Recipe - Catfish With Shrimp Sauce

4 Catfish fillets (about 3
lbs)
Salt & pepper to taste
One half cup Butter; melted
2 One half tablespoon Peanut or olive oil
One half small Yellow onion; peeled,
chopped finely
2 tablespoon Finely chopped celery
2 tablespoon Butter
One half pound Fresh mushrooms; cut or sliced up
1 tablespoon (heaping) flour
One fourth cup Fish stock (see recipe) or
clam juice
1 ds Tabasco
One half Lemon; juice of
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup Dry sherry
1 tablespoon Finely chopped parsley
One fourth pound Shrimp; cooked & cleaned
(cocktail or salad shrimp
are fine for this)

This is from a most interesting collection of recipes from New Orleans.
The cook is a fellow called Jesse. The cookbook, long out of print, is
called Jesse's Creole and Deep South Recipes. He has a wonderful
sensitivity, as this recipe shows. It will take some time to prepare but it
is well worth it.

Salt and pepper the fillets. Mix the melted butter and oil in an
ovenproof baking dish. (Pyrex would be fine.) Dredge the fillets in the
mixture and broil, basting often with the butter and oil mixture. Do not
overcook. The fish will barely begin to brown and will just begin to flake.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by saut‚ing the onion and celery in the 2
tablespoons butter. When clear add the mushrooms and saut‚ for 3 minutes.
Stir in the flour. Work out all lumps. Add the fish stock or clam juice,
Tabasco, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dry sherry, and parsley. Simmer
for a moment until thick and then add the shrimp. Cook for just a minute
and top the fish with the sauce.

I serve this over pasta along with Peas and Salt Pork (see recipe).

From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe
Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.