The Fatal Flaw-5/17/10

The fatal flaw of cooking fish is the strong smell that goes along with it. I did laundry today and I'm afraid I'll sleep with a faint odor of lobster. I'm reminded of a restaurant we ate at on the water in Bar Harbor, Maine this summer. Three days later, my sweatshirt still smelled of fish. I love the fish while I'm eating it but smelling it in your clothes the next morning is not quite so nostalgic.
I've always wanted to make bouillabaisse. It's one of those classic dishes that just sounds delicious. My friend, Mark, would reschedule anything to attend his parents Christmas Eve dinner of bouillabaisse with friends. Now that I've made Ted Allen's Lobster Bouillabaisse from this month's Food and Wine, the bloom is off the rose, shall we say. I liked it but may not move it into the weekday rotation or even plan an event around it. It's a lot of fish and I found the flavor a bit overwhelming. My mussels may be at fault though. You will see that they did not make the soup. I'd actually hoped to make this soup on Friday, but because of book club, a birthday party, and a ball game, it's now Monday. My mussels didn't make it. They were all opened and stinky. I had to use some canned clams I had instead. Ted Allen, of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame, may blame this for my disillusionment with bouillabaisse but honestly, if this one thing was the difference, this dish may be a bit too high maintenance for me.
Usually, a sabayon is a similar dish for me. I like sabayons but I'm not so entranced that I've added this dessert to my regular repertoire. The elderflower liqueur, St. Germain, sounds wonderful but I've tried to limit my budget by substituting expensive alcohol for things I have. Last year I made marshmallows with Lillet for a Gourmet recipe and I had quite a bit remaining. I'll admit Lillet is not a true liqueur but it does have a distinct flavor. I used it and really liked it in the sabayon. I used exclusively strawberries because of the overabundance I had remaining from strawberry picking at a local farm with the kids. I really liked this dish so I think my substitutions worked. I remembered sabayon as a bit airy and weak but this was thick and rich. Thanks, Ted!


Ted Allen's Lobster Bouillabaisse-B
Elderflower Sabayon with Berries-A

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