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Fish poaching in a milk court bouillon:
Place fish pieces in a pan just large enough to hold them without undo crowding but not so big that there's a lot of leftover room. Add a cup or two of milk, a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley and a few white peppercorns. Add water to raise the liquid level just above the fish. Remove the fish and bring the liquid to a boil. Season the fish with salt and white pepper, if desired. Reduce the heat to the barest of simmers and carefully replace the fish. Poach until done and remove. You'll have to carefully raise a piece from time to time to judge the doneness, as the poaching liquid will be opaque. The quantities are variable, based upon how many fillets you are poaching. If it's just a couple, one cup of milk will do. Scale up accordingly.
Crab sauce:
In a small sauce pan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, a couple tablespoons of butter and a 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the cream is reduced somewhat. You don't want to boil the cream hard... but you do need it to reduce. It will tend to thicken and take on a slight gold color. Taste it and when you're happy, add a cup of fresh crab meat, a little cayenne powder (1/8-1/4 teaspoon, depending on your taste) and about a tablespoon of fresh flat leaf parsley, freshly minced. The keys with this one are getting the cream reduced to the right consistency and using good crab. I like to use fresh, not canned and I like it somwhat shredded, although not to the point that you don't have some small chunks. I like Dungenness crab or King crab the best. Crabs vary in their salinity, so taste for salt when you think it's done.
This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups, which is enough for 4-6 servings. You can always make more and save it for use in an omelette the next morning.
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