sea

You will find this entrée on the menu at several restaurants, especially those that specialize in seafood. But you probably won't get the real thing. That's because of cost. Per pound, gruyère cost almost as much as jumbo lump crab meat. So, with few exceptions, most restaurants substitute cheddar and some are gross enough to use Velveeta. In some Italian restaurants, don't be surprised to find domestic Parmesan or Romano substituted. Fontina, however, would make an excellent substitute, but it, too, is expensive. What follows is a variation of the classical French method for crab au gratin. The traditional recipe does not contain bell pepper, scallions or parsley.

1 pound JUMBO lump crab meat	4 tablespoons finely diced bell pepper
2 tablespoons diced scallions	4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Quart of sauce Mornay	2 ounces grated gruyère

Pick through the crab meat to remove any bits of shell. Coat the bottom of 6 one-cup ramekins with some Mornay sauce. Add the crab meat, bell pepper, scallions and parsley to the sauce, then divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins. Top each with the grated gruyère. Bake in a hot (450°) oven until golden brown. Finish under the broiler if needed. Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley and serve immediately.

If prepared ahead, allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. Note: the amount of bell pepper, scallions and parsley is only a guide. Adjust to taste accordingly.

The amount of the seasonings is only a guideline. It is important to taste the mixture before baking to adjust the herbs, pepper and salt. Properly seasoned, deviled clams should be spicy, not bland. Be careful with the thyme; it's a strong herb. Thyme is, however, the dominant seasoning in most clam recipes and should be evident. The tarragon gives the dish a subtle taste that separates it from other deviled or stuffed clam recipes. It is assumed that the herbs are fresh. If dried herbs are used substitute 1 teaspoon for 1 tablespoon of fresh.

12 chowder clams	1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon shallots	Butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley	Grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme	Cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon	Salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped pimentos	1 ounce dry sherry
	1½ cups clam velouté

Steam clams to open and reserve broth and 12 of the cherrystone clam shells. Remove solids in broth as described in clam stew. Dice clams. Saut½ bread crumbs in 3 tablespoons butter. Add half the breadcrumbs to the diced clams along with the seasonings. Prepare a velouté with the reserved clam broth, sherry, nutmeg and Cayenne pepper; add to clams and mix well. Taste and adjust salt and Cayenne.

Fill the 12 reserved shells with the mixture. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs on top and place a small piece of butter on each. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350°. Serve hot. Return to deviled clams

Weakfish is a highly esteemed entrée in South Jersey seafood restaurants. The meat has a good texture and, while it's not as mild as flounder or fluke, it doesn't even come close to bluefish or mackerel for being fishy. But as good as the weakfish is, its roe – often called poor-man's caviar – is even better. I'd swap a pound of roe for 5 pounds of weakfish filét any day.

Oddly, I have never seen it on any menu. Shad roe, yes; weakfish or flounder, no. A number of people like shad roe; I don't for the same reason I don't care for bluefish: It's too strong and fishy.

Fish roe is seasonal from late April through late May. Good luck trying to find some, though. While all the Jersey Cape seafood markets seasonally carry shad roe, most seem to have stopped selling both weakfish and flounder roe. The only fish market I know that has carried weakfish roe recently is in Wildwood on Park Boulevard.

2 pounds fish roe, weakfish or flounder	Flour for dredging
2 sticks butter	Black pepper

Preheat the oven to 130°. Roe comes in pairs. Separate them and remove the vein that runs along its length, then rinse under cold water and set on paper towels to absorb some of the water.

Lightly dredge individual pieces with flour. In a skillet, melt butter with medium heat, then place roe in the skillet. Don't crowd them. Fry, turning often until they are nicely browned on all side. Add more butter as needed. Do not cook them too fast, or the eggs will begin to explode. It's also a good idea to cover the skillet with a fine-mesh spatter screen.

Test for doneness by slicing 2/3 through the thickest section. The individual eggs should all be the same light yellow color with no moisture in the center. Remove cooked roe to paper towels and liberally grind black pepper over them. Transfer to more paper towels in the oven to keep them warm until all the roe is cooked. Serve immediately.

Note: Clarified butter can also be used and actually is better. If you want to buy more roe while it's available, it can be kept in the freezer for up to two months. After that, it begins to develop a fishy taste.

For some reason few people prepare deep-fried flounder at home. That's restaurant food. Nothing, however, could be easier to cook than fried flounder if the proper steps are taken. There are three requirements for good fried flounder: fresh filets, very fine bread crumbs and hot Crisco.

