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Something Traditional...With A Florida Twist

After praying to the "Gods of Mise En Place" for a bountiful work station, one of my friends at work (Chris) and I began to brainstorm on the nights specials...it all started with Chris wanting to make pretzel gnocchi...then swordfish with a horseradish crust was discussed....then a Gorgonzola Dijon sauce. After we decided on the components,an order for crab cakes came in, which made Chris reminisce about when he was in culinary school and making cod cakes......long story semi-shorter, I told him about a crab cake and Key Lime remoulade dish I served at the Caribbean place I had opened...so here is the recipe for...

Key Lime Remoulade

1 Gallon Mayonnaise
2 T Old Bay Seasoning
1 t Cayenne
1/2 C Key Lime Juice
14 oz Can Coco Lopez
1/4 C Capers, Minced
2 Red Bell Peppers, Minced
2 C Scallions, Minced

Mix all ingredients until well blended and refrigerate until needed.

Simple recipe, but so delicious...obviously home made mayo is better, and if you live in florida where you can get Key Limes easily, grate the zest into the remoulade,other wise bottled juice is fine.

Speaking of my partner in crime....

Here is Hank...pretending to do real work...

Chef in Training

Here is my older son Braeden helping me make mint chocolate chip ice cream for his mother. He did a great job! The custard base didn't even curdle, although he put in too much green food coloring. I am currently working on 2 top secret flavors, more on those with accompanying recipes in the future.

Playing catch up....

After dealing with an interruption of my internet service...I'm posting several articles that I had typed up to post but...ended up staying on my hard drive for a week or so....A few months ago Hank, my partner in crime at 206 Front, and I had made some Shrimp and Scallop Chorizo and Duck Proscuitto for a special that we were going to do, sort of a fish & fowl dish...the Proscuitto came out tasty, but not quite right for what we wanted to do and the chorizo...disappeared (for lack of a better word), so we ended up doing a Grilled Salmon with Eggplant Linguine. I would like to thank Chad over at chadzilla for inspiring the other dish I fooled around with that night. I don't remember the components other than the shrimp, spiced walnuts, and the Gorgonzola 'marble'.

Chef = Tough

In an attempt to out-tough Chef Paul Prudomme, who was shot during an event on March 25, 2008, and continued to cook.....I passed a kidney stone Thursday morning (November 20, 2008 without the benefit of pain killers), then worked a 12 hour shift at 206 Front on opening night of High School Musical 3 at the Saenger Theater. So in honor of the man who brought blackened fish to popularity, here is my Mole Rub that I came up with when I opened the Caribbean restaurant that caused me to quit being a chef for a while....

Mole Rub
1/2 C Cocoa Powder
1/2 C Powdered Sugar
1/3 C Kosher Salt
2 T White Sesame Seeds
2 T Black Sesame Seeds
4 T Ground Nuts
2 T Ground Black Pepper
1 T Ground Ancho
1 T Ground Chipotle
1 T Ground Guajillo
1 T Ground Habanero
1 T Ground Jalepeno
1 T Ground New Mexican Red
2 t Ground Ginger
2 t Ground Anise
2 t Ground Cinnamon
1/2 t Ground Cloves
1 T Ground Coriander
1 t Dried Oregano
1 t Dried Marjoram
1/2 t Ground Allspice

Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Incidentally, I remember reading through one of the "Ideas In Food" notebooks and seeing a note about finding a mole flavoring for something....can't remember which one, but here's a pretty good one Alex & Aki.

When is a Caesar not a Caesar?

When it's de-constructed....

Sour-dough bread run through a pasta machine, fried in butter and seasoned. Romaine leaf, anchovy, garlic sliver, and Parmesan consomme with a few drops of lemon juice. Take a bite, do the shot.....