Have you seen the price of groceries?

Michael LaDuke back with another edition of the Red Lobster Chef’s Blog. I have gotten a lot of questions lately about how to shop for seafood and keep home meals affordable, especially with the rising costs of groceries. Since I do all of the shopping for my family, (actually, my wife Kathleen owns the mall piece of our shopping, I am relegated to the grocery store!), I do have a couple of tips:

1. Plan ahead and only buy what you need. Often when you look at raw product in the store, it does not look like a lot until you get it home. When buying seafood, have a good idea of the amount or weight of product you use. It will keep you from having too many left-overs.

2. Simplicity wins, and it is less expensive. As I have said often in the blog, great dishes can be accomplished by concentrating on flavor and simplicity. Buy fresh fish and grill or broil it with just a squeeze of fresh lemon, or lemon and orange. The more you complicate a dish, the more time, effort, and money it will take for it to be great.

3. Focus on the side dishes. If you keep on hand the dishes you and/or your family like to eat with seafood, it will be easier to shop on a weekly basis. Long grain brown rice and flavorful instant couscous are great accompaniments for seafood. Try not to add expensive items to your side dish. For example, if you cook pasta, but it requires sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and extra virgin olive oil, is that really the right combination for a simple, affordable fresh fish dish? Let the seafood be the star.

4. Plan your experimentations. If you are going to experiment with seafood, make sure you use information from a reputable source (like the Red Lobster Chef’s Blog!) so you know the end product will come out right. I recently answered a question from a reader who had purchased crab legs that ended up tough, chewy and flavorless. Her fish market had given her the wrong directions on how to prepare the crab.

Thanks for stopping by the blog, I hope you enjoyed the recent video on ideas for cooking crab. Later this week, will join you from Hilton Head SC, where I will be on vacation enjoying time with my family and eating great local seafood. Thanks for reading and come see what’s fresh today at Red Lobster.

Try our Oven Roasted Tilapia and Vegetable with Lemon Herb Butter recipe.

Michael LaDuke

More Recipe Requests

Michael LaDuke back again at The Red Lobster Chef ’s Blog. Last week we started posting answers to some of the commonly asked questions we receive from all of you, and due to the large number of questions on Shrimp Scampi, I devoted the entire blog to it. This week I want to take a second to answer a few more questions. So here goes:

Q: Can we get the recipe for Red Lobster’s Tartar Sauce, Cole Slaw, and Cocktail Sauce?
A: There are a few items we keep as our signature recipes because over time they have become preparations that create a unique experience at Red Lobster. Often the most simple of items can make a big difference, and these are three great examples. Our guests love our cole slaw, tartar and cocktail sauce and we pride ourselves in having what we feel are the best recipes for these in the business. So I apologize for not being able to share those recipes, but some things we just have to keep a secret.

Q: How do I cook crab legs at home? My market tells me to just drop them in boiling water and serve, but when I do, they are tough and rubbery. Am I doing something wrong?

A: The answer is your market gave you some bad advice. A couple of tips for serving crab legs at home:
1. Remember, crab legs are already cooked. They are steamed in processing, so you are really just trying to get them back to temperature.
2. The best way to cook crab legs is with steam. If you have a double boiler at home and can cook the crab over that, they will stay tender and juicy. When you boil them they become tough, and often you leave all of the flavor in the pot!
3. Always cook/steam the legs as close to when you want to eat them as possible; it is best to take them right from the steamer to the table. Also, do not over-cook or over-steam crab. If there is a nice steam present, 3-4 minutes in the steamer is plenty.
4. Always buy good quality butter for dipping. A nice warm melted butter makes a huge difference in eating the crab legs


Q: What is the recipe for the Pina Colada dipping sauce for the coconut shrimp, and is it the same in every Red Lobster?
A: Yes it is the same, and has become one of our guests ’ favorite sauces. It is also great on grilled fresh fish. The recipe from a past blog is listed below:

Pina Colada Dipping Sauce
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Coco Lopez Pina Colada Mix
¼ cup Crushed Pineapple
1 each Fresh Lemon (Juice Only)

Method
1. Combine sour cream and Coco Lopez in a bowl, and mix together gently. Do not use an electric mixer or over mix by hand. That will cause the sour cream to break down and make the sauce too thin
2. Drain crushed pineapple
3. Fold Crushed Pineapple into cream mixture
4. Finish with juice from one lemon
5. Cover and store refrigerated

I hope these answers help make it easier for you to enjoy great seafood dishes at home. Of course, for a great fresh seafood experience, please come see what ’s fresh today at Red Lobster.

Back to the kitchen…
Michael LaDuke

Cooking With Crab

Many people haven’t cooked with crab before, but this delicious seafood doesn’t have to be intimidating. Chefs LaDuke and Mickler show you how to prepare delicious crab cakes and a great crab boil for the entire family.

Labels: Chef_Videos

Recipes, recipes, recipes... and Scampi!

Hello again from The Red Lobster Chef’s Blog. Michael LaDuke here to start answering your questions. First, I want to thank you for your responses and questions on the blog. I literally received hundreds of recipe requests over the past few weeks. So I will be using this space once a week to answer some of the questions that I get from a lot of you. Like “What is the Red Lobster Biscuit Recipe?” Sorry, that is still a secret. If I did share the recipe, it unfortunately would will be my last blog, and I am not ready for retirement yet! But here are a couple of questions we received from multiple readers this week.

