ALLCAPS COOKBOOK PRESENTS: Too Soon Sauce (A Variant On One of the Last Meals Served on the Titanic) (Patreon)

Now, now, I know that looks like the most basic boring unflavorful lame white people dishes up there, but I promise it's not. I'll be hard pressed to make any other kind of sauce for fish again for some time. It's SO bright and tasty and silky and elegant AS SHIT.

I swear.

So it turned out that one of my chosen nieces staying with me this summer had not seen Titanic. Which is just totally unacceptable for an 18-year old girl. Also, chosen my nieces may be but they truly are the children of my heart, so they immediately asked if we could all dress up and did I have gowns that would work for the era (oh please, they knew I did) and could we cook something appropriate.

So I pulled up the last menu because of course I did. Given that we had a pescetarian on deck, a lot of it was no-go, so we settled on the salmon with mousseline sauce and cucumbers.

Problem is, mousseline sauce is basically hollandaise sauce someone looked at funny, and I absolutely hate hollandaise sauce. So I messed around with a few different recipes and came up with the above, which was so fucking good we made it again the next night and the next. It's easy, works with any fish (I mean, probably chicken too, I wouldn't even say no to it over a steak really), and really does taste like something you'd be served on a first class ticket on a grand ship that didn't sink. Alternate history sauce.

Now let's all scream JACK about a million times and...er...dive in.

Ingredients

4-5 fish fillets. Does not have to be salmon, but salmon is very nice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large shallot, diced very fine

Zest of one whole lemon

2 garlic cloves, grated on the zest side of the grater

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 1/4 cups dry white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp white wine vinegar

Dash of fish sauce

Pinch of cayenne 

Pinch of sugar

2 tbsp cold butter, cubed

Finely chopped parsley for garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: one egg yolk

Nearer My God to Dinner

Season fish with salt and pepper and cook in oil on medium-high, 2 minutes each side. Remove from heat and set aside. Tip out the oil from the pan but don't wipe it out or remove any bits of fond.

Add shallot and garlic to the pan and cook for about 30 seconds, just long enough to release some aroma, but not long enough to brown. Add lemon zest and cook 15 seconds more.  Add white wine, lemon juice, , 1 tsp vinegar, spices, sugar, and thyme sprigs to the pan. Once it's come to temperature, reduce heat to a simmer and let it reduce by half, around 3 minutes. Add the cream and let it all simmer together for about 2 minutes. 

Add cold butter cubes to the sauce one at a time and incorporate, which should thicken it all up to a glossy, lovely sauce. Strain out all the pulpy aromatics through a metal sieve.

Add fish back to the pan and pour sauce over the top. Let it mingle on low for about 30-45 seconds. Turn off heat. 

Optional: You can thicken the sauce and make it a little richer by incorporating an egg yolk at this stage. Just like carbonara, whisk the yolk in a small bowl or cup, then once you've turned off the heat, add a spoonful or two of sauce to the yolk to temper it. 60 seconds after you've turned off the heat, quickly whisk the yolk into the sauce, stirring steadily until it's all golden and shiny but the egg hasn't curdled.

Either way, add the last teaspoon of vinegar while the sauce is still hot but the stove is off. This adds a pop of acid to the sauce (or any sauce) that really makes it shine. Stir together and serve fish over rice, noodles, vegetables, bread, or by itself. 

You will want that bread to mop it up, though, first class or no.