Monday, June 4, 2012.
The Marvels Of Red Snapper.
I am not a fisherman, but like most New Orleanians I have a lot of friends who do indulge in the sport. When we called George and Margo Bragg Saturday to ask them to dinner, Margo said that George was too tired from a few days of fishing down in Venice. But he came home with four nice red snappers, and offered one of them to us. Filleted, yet! Couldn't say no to that.
Within seconds after this news broke, the recipe was forming in my mind. I would cook the fish the way Joe Impastato does, with artichokes and mushrooms. It's a fantastic dish--with good fish, it would get at least four stars from me. Tonight was the night.
It's a two-step process, one I use for a lot of dishes. Coat the fish in seasoned flour, sear it in butter or olive oil (or, as I did today, a combination of the two), and finish the cooking in the oven. Meanwhile, in the same pan make a sauce with white wine (I used leftover rose Champagne today), artichoke hearts, mushrooms (I wish those chanterelles I found in the woods a few weeks ago were still there for the picking), green onions, lemon juice, and the usual seasonings.
It was fabulous, if I say so myself. But a lot of the credit goes to the fish itself, which in my listings of best seafood around here is third after oysters and pompano. Red snapper is a real prize. Thank you, Braggs!
It's over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
