David Ross

The Copper River season this year is reportedly the best in 7 years. There are some reports that over 125,000 more salmon have returned to the Copper River this year over last year, assuring that the run will continue to show lower than average prices in the markets. Tonight I combined three things I've been working with lately, Copper River Salmon, Crudo at Home and Chive Blossoms. I dressed the salmon with some applewood-smoked black pepper, preserved lemon oil and fresh chive blossoms out of my garden. There was just a hint of smoke, citrus and garlicky onion which married beautifully with this rich salmon.

That's a beautiful photo-especially the sunlight on the plate. Looks delicious.

Someone who likes to cut through meat(s). Maybe a sashimi fanatic?

My Grandmother regularly served aspic as a luncheon dish for her Bridge Club during the 30's and 40's. I rarely make it, but an updated version of tomato aspic can be made with tiny diced celery, celery leaves and then whatever type of "Bloody Mary" seasoning you prefer. I like it seasoned with celery seed, tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.

Gobs and gobs of chimmichurri with mint. Freeze it and you'll have a wonderful condiment for your lamb, pork, chicken and beef roasts and steaks.

Thank you for this wonderful story. I have a fondness for the Salisbury Steak. It was a special treat for my Sister and I when we were kids. When Mother and Father went out, my Mother felt that we apparently needed tending by a "babysitter." We weren't babies and we didn't think we needed to be watched by an 80 year-old Grandmother, but we did look forward to a treat-Swanson frozen Salisbury Steak Dinners. I loved the foil tin, the foil covering, and the little dessert at the top of the tray. It was the only time Mother allowed us to eat dinner in front of the actual tv, with a tv dinner. I don't think that I could ever come close to duplicating that wonderful Salisbury Steak taste when I was a kid. Sure, I'd concoct todays version of Salisbury Steak out of some sort of grass-fed, organic beef, but it just wouldn't be the same.

I have this incredible chive plant in my backyard. I bought the little thing one Summer about 5 years ago. Just stuck it out in a flower bed and didn't do anything else-no fertilizer, no trimming, nothing. It has endured winters under 4' of snow and below zero temperatures, yet it still comes back ever stronger each Spring. I've got a ready supply of fresh chives a few feet from the kitchen, but now I've got the added benefit of these blossoms. Can I cook with them? Are they tasty eaten raw in a salad, a garnish for a soup?

I am quite lucky right now-fresh Copper River Salmon from Alaska and fresh morels from the forest just a few miles out of town. Copper River Salmon with Morel Custard and Fava Beans-

I'm the oddball out here-I don't wash Morels. Due to a long, wet Winter and Spring, we just saw our first fresh Morels in Eastern, WA, last week. I buy mine at a local market that procures the morels in the forests just a few miles out of Spokane. They are currently selling at $35/lb. Tonight I paired the morels with some fresh Copper River Salmon. First, a morel custard that includes chopped fresh morels sauteed with garlic in olive oil and butter, (and a whole morel placed in the center). Second, a saute of fresh morels and fava beans. Now I must admit that a teensy little ant crawled onto the cutting board while I was chopping morels for the custard, but I quickly showed him on his way. Whether there were other any family members amongst the morels I don't know, but they sure did taste good. (Next time I may have to pick through them first before the ants crawl out).

The price is now down to $17.99 a pound in Eastern, WA. It sounds like it's a good season with plenty of fish, albeit they are running smaller than I've seen in the past. Most of the Copper River Sockeye in our markets are in the under 6lb. range. Tonight, Copper River Salmon with Morel Custard and Fava Beans- I sauteed the salmon in butter and olive oil and seasoned with just a dash of salt and pepper. We finally have fresh morels in our market, $35 per pound. I made a custard with diced morels, (and a whole morel in the center), and then sauteed some morels and fresh fava beans.

You know, I'll have to agree with you on that one. I got lucky today, found those beautiful rolls in a supermarket--hard on the outside with a pillowy soft inside, yet it withstood all the oysters juices without falling apart. A very good roll is a hard thing to find.

