We Also Ate

An Ode to The South:

Oh Memphis, oh Oxford. You did me in with your fried foods and biscuits. Your ribs and hush puppies here were the best I’d ever tasted. I loved your baked eggs and country ham with a biscuit and raspberry jam on the side here and your Southern fried catfish and sweet potato casserole here. Your fried chicken here was so crispy and heartwarming, I couldn’t stop searching for leftover bites, long after we’d eaten every last piece. Your coffee and chocolate chip cookies here felt like Christmas Eve.





And then there was the wedding, which was my very reason for visiting you in the first place. Jen and Buddy threw the perfect Southern wedding in Mississippi in a big old backyard decorated with twinkle lights. There was a New Orleans jazz band and sweet tea. We danced barefoot and sipped champagne. We also ate. Ham and biscuit sliders, potato salad with bacon, crab dip, an insanely amazing cream cheese and pepper jelly concoction and the most perfect angel food wedding cake with butter cream frosting.



Which brings me to fish. I loved every second of my adventure in the South, but I craved something simple when I got home. It was time to get my stomach back on track. No more pork, no more fried food, no more butter (well, of course a little bit of butter. Let’s be reasonable). I always turn to fish when I need something light but nourishing. Full disclosure: one of my favorite stores in our neighborhood is Fish Tales on Court Street. That’s why I love Brooklyn. Sure, we have one-stop shop grocery stores, but we also have fish stores. And bread stores. And bakeries. But I digress.

This recipe is one I come back to again and again in some form. It’s simple French fare, dressed up with herbs and lemon juice. There’s nothing too fussy about it, but paired with a glass of crisp wine it feels elegant. It’s a clean, fresh meal that won’t make you go straight to sleep (like every meal in the South made me do. Seriously. I could not stay awake).

I love fish with orzo or couscous, and a big fresh salad. While it delivers a satisfaction that I’ll say is…different than the “I just had the best barbecue and biscuits of my life” variety, I find it’s just what I need after a weekend of eating like I’m having my last meal at every meal.



Go, fish.

Trout with Lemon Butter and Herbs
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

This recipe originally calls for Chilean Sea Bass, but I usually pick trout, sole or cod. Chilean Sea Bass is usually triple the price per pound, and over-fished to the point of being endangered. If you really want bass, opt for black sea bass or striped bass, which both come from the Atlantic ocean. A simple white fish works just fine here. And always make sure you buy wild, not farmed. If you need recommendations, I know a fantastic fish monger on Court street.

Ingredients:

1/3 c mixed fresh herbs such as parsley, dill, and chives
2 trout or other white fish fillets with skin (each about 7 ounces)
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs unsalted butter
1/3 c dry white wine (anything that you would want to drink)
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Chop herbs. Pat fish fillets dry and score just through skin in 4 places. Diagonally cut each fillet in half and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and sear fish, skin sides down, for roughly 3 minutes, until skin is golden. Turn fish over and cook 2 minutes more until just cooked through. Transfer fish to two oven-safe plates and put in the oven to stay warm. Remove skillet from heat and add wine to deglaze, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon. Stir in lemon juice, herbs, remaining 1/2 Tbs butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over fish.