Seven Fish Dishes #7: Refreshers...And Crab Newburg

By now, you've gone through six different fish and seafood dishes in our Seven Fish Dishes celebration...and your guests are starting to get full! A few refreshers will help clear their palates between courses, and keep them going strong for the finish line. Here's what I'll serve:

Peach Sorbet:   sounds fancier than it is. Take a bag of frozen peaches, thawed slightly (about a pound), add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar or honey, and blenderize to a 'ice cream' consistency. (Strawberries and raspberries work well with this, too. So does melon.) Serve in small portions...you've got eight people to cover!
    (Short-cut alternative: serve applesauce or lime sherbet, instead.)

Crudites: fresh celery, sliced peppers, radishes...anything crunchy and not too strongly-flavored.

Green salad: Keep it simple -- sliced romaine with some artichoke hearts, perhaps some sliced mushrooms, and a viniagrette dressing. Nothing heavy.

Fresh fruit: grapes, mandarin oranges (they're on sale, after all), a slice or two of fresh apple, blueberries or raspberries...

Plus: 
Hot rolls or biscuits.
A simple vegetable dish -- asparagus or green beans, perhaps, dressed lightly with butter and lemon juice. (Have you noticed how the flavors of garlic, lemon juice and butter repeat through this menu? Multiple dishes should have some flavor tie-in for the palate to recognize...)

Light drinks, e.g. sparkling fruit juice or wine. Nothing heavy. 

They'll need their strength, because there's one more course to come...and it's the best! It's adapted from Allrecipes.com; you'll find the original, plus more crab recipes on the same page.

LOBSTER OR CRAB NEWBURG

• 1/2 cup butter
•   2 pounds fresh crabmeat or lobster meat
• 1 pint sour cream, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon garlic (or use Old Bay seasoning)

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste, plus 2 egg yolks 
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  
  
  optional: add 1 cup sliced mushroom and 2-3 chopped green onions 

Directions

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add crab or lobster, stir gently for a few minutes, then add everything else, continuing to stir until mixture thickens. Do not let it come to a boil; keep at a low simmer.      Serve with melba toast or rye krisp...or the remains of the rice from the earlier dishes.                  You're done!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Tomorrow: Dessert