- Today on George Hirsch Lifestyle, I visit a family run commercial fishing packhouse where our region's fishing history can shine a spotlight on what we see in nature.

Then, my good buddy, Chef Alex, joins me as we combine two dishes as one, a savory vegetable curry and cane skewered barbecue shrimp.

In the kitchen, it's sea scallops Mediterranean style.

And an easy to prepare herb crusted cod.

Plus, family friendly fun with an ultimate super sundae.

(guitar music) - Long Island Farm Bureau is a proud presenter of George Hirsch Lifestyle.

Long Island farmers continue their commitment to providing abundant fresh commodities, supporting farmers and the local agriculture community for over 100 years.

- Today I'm heading from Sag Harbor to Green Park by boat to visit a family run commercial fishing packhouse and seafood market.

Growing up on Long Island, I've always had a special place in my heart for the water.

Commercial fishing has historically been a major part of the local economies on both the North and South ports.

And fisherman, like farmers, are independent adventurers with a special connection to nature.

Do you mind if I ask how long have you been here with Alice's?

- We purchased Alice in 1997.

When we purchased the business, there was an employee by the name of Alice that came with the building.

- Okay.

- She had this very crusty old fisherman mongers voice and everybody knew her.

So it worked out well for both her, she had a job and for us.

Well, I learned from her, she learned from me.

The dock, well, the dock has been here for over 50 years.

- It's almost like a folk song, ♪ Where have all the baymen gone ♪ - Well, they are here.

Some people think that the industry has disappeared here and it really hasn't.

It's just very silent.

- Well, you're quite a legend because not only do you have a fish market, but you're a fishing family packhouse.

You do the 360 of fishing.

- We kind of saw the handwriting on the wall.

Our home is here.

We wanted stay here, so we diversified.

And we have kept diversifying and we're still diversifying 'cause that's what fishing is all about.

So that's what commercial fishing's about is being adventurous and taking risks.

Working waterfront, it always has been.

We had the bunker boats here that used to come from the Promise Land that used to be over on the south side.

And then you had the scallop fleet, the sea scallop fleet that used to come in here from down south.

- And the big hat tree.

- And we used to have Cooper's which used to be here which was a filet house that actually used to sell filets to Howard Johnson's.

Now, how old is that a name?

(laughing) How old is that a name?

Howard Johnson's Restaurant, those fish frys that you used to see on Friday night, - Yeah.

that was Cooper's fish.

- I didn't even know that.

- You didn't know that?

It's kind of interesting to see how the history does flow around here.

- Now, as far as the fishing industry on Long Island and the farming industry, they kind of work hand in hand experiencing the same changes and we can say pains.

Where do you see the fishing industry on Long Island going in the future?

- They're looking for ways to get the young into the industry.

I think the farmers are looking that way also.

I think the fishermen and the farmer, there's three things that they love.

First of all, they love being independent.

- Correct.

Second of all, they love to the adventure of trying to make something happens that people tells them that they can't do.

And number three, they see things in nature that none of us will ever get the opportunity unless they're actually doing it.

We have some friends who are in their 70s and 80s who have retired from the fishing industry.

And they still miss, their common conversation in the morning is I still miss getting up and getting out to go to sea.

- There's people that are born for the water, there's people that are born for the land.

- Yep.

- Since the 1700s, there's been an active commercial fishing economy on Long Island.

Baymen and fishermen have hoisted their bounty so chefs like myself can cook boat to plate.

They make a living to nourish you.

The mariner's legend lives on.

(light music) As a chef, I use a few basic principles when it comes to cooking great seafood.

First off, choose sustainable seafood.

Know where your fish is coming from and make sure it's not on the endangered list.

That is critical.

Secondly, keep it simple as far as its preparation.

Maybe a little olive oil or butter, simple seasonings and herbs and acids such as a white wine or a little bit of lemon juice.

And lastly and of course most important, know your fisherman.

Know the source of where your fish is from, know how long it's been out on the water, know how long it's been in the market and cook it the same day that you purchase it.

Why?

It doesn't get any better in the fridge.

Do this and you'll have great seafood dishes.

That's good to know.

(guitar music) Okay, let's get started right away with our beautiful day boat scallops.

You know, scallops is probably one of the best fish that you could have that's not on the endangered list, it's highly sustainable, simple preparation is the ideal factor with it.

So for the scallops, we're just going to sear them.

But before we do that, we'll put small amount of salt and pepper on each side.

