What if the Scots discovered Mexico…

Cooking has a lot of history to it.  We may not always realize it, or recognize the influences on our choices.  I have been fascinated by knowing that until Columbus bumped into the Western hemisphere, and took some things back that he found there, that the cuisines across Europe, Africa and Asia where transformed.  It was slaves he brought back first and foremost, but also new plants that changed cooking forever.  You have probably heard me pontificate on this before.

Think about this quote “Christopher Columbus took native chilies, including hot and sweet peppers, back to Spain. A crewman wrote, “In those islands there are also bushes like rose bushes, which make fruit as long as cinnamon, full of small grains as biting as (Asian) pepper; those Caribs and the Indians eat that fruit like we eat apples.”  This history can be harsh, the history of one culture over another.  But it can also have elements of transformation, how a underdog cultural meme can conquer the world.   The chili is one example of that.  A food item that changed the cookbook of the world.  It doesn’t get much more counter cultural than that. 

The other night I was tossing influences around, based, as usual, and items I had in my fridge.  I had a turnip that was meant to be a learning experience for me.  And it was.  I had a lot of left over energy for Mexican food, which I have been playing with recently.  More accurately I have been playing with Tex-Mex….that fusion of Mexican Tejanos cooking influences meeting American Protestants.  And whether turnip and horseradish mash is Scottish….ahh….I am just going for it.

Maybe because I have no real culture that I can say…I am _____ (insert culture here), I find myself interested in cuisines where cultures meet.  Especially those edges where cultures clash, or maybe, meld.  Seriously…think about the British Curry…what does that even mean?

It means, I think, that the dominated culture infiltrated the dominant culture.  We could argue about that.  But all over the world, cuisines exhibit traits of the conquered.  Cajun or Creole?  That is French cooking?  English Curry?  Chinese cuisine? That is the point of title of this post.

This dinner was about my idea of food of real people from across the globe,  Anaheim chili red sauce over turnip, horseradish, cumin stuffed enchiladas.  I had some homemade horseradish wanting some love, a turnip messing with me, and a desire for some spicy Mexican influenced food.  Home canned tomatoes, organic corn tortillas and some delicious Havarti dill cheese put it all together.

The sauce is slow sauteed onions, home smoked chilies and home canned tomato sauce, all simmered until it comes together right.  The stuffing, turnips and carrots boiled until soft, mashed with olive oil, horseradish, cumin, salt, pepper and lemon juice.  Mixed with a bit of cooked rice, black beans, and diced red bell pepper.  Mix to taste and adjust.

Enchiladas are a process.  I am just going to describe what I did for the stuffing.  The rest of making enchiladas is easy to find on the intertubes and I have written on them also.  The mash is simple.  Turnips and carrots, cut into 1 inch cubes, boiled until fork soft.  Drain and put into a bowl.  Mash with cumin, lime juice, salt, pepper, pinch sugar and some hot pepper, all to taste.  Generally speaking one good sized turnip and one carrot needs about 1 teaspoon of cumin,  a pinch of sugar, a quarter teaspoon of hot pepper, and a tablespoon of lime juice.  Add pepper and salt as you like.

Once you have a nice mash, fold in a mixture of cooked rice, black beans, sauteed shallots, red bell pepper and garlic.  You should add about a cup to your turnip mash of one turnip, one carrot.  Mix in a cup of grated cheese, as you like.  I had some Havarti Dill that said YES, and it makes for a nice, soft cheesy consistency.  Mix gently.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  So here you have an interesting stuffing for some enchiladas.  Roll that up in some corn tortillas, smother with a lovely enchilada sauce, and toss in a 375 degree oven until nice and bubbly, about 15 plus minutes.