Many were about our shrimp scampi – how we make it, what is scampi, etc. To start with, scampi is really an Italian word describing large shrimp or prawns, and originally it had no connection to a specific dish. Over time scampi came to be a common name for large shrimp simply prepared with garlic and butter or garlic and olive oil. Scampi has evolved over the years, and depending on the restaurant, you will see many versions of the dish -- some with cream, white wine, basil, fresh herbs, some even without shrimp.

At Red Lobster, Shrimp Scampi is one of our most popular dishes. Every year, we ask our guests to help give us a “report card” on all of our menu items, and scampi continues to lead the pack. While it is difficult to give you an exact recipe for our scampi (kitchen recipes often do not exactly translate into household recipes), here is a recipe to produce Red Lobster Shrimp Scampi at home. Good luck with the recipe, and have fun in the kitchen. I’ll be back soon to answer more of your questions.

Good Cooking,
Michael LaDuke

Shrimp Scampi
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Pound Medium Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp Pure Olive Oil (not extra virgin)
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Garlic (you may used pre-chopped from the produce section of your grocery store)
1½ Cups White Wine (a nice Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay will work well)
½ Fresh Lemon (juice only)
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning Blend
½ Cup Butter (softened)
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley (chopped fine)
To taste Salt and Pepper
½ Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese (if desired as garnish)

Method:
1. Heat heavy bottom skillet and add olive oil, do not allow oil to smoke. Add shrimp and cook until tender and no longer translucent
2. Remove shrimp from pan and reduce heat slightly. Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to brown garlic as this will produce a slightly bitter flavor. When garlic is cooked, add white wine.
3. Squeeze juice from lemon in pan, and reduce wine by half. After it is reduced, add Italian seasoning blend
4. Reduce heat to low, and slowly add butter, 1 Tbsp at a time. The butter should slowly melt into the sauce and create a nice creamy texture. If the pan is too hot the butter will separate
5. Once butter is fully incorporated, add shrimp back into sauce, add parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Serve with garnish of fresh cheese if desired. Scampi is great accompanied by fresh pasta

Hello from Boston

Hello, Michael LaDuke back again, this time fresh off a trip to The Boston International Seafood Show. Each year seafood suppliers from all around the world gather in Boston to showcase all of their new products as well as their traditional favorites. It is a great opportunity to get a glimpse of new seafood trends that will be coming to restaurants and markets in the next year.

Walking the show this year, I saw three big themes -- convenience, big flavors, and health. Markets will continue to bring you frozen ready-to-cook dishes with new flavors and in new combinations. I sampled a few of these, and while they are pretty good, they certainly cannot replace the experience of preparing great fresh seafood. I did see some cool new products to cook with, including some neat smoker bags. You place your seafood in a pre-seasoned bag, put it in the oven and actually smoke your fish indoors. Your fish gets a really big smoke flavor right in your own kitchen.

On a flavor side, everyone was talking about cool new flavors and new combinations, flavors like our Sweet and Spicy glaze on grilled fresh fish, were everywhere, and continue to grow. Recently we added Tequila Lime Grilled Shrimp and Spicy Asian Glazed Grilled Shrimp dishes to our menu. In a very short time these have become two of our most popular flavors.

Of course great fresh seafood is very healthy, so everyone was talking about the value of Omega-3 fatty acids in fresh salmon, and the low-fat, low-calorie nature of fresh seafood. Studies continue to say that the single most impactful thing you can add to your diet for better health is great fresh seafood. (What could be better then fresh seafood, big flavors, all in a dish that is good for you?)

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by the blog, and keep an eye out for a video blog very soon with some cool clips from Boston. You may even get a chance to see a certain Red Lobster Chef sitting on a custom Shrimp Motorcycle. What a cool Father’s day gift that would make!!

Come see what’s fresh today at Red Lobster
Michael LaDuke

Celebrate Lobster

Michael LaDuke here again on the Red Lobster Chef’s Blog. First, my apologies or being away last week. In addition to visiting the International Boston Seafood Show, we also just started Lobsterfest, so it’s a very busy time for us. Lobsterfest is my favorite time of the year because it’s a celebration of everything lobster, whether our prized crustacean is broiled, grilled or prepared in pasta.

Last year on a trip to New England and Maine, I was inspired by the amount of lobster I saw everywhere. Roadside stands, Oceanside lunch restaurants, and of course white tablecloth restaurants. No matter where I went one thing was the same: Everybody loves lobster. I saw hundreds of different recipes for lobster and even tried Lobster Ice Cream. I know it sounds strange, and to be honest I was a little apprehensive, but it wasn’t bad. I am not sure it will ever be in the freezer section next to Vanilla and Chocolate, but it is worth trying if you are in the Northeast.

One of the things I enjoy the most about going out for lobster, is that so often it is a fun night out with family or friends. Nothing is more important then being able to connect with those who are important to you, so what better way than cracking open a whole Maine lobster and dunking it in butter, or trying a great grilled lobster tail with a simple squeeze of lemon. I know my family loves to see Dad work his way through a plate of lobster while wearing a lobster bib! So if you have the time, stop by and try some of the great new lobster entrees we have for this year’s Lobsterfest and most importantly, stop by and enjoy a great meal with family and friends. Nothing is more fun then that.

In closing, I want to thank all of you for your questions and comments on the blog. I’ve received many questions recently and I am doing my best to answer them as quickly as possible. Starting next week I will be checking in on the blog twice a week, once to talk about what’s going on in the world of seafood and once to answer some of your questions and share recipes. So stay tuned and happy cooking.

Michael LaDuke