And one of the most important things about the scallop is you want them to be nice and moist and juicy, so do not, do not overcook them.

And you also have to let the carryover heat.

As they're searing, that carryover heat, even as you're taking that pan off the range and you're putting it on the plate, they're still cooking inside 'cause they're still hot.

Okay, now that they've been seasoned on both sides, for the recipe, we will just use a small shallot.

And again, it doesn't need much.

You don't want to use any ingredients that are really going to overpower the dish.

Simple four or five ingredients is more than sufficient for the shallot.

So in the pan, it'll be a very hot sear, a little olive oil.

Then we will remove them.

And then finish it off with a delicate sauce with fresh thyme, some nice vine ripened tomatoes, a splash of white wine and served on top of crisp versay.

Let's go preheat the pan to a medium high hot temperature and cook our beautiful scallops.

In a preheated medium high heat pan, drizzle a small amount of olive oil.

After a quick sear, turn scallops once.

(light music) Sear on second side, then remove.

(light music) Add shallots, tomatoes, baby spinach and white wine.

(light music) Reduce heat and stir.

So what's really special about this dish is you can serve it warm, you can serve it cold, you can serve it for lunch, you can serve it for dinner, but in the preparation, always remember keep it simple, not only with scallops but with all seafood.

Day boat scallops, seared with vine ripened tomatoes, shallots and baby spinach.

(guitar music) One of my favorite types of fish to prepare is cod.

And there's nothing that is more succulent and delicate than having a deep water fresh cod.

And it's so readily available, you're able to cook it in so many different ways, and a lot of times it's fried, but this particular recipe is wonderful because it is not fried.

It's going to be oven roasted.

So to start off with, I have some Dijon mustard.

I have about a quarter cup of Dijon.

And to that Dijon mustard, I'm gonna add some fresh melted butter, a small amount of salt, a mixture of a little thyme and a little basil, a good amount of fresh ground black pepper.

And that's a nice seasoning for the cod.

Now, for this we're going to mix it with our hand.

And then we wanna keep the other hand dry.

Very important in this recipe because if you need to pick something up, if you have dirty hands, it makes it a little bit more difficult to use.

I want to spray the pan I'm going to roast this cod in with a little canola oil.

And then I'm going to take the cod and put all four pieces into the mustard and the seasoned butter mixture and coat each piece very, very well.

Now, the butter is melted.

The butter is melted, but as it cools down and solidifies, it's going to help give a natural glaze and basting to the fish that's going to roast with our panko crumbs.

Now, I have here some panko crumbs.

Now, you could take of course and grind this up a little bit finer, but I really like it coarse.

I like it coarse because it's gonna give it its nice crunchiness.

So into the panko crumbs, we are going to put a generous amount of the crumbs all over the cod.

Give it a really, really nice coating.

And then put each cod in the pan and repeat it.

Pressing it down, pressing it down.

Okay, now that they're all coated in the pan, what I want to do is give a very light coating of a canola spray, sort of roast the cod.

The key thing is to put them in a preheated oven to at least 425 degrees for the first four to five minutes.

After that, you can lower the temperature down to 375 degrees for about three to five minutes more depending upon the size of your cod.

All right, we have our beautiful cod out of the oven.

As you can see, it's nice and crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside.

The panko makes its own natural crust around the cod.

Better than anything that would be deep fried, the cod being oven roasted is just absolutely gorgeous.

And if you have the right fish, you don't have to over fuss, just a few drops of olive oil on the outside, a really good quality olive oil.

Maybe a little contrast.

The only thing you really need a salad, just a few radish sprouts just to change up the texture and the flavor.

Cod roasted is easy, has three to four ingredients.

(guitar music) One of our favorite go-to meals, Alex, is curry.

- Yeah, we love curry.

(laughs) - And I think we have it for breakfast.

- We're gonna have it for lunch.

- Yeah, I'm eating it with chicken, fish, pork, doesn't matter.

- I think if we could wrap it in a container and have it while we're traveling for events, we would do that.

- Oh absolutely.

- Now, what do you find is one of your main secrets or tips in making a good curry?

- Well, there's a couple things.

First it's what you start the curry out with.

Right here we have onions, we're sweating them just getting them translucent, but in here, I have really, really finely grated ginger and garlic.

And the ginger and garlic is always really important to have it grated so that just melts right into the sauce.

And instead of celery, I'm actually using fennel tips for a little bit of licorice flavor.

