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CHEF'S BLOG - PORTLAND
by Dana Cress,
Executive Chef for Salty's on the Columbia River [ Email
]
February 2010
PORTLAND - This month marks the start of our "Be Shellfish, Eat Me"
Festival, which celebrates lobster, shrimp and prawns. For all of our
festivals in 2010 we are taking it to the extreme, so my new Dinner
Market Sheet is loaded with these sweet, succulent crustaceans. I'll
break it down for you, course by course, but you can pick and choose
since it's all served à la carte.
SOUP: Lobster Potato Leek Bisque
This aromatic bisque is made by roasting lobster shells with butter,
celery, onions, leeks, fennel and sweet tomato paste. The pan is deglazed
with dry sherry before we add seafood stock, cream, potatoes and herbs.
After simmering on the stovetop for an hour, we purée this flavorful
soup to a silky, creamy bisque. You'll have the choice of a cup or a
bowl, but trust me, you'll want a bowl!
ENTRÉES: Peppercorn Crusted 16-oz. T-bone Steak & Steamed
Snow Crab Legs
Our favorite surf and turf will be served with Roasted Garlic Mashed
Potatoes and Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Prawn and Scallop Étoufée.
In this popular New Orleans Creole dish, we will serve six seared scallops
and six seared prawns atop a rich, dark sauce of sautéed onions,
celery, green peppers and spices with steamed rice.
DESSERT: Mocha Porter Cheesecake with Malted Candied Hazelnuts
You will be happy to hear that we didn't attempt to make lobster ice
cream like they would have on The Food Network's Iron Chef competition.
Though there are no crustaceans, there is beer in this delicious dessert,
which was also featured on the menu for our BridgePort Brewer's Dinner
on January 28.
PORTLAND - For all of our seafood festivals in 2010, we are going over
the top. So as you will see in January, crab is almost everywhere as
we celebrate the final month of “You Crack Me Up” Crab Festival.
You may have noticed that I love taking a classic dish and giving it
a new Salty’s spin. This is true for my Potato Leek Crab Bisque
- a hybrid of two delicious winter soups. This hearty soup is the perfect
way to warm up in January on the Columbia River.
Our Dungeness Crab BLT and Chowder Cup is a great combination for lunch
guests who want something that is very quick. Once again we’ve
embellished a classic dish, a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich in
this case - with a mound of fresh lump crabmeat. Plus a cup of our Signature
Seafood Chowder is a must when you have lunch at Salty’s, so with
this option you can have your cake and eat it, too.
For a crabby entrée, try my Dungeness Crab and Spinach-Crusted
Cedar Salmon served with wild mushroom confit, roasted red potatoes
and finished with sauce Choron - a buttery tarragon sauce (known as
Béarnaise) with tomato purée added. The luxurious crab
mixture that tops the salmon consists of sun-dried tomatoes, wilted
spinach, garlic, Dijon mustard, soft goat cheese, lemon and herbs. Roasting
the salmon on a cedar plank adds a mildly sweet, spicy flavor to the
salmon with a smoky edge.
Our Portland beermakers dinner with Pyramid and MacTarnahan’s
breweries was so popular that we’ve invited the folks from Bridgeport
brewery to team up with us on Thursday, January 28 at 6:30 p.m. for
another five-course pairing of beer and gourmet dishes. See menu below.
Great news: The website Golflink.com named Salty’s on the Columbia
one of the “Top 10 Restaurants in Portland!” Apparently
golfers love Salty’s as much as the rest of us. Visit www.golflink.com/list_14057_top-restaurants-portland-oregon.html
for the story.
Happy New Year from all of us here at Salty’s on the Columbia!
