This soup could also be made in larger quantity and served as the main course.

Serves 4

1 pound black beans
4 cups water
8 slices bacon
1/2 white onion, diced
2 green bell peppers, seeded, deribbed, and diced
2 red bell peppers, seeded, deribbed, and diced
2 stalks celery, deribbed and sliced
5-1/2 cups chicken stock
2 sprigs parsley, minced
4 bay leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded, deribbed, and minced
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Garnish
1/4 cup sour cream
4 parsley leaves

Place the black beans in a deep bowl and cover with cool water. Let soak 2 hours at room temperature.

Place the bacon in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the onion, bell peppers, and celery and continue cooking until softened, about 4 minutes. Drain the black beans in a colander and add to the vegetables. Add the chicken stock, reserving 1/4 cup. Stir to blend and add the chopped parsley and bay leaves. Let cook over medium heat for 45 minutes. Add the jalapeno, garlic, and salt. Continue cooking for 45 more minutes.

When the soup has completed cooking, place in a blender or food processor and blend on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 1 minute, until smooth. Add reserved chicken stock to thin if necessary. Return the soup to the saucepan and place over high heat. Add the coriander and vinegar and stir well. Add the butter and remove the pan from heat; stir the melting butter into the soup.

To serve: Place the soup in serving bowls. Place the sour cream in a squeeze bottle with a narrow tip. Draw a spiral of cream on top of each bowl of soup. Using a skewer or toothpick, draw a series of straight lines from the center to the outside of the bowl through the spiral of cream. Then reverse and do a set of lines from the outside to the center between the previous lines to produce the spider web effect. Place a parsley leaf in the center of each web.

Cream of Mussel Soup with Marrow Dumplings
Andre Soltner
Lutece
New York NY

This light cream soup flavored with mussels includes the luxurious extra touch of marrow quenelles, poached in chicken stock. Because you will cook many mussels to flavor the broth, you will have the added bonus of extra mussels to serve at another time. Keep them sealed in plastic wrap and cold in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and serve cold or heated with a garlic-flavored sauce.

Serves 6

Quenelles
4 ounces beef marrow
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon uncooked cream of wheat
1 tablespoon mixed chopped parsley and chervil
2 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1 quart chicken stock

2 pounds fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
6 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chopped chives

To prepare the quenelles: In a small bowl, using a fork, puree the marrow. Mix in the bread crumbs, cream of wheat, parsley and chervil, and egg yolks. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the nutmeg. Mix thoroughly. Using two spoons, form the mixture into 3/4-inch ovals (quenelles). Heat the chicken stock to boiling in a saucepan and slip the quenelles into the stock. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside; keep warm.

To prepare the mussels: Squeeze each mussel in your hand and discard those that open. Also discard any that are filled with sand. Wash the mussels in 2 to 3 changes of cool water.

In a saute pan, melt the butter and saute the shallots for about 30 seconds, until they begin to soften. Add the mussels, cover the pan, and cook until they open, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Cook until the mussels are done, about 4 more minutes. Discard any which never opened. Remove 12 mussels from the pan and set them aside for garnish. Use the remaining mussels for another purpose.

Strain the liquid from the pan into a saucepan. Add the chicken stock to the saucepan and bring just to the boiling point. Keep hot.

In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, whisk the cream and egg yolks together, whisking constantly until the mixture is frothy. Continuing to whisk constantly, slowly add the hot mussel liquid. Continue to cook without boiling until the soup thickens slightly. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve: Place the quenelles in a soup tureen and pour the soup over them. Sprinkle with the chopped chives. Place two of the reserved mussels in each shallow soup bowl. At the table, ladle soup and quenelles into the bowls around the mussels.

Cream of Mussel Soup with Marrow Dumplings
Andre Soltner
Lutece
New York NY

This light cream soup flavored with mussels includes the luxurious extra touch of marrow quenelles, poached in chicken stock. Because you will cook many mussels to flavor the broth, you will have the added bonus of extra mussels to serve at another time. Keep them sealed in plastic wrap and cold in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and serve cold or heated with a garlic-flavored sauce.

Serves 6

Quenelles
4 ounces beef marrow
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon uncooked cream of wheat
1 tablespoon mixed chopped parsley and chervil
2 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1 quart chicken stock

2 pounds fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
6 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chopped chives

To prepare the quenelles: In a small bowl, using a fork, puree the marrow. Mix in the bread crumbs, cream of wheat, parsley and chervil, and egg yolks. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the nutmeg. Mix thoroughly. Using two spoons, form the mixture into 3/4-inch ovals (quenelles). Heat the chicken stock to boiling in a saucepan and slip the quenelles into the stock. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside; keep warm.