- Oh nice, that's a really, really nice-- - So this has all been sweating and it's ready to go.

And now we are going to add our vegetables and we are using a fall vegetable curry.

- Okay.

- So in here, I have some blanched sweet potatoes, some blanched carrots and some blanched butternut squash.

Okay, we're gonna kick the heat up a little bit now because everything in here is cooked already.

One of the nice things to do for a dish like this is to blanch everything ahead, so that you're not cooking away all of your liquids just trying to cook off your vegetables.

So because our vegetables are cooked ahead, we're just letting the flavors melt a little bit between that original mirror plot and then the fall vegetables that we threw in.

So now we have a little bit of heat back in the pan and the first thing you're gonna do is add in my curry powder.

- Okay, now talk to me a little bit about your curry powder.

- Okay, so as you know there are a lot of different kinds of curry.

You have Indian curry, Madras curry.

You have the paste that come with a typical Thai chili.

You have the green Thai curry, red Thai curry-- - There's hundreds, hundreds-- - There's thousands of them.

- The other thing that I like too is that I'm sure there's curry purists out there who like their pure styles of curry but to me curry is something that you can put in everything but the kitchen sink.

So we're actually using a French vadouvan curry, which has the yellow Indian curry powder, tumeric, smoked salt.

I find the smoke and the salt really helps with the flavor a little bit.

Dried thyme, granulated garlic and granulated onion as opposed to the powder, so you get a little bit of crunch and a little bit of texture with it.

- Now, you have a great mixture of your vegetables, of your seasonings, you brought out the aroma and the spice.

When do we add the broth?

- So you wanna toast the curry powder a little bit because that's what brings the flavor out.

If you just throw in a dried curry powder, you really don't get the pop of flavor that you're looking for.

So we've let it toast and really coat each vegetable individually.

So now is a good time to add in a little bit of stock.

- Okay.

- Today I'm gonna use chicken stock.

You could absolutely use vegetable stock.

- Sure.

- I know that you have a seafood option going here with me.

So if you want to, you could use a shrimp stock, a fish stock.

- But even with let's say seafood and any type of seafood that you would want to add in there.

We have grilled sometimes salmon, we sear off cod.

So any number of fish go absolutely wonderful with curry.

Wonderful, it just gives it a good, good balance.

- But the other thing that's nice is and a lot of times, when you and I are having our fish curry, I use chicken stock to make the sauce because it keeps it very neutral.

Then you can save it.

It's a great thing to make a lot of and then when you have leftovers, you put it in the fridge.

You can have it with potatoes, you can have it with rice.

Just keep it really, really simple with your stocks and your flavorings and then whatever you wanna add to it down the road, it really takes anything.

- Now, what are you gonna do to finish it off?

- To finish it off, I'm gonna add coconut milk.

So you can see that starting to thicken up here a little bit, and the potatoes and the root vegetables are really starting to soak up that stock and it's become really thick.

You don't even need a roux when you're using starchy vegetables like this because you get a really thick sauce.

- All natural.

- So now we're gonna add coconut milk.

- Okay.

- And again, you don't need to drown it in liquid.

You can always add a little bit more.

- Now, one of the things that's really nice about curry and it involves when you're serving it, whether it's formal or casual is the condiments and the toppings that can go with it.

So while your seasonings are blooming in that wonderful curry, I'm gonna do one of my all time favorites is cane char shrimp.

What I have here is a little piece of sugar cane that was cut down into tiny skewers.

- Oh nice.

- And with that is a very aromatic and sweet but savory marinade.

And the marinade on the shrimp is purely just for flavor.

It's not to tenderize the shrimp of course because who has tough shrimp.

So the best thing about this is it really cooks very, very quickly.

- What's in your marinade?

- Oh, well it might be 16 to 19 different types of seasonings.

(laughing) - So it's a little bit more involved than your dry rub.

- Yes.

- Same ratio, just everything you add a zero.

- Yeah, it's almost the same variety of seasonings.

It's thyme, it's basil, it's oregano, it's black pepper.

There's a small amount of rosemary in there, paprika, a little ketchup, a little honey, a little bit of cane syrup.

If you don't have, not corn syrup, cane syrup.

If you don't have cane syrup, even a maple syrup would do really nice.

A touch of soy sauce and ginger.

You can make this up in a big quart, a big container and then use it for chicken, use it for a couple different types of fish.

- I've had it on chicken.

It's amazing.