What could be easier for a home cook? A breadroll, some lettuce, some dressing, some meat, poultry or seafood. The only real work, which is just a few steps, is frying the inside fixins of a Po'Boy sandwich and making the dressing. While I don't live in the South, I've acquired an incredible taste for the Po'Boy sandwich, and luckily for me, I live in the Pacific Northwest where my favorite Po'Boy ingredients, oysters, are readily available fresh year-round. Today, my favorite, the "Oyster Po'Boy" with homemade tartar sauce, (mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning and cayenne). While the Oyster Po'Boy is my favorite, I also like soft-shell crab Po'Boys, and I'm toying with the idea of a chicken liver or duck gizzard Po'Boy. What's your favorit Po'Boy to make at home?

I'm so happy, (and proud), to take this tour with you this week. I was born and raised in Portland, then spent most of my life growing up in Salem. I come from the generation when Portland was a sleepy city in the Northwest, the stepchild to Seattle and Vancouver in terms of fame for restaurants. It would be years later that Portland would find a recognizable place in today's food world. But as James Beard so proudly proclaimed decades ago, we always knew that Portland had access to a bounty of wonderful ingredients and the food and cooking in Portland was and has been at the forefront of the "farm to table" movement for years-it just wasn't apparent to the rest of the country. I live in Washington now, but I still travel to Oregon and when I do, I always make a stop at Uwajimaya. It's easy to stock two full coolers of their wonderful fresh seafood and Asian specialties. They have the most wonderful Asian "deli" I've ever seen.

I do like the flavor and rich golden color of Kerry Gold butter, but I prefer the small-producer French butters that I can get at the one upscale market in town. The butterfat content isn't much higher than Kerry Gold, but the French butters have a richer, deeper flavor for my tastes. Tillamook Dairy butter is my regular use butter.

Two dishes using our fresh WA asparagus--a salmon dish, (details at the 2011 Copper River Salmon topic here), and another dish with sweetbreads, (in the Learning from Joel Robuchon topic here). Copper River Salmon, Asparagus Veloute, Asparagus Salad and Yukon Gold Chips- Crispy-Fried Sweetbreads with Cool Asparagus Veloute-

Tonight I did another dish using the Robuchon recipe for Asparagus Veloute. I kept the Veloute cold this time and served it with some crispy-fried sweetbreads and a garnish of preserved lemon. While I love Copper River Salmon, I think this combination, (the cold Veloute with the hot, crispy Sweetbreads), worked better. Crispy-Fried Sweetbreads with Cool Asparagus Veloute-

Thanks. The asparagus salad is my recipe-can't give Robuchon credit for it. It's shaved asaparagus that is blanched for about a minute in boiling water to soften it. (I learned to "shave" asparagus with a carrot peeler from Chef Alex Stratta, of Las Vegas). I use a Japanese julienne slicer for the carrot. The dressing was just one part apple cider vinegar to two parts hazelnut oil, and the garnish is toasted hazelnuts. I thought the sweet/sour notes in the salad would balance out the richness of the Robuchon Asaparagus Veloute, and I wanted some sort of asparagus garnish that said "that's what's in the sauce-asparagus."

Paul those are beautiful, thick filets. I'll try the Cedar Plank method next week.

Tonight I did a Copper River Salmon with Asparagus Veloute, Asparagus Salad and Yukon Gold "Chips." (The dish is posted here in the 2011 Copper River Salmon topic).The Veloute recipe is from "The Complete Robuchon." I often struggle with extracting the maximum amount of flavor out of an ingredient, but Robuchon has taught me how to do so and his Asparagus Veloute recipe is an example. The basic recipe calls for cooking asparagus stems in a stock, resulting in an incredibly deep asparagus blend. There are a couple of reductions and strains, then surprisingly to me, Robuchon thickens the veloute with corn starch. The richness in the final steps comes from the inclusion of egg beaten into cream and then stirred into the stock. I don't think I've ever tasted a more pure asparagus flavor.

It was probably about 6oz. or so, although I didn't weigh it. Anything more than that with Copper River seems overkill for one serving.

I was off a dollar in price, my Copper River Sockeye was 18.99 a pound and I bought a side that was just over 2 pounds. I seasoned the Salmon with Paul Prudhomme's basic Cajun spice mix, then saute in a cast iron pan with olive oil and butter. Two minutes per side, then turn it into a 450 oven for 5 minutes. The sauce is an asparagus veloute based on a recipe from "The Complete Robuchon." Simple and easy and Robuchon instructs you on how to extract the maximum asparagus flavor. The salad is shaved asparagus, julienned carrot, toasted hazelnuts, hazelnut oil and apple cider vinegar. The chips are waffle cut baby Yukon Golds. If you only eat Salmon once a year, this is the Salmon to have.

