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Friday, October 26, 2007

Restaurant Review: Le Bernardin: Eric Ripert is God!

This morning I watched the best chef in the country on the insipid Today Show surrounded by a gaggle of clucking female television "journalists". He was valiantly attempting to cook a lovely simple autumn dish, Salmon with Warm Lentil Salad. (Click on the title of this post for a link to the recipe).
Well, despite being assaulted by a barrage of inane comments and incessant interruptions, he did miraculously manage to put the dish together in the 3 minutes allotted to him without butchering any of his tormentors with his 9" chef's knife (which would have been justifiable homicide in my mind).

http://www.andyhayler.com/images/restaurants/070101-usa-le-bernardin3.jpg
Eric Ripert, God, & also Executive Chef of Le Bernardin
To the ladies of the Today Show I say: "Shut up, you bunch of meddling mental homunculi, it's Eric Ripert. Dammit, the man is a culinary God; let him speak! Viewers don't care about how your mother in Peoria makes her lentils, you glorified weather girl, a three star Michelin chef is cooking for you, bringing you beauty and harmony in edible form, shut up & watch him, unworthy philistine!"
I must say the man showed great intelligence, humor and restraint; and, it all comes through in his cooking which brings us to the title subject of this blog: dinner at Le Bernardin, year after year a Three Star Michelin restaurant. (Three stars is the rarest & highest award given by Michelin's dining guide).

When the hubby told me we were headed for Manhattan, the place I was born, raised and have been estranged from since moving to San Francisco, I didn't think about where we going to stay, what friends or family I'd arrange to see, which Broadway shows I should get tickets for or what museums exhibits I would take in.
No, the first thing I thought of was "We've got to get reservations to Le Bernardin, now!!!". So without delay, I frantically went on Opentable.com, the most useful website on the planet, and secured us a reservation for four on whatever night & time was available (a Monday night at 7:45 pm, yaaay!!!). While there were other restaurants on my hit list: Gramercy Tavern, Per Se, Cafe Boulud, etc., Le Bernardin was on the top of the list and for good reason as it turns out.

There are not enough superlatives in the English language to adequately describe the experience of eating at this temple of the culinary arts. You simply have to go there to understand the lure (& the lore for that matter, because under Ripert's magical reign, Le Bernardin, while always considered a NY classic, has become the stuff of legend & song).

As it turned out, a party of four quickly dwindled down to a party of two, so I, like all saavy restaurant lovers should, called Le Bernardin the day before to alert them of the change in plan. The couple we went to New York with felt, as many people might (mistakenly, in my opinion) that the dining at Le Bernardin would be too "chi-chi" and precious for their tastes; full of pompous sneering staff; heavy, elaborately prepared entrees at exorbitant prices and old, doddering well-heeled patrons who snored between courses & drooled into their napkins. To this couple, it would be the antithesis of all that is hip & cool to go there. In fairness to our dear friends who do love good dining, they never put these thoughts into actual words, it's just my fevered brain conjuring up what I perceived as their image of this type of super high-end eatery.
Why else wouldn't they want to go to the greatest seafood restaurant in the country? They've never been there. Hopefully, they will change their minds and go one day. They won't regret it. Eric Ripert has the sexiest, hippest most modern take on classic seafood being done today. The 41 year old hottie navigates the globe when searching for inspirations: France, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Italy, Spain; all well represented. As to the patrons who dine there, they are cut from a wide swath of cultural and generational cloth. Although, truth be told, I did see one octogenarian toddle through the dining room early in the evening. Why shouldn't he? He was so cute. Old folks with good taste & mega-money have a right to eat out, too!

51st Street between Broadway & 7th Avenue, like all mid-town Manhattan blocks, is a bustling, cacophonous madhouse of a street at anytime of day but it is particularly so at the magical 6-8pm hours when cabbies and limo drivers are duking it out trying to get their highly demanding clientele to their respective destinations at the appointed hour. Somehow, our driver gamely slugs it out with his adversaries and just manages to drop us off at 7:45 pm in front of the wide handsome doors of 155 W. 51st, the venerable site that houses our destination for the evening: Le Bernardin.

