Celebrate New Year
With Our Classic Recipes

                        By Seared Lightly

        As we enter the next 12 months, we look back upon our favorite culinary concoctions revealed over the past three years in Oregon Magazine.  We’ll begin with our personal paean to a member of the seafood family that doesn’t get the attention its rich flesh deserves:

                Miso Black Cod

        This fish gains its character dwelling in the depths of the North Pacific and is usually snared commercially with baited traps far below the often stormy seas.  The Miso paste is made from fermented Soy beans and can be found in Asian markets.

   3 tbsp. Water      3 tbsp. Dark Brown Sugar
   2 oz. Miso paste       1 oz. Sweet Rice Wine (Mirin)
  2 oz. Dry Sake   2 lbs. Black Cod boneless filets in 8 oz. portions

 Sugar and Water, boil, then cool.  Stir in Miso, Sake, Wine and coat filets, store in the fridge for 8 hours in plastic bag.  Place filets on a grill rack, heat oven to 500 and bake the fish while brushing with the marinade 5-6 minutes.  Serve on Savoy Cabbage leaves sauteed in Toasted Sesame Seed Oil.

        Savory Salmon

This simple marinade flavors the fish while assuring its moistness when briefly roasted in a 500 degree oven.  Use a boneless center cut of Wild Salmon (King, Coho or Sockeye) weighing a minimum of 2 lbs., figure ½ lb. per serving.

        1/3 cup Olive Oil               1/3 cup Soy Sauce
        1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar      Center cut Salmon filet

Mix Oil, Vinegar and Soy Sauce and pour into a large oven pan.  Place Salmon flesh side down for 30 min., turn skin side down for 15 min.  Place Salmon and marinade in a 500 oven for 5 min., turn oven off and let Salmon remain in oven until ready to serve.

        Pickled Prawns

This is an appetizer to die for when accompanied by a local Microbrew.  Use 24-30 count medium size Prawns.

        3 Doz. Medium Prawns in shell
        ¾ cup Kosher Salt               2 qts. Water

Boil salted Water, remove from stove to cool, then add Prawns and store in fridge for 24 hrs., drain and rinse.

        2 cups White Wine Vinegar       5 cups Water
        2 ½ tbsp. Pickling Spice        2 tbsp. Old Bay Crab Boil Seasoning

Bring this to boil, add Prawns and cook briefly until pink.  Remove Prawns, let liquid cool, then replace Prawns and bottle, refrigerate for 24 hrs. before serving.

        Real Texas Chili

A Texas reader provided this ‘do’ and we’ve never tasted a better serving for a football tailgate.  Being from the Lone Star state, it requires no presence of Beans.

   ½ cup Chili Powder              1 ½ cups chopped Onion
   1 cup chopped Bell Peppers   4 cloves, peeled & chopped Garlic
    3 tbsp. Cumin powder            2 12 oz. Cans Beef Stock
     6 fresh Jalapeno Peppers        2 tbsp. Corn Meal
                              2 lbs. Ground Beef

Brown Beef in vegetable oil, stir in Chili Powder, add Onions, Bell Peppers, Garlic and stir until Onions soften, then add Cumin & Beef Stock plus a little water for soupy consistency.  Finally add Jalapenos whole, bring liquid to boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 2 ½ hrs., stirring Every 15 min.  Then mix Corn Meal with small amount of Water to form a light paste to add to the Chili for thickening.

                Marlene’s Communist Soup

        Seared’s wife created this in the mode of a Peasant Soup served at an East Berlin tour bus stop we visited. 

           2 large Potatoes, grated        3 cups sliced Mushrooms
             1 Celery Root, grated           1 large Onion, minced
                ¼ lb. Unsalted Butter           2 tbsp, Tomato Paste
                3 tbsp. Flour                   6 cups Chicken Broth
                                 2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

        Saute’ Potatoes, Celery Root & Onion in 1/8 lb. Unsalted Butter in a covered pan, stirring.  Saute’ Mushrooms in separate pan in 1/8 lbs. Butter ‘til browned, add 2 tbsp. Butter to pan for a paste, then stir in Tomato Paste, add Chicken Broth and simmer for 10 min. 

                Caesar Salad

        The restaurant industry has defiled this classic recipe with infinite versions.  This utilizes traditional ingredients and melds them in a blender before serving.

    6 tbsp. Lemon Juice             1 tbsp. Dry Mustard
   12 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 4 peeled & chopped Garlic cloves
      1 whole Egg                     1 cup grated Swiss Cheese
     1 tin Anchovies in oil          2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
         4 slices Bacon                  Salt & Black Pepper to taste

        Place Lemon Juice, Garlic, Olive Oil, Egg, Worcestershire, Mustard & Anchovies (including their oil) in a blender, blend well.  Saute’ Bacon, remove from pan, chop up and set aside.  Wash a head of Romain Lettuce, slice off bottom, remove leaves & pat dry.  Place Lettuce in large serving bowl, toss with Bacon & Cheese, add blended dressing and check for Salt & Pepper seasoning before serving.

