Ann, the lobster looks great! Fun tradition for NYE. Funny how we want what we don't have locally. We frequently mail order King Crab for NYE. You eat quite a bit of seafood. Do you and Moe fish or go crabbing/clamming? It's a fun hobby and the reward is, of course, dinner. DH fishes several times/month during the season and we go crabbing or dig for clams when the mood for linguini or chowder strikes. Once a year, usually in late July or early August, he goes tuna fishing for a week. DH also has a personal use lobster license. It allows him to maintain up to ten pots for $120/year. We never have ten pots in the water at once though 'cause he doesn't want to maintain that many and it's too much lobster for two people. Also, he's a fair weather lobsterman. (chuckle) If the long-term weather forecast looks rough - he'll pull the pots. If we do have extra we take them to our fishmonger and trade for whatever looks good. We have a Nordic Tug and a little lobster boat but that's not really necessary. There's always guys at the docks, at least here, looking for extra people to go fishing with them to help share the fuel costs. Anyway, just wondering if you fish? Here, frequently people that love seafood eventually want to drop a line in the water. The lure of the lobster pot is why we got Whiskey River, our first boat (a little 22' sport lobster). Your dinner looks fantastic! DH hasn't had any pots in the water since Sandy. We've got our hands full without going out to check pots that we can't even cook the catch. :( /tricia

I know that you will get lots of recipes from this crowd. Here is one of my favorites: *** Recipes from Renée Adler AscherÂs Kitchen Sautéed Halibut Fillets with Leeks and Red Peppers Source: My variation on recipe courtesy of Guiliano Hazan (Food TV) Servings: 2 Prep. and Cooking Time: 45 minutes Ingredients: 2 medium size leeks (about 3/4 lb.) 3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil 1 sweet red pepper Kosher or sea salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup all purpose flour (enough to coat fillets) 1 Lb. halibut, sea bass or other delicate, firm-fleshed fish 1/4 cup dry white wine (my revision: used a homemade chicken broth instead and actually felt it had a richer flavor and lacked the acidity of the wine) Instructions:  Cut off root end of leeks and trim off the tough green leaves. Cut crosswise into 2-inch lengths and then julienne into narrow strips. Add to a bowl of water. Rinse a few times to remove all sand and drain.  Put 1 Tbs. of olive oil into a skillet or sauté pan sized to hold fish in one layer. Place it over medium heat. Stir to coat. Add 1/2 inch water and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until leeks are tender about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, peel, seed, and cut the red pepper into thin strips. Add to the leeks, raise the heat to medium-high and sauté uncovered until peppers are tender and leeks have lightly browned. Remove vegetables from pan and set aside.  Add remaining 2 Tbs. of oil to pan and place over medium-high heat. Dredge fish fillets in flour to coat evenly. Shake off excess.  Test oil in pan with a drop of flour to see if it sizzles. When hot enough, add fish and sauté until both sides of the fish are lightly browned.  Add the white wine, season with salt and pepper, and put the vegetables back in the pan.  Lower heat to medium and cover the pan. Cook until the fish flakes when prodded with a fork, about 5 minutes. Remove the fish. Reduce sauce if necessary and pour over the fish.