As soon as you step through those doors, the scene of verbal assaults, honking horns, overflowing trash cans and other less charming aspects of urban life, suddenly, melts away. You have stepped into another, higher realm of cosmopolitan life. It's New York the way it should be. Sleek, urbane, silk-lined and glamorous. Luxe but pared down. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. Nick and Nora Charles would be quite at home happily imbibing cocktails at the large, comfy bar area to the right of the entrance.


Le Bernardin's Bar Area

You walk to the host stand (beautiful staff alert) and are treated promptly & cordially by incredibly attractive, impeccably dressed persons (male & female) who also seem impossibly young. By the time we're shown to our magnificently positioned table for two that affords us a view of the entire restaurant in complete comfort (even if it does put us on display), two staff members have already warmly greeted us by name ("Good evening, Mr & Mrs Van Wagoner"). A nice touch that makes a first time patron like myself feel as welcome and relaxed as any of their "regulars" would. (Yes, Le Bernardin has regular clientele just like your ordinary corner diner does).

The dining room is not staggeringly beautiful but it is warm & tastefully appointed. As I said earlier, luxe but simple:
coffered ceilings, large comfortable leather chairs with armrests, beautiful table silver, linens, & crystal but it's a pared down, stream-lined luxury not staid, baronial splendor. The decor is minimalist with a zen-like sensibility that imparts focus and tranquility to the diner all the better to hone your senses for Eric Ripert's remarkable menu.
Le Bernardin
Le Bernardin's Dining Room in full swing
The dinner menu is a pre-fixe, 4 course menu; divided into three distinct savory categories and dessert. Here is where the great chef's sense of whimsy reveals itself.
The savory categories are as followed: Almost Raw, Barely Touched, Lightly Cooked. So cheeky & sexy! The diner chooses one item from several options per category.
Brilliant! Chef Ripert is telling you, you are about to enjoy food in the freshest, most pristine, meticulous preparation possible from start to finish. This is man who respects his ingredients and will not kill anything by overhandling, overcooking or over saucing. This is definitely not the place for Mrs. Paul's fish sticks drowned in tartar sauce. By the way, for the environmentally-concerned among you, Le Bernardin will not serve Chilean Sea Bass, Bluefin Tuna or Black Grouper in support of the NRDC and Sea Webs educational efforts to speed the recovery of these endangered species.
While this is a seafood restaurant, meat-eaters & vegetarians are also accommodated. Roasted squab, rack of lamb, Kobe beef, and black truffle pasta tagliatelle are available as entrees under the "Lightly Cooked" categories. There are also two tasting menus (of 8 courses & 7 courses) that must be ordered by the entire table to enjoy; one menu includes meat as a course, one does not.

Although the restaurant was quite lively & full, the decibel level allows for the romantic twosome to fully enjoy each other's company without resorting to shouting or texting. We were, of course, sent an amuse bouche from the kitchen to start the main event and give us a preview of what was to come. It was from the "Almost Raw" section; a delicious tartare of wild Alaskan & smoked salmon with apple, celery and baby watercress in a jalapeno emulsion. The juxtaposition of the fresh & the cured fish with the spicy, sweet & savory components of seasonal produce exploded flavor over every area of your tongue without jarring or overwhelming your palate. Perfect balance, went well with our 1/2 bottle of vintage rose champagne which the amazing wine list offered in this smaller bottle format.
So far, so good! I was already deliriously happy and I hadn't even ordered yet.

Now came the difficult part: making a decision. Chef Ripert is a French classicist with a remarkable affinity for Asian ingredients. I decided to try what I deemed were the enlightened takes on classic French preparations. My husband decided to try the Asian-nuanced dishes which allowed us both to try the scope & breadth of the very exciting & innovative menu.

My "Almost Raw" course was simply called Tuna.
It was accurately described on the menu as layers of yellowfin tuna, foie gras on toasted baguette with shaved chives and extra-virgin olive oil. It is a clever riff on Tournedos Rossini, a classic preparation usually made with filet mignon (& more recently with seared Ahi tuna) that basically includes layers of the main protein, with seared foie gras on top of a bed of crisp potato galette with a demiglace, madeira reduction. Not usually associated with anything light or raw and hardly a starter, right? WRONG!

