Like Fish and Chips? You'll Love Potato-Crusted Halibut

Are you ever going to look good making this one.

Your guests will be so impressed, they won’t know what hit them. Be prepared for someone to cry foul and accuse you of bringing in a ringer for the dinner.

Actually, preparing this halibut is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. So read through the recipe closely, and have everything ready before you start cooking.

Ingredients:
* 2 egg yolks
* Salt and pepper
* 1 cup all-natural dehydrated potato flakes
* 1 pinch fresh thyme leaves, chopped
* 4, six-ounce halibut fillets, skins removed
* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) pure olive oil
* Juice of half a lemon

Directions:
• Beat the egg yolks with salt and pepper in a shallow pan (a pie pan works great) to make an egg wash.

• Combine the potato flakes with the thyme leaves and spread out on a plate or shallow pan.

• Season the fillets with salt and pepper on side only.

• Dip just the seasoned side of the fish into the egg wash, being careful not to let any egg wash drip down the sides of the fish.

• Dip the egg-washed side of the fish into the seasoned potato flakes and press down a bit to make them adhere. Set aside, crust-side down.

• Repeat with the remaining fillets.

• Pour olive oil into a large sauté pan, arrange the fillets crust side down in the pan, and place on the burner over medium-high heat. (That’s right: do not preheat the sauté pan; I promise the fish will not stick!)

• After about three minutes, the crust should be golden brown. If it is not, raise the heat to high and continue cooking.

• When the crust has turned golden brown, season the fish with salt and pepper, flip it over and cook for one minute.

• Remove from heat, leave the fillets in the pan for 1 minute.

• Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice, being careful not to squeeze it directly on the fish, which would soften the crisp crust you have worked so hard to develop. Swirl the pan a few times to incorporate the lemon juice.

• Remove from pan and serve.

Serves four main courses

Michael Schlow is an award-winning chef, restaurateur and author. A James Beard Award winner for Best Chef in the Northeast, Michael opened his fifth restaurant, Tico, in the Back Bay area of Boston earlier this year. In addition to his successful restaurants, Michael released his cookbook, "It’s About Time,"in 2005 and also appeared as a contestant on the first season of "Top Chef Masters."