Alaskan King Salmon
Ingredients:
12 oz Alaskan King Salmon (use fatty belly portion if available)
1 C cauliflower (small florets; can use Romanesco variety if available)
1 oz sweet butter (for caramelizing cauliflower)
6 oz lobster butter (recipe to follow)
1 oz lobster oil (by-products of lobster stock for lobster butter)
1 C fresh basil leaves (small as possible)
2 oz Reggiano Parmesan (grated with micro-plane to finish the dish)
2 oz heavy cream (for lobster butter)
3 oz sweet butter (for lobster butter)
4 oz lobster shells (for lobster butter; can substitute shrimp shells)
2 oz reisling (for lobster butter)
1 ea egg yolk (for lobster butter)
½ ea fresh lemon (juice of) (for final touch)
Lobster Stock for Lobster Butter Component of Alaskan King Salmon Crudo
4 oz olive oil
4 oz lobster shells (uncooked; can substitute shrimp shells)
2 ea shallots (sliced thin)
2 cloves garlic (peeled, sliced thin)
1 T tomato paste
tt sea salt
tt black pepper
12 oz water
2 oz Riesling
Method of preparation:
With a strong French knife, chop the lobster shells a little bit. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add lobster shells, stir well to release flavor and bring out the orange color. This may seem to be too much oil, however, after the stock is complete and cool, the oil will rise to the top and be used for plate presentation. Cook for a few minutes and add shallots and garlic and cook for a few more minutes (do not brown). Add tomato paste, stir well and add water, salt and pepper.
Reduce by half, add Riesling, simmer two minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. Strain and refrigerate for final preparation of lobster butter.
Prepare Lobster Butter:
At this point, the stock is chilled and oil has risen to the top. Remove the oil carefully using a small ladle; reserve this oil for final presentation. Put stock on the fire and reduce until about 4 ounces remain. Taste again – it should be pretty flavorful, but adjust if needed. Add heavy cream and reduce for a few minutes. The stock should be slightly thick. Remove from the heat and blend in the butter using an emersion blender, add the egg yolk and check consistency, as it may need a little more butter. Let the mixture stay at room temperature for final plating.
Cook the cauliflower slightly by quickly browning with a little butter in a hot sauté pan. Be careful not to cook the cauliflower totally through; it’s best if it’s a little raw but has that slight caramelization.
For final plating, drizzle lobster butter on the plate, slice the salmon very thin and arrange on plate, arrange the cauliflower, basil leaves, squeeze of lemon and grated Parmesan.
Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients:
12 ea Shrimp (medium size, peeled, deveined)
1 oz canola oil
2 t chili powder
6 ea white corn tortillas
2 C iceberg lettuce (chilled and shredded at the last minute)
2 C fresh cilantro (for garnish as well as esquite recipe)
5-6 ea fresh lime (for garnish as well as esquite recipe)
tt kosher salt
6-8 oz esquite (recipe to follow)
2 oz queso fresco
Fresh, sweet corn (for esquite recipe)
Ingredients for Esquite:
1 C sour cream
1 C mayonnaise
1-1 ½ C cilantro (leaves)
1-2 ea jalapeno pepper
4-5 ea lime (juice of)
1-2 ea sweet corn (grilled)
tt kosher salt
Method of preparation: (for the esquite)
Combine first five ingredients in a blender or food processor. Puree smooth, check flavor and add salt, adjust jalapeno, cilantro and lime to your palate
Grill the corn on the cob, bringing out that sweet, smoky flavor. Cut corn from cob and fold into the creamy mixture; adjust seasoning.
NOTE: The key to this recipe is freshness – it assembles very fast.
Method of preparation for the tacos:
Gather all ingredients as directed in the recipe. Mix the shrimp, oil, chili powder together. Add a pinch of salt and grill for a few minutes. Slice the shrimp in half lengthwise. Quickly grill the tortillas. Assemble the tacos: lettuce, shrimp, cilantro, esquite, pinch of chili powder, squeeze of lime.
Oysters Ceviche
Ingredients:
6 ea Chilled oysters on the half shell (opened at the last minute)
3 oz fennel bulb (shaved razor-thin using a Chinese mandolin)
2 T water
Pinch sea salt
Pinch sugar
2 oz champagne vinegar
Pinch Espellette pepper (available at gourmet markets)
Pinch Fennell pollen (available at gourmet markets)
Method of preparation:
Prepare fennel vinegar simply by shaving some fennel; bring the water, salt and sugar to a boil in a straight-sided small sauce pan and add the fennel to the liquid. Remove from heat and cover with plastic wrap and let stand for two minutes. This method will not cook the fennel but merely allows it to release a little aroma. Add vinegar and chill for service.
Final Plating of Oysters and Fennel Vinegar:
Open the oysters using an oyster knife, arrange on plate, top with a small amount of fennel vinegar, sprinkle with fennel pollen and espellette pepper. Serve immediately.
Pan Seared Petite Filet
Ingredients:
4 ea Filet of beef (6 oz, center-cut portion) (choice grade)
2 oz olive oil (for searing the filet)
½ C tarragon reduction (recipe to follow) (for coating raw filet)
1 C spicy carrot jam (recipe to follow)
½ C English peas (fresh from pod if available)
½ C fresh wax beans (in season) (can substitute any favorite vegetable)
3-4 oz whole unsalted butter (for pan reduction sauce)
1.25 C red wine (choose your favorite drinking wine) (for pan sauce)
Tarragon Reduction Recipe:
2 C dry herb tarragon
¼ C fresh shallots (peeled and chopped)
2 C red wine vinegar
1 C white wine
1 T cracked black pepper
½ T kosher salt
Method of preparation:
In a medium-sized, straight-sided sauce pot, combine all ingredients. Cook over medium heat until almost all the liquid has reduced. You may have to wipe down the sides as the reduction cooks; don’t let the spice dry and burn on the side of the pot. Remove from pot, cool and use a fairly generous amount to coat the top and bottom of each filet before pan searing.