The dish was a revelation & blew away any raw tuna dish I've had anywhere, The French Laundry & Joel Robuchon included! The glistening ahi was pounded into a delicate, ovoid-shaped carpaccio that draped the simple white platter it was served on, anointed by a drizzle of olive oil & shaved chives. This by itself would have satisfied the most discerning foodie but the pristine beauty was guarding it's secret well until you cut into the tuna, and suddenly underneath you find, like a prize out of a Cracker Jack box, a grissini-like baguette, so crisp & thin spread with the most unctuous, delectable torchon of foie gras that has just the hint of natural sweetness you find in the best foie (particularly when prepared simply a la torchon; it gives it the texture I personally prefer rather than the sometimes flaccid effect that can be imparted by searing it).
It is a truly sensual experience: the clean flavors with the full fruity olive oil, the herbaceous chives, the silky texture with just a hint of crunch from the bread, a counterpoint that makes each bite come alive. So simply presented, so exquisitely done. I was still really happy!

My husband chose the Kanpachi for his first course. A visually stunning tartare with a jewel-like layer of wasabi tobiko & a foamy ginger-coriander emulsion that I had to taste when I saw it. It tasted even better than it looked. The rich raw fish, perfectly diced seemed to be created by Mother Nature for the contrast of that ginger-coriander emulsion. Beautifully balanced, clean, lively flavors! I was already sorry I had but only one stomach to devote to this meal.

Next came the "Barely Touched" course:
Mine was the Escolar. A white tuna enhanced by barely poaching in extra-virgin olive oil served with sea beans, an ocean vegetable that tastes like briny green beans, and waffled potato crisps. Both vegetables added texture and acidity to the silken flesh of the escolar. The dish was finished with a light red wine bernaise sauce expertly poured tableside by a server who showed genuine delight in my appreciation of the dish.
The service is polished at Le Bernardin but also warm and receptive to its diners. These are people who enjoy working here and are proud (but never haughty) of being part of the experience. They do not put on a show. They are saavy & perceptive enough to know that the patron and the food are the co-stars of the night with service & the ambiance playing supporting roles. Kudo's to Eric Ripert and Maguy Le Coze, the owner, because that kind of attitude trickles down from the top.
This restaurant also has great credibility because its celebrity chef is right in the kitchen as well as in the dining room, manning the helm. I am far from a star-struck celebrity hound but I must admit a little frisson of excitement did go through me when I saw him in the dining room! The man is adorable. Did I mention it already? Eric Ripert is God!
Back to the "Barely Touched" course:
My husband had the Halibut. Another stunning presentation of poached halibut, marinated grape and cherry tomatoes with pickled shallot; all in a verjus-lemongrass infusion. By the fact that I wasn't even afforded a taste of it by my loving life's companion, I can only tell you by proxy the merits of this dish. His plate had not even a drop of the lemongrass-infused sauce left on it for me to taste. Enough said!

Next came the "Lightly Cooked" course. I had the "Monkfish" and Garrett had the "Wild Salmon".
My monkfish may have been the only slight misstep of the evening. The presentation was once again visually pleasing & the portion, as was the case with all the courses we had, very generous. The monkfish was pan-roasted served with a rich classic red wine-brandy sauce and an earthy truffled potato emulsion; essentially two very different sauces that complemented the meaty fish which, while undoubtedly fresh, was more than "lightly cooked". Monkfish is a fish whose flavor and texture does not lend itself to being eaten rare (although many sushi aficionados do enjoy ankimo, its lightly steamed liver) so I do understand cooking it to at least medium. Mine was cooked well past medium which made the protein's fibers a little more evident than I'm sure the chef intended. I also would have enjoyed some hearty green with a little texture & acidity; maybe chard, ramps or purslane? The weather on October 1st was still quite warm as it had been all of September in the Tri-State area, chances are these farmer's market darlings may still have been around for the kitchen to play with. I understand this dish is all about luxurious texture and flavor but it needed a foil for its richness.
Still all in all a marvelous dish & a great concept. I'm sure if the person at the protein station had taken it off the fire 45 seconds earlier I wouldn't have found any fault with it.
Garrett's wild salmon was beautifully prepared and served with a daikon, snow pea & enoki salad as well as a lovely sweet pea-wasabi sauce. It is the complete anti-thesis of my rich monkfish dish conceptually. It's astonishing to me how this kitchen manages to create flavor profiles that are world's apart but still execute their distinct visions faithfully & brilliantly. It's a sort of Grand Unified Theory of cookery. Albert Einstein is smiling in heaven!

