Macadamia Crusted Fish with Coconut Milk Sauce.

And now for something completely different.

In our last few episodes we've gone crazy with cream sauces.  This culminated with the Blue Cheese sauce that is definitely not for fish.  This got me thinking (Yes, that is what you were smelling) that I should share my creamy sauce for fish. 

I was inspired by a meal at Roy's restaurant in Hawaii.  I had a stack of stuff on a plate that included a Macadamia encrusted piece of fish that was doused in this excellent coconut milk based sauce.  I liked it so much that I bought the cookbook from the gift shop (I think the restaurant had a gift shop...but Mai Tais were involved) because it contained this recipe.  Long story short, there were 12 ingredients in the sauce alone.  I set about to simplify.

It turns out that most of the ingredients in the sauce were already in a sweet chili sauce called Mae Ploy. So you can make this sauce quickly and easily.  The recipe below makes way more sauce than you will need for 4 fish fillets.  That is because this stuff rocks on rice.

I'll detail the sauce and then show you how to do a great Macadamia Crusted fish to put under it.

For the sauce you'll need;

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk (shake thouroughly before opening)
• 1/2 cup cream or half & half
• 1/2 cup Mae Ploy
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 Tbsp Scriracha sauce (optional but highly recommended)
• 4 to 5 basil leaves (finely chopped)

Combine the first 5 ingredients and bring to a simmer.

Constantly stir to prevent scorching.

Reduce by up to half.  Add the basil, remove from heat and stir in.

For the fish you'll need;

• 4 small pieces of fish (I used Hamachi, but recommend Mahi-mahi or Rockfish)
• 1-2 oz roasted Macadamia nuts (chopped fine)
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp lemon pepper
• 1 tsp salt  

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

Dredge fish in crumbs and pat to set.  I have never needed to use an egg wash or anything because if you don't dry the fish it will be naturally wet enough to hold on to the crumbs.  Yes, lots falls off but we aren't making corn dogs here.

Get 3 Tbsp peanut oil and 1 Tbsp sesame oil into a pan over med heat. You need the extra oil to make the crust.  Get the fish into the pan and don't move it for 4 minutes.  The lower heat is so that the nuts don't burn.

After 4 minutes flip and cook for another 4 minutes.

Prep your plates.

Get the fishies onto the plates and spoon over a little bit of the sauce.  Don't hide your crust.

Serve the rest of the sauce in gravy boat.

Blue Cheese Sauce

Made for steak -- good on anything but fish.

Yeah, sorry about that. Right now I can't get the idea of Trout w/Blue Cheese out of my head. Yech.

Anyhow, this is an easy and good blue cheese sauce.

You'll need;

• 2 Tbsp butter (unsalted if you've got it, but regular will do)
• 4 oz blue cheese crumbles
• 1/2 cup whipping cream (or half&half or milk)
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 shallot (minced)
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a small skillet or saucepan over med heat.

Add the shallots and sweat them for a good 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the cheese . . .

. . . and cream and bring to a near simmer while stirring.

Add the worcestershire and stir in.

Reduce heat and stir. I switched to a whisk for no reason (other than a desire to wash more dishes).

When the cheese is melted, turn off the heat.  Season with pepper and taste for salt. Stir in some parsley for color if desired.

This sauce is great because it tempers the bite of the blue cheese and makes a thick, clingy, spreadable sauce that is good on anything meaty or starchy.  Just not tuna.  Sorry.

Alfredo Sauce

A special occasion sauce.

Alfredo sauce is good stuff.  The best is made right on the hot pasta but that tableside procedure is not for the faint of heart.  Best just to make it in a pan ahead of time.  The worst part of this sauce is getting the cheese to melt properly.  The second worst part is that it will break/separate if reheated.

A word here about cheese.  This sauce is a cream/cheese sauce so don't even think about using pre-grated cheese.  Even the fancy ones have celulose added to prevent clumping and will wreck your sauce.

You could use salted butter in this recipe, but, depending on the particular cheese that you buy, the sauce can get too salty.  I prefer to control the sodium.

