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Ben and I had a chilled day in Steveston – brunch at Cimona Cafe, and pastry shopping at The Sweet Spot Bakery. Then we walked down to the fisherman’s wharf. There were never a lot of fish boats parked along the dock in the winter. Quickly scanning through the usual display of salmon, ling cod, and lemon sole, my eyes fixed on this lady’s hunks of fresh skate in from her, the light bulb instantly went off in my head – I can do the skate dish in The French Laundry Cookbook!

As instructed in the book, I cut the cabbage, soaked it in red wine, salt, and pepper, and put it in the fridge overnight.

Recipe for Serving 6

Note: Although there were only 2 of us and there were 2 portions of the fish, I made the cabbage and the sauce with the measurements in the book because I could save the rest and use them later!

Braised Red Cabbage
3/4 pound red cabbage
3/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced red onion (1/4-inch)
1/4 cup grated Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup water
2 tsp honey
1/2 cup finely grated peeled russet potato
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mustard Sauce
canola oil
1/4 cup chopped leek
1/4 cup chopped mushroom
3 tbsp chopped carrot
1/2 cup veal stock
1 tbsp heavy cream
10 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Brunoise
2 tsp finely minced chives
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Skate
1 1/2 skate wing, skinned, trimmed of cartilage and red spots
flour for dushing
canola oil
kosher salt

mustard powder