Dessert was next. The dessert highly recommended by our server was the "Chocolate-Corn". Chocolate & corn seem like an unlikely combination so in the spirit of my friend, Nicole, who always enjoys ordering what appears to be the strangest dessert on the menu because she loves to be pleasantly surprised by the pastry chef's inventiveness, I thought I'd give it try. I wish Nicole had been there, she would have been very happy with this dessert. The dessert was an amazing and harmonious compilation of shapes & textures. First there was a delicate crunchy corn & hazelnut cookie-bar base covered in soft dark chocolate ganache; then a scoop of corn sorbet with a crisp corn tuile on top.
That I never heard of a chocolate-corn combo before this seems, in retrospect, ridiculous to me because the flavors married so well it now seems like a natural pairing. Both chocolate & corn are new world (North American) products so why isn't this part of our classic American cooking repertoire? Corn sorbet? Absolutely! Corn is naturally milky & sweet. Perfect for dessert. It was beyond brilliant! The pairing of this dessert with the Pedro Ximenez Solera sherry suggested by the sommelier...stunning!!!
My hubby, never a huge fan of desserts after dinner (he'd rather have something sweet for breakfast) went with the coconut sorbet which was creamy & delicious. He's been on a coconut sorbet kick ever since we returned from Hawaii. He keeps searching for the definitive coconut sorbet & Le Benardin's did not disappoint.

The wine list is prodigious with selections of varying prices, many varietals from all over the world and several bottle formats as well as an interesting list of wines by the glass. There are also suggested wine pairings for each course offered by the glass for an additional fee. The list is as thoughtful as the menu and mirrors it in many ways: offering the classic French & American "blue chip" wines as well as wines from less highly-tauted regions
for the more adventurous connoisseur. It's a world class list with something for everyone. Mark-ups are what you'd expect but there is a corkage fee, so they do allow you to bring your own wine.

My husband & I are big fans of white Burgundy from the southern half of Cote D'or, a.k.a. the Cote de Beaune, particularly those from the Puligny-Montrachet region; but the sommelier, a lovely young woman the night we were there, recommended we try a chardonnay from the northern half of Burgundy: a chablis that had been barrel-aged in oak by a lesser known producer whose cousin was a well-regarded negociant of that region. (Unfortunately, the name & vintage escapes me now 26 days later, the mind is a terrible thing to lose!) The wine was delicious with chablis' usual high acidity tempered by the aging in oak but without losing the fruit & steely character of the wine by over-oaking; it tasted like a Raveneau Valmur, a great chablis my husband & I enjoy with similar characteristics & at $180 or so, it was less than half the price of the Leflaive we were considering. Yaay!

Well, it was 2-1/2 hours of sheer bliss. If we lived in NY, I'd go twice a month. That being said it is most definitely a special occasion, destination restaurant worthy of the three stars that Michelin has bestowed upon it once again this year and a must if you go to NYC.
It is the only restaurant I went to that I deemed better than any similar restaurant in San Francisco. Aqua & Farallon, both exclusive seafood restaurants here, don't even begin to compare. Michael Mina's, Gary Danko and, yes, even the revered French Laundry do not serve better food than Le Bernardin; although these restaurants do blow Gramercy Tavern, Olive & other such NYC restaurants away.

Please go to Le Bernardin if you get the chance; especially, if you are someone who enjoys seafood taken to its absolute pinnacle of perfection in the most minimally invasive, wonderfully enhanced way possible. Some of this restaurant's detractors in the blogosphere simply do not understand the glory of impeccably fresh food prepared with precision, cooked to perfection, and served with reverence and humility. Amen.

