Kitchen Confidential and Sauteed Flounder

I just finished "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. What an entertaining book. Many of the stories definitely ring true for the industry, though some are exaggerated just a bit. There is a lot of truth to the quote, “Don’t eat the fish special on Monday,” though the place I work at does get deliveries over the weekend, so I can offer a fresh fish filet on that day. Without question, this book gives a no holds barred look at the industry, leaving pretty much nothing out. Those that work in professional kitchens are, for the most part, a different breed. However, with most chefs and cooks, it IS all about the food.

If you want an entertaining and quick read, go get “Kitchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain. If you are as warped as I sometimes am, you will get a laugh.

On to the food.

Teri and I are very lucky to live next door to a friend that fishes often down in Port Aransas. Really it’s almost like having a seafood market next door. This weekend we were lucky enough to get some fresh flounder filets, and I figured I’d share one of the ways I’ve cooked them. You can use this recipe with most any white fish, such as freshwater bass or even trout. It is, without question, pretty simple.

Sauteed Flounder with Sundried Tomato Buerre Blanc on a bed of squash and onion stir fry.

Flounder:
Ingredients:

4 flounder filets about 5 oz each (or any white fish)
Kosher or Sea Salt
White Pepper
Ancho Chili Powder (or regular chili powder if you can’t get the ancho)
1 oz butter
1 oz vegetable oil (I use an olive/canola oil blend)

Method:

Season both sides of the fish with the salt, pepper and chili powder. Heat skillet on med-high until pretty hot. Add oil and butter to hot skillet. Carefully lay the fish down in the skillet and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes. Flip and cook until done. Set over the bed of squash and onions and top with the buerre blanc.


Squash and Onion Stir Fry:
Indredients:

2 good size squash julienned (long thin strips)
1 onion Frenched (thin wedges)
Kosher or Sea Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 oz vegetable oil (olive/canola oil blend)


Method:

Heat skillet to med-high until pretty hot. Add oil to hot skillet. Add onions and sweat them for a bit. Add the squash and cook them with the onions for a few minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, and you are done. (I sometimes add a bit of dried oregano at the same time I add the onions. This is a cook’s choice.)

Sundried Tomato Buerre Blanc:
Indredients:

¼ cup of white wine
2 oz of shallots chopped fine dice (or mild onion if you can’t get any shallots)
4 oz of sun dried tomatoes chopped medium dice
4 oz butter (not margarine, not oleo, not anything else other than REAL butter.)
Kosher or Sea Salt to taste
White Pepper to taste (or black pepper if you don’t have white)

Method:

Add the wine, shallots and sun dried tomatoes to a skillet and turn it to med high. Boil the wine down to au sec, or almost dry (should be just bubbling and almost down to nothing). Add the butter 1 oz at a time, moving the pan around until the butter is incorporated. Add a small bit of salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the fish, making sure to get some shallots and sun dried tomatoes on each filet.

This really is an easy recipe to do. The sauce may be the most difficult of everything to do, but once you do it you will see that there is not much too it. All three of these items take about the same time to cook, so you can start them all in three different skillets on your range top and they should be ready to plate at about the same time.

I took a picture of the finished dish with my iPhone, so the quality is not all that great, but it will give you an idea of the plating.



Let me know what you think and please send me your comments and questions.

Bon Appetit and Enjoy!