I have never been to New Orleans, but I love everything about their cuisine—their traditions, their slow and low cooking methods, and especially their flavorful spices. Whether it’s Creole or Cajun—tomato or roux based, or a combination thereof—it all works for me. I mean how can you go wrong when your cuisine is influenced by France, Spain, and Africa!

So for yesterday’s special I made Blackened Catfish with Smoky Red Beans with Basmati Rice, Braised Mixed Greens in Apple Cider and a Spicy Creole Sauce.

When I blacken fish, I like to use a rub that doesn’t overpower the flavor of the fish. I feel that the blackening should provide great color, but also allow all the other components of the dish to shine through.  Also, too much blackening spice can give the fish a gritty taste and so I only sprinkle the top side of the fish with a light coat of seasoning. For the beans, I always recommend that you use dried or fresh. Yes, it’s a bit more time consuming to soak dried beans overnight or to shuck fresh beans, but the flavor and texture is well worth the effort.

After soaking the beans overnight, drain them and set aside.  Dice applewood smoked bacon and render until crispy. Next add finely diced onion, minced garlic and saute until soft.  Add the beans, a bay leaf, minced fresh thyme and chicken stock or water to cover. Simmer the beans on low adding additional stock or water until beans are al dente. When finished, drain the beans immediately and spread out on a sheet pan and chill until ready to use.

For my Creole sauce, I use Old Bay Seasoning. I grew up on the spice blend which is manufactured in my hometown of Baltimore, and I use it in a lot in chowders and with steamed shrimp and crabs. Old Bay has a high salt content on its own so be careful when adding additional salt to the dish, especially if you are reducing the sauce.

For the sauce, dice onion, celery and green pepper and saute until soft.  Next add minced garlic, chopped oregano, thyme and deglaze with white wine and reduce.  Add the Old Bay Seasoning and good quality canned tomatoes (pureed in a food processor), a bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, and a small amount of water to cover. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce heat and simmer slowly until thick.  Blend the sauce until smooth and stain through a small china cap.  You can then finish the sauce with a small amount of cream or salt and pepper upon serving.

Enjoy!

For today’s special I made Pan-Seared Mahi with Applewood Smoked Bacon-Corn Fritters and Charred Yellow Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho. This dish has great flavor, color and texture. The Yellow Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho is served cold, which is quite refreshing during the summer and boasts a beautiful golden color with flecks of black and green. For even more contrast, a traditional red tomato gazpacho would pop nicely against the golden corn fritter and seared Mahi.

For the bacon-corn fritter, I sauteed the bacon and then added diced onion and fresh shucked corn kernels and cooked until the corn was tender but still had some crunch. Set the mixture aside and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, in a blender, add a small amount of cream, egg and fresh corn kernels and blend until creamy. In another bowl, add about a cup of flour, a tsp of baking powder and then stir in the cream-corn and the bacon-corn mixtures to combine. Add chopped fresh basil, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

You can either drop spoonfills of the mixture into a saute pan, or spray a small cookie cutter with oil and then spoon the mixture into the form to create a more defined circle. Saute on low until somewhat firm (remove the cookie cutter) and then flip and finish in the oven until fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

This bacon-corn fritter is great served with either roasted chicken, ribs, salmon, shrimp, or soft-shelled crabs. Change up the sauce/salad depending on what you serve it with and you’ll have delicious entree for summer! Enjoy!

For today’s special I made Pan-Seared Halibut with Cilantro-Spring Onion Infused Risotto, Grilled Asparagus Tips and Tarragon Remoulade. The colors and flavors of this dish are a welcome to Spring with tender-sweet Asparagus and Spring Onions.

Remoulade is a classical French sauce that is made with mayonnaise (preferably housemade), mustard, capers, gherkins (baby pickles), herbs, anchovies (optional) and sometimes chopped hard-boiled eggs. Another great classical French sauce to accompany this dish would be Bearnaise which is a reduction of white wine vinegar, shallots and tarragon that is strained and emulsified with warm egg yolks and clarified butter. Both sauces are very rich in both texture and flavor and so a little goes a long way in finishing the dish! Enjoy!!

For todays special I made Macadamia Nut Crusted Sea Bass with Lemon Grass-Coconut Risotto Cake, Thai Red Curry Sauce, Pea Shoots with Ginger Lime Vinaigrette, and Cilantro Oil.

The flavors and textures of this dish burst in your mouth The sauce is spicy and sweet and the sea bass is buttery and moist. Partnered with the crispy-creamy risotto cake—it makes for a very nice combination. And the colors are beautiful! Enjoy!

For todays special I made Pan Seared Salmon with Beet Infused Couscous, Sautéed Spinach and Whole Grain Mustard Cream Sauce.  This dish is absolutely beautiful—the photo doesn’t do it justice.  The colors are so vivid.  The couscous is a bright fuchsia/ruby red and against the dark green spinach and white plate—the contrasts are just stunning.  The flavors work really well together also.  Since salmon has a robust flavor it holds up nicely against the earthiness of the beet couscous and the sharpness from the whole grain mustard cream sauce.

To start, wash the beets really well and cover with water in a medium size pot.  Add, whole garlic cloves, thyme springs, bay leaf, lemon zest, a whole lemon halved, peppercorns and olive oil.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover pan tightly and cook until beets are soft (approximately 2 hours depending on the size of the beets).  Remove beets from juice and set aside to cool.  Strain beet juice and set aside.  Once beets have cooled remove the skin and dice into large chunks and place in a blender.  Add beet juice and blend until you have a smooth consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Strain beet puree through a chinois or fine strainer a couple of times to remove most of the fibers.

For the couscous, I like using pearl couscous, which is sometimes referred to as Israeli or Mediterranean couscous.  The ratio of couscous to liquid for cooking is approximately one cup of couscous to two cups of liquid.  In a large pan bring equal parts beet puree and chicken stock and/or water to a boil.  Slowly stir in couscous and reduce to a simmer.  Cover pan tightly and let simmer for about 15 minutes until mostly all of the liquid is absorbed.  Remove couscous from heat and let sit an additional 10 minutes before stirring.  Once finished, check for seasonings and add salt if needed.  Set couscous aside.

Meanwhile, to make the whole grain mustard cream sauce, slice and sauté an onion in canola oil in a medium size pan.  Once onion is softened, add minced garlic, roasted garlic and sauté for a couple of more minutes.  Deglaze with white wine and reduce and then add heavy cream and a bay leaf.  Bring cream mixture almost to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes until cream reduces and slightly thickens, stirring frequently.  Remove bay leaf and pour cream mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in whole grain mustard.  Set aside and keep warm.

To finish, heat a sauté pan to medium-high heat, add canola oil and salmon and sear salmon for about a minute.  Flip salmon over and then finish cooking in a 400-degree oven until desired doneness.  Sauté spinach in canola oil with minced garlic, white wine, salt and pepper.  I had wanted to use beet greens with this dish but we didn’t have any at the restaurant—mixed braising greens would also work well.  Reheat couscous in a sauté pan with a small amount of chicken stock or water and taste for seasonings.  Spoon couscous onto the plate, and top with sautéed spinach, and seared salmon filet.  Spoon cream sauce over salmon and drizzle around the plate.  Finish with micro greens dressed in lemon vinaigrette and serve!