Local Turnips or a Quality Meal?

While farm to table cuisine is gaining popularity among some, it doesn't fit all.  Earlier this month Julia Moskin of the NY Times wrote an article about two acclaimed chefs, Thomas Keller and Andoni Luis Adurizhave who have opted to focus on cooking with quality ingredients to produce a gastronomical experience for their patrons.  Sometimes the best oysters for a dish come from Maine, not Long Island.  That is what customers are paying for- the best.  Chefs aren't going to save the earth and we shouldn't expect them to.  Some of our favorite things come not from our backyard but from far away places- Italian wine, French cheeses, Belgian chocolates, Irish beer, Canadian whiskey, Greek yogurt, Russian dressing.  OK, the last two are pretty much made in America but you get the idea.  Why limit creative minds and palates?  Go local if you want but it's OK to order the salmon or Chilean sea bass- as long as it's wild caught. Ha!

Cape Cod Cuisine Cooking Class

Killing a lobster.

Just had my second Chef's Choice class at Johnson and Wales. Today's topic was Cape Cod Cuisine. You guessed it... lots of fish. On the menu: Quahog Clam Chowder, New England Chopped Salad, Deviled Scrod, Nantucket Flounder Roll-ups, Hyannisport Lobster Pie, Cranberry Pork Tenderloin, and Peppered Salmon with Dill-Caper Sauce.

Chef Branden Lewis taught this class as well and another chef remembered me from the last class. Today I ended up making the lobster pie with Paul who is a shellfisherman. His wife wasn't interested in killing the live lobsters so she moved to another group. haha. It was messy in close quarters. Not sure if I'd make the same lobster pie recipe. I would have liked a puff pastry crust but in New England-style it has a cracker crumb topping.

Salmon, scrod, salad, and lobster pie with a last minute fancy sauce.

Some of the food from the concurrent Texas Barbeque class.