Fish Chowder ?

Louis Cohen said:

You will need some fish/seafood stock since your fish is already cooked.

The herb suggestions of many posters, dill, thyme, tarragon - completely
inauthentic. If you like it, fine, but don't kid yourself that it's
what chowder should taste like.

And mashing some of the spuds - a terrible idea. The broth in chowder
isn't supposed to be thick.

Since nobody else knows anything, would you care to enlighten us about
the correct choice of herbs?

regards,
Bob

jmcquown said:

Not looking for cioppino; I'm tomatoed out. Looking for a New

England sort

Quoted message said:

of fish chowder. The fish will be the 1/2 lb. of already grilled

shark

Quoted message said:

steak I have in my freezer; nice firm fish so it should hold up well.

I know you said you were tomatoed out but I was thinking, more or less.
I've never tasted shark but I began to wonder whether shark would be
good-tasting in the milk/cream broth of a NE chowder. The usual fish,
like cod or haddock, are very mild and the milk/cream broth seems to be
perfect. I was wondering how a more assertive fish, like swordfish,
would taste in that broth and imagine it wouldn't taste all that well,
doesn't seem compatible. I guess I'm lumping shark and swordfish
together (probably by size and not, alas, by any culinary principle)
but I'd be wary of a NE shark chowder. Shark, at least in my
imagination, seems more compatible with more pronounced flavors,
including tomato, garlic, etc. This probably just means I'm an old
f***, a little stuck in a rut. :-(

Hope the chowder turns out well. BTW, thyme goes well in a NE chowder
(I don't think dill would be as good), altho a purist would disdain any
spices o/t pepper.

Mac

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Not looking for cioppino; I'm tomatoed out. Looking for a New
England sort of fish chowder. The fish will be the 1/2 lb. of
already grilled shark steak I have in my freezer; nice firm fish so
it should hold up well.

I know you said you were tomatoed out but I was thinking, more or
less. I've never tasted shark but I began to wonder whether shark
would be good-tasting in the milk/cream broth of a NE chowder. The
usual fish, like cod or haddock, are very mild and the milk/cream
broth seems to be perfect. I was wondering how a more assertive
fish, like swordfish, would taste in that broth and imagine it
wouldn't taste all that well, doesn't seem compatible. I guess I'm
lumping shark and swordfish together (probably by size and not, alas,
by any culinary principle) but I'd be wary of a NE shark chowder.

I marinated and grilled the shark steak and it is *slightly* more pronounced
than cod but not really strong. And the texture is more firm-fleshed so I
think it would hold up well in a chowder. I'll find out!

Thanks for the input!

Jill

I tried the Bergen Fish Soup from Andreas Viestad's show the other day
(modifying it considerably because there aren't any Norwegian fish markets
in these parts). It was wonderful - something about the sour cream and touch
of sugar really made a difference. Recipe on his web site:
http://www.scandcook.com/default.asp?page=20&recipe=20

Kathy

Louis Cohen said:

You will need some fish/seafood stock since your fish is already

cooked.

Quoted message said:

The herb suggestions of many posters, dill, thyme, tarragon -

completely

Quoted message said:

inauthentic. If you like it, fine, but don't kid yourself that it's
what chowder should taste like.

And mashing some of the spuds - a terrible idea. The broth in

chowder

Quoted message said:

isn't supposed to be thick.

Quoted message said:

Regards

Louis Cohen

With "inauthentic" and "should taste like" and "isn't supposed to be"
you're implying there's some immutable standard? I think she was
looking for suggestions about a "New England type" chowder that would
be tasty. In regards to cooking, "authentic" is a foolish,
constricting word.

-aem

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Louis Cohen said:

You will need some fish/seafood stock since your fish is already

cooked.

Quoted message said:

The herb suggestions of many posters, dill, thyme, tarragon -

completely

Quoted message said:

inauthentic. If you like it, fine, but don't kid yourself that it's
what chowder should taste like.

And mashing some of the spuds - a terrible idea. The broth in

chowder

Quoted message said:

isn't supposed to be thick.

Quoted message said:

Regards

Louis Cohen

With "inauthentic" and "should taste like" and "isn't supposed to be"
you're implying there's some immutable standard? I think she was
looking for suggestions about a "New England type" chowder that would
be tasty. In regards to cooking, "authentic" is a foolish,
constricting word.

-aem

Sort of like "an instant classic", or "military intelligence". :-)

aem said:

Louis Cohen said:

You will need some fish/seafood stock since your fish is already
cooked.

The herb suggestions of many posters, dill, thyme, tarragon -
completely inauthentic. If you like it, fine, but don't kid
yourself that it's what chowder should taste like.

