Parisian sole

Mimi Thorisson's A Kitchen in France was listed in Saveur as one of the 10 cookbooks to make a good gift and they must have been thinking of the photography. It is one of those books with very few recipes, most of them with ingredients (e.g. quail) that you're not going to find or cook very often. But I thought I'd squeeze what I could out of it, and this proved to be a quick, simple and very tasty recipe that sadly has appeal for only one of us.

I used flounder fillets after consulting Mark Bittman, who says we don't really have sole, even though the Fishery claimed to have a real Dover sole from Britain. They had only one, it was a whole fish and very small, so they didn't even want to fillet it. The fish gets dusted in flour, sauteed, and then sliced shallots get sauteed in the same skillet, simmered briefly in wine and finished with heavy cream. The sauce gets poured over the fish. Following the photo, I served with boiled potatoes and also added steamed broccoli. It had -- from the butter, oil, wine and cream -- a very rich flavor. Leftovers made a great hash for lunch.