My sauce was homemade from my pantry.  For sauce, what can I say.  Take some home canned tomatoes, some home smoked Chipotles and Anaheims.  You got that?  OK, good.  Slow cook some onion, caramelizing.  Add some minced garlic and cook until you smell garlic.  Add canned tomato stuff, let warm nicely.  Add in crushed, smoked chipotle and anaheim.  CAREFULLY!  This can be hot!  You need to mix it in, let the dried peppers mix into the sauce as cooking, and taste.  Work to your heat level.

So that’s it.   Like I said, a process.  Your process.  And maybe, an interesting new twist on enchiladas.

Going to Europe? Eat this….

I shouldn’t be jealous or silly.  I really should get our ass over there so we can experience it ourselves.  It has been too many years since I have been to Europe and Laura needs the experience.

That being said, everyone seems to be going or have just gone to Europe.  What is it, some kind of plague?  I know I said I was going to be cool, but damn. Really though, I hope everyone has a great trip.  GRRRRRR…..

So I don’t know…I was cooking tonight and thought….I hope you get that there.  Actually you probably will so I should just shut the hell up.  Still, I am digging in.  What am I cooking?  Roasted Lime-Cumin Mahi Mahi on a grilled cumin chili ratatouille, with an apple, sharp cheese, balsamic salad.  I am just saying….Eat on over there….Ok, never mind, back to the story.

Just last weekend, Laura has a wonderful surprise party thrown by Marie with all her old co-workers.  It was a wonderful event and the food…totally incredible.  I found out the Marie had a restaurant in the past, and I know why.  The baguettes were to die for.  Marie also made some amazing ratatouille, which got me thinking.  I haven’t made that in years. Of course, I can’t just make ratatouille, I have to make it unique to me.  We had the lovely Asian eggplants from the garden, plus tomatoes and peppers, and so I thought I would make a play on ratatouille.

My idea here is to grill the tomatoes and eggplant to add that smokey flavor.  First, lightly salt the eggplant and let drain for 30 minutes.  Remove sailt and liquid, dice and set aside.  Sautee shallots, cumin seeds, minced Fresno and Bell pepper, minced garlic and fresh tomato sauce to make the base.  Grill roma tomatoes and eggplants, dice and toss into the mix and simmer until everything melds.

The mahi mahi is straight ahead too.  Make a marinade of olive oil, garlic powder, cumin powder, salt, pepper, a dash of homemade peach habanero sauce, and some lime juice.  Mix well and cover fish with marinade.  Let marinade for at least 30 minutes.  Put fish into a roasting pan, drizzle with rest of marinade, and broil until just lightly cooked.  Serve fish on a serving of ratatouille, with salad on the side with some balsamic vinaigrette.

Eat and curse friends and family.  Or really, wish them the best trip.  Bon Appetit

 

 

Trying a little….Cucumber Salad

So, it has been a hard few months for me.  I am feeling stressed.  Lots of reasons despite working to feel more on top of things.  I am working hard to make Red Wing more energy independent, and I am cooking and still love it.  Still feeling overwhelmed.  I need to really think about that.

In the meantime I need to put some ideas out on this blog.  I have a lot, lots of pictures and lots of thoughts.  So tonight we will start small, a small plate,  an idea I thought was delicious and sustainable.  Garden edibles in a sweet little bunch.  Cucumber and bell pepper salad with carmelized shallots and garlic, basil and olive oil, lemon dressing.

This is not a complicated side.  It is all presentation.  The cukes and bells are sliced thin and arranged nicely.  The shallots and garlic are nicely carmelized, served on top.  A sweet slice of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette, a little basil chiffonade, all together makes for a sweet little side.

And this little dish made me feel a little better.

O.M.G.

First tomatoes

So I haven’t been posting in a bit.  I have been busy working on the Sustainability Commission, trying to shepherd forward several initiatives to make Red Wing more energy independent and renewable.  It is a bit of work and a steep learning curve but I feel it is really important.  In that time I have been cooking, making lots of plates and even taking pics, but not taking the time to write about them.  That changed today.

