Salmon Tartare with Celery Leaf Salad and Broken Spicy Soy Sauce

Salmon scraps, again... Oh well, let's make the best of it. So the salmon was just tossed in some of our house olive oil. It's spicier than most so that adds to the spiciness of the dish. The celery leaves and julienned carrots are tossed in some rice wine vinegar. The sauce, which makes the dish, is just chili oil, soy sauce, and ginger. The separation of the soy and chili oil make for a really nice plating. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Espuma with Toasted Hazelnuts and Citrus Shavings

So, what do you do with leftover cauliflower soup? You turn it into a foam. It was a nice light cup of cauliflower foam with the hazelnuts to add some crunch and the zest for a kick. I like to dry out my citrus zest when I use it as a garnish because it's easier to work with and falls where you want it to and still retains the flavor.

Cauliflower Soup with Chive Oil

This dish was a play off the classic vichyssoise but I used cauliflower instead of potato. Otherwise, the recipe is the same. I really like the color contrasts.

Salmon Ruelle with Cucumber and Arugula Puree

Not my best work, but it was pretty at least. The cucumber and arugula puree also had mint, honey, and lemon juice in it. It was very spicy and nutty, went decently with the salmon. It looked nice because the puree was underneath the salmon but just the juices would seep out and it made for a nice color contrast. It was overall though, just blah. I can do better. I'll do better....

Orange Scented Salmon Tartare and Cucumber Ribbon

I really liked the visual impact of this bite sized delight. It's both visually appealing and fresh. The key word is: FRESH!

Salmon Tartare with a Broken Tomato Vinaigrette

Very simple, clean, and fresh. Spring time is here!

Chilled Duck Confit Salad with Sherry Balsamic Dressing and Citrus Shavings

My chef had some wonderful Black River duck legs left over from a wine dinner. So I slow cooked them in olive oil (unfortunately I couldn't justify using duck fat for amuse...) with some garlic, thyme, rosemary, and orange peels. The rest is pretty basic. Although for the vinaigrette, I reduced equal parts of sherry and balsamic vinegar with about .5 parts duck glace which was cooked out from the confit process. This helped to add a really nice rich and robust flavor to the vinaigrette making it more than just another oil and vinegar dressing.

Watermelon, Cucumber, and Lime Gelee with Black Sesame Seeds

So, got some nice sweet watermelons in for amuse. I juiced the watermelon and layered it over a thin layer of cucumber and lime gelee. The end product was what looks like a mini slice of watermelon with the rind on. Just a fun and cute idea that was tasty and perfect for Spring.

Dessert Egg with Carmelized Brioche

This dessert's been in my head for a while. It didn't go perfectly as planned, but plan B didn't come out too badly. There will be a reprise of this dessert sometime in the near future, believe me...

So, the egg white is a coconut and vanilla panna cotta while the yolk is mango and ginger puree. The brioche was toasted and then dipped in simple syrup and seared to get a crispy sweet layer of caramel.

This was only a trial, the next iteration will be better and more involved.

Oven Fired Shrimp with Kimchee and Sesame Oil Puree

House Cured Bacon with Artichoke Puree and Micro Arugula on Toasted Brioche

House Cured Bacon with Artichoke Puree and Chive Oil

Spring Salad of Cucumbers, Grape Tomatoes, and Pickled Red Onions

Just something fresh for Spring!

Soft Shelled Crabs are in!

He looks angry....

Halibut Brandades with House Remoulade and Micro Greens

I didn't actually make these brandades, they were still in the freezer from a special dinner a while back and I need a few amuse for some special guests. Looks pretty good though, eh?

Citrus Apple and Halibut Salad with Ginger Beet Sauce

I usually automatically throw brunoised shallots into any fish salad or seviche or whatever just for that added crunch that people love when they eat something with a little less texture. Today I wanted to stray from that and used green apple instead. The sweet flavor went well with the halibut, but it also had a nice crunch factor that I wanted. The better part is that the apple has a clean and fresh finish unlike shallots which would linger after eating.

Also, the fluid gel sauce is compliments of Linda at Playing with Fire and Water. This recipe is absolutely perfect, but one suggestion is to double her recipe so that there is enough volume in the blender so the sauce blends itself, rather than needing to poke at it with a spoon. Doing so allows the sauce to blend on its own and you're able to really puree the heck out of it, resulting in a smoother textured sauce.