Taste With The Eyes

Roasted Sablefish, Chardonnay Cream Sauce, Caviar

Roasted Sablefish, Chardonnay Cream Sauce, Caviar
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The Multi-Course Dinner Party

This refined Roasted Sablefish & Caviar dish is ideal as the Fish Course at a multi-course dinner party. Its richness is balanced by a modest portion size, making it a perfect addition without overwhelming the palate.

Hosting a multi-course dinner at home offers an intimate and curated dining experience, where guests are treated to a series of thoughtfully prepared dishes that flow seamlessly from amuse-bouche to dessert.

It provides an opportunity to showcase culinary creativity, entertain guests in a relaxed setting, and guide them through a journey of flavors, textures, aromas, and presentations over the course of the evening.

To create a contrast in textures, one might include a mix of soft, crispy, creamy, and crunchy elements across the courses. For example, a creamy soup is followed by a crisp salad which acts as a palate cleanser before moving onto the richer fish course.

Balancing flavors is just as important. Savory, sweet, sour, salty, and umami elements can be incorporated throughout the meal. Each course should have its own distinct flavor profile, and ingredients and cooking methods are varied to avoid repetition.

The meal begins with lighter courses and gradually progresses to more substantial dishes. By dessert, something overly rich would be overwhelming, making a meringue with fruit the perfect light and refreshing conclusion to the multi-course experience.

For example:

Amuse-Bouche (a small interesting bite to awaken the palate)

Amuse-Bouche (a small bite to awaken the palate)

Raw Scallop Amuse Bouche, Blood Orange Emulsion

Soup Course (colorful and delightful, not hearty nor chunky)
Serve with Bread of Choice

Soup Course (light, colorful, and delightful, not hearty)

Cream of Pea Soup, Goat Cheese Flower Crouton

Salad Course (keep it fresh and crisp)

Salad Course (keep it fresh and simple)

Bibb Lettuce Salad, Fresh Herbs, House Vinaigrette

Fish Course (elegant, delicate and refined)

Fish Course (simple yet elegant, delicate and refined)

Roasted Sablefish, Chardonnay Cream Sauce, Caviar

Main Course (the main protein, medium portion size, with vegetable and starch)

Main Course (the main protein, with sides)

Leg of Lamb, Curry Quinoa Crust, Over Steamed Spinach, Tomato Avocado Salsa

Dessert Course (a light sweet ending, not too heavy)

Dessert (a light sweet ending, not too heavy)

Pavlova with Whipped Yogurt Cream, Blackberry, Kiwi & Passionfruit

(click on links for Taste With The Eyes full recipe for each course)

The visual presentation is as important as the taste. Each course is arranged artfully with a balance of colors, shapes, and textures on the plate.

Consideration of all of these elements—balance, flavor, ingredients, and presentation creates a cohesive and delicious multi-course menu that flows smoothly and delights your guests.

Additionally, including wine pairings with a multi-course meal is an excellent way to enhance the dining experience, as the wine complements the flavors of the food, and the food, in turn, brings out the nuances of the wine.

The Fish Course Recipe

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Sable Bagel

🐟 🥯 Sable Bagel 🥯 🐟

Often overshadowed by the ever-popular smoked salmon, smoked sablefish is an under-the-radar gem, prized for its silky buttery texture and savory smoky depth of flavor. A Sable Bagel is a great way to showcase the sable. It offers an indulgent combination of flavors and textures that make it a standout among smoked fish bagels.

This toasted sable bagel features a layer of cream cheese topped with red onions, tomatoes, sliced new pickle, and capers, creating a refreshing and contrasting open-faced sandwich. A touch of horseradish and jalapeño rings add a spicy kick.

Sable Bagel

We brought home a couple great bagels, take-out smoked sablefish, and new pickles from our favorite deli here in Vegas, The Bagel Cafe. All their hand-sliced smoked fish are flown in weekly from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Sable Bagel Recipe

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Copper River Smoked Salmon Salad

Copper River Smoked Salmon Salad
Arugula, Pasta Shells, Tomatoes
Avocado “Melon Balls” Creamy Chili Sauce

What truly elevates this salad is the Copper River Salmon—it’s the undeniable star. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The salad itself is simple to assemble, with each ingredient carefully chosen to let the smoked salmon take center stage. Peppery arugula, tender mini pasta shells, vibrant cherry tomatoes, and fun avocado melon balls all play their parts in harmony. A light lemon and olive oil dressing keeps things fresh, while a side of creamy chili sauce adds an extra layer of flavor.

Copper River Fish Market is a seafood boutique in remote Alaska that is fisher(wo)man founded, owned, and operated. Sarah is a generational fisHERman with over two decades of experience in sustainable, small-boat fishing. Every catch is meticulously selected, and each shipment comes with an origin guarantee. She says her salmon is curated with the hand of a Seafood Sommelier.™

All their seafood comes directly from her family’s catch. The Copper River salmon is cut by hand, brined with only brown sugar and salt and smoked over real alder-wood. The small-batch production and attention to every detail simply is not possible on a larger scale. Her salmon is a true artisan crafted food product.

Copper River Smoked Salmon Salad

Salmon Salad Recipe

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Tomato Carpaccio with Peter Luger Steak Sauce

Legendary Peter Luger Steak House is now open at Caesars Palace Las Vegas marking their first U.S. location outside of New York. Operating for over 135 years, it is often regarded as the pioneer of the American steakhouse experience.

The menu at Peter Luger Steak House is famously simple and focused, highlighting its signature dry-aged steaks. The menu also features classic steakhouse sides, such as creamed spinach, German fried potatoes, thick-cut bacon, as well as sliced tomatoes and onions.

Peter Luger Steak House Las Vegas

The tomato and onion side dish at Peter Luger Steak House is a simple yet iconic offering. It features thick slices of ripe tomatoes and large, sweet onions, arranged on a plate and served with their signature steak sauce.

Peter Luger Steak

The combination of the fresh, juicy tomatoes and mild onions provides a refreshing contrast to the rich and hearty steaks. It’s one of the restaurant’s most well-known accompaniments, celebrated for its straightforward but bold flavors.

Here, my Tomato Carpaccio was inspired by that side dish. Red ripe heirloom tomatoes and sweet Vidalia onion are lightly covered with the steak sauce where capers, olives, and anchovies add extra flavor, texture, and interest.

Tomato Carpaccio with Peter Luger Steak Sauce According to Linda Eckhardt’s Guide to America’s Best Foods: “This is the best. Their own steak sauce is not only great on steak, but also served on slabs of red ripe tomatoes. You can’t do without this. They only began selling their sauce after customers begged. We love this sauce on hamburgers. We love it on chicken. The taste is somewhere between cocktail sauce (it’s spicy with horseradish) and traditional steak sauce (being a rich brown color).”

Peter Luger Cheeseburgers

Tomato Carpaccio Recipe

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Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo Soup

This recipe is similar to the one I posted last month. For Jimmy Buffett Day, I shared my version of his sister Lucy Buffett’s Summer Seafood Gumbo. Here, the gumbo is finished with smoky, creole-spiced Andouille Pork Sausage instead of crab, and more shrimp stock for soupier style.

“Gumbo Soup” is a term sometimes used to describe a thinner version of gumbo. It has the same ingredients and flavors as traditional gumbo but with a more broth-like consistency, closer to a soup than a stew. Both ways are excellent, just a little different.