Blogs / yum! / Spring 2009 / A Seafood Soiree

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yum!

A blog about food

A Seafood Soiree

To expand on last week’s dinner party luck, I would like to share another Sunday night feast. First, you need to know that, besides being part of the SVM team and the faithful and original yum! blogger, I also cook and pour at Divine Wine in Hailey. A great establishment, Divine is also a really fun and culturally edifying place to work. The job has never felt like a job, and it has given me life-long friends. Because of these relationships, I was invited as a last minute date to a dinner party with Lacey, Steph, and Eric to a regular customer’s not-so-humble, rented abode in Gimlet, just south of Ketchum.

Gimlet was a mystery to me as this was my first time there. It was beautiful: lush and verdant, it is the perfect place for an outdoor summer dinner. Now I see why Gimlet is such a coveted Valley address. The hosts, from Shreveport, Louisiana, were some of the most hospitable and fun people I have met in a while. They were friendly, quick to smile and jump into a conversation, had great accents, loved food, and had taste—everything you associate with meeting a well-met, classy Southerner (are there any other kind?!?). The menu—freshly flown-in, LIVE lobster from Maine; Miss Lacey Jean’s famous jalepeño wontons; Southern farm-style muffins, and all accompanied by bubbly and wine chosen by Stephanie.

I do not get many opportunities like this dinner, and I savored every minute. There are times in your life where you are truly blessed, and I often realize this when I’m surrounded by great people, amazing food, and the scenery of the WRV.

Since fresh, over-nighted Maine lobster isn’t a regular thing to find in the Valley, I have a recipe that will sate any lobster cravings. It sounds crazy to think that halibut can taste like lobster, but I have had it and served it, and it has always been a hit.

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Poor Man’s Lobster

I came across this when living in Alaska, having WAY too much halibut to eat, and looking for something different to do with it. I had chartered a boat (http://www.alaskanfishingfever.com/) and when asking the captain what to do with all my fish, his lovely wife Debbie handed over this cookbook. I am amazed every time I have this recipe as it is lobster, almost – but similarities of texture, taste, and look are mind-boggling and I bet you couldn’t taste the difference in a blind test.

½ pound to one pound of fresh Halibut per person
3 quarts (12 cups) water
1 cup sugar (some like brown sugar)
Butter or margarine
Lemon

Add water and sugar to a large pan and bring to a boil. Cut halibut into one-inch chunks and add to boiling water. When the fish floats to the surface, it is done. Do not over-cook. The halibut is ready to serve. I like to melt butter and add fresh lemon juice for my ‘lobster’ but you could try lemon pepper, dried thyme, cilantro, or parsley.