Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Wednesday Kitchen - Essie Miller's Weakfish

Welcome back to Wednesday Kitchen, featuring favourite recipes from members of the JET Team!

Our recipe today comes from multi-talented team member and author Mollie of RoughMagicCreations, who created it especially for one of the books she wrote with Joe, The Theatre Lover's Cookbook: Recipes from 60 Favorite Plays.


"Back in the day, when my husband Joe and I were writing books on subjects theatrical, we put together a couple of theatre related cookbooks. For these, we'd choose a variety of plays in which food is mentioned or served, add a few introductory comments, and create our own recipe to fit each scenario.

Ah, Wilderness! Eugene O'Neill's only comedy, written in 1933, presents a nostalgic and bittersweet picture of American family life. Act II takes place in the dining room of the Miller home, where Mrs. Miller is talking with her husband Nat's sister Lily.


Mrs. Miller: Well … you know how Nat carries on about not being able to eat bluefish.
Lily: I know he says there's a certain oil in it that poisons him.
Mrs. Miller: Poisons him, nothing! He's been eating bluefish for years --
only I tell him each time it's weakfish ...
Lily: Aren't you ashamed, Essie?
Mrs. Miller: Not much, I'm not! I like bluefish!

And so may you!"



Essie Miller's Weakfish

  • 2 whole bluefish*, about 1.5 pounds each, cleaned and filleted (*Substitute salmon if you prefer)
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine, well softened
  • 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh onion juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • Cayenne pepper, to taste
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Fresh lemon slices, for garnish

  1. Preheat the broiler.
  2. Place the fillets, skin side down, on a well greased broiler rack and cook, without turning, for about 6 minutes.
  3. While the fish broils, combine the butter, anchovy paste, onion and lemon juice and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and blend thoroughly.
  4. Remove the fish from the broiler to a warm serving platter or individual plates, skin side down.
  5. Spread with the butter mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with the lemon slices.
  6. Serve with boiled new potatoes, a crisp steamed vegetable and crusty whole grain bread.
  7. And if you like wine, I suggest a crisp, dry white.

A Note. In the Broadway production of Ah, Wilderness!, the role of Nat Miller was played by George M. Cohan of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" fame.

Enjoy!

Mollie

18 comments :

Val Swanson said...

The more I know about you Mollie, the more I am impressed. You do everything!

Keystring said...

What an interesting subject for a book! Love it!

Unknown said...

What a cool concept to do cookbooks based on plays! This sounds like a delicious recipe.

Unknown said...

I love the theatre!!!

Michele said...

Never knew that about Mollie & Joe, very talented!!! That recipe looks yummy!!! Not a fan of anchovy, but I do love to eat fish like this!!!!

Tracy said...

I adore how you write cookbooks based on plays! I hope you share more of these! I find it fascinating!

SatinDollCo said...

Now that I didn't know about you. And that's a great idea that I haven't seen anyone do before.

JillreOzmay said...

Amazing Mollie, amazing post!

Beadsme said...

Awesome. Never knew you guys wrote a book.

Gambatte said...

Mollie, this is incredible! I love the whole idea of cookbooks based on the theater. You and Joe are multi-talented! My daughter got a cookbook last Christmas based on Downton Abbey and it's wonderful. Not a play, but still lots of fun!

Ribasus said...

Mollie... I LOVE you and Joe and the wonderful world you have created together. I won't be eating blue fish, but am curious about the other recipes!
Auntie Ribasus Seal of Approval

Jennifer said...

OMG. I'm drooling! This sounds delicious.

LoveStoneArts said...

We do like anchovy and this looks divine. Some variation of the "Ah Wilderness" fish will appear on our table soon. Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

This cookbook looks so interesting. What a novel idea! And the recipe looks delicious. Unfortunately, my husband does not eat fish, so I usually am forced into enjoying it when we dine out.

Mollie Ann said...

Thanks Everybody, for the wonderful comments! Joe and I had such fun writing this book ... and testing all the recipes.

Nancy, serve him weak fish, and tell him it's chicken. Ha Ha!

Erika said...

This is amazing, Mollie - you and Joe are such a talented pair! We don't get bluefish or weakfish in the UK, but I'm going to try this with salmon or trout :)

Gemstones on My Mind said...

Mollie, you and Joe are truly amazing people! One of these days I'm going to show up on your doorstep! We've had our own fresh caught Bluefish many times in the past, but it's been a very long time. This recipe sounds wonderful!

SendingLoveGallery said...

great concept to match recipes to the play! This one sounds fabulous, and I have to try it :)