Recipes:

Smoked Bluefish (by Michael Laspia)

     Note: Mike suggests experimenting with spices that have individual appeal.

Southern Italian Style Striped Bass:

1. 2 pounds of chunks of striped bass
2. 1 medium chopped onion
3. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4. 1/2 cup good black olives sliced or chopped
5. 3 tbs of capers
6. 1 cup of chopped tomato
7. 1/2 cup of white wine
8. Saffron, a pinch
9. Olive oil

Sauté the striped bass in a small amount of olive oil and remove from the pan. Add the onions, garlic, black olives, capers, chopped tomato to pan with more olive oil if necessary. Cook for 5 minutes. Add back the fish, wine and saffron. Serve over rice.

Barbecued Porgy (blackfish, black sea bass etc.) 

1. Use fish between 1 ˝ and 2 ˝ pounds. Scale the fish (except for blackfish); you may leave the head on but remove the gills if you do. Remove the dorsal, pectoral and anal fins.

2.  Salt, pepper, olive oil and minced garlic (4 tsp). Minced garlic mixed in olive oil for 1 hour may be substituted for the separate components; use the decanted, flavored olive oil.

            Score the fish’s skin with 4 to 5 diagonal, superficial slices. Rub the fish with olive oil then salt and pepper as desired. Sprinkle on minced garlic if you did not use the garlic-olive oil mix. Wire brush the grill and brush it with olive oil. Use a gentle fire if using briquettes or the top grill, with low heat, if using a gas grill. Cook gently for 20 to 30 minutes; until the meat separates readily from the bone. Do not cook on a hot flame and do not over cook the fish.

Carol's Striped Bass in dill Cream Sauce

1. 3/4 cup of dry vermouth  
2. 1/4 to 1/2 cup of fresh dill (removed from stem)
3. 1 small onion, chopped
4. 4 fillets of striped bass
5. 1 Tbs cornstarch
6. 1 cup of milk
7. 2 Tbs butter or margarine
8. Salt and pepper to taste

Bring the first 3 ingredients to a slow boil. Add the fillets, cover and poach until the fish is barely done. Remove the fish to a warm platter. Reduce the pan juices to about 1/2 the volume. Mix in the remaining ingredients and add to the pan juices. Boil until thickened and pour over the fish. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes. 

Carol's Flounder/Fluke and Rice

1. 2 cups of rice (white, brown, Basmati) or rice pilaf, cooked
2. 4 flounder fillets
3. 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced and browned in butter
4. 4 oz. Swiss cheese, grated or sliced   

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a buttered baking pan, make 4 mounds of rice. top each with a fillet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until fish is almost done. Top with mushrooms followed by cheese and bake until the cheese melts. Serve with green salad, French bread and chilled Chardonnay.   

Battered Fried  Bluefish

1. 1 cup Bisquick
2. 1 egg
3. 1/2 cup of milk
4. 2 to 3 pounds of bluefish fillets cut into strips of 1" x 4"
5. Vegetable oil

Mix the first 3 ingredients into a batter and place the bluefish strips into the batter. Heat vegetable oil so that a drop of the batter bubbles and floats rapidly. Deep fry the strips then drain them on absorbent paper, salt slightly and serve with dipping sauces ( horseradish-ketchup; tartar sauce; or Teriyaki sauce)

Sarah's Basil Bluefish

1. 2 to 3 pounds of bluefish fillets cut into 1/4 pound portions
2. 3 to 5 tbs margarine
3. 1 cup basil leaves - shredded
4. 3 large onions - sliced
5. 1/2 cup red wine vinegar mixed with 1 tbs sugar

Heat margarine in a heavy skillet. Sauté fish until done, turning once. Place on a serving platter. Cover fillets with the shredded basil leaves. Add onions to the fry pan and sauté until soft and brown. Place on top of fillets and basil. To the fry pan with lots of brown bits now stuck on the bottom, add the red wine vinegar and sugar. Deglaze pan, cooking the vinegar and sugar for about 30 seconds. Pour vinegar, sugar, brown bits over the fish/basil/onions. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes. Also good cold on crackers as an appetizer.