Today was an event, so sublime, so evocative of what a home garden is all about, so OMG that it just had to posted about.  That is eating that first, garden tomato.  All the costs, all the work, all the worry that I was growing $20/lb tomatoes when all was said and done….that all evaporated with the first taste of our handiwork.  And while the tomato was the star of the show, the haul from this morning was awesome.  Beautiful beets, prolific cucumbers and kale, and even another first, a first ripened Hungarian hot wax chili pepper.  Note to self, 4 kale plants is enough to provide greens to a small island nation.

Tomato, Cucumber and Feta salad

This tomato was perfect, meaty, with that perfect texture of tooth with just the right amount of juiciness.  And sweet…. aahhhh….. it was about the best tomato I have had in….I would say a year but really we didn’t get the greatest tasting tomatoes last year except for these little golden cherry bombs.  Cherry tomatoes are just different, they can’t really compete with that big heirloom globe of goodness. So at least a couple of years since I have had this experience.

So for brunch, we just couldn’t wait to dig into this baby.  I kept it simple and let the tomato be the star.  Just some cubed tomato and cucumber, crumbled feta, chiffonade basil and chopped parsley and a kiss of balsamic vinaigrette.  Other than the vinaigrette and the feta, all ours.

Thank you, little garden, for that.

Arugula on the run!

Not really a full post today…just my blog equivalent of a funny cat picture.  In the picture you can see two planters, one with arugula and one with parsley.  The arugula planter (the terracotta colored one) was in about that same location last summer.  It was so successful to be able to go out and just pick some for dinner that we did it again this season  That is not the funny cat picture part….just the set up.

The funny part is what is growing just under the planters next to the walk.  If you guessed arugula…you are correct.  The volunteer arugula has also jumped the walk and is growing on the other side as well.

I am thinking of just letting it go, and mowing with a mulch bag.  With the dill taking over as well, we can have tossed salad from the mulch bag.  Maybe I will see if I can get some lambs quarters to grow out there as well.

Korma chameleon

Lately, my culinary interests have leaned towards Indian cuisine.  There is this just awesome spice melange in that whole, south and south east Asia, Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal and South China Sea area that just gets me.  I think my interest in Indian is a bit of going back to the source….I think that spice melange spread out from the Indian subcontinent.  My interest in Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Malaysian food has it roots in the foods from India.  One day I will really have to learn more about that.

Even saying “Indian cuisine” is a bit absurd.  Like China, India is so huge and has so many diverse regional cuisines that it is almost a misnomer to put them in one basket.  “When someone asks me if I know how to cook Indian food, all I can do is smile. Sure I can cook some of it, but can anyone truly cook food that represents a country of more than 1 billion people, with over a dozen languages, 800 recognized dialects, and several religions, India is as diverse as it gets!”  We here maybe have eaten a dish or so from the handful of regional cuisines that actually make it here.  That is just the tip of the iceberg, and why I titled this post with a pun that dates me.  If you don’t get it….that dates YOU!

I am going off to a strange side note that has been on my mind about food cultural history.  That is the chili.  See, the chili was introduced to Asia from Europeans who found it in the Americas.  The spiciest foods we know didn’t really exist until the chili was introduced by colonial powers of Europe.  In a way, maybe the chili is the food equivalent of Jazz in America.

The Colombian exchange was “widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations, communicable diseases, technology and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492, colonization and trade by Europeans in the Americas, and institution of the slave trade in Africa and the Americas.”  The chili was one of those exchanged items.

I find it so strange to think that the cuisines that I think are most interesting, have some real roots in the colonial system.  That is so hard to deal with.  It is also interesting to see this related spice mixture has traversed this entire area of south Asia, a huge part of the globe.  It speaks to peoples palates….as it has to mine, way over here.

I want you to know I mean chameleon in the sense of pretending.  I have no history, no deep knowledge, of the cuisine or the culture.  I know that what little exposure I have had to this food sings to my soul.  The way spices are combined, ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamom, chili…and the list goes on…just tastes so damn good.  I can’t pretend I know any more than that.  I am writing from Minnesota, and while I am not FROM here, I am definitely not part of the diaspora either.

