Wall Eyed Pike Pie Recipes

FISH PIE

Steps:

• Put the coley and haddock into a large pan and pour boiling water over just to cover. Simmer very gently for 10 minutes. Turn it all out into a clean sink and leave until the fish is cool enough to handle. Then remove skin and any bones. Flake the fish onto a plate and reserve.
• Wash the spinach thoroughly and put in a saucepan--do not add any water. Cook gently until it collapses, then raise the heat and cook until done, about 3 minutes more. Drain well, pressing the liquid out. Return the spinach to the saucepan with 2 ounces butter and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread the spinach evenly on the bottom of a well-buttered oven dish large enough to take the rest of the ingredients.
• Melt the remaining 2 ounces of butter in a saucepan and cook the onion gently until translucent. Add the flour and stir around to make a roux. Have the milk heated to a simmer and add it little by little until you have a smooth bechamel sauce. Pop in the bay leaf and let it simmer for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Stir the anchovy essence and parsley into the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the flaked fish and pour onto the spinach. Slice the whites of the scallops in half horizontally and distribute over the fish, interspersed with their corals. Scatter the prawns over the top, sprinkle with the Parmesan and dot with a little extra butter. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through and browned on the top. Serve with a puree of potato and a tomato salad.

ROAST PIKE WITH PIQUANT HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the pike inside out and dry it on paper towels. Cut 2 or 3 diagonal slashes in both sides of the fish so the oven heat can penetrate and cook the fish more evenly. Tuck herb sprigs into each slash. Trim the tail into a neat v shape. Set the fish in an oiled baking dish or roasting pan and sprinkle it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the fish, brushing regularly with more olive oil, until the skin is brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes. The fish eye will have turned white and the flesh should no longer be transparent; check it by flaking a bit from the backbone with a fork. Herb Butter: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Discard the stems from the large watercress and spinach and the large stalks from the parsley and chervil. Add the herbs to the boiling water and blanch them by simmering for 2 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and pat dry on paper towels. Drain the anchovies and work them in a food processor with the pickle, capers garlic and butter until finely chopped. With the blades turning, slowly pour in the olive oil. The herb butter will be creamy and a lovely shade of green. Add the mustard and season the butter to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. To finish, transfer the whole fish to a warm platter and decorate it with lemon wedges. Serve the herb butter in a separate bowl.

TEMPURA WALL-EYE PIKE WITH SPICY REMOULADE

Steps:

• For the batter: Mix everything in a bowl until smooth.
• Heat oil in a large pot to 375 degrees F.
• Dip pieces of fish in the batter and then drop in oil and fry until golden brown.
• Mix everything together in a bowl.

GRAFFITI WALL

Steps:

• I worked on a plywood base so I could move the wall during its construction. The wall I made measured 30 by 35-inches and weighed about 50 pounds. You can use the same techniques to make a smaller version. Make a base: Place metal rulers on a parchment paper lined surface so they form an open space that measures about 30 by 35 inches. If you don't have metal rulers, you could also use modeling clay or wood rulers. Pour tempered dark chocolate inside the open space to form a 1/2-inch-thick layer. Dark chocolate is stronger than white chocolate so that is the reason it is used at the base. When the chocolate has set, remove the rulers and peel off the parchment paper. Repeat this process with a layer of white chocolate. Use tempered chocolate to adhere the white layer to the bittersweet layer. The white chocolate layer will be the grout between the bricks.
• Make the bricks: Mix red coloring to a large bowl of tempered white chocolate. Use an offset spatula to spread the red chocolate over the part of the base that will represent the brick layer. This layer should be about 1/2-inch thick. Use the back of the offset spatula to roughen the surface of the bricks to make them more realistic. Make sure you leave space for the door that will be added later. Use a straight edge as a guide as you draw your finger through the red chocolate to create the grout lines. My centerpiece had 13 rows of bricks. The bricks are about 4 inches wide by 2 inches tall with a 1/2-inch grout. Allow the chocolate to set. When the chocolate has set, use an airbrush with red and black paints to give the brick character. Make the door: Use an offset spatula to spread a 1/4-inch-thick layer of tempered bittersweet chocolate over a sheet of acetate. Let the chocolate set slightly. Use a paring knife to cut the outline of the door. You should size this to fit the opening at the bricks. My door was 11 inches wide by 23 inches tall and had a curved at top. When the chocolate is set, peel off the acetate. At this time, you can also cut the door handle and 2 hinges. My hinges were each 1-inch by 2.5 inches and my handle was 11/2-inches in diameter Use your airbrush to paint graffiti on the wall.
• Sources: Chocolate Melter: Demarle Chocolate Cold Spray: PCB in France 011 33 0388 587333