Today I attended three classes and the common denominator was, fish! First class was Haute French Cuisine with Damien Dulas of Restaurant Guy Savoy. Dulas demonstrated how to make two dishes, Crispy Sea Bass with Delicate Spices and Colors of Caviar, both signature dishes at the restaurant. While I'm not sure I would make either dish I learned a lot that I will certainly incorporate into my own cooking. I would use the spice mixture, a combination of pepper, coriander, Szechuan peppercorn, fennel and mustard seed as a rub. I liked the texture of the pan sauteed scaly skin of the fish. Apparently any small or medium scaled fish can be cooked, scales on, creating super crispy skin. I would also use vanilla with fish, something I have used with seafood before. I also liked the combination of vinaigrette and caviar. The sherry vinegar really brought out the flavor of the caviar making it even more intense.
At Wine 101 with the Masters I got to taste several wines, both red and white with--fish! We had little piece of fish which we modified with salt, pepper and lemon and then tried each way, with wines. It was a very enlightening experiment. The Nebbiolo with fish doctored with lemon was a revelation and not something I would have considered. I also loved the comment that our "noses are lazy". Sometimes I feel like such a novice when it comes to wine and this was very good to hear. Noses of the world, wake up!
Finally I stopped in to see Mixing it Up with Bruno Davaillon. He made, you guessed it, fish. What he made was a most scrumptious Baked Cod with Grenobloise Sauce. Having eaten wonderful meals in Grenoble, which is in the French alps, I was eager to see how a sauce traditionally used for trout would work with cod. It was terrific of course.
Off to my afternoon class! See you later.
FOOD + INSIDE THE KITCHEN