Le Bernardin
155 West 51st Street
New York, N.Y. 10019
(212) 554-1515
Website





Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Taking A Bite Out of The Big Apple

Just had a taste of the most amazing apple ever at the Farmer's Market this Tuesday in the SF Ferry Building. It's a varietal I'd never heard of before called Arkansas Black. It's skin was the deepest burgundy so saturated in it's natural red pigment that every bite stained my lips. The meat of the apple was incredibly crisp with a juicy tart sweetness that made me gobble the thing up with a voracity usually reserved for the best chocolate gelato (a food I can never eat with any restraint). I wish I had taken a picture of it before I scarfed it down. It was so beautiful!

Enjoying the Arkansas Black reminded me of another amazing apple that I had experienced recently: New York City aka "The Big Apple".


View of Columbus Circle from Bouchon Cafe and Bakery


Fall in NY. There's no better time to be there. Manhattan is beautiful in late September, early October. The weather is warm without being muggy. Everything is still in full bloom on the streets & in Central Park. The softening light of autumn casts a golden hue over the city gilding every tree and building top; an effect not evident in the harsh light of summer or the white pall cast by the winter sun. Spring is great, too. The budding blooms and all that; but, I prefer the autumn just as the leaves of all the city trees begin their glorious show. You'd be surprised how leafy & almost sylvan New York streets are; particularly when compared to San Francisco which sadly has the fewest trees of any urban city in the country.

We went with another couple (the men on business, the ladies also on business: the business of fun-seeking, a serious endeavor in the pleasuredome that is Manhattan!). We stayed at Ian Schrager's newly-refurbished Gramercy Park Hotel in the fabulous Gramercy/Flatiron District of Manhattan. We ate at some exalted restaurants & some less exalted ones. I really need a few more posts to do the trip justice and will do so by ending now and picking up the thread in my next few postings. I just wanted to get the process started & now I have. More to come...

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Back From Hiatus: An Indulgent Hawaiian-inspired Autumn Menu




It's been a long time since my last posting. Six weeks; if you, my imaginary readers, happen to be counting. I have been a busy little girl:
Two weeks in the land of Aloha; one week in that land's near polar opposite: Manhattan; and playing catch-up in San Francisco between trips.
It's astonishing how much time can be spent preparing to pack, then the actually packing, then the post-trip unpacking which includes the garb organizing into hand-washables, dry
cleanables, machine washables, disposables (something always needs to weeded out after either careless handling or never-fitting properly) and there's the always exciting, newly purchased piles that need to be carefully hidden until the appropriate "What this old thing?" or "Oh sweetie, I've had this for years, I can't believe you've never noticed it!!!" moment when the hubby remarks on the totally hot Dolce & Gabbana trench coat recently liberated from Barneys NY.

All of this, while not exactly one of the more rigorous forms of manual labor, not quite on par with say... coal-mining, does take time & requires effort that might otherwise go into more creative endeavors like blogging, for instance.

But fear not, gentle reader, all those sunsets, massages, cocktails and gourmet meals were not for naught. Every second that I spent soaking up the sun or scarfing down
ahi poke & Krug rose was spent for you and your continuing edification (always keeping the budding gourmand in mind). A martyr to my cause... that's what all who know me think and the next few blogs will prove it, you'll see.

For starters, an indulgent yet light Hawaiian-inspired autumn meal made with foods that are readily available in this season of mists & mellow fruitfulness.

Don'tcha just love that Keats dude. You can click on the title of this blog to a link to his "Ode to Autumn" and read it in its entirety. I can't believe he died so young but the early 19th century wasn't exactly a picnic. 

Three of the English language's most beloved romantic poets (Keats, Shelly & Byron) all died within a year or two of each other; all before the age of 30. Ain't that a coincidence? I'd welcome the views of any conspiracy theorists out there with regard to the untimely demise of these young Lotharios who were ill-regarded by the society of their day.

 Well, the fact is even if they were scandalously murdered by some Jack the Ripper of libertines (actually Keats died of TB, Byron of some venereal malady and Shelly drowned "accidentally"), they're immortal words will never be forgotten. (Take that you narrow-minded hate-mongers!)

