Kerry Heffernan's ultimate dish: Black Sea bass

"CBS This Morning: Saturday" reeled in quite a catch to share his favorite dish: chef Kerry Heffernan.

He's an avid saltwater fly fisherman.

And he's known for his outstanding American fare at South Gate, in Manhattan.

Kerry brought his ultimate dish to the set: Roasted Whole Black Sea Bass, Stuffed with Crab.

He had 20 years experience under his culinary belt, working at such restaurants as Montrachet, Le Regence, and Restaurant Bouley before landing his first job as chef de cuisine at One Fifth Avenue.

In 1998, Kerry became the opening executive chef, and eventually partner at Union Square Hospitality Group's Eleven Madison Park. The restaurant received accolades from a wide variety of sources, including a tie with per se on Zagat Survey's "Top 20 Most Popular Restaurants in New York," the James Beard Foundation's award for Outstanding Service in America, Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence, and esquire magazine's "Best New Restaurant."

Kerry also loves snowboarding, but fishing takes the cake for him. On weekends, he can be found doing one of his favorite things -- climbing under the docks outside his home in Sag Harbor, on Long Island, checking for oysters and clams.

Enjoy all our recipes!

RECIPES:

WHOLE ROAST "THANKSGIVING' BASS

• 1 Black sea Bass, approx 4 pounds (30") Can substitute snapper or salmon of similar size)
• 
  
• 3/4 pound crabmeat freshest is best (maine, maryland or dungeness) picked clean
• 
  
• 3/4 Cup diced toasted white bread
• 
  
• 2 eggs and 1/2 C heavy cream blended together
• 
  
• 1 ea small onion diced
• 
  
• 1 ribs celery diced
• 
  
• 4 sprigs marjoram picked of stems
• 
  
• 10 sprigs parsley picked of stems and roughly chopped
• 
  
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 
  
• 4 T butter

Scale bass, and trim off all fins, leaving head and tail intact, Gut and fillet from dorsal side leaving only one incision that runs nearly the length of the fish, remove entrails and rinse well,.Remove spine,pin and "chest" bones as well as any remnants of fins inside flesh taking care not to "puncture" the fish or damage the integrity of the skin as it will eventually serve to hold everything together.

Preheat oven to 475 F

In a large heavy bottomed skillet "sweat" the onion and celery in 2 of the 4 T of butter, seasoning with salt and pepper, for 5 minutes, add garlic and stir again, remove from heat, add herbs diced bread and crabmeat and 1/2 of the egg cream mixture gently work stuffing to insure that it is barely combined and well moistened, add more egg cream mixture if it seems dry but not so much as to make it too "soggy".

Dry and season inside of bass with salt and pepper.

Set bass upright with cavity exposed and gently fill with as much stuffing as would nearly recreate the size of the fish with entrails etc, (any extra can be formed and sauteed into cakes)

Using approx 20" ' lengths of butcher twine, gently tie fish around the girth approx 5 times every 2 to 3 " or so in the thickest sections to nearly re-close the incision to the original shape of the fish, tie gently as stuffing will expand

Coat exterior with remaining soft butter and season well with S+P ,roast in oven for approx 15 minutes until browned and nearly done ( use a very sharp small knife to make and incision in the thickest part,flesh should appear just opaque ) it will "carry over" and continue cooking out of the oven as it "rests"

Allow to rest 10 minutes, remove strings very carefully and slice into bone- free prestuffed disks with an electric knife

For more of Kerry's recipes, go to Page 2.

• 16 medium quahog or topneck clams
• 
  
• 1/4 lb. smoked slab bacon, cut into 1" pieces
• 
  
• 1 bunch leeks, cleaned, white part, finely minced, greens, rinsed and reserved
• 
  
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 
  
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 
  
• 3 sprigs thyme

12 thin slices French baguette, toasted and rubbed with 1 clove raw garlic cut in 1 /2 then spread with 2T butter just before serving

Scrub clams well and place in a covered 3-quart saucepan with 2 cups of water and leek greens,over medium heat. Steam until just opened, then set aside to cool. Reserve liquid and remove clams from shells (you can discard the shells or keep them as a garnish for the soup). Chop clams roughly with a knife and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, render bacon for about 3 to 5 minutes until just colored and crisp, then drain and remove bacon to dry on paper towels, reserving some of the fat in the pan. Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper to taste, and sweat for 2 minutes. Add cream and thyme and bring to a simmer, then add reserved clam stock, and bring to simmer again, taste to insure leeks are cooked, then add clams and cook until just the clams are just heated through , serve immediately

Ladle chowder into 6 serving bowls. Garnish with bacon, toasted baguette slices and 2 reserved clam shells per plate if desired

Serves 6.

RUTABEGA GRATIN

• 2 /12 pounds rutubega
• 8 oz heavy cream
• 
  
• 4 oz milk
• 
  
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 
  
• 3 leaves fresh sage minced

Preheat oven to 325 F

Peel and cut rutubega into quarters if large, in half if medium, if small slice 1/8 -1/4 inch thick (japanese manolin works best , but be careful!)

Place rutabega in large heavy bottomed sauce pan, cover with milk and cream season well with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer.

Cook for five to ten minutes, and add garlic and sage. Remove from heat and gently place into a gratin dish (any heavy oven-proof cassarole) - oval round or rectangle that holds the rutagega and cream mixture, filling it about 1" to 1 and 1/2 " high.

Place gratin in oven cook gently until well browned on top and tender (a small paring knife should go in and out easily.)

MUSTARD GREENS

4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound mustard greens
• 
  
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 
  
• 1 shallot

DIRECTIONS

Rinse mustard greens under cold water and cut off the ends (discard).

Bring a pot of cold water to boil and drop the mustard greens in. Let them boil for one to two minutes.

Fill a large bowl two-thirds full of water and add several ice cubes. The bowl should be large enough to accommodate a colander.

Pour the cooked greens into the colander. Dip the colander into a bowl of ice water and swirl to stop the cooking process.

Remove blanched mustard greens and dry well.

In a saute pan, add shallots and butter and mustard greens to reheat.

MAPLE SYRUP FLAN

• 1 cup maple syrup
• 
  
• 3 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 
  
• 7 large egg yolks
• 
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 
  
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 
  
• Whipped creme fraiche topping desserts

place the maple syrup in a large, heavy saucepan over low heat and let simmer until the syrup is reduced by a quarter (to 3/4 cup), 15 to 20 minutes. then add the cream to the syrup and stir until mixture is smooth and comes back to a simmer. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks Add a little of the hot maple cream into the eggs to temper them, whisking constantly Pour the mixture into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Strain the mixture and add the salt,

chill for at least 2 hours

Preheat oven to 300 F.

put 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and corn syrup. turn the heat to high and cook, until the mixture becomes a dark amber caramel, 7 to 10 minutes. Immediately pour the caramel into an 8-inch round nonstick cake pan, tilting to make sure the sides are well coated. Work quickly so the caramel doesn't hardenPour the maple custard into the caramel-coated cake pan. Place it in a baking pan carefully Pour enough very hot water into the baking pan to reach two thirds of the way up the side of the cake pan. Cover the baking pan with foil and vent with a fork. Bake 1 hour, then vent the steam. Re-cover and continue to bake until the flan is set , about 45 minutes longer. Remove the flan from the oven and cool on a rack , discard baking pan and water . then cover and refrigerate overnight.

DRINK

WOLFFER ESTATE - CLASS WHITE TABLE WINE (NORTH FOLK TABLE WINE)