6 medium flounder filets	Milk
Flour	2 eggs
Fine bread crumbs	Crisco

Rinse the filets with cold water and pat dry. Dredge in flour making sure that all parts are lightly covered. Whisk the eggs with a little milk. A higher egg to milk ratio will result in heavier breading. Put some bread crumbs in a rectangular baking dish. With the left hand (for right-handed people) coat the filets with the egg and milk mixture, and lay the filet on the bread crumbs. With the left hand, tap the filet gently to coat the bottom, then, still with the left hand, turn the filet over. With the right hand, pick up some bread crumbs and add to the freshly coated side. Pat the filet firmly with the right hand, turn and repeat. Reserve until all the filets are coated. If they are not to be cooked immediately, refrigerate.

Heat three cans of Crisco to 375º in a pot large enough. If a thermometer is not available, put a small piece of bread in the oil. When both sides brown in one minute, the oil should be right. After rubbing excess breading off a filet place it in a frying basket. When nicely browned on the bottom, turn once with tongs and remove when done. Place on paper towels. When all six filets are done, garnish with a lemon wedge and parsley and serve immediately with tartar sauce, French fries (cooked first) and cole slaw. Return to the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Note: To freeze breaded, but uncooked filets, lay on a cookie sheet overnight in freezer, then wrap the next day.

1¼-to 3-pound live lobsters. One per serving	Butter
	Lemon

Bring enough water to boil to cover the lobsters. Plunge lobsters head first into a pot of rapidly boiling salted water. Cover pot, turn up high. When water returns to a boil, cook lobsters 10 to 12 minutes for a 1¼ pounder, 12 to 14 for 1½ pounds, 14 to 16 for 2 pounds, and 20 to 22 for 3 pounders.

To test for doneness, remove one lobster from the pot with tongs, holding it by one of its small legs. Give it a shake; if the leg pulls off, the lobster is done. If not, continue boiling until done.

Remove with tongs and serve with drawn butter that has been seasoned with lemon.

Note: Instead of using a table cloth, spread several thicknesses of newspaper on a wooden or Formica table. Have plenty of paper towels on hand.

Truly a food of the gods. But aren't they ugly critters? I don't know who was crazy enough or hungry enough to think that those marine cockroaches were edible, but I owe him, or her, big time.

2 pounds lobster claws	2 tablespoons butter
2 tails, 3 ounces each	1 tablespoon sherry
1 pint Newburg sauce	Toast

Place claws and tails in boiling water. After water returns to a boil, cook for 10 minutes. After the lobsters have cooled, remove meat and clean. Chop meat into serving-size pieces and sauté in butter and sherry until juices are released. Remove from heat and reserve. Using the same pot, prepare the Newburg sauce. Serve hot on toast points.

Note: Considering the richness of the meal, use Pepperidge Farm, or the equivalent, toasting bread. Puff pastry shells can be used instead of toast. A nice touch is to pipe a border of duchess potatoes around the rim of each plate. If the potatoes are not hot the plate can be nuked. If the plate can not be used in a micro wave, nuke the potatoes to get them hot, then immediately pipe each plate.

Bring pot of salted water or seawater to a rolling boil. Cook 3 minutes plus 1 minute for every ounce the tail weighs. When done, remove from pot and drain. With scissors, cut away the underside membrane and remove meat from shell. Return to shell and coat with butter. Place under broiler until the tail begins to brown. Serve with drawn butter that has been seasoned with lemon.

Example: A 5 ounce tail will cook in 8 minutes, 5 minutes by the weight plus the extra 3 minutes.

Not too many folks have ever eaten monk fish. It's their loss. Monk fish is not at all fishy like blue fish or mackerel. It's taste falls somewhere between flounder and striped bass, and has often been called poor man's lobster. Although it's texture is remarkably similar to lobster, believe me, it's no lobster. It is, however, one of the better fishes that are available on the East Coast. Because of its texture, it would go well in a seafood Newburg or bisque.

As with all seafood, buy seasonally and by the market. Monk fish can vary from $9 per pound to $3. Buy when the price is low, which it usually is because monk fish is not as popular as flounder, fluke, or weakfish.

2 pounds monk fish filets	Freshly ground black pepper
Butter	Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375°. Measure the thickest part of the filets. Remove any red meat from the filets. Coat the fish with butter, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and place them in a shallow baking dish and bake for about 7- to 10- minutes per inch of thickness. While the fish is baking, prepare lemon butter sauce. Test frequently for doneness by piercing the thickest part with a fork. When the meat is milky white and just beginning to flake, it's done. Get it out of the oven quickly. When a fish flakes easily, it's been overcooked. Serve hot with lemon butter sauce. Each filet can be garnished with chives and fresh parsley flakes.