You'll need; (Photos show a double batch)

• 1 cup grated parmeseano regiano cheese. (1.5 cups if you use a microplaner)
• 1 cup whipping cream or half and half
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• (opt) 1 clove garlic (minced)  (or and inch from the squeeze tube)
• nutmeg (freshly grated) (if not fresh, cut the amt in half)
• salt 
• pepper
• parsley (chopped fine)
• (opt) 1 tsp lemon zest

Prepare your MIP.

Put a small saute pan on med-low heat and melt the butter and garlic (if desired).

Add the cream and stir occasionally as it comes nearly to a simmer. Do not boil your cream/butter mixture.

Add the cheese and stir constantly while it melts.

While stirring, grate in about 1/8 tsp of fresh nutmeg.  This is about 8 passes on the microplane. (Less if dried)

Season with salt, lots of pepper, and the zest (if desired).

When the sauce is creamy and smooth you can add the parsley to the sauce, or just garnish the finished dish with parsley.

Cornish Game Hens with Roasted Garlic Sauce

OMG! Don't ever make this again!

Well that's what the wife said when I made this chicken and sauce for the first time. I hung my head thinking that I had burned my fingers for nothing.  But then she clarified that the sauce was like crack. It is now called "Crack Sauce" around here.

So here's the deal.  This is a superior roasting technique for chicken but I apply it to the smaller game hens because it is cooler to serve everyone their own little bird.  Plus it reminds me of the "Tiny Chickens" skit from SNL.

The chicken trick is great on its own but the dipping sauce just takes it to the next level. You can cook these birds at 400F but the skin might not totally crisp up.  Try 425F if you want crispy skin.  Use 400F and convection if you can.


You'll need:

• 2 Cornish Game Hens (approx 1.5 lbs each)
• 1 lemon
• some fresh herbs (Rosemary and something else)
• 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed)
• kosher salt
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 small shallot (chopped fine)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 dashes worcestershire

Preheat to 425F.  Set up a roasting pan with wire rack and spray the rack with cooking spray.  (My only dislike of this method is that the wire rack leaves indentations in the breast side.  Foil over the rack or one of those square hole racks might fix this.)

Prep: Cut the lemon in half.  Chop the shallot.  Lay out your herbs (I used rosemary and oregano this time but thyme is my usual).  Peel and smash the 2 cloves of garlic.  Take as much paper off the clove as you can and cut the top off.

Chicken: Thaw the game hens and remove any innards. Trim off as much of the neck as you can and I take off that tail flap. (Pope's Nose?)  Pat dry, salt the cavity and put your garlic clove, herbs and half a lemon in the cavity.  I use the lemon as a door across Jesus' tomb -- so to speak. 

Now salt all sides with kosher salt.  If your salt won't stick you could rub a tiny amount of olive oil on the skin.  You could also do some pepper and other herbs, but I don't.  I just use lots of salt.

Lay the garlic clove in a square of foil, drizzle in some olive oil and seal this up.  Put this package in a corner of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Put the birds breast side down on the rack and bake for 30 minutes.  40 minutes if you are cooking full size birds.

Remove the garlic and let it cool.

Take out the birds and flip them over.  Re-salt a bit if you can't see any salt on the breast side.

Bake for 30 more minutes.  40 for the bigger boids. Since breast side is up at the end you could switch to broil for the last 10min.

Remove the birds and check that the breast got up to 160F to 165F.  Tilt them "legs up" (you may need to prop them somehow) and let them rest for 10 - 15 minutes.

Sweat the shallots in 1 Tbsp butter.

Squeeze the roasted garlic into the pan and smash with a fork if necessary.  It will burn your fingers if you aren't careful.

Add the thyme, Worcestershire and the cream and stir.

Simmer gently for 5 minutes and then add the 2 Tbsp of remaining butter.  Take off the heat. Season if needed.

If serving one bird per guest you are ready to plate.  I serve half a bird so I take my birds to a cutting board and cut 'em down the middle.

Serve with a ramekin of the garlic sauce and some potatoes or bread.  Some people use a knife and fork, but I just pick my meat off the bone, dip a corner in the sauce and enjoy!