You know, I love that you're using the sugarcane as a skewer.

I'll never forget the first time I ever had sugarcane.

I was on vacation in Jamaica and I was at a resort and all the people at the resort tell you, "Don't leave the resort, don't leave the resort."

But one day, I just had to get out and I had to see what Jamaica was really like.

And I met this man who had all these news articles written about him about how he was the number one tour guide in Jamaica and someone canceled on him and he had a 1975 Mercedes sedan.

And he took me all over the countryside, but I'll never forget when we stopped at a fruit stand and he grabbed me a sugarcane and he hacked it with a machete on the side of the road and said, "Just chew on this for a minute."

And that fresh explosion of really natural sweet sugar is something I'll never forget.

And when you pulled these skewers out to make this shrimp, it took me right back to it.

- Well, I think my first memory was as a young kid growing up on Long Island, (laughing) I went out in my father's backyard garden and we harvest some of our sugarcane and carved it down.

(laughing) - And whittled it?

- And then, the weather just wiped out the sugarcane crop on Long Island.

(laughing) - Weather's what did it.

- Yeah, weather did it.

- The famous Long Island sugarcane crop.

- Yeah, which doesn't grow anymore.

- How do you know when the shrimp is cooked?

- Most of it is just really bite and cover.

It goes from that translucent to an opaque.

Not all shrimp will turn pink, that lobster pink.

White shrimp will not.

But you can see here, it's a little red on the outside.

- Yeah, you have a nice char, too.

- It's a nice char from the grill.

It's just absolutely perfect.

And what's nice is you can serve this hot, you can serve it cold and today we're gonna serve it of course on top of your wonderful curry.

- So that's it, you got a beautiful pile of shrimp over there.

This curry is just about ready.

You can see that the coconut milk has reduced down and condensed just enough that it makes a nice sauce.

- Beautiful and you still have that chunkiness from the vegetables and the texture.

Alex, perfect baste, perfect foundation for the cane charred shrimp.

(guitar music) Okay, let's get started with my ultimate super sundae.

So I have here some beautifully ripe bananas.

And on the bananas, we're going to put some vanilla ice cream.

If you want to mix it up and use the old vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, that's fine.

All our additions that we're doing on this sundae, you don't need it.

You can just stay with one flavor of ice cream.

So we'll put some vanilla ice cream around.

So every time you dig in, you get a bite of ice cream with your fruit and with all these fabulous toppings.

We have some blueberries.

We'll put a few blueberries and fresh blueberries around on the bottom.

And then on top of the blueberries, now, how about some coconut.

Nice, chopped chocolate, some nice chocolate chunks.

Now, how about ultimate chocolate chip cookie.

Chocolate chip cookie just broken on top and put around.

And we're gonna save one more cookie for later.

Now, what ultimate sundae would be there without some whipped cream?

Some nice whipped cream in the middle and as that whipped cream slowly dissolves, we'll just let that cream just drizzle all over.

Isn't that beautiful?

Okay, now what would be a sundae without nuts?

I have some candied walnuts and we'll just put that around.

And then how about some crunch, some nice toasted almonds.

Now this could be a sundae for one or a sundae for the whole family.

It's ultimate, you can share as you wish.

All right, now how about some strawberries, some chocolate dipped strawberries.

See how that goes.

Also some coconut cookies.

And put that around.

And to give it a little bit more of a chocolate flair, a little sprinkling of cocoa powder.

And that's what's nice about using that good quality vanilla ice cream and a little bit of excellent cocoa powder in it.

Now, here's what sends it to the world of ultimate.

Some beautiful pureed fresh strawberry.

And there you go.

The ultimate sundae, the ultimate fun.

So there you have it, sea scallops, cooked Mediterranean style.

And crispy and light herb crusted cod.

A vegetable curry and cane skewered barbecue shrimp.

And the perfect finish, the ultimate super sundae.

If I can do it, you can do it.

We'll see you real soon.

For more on recipes, entertaining lifestyle tips, TV series blog and selected video clips from today's show, join me at chefgeorgehirsch.com.

(light music) - To download your own episodes of George Hirsch Lifestyle containing inspiring lifestyle segments, original recipes and complete how-to, visit amazon.com or chefgeorgehirsch.com.

(light music) (guitar music) - Long Island Farm Bureau is a proud presenter of George Hirsch Lifestyle.

Long Island Farmers continue their commitment to providing abundant fresh commodities supporting farmers and the local agriculture community for over 100 years.