Strangely, this is freeing.  I don’t know what I don’t know, so to speak.

Almost all the recipes for Korma I have come across braise the main ingredient in a spice mixture slowly until cooked.  I changed this up a bit on the cauliflower korma I am giving you here, based on my love of masala roasted cauliflower I have been working on.  My base of korma is a paste of coconut, cashews and poppy seeds.  I am sure that my recipe is just a drop in the bucket of all the versions out there.  Take that as a given.  No matter what…don’t blame me….I don’t know anything!

Cauliflower Korma

Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 medium Cauliflower
• 2 tbs walnut oil
• 1 tsp tandoori masala
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garam masala and some for dusting

Sauce

• 1/2 cup chopped shallot
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 inch chunk ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• Chopped jalapeno
• 3 tsp walnut oil
• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• 1 tbs cashew nuts
• 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
• Salt as required
• 1 tsp ground red pepper
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbs yogurt, greek

Roasted Cauliflower

Cut cauliflower into small florets.  In a large bowl mix some walnut oil, tandoori masala, garlic powder, onion powder and garam masala.  Toss florets to coat, making sure they are just coated.  Pour onto cooking sheet and dust with a bit more garam masala.  Cook in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once, or until fork tender and lightly browned.

Preparation

Soak cashew nuts and poppy seeds in some hot water.  Grind it to a fine paste along with the coconut.  Set aside.  Grind ginger, garlic and jalapeno to a fine paste, and set aside.  Heat oil over moderate heat, add cumin seeds, cook until fragrant, no more than a minute.  Add shallots and saute till they turn transparent.  Add the ginger-garlic-jalapeno paste.  Saute for a couple of minutes, until fragrant.  Add tomatoes and saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Add turmeric, ground red pepper, coriander, cumin, salt and water as needed.  You want it a bit thin at this point, a bit thinner than tomato sauce for pasta.  The last ingredients will thicken it up a bit.

Allow sauce to simmer to combine flavors while cauliflower is roasting.  Just before cauliflower comes out of the over, add the coconut-cashew-poppy seed paste and bring back to simmer.  Add in tablespoon of yogurt to finish, add water as necessary for consistency, and bring back to heat.

Arrange roasted cauliflower on plates, ladle sauce over, garnish with some chopped cashews and chives.  Eat and be happy!

Going Greens….

The last few weeks have been, other than a bit of birthday fun, getting the garden going.  The greens are mainly in containers around the house, where we can pick them at will for meals.  Our main plot is at one of the community gardens, where the real focus has been.  So these greens, arugula and mesclun, come from our planters, along with the chives which just grow around the house.  This is some of our first food of the season….I love that.  I love having food nurtured all the way to the plate.  I wish we had the land and area to really have a little more of that.  Have some chickens, a nice big garden and the whole works.  Someday we will. Until then, some work at the community garden and herbs and greens around the house.

I do love that little community garden plot.  This year I have really great feelings about it.  Every year we get a little better, a little more organized and a little more diverse.  This is looking like a really good year. Of course, Laura is the star, but finally this year I feel less like the village idiot and more like a productive part of the garden team.

I keep seeing pictures and posts of hauls of morels.  Again, another reason I wish we had a bit of land where we might have the chance to find some (though I heard someone say that they found a bunch in one of the local parks around here).  I saw some sweet looking morals at the Northfield coop, but they wanted $45.00 A POUND!!  Yikes, that is getting a bit crazy, so I opted for some beautiful portabella instead.

To be a bit honest, a perfectly grilled portabella holds up pretty well to a morel.  I know there will be much hand wringing, pearl clutching and general gnashing of teeth, but I think it is true.  They have different and unique characteristics.  I used to be a pescetarian, and always loved the portabella for that thick, juicy, meaty taste it had.

