Category: Seafood

Appetizer, Seafood, Summer

Sous Vide Scallops, Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Purple Cauliflower, Creamer Potatoes

  This dish was served at a Chef’s Table in the kitchen this week, and was paired with a 2005 Peter Michael L’Apres-Midi Sauvignon Blanc.  The tasting notes on this highly-rated wine include notes of citrus and lychee, with a clean and crisp finish.  The flavors of this dish were meant to be muted, earthy and mildly sweet, to pair with the dry nature of … Continue reading Sous Vide Scallops, Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Purple Cauliflower, Creamer Potatoes

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Appetizer, Seafood, Summer

Corn and Crab Cake with Pickled Tomato Relish, Tempura Squash Blossom with Boursin, Baby Greens with Shallot-Thyme Vinaigrette

This dish epitomizes the flavors of summer, bringing together crab, ripe tomatoes, squash blossoms, corn, and local greens. The corn and crab cake on this dish was an unusual preparation.  Typically the crab and corn would be lightly folded with an egg-based dressing, some kind of bread crumb and seasoning; this crab cake was created as more of a terrine, by folding crab meat into … Continue reading Corn and Crab Cake with Pickled Tomato Relish, Tempura Squash Blossom with Boursin, Baby Greens with Shallot-Thyme Vinaigrette

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Appetizer, Seafood, Spring, Vegetable

Tuna Crudo with Hummus, Baby Greens, Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

  Recently a guest requested “Tuna Crudo” as part of their multi-course tasting menu.  The use of the term “Crudo” versus “Carpaccio” or “Sashimi” made me curious as to whether there was a fundamental difference between the preparations. Crudo, which means “raw” in Italian, can encompass minced, diced, or sliced proteins.  Carpaccio, which means “skin”, generally means that items have been sliced to the thinness … Continue reading Tuna Crudo with Hummus, Baby Greens, Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

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Appetizer, Seafood, Winter

Grilled Oysters with Apple-IPA Mignonette

Grilled oysters are a dish that is widely enjoyed here in the Piedmont region in Autumn.  For this preparation, Blue Point oysters were cleaned thoroughly in cold water with a brush before shucking.  The oysters were then flashed in a 1600 degree oven just until they began to firm up. The mignonette was prepared with a Highlands Brewery Kashmir IPA.  Their India Pale Ale is … Continue reading Grilled Oysters with Apple-IPA Mignonette

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Entree, Seafood, Spring

Potato Crusted Sea Bass with Easter Egg Radishes, Lemon-Chive Butter Sauce

For this dish I prepared the sea bass sous vide, cooking it against a plexiglass backing in the bag to preserve the shape.  The sea bass cooked at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty minutes, then it was shocked in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. When I butchered the sea bass I reserved the scrap, which was combined with fresh shallots, heavy whipping … Continue reading Potato Crusted Sea Bass with Easter Egg Radishes, Lemon-Chive Butter Sauce

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Appetizer, Seafood, Spring

Sea Scallop with Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Crispy Mushrooms, Bacon, Butter Poached Radish and Creamer Potatoes

For this dish I used the “Twice Cooked Scallop” recipe from the “Ideas in Food” cookbook by Aki Komazawa and Alexander Talbot.  The scallops were brined in a .05% salt water solution for ten minutes, then cooked sous vide at 122 degrees for thirty minutes before shocking in an ice bath.  The scallops were fired to order in a smoking hot cast iron skillet. The … Continue reading Sea Scallop with Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Crispy Mushrooms, Bacon, Butter Poached Radish and Creamer Potatoes

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Appetizer, Seafood, Spring

Duo of Shrimp with Horseradish Panna Cotta, Spicy Tomato Gastrique, Savory Cracker, Micro Greens

This dish was a duo of shrimp, with one preparation traditionally poached and the other preparation of shrimp compressed and prepared sous vide. For the poached shrimp I used 21/25 tail off black tiger shrimp, with a poaching liquid of water, lemon juice, white wine and Old Bay seasoning.  Bring the water just barely to a simmer, when wisps of steam begin rising from the … Continue reading Duo of Shrimp with Horseradish Panna Cotta, Spicy Tomato Gastrique, Savory Cracker, Micro Greens

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