Talk of the Town

Lump Crab Crusted Alaskan Halibut with Mirin-Wasabi Glaze and Beurre Blanc

 

 

Wasabi Mirin Glaze

Wasabi Powder- 1 cup

Mirin- to taste

 

Crab Crust

Lump Blue Crab Meat – 1 Cup

Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature – 1 Cup

Panko Breadcrumbs – ¼ Cup

Red Bell Pepper, Small Dice – ½ Medium

White Pepper – To Taste

Kosher Salt – To Taste

Lemon Juice – To Taste

 

Crab Salad

Lump Blue Crab Meat – 1 Cup

Bay Shrimp – ¾ Cup

Tomatoes, Diced – ¼ Cup

Parsley, Chopped- 2 Teaspoons

Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 2 Tablespoons

Kosher Salt – To Taste

Ground Black Pepper-  to taste

 

Technique:

1. Place butter in mixing bowl and bring to room temperature.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly.
3. Roll between parchment sheets ¼ in. thick.

 

Execution:

1. Lightly glaze fish with Wasabi-Mirin Glaze.
2. Place crust on fish to perfectly fit filet.
3. Bake in oven at 400 degrees until done.
4. Serve with White Wine Beurre Blanc and garnish with Crab Salad.

 

 

Tobias Braised Short Ribs

Recipe yields 4 – 6

 

Ingredients

 

6 quarts                        Mirepoix

1 cup                        Chopped Garlic

8 each                        Bay Leaves

1 bunch             Thyme

8 each                         Stalks of Rosemary

1 cup                         Whole Peppercorn

2 cups                         Tomato Paste

1 bottle             Cabernet or Other Good Red Wine

Chicken stock to cover

2 cups                         Demi Glaze

 

Method

 

Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Sear in a roasting pan. Remove and add mirepoix. Cook for 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes and add tomato paste. Cook for 2 more minutes and deglaze with wine. Add remaining ingredients and place short ribs back in roasting pan. Cover and move to a 275 degree over for approximately 3 – 4 hours.

 

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Yields 4 – 6 Servings

 

Ingredients

 

2 pounds            Red Potatoes

2 ounces            Roasted Garlic

½ pound            Butter

1 cup                        Whole Milk

1 cup                        Whipping Cream

To taste            Salt and Pepper

2 ounces            Sour Cream

 

Method

 

Combine all ingredients.

 

 

 

Rosen Centre

Exec. Chef Michael Rumplick

Focaccia Crusted Lamb

 

 

Focaccia Crust

 

Ingredients

• 1cup Focaccia bread toasted & ground
• 2 tablespoons each chopped fresh parsley, rosemary & sage
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set a side

 

Lamb rack

 

1 each lamb rack trimmed & frenched

¼ cup Dijon mustard

 

Season the lamb rack with salt & coarse ground black pepper. Then sear the lamb with     2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet until nicely browned on both sides. Once browned, brush the lamb with the mustard: then top with the focaccia crust about ¼ inch thick, keeping the curst on the lamb and off the bones.

Place lamb in a 400°oven and roast for about 15 minutes until an internal temp of 135° is reached then remove from the oven and let rest for 10minutes before slicing into chops.

Crab Cakes with Tropical Mango Salsa

Jack’s Place at Rosen Plaza

Executive Chef Michael McMullen

 

Crab Cakes

1 lb. crab meat

4 slices white bread, crust removed

3 1/2 oz. mayonnaise

2 Tbl. chopped parsley

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 whole egg

 

Dice the white bread and mix with the egg and mayonnaise, set aside. Combine all other ingredients except the crab and mix thoroughly. Gently fold together crab, seasonings and bread mixture. Form into 2 oz patties and sauté both sides until golden brown.

 

Mango Salsa

2 ripe mangoes, peeled, pit removed, diced

1 medium tomato, seeded and diced

½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 small red onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely mince

1- 1 ½ Tbl. Fresh lime juice

 

Combine all ingredients. Serve with crab cakes.

Chocolate Sabayon

Rosen Shingle Creek

Executive Pastry Chef David Ramirez

 

Ingredients

½ cup                  Milk Chocolate (solid, broken in pieces)

1 tsp.                  Gelatin

3 Tbsp.         Marsala Wine

2 Tbsp.         Sugar

3                  Whole Eggs

1  ¼ cup         Whipped Cream

¼ cup                  Water

 

Directions:

 

Bloom gelatin (mix with ¼ cup cold water).

Melt chocolate (microwave or in a double boiler) .

Boil Marsala wine and sugar until the sugar is dissolved into a Marsala sugar syrup.

Start whipping eggs and pour Marsala sugar syrup slowly down the side of the bowl.

Add the melted chocolate.

Melt gelatin (microwave slowly) and add to the mixture.

Cool mixture down (in an ice water bath) and add whipped cream.

 

Pour into serving dishes.  Serves 6-8.

