Seafood on the Menu
| July 13, 2010 | Posted by admin under Uncategorized |
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my desire to see a larger variety of seafood on local menus. Later that week is was fortunate enough to come across a restaurant serving cuttlefish which happened to be delicious. Since then I have began my menu development for the fast approaching autumnal season. For this I have started playing with a variety of products, the aforementioned cuttlefish, sablefish, turbot, langoustines, live scallops, rouget, and suzuki to name a few.
I must admit it has been a long time since I’ve worked with some of these items and I have forgotten how good and distinctive they are. Take the sablefish for example. This fish has enough flavor and richness to take on a variety of different strong and intense flavors. It will hold up to veal stock as well as pair extremely well with a champagne gastrique. I find that when you throw some butter poached salsify into the mix it smiles for more and is a true joy to eat. Next up turbot, one of my favorite fish of all time, this fish is meaty and extremely flavorful. I went with saffron spaghetti and mussel jus with house cured spicy soppressata on this plate.
Now let’s talk langoustines for just one second. The last time I was fortunate to eat langoustines was when I was on my honeymoon in Paris at Le Cinq a Michelin two star restaurant. This was a very long time ago and as soon as I bit into one of those lovely broiled langoustines the memories all came flooding back. From the moment we were seated to hearing another guest in the dining room recognizing me and stopping by to say hi, to the smoking of a fine cigar in the courtyard as the evening came to an end and everything in between including those special langoustines. Food is a funny thing in that regard, not only does it give you energy to go about your daily lifestyle but it also serves as a time capsule to memories long forgotten. What a wonderful thing that with one bite those long forgotten memories are front and center as if they just happened yesterday.
Back to the matter at hand suzuki and cuttlefish are next on the board and I have a few great ideas for the robust flavor of the Suzuki with crisped skin. I will take the next few hours contemplating the fate of the ever so special cuttlefish.
Sit back and enjoy the fruits of the sea!
