'Tis the Season

Chef Michael LaDuke here, and welcome to The Red Lobster Chef's Blog. I have received a number of questions from our guests who would like to cook more fish during the holidays, and throughout the winter. But many of these fellow seafood lovers said they think of winter as a time for dishes with heavier sauces that are more suitable for cold weather and these dishes don't seem healthy or relevant to seafood.

In fact, there are a number of ways to make great seafood recipes feel more appropriate for winter, without covering them in cream sauce, or making them too heavy. Seafood is so versatile, that I think adding bigger flavors and using different cooking techniques helps give great fresh fish a nice winter feel.

Red Lobster's Virtual Fresh Fish Cookbook has some examples of how to accomplish this. Lobster Crusted Tilapia adds decadent lobster and a nice crunch to fresh fish. This same technique is also great in Parmesan Crusted Tilapia. Parmesan Crust is currently one of the Chef's Creations on Red Lobster's Today's Fresh Fish menu. In addition, our Virtual Cookbook's Salmon with Andouille Sausage and Crab Stuffing adds some great flavors to a baked piece of fresh salmon, making it a perfect holiday entrée! Lastly, Salmon with Ciopinno Topping and Seared Salmon with Shellfish Pasta are examples of how to add pasta to fresh fish for a fuller meal. These two recipes also give you an option of serving a very healthy dish (the ciopinno topped) or a little richer version (the shellfish pasta). Either way, the great flavors are sure to impress your guests, or make a great meal for your family.

As you can see, it is always a great time for fresh fish! Thank you for reading the Chef's Blog. During this busy season, take some time with your family and friends to come by Red Lobster, relax, reconnect and enjoy some great seafood.

Michael LaDuke

In Honor of a Great Friend

Chef Michael LaDuke here and thank you for visiting the Red Lobster Chef's Blog. As I am sure you are aware, writing this blog and filming the chef videos takes a whole team of extremely talented people and a lot of hard work.

Sadly, last Friday, we at Red Lobster learned that a member of that team, and a good friend of mine, Jon Barkan, had passed away suddenly at the age of 39.

Jon was one of the creative forces behind the Chef's Blog and was the person who continued to make us work, and make us laugh. A truly unique person, he was never too busy to return a phone call, or just drop me a note to say hello and check in on the latest seafood news and our beloved New York Giants.

Jon's love for life and his family was unmatched, and his involvement in countless community and religious projects was amazing. While Jon was perhaps the busiest person I have ever met, he always had time to talk about his wife, daughters and his newborn son, ask about my family, and stump me with sports trivia.

Whether we were at a 3 am video shoot, or having Sicilian pizza at Bostones on Newbury Street in Boston, Jon made life and work that much better. I will truly miss him. Jon leaves behind a legacy of friendship that stretched from coast to coast, and thankfully into my life.

It is said that the measure of a person's greatness is in how many lives they have touched, I believe this is true, and I believe my friend Jon is the greatest of them all.

Thank you for allowing me to share.

Regards,
Michael LaDuke

A "Sweet" Question!

Welcome to the Red Lobster Chefs Blog, Chef Michael LaDuke here. Recently a guest (Larry) wrote and asked if the Maple Cherry Glaze recipe from our website was a suitable glaze for pork. Larry and his wife frequent their local Red Lobster and are always trying new things and then trying them at home, so he wondered what other uses there might be for this glaze.

There are really two parts to my answer. One, is that this glaze is great on a number of different seafood items. Obviously a great match for fresh salmon, as well as shrimp, but this also works well on items like seared scallops, or a great piece of oven-roasted grouper or halibut.

If you are able to grill, this sauce works great on some great grilled mahi or snapper. Any fish that has a nice hearty flavor and holds up well to the oven or grill will work great. I would stay away from thin fillets or fish like tilapia, as the sauce could overpower the great flavor of the fresh seafood.

The second part of the answer, is yes the sauce works great on a number of different proteins, pork loin and ham would be my personal choices, and during this time of the year if you are not eating seafood (and I don't know why you aren't!!) this is a great glaze for roasted meats.

I'll also let you in on a secret from our Red Lobster Culinary Center. As you know we have a great team of chefs here working daily to develop all the great new items you see at Red Lobster, and Maple Cherry Glaze was one of those items. So, during the development of the glaze in our kitchens, what was our favorite use? It was an ice cream topping! This glaze has such a well balanced sweet flavor that it is a perfect compliment to your dessert table. Either on ice cream or on a great piece of cheesecake.

Speaking of desserts, last week we introduced three new items to our dessert menu, N.Y. Style Cheesecake, Warm Apple Crumble with Ice Cream, and my favorite, the Chocolate Chip Lava Cookie, a warm center chocolate chip cake topped with vanilla ice cream, it is quickly becoming the favorite dessert of everyone!

Thanks for visiting the Chefs blog, and during this busy holiday season, take some time to stop by, relax, enjoy some great seafood, and see what's fresh today at Red Lobster.