And mashing some of the spuds - a terrible idea. The broth in
chowder isn't supposed to be thick.

Quoted message said:

Regards

Louis Cohen

With "inauthentic" and "should taste like" and "isn't supposed to be"
you're implying there's some immutable standard? I think she was
looking for suggestions about a "New England type" chowder that would
be tasty. In regards to cooking, "authentic" is a foolish,
constricting word.

-aem

Thank you! I don't give a rip if the seasonings are "authentic"; I'm not
trying to sell this stuff in Boston!

As for thick broth or not - the chowder I had in Boston was nice and thick.
I think Louis is thinking more of a New Hampshire (IIRC) style with a thin,
soupy texture. Not what I'm looking for. But the butter and cream should
fix that 🙂

I was indeed merely searching for a recipe for a tasty fish chowder that
doesn't contain tomatoes. I'm still looking around. I have all the time in
the world 🙂

The concensus seems to be a touch of thyme. I already know I'll want lots
of pepper. I *will* look for clam juice when I go to the store this
weekend. Might even add some canned baby clams (with juice) if I find them
on sale.

Jill

jmcquown said:

aem said:

Louis Cohen said:

You will need some fish/seafood stock since your fish is already
cooked.

The herb suggestions of many posters, dill, thyme, tarragon -
completely inauthentic. If you like it, fine, but don't kid
yourself that it's what chowder should taste like.

And mashing some of the spuds - a terrible idea. The broth in
chowder isn't supposed to be thick.

Quoted message said:

Regards

Louis Cohen

With "inauthentic" and "should taste like" and "isn't supposed to be"
you're implying there's some immutable standard? I think she was
looking for suggestions about a "New England type" chowder that would
be tasty. In regards to cooking, "authentic" is a foolish,
constricting word.

-aem

Thank you! I don't give a rip if the seasonings are "authentic"; I'm not
trying to sell this stuff in Boston!

As for thick broth or not - the chowder I had in Boston was nice and thick.
I think Louis is thinking more of a New Hampshire (IIRC) style with a thin,
soupy texture. Not what I'm looking for. But the butter and cream should
fix that 🙂

I was indeed merely searching for a recipe for a tasty fish chowder that
doesn't contain tomatoes. I'm still looking around. I have all the time in
the world 🙂

The concensus seems to be a touch of thyme. I already know I'll want lots
of pepper. I *will* look for clam juice when I go to the store this
weekend. Might even add some canned baby clams (with juice) if I find them
on sale.

Jill

Thyme goes great with seafood, but remember that it is powerful, and
this is a milk-based soup and not tomato-based. So season gently if you
use thyme (or dill, or rosemary, or...)

Best regards, :-)
Bob

zxcvbob said:

jmcquown said:

aem said:

Louis Cohen wrote:

> You will need some fish/seafood stock since your fish is already
> cooked.
>
> The herb suggestions of many posters, dill, thyme, tarragon -
> completely inauthentic. If you like it, fine, but don't kid
> yourself that it's what chowder should taste like.
>
> And mashing some of the spuds - a terrible idea. The broth in
> chowder isn't supposed to be thick.

> Regards
>
> Louis Cohen

With "inauthentic" and "should taste like" and "isn't supposed to
be" you're implying there's some immutable standard? I think she
was
looking for suggestions about a "New England type" chowder that
would
be tasty. In regards to cooking, "authentic" is a foolish,
constricting word.

-aem

Thank you! I don't give a rip if the seasonings are "authentic";
I'm not trying to sell this stuff in Boston!

As for thick broth or not - the chowder I had in Boston was nice and
thick. I think Louis is thinking more of a New Hampshire (IIRC)
style with a thin, soupy texture. Not what I'm looking for. But
the butter and cream should fix that 🙂

I was indeed merely searching for a recipe for a tasty fish chowder
that doesn't contain tomatoes. I'm still looking around. I have
all the time in the world 🙂

The concensus seems to be a touch of thyme. I already know I'll
want lots of pepper. I *will* look for clam juice when I go to the
store this weekend. Might even add some canned baby clams (with
juice) if I find them on sale.

Jill

Thyme goes great with seafood, but remember that it is powerful, and
this is a milk-based soup and not tomato-based. So season gently if
you
use thyme (or dill, or rosemary, or...)

Best regards, :-)
Bob

Will do, Bob. Just a slight sprinkle, let it blend, taste and adjust as
necessary.

Jill

Might even add some canned baby clams (with

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Quoted message said:

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juice) if I find them on sale.

Jill

Well.......... a fish chowder is definitely not a fish chowder without
clams! At least so my 'down east' friends always remind me.

Elaine