Seafood Joe

I took a cooking class at an upscale grocery store when we lived in Olympia, WA. The teachers of the class were the owners/chefs of a restaurant at the Washington coast, named the The Ark. They taught us their recipe of Seafood Joe. It is a variation of a recipe that they created when they owned a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, that was a breakfast recipe with eggs and sausage. We love this recipe and serve it on special occasions. This is their recipe from the class, with my changes in Red.

Seafood Joe

Recipe is per serving: multiply as needed

Seafood Bits*
2 tablespoons clarified butter (I'm lazy. I just use regular butter.)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (Fresh Mushrooms, of course!)
Juice of 1 lemon wedge
Salt and pepper to taste
1 shot of Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced shallots (I use minced onion.)
1/2 cup fresh, chopped spinach
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup dry vermouth (I never use this.)

Garlic Toasts (They showed us to slice french bread into thick slices and spread with a mixture of melted butter and garlic, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Broil the garlic toasts until browned.)

For each serving, saute 6 or more seafood bits* in clarified butter with 1/3 cup sliced mushrooms. Add juice of 1 lemon wedge, salt, pepper to taste, 1 shot of Tabasco, minced garlic and shallot. Saute until fish flakes. Total cooking time is about 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

Toward the end, add 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach. Deglaze with 1/4 cup dry vermouth. Bind with one whipped egg. (That means add in the egg and gently stir it around until the egg cooks.) Serve open faced on toasted garlic bread. (The garlic toast is a must! It supports the fish and egg mixture perfectly.)

Chef's Notes:
* For seafood bits, cut into 1/2" cubes- salmon, halibut, ling cod, perch, scallops, prawns or any other perferred fish. (We love to use the salmon and halibut. And recently we have started including shrimp. You can't go wrong with any mixture, though.)

This recipe works well with italian sausage. One sliced link per person. (This makes the breakfast version.)

Serve with lemon wedges and tomato wedges on the side.

My option: Serve over rice. Serve the garlic toasts on the side. We found that we like a bed of rice, but it is still important to serve the garlice toasts.