To prepare the mussels: Squeeze each mussel in your hand and discard those that open. Also discard any that are filled with sand. Wash the mussels in 2 to 3 changes of cool water.

In a saute pan, melt the butter and saute the shallots for about 30 seconds, until they begin to soften. Add the mussels, cover the pan, and cook until they open, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Cook until the mussels are done, about 4 more minutes. Discard any which never opened. Remove 12 mussels from the pan and set them aside for garnish. Use the remaining mussels for another purpose.

Strain the liquid from the pan into a saucepan. Add the chicken stock to the saucepan and bring just to the boiling point. Keep hot.

In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, whisk the cream and egg yolks together, whisking constantly until the mixture is frothy. Continuing to whisk constantly, slowly add the hot mussel liquid. Continue to cook without boiling until the soup thickens slightly. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve: Place the quenelles in a soup tureen and pour the soup over them. Sprinkle with the chopped chives. Place two of the reserved mussels in each shallow soup bowl. At the table, ladle soup and quenelles into the bowls around the mussels.

Seafood Fajitas
Mark Holger
Santa Fe Restaurant
New Orleans

These ‚“open-faced‚” fajitas present the wealth of the sea with a southwestern kick. Each arrives at the table with a tortilla along with rice, beans, and seafood, and its perfectly possible to fill the tortilla ‚Äî but more likely the diners will enjoy each part of the dinner separately.

For each serving:

3 tablespoons oil
4 small shrimp, peeled
2 soft-shell crawfish
Two 1-ounce slices monkfish
2 oysters
1/2 soft-shell crab
1 frog leg
1 scallop
6 cooked crawfish tails
4 mushrooms
(8 ounces assorted seafood, as above, or best selections at the market)

1 tablespoon oil
3/4 cup assorted sliced peppers
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 small tomato, diced
1 to 2 teaspoons seafood spice blend
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
1/2 tomato, diced
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped

1/2 cup brown gravy
1/2 cup refried beans or black beans, slightly crushed
1 flour tortilla, warmed
3 sprigs parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a skillet. Place all the seafood except the cooked crawfish in the skillet. Stir with a wooden spoon until browned. Add the cooked crawfish and mushrooms and heat through.

In a separate skillet, combine the oil, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Saute 2 to 3 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Combine with the seafood and season to taste with seafood spice blend, salt, and pepper.

Combine the rice with the corn, tomatoes, and green onions and heat together briefly.

Heat the brown gravy and pour onto a plate. Place the cooked seafood over the gravy. Serve with the rice, beans, and a rolled warm flour tortilla. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.

Tuna in Portuguese Sauce
Emeril Lagasse
Commander´s Palace
New Orleans LA

Seared tuna fillets arrive covered with a very Portuguese mixture of peppers, olives, tomatoes, and anchovies. This dish, prepared for Great Chefs by Emeril Lagasse when he was executive chef at Commander´s Palace, begins with Commander´s seafood seasoning. You may use cod, haddock, amberjack, or lemonfish in place of the tuna.

Serves 4

4 yellowfin tuna fillets, 5 to 6 ounces each
Commander´s Palace Seafood Seasoning (recipe follows)
All-purpose flour for dredging
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
Pinch of crushed dried red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pitted black olives, halved
1/2 cup pitted green olives, halved
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
4 to 5 anchovy fillets, minced
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sprinkle both sides of the tuna fillets with seafood seasoning. Combine the flour and a pinch of seafood seasoning. Lightly dredge the tuna fillets in the mixture. Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over high heat. Sear the fillets to medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and reserve in a warm place. Degrease the pan and return it to the heat. When hot, add the red and green bell peppers, onion, and celery. Season with crushed dried red pepper flakes. Saute until the vegetables begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic, black and green olives, and chopped parsley. Cook for a few seconds, then stir in the anchovy and tomato. To finish the sauce, beat in the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, then add the olive oil.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Return the tuna to the pan to rewarm, spooning the sauce and vegetables on top of the fillets.

Serve the tuna topped with sauce, garnished with roasted potatoes. This dish can be made a day in advance of service. Refrigerate the seared tuna overnight in the sauce. Reheat or serve cold as a salad entrée.