I was telling a friend about a new restaurant in Winter Park called Limoncello and I commented that the only thing that disappointed me about the place was that it didn’t serve limoncello.

“A lot of places don’t serve lemon Jell-O,” my friend replied.

No, no, I explained, not lemon Jell-O, limoncello. It’s an Italian liqueur, usually served at the end of a meal as a digestive. It’s a wonderful blend of the bitter and the sweet with a powerful alcoholic kick.

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When I tell people that my favorite version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, aside from the book itself, is a cartoon version starring the myopic Mr. Magoo, they think I’m kidding. But I’m really quite serious.

Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol was first broadcast on network television in 1962, and of all the versions of  classic story that exist, this one, I believe, is the best. It features the bumbling character performing in a musical version of  A Christmas Carol in front of a cartoon-cutout audience, which is odd only if you think too much about it.

Although the animation is primitive, even by 1962 standards, the talent involved in the production is impressive. The original musical numbers feature music by Jule Styne (Funny Girl) and lyrics by Bob Merrill (Carnival) – “Winter Was Warm” is a hauntingly beautiful song – and besides the great Jim Backus, voices include Morey Amsterdam and Jack Cassidy. My VHS copy is wearing out, but luckily the 52-minute show was released on DVD a couple of years ago.

As I did with It’s a Wonderful Loaf, I’ve combined the holiday tradition of watching Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol with the annual baking of my favorite Christmas cookie — thumbprints. These are seriously good cookies, and, for me, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Although, to be honest, it’s a little less like Christmas without my mom to bake them for me. A sigh for Christmases past.

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I had another request from a reader for a recipe served at Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival this year. As with the the recipe for the Scallop and Lobster Fisherman’s Pie, the braised short ribs from Les Chefs de France were not included in the recipe book sold at this year’s fest. Here it is courtesy of chef Bruno Vrignon and operations manager Eric Weistroffer.

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Scott’s note: I first wrote this article when I was the food editor for New Times in Phoenix in 1987. (Notice reference to dragging a tv into the kitchen — not so common to have a television among the appliances back then!) Since then it has been reprinted numerous times in publications around the country. The recipe is real — this was a favorite bread my mother used to bake — and it really is possible to time the recipe to the movie. However, you’ll notice I also give actual times for those who wish to try it without the Capra corn.

It’s a Wonderful Loaf

‘Tis the season for spending lots of time in the kitchen baking holiday goodies. ‘Tis also the season for watching old movies that show up on TV only at this time of year.

The point ’tis that you can combine these two great holiday pastimes and do your holiday baking while watching your favorite Christmas movie. My favorite is the 1946 Frank Capra classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. It’s one of the best Christmas movies of all time. although the only thing that makes it a Yuletime flick is that the end of the movie takes place on Christmas Eve. If Capra had set the whole thing on Arbor Day, we’d only get to see it in the spring. But never mind about that.

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot, It’s a Wonderful Life is the story of a small-town man, George Bailey (played by Stewart), who is disillusioned with his life and plagued by shattered dreams. Bailey has always wanted to get out of the small town of Bedford Falls and see the world. Throughout his life he is presented with opportunities to leave the sticks, but circumstances always force him to choose between chasing his dream and doing the honorable thing and helping out his family and friends.

George sacrifices and sacrifices, and he finally loses it when his alcoholic uncle, Billy, misplaces the bank deposits for the family business, a building-and-loan operation. George takes the rap for the old sot, and the bank examiner threatens to throw George in jail. George ends up yelling at his four kids and lovely wife, Mary (Donna Reed), before running out of the house, heading for the bridge over a swirling river and throwing himself in. Sounds like great holiday fare, doesn’t it?

But wait. Things turn around when Heaven sends down a bungling-but-lovable angel named Clarence, who . . . But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

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Here’s a recipe for those of you who find a little extra gator meat on your hands. If you don’t have any lying around — maybe underneath the car (always look) — you should be able to find gator meat at Lombardi’s Market in Winter Park.

This soup from the upscale Everglades restaurant at the Omni Rosen follows the theme with the ‘Glades most famous resident as its main ingredient.

1 1/4 pounds gator meat, finely chopped
1/2 pound bacon, finely chopped
1 1/4 ounce chopped garlic Mirepoix (1/4 pound each, medium diced onions, carrots and celery)
1/4 pound medium diced green peppers
1 pound washed and diced potatoes (skin on)
6 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1-46 ounce can clam juice
1 gallon water (or fish stock)
1/2 pound butter
1 1/4 pound flour
1 bay leaf
3 ounces tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large stock pot over medium heat, render the bacon until crisp. Add mirepoix, garlic and green peppers. Cook until tender. Add butter and melt. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure all bacon fat and butter is absorbed by the flour (adjust flour if necessary). Add clam juice, water and diced tomatoes. Simmer and add potatoes, gator meat and bay leaf. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Yields 5 quarts.