Traditionally a clam bake is done on the beach by digging a pit, filling it with stones, utilizing driftwood and seaweed, and covering the pit with a canvass tarp. Dig a hole and light a fire on a beach in New Jersey and you'll need more lawyers than the Clinton administration. Besides, South Jersey is mighty short on rocks and seaweed. What follows is the Roadkill backyard alternative. Substitute greens: spinach, escarole, lettuce, etc. for seaweed. Do not, however, use cabbage. Buy whatever is on sale.

Being dependent on white corn, this is a seasonal meal. It can only be prepared properly (is there any other way?) between early July and a little after Labor Day. The best time is mid-August when the corn is at its best. Also a clam bake is a major mess. Cook and serve it outdoors and don't waste money on napkins. Cover the picnic table with newspapers and put a roll of paper towels at each end. A bowl of water makes a great center piece that will be greatly appreciated. Have a trash can nearby to toss in the clam shells, lobster shells, and dead ears of corn. You will need, at a minimum, a 24-quart pot; a 32-quart pot is better. We use the 40-quart stainless steel pot we use for brewing beer. Also you'll need 12 bricks.

6 1¼ to 1½ pound lobsters	3 pounds russet potatoes
100 little necks clams	About 8 heads of greens
3 chowder clams	1 can of beer
6 ears white corn	Butter & lemon

Prepare cooking facility as follows: Make a triangle with three bricks. Place three more on top, but offset them, then another three to match the first. Finish with a fourth layer, fill with charcoal, douse with starter fluid and light. After charcoal is glowing pour a can of beer into a 32-quart pot. Arrange a layer of greens on the bottom, then add the clams. Cover the clams with a layer of greens, then add the lobsters, followed by more greens. Next add the potatoes, reserving one, followed by more greens. Add the corn (unshucked), more greens and the reserved potato. When the potato is tender, the meal is done. Anticipate cooking time to be from 1¼ to 1½ hours. Serve with lemon-flavored melted butter.

Note: The original New England clam bake called for a half a chicken per serving.

1 large can RED sockeye salmon	1 egg
Potatoes to make 1 cup mashed	1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dry mustard	1 to 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated onion	Pepper to taste

Clean salmon well, discard all dark meat and skin. About 25 percent of the contents will be discarded. Rinse with cold water. Boil potatoes and mash. Mix cleaned salmon with the rest of the ingredients and chill 30 minutes. Form 6 cakes; roll lightly in bread crumbs and chill for 30 to 45 minutes.

Pan fry gently in oil until each cake is evenly browned. Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedge. Macaroni and cheese is an excellent accompaniment.

Make sure the fish monger has removed all the needle-like bones by running your finger along the flesh. If any are found, remove with needle-nose pliers. Place the filet and room-temperature bouillon in an appropriate-size cooking vessel. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until done, about 15 minutes. The filet should be removed right before it begins to get dry and flaky.

Don't overcook it - but don't undercook it either. The current trend is to leave the center of some fish raw. We don't. If the fish is even slightly tainted, you can get food poisoning that, by comparison, will make salmonella seem like a mild stomach ache. If we want raw fish, we go to a sushi bar. Return to court-bouillon.

Note: Any fatty dark meat should be scraped away before serving. It not only detracts from the taste, it's also where any PCBs and other toxins are located.

1 pound ocean scallops	Fine bread crumbs, enough
1 cup flour, more or less	¼ cup milk
2 eggs	Crisco for frying

Wash scallops and cut to uniform size; spread out in sink and let dry a bit. Whisk eggs, add milk and whisk again. Place newspaper on work surface, then put bowl of egg-milk mixture in center. Make a pile of flour to the left of the bowl and a pile of bread crumbs to the right.

Roll each scallop in flour and set aside. When finished wash hands and dry. With left hand, pick up scallop and dip it in egg-milk mixture, being sure that all the surface is coated.

Still working with the left hand, place scallop on the bread crumbs and pat down. Turn with left hand and press on bread-crumb coated side with right hand. Turn again with right hand and press down again. Roll once more in bread crumbs. Set aside and bread the rest of the rest of the scallops. If not used immediately, put in refrigerator.

Heat Crisco in deep fryer to 375°. Rub excess breading off shrimp, put about 5 shrimp at a time in wire basket and lower into hot oil. Turn as needed. Remove to paper towel when done. Do not overcook. Serve hot. Return to the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Note: To freeze uncooked, breaded scallops, do not wrap. Lay on cookie sheet and leave in freezer overnight. Wrap the next day.

Seafood