To the romantic boys of the early 19th century and other fellow hedonists (actually I lead an almost ascetic lifestyle, really I do), I dedicate these recipes for their sensual textures; vibrant, jewel-like colors and exotic flavors. Here's looking at you, kids!!!




Autumn Salad of Smoked Duck Breast, Avocado, Pomegranate Seeds, Dried Figs and Feta over Curly Red Savoy Cabbage and Romaine Lettuce with a Jerez Sherry Vinaigrette


Pupus Anyone? Recipes for A Light Taste of Autumn

Note:
Don't let the lengthy name of this recipe fool you. It's easier to make than it is to type. The crisp lettuces are really the stars of the show.

Grimaud Farms makes a nice smoked duck breast that they cook with sweet spices (clove, cardamon, etc,) giving the duck a light pleasant asian flavor which I highly recommend using. You top chef wannabes can, of course, smoke or even sous vide your own duck breast, if you have the time and the inclination but sometimes it's better to sub it out. Think of an excellent pre-cooked gourmet product as your very own sous chef; assisting you with some of the more mundane tasks while you create & execute your ultimate vision. If you really don't like duck you can substitute with prosciutto.

Pomegranate seeds come from, you guessed it, pomegranates which you can find from now until January in most grocery stores unless you live in the hinterlands; then, I suggest you substitute the best grapes you can find & cut each grape in half for easier consumption with a fork. Apples cut into dice would work, too; but pomegranates are so sexy, jewel-like & beautiful, you should really try to find them. They are chock full of anti-oxidants & have a surprising nutty crunch along with a sweet/tart juice that really is nice with the duck & salad.

The pomegranate should feel heavy for its size & look plump & round. If it looks too leathery with heavy indentations, it's probably too old to eat but would look great in a flower arrangement or wreath, The seeds are not hard to remove but you want to make sure you remove them in tact. (Wear dark clothes if its you're first time ever.) Just use a very sharp knife, cut the fruit in half at its equator. Then cut each half in half, again. You'll see all the ruby-like seeds grouped together in bunches separated by papery segmented pith. Just grab the bunches of seeds & carefully separate them from the pith using your fingers. Once you do that, you can easily separate the seeds from each other & sprinkle them over your salad.

The sherry vinegar is important. You should have all kinds of vinegar in your pantry because different vinegars can really enhance or detract from a dish not unlike different wines would. Use the Spanish Vinagre de Jerez "La Bodega" which is produced & bottled by Bodegas Paez Morilla, S.A. It is not crazy expensive & will add a more nuanced balanced acidity to the dish than a white wine vinegar or the ubiquitous balsamic vinegar would. If push comes to shove use cider vinegar & a little dijon mustard as a substitute.

Equally important is the olive oil. Use the best you can find, buy it in small quantities so it doesn't go rancid before you use it all (which never happens in my house because I'm an olive oil junkie. I'd mainline it if I could taste it being pumped into my arteries) It must be extra-virgin, preferably cold-pressed and unfiltered. You really want the fruitiness in the oil for this dish. California makes some really great ones right now. I'm always trying different producers but my latest fave is Hillstone Olive Oil, an artisanal producer out of Yolo County, Ca. It's hand harvested from Arbequina Olives, a Spanish variety of olive grown primarily in Catalonia, Spain. The oil in my bottle was harvested 10/23/06 according to the handwritten date on the label. Delicious!!!
For more info
http://www.hillstoneoliveoil.com/ourStory.htm

The mission figs air-dried naturally in the small walnut basket where I kept them which is why the recipe calls for dried figs (because I happen to have them on hand, silly) but you could easily use fresh figs which quite remarkably still seem to be available in some markets even this late in the season.
The curly leafed red savoy cabbage
(I used only the small inner leaves) is beautiful if you can find it , if not use radicchio.

You'll notice I do not create a salad dressing per
se. Instead I choose to simply drizzle the oil, vinegar, pomegranate juice & toss well. This creates a fresh, light coating over the salad ingredients. You can create an emulsion using a touch of dijon mustard, if you prefer it; but, it can be a little heavy & is not huge value add with this particular salad with all of its rich ingredients.

