Chopper, Beach Gourmet

And now, the celebration post, in which Chopper Dave explains the glorious meal he presented for Mrs D on the occasion of their second anniversary. Alas, no maid outfits, no cotton candy, just fine cooking under a crescent moon on the rocky western shore of San Juan.

As most of you are aware, it was Mrs D’s and my two year anniversary back on Monday, and both she and I had work-related problems with celebrating on the actual date. We did however get a plethora of great suggestions on what to do with our special day (well, except for the whole maid outfit thing).

I decided that I needed to do something very special on Wednesday to make up for our lack of ability to celebrate on the proper date. First, I knew that I had to get Mrs D to the beach, and second, I absolutely had to cook a knock-her-socks-off meal.

These things came together beautifully when I remembered that we had brought up our propane-fueled camp stove and our wonderfully decked-out picnic basket. Soon the ideas for the food started to emerge. I needed at least three courses, and I knew that Mrs D absolutely adores fish, or more appropriately, anything that lives in and/or breathes water. First I thought about halibut, but then I remembered that we had a gorgeous chunk of salmon brought to us by our good friend, Farhad (long time readers might remember him from our post about the potlatch last year). I found it right where I left it in the freezer.

MizD sez: I was wondering when the heck Chopper was going to cook that salmon. It’s been taunting me for months now. Of course I had a hunch about it on Monday when Chopper called from work and I mentioned my sister (visiting from Portland) was cooking salmon for dinner. Chopper was crestfallen. So much so, that I suspected something was up. I had to reassure him that I would indeed be quite happy to eat salmon more than once a week. Come to think of it, more than seven times a week would be perfectly fine with me.

Then I did some more scouring of the fridge and came up with a half-gallon of home-made brown chicken stock, half a bottle of cheap white wine, a log of herb and roasted garlic compound butter, half a Walla Walla sweet onion, some Roma tomatoes, and the piece de resistance, three perfectly ripe mangoes. Next, it was off to the pantry where I found our customary jasmine rice as well as a small bag of wild rice, a bottle of sherry vinegar (left from our very first post… a paper chef entry), a couple heads of garlic, and one last shallot.

The idea solidified, and while Mrs. D was off at work, I went into action.

I drove out to Wescott Bay Sea Farms and picked up a mixed bag of their world famous mussels and clams. Then I was off to our local market to get the last few things: some organic mixed baby greens, a loaf of artisan bread, one bunch of cilantro, a bunch of scallions, and a small pack of sliced almonds.

And what did I come up with?

A lovely three course dinner served in the picturesque environs of San Juan Island’s South Beach.

MizD sez: Ah, South Beach. Platelicker’s favorite romping ground and offshore feeding ground of my extended orca family. I wouldn’t have suspected this part at all had Chopper not made quite obvious picnic site scoping motions last time we took the pup for a walk. No, Chopper’s not at all like Hagrid when it comes to keeping secrets. Not one bit!

The Menu

Westcott bay mussels and Manila clams with white wine and herb butter sauce

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Organic mixed green salad with sherry vinaigrette and toasted almonds

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Seared masala-rubbed king salmon filet with mango salsa, asparagus, and saffron rice pilaf

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For the shellfish

2-1/2 pounds Westcott bay mussels and Manila clams
1 head of garlic, minced
1 clove of shallot, minced
4 tablespoons herb and roasted garlic compound butter
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Place a medium sized saucepan over high heat and add olive oil.
When the oil begins to smoke, add garlic and shallot.
As the garlic and shallot become fragrant, add the shellfish, and stir thoroughly, then add the butter.
Add the wine and cover tightly. Cook until all the shellfish open.
Serve in a large bowl, and use the sauce to dip bread.

MizD sez: I admit, the shellfish were a complete surprise. Utterly scrumptious, too. We heard later a red tide warning had been issued for the county, but thankfully, it didn’t touch Westcott Bay, where the Sea Farm crew is diligent about their testing.

For the salad vinaigrette

1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1-1/2 cup olive and canola oil blend
2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Coleman’s mustard powder
2 ounces shallot
4 cloves garlic
Salt and white pepper to taste

Method

Place all ingredients except the oil in a blender and puree until smooth.
Reduce blender speed and slowly add the oil through the hole in the lid.

For the rice

2 cups jasmine rice
1 cup wild rice
4 1/2 cups brown chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons saffron
1 bunch scallions, sliced, green part only

Method

Preheat oven to 300 F.
In a small pot, bring three cups of the stock to a boil, and add the saffron.
In a medium sized pot, melt the butter and add the jasmine rice, stirring to coat every grain evenly with butter.
Add stock to the rice, stir once, then cover tightly and place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
In a separate pot, place the wild rice and the rest of the stock and cook over medium heat until the grains are tender, but not bursting.
When both rices are done, combine them in a bowl and add the scallions.

MizD sez: Chopper cooked the pilaf at home that afternoon, and it stayed quite warm in its dish with just plastic wrap over the top. We didn’t use the campfire for cooking, but I stoked it anyway; warmth and atmosphere were reason enough. The sun dropped below the rocks to the northwest just as we settled in for dinner, and as we kicked back by the fire, we watched the waves, the crescent moon, the fox that tripped silently close (but not so close as to draw Platelicker’s attention), and thanked the great gods of scheduling that we had this quiet moment to celebrate our lives together.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 at 11:45 pm and is filed under island local, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

kevin Says:
July 6th, 2006 at 5:32 am

I don’t blame you for not liking Sam’s French Maid outfit idea — especially because to maintain proper karmic balance Miz D would have had to wear a Storm Trooper’s uniform.

But admit it, the cotton candy was tempting.

kalyn Says:
July 6th, 2006 at 5:49 am

Sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary.

Cookiecrumb Says:
July 6th, 2006 at 10:20 am

I’m looking at those broad shoulders and trying to imagine a maid’s outfit…
Nope.

Tea Says:
July 7th, 2006 at 5:24 pm

Wow, a meal and evening like that would surely make a girl want to stick around for a few more years, eh?:-)

What a lovely way to celebrate. Thanks for sharing. You don’t even have to tell us how, once the meal was done, you pulled out the cotton candy and French maid’s outfit…

mrs D Says:
July 8th, 2006 at 7:09 pm

I told Chopper he needs to respond to the comments this time because it’s his post, but I think he’s terrified.

Me, I’m just glad we didn’t have to put the cotton candy inside the Storm Trooper armor.

gabriella Says:
July 9th, 2006 at 12:36 pm

Wow. That all sounds so wonderful. Happy Anniversary!!! all very romantic.

a bit off topic - I love the insets with MisD Sez and the photos - it is a great way to do that. totally works!

mrs D Says:
July 9th, 2006 at 4:13 pm

Thanks, Gabriella!

The photo insets are just floating bordered box DIVs in my style sheet. I have one for float:left and one for float:right. The photos aren’t always the perfect fit for the boxes, but they’re usually close enough to work! (Also, the method does lend itself well to a two-person blog, eh?)