Oyster Stew (from Carol House) 

1. 1 pint shucked oysters

2. 1 cup half and half

3. 2 tablespoons of butter

4. salt and pepper

Mix the first three ingredients together in a saucepan. Heat gently until the edges of the oysters start to curl. DO NOT BOIL. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves two to three.

Captain Jim's Fish Chowder

1. 1 quart of fish stock (see blow)
2. 2 cups of clam juice (if clams are used)
3. 2 lbs of a firm whit fish meat (e.g. blackfish or striped bass) cut into 3/4 " cubes
4. 4 large potatoes, diced
5. 5 carrots, sliced
6. 4 celery stalks with leaves, sliced
7. 2 large yellow onions, diced
8. 5 cloves of garlic, sliced
9. 1/4 cup of chopped bell peppers
10. 1/4 cup of crushed tomatoes
11. 1 cup of corn
12. 1/2 tsp of thyme leaves
13. 1/8 tsp of tarragon
14. 1 tsp parsley leaves (flakes)
15. 1 tsp cilantro
16. 1 tsp curry powder or garham marsala
17. 1/2 cup of black olives, sliced
18. 2 tbs. olive oil
19. Marcela or sherry wine

Optional items:

1. 3/4  to 1 lb of shrimp, cut lengthwise
2. 1 dozen chowder clams diced or 2 dozen cherrystone clams
3. 1 lb lobster meat
4. 3 to 4 squirts of Tabasco sauce
5. 1 hot pepper crushed and sliced

Sauté the onions, celery and peppers in olive oil until the onions become translucent. Add in the garlic, carrots, potatoes and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the fish stock, clam juice and spices. Simmer until the potatoes just turn soft. Ten minutes prior to serving, add the cubed fish and optional items. May serve with Marcela or sherry wine to taste. The chowder is excellent the next day, also.

Fish Stock

Remove the gills from the racks of blackfish, cod or other white meat fish.. Fill a large pot with the fish racks. Add 4 large chopped yellow onions, 4 stalks of celery, 6 cloves of garlic, 2 tbs. of thyme, 3 tbs. of oregano and 3 quarts of water. Simmer very slowly for 1 hour (do not burn) - mix frequently. Leave covered and let seep at room temperature overnight. The next day bring to a gentle boil. Let cool and separate the bones and coarse materials by running through a colander. Freeze in quart bags for up to 2 years.

Easy Cod Supper (Carol House)

1. 4 medium potatoes (Yukon Gold or new potatoes washed and unpeeled or other potatoes peeled)
2. 1 lb. sliced tomatoes, seeded and diced or 1 lb can tomatoes in puree slightly crushed
3. 1 tbs virgin olive oil
4. 2 lbs cod fillets, sprinkled with virgin olive oil
5. Salt and pepper

Place the potatoes, tomatoes and 1 tbs. of olive oil in a covered casserole dish and either bake (325 ° F) or microwave until the potatoes are almost done. Top with the cod fillets. Add salt and pepper to your taste then bake until the cod is done. Serve with a green salad, crusty bread and a dry red wine.

Michele Baron's Baked Blackfish

1. 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil
2. 1 small onion, chopped
3. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4. 1/4 lb. mushrooms chopped
5. 1 medium tomato, chopped
6. 1 teaspoon capers
7. Salt and pepper
8. 1 1/2 lbs. of blackfish fillets

Place the blackfish in a buttered baking pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and bake 5 minutes at 325°. Meanwhile, sweat onions, garlic and mushrooms in butter until soft. Add the tomato, capers, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Top the fish with the sauce and return it to the oven for 5 minutes. Optional, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil as it is served.