                Holiday Nuts

        Simple, yet superlatively savory.  We recommend a blend of roasted, unsalted Filberts, Pecans & Almonds.

                4 cups Nuts                     4 cups Water
                2/3 cup Sugar                   Salt to taste

        Boil Water, add 4 cups Nuts for 1 min., rinse & drain, toss with half of Sugar and salt to taste.  Add Vegetable Oil to ½ in. depth in large frying pan, heat ‘til a nut sizzles when dropped in.  Add 2 cups of Nuts and cook 5 min., drain and add Nuts to foiled baking pan, sprinkle with Salt & Sugar and bake @ 300 degrees for 5 min., remove from pan.  Now repeat these steps with remaining 2 cups Nuts.

                BBQ Crab

        Seared once owned Portland’s Jake’s Crawfish and inherited this classic Dungeness Crab recipe created in the past century.  You cook the sauce, not the Crab, which should be precooked in the shell.  Quarter the Crab, serving 2 quarters per serving in large bowls.  This is hands-on, messy and to die for.  Sop up sauce in the bowls with good toasted Garlic bread.  The following recipe is enough for 4 servings.

            1 qt. Water       4 tbsp. Worcestershsire Sauce
  2 tbsp. Ground Cumin     1 entire Garlic Bulb, peeled & chopped
    1 ½ tbsp. Chili Powder  4 Celery branches, finely chopped
          1 tbsp. Curry Powder            1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
              4 tbsp. Brown Sugar             Juice of 4 Lemons
                3 whole Cloves          2 tsp. Dry Mustard
                    2 Bay Leaves                    ½ lb. Butter
                                   4 Bouillon cubes

        Mix Curry Powder, Cumin, Cayenne, Mustard & Chili Powder with Water to form a paste, stir in with all other ingredients in saucepan & simmer for 30 min., stir in Bouillon cubes.
Place Crab quarters in a very large bowl, pour hot broth over them, let steep for 5 min., transfer Crab into serving bowls, heat broth to steaming and pour over each serving. Serve with tools for dissecting Crab from the shell, and bibs!

                Marlene’s Crab & Shrimp Cakes

        My wife’s tribute to the Dungeness shellfish, combined with Oregon shrimp and baked, not fried.  This recipe will serve a party of 6.

   ½ lb. Shelled Crab       1 lb. cooked, shelled Oregon Shrimp
         ½ tsp. Dry Mustard        ½ cup finely chopped Celery
 ½ cup chopped Onion   ½ cup chopped Red & Green Bell Peppers
    1 cup Mayonnaise    ¾ cup seasoned Bread Crumb     1 Egg

        Break up larger piece of Crab, chop Shrimp into thirds.  Mix all ingredients thoroughly, reserving half the Bread Crumbs.  Form mixture into 3” diameter, ½ in. thick patties.  Coat patties with remaining Crumbs, place on greased cookie sheet and oven bake at 350 for 15 min.

               Celery Root Slaw

        We prefer those large bulbs of Celery Root to any Cabbage that ever grew when it comes to Slaw.

          Juice 1 Lemon                   1 lg. Celery Root, shredded
          1 tsp. White Pepper             1 Carrot, finely chopped
     1 cup Mayonnaise                3 tbsp. Fresh Chives, chopped

        Mix together and serve chilled.

                Steak Marinade

        Seared invented this to serve a motor home crew of crazed trout fishermen.  The marinade flavors and tenderizes and steaks reach savoriness if covered with marinade in a sealed plastic bag.  Any open charcoal or gas-fired BBQ grill will do the cooking job.

          ½ cup Brown Sugar               ½ cup Soy Sauce
         1 tbsp. Cracked Black Pepper       ½ cup Red Wine 
                               (preferably Cab Sauvignon)
        1 whole Garlic Bulb, cloves peeled, crushed & minced

        Mix ingredients in bowl, place meat in plastic bag, pour in marinade, seal bag and refrigerate for several hours.  This will cover 4 lbs. of steaks, add more liquid if necessary.  Don’t pat steaks dry before grilling, sugar in the marinade burns and seals meat juices.

                Onion/Rice Bake

        A great party dish, accompanying any entrée.  It evolves from a conversation in a Bavarian gasthaus with a Canadian customs officer’s wife and perfected by Seared’s wife.  Walla Walla, Vidalia or Texas Sweet Onions are a ‘must.’

            6 cups chopped Onion            ¼ lb. Unsalted Butter
              1 cup uncooked Rice             5 cups boiling Water
           2/3 cup Half & Half          3 cups Swiss Cheese, grated

        Preheat oven to 325.  Saute’ Onions in Butter ‘till transparent.  Cook Rice in boiling water for 5 min.  Drain & mix Rice with Onions, add Half & Half and 1 ½ cups of cheese. Transfer mixture to 8” casserole dish, cover with remaining cheese.  Bake uncovered 1 hr.

© 2004 Oregon Magazine