Spirits and Seafood

My Outdoorsman has spent some time planning a chartered fishing trip for Halibut in May of this year.  He forwarded me an email this morning confirming his latest adventure and as I was reading his note I jumped ahead to wines and brews to pair with his prize when he brings it through the door.  Yes, I do realize there is a quite a stretch of time from now until May, however I do like to be prepared.   I had ideas whirling and popping and I happened to recall that someone inquired not too long ago about seafood ~ wine combinations, so I thought that with the “fresh from the ocean” recipes this week I would also include both the wine and beer pairings for each one.

If you have been with me here for any length of time, you are well aware I am a red wine lover and a good, deep porter or stout is just the ticket when it comes to brew.  My personal motto when it comes to pairing is to drink what pleases you, stop pairing and start pouring.  I do concede however, that certain flavors enhance others and the importance of this should not always be discounted.  Now, I am keeping in mind I may receive a bit of flack for the choices I have made below and I welcome any and all advice.  With that said, let’s get the recipes rolling!

Gourmet Recipes has a great Orange Glazed Salmon that is a real showstopper.   Servings are 4 and the cooking time is only 15 minutes.

Orange Glazed Salmon

Ingredients

• 4 ( 4ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
• Sea Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• Cooking Spray
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Preparation

1. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
2. Spray oil in a large nonstick skillet and heat over high.  Add the salmon and cook for three minutes on each side.  Cover and cook three additional minutes or until salmon is cook through.  Remove from skillet and place in warming drawer in oven.
3. Pour the soy sauce and juice in the same skillet and cook over high for one minute, stirring constantly while scraping bottom of pan.  Add oil.  Serve with sauce over the salmon.

Wine Pair

• Rioja, Chardonnay or Moscato

Beer Match

• Pilsner, Cream Ale, Saison and for the dark brew lover, a porter

I had found there are so many ways to prepare halibut.  I thought for this post I would choose a method that isn’t as mainstream as I have tasted in the past and ifood.tv had just the recipe.

Baked Halibut                     Bake:  375 for 50 mins

Ingredients

• 2 halibut large
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup chopped spring onions
• tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cups crushed crackers
• 1 large (chopped) white onion
• 1/4 butter

Directions

1. Melt butter in sauce pan.
2. Saute white onions until light brown in color, then spread on baking pan
3. In separate bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise, spring onions and lemon juice.
4. Place halibut over onions.
5. Pour mixture from bowl onto halibut and sprinkle crush crackers over the top.

Wine Pair

• Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Tempranillo or Moschofilero

Beer Match

• Shandy or Blanche

This last one for today is what is on the menu here for Saturday evening.  This dish serves 8 -10 as a first course, 6 as a main course and your dinner guests will tip their hats to this one.  Visit FoodNetwork.com for more recipes that will knock your socks off.

Fettuccine with Lobster, Tomatoes and Saffron

Ingredients

• 3 2-pound spiny lobsters, steamed 10 minutes and cooled ( may sub 4 1/2 pounds Maine lobsters)
• Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/8 inch julienne
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 2 medium waxy potatoes, cut into 1/8 inch dice
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound overripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice with juices
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 1/2 pounds fettuccine
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
• Remove the lobster meat from the shells and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions

1. Bring 8 quarts water to a boil in a large spaghetti pot and add 2 tablespoons salt.
2. In a 14-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil until smoking.  Add the onion, celery, potatoes and garlic and saute until golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, wine and saffron and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer 3 minutes.  Drop the fettuccine into the boiling water and cook to one minute less than the package instructions.  Just before it is done carefully ladle 1/2 cup of the cooking water into the pan with the sauce.  Add the lobster to the tomato sauce in the pan and toss through.  Drain the pasta in a colander and dump into the pan with the sauce, add the chives and toss over medium heat about 30 seconds until nicely coated.  Pour into a heated bowl and serve.

Wine Pairing

• White Bordeaux, Sparkling Wine (Rose), Pinot Grigio, Lambrusco or Merlot

Beer Match

• Pale Ale, Pilsner, Wheat, Amber Ale or Stout

I welcome all comments and advice.  You can find me on my Facebook page every day as well as the Tacoma Home and Living Section of the Tacoma Examiner.com