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May 28, 2003          ...           Ask the Chef            ...          John Pisto

Seal Dinner

Well folks, we tried the seal meat the other night and boy oh boy was it delicious. Let me start at the beginning: My friendly Indian guide, Floyd Kookash from Angoon, Alaska sent me some Native American foods. It consisted of dried seaweed, bottled seaweed, seal meat (sankeo) in seal oil and dried & smoked halibut. Joining my wife Cheryle and myself for this most unusual feast were; Ben and Joan Della (a Macaw Indian from the Pacific Northwest), John and Evelyn Roussakies (Naval Post Graduate School), Professor Roy Thomas and local commercial fisherman Ron Aliotti. To my surprise everyone present dug right in. We all agreed that everything was absolutely delicious. The seal
was sweet (absolutely no smell of anything) and had a great texture. It tasted much milder than chicken, pork, or beef. The dried fish is used to soak up the seal oil and let me tell you, it was fabulous. The only problem was that Ronnie Aliotti started barking uncontrollably like a sea lion. Oh well, sweet revenge. Ronnie is a commercial fisherman, and for every fish he pulls in, the seal lions take one; it's one for one.

Folks, you oughta see what my buddy Bill has done at his restaurant equipment store! This is without a doubt the largest selection of restaurant equipment I have ever seen. Great place and the sales people are very nice too! Monterey Bay Restaurant Equipment in Sand City (899-1422).

Another great find!  International Market and Deli, for Middle Eastern foods. They have olives, bottled mushrooms from Russia, Greek items, great cheeses, and homemade dolmas. Stuff you never heard of, but all delicious. Different, different, different. They are located just near the corner of Lighthouse and Hoffman in New Monterey.

 

Q Dear Chef John,
I loved the crab cakes that I had at your restaurant. I'm very interested in making them at home. Are they very difficult to make? Do you have a recipe that I can use? Thank you very much!   Anne, Monterey

A). No they are not difficult at all. First, let's talk about the crabmeat. If it's canned and wet you must squeeze the liquid out, not dry though, the juice is also flavorful. Of course the best is fresh picked (you pick it out of the shell). The only problem with doing it yourself is that you'll end up eating the sweet, succulent meat before you can use if for cooking. Try out this crab cake recipe - hope you like it!
Crab Cakes Recipe

Makes eight cakes - four servings


3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup green onions (sliced thin)
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb crabmeat, well picked over
1/2 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
3 tblsp butter
4 cups mixed baby greens
1/4 cup vinaigrette
Lemon wedges
 

Line a baking sheet with foil. Mix breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, green onions, lemon peel, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add crabmeat and stir gently to combine. Shape mixture into eight 1/2 inch-thick cakes. Place on prepared sheet. Cover and refrigerate. Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook crab cakes until bottoms are brown, about four minutes. Carefully turn with a spatula and cook until other side is brown. Divide baby greens among 4 plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Place the crab cakes on top. Garnish with lemon wedges.

 

Q:  Dear John, whenever you Italian chefs are preparing seafood pasta you all say that putting cheese on the seafood is a no-no, but you never explain why. Why the taboo? Thank you, Raedee e-mail

A:  Great question! I have always been told that, so I say it automatically. Come to think of it, the French team up seafood with cheese and so have I (lobster Thermidor comes to mind), and it works. However, the French use it with cream and the cheese is usually very mild. Italian homes traditionally use very strong cheeses. Pecorino for example, would definitely take over the flavor of a delicate seafood dish. In Sicily they use seasoned breadcrumbs on fish dishes and that works really well. Lets be realistic here, if you like cheese on your clams and
linguine, go for it. No one is going to jump over the table and say it's not right. It may be a big deal in Italy, but this is America! Put cheese wherever you want and while you're at it have some red wine with it too.

Q:   Hello all in beautiful Monterey. A friend of mine has recently given me a wild boar ham. It is a beautiful thing, about 3 pounds. Could you provide any suggestions on how to prepare this piece of meat? I've considered braising the outside and finishing it up in a deep pot with various vegetables, herbs, stock and a little wine. This technique works for various roasts - do you think this would work for the boar?
BJ Moody e-mail

A Absolutely!  Wild boar is very lean (you ever see the legs on

those rascals, they look like race horses). My favorite way is to make a stew using dried wild mushrooms. A goulash-style stew is the best. Try this one, Moody. Marinate the boar meat, cut up into one-inch pieces, in red wine, 2 bay leaves, cracked black pepper, fresh thyme and a bit of rosemary in the fridge overnight. The next day, drain the meat and save the marinade. Brown the meat in butter with a little salt and pepper and place in a pot with lots of onions sliced very thin. Cook down, then add some sweet Hungarian paprika. Cook a few more minutes then add the marinade and a handful of reconstituted wild mushrooms. Cover and cook slowly until the meat is very tender (about 1 1/2 hours - more or less). Serve over mashed potatoes - oh man!!

 

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