Fall In The Northeast

Hi all, Michael LaDuke here and this past week I had the pleasure of traveling to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park N.Y., a small town located in the beautiful Hudson Valley of upstate New York.

While driving to the CIA, I was quickly reminded of two things. One, the fall foliage of upstate New York is truly one of the most beautiful sites you will ever see, and two, if it is fall in New York, then it is apple season.

Roadside stands were selling freshly picked apples, local shops were selling apple butter, and apple preserves. The local restaurants also were selling fresh apple desserts, apple fritters, and one of my favorites, fresh apple cider. Nothing is better in the fall then some great, fresh apple cider with just the right amount of sweet and tart flavors combined to make the perfect fruit drink

During this time of year cider is readily available in grocery stores across the country, and I wanted to share with you a dish that combines two things you now know I love, fresh apple cider, and fresh fish!!

In the fall months I like to prepare a dish called apple cider roasted salmon on shallot mashed potatoes. Start with a piece of fresh salmon, and marinade in a sweet apple and balsamic mixture, and then roast in the oven to really enhance the natural flavor of the salmon and the cider.

The dish is finished with a cider glaze made from the marinade, and served over mashed potatoes with roasted shallots, a classic flavor combination for the fish and the apples.

Fresh fish is fun no matter what season. Keep an eye out for upcoming blogs and videos as we will talk about some ways to use seafood throughout the year and through the holiday season.



Apple Cider Roasted Salmon

Cider Glaze/Marinade

4 cups fresh apple cider
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup honey
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 cup water
To taste salt and pepper
4 6 oz portions salmon
1 mashed potatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 tbsp butter


Method:
1. Combine cider, vinegar, honey, and fresh thyme. Mix well until honey is completely incorporated into liquids.
2. Split cider mixture in half, place half in small sauce pan on medium heat, and pour the remaining half over salmon. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours
3. Bring cider mixture in pan to a simmer
4. Combine water and cornstarch and mix well.
5. Remove cider from heat, and gradually mix in cornstarch, stirring briskly so starch does not clump
6. Once mixture is combined fully, return to heat and return to simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for approximately 2-3 minutes. Hold warm until ready to use.
7. Remove salmon from Marinade after the 2-3 hours, allow to slightly drain
8. Season lightly with salt and pepper
9. Place salmon on non stick baking sheet, and cook in 375 degree oven, approx 7-10 minutes, until salmon is firm
10. Saute shallots in butter until caramelized or browned, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
11. Add Shallots to mashed potatoes and mix well
12. Remove salmon from oven, place on top of potatoes, and cover with cider glaze

Dishing Out Our Favorites

Hi it’s Chef LaDuke and welcome back to the chef’s blog.

In our last video cast from a great Cape Cod fish market, Chef Mickler and I spoke about how we would cook our favorite fresh fish. In these next two videos, we’ll show you how to create those dishes. Both are inspired by our hometowns. Chef Mickler creates a flounder recipe reminiscent of his childhood on Florida’s Gulf Coast. And as a New England native, I chose to cook fresh salmon.

If you have any questions about seafood, please feel free to drop us a note. You can also see these recipes and many more in our Virtual Fresh Fish Cookbook.

Grilled Salmon with Sea Scallops
Click Here for this recipe


Flounder A La Meuniere
Click Here for this recipe



Thanks for visiting the blog. Be sure to stop by your local restaurant soon and see what’s fresh today at Red Lobster.

Labels: Chef_Videos

Recipes For Success In The Kitchen

Hi it's Chef LaDuke. First, let me thank all of you for your recent requests for Red Lobster recipes. Some of the questions brought back great memories of favorite dishes over the years and we look forward to sharing more great seafood ideas as we go along.

Many of you asked about a recipe for Red Lobster's famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits. That's one of the few recipes we can't share because the biscuits are such a signature dish.

Why are the biscuits so popular?

Freshness is the key reason. We make the biscuits fresh every 15 minutes all day long in our restaurants. That's 395 million biscuits a year, enough to stretch 15,585 miles or the distance from the Red Lobster in Times Square all the way to Shanghai, China and back.

Fresh biscuits are a great comfort food, and ours feature a flavorful combination of cheddar cheese and garlic that our guests obviously love. Sorry we can't provide the recipe, but we hope you'll stop by Red Lobster and see what's fresh today - from fresh fish to fresh biscuits.

We'll join you here again soon. Also, keep an eye out for our next video cast. It should be up on the blog by the end of the week as Chef Mickler and I share what's going on in the kitchen.

Happy cooking!