We all get sad at points and eat chocolate, watch movies endlessly, exercise, or just sit on the couch. When I get sad, I bust out Thomas Keller’s French Laundry cook book and read. That’s the perfect cure; inspiration, poignant, and creative. So, the other day, I flipped it open and read all about buerre blanc, a very difficult but gratifying sauce to prepare. The importance of ‘buerre blanc’ is that it doesn’t ‘break’ on you, not too acidic, nor rich, perfect in texture and pairs with just about any good protein.
I decided to try it and substituted white wine with Sake. This would be perfect atop Sea bass. I went to Whole Foods and bought this non-sustainable fish. Hey, I deserved to be spoiled sometimes. The sign said, ‘Chilean Sea Bass from coast of Georgia.’ Not too bad, right?
I reduced the Sake with shallots until almost dry, then, slowly threw in cold cubes of butter and finished it with Tarragon. Of course it’s not as easy as you think, I have messed up a plenty of times, because the heat was too high. The trick is having the heat very low if on at all and constantly whisk.
The Chilean Sea Bass was steamed with soy sauce and served with the succotash of corn, fava beans, and tomatoes, last of summer!