Ingredients:
1/2 smoked duck breast (Grimaud Farm's brand recommended), skin removed, thinly sliced & brought to room temperature
2 oz. feta, crumbled
1 large avocado, pitted & cut into large dice
1 pomegranate, seeds removed & retained (see note), reserving a tablespoonful of seeds for a final garnish & a spoonful of the juice for the dressing
8 dried figs, stemmed & cut into quarters
2 heads of Romaine lettuce, crisp inner leaves only, washed, dried & torn into small pieces
1 head of red curly-leafed savoy cabbage, tender inner leaves only, washed, dried & separated (tear larger leaves into bite-sized pieces
1 small shallot, minced (optional)
2 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves only, roughly chopped (optional)
sea salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (see note)
1 Tablespoon Jerez (Sherry) Vinegar (see note)

Directions:
Toss the salad greens, shallot & tarragon together in a large serving bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients drizzling the oil & vinegar over the salad makings, tossing well
to evenly distribute the ingredients & coat the lettuce leaves with the dressing. Add a final sprinkle of the reserved pomegranate seeds over the top. Serve family style or, alternatively, serve on individual salad plates. If you choose that route, for a more elegant presentation, you might like to reserve the duck breast, toss the remaining ingredients and place the salad on the individual plates & fan the thin duck breast slices on the plate around the salad with an additional drizzle of olive oil, pomegranate seeds & pomegranate juice over the duck.

Serves 4.




Opah Poke: Big Island Style Tartare



Note:
The
opah looked particularly fresh & delicious at Bryan's (my neighborhood seafood & meat purveyor) the day I made this which is why I chose it. It looked like toro, an unctuous, fattier, sinful cut from the belly of bluefin tuna, which made it doubly appealing to me but a little strong in flavor for some. Sashimi grade ahi, kampachi and/or fresh wild Pacific salmon (which inexplicably still seems to be in season at this posting) make excellent substitutes. All the fish should be firm to the touch with no scent whatsoever except maybe a light pleasant ocean smell.
Make sure whatever fish you buy is at least 1-1/2" thick and impeccably fresh. Remember this is a raw food dish where the fish is flash-cured for flavoring but freshness will be essential to minimize risks of contagions or food-borne illness.
You will have to trim any bloodlines and uneven pieces when you get it at home. Hone your knife beforehand for good clean cuts. The Hawaiians tend to cut their poke into larger cubes but you can make them smaller dice if you prefer a more refined texture. Make sure to cut the avocado the same size as you cut the fish but don't chop the avocado too finely or you'll have fishy guacamole instead of poke.
Add the lime juice after you add the oil to the fish to minimize "cooking" it. You will be adding all the ingredients to the fish first & folding them in before adding the avocado to the poke to minimize mashing the fruit into guacamole.

Ingredients:
about 1 lb. of at least 1-1/2" thick Opah (Hawaiian moonfish), all bloodlines removed then discarded, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 large Haas avocado, ripe but still firm to the touch, seeded & cut into 1/2" dice
1 Tablespoon of the highest quality extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
the juice of one lime
1-1/2 teaspoons of high quality, low sodium shoyu (soy sauce)
1/2 teaspoon of sriratcha sauce (vietnamese chili sauce look for it in the Asian section of your market)
10 chives or 2 scallions, finely minced
1/4 of one jalapeno chile, seeded & finely minced
1 Tablespoon of cilantro, leaves & stems, finely chopped
1 teaspoon unsalted & roasted macadamia nuts, chopped (optional for garnish)
fleur de sel & fresh cracked pepper to taste (after mixing the poke & tasting for seasoning)
6 white corn tortillas, that have been cut into 1/8 of a tortilla wedges & baked in a 350 degree oven on a baking sheet for 10 minutes

Directions:
In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, add the opah & mix in the olive oil using your hands or a spatula being sure to coat the fish completely. In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk all the remaining ingredients together except the avocado & the macadamia nuts. Add the dressing to the opah & mix well being sure to completely coat the fish. Now gently fold in the avocado, using your fingers to evenly distribute the avocado. Taste for seasoning & acidity & judiciously add another splash of lime juice an/or salt & pepper, if necessary. Set aside & allow to marinate for no more than 1/2 hour.
Serve in individual martini glasses with a sprinkle of the macadamia nuts atop or, alternatively, in one large caviar server with fresh baked tortilla chips on the side for dipping.

