Soup of the week: Fish Chowder

The first day of Autumn was chilly. I knew I was coming down with something because all I could think about all day was soup. Luckily, I had the rest of the haddock in the fridge that needed to be used. This chowder hit the spot. Jasper White calls this recipe the most authentic in his book 50 Chowders: One-Pot Meals -- Clam, Corn & Beyond. It tasted just like I wanted a New England Fish Chowdah to taste, and was even better the next day. Salt pork can easily replaced with bacon. I used whole milk instead of cream for a lighter soup and was pleased with the results.

   The recipe suggested garnishing with fresh snipped chives. I wanted to add a little kick to the mild, smooth soup and complement the fish, so I sprinkled mine with Old Bay. You can take the girl out of Maryland....

Bringing Jean Georges home

       The sweet and sour jus served with the snapper at Jean Georges bewitched me. I couldn't get it out of my head. Aside from butter, I couldn't put my finger on the ingredients I was tasting. I only knew the rich combination of flavors was intoxicating. Of course, upon reading the recipe the secret ingredient was obvious-- mushrooms!

     I was mainly interested in recreating the sauce, so I decided to concentrate on that, leaving the nut and seed crusting for next time. The trick was browning the butter slowly. Next time, I'll clarify the butter and keep a closer eye on it so it doesn't go quite so brown.

This is a totally different type of cooking from what I'm used to, giving you less freedom to multitask and requiring more careful attention to each step. It is an useful exercise in timing and discipline. I used sherry vinegar in place of the Banyuls vinegar. For the summer vegetables which swim in the buttery sauce, I used the last few cherry tomatoes from my garden, along with baby red potatoes and yellow pearl onions for some variety of color. (The mushrooms that were strained out of the sauce made an awesome addition to my scrambled eggs the next morning.)

I wasn't thrilled with the red snapper at Wegman's that day, so I chose some much nicer looking haddock fillets which were a couple dollars less per pound, which I pan fried simply and served over top.

The flavor was as I remembered it. Patrick and I enjoyed it outside (while we can!), watching another one of Seneca Lake's legendary sunsets. We paired it with a bottle of Lamoreaux Landing's 2007 Reserve Chardonnay, a beautiful complement. Butter all around!