Baked Stuffed Sea Bass

How to make baked stuffed sea bass:

1 (4 to 5 pound) sea bassed, dressed

3/4 cup melted butter

1/2 package prepared bread stuffing

1 small onion, grated

1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp oregano

Wash fish and dry with paper towels. Combine 1/2 cup of the butter with remaining ingredients. Mix well. Fill fish cavity 2/3 full. Close opening with wooden picks laced together with string. Cut 3 or 4 gashes through the skin, on each side and brush with butter.

Line a shallow baking pan with aluminum foil. Put fish in pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until tender. Baste occasionally with butter. Put on a heated platter. Serve with Lobster Sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Lobster Sauce: Melt 2 Tsp butter. Blend in 1 Tbsp flour, 1 tsp salt, dash pepper and a few drops of Tabasco. Combine 1 cup half and half and 1/2 cup milk; add to flour mixture. Stir over low heat until slightly thickened. Pour some of the hot sauce into 1 slightly beaten egg; blend; return to hot sauce. Add 1 1/2 cups lobster meat, cooked or canned, 2 Tbsp minced parsley and 2 Tbsp dry sherry. Heat but do not allow to boil. Makes 6 servings.

Make Your Own: Using Up The Garden---------Tomato-Sauce

Basic Tomato Sauce: This is an ideal way to use all of the extra tomatoes from the garden. If you make sauces in quantity when tomatoes are plentiful, the savings can be enormous.

You will need:

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 medium onions, chopped

2 small bell peppers

2 tsp olive oil
4 pounds ripe tomatoes or two 20-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley

In a large, heavy saucepan, brown the garlic, onions and green peppers in the olive oil, stirring frequently over low heat until the vegetables are soft and the onion is transparent. 

If using canned tomatoes, stir them into the oil mixture.

If using fresh tomatoes, put a separate pan of water on the stove to simmer while the vegetables are cooking.

Drop 3 or 4 tomatoes in at a time, and remove them after a minute or so to peel them over the pot containing the olive oil mixture, discard the peel and drop in the whole tomato.

Taste and add the spices. Simmer, covered for about an hour and adjust the seasonings.

This sauce can be stored, covered in the refrigerator for about 1 week, or frozen for 3 to 9 months. Glass jars are better to use for storage than plastic, which reacts to the tomatoes over  time. Yield: 32 ounces

Creamy Chicken Gravy

Cream gravy is fried chickens' constant companion.

Pour off all but about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the fat in which the chicken was fried.

To the fat and brown crumbs in the pan (called frond) add 1 heaping tablespoon flour.

Let brown, stirring constantly.

Slowly add 1 cup whole milk or half and half, stirring constantly until sauce is of desired thickness.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.