I also lived on the coasts back then and it wasn’t quite so clear that we were radically over fishing the planet (at least when I started).  Moving to MN and meeting so many folks committed to local and organic food made me confront more and more aspects of my diet.  I mean, all in all I was doing pretty well in not contributing to the factory meat system, but still, it became increasingly clear that my seafood mostly wasn’t local, was full of mercury, was caught in a system that mimicked the feedlot/slaughterhouse system, except it was on the high seas, and was not at all sustainable.

A little off topic, but go with it.  Suffice it to say, I love portabellas, and I WAS NOT going to pay any $45 a pound for a few morels.  More importantly, I wanted a late spring meal, something that was a bit of ours, and was fresh and light.  So here you have it, arugula and mesclun greens topped with kalmata, feta and chives, with lemon-thyme grilled portabella, sweet potato fries, and drizzled balsamic reduction.  Think of it as a little ode to garden, a springtime meal.

Balsamic reduction is one of those so easy to do, but makes you look like a kitchen rock star kind of moves.  I didn’t have a little squeeze bottle to perfectly drip the reduction on the plate so they are a bit…off.  Still, this is one of those great tricks that is fun and easy.

Balsamic Reduction

Bring 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar to a light boil.  Turn down heat to simmer, and reduce by half.  Don’t overheat or you will end up with balsamic caramel, or worse, hardened, balsamic glass.  So be patient, this is going to go fast enough.  I gently tilt the saucepan back and forth rather than stirring.  I think it is easier to gauge the consistency that way.  Let cool and get a little squirter bottle or let drip onto food or dish from the edge of a spoon.  Look like a rockstar (Elton John glasses are optional).

Beauty and the Beast….

This post is a process.  You might need to strap in for all the turns I am going to take you on. Welcome to the world of a crazy, wannabe chef.

You probably don’t know my day job, or imagine it to be something else.  I am a 3d artist for video games. Actually my love of cooking makes sense in context with my day job.  I love creating little worlds.  That is what a plate a food is…a little world to experience.

Years ago, I worked on this attack helicopter game from a long pedigree.  As anyone who knows much about sequels, especially third or fourth sequels, knows they USUALLY don’t hold up to the original.  Ours came at a time when the graphics were so far advanced over the original as to be shaming.  Somehow, despite all the advancement, we missed the boat…LIKE BIG TIME!  No surprise there….

Our game was released with a couple of other games in the same genre.  I was reading reviews pretty closely, wanting to triumph over all the other contenders.  I remember reading one review of our game, that, while it felt like hard kick in the teeth, really was funny and I thought, true.  The reviewer said that our game was like the the prettiest, but densest, beauty contestant, during the talent portion of the evening…..pretty to look at but missing something.   Ouch!

So my dinner tonight…beauty…the actual dinner, and the beast…the resurfacing of my wok.  So why am I comparing my dinner to the dense beauty queen?  It is pretty, isn’t it?  I mean, I think so…maybe I am crazy but I think that plate looks pretty sweet.  But have you ever had a great dinner that one element that was wrong just sort of stepped on the whole meal?

It happened here….everything was awesome except for those horrible cherry tomatoes.  Yet they were enough to just crush the spirit of the meal.  This meal should have sang.  Grilled lemon herb chicken, and a saute of shitakes, yellow bell pepper and carrots with garlic, on a salad of baby kale, arugula, kalmata olives, feta and….yes…gross tomatoes.  I realize it is a bit before tomato season, and I usually would try to buy these little tomatoes from the coop in Northfield, but I didn’t have the chance so I bought them at the local grocery.  Poor choice.

But the Beast…that is the wok you see in the corner of the picture.  The wok I have had the hardest time surfacing correctly.  I just read a great post about using flaxseed oil to surface cast iron or carbon steel, a post which I followed totally.   That wok that is rocking RIGHT NOW in being resurfaced.  Look at that…jet black coating.  Its like glazing a painting…..slow and sure.  That beast I am proud of!