Spicy Carrot Jam Recipe
Ingredients:
2 C carrots (peeled and rough chopped)
4 C water (lightly salted)
½-1 ea chile pepper (you choose your spice factor, hot to mild variety)
¼ C light brown sugar
3-4 oz whole sweet butter
Method of preparation:
In a medium sauce pot, boil the carrots and the chile pepper until the carrots are completely tender. Drain 90% of the water. Return carrots to the fire and add the light brown sugar until melted. Remove from heat and put carrot mixture in a food processor, add butter, puree very smooth. Adjust the taste, hotter or sweeter as you like. Should be a balance of initial sweet and lingering spicy.
Method of preparation:
Prepare tarragon reduction in advance; this mixture stores well in refrigerator in Tupperware container.
Prepare spicy carrot jam in advance; this mixture can stay at room temperature for service or refrigerated and reheated for service.
Press tarragon reduction on each filet, top and bottom. Using a steel sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, place the olive oil and let it get hot. Place filets in the pan, press down just a little. Do not move the filets too soon, as we are trying to create a crust of sorts. Turn filets over after a few minutes (flame height can be adjusted to keep the spice from burning). The total cooking time might be about 5-8 minutes depending upon the desired doneness.
(Tip: you can put pan in the oven (350°) and continue cooking that way if that’s more controllable for you.) This size cooks very quickly though. When the filet is to your desired doneness, remove them from the pan, allow to rest for at least a minute. Deglaze the pan with red wine and reduce by half. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, lower heat and whisk in the whole butter. You have just made a pan sauce. Strain through fine mesh strainer and keep warm for final plating. Bring a small amount of water to a boil, quickly blanche the wax beans first, then add peas, drain with a strainer, add a pinch of salt and pepper and a small amount of olive oil.
For plating: put a spoonful of carrot jam off-center and pull a teardrop design with a spoon. Cut filet in half horizontally and flip top half to expose the color. Drizzle in an abstract fashion the pan sauce on the plate, scatter the beans and peas on the plate and arrange the filet near the center.
Herb-Roasted Turkey Cobb Salad
Ingredients:
1 lb fresh turkey breast (roasted with dry spices, herbs & citrus fruit, diced)
1 hd romaine lettuce
8 slices bacon (cooked and chopped)
½ C black olives (sliced)
16 ea tomatoes (grape or cherry variety)
1 ea avocado (sliced)
4-6 oz ranch dressing (purchase from market)
4 ea deviled eggs (use your mother’s recipe)
4-6 oz bleu cheese (crumbled)
Method of preparation:
For the turkey: I suggest purchasing fresh raw breast of turkey. Season with a mixture of spices such as basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Place in a roasting pan with lemon, lime and orange, add 1 cup of water and cover with a lid or tin foil. Roast at 375°F until the internal temperature reaches 150°F. Remove from oven, flip the turkey breast over, keep covered and let it rest for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use for the salad.
Prepare all recipe ingredients as directed. Remember, this is a salad – it can be tossed together and dressing added or assembled in a top garnish fashion and dress on top or on the side. I prefer a tossed style with dressing and topped with avocado, bleu cheese and my twist with the deviled eggs.
Local Watermelon & Burrata Salad
Ingredients:
20 pcs Watermelon (market available colors) (rim removed) (large dice)
2 pcs, halved burrata (artisan-style mozzarella with creamy center)
4-6 oz peach-ginger vinaigrette (recipe to follow)
tt pea tendrils (available in many gourmet markets)
tt ground black pepper
Method of preparation:
Prepare the peach vinaigrette ahead, refrigerate for service. Cut the watermelon and arrange on plate, leaving the center of the plate for the burrata. The burrata is generally the size of a tennis ball; use half for each portion, place creamy side up on the plate. Arrange the pea tendrils on the plate and drizzle with the vinaigrette. If desired, sprinkle with fresh pepper.
Peach-Ginger Vinaigrette Recipe:
Ingredients:
6-8 ea peaches
1 pint white balsamic
1 ea shallots
1 ea whole egg
1 oz fresh ginger (peeled, chopped)
tt kosher salt
1 oz peach schnapps (optional)
1.5 qt. blended oil
Method of preparation:
Using a blender, combine peaches, ginger, white balsamic, shallots and pinch of salt. Puree coarse, add egg and slowly add the oil. Adjust to taste. This recipe yields more than you need, so you can scale it down. It does keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Yellowtail Ceviche
Ingredients:
12 oz Yellowtail (aka Hamachi) (sliced very thin)
½ pt Heirloom cherry tomatoes (aka candy drop tomatoes)
6 oz Aguachile (recipe to follow)
½ C Nasturtium petals
Method:
Prepare augachile, gather ingredients for preparation: slice the fish, arrange the tomatoes, drizzle aguachile, scatter nasturtium petals, sprinkle sea salt on the fish.
Aguagchile
Ingredients:
cCombine all ingredients in blender, puree, strain, chill
1 ea cucumber (mostly peeled, seeded)
3 ea lime (juice of)
1-2 ea green chile (such as serrano or jalapeno, seeded)
1 oz ice cubes (crushed preferred)
1 C cilantro leaves
Pinch/tt sea salt
Pinch/tt sugar