What you do not smell is called Iocane powder

And what you do not see is called Halibut Newburg.

 

Yesterday there were photos and a recipe for Seafood Newburg on Miss T’s Mystery House of Yarn & Horrors. It looked delicious, and was served with freshly baked bread. Yum.

As luck would have it, it was just before dinnertime, and I had not only purchased a marvelous slab of fresh Alaskan halibut that very morning (and hadn’t decided what to do with it), but I also bought some whole grain bread. (We don’t have bread in the house too often, so it was a special treat).

Aha! I would make Halibut Newburg, using my faithful old Shrimp Newburg recipe. (Miss T’s recipe sounds great too, and I’ll try that another time, but at least I knew what this one would be like – quick, easy, and delicious!)

The original recipe:

Shrimp Newburg
Serves 4

1/4 cup butter
2 ½ Tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
pinch cayenne pepper
dash nutmeg
2 cups half-and-half
3 Tablespoons sherry
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 cups peeled and cooked shrimp
cooked rice, pasta, toast, or pastry shells

In a medium saucepan, melt butter; blend in flour and seasonings. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Gradually add half-and-half and sherry; cook until thickened and smooth, stirring constantly. Stir about 1/3 of the hot white sauce into the egg yolks, then pour the egg yolk-sauce mixture into the remaining sauce in the saucepan. Add shrimp and heat through, stirring constantly. Serve in pastry shells or over rice, pasta, or toast.

Modifications:

I steamed the chunk of halibut (just a hair over 1 lb) in my beloved Black & Decker electric steamer for 20 minutes while making the white sauce. (By the way, the halibut (from Costco) was divine – it was almost a shame to put it in a sauce!) Since I had some fresh mushrooms to use up, I sliced those and added them to the white sauce when I added the cream. I guess I could have sauteed them separately, but I was lazy, and it came out perfectly fine. When the halibut was done, I flaked it into chunks, and put it in the sauce, which I served over slices of multi-grain toast.

BOY WAS IT GOOD! (And it sure didn’t last long.)

As DH was licking his plate finishing, he said “We should have a dinner party!”. Meaning, of course, that I should make this again, and share the wealth. Thanks, Miss T, for the inspiration!