By a stroke of great good fortune, I finally found my long-sought Shad Roe on the same weekend that Richmond lucked into four fine halibut cheeks. Obviously we had to build a dinner around our acquisitions!
The shad roe recipe is my favorite from Jasper White's Cooking From New England. The rest of the recipes we just made up.
The Menu:
- We started, as we so often do, with a cheese discovery. In this case it was Three Cheeses from Narragansett Creamery.
- We had the shad roe for an opener. I poached it in butter, then browned the butter and added minced anchovies, capers, parsley, and ham for a sauce.
- That was rich, so we sampled Three Dry Vermouths, which went very nicely with the fish. These were supplemented through the meal by Lillet Blanc and Cocchi Americano.
- We followed the shad roe with Annette's salad of arugula, pine nuts, and other goodies.
Then came the main course:- a big jonny-cake to get the remainder of the shad butter sauce,
- the halibut cheeks and some bay scallops sauteed in butter, then the pan deglazed with dry vermouth and that used as a sauce
- some fresh green beans and cauliflower florets, steamed and then dressed with a sort of gratin and some big shrimp
- For dessert we had strawberries and whipped cream.
The feast was on Sunday, 1 April 2012.
Present were the usual foursome.