©istockphoto/Paul Savin

The other night, Mrs. E. and I were privileged to have dinner with new friends. We chose a restaurant that was close to the theatre where they had played that night. I ordered a whole Branzino, or European Seabass. It quickly became evident to me that I had miles to go before I developed the skills necessary to deal elegantly with eating a whole fish at table. My father had them, and it is his facility with the cutlery that I seek to obtain.

So, for those of us who are willing to look dinner in the eye and do the dish justice, I present “The Easy and Elegant Life Guide to Filleting a Fish at Table.”

Using your knife and fork, remove the head and tail. I would hope that a plate has been provided to receive the discarded bits. If, as was the case that night, it has not and the dinner plate isn’t of sufficient size to accommodate the bones, it may be acceptable to use your bread plate. I hope so; that’s what I did, but I suspect that it is not acceptable at the best tables. So, best remove the head and tail to the side of your plate.

Next insert your knife next to the backbone run it along the backbone from the head end to the tail end. Lift off the fillet and remove the backbone to the scrap pile.

You may now eat the fillets.

If you find small bones in your mouth, push them to the front of your lips with your tongue and deposit them onto your fork to be placed with the other remains. I was considerably more crass than this, but will never be again.

If the fillets are flakey enough, you may wish to use only your fork to eat them. Hold it in your right hand, tines up or down as you are most comfortable. When using your knife and fork, fork in the left, tines down, knife in the right acting as the cutter and pusher.

My father used to use his fork and a spoon to fillet the fish (which invariably was served on a platter) and lift the fillets to his plate. This strikes me as infinitely more elegant. But it requires the server to stand there for a moment and so is unlikely to occur in today’s restaurants and certainly not at home, unless you are in sufficient funds to employ help.

Finally, a word about the much-maligned fish fork. The prejudice against them came about with the emergence of the middle classes in Britain. Long ago generations had not eaten à la Russe (in courses as we do now; Louis XIV established the practice) and had relied on a more basic combination of the knife, fork and spoon as the only utensils. (Spoons were associated with infancy and so were avoided unless absolutely necessary. There was the individual salt spoon, the demi-tasse and the serving spoon with the soup spoon making its appearance at table after WWII.) The fish fork, therefore, would not have been a part of the inherited cutlery and was associated with the new money of the middle classes. A large table fork would have been used as the fish fork.

Interestingly, at today’s table we have done away with much of the Victorians’ elaborate dining rituals and with them have gone the extended sets of flatware. We are back to setting the table with the basics, more or less, of the Great Houses in England.

(The organic pork tenderloin pictured is available at US Wellness Meats Online.)
The ever gracious Mrs. E. and I were fortunate enough to be guests at a superb dinner party Saturday night. The other guests were funny, engaging, ridiculously good looking and just boisterous enough to ensure that the party was to be a success from the first. The hostess’ table was charming, red accents for valentine’s day, with homemade coasters bearing reflections on love. Candles were in abundance, and the dog well trained to spot potential trouble (who know those glass beaded things could catch fire? “Well done, Lassie.”)

The main course was nicely presented. A Wellington always makes an elegant centerpiece.

Now, a Wellington it was, with a twist. Whether because of her French roots or not, this Wellington was made with pork tenderloin! (Of course, we are in Virginia, unofficial state motto: “If it’s swine, it’s fine.”) The Pork Wellington was delicious, and more importantly, easy to make. If I’ve remembered all the ingredients…

So, stop worrying about what to serve this weekend to your guests and start debating the merits of pairing a lighter red Pinot Noir (or Côtes du Rhône) or a white wine like a Viognier with the dish.

1 Pork Tenderloin
salt and pepper
olive oil
several strips of bacon or cured ham like proscuitto.
1 container of Boursin herbed soft cheese.
1 box of puff pastry (you’ll use a couple of sheets.)
1 egg and a dash of water.
Parchment paper and a cookie sheet.

Trim the silvery part from the tenderloin. You can probably dispense with the tail end, too, for symmetry. Or fold it over to maintain the more uniform thickness better for even cooking.

Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large skillet.

Salt and pepper the tenderloin, wrap with the bacon or ham and sear in the olive oil.

Let cool.

Spread with the Boursin cheese.

Wrap with the puff pastry sheets. You’ll put this on the parchment paper on a cookie sheet, seam side down.

Brush with an egg wash (beat the egg with a little water.) Chill for an hour and heat the oven to 400ºF. Bake for approximately 40 minutes on the lower rack of the oven. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

The Pork Wellington was served with an orzo, feta, black olive and roasted vegetable side dish. I brought along a salad made with a vinaigrette spiked with orange juice, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, red onion, blood oranges, blue cheese and walnuts.

Wondering what to take to the groaning board this Thanksgiving? If you’re having turkey, and it’s a pretty safe bet that you are, try a light red wine like a Pinot Noir from Camelot or the Beaujolais Nouveau that was released on the 15th.

In France, whole menus are based around the release of the new wine which is supposed to clue you in to what the vintage holds for the future. I’ve never been able to tell which year was better than which. Having tried the 2007 release fromGeorges DuBœuf, I can safely say that it is inoffensive.

Basically, each of these wines is pretty darned close to a white wine and that makes it match well with the roasted bird. And at about $8-10 a bottle you can take several. An easy solution, if not a most elegant wine.

Happy Thanksgiving. And especially to those of you unable to make it home this year.