Commander´s Palace Seafood Seasoning
Makes 2 cups

2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/3 cup salt
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1/3 cup paprika
3 tablespoons granulated onion.

Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly and store, tightly covered, in a glass jar.

Sausage Jambalaya
Axel Stromboe
Axel´s Catering
New Orleans LA

Jambalaya is wonderful party food: it just seems to stretch! You can add seafood to this sausage jambalaya just by tossing in some peeled, uncooked shrimp and crab meat at the last minute; they only need about 2 minutes to cook. Crunchy French bread is a perfect accompaniment to this one-dish meal.

Serves 15 to 20

2 pounds smoked sausage, such as andouille, sliced into coins
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
6 cups water
2 cups red wine
2 pounds turkey or chicken breast, cubed
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (adjust for personal taste)
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon MSG
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon chicken base (chicken stock which has been boiled down until it becomes pasty)
4 cups white rice

4 green onions, green part only, finely chopped

In a large pot, saute the sausage until it begins to brown, then add the onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, and parsley. Cook just until the vegetables are tender. Add the water, wine, turkey or chicken, seasonings, and chicken base. Cover and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then add the rice. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Stir occasionally during cooking.

To serve: Place in a large serving dish and sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Nage of Dover Sole Riveria
Jean Banchet
Riveria Restaurant
Atlanta, Georgia

A nage is a dish that begins with cooking shellfish or fish in stock, then serving it with the same stock: it is ‚“swimming,‚” the origin of the name. Jean Banchet simmers delicate sole in mussel stock with fennel julienne. The sole comes to the table on a bed of pasta and surrounded by the mussels. The cooking stock is transformed into a creamy sauce for the dish.

Serves 4

Mussel Stock
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 pound fresh mussels
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon peeled and chopped shallots
1‚ÅÑ4 cup fish stock (see Basics)
1‚ÅÑ4 cup dry white wine
1‚ÅÑ4 cup dry vermouth
1 teaspoon saffron

Sole
1‚ÅÑ4 cup olive oil
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into 1‚ÅÑ16-inch julienne
2 fresh 18-ounce Dover sole, boned and filleted
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce
1‚ÅÑ4 cup heavy cream
1‚ÅÑ4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta
8 ounces fresh or dried black linguini pasta
1‚ÅÑ2 cup (1 stick) butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish
8 outer leaves from fennel bulbs
8 medium mushroom caps
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced

To make the mussel stock: Carefully pick through the mussels, discarding any that do not smell sweet. Scrape off the beards. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat, stir in the shallots, and cook slowly until limp. Then add the parsley, mussels, fish stock, white wine, vermouth, and saffron. Cover the pan and shake to mix together the ingredients. Raise the heat to high, cover the pan, and let the mussels steam 3 to 4 minutes or just until the mussels open. Remove the pan from the heat, and strain the mussel stock into another pan. Reserve the mussels separately.

To prepare sole: In a medium saute pan heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the fennel, and cook slowly for 2 to 3 minutes or until the fennel is tender and wilted. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Lightly butter a flameproof baking dish that will just hold the fish. Place the fillets in the baking dish, sprinkle with the julienned fennel, and roll up the fillets. Fasten with a toothpick.

Pour in enough of the mussel stock to come two-thirds of the way up the fillets. Lay buttered waxed paper or parchment paper over the fish and set the dish over medium heat just until the liquid starts to bubble. Place in the preheated oven and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until the skin has turned an opaque white. Remove the pan from the oven, drain the fish cooking juices into a saucepan, and keep the fish warm while finishing the sauce.

To make the sauce: Set the pan with the fish cooking juices over medium-high heat, and reduce by three-fourths. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Simmer until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and pour into a blender. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and blend well.

To prepare the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook about 5 minutes until al dente. Drain and return the pasta to the warm saucepan. Add the butter, salt, and pepper and mix well.

To prepare the garnishes: Remove 8 of the large outer leaves from the fennel bulbs. Trim and clean the mushroom caps. Place a medium saucepan over high heat, fill with salted water, and bring to a boil. Add the fennel leaves, and cook until softened. Remove the leaves from the water with a long-handled strainer. Add the mushroom caps to the water and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until softened.

To serve: Remove the mussels from their shells. Place the pasta in the center of 4 serving dishes. Arrange 2 fennel leaves around the pasta and put 1 sole fillet in each leaf. Garnish each plate with the mussels and spoon the sauce over the mussels and sole. Top each sole fillet with a mushroom cap and 1 tablespoon of the diced tomatoes.