I'm down twice Nancy. Although it is only one David Ross, sometimes I eat for two.

The season is on, and a bit early this year. I've just arrived back home with 2 pounds of beautiful Copper River Sockeye Salmon. And for the incredibly good price of $17.99 per pound, caught yesterday off the river and shipped directly to my go to Salmon guy in Spokane. No middleman, no fish brokers or seafood wholesale suppliers--from fisherman to market. Last year I was paying upwards of $35.00 per pound. From what I've gathered in talking to the folks at Alaska Airlines Cargo Department its going to be a good season this year. Two days ago the season's first shipment on an Alaska cargo jet from Cordova landed in Seattle with 24,300 pounds of Salmon. The second flight of the day was held another 33,000 pounds of Copper River Salmon destined for Seattle restaurants, markets and points beyond. I'll be preparing some Copper River dishes this weekend.

I can't back it up with solid facts, but last week in Las Vegas I had some Kobe tartare and was assured it was grade A-5 and imported from Japan. Of course, who knows if what you're told in Las Vegas is true.

Conclusions- The 5th Year of Uncork'd proved to be the most memorable for me personally. In the five years that I've attended Uncork'd, I've made a number of personal acqaintances, many of whom returned this year so it was fun to join them again in the fabulous food events at Uncork'd. The Master Series Dinner at Payard on Thursday was exceptional, probably the best one of these dinners I've attended in five years. Two of the highlights were the instructional classes I attended at Bellagio on Friday, the Chef Showdown with Akira Back and Martin Heirling and the Shabu-Shabu demonstration with Edmund Wong and Philip Lo. We learned techniques, flavor pairings and dishes from professionals that we'll take home and cook in our kitchens and serve to our families. The Grand Tasting on Friday night was not up to par this year, (it's never been my favorite event). Yes, there were the gourmet food booths and the Celebrity Chefs in attendance, (where else can you eat a foie gras burger slider from Robuchon and see Gordon Ramsay prancing through with his groupies). But the attendance seemed down, due I am sure in large part to the increase in the ticket price to $200 per person. The Grand Tasting is traditionally an event well-attended by the locals. Without a doubt, in one of the most depressed counties in America, $200 dollars is a steep tariff to pay for a few nibbles of this and a sip of tha. Somehow, someday, one can only hope that the planners will find a way to disperse the booths nearest to the pool in a more reasonable way so that there isn't the yearly conflagration in front of the most popular booths. A new, (and welcome), feature was the Eating Las Vegas discussion on Saturday with local Food Journalists John Curtas, Max Jacobson and Al Mancini. Never before had Uncork'd staged an event with local Food Writers who shared their inside knowledge about the Las Vegas dining scene with customers who specifically travel to Las Vegas to eat-not gamble-to eat. It certainly was far more insightful than any guidebook would ever be able to provide. The Sparkling brunch at Savoy on Sunday was a dissapointment as noted in my reports. Terribly disappointing since it was my last event at Uncork'd 2011. The last memory is often the "lasting" memory. Marginal service, a sparse menu and the case of the missing veal shouldn't be tolerated at a restaurant whose namesake Chef has been awarded 3 Michelin Stars. It will go down as the brunch where "I ate my veal with a spoon." I've purposely gone out of order in my conclusions on the events I attended during Vegas Uncork'd, leaving a final comment on Saturday until now. It was an unexpected twist of fate that I found myself having two memorable meals on Saturday. One at the hands of a Spanish Traditionalist at an event that was part of Uncork'd. The other, an ethereal experience presented by the School of the Spanish Avant-Garde. I would never have had the opportunity to dine at e' by Jose Andres had I not been in town for Uncork'd. It was a case of simple circumstance that I discovered a new path in my culinary journey through life--a path entwined with the Modernist Movement that we celebrate in our anniversary year at eGullet. Yes, Uncork'd was an incredible experience. "Magnifico efecto."