Recipe: SHRIMP AND SEAFOOD CASSEROLE

SHRIMP AND SEAFOOD CASSEROLE
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2-3 cups fish/shellfish (we used perch, tiger shrimp, bay scallops,
and mussels)
1/2 stick butter (4 tbls)
1/4-1/3 cup dry sherry or Madeira
2 cups sliced veggies (we used mushrooms, carrots, and scallions)
3 egg yolks
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1.5 cup shredded cheese (something sharp like cheddar, monterey jack,
or swiss)
bread crumbs

If you have big pieces of fish, cut them into little pieces of fish. Sautee
all your fish and shellfish in half of the butter. When the fish is done
(opaque and solid), lower the heat and add the sherry. Cook for a little
longer (2-3 minutes) and then transfer to a skillet or glass baking dish.
Sautee the vegetables in the rest of the butter and then put them in the
skillet too. Mix the egg yolks and cream together in a bowl large enough
to hold twice their volume. (The reason will soon become apparent.) Now
you want to mix this egg/cream stuff into the fish and veggies, but if you
just mix it together, the heat will curdle the eggs. So here's what you
do: take some of the liquid from the fish'n'veggies and mix it into the eggs
and cream. Take a little more and do the same. Keep gradually adding liquid
until you have about equal proportions of fish juice and egg cream. (sounds
delicious, eh?) This will raise the temperature of the eggs slowly enough
to avoid cooking them. Now mix that stuff back into the skillet. Add the
shredded cheese and mix it around. Cover the whole thing with a layer of
bread crumbs about 1/8th inch thick or so. Bake it at 350 for 20 minutes or
so, or until the bread crumbs are browned and the whole thing is bubbling.
Take it out and let it set for a while to cool. Then (voila!) you have a
seafood casserole to knock the collective socks off your kith and kin.
Share and enjoy.