Is the water offshore 

 shallow? Is there too much wave 

 activity for marsh grasses alone 

 to control erosion on your 

 property? 



If the answer is yes, then 

 marsh-breakwaters could be a 

 more environmentally desirable 

 alternative, at one-third to one- 

 half of the cost of bulkheads. 



With funding from the 

 Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine 

 Study, eight marsh-breakwater 

 demonstration sites have already 

 been selected in northeastern 

 North Carolina. At selected sites, 

 cost-sharing is available for up 

 to 50 percent of a 100-foot 

 demonstration project, says Rogers. 



To keep the cost reasonable, 

 waters 50 feet offshore should be no 

 deeper than 3 feet, he says. 



If you'd like to participate, call 

 Rogers at 919/458-5780. 



The Paper Gourmet 



Food cooked and served in 

 parchment is a specialty item on some 

 restaurant menus. But you don't have 

 to be a gourmet cook to use this 

 method. It's really quite simple. Just 

 seal food in parchment packages, 

 place in the oven, and soon you'll 

 have a great meal. 



And cooking in parchment, or en 

 papillote, is fun! Just cut a slit in the 

 top of each package and let everyone 

 at the table cut or tear one open. Each 

 packet is an individual serving. As the 

 food cooks, steam fills and inflates the 

 packages. The flavors mingle and the 

 natural juices are held in. 



Some cookbooks tell you to 

 precook food, then reheat it about five 

 minutes en papillote. But for most 

 preparations this is an unnecessary 

 step. The seafood recipes we prepared 

 were cooked entirely in the parch- 

 ment. They were attractive, moist and 

 delicious. 



Try using skinless fillets in your 

 parchment cooking. They hold 



together well, and you don't have to 

 worry that they'll break apart when 

 you serve them. Always feel free to 

 substitute species. Use the freshest 

 fish you can find at the market. You 

 can easily adapt favorite seafood 

 recipes to parchment cooking. Don't 

 be afraid to try. 



Parchment packages can be made 

 several hours ahead of time and 

 refrigerated. They can go directly from 

 the refrigerator to the oven. 



Parchment can be cut into rectan- 

 gular or oval shapes. But the classic 

 pattern is a heart shape. 



1. Cut a piece of parchment 12 x 

 18 inches or twice as wide as the fillet 

 to be cooked. Fold in half (9 x 12 

 inches). Starting at the fold, draw half 

 a heart shape and cut it. Unfold. 



2. Lightly oil all but a 2-inch 

 border of the parchment. Center food 

 on one side of the heart, near the fold. 

 Leave a 2-inch border at the edge. 



3. Fold the paper over the food so 

 the cut edges meet. Starting at one end, 

 fold a small section of parchment 

 together, then fold again. Hold this 

 section down and fold the next section. 

 Continue until edges are completely 

 sealed. 



4. Place the papillote on a baking 

 sheet and place in a preheated oven. 

 Cook for the designated time. 



5. The pouch will puff up 

 with steam and will brown during 

 cooking. 



Although it is difficult, you 

 may want to check for doneness 

 the first time or two that you cook 

 in parchment. Just open one 

 package to check. You can't 

 reseal it well enough for steam to 

 rebuild, but it will still continue to 

 cook if you have to return it to the 

 oven. 



Don't be afraid to try cooking 

 en papillote. It's easy and fun. 

 And you'll have some delicious 

 seafood! 



Flounder Baked in Parchment 



6 small flounder or other lean fillets 

 Vegetable oil 



3 Tbs. freshly grated Parmesan cheese 



1 tsp. dried basil 



1/2 tsp. salt 



1/2 tsp. garlic powder 



1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 



3 canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped 



3 Tbs. minced green onion, incl. tops 



3 tsp. minced green pepper 



Prepare 6 pieces of parchment. 

 Lightly oil each. 



Place a fillet on each piece. In a 

 small bowl, combine Parmesan, basil, 

 salt, garlic powder and pepper. 

 Sprinkle evenly over fish. Place equal 

 amounts of tomato, onion and green 

 pepper on top. 



Close parchment. Place on baking 

 sheet. Bake at 400 F until puffed and 

 lightly browned, about 12 to 15 

 minutes. Place on individual plates. 

 Serves 6. 



For more parchment recipes, write 

 Joyce Taylor at the N.C. State Univer- 

 sity Seafood Laboratory, P.O. Box 

 1137, Morehead City, NC 28557. To 

 receive bimonthly doses of cooking 

 wisdom from North Carolina's seafood 

 guru, subscribe to Mariner's Menu, 

 Taylor's free newsletter. To subscribe, 

 write Sea Grant, NCSU, Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, NC 27695. 



COASTWATCH 1 9 