 

 

 

 

HOT-HOT-HOT….Grilled Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower Green Curry

So after birthday dinner, after ordering Lamb Chops with Charred Hot Pepper Port Glaze, that was…um not so hot, I come home and just HAVE to push up the temp.  Really, part of me didn’t mean to torture the palates of others!  Since my poor wife Laura is the only other in the room, you can guess that the hot food was destined for her mouth.  Now, Laura is a sport.  She eats what I make, with good humor, even when I have made something that is more designed for my personal palate.  Generally I making something pretty damn tasty, but on occasion it is too something….too hot being number one on the list.

Still, this was hot…but tasty.  Hell, Laura ate through the PAIN.  Think about that.  AND on the day before her actual birthday.  That is some love right there.  Wow, so glad I married this woman!

The hot came in when I marinated the chicken.  Everything was going great until I added some ancho to the rub on the chicken.  I wonder if it is really the ancho, because I can add just a tiny bit and BOOM…HIGH HEAT!

The thought behind this meal is letting the nice grill taste, and roasted taste, really come through.  So, to the grilled chicken, you need to marinate.  And for the cauliflower, you need that brown, roasted taste.

Grilled Chicken for Green Curry

• 4 boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tbs walnut oil
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• dash of lime juice
• pinch of salt and pepper

Whisk all the ingredients except the chicken, toss chicken in mixture and allow to marinate for at least one hour.  Grill over high heat just enough to create char marks.  Chop and set aside for stir fry.  The chicken should still be uncooked in the center.

Roasted Cauliflower for Green Curry

• Cauliflower florets, similar sized
• 1 tbs walnut oil
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp garam masala

Whisk oil and spices, toss florets until coated.  Roast in a 400 degree oven until browned.  Set aside for a moment.

Thai Green Curry with Grilled Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 tbs high heat oil, like coconut
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ginger, garlic sized, minced
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• handful snow peas, french cut into half inch pieces
• basil, chiffonade

Heat oil in wok over moderate heat.  Caramelize shallots.  Mix in green curry paste until fragrant.  Toss in garlic and ginger.  Cook until you can just smell.  Toss in coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar and heat until combined.  Add in chicken, cauliflower, and snow peas.  Toss until everything is cooked just right.  Remove from heat and serve with rice and sliced cucumbers.  Garnish with basil.  EAT AND ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday dinner…at the Harbor View Cafe

This weekend was a joint birthday getaway.  Time for a little R&R, away from the house.  It wasn’t far in distance, but it felt like hundreds miles emotionally.  We just left everything behind and enjoyed.  Enjoyed each other immensely, enjoyed shopping for some birthday gifts (for me it was some saffron and white truffle oil), enjoyed watching the birds on the veranda of the little eco-house we rented, and enjoyed eating out.  Enjoyed eating out at the Harbor View Cafe in Pepin, WI.  Please excuse the photo….still learning this new phone.

It is hard to eat out in Red Wing.  Go get all up in my face if you must, but that is the truth.  The restaurant food here is barely hovering above fast food, almost entirely.  I can think of one, maybe two restaurants that aren’t just embarrassing.  We have had some good ones over the years, but they keep folding, for a variety of reasons, none of which seem to be business per se.  I won’t go into my theories about dining in Red Wing at the moment, maybe someday.  Suffice it to say that there is not one restaurant in a 15 mile radius that can inspire or surprise me.  If it weren’t for Nosh in Lake City,  I could easily push that radius out farther.  There is some great food in the cities, even James Beard Award winning restaurants like the Butcher and the Boar or Lucias.  Down river in little ol’ Red Wing….not so much.