Tossing in a couple of ways I've been cooking fillets lately - simple, utilitarian, and you can prep it up then when everyone is at the table enjoying the appetizer, you can sneak away and do the cooking in 5 minutes. These are usually tilapia, halibut, cod, or other whitefish. Salmon doesn't taste right if cooked this way, to me. Miso-marinated and simmered - Make a miso soup, cool it to room temp - Marinate fish for 1 hour. Can be fillets or small steaks, less than 6 oz - Meanwhile, bring to boil 1 cup sake, 1 cup miso, 2 TBSP mirin, 1 TBSP soy sauce, 1 TBSP sugar. Turn down to a high simmer and reduce for the hour that the fish is marinating. Should reduce by appx 1/2 to 2/3. If desired, mix 1 TBSP cornstarch with a little water and add that to the sauce. Adjust taste with sugar and salt. - Remove fish from the miso marinade, bring the marinade to a full boil for a few minutes, then turn down to a high simmer and add the fish back. Simmer fish for 5 minutes only. Longer simmering will produce tougher fish. - Place each piece of fish in a small bowl. Add a little of the simmering liquid, to keep the bowl and fish warm, but not to cover the fish. Pour the sauce over the fish. Garnish with something pretty and serve. Milk simmered - Pat fillets dry and salt lightly - Melt two pats of butter to coat bottom of a pan - Optionally, sautee some minced garlic or onion in the butter - Raise heat, place the fillets in the pan and cook for 30 second per side on med-high heat - Pour 1/4" of half-and-half in the pan, turn down heat, simmer for 5 minutes for 1/2" fillets, a few minutes longer for a thick fillet - Remove fish to plate. If desired, thicken liquid with some flour and add another pat of butter plus salt to taste, to use as a pan sauce. Parsley or a little plop of bright green pesto looks nice with this. Wok fried - assumes fillets - coat fillets with cornstarch and salt, knock off excess - Mix up a sauce from 2 TBSP rice wine, 1 TBSP soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 TBSP finely minced ginger, 1 TBSP finely minced garlic, 1 TBSP cornstarch, 1 TBSP chopped green onions, 1 TBSP fine diced red bell pepper (this last is just for color). I like some hot sauce too. - Place wok (a cast iron pan works too) on high flame, leave to heat for 4 minutes. Pour in enough veg oil to be 1/2" deep at center of wok (if using a flat-bottom pan, don't try for 1/2"), leave on high heat until oil starts to shimmer and then to smoke - Slide two fillets into the hot oil (slide, don't splash!), tilt the wok so that the hot oil gets to all parts of the fillets, after 30 seconds flip the fillets (flipping away from you!), after 30 seconds remove the fillets to blot on paper towels. Replenish oil if needed, heat to just smoking, cook two more fillets, etc. - When all fillets are cooked, place them on serving dish. Pour off the oil, return the wok to heat up, then pour in the sauce. Cook until liquid is bubbling and garlic is fragrant but not burned, pour sauce over fish, and serve. - If you want the fish more cooked or more thoroughly sauced - or if they are thicker fillets - lay each fillet in the wok with the sauce just long enough to cook to your desired doneness. I like my fish just barely cooked, personally, so for me this step would be 5 seconds.

Ellen, I forgot to include some recipes. Often you don't need a recipe. Especially if you are just pan frying or roasting and you want just a lemon butter or herbed butter. Parmesan Crusted Halibut Shared by Lori (Hoopysmom) Gardenweb Source:Recipe from RayâÂÂs Boathouse: 1/2 cup flour 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons water 2 cups Panko bread crumbs ( I never use panko. I prefer fresh made bread crumbs) 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Zest of 1 lemon, chopped 4 6-oz halibut fillets, skin removed 3 tablespoons olive oil Preheat oven to 450ðF. Place flour in one bowl, beat eggs and water place in 2nd bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan and lemon zest in 3rd bowl. Lightly salt and pepper the halibut fillets. Dredge the fillets in flour, next dip in egg and then coat with bread crumb mixture. Heat olive oil in ovenproof pan. Saute the fillets on medium-high until golden-brown crust forms. Turn fillets over and place pan in preheated oven. Roast until centers are pearly white and opaque. Italian Style Baked Halibut Basic Outline 2 Halibut filets Sliced Italian Tomatoes Butter Fresh Bread Crumbs Garlic Juice of one lemon fresh or dried basil 2 to 3 tablespoons of fresh grated Parmesan. Melt butter in a small skillet. Add the garlic and the bread crumbs. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, until bread crumbs are golden. Cool slightly and add the grated Parmesan. Add a little melted butter to an oven proof casserole. (or two individual casseroles). Add the lemon juice. Place the fish in the casseroles, top each piece with a couple of slices of tomato.Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a little fresh or dried basil. Scatter the butter bread crumbs over the fish. Bake in a 450ðF oven for 8 to 10 minutes until fish is cooked. Serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables or with a side of pasta or rice