Sole Meuniere

They took everything, including the kitchen sink. What a fun metaphor the whole "kitchen sink" thing is, and for the second time this year, us foodies are without a kitchen. Or at least without a kitchen sink, because we're getting new counter tops! This has been something we've been looking forward to for a while, dating all the way back to... oh say the day we moved in. Up till last Tuesday we've had the original, pale yellow with pale rustic orange vintage 1950 tile and grout counters. These counters had a great 62 year run, but lets face it, times have changed and those tiles have been here long past their expiration date. Charisse and her mom (the decorating queens of the family) have been out scouring supply stores for months, trying to find the right tiles, the best granite and the perfect design. They figured it all out last weekend and just like that we had some guys in the house, ripping the tile backsplash from the walls, prying up the tile counters and hauling away you guessed it, the kitchen sink. In its place we've been left with plywood, and a half disassembled faucet. What parts are disassembled? Who knows, but when Eric went to fill up a glass of water, the water hit the ceiling. Somethings missing. Through all of this, we of course have been stretching the few dishes we haven't posted yet as far as possible while surviving on take-out and pizza. Go us. On the other hand, theres always the Sole. Sole Meuniere that is!

Sole Meuniere is a special dish for us for two reasons, 1. It was Julia Child's first dish in Paris, something that she's described as her first culinary revelation. Obviously it was the first of many, but to all the other foodies out there, America's graduation from "Standard" cooking and all the culinary delights and innovations that have sprung up since the 50's started right there with that plate. 2. It was also the first dish Charisse had when we went to Paris on our honeymoon (which two years ago was wrapping up right about .... now). So when we decided to make this as the main course of our anniversary meal it carried a lot of weight, no bones about it. Get it? No bones? Its a fillet. Now we all know why Eric isn't allowed to do the humor portion of this blog. In all seriousness, this is such a simple, easy dish, fish coated in flower and pan fried in butter, but the depth of flavor brought out from the fish is amazing. Try it out and let the Sole melt in your mouth.

Sole Meuniere
What You Will Need

6 sole fillets (skinned)
1 cup flour
6 Tbs unsalted butter
6 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (plus 1 lemon cut into wedges for serving)
2 Tbs fresh parsley (minced)
salt and white pepper to taste

In a shallow dish combine flour and 1 Tbs salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper.  Dredge each fillet in the flour mixture on both sides.

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat add 2 tsp butter with 2 tsp oil.  When butter foams, shake excess flour from fillets and cook until golden brown about 1 minute, flip and cook the other side for a couple minutes until cooked through.  Wipe the pan out and repeat process until all of the fillets are cooked.  

Clean pan one more time and make sauce.  Melt the remaining 4 Tbs butter over medium heat, add lemon juice and swirl the mixture in the pan.  Pour over warm fillets, sprinkle with parsley and serve with extra lemons.  

adapted from Williams-Sonoma Fish cookbook