The Harbor View has a strong, storied history in the region.  It was a culinary David to the…cough, cough….culinary Goliath of the Twin Cities.  I know the analogy…at least on the Goliath end, is a little strained.  But it is true that for a number of years the Harbor View has been playing with the big kids in the cities.  About six years ago Laura and I took my Mom to the Harbor View.  It was, to say the least, uninspiring.  Just about everything about the meal was sad.  Every dish could have been sent back, and we did send back two of the three.  I will probably get the history a little off here, but I had heard that the establishment had changed hands.  We went, knowing that it had changed hands, because it had changed hands from the original owners to staff who, I would have thought, carried the torch in every way for what the Harbor View was.  That experience left me unimpressed, and for the last six years I haven’t really thought about going back.

Maybe a bit harsh.  Sometimes you really need to give a place a second chance.  A third or fourth chance, not so much.  For sure a second chance.  While it was a long time coming, the other night we gave the Harbor View that chance.  Something changed, and I am glad it did.

Out of the gate, it was a little dicey.  We went totally early, were in the first seating, and got seated right under the menu board in the picture, in front of the water loading area.  We could have probably waited for another table.  To anyone who goes there, ask for another table.  Patrons basically stand with their butts in your face while they read the menu.  Since that is the only menu around, it is pretty much butts in face.  I left for a moment to use the bathroom, and, after waiting for a bit, actually had to ask people to move so I could sit in my seat.  So note to the Harbor View…..this is a pretty poor seating situation, and will likely leave some poor impressions.  Maybe you should just abandon it.

Poor start, but I am going to let that slide.  The food, that was done right.  This is pretty much French inspired cuisine, with dreams of fusion. Still, what we ate was on the money.  If you can read the board (sorry the lights blew out one of the dishes) I had the lamb chops with the charred hot pepper port glaze.  The chops themselves, cooked perfectly rare as I asked, absolutely melt in your mouth good.  The glaze, while tasty, was Minnesota hot….meaning not at all.  Still, I am a freak.  I like hot and find myself trying to tone it down when I am cooking for Laura.  I mean, I ate the I cayenne pepper artistically poised on the chops pretty much whole.  So, is it me or is it not hot?

Let me say, I wanted some heat.  That is how I like it.  But I have to say, the flavor balance, while lacking the heat I wanted, was just perfect.  A little sweet, port reduction glaze on some amazing cooked lamb chops.  The sides were a mixed bag.  The asparagus were cooked so perfectly as to make you faint…that perfect spot of just enough tooth to bite into.  Dipped into the truly amazing ginger pickle sauce provided on the side…it was wonderful.  The potato squash whip…well, not so much.  Nothing was wrong with the whip, it just was pure butter and missing the squash flavor.  It was basically butter whip.  If that is what you want, spot on.  I expected more.

Laura had the soft shell crab with a saffron cream sauce over linguini.  Again, note to Harbor View.  I don’t know what you thought, but we moved here from Baltimore, MD, where the whole Chesapeake Bay is, and where crab is king.  I walked into the place with a jacket that said “Boothbay, Maine”, where I spent my summers as a youth, and I might add, was remarked upon by staff as we were seated.  So, we know some seafood.  When the waitress, who was in every  other way a complete gem, said, “do you know what soft shell crabs are like?” we were a little irritated.  What ever happened to make you think people know nothing about crab, I don’t know.  But maybe you should really work on not insulting the customers out of the gate.

The dish itself….OK, Baltimore would be impressed.  Perfectly cooked soft shell, maybe a bit too much saffron sauce but easily mixed with the linguini to a nice balance.  The sauce was wonderful, and left me thinking about how to make it.  That, to me, is what I love about eating out.  Make me think about the meal.  The Harbor View did that in spades.

The final note was a wonderful kahlua cheesecake to end the night.  Our wonderful waitress delivered it with a sweet candle to celebrate the night.  She played it just right, asking if we wanted her to sing, and saying a heartfelt happy birthday when I demurred.

So, to the Harbor View.  Thanks, you made our birthdays so very nice.  While we might have some slight complaints, the experience made us wanting to come back for more.