Posole soup

Posole Soup

It would not be Christmas time in my house without a big bowl of the traditional Mexican soup Posole. My version is made with a spicy broth, pork and hominy and will always have lots of chopped cilantro and avocado with a squeeze of lime to finish. It has the flavors of a pork taco but in a soup form.

Christmas Eve Special Seafood Pasta

I have been working on a special project of coming up with a good gluten free pasta recipe and it was easy with the help of a new line of a gluten free flour product that was developed by Chef Thomas Keller. The special flour is called "Cup 4 Cup" which is a non wheat blend rice type flours designed to replace conventional flour in recipes. Using the special flour I made a basic egg pasta dough which was then rolled out and cut into to fettuccine size noodles, I then focused on the seafood sauce. For this special dinner a chose to add Maine Lobster and Mussels in a rich home made fresh tomato and fennel sauce. Once all the ingredients are ready they come together very fast because of the fast cooking time of fresh pasta, a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley and fennel fronds completes the dish. What to drink with this? Champagne of course!

Fresh Cooked Maine Lobster

Special Seafood Pasta

Fish Restaurant, Sausalito, CA

Dungeness Crab Fritters

Seafood Ceviche

There is a popular restaurant in Sausalito called Fish that was started a few years back by my chef buddy Chad Calahan, formerly of Masa's Restaurant in San Francisco. He has since left the operation, but the restaurant is still going strong under the new owners. Its setting is on the water surrounded by many boats in the large marina and the menu is dominated by local sustainable fish with flavors from around the world.
On this day we chose to sit outside on wooden benches and enjoy the warm Winter sun. We tried the tilapia fish tacos, seafood ceviche served with fresh tortilla chips, a spicy Portuguese fish stew and fresh dungeness crab fritters. Everything was really good and the fish stew was a stand out and in a bowl too small for the amount I wanted to eat of it.

Fish Restaurant
350 Harbor Drive
Sausalito, California
415 331 3474

King Alaskan Salmon

I was in the mood for salmon the other night and my first choice was King Salmon from Alaska. This fish is wild caught and it's full of natural fat, the good omega three fat that helps keep your heart healthy. The color is a bright orange which comes from it's diet of small shrimp. One of my favorite ways to cook this fish is to simply season and sear it in a very hot pan 'till its golden brown and crisp. I also sauteed Yukon gold potatoes and red kale to go with it, the sauce is a very flavorful tomato and olive relish.


Cherry Tomato Relish
Ingredients:
Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Kalamata olive slices
Capers, rinsed
Garlic, diced
Lemon segments and juice
Parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients well. Great with any fish or meat.

Pan Seared King Salmon Fillet