This recipe was kindly provided by Michele Baron ( an excellent blackfish catcher)

Clam Pie (Carol House)

1. 2 pie crusts
2. 1 pt minced clams
3. 1 small onion, grated
4. 2 tablespoons of poultry seasoning
5. 1 tablespoon of minced parsley
6. a few ground peppers
7. 1/2 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
8. 1 teaspoon hop paprika or chili powder

Combine clams, onion, poultry seasoning, parsley, pepper and bread crumbs. Place in the pie shell. Cover with a top crust. Sprinkle on paprika or chili powder on top. Bake 350°F for 45 minutes or until crust is browned.

Banana Bread (Carol House)

1. 1/2 cup margarine of butter
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. 4 bananas (ripe or over ripe)
5. 1 3/4 cup flour
6. 1 teaspoon of baking soda
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream the margarine and sugar. Add eggs and mix. Add bananas and mix. Add soda, salt and flour and mix until blended. Pour into a greased, floured loaf pan ( 1 large one)  or cake pans or muffin cups. Loaf pan (bake 1 hour at 350°F) cake or muffin cups possibly less than 1 hour. Recipe can be doubled/tripled and baked. Cake freezes well.

Pierre Franey's Pasta with Clams, 4 appetizer servings  (NY Times)

1. 1 T olive oil
2. 2 medium cloves of garlic, chopped fine
3. 1 t fresh thyme leaves
4. 1 c fresh clam juice
5. 1/4 c white wine
6. 1 c (or more) heavy cream
7. 1 c loosely packed basil leaves (or more)
8. 1 pint  shucked chowder or cherrystone clams, coarsely chopped
9. salt and pepper
10. 1 pound fresh fettuccine
11. 1/2 c grated fresh Parmesan, or to taste

In a 10-12" fry pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and fry the garlic until fragrant, don't burn. add thyme and clam juice and reduce by half, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and reduce, about 2 minutes. Add 1 c heavy cream and simmer until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Combine 1 c basil leaves and the clams and add to the sauce. season with salt and pepper. set aside and keep warm. Cook fettuccine until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain. Add pasta to the sauce and stir. Add Parmesan to taste. Correct the seasonings. If sauce is too thick, add some of the past a water or additional cream, sparingly. Simmer the pasta and stir until the sauce is the desired thickness. Add more basil to taste and serve immediately.

Pickled fish

Brining the fish:

Brine Solution:

            5/8 cup of salt

            1 cup water

            1 cup vinegar

Scale the fish (a stiff bristled hand cleaning brush works very well when used under running water). Fillet the fish taking care to avoid contamination of the fillets with abdominal contents. Soak the fillets for 10 minutes in a weak Clorox solution (6 tbs. of Clorox in 4 quarts of water). Gently stir a couple of times to get complete exposure to the disinfectant.  Do not use aluminum containers. Cover the fillets with brine. Example of the volume of brine: to process 60 average sized herring (8 to 12 inches) make 6 times the volume above. Cover with a plate or appropriate cover and store in a cool place or refrigerator for 5 to 7 days to soften the bones and preserve the meat. Gently stir the fillets a couple of times.

Drain the fillets and soak in fresh water for 24 hours to rinse out the salt. You may do a few rinses in cold water before storing overnight in the refrigerator.

Skin the fillets (using a small hemostat to grab the skin and strip if off).

Final Pickling

            2 cups of white vinegar

            ˝ cup of sugar

            2 tablespoons of pickling spice

Heat to a gentle boil and let cool to room temperature

Add ˝ cup of water and ˝ cup of semi-sweet white wine. 

Layer thinly sliced onions, fish and lemon slices (Example of quantities: use 2 lemons and 2 large onions per gallon of fish). Cover the layer with the pickling solution then repeat layering of all the components. Example of the volume of pickling solution: for 60 herring use 6 times the volume above. Cover and let set in a cool place (e.g. refrigerator) for at least 2 days.

Distribute all components to appropriate sized jars and store in the refrigerator till used.

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