Serves 4.





Olive Oil Poached, Vanilla Scented Shrimp "Ceviche"


Note:
Although you will see dishes like this all over Hawaii, the real inspiration for this "ceviche" comes from a lobster dish served with a vanilla bean buerre blanc at a restaurant called Pitahayas on the hotel & residential corridor known as Los Cabos, a stretch of land between San Jose Del Cabo & Cabo San Lucas on the Baja Peninsula. The combination of the shellfish with the vanilla scented butter sauce was surprisingly good. I've lightened the dish considerably by lightly poaching the shrimp, an easier protein option for the home cook,
until just barely cooked through in an olive oil bath that has been "scented" (i.e. steeped) with Tahitian vanilla bean instead of serving it with a vanilla cream sauce. You can easily substitute the vanilla bean with a few drops of high quality vanilla extract. I call it ceviche because except for the olive oil vanilla poaching, I serve the shrimp as a salad with a typical ceviche ( i.e. citrus-based) marinade.
Use a shallow sauce pan or small saute pan to poach the shrimp.

Ingredients:
For the poaching liguid:
3/4 cup olive oil (don't use extra-virgin oil just a nice quality olive oil will do)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tahitian vanilla bean, sliced in half & scraped with a knife (make sure to add scrapings to the poaching oil at athe appropriate point) or 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla bean extract
1 garlic clove, peeled & lightly smashed
1 whole dried red pepper or 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 lime, cut in half
1/4 bunch of chives, cut in half
a pinch (1/8 tsp) of sea salt & few grinds of very coarsely ground pepper
1/2 lb. #16 size shrimp ( about 8 large shrimp), keep shells on but remove the pleopods & pereopods (small legs underneath)

For the ceviche:
the juice of half a lime
the juice of one blood orange
1/2 bunch of chives, finely minced
1/2 Haas avocado, cut into 1/2" dice
half a handful of cilantro, leaves only, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of the poaching liquid
the above (see poaching ingredients) shrimp, poached, de-shelled, de-veined & each cut into 4 equal sized pieces
sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
lettuce leaves and lime wedges for garnish
8 warm small white corn tortillas or tortilla chips

Directions:
For the Poaching:
Place olive oil in small (10") saute or sauce pan over low heat, the temperature should be somewhere between 130 - 160 degrees F with a thermometer or barely "shivering" as the French say which is below normal poaching temperature for liquids like water or stock. The oil should not be shimmering, be well below a simmer (185 degrees) & never reach the boiling point (212 degrees F).
When the oil is warm, carefully squeeze the lime juice in the oil and add the lime & all the poaching ingredients except the shrimp to the oil.
Allow the ingredients to steep in the oil for 15 minutes to flavor it then after making sure that the oil is at the proper temperature, add shrimp in a single layer to the pan. Watch shrimp closely for subtle changes in color & translucency. When the bottom appears slightly pinkish (about 2-3 minutes), flip the shrimp over poaching it for another 2 minutes then remove the pan from the heat & allow the shrimp to cool in the poaching oil about 15 minutes.

For the salad:
After the shrimp has cooled in its poaching liquid, remove them from their shells & devein them using a sharp paring knife to make a long shallow incision along the "spine" down to the tail exposing the digestive tract ("vein") & removing it, using a paper towel to brush away any remains. Cut each shrimp into quarters. Add the shrimp to a mixing bowl with the remaining ceviche ingredients and gently toss with your fingers, careful not to smash the avocado into guacamole.
Get a pretty white bowl, large enough to accommodate the shrimp ceviche & line it with the lettuce leaves, add the ceviche to the bowl mounding it atop the lettuce & garnish with lime wedges. Serve the ceviche with just warmed tortillas or tortilla chips.
Serves 4.
Ai ā hewa ka waha, ʻo ka leo ka uku!
(Eat until the mouth can have no more, [my] reward, [your] voice!)
Aloha!