Shad roe - a harbinger of spring in the East

While living in California, I came across several shad fishermen, and even saw the fish for sale occasionally at Taylor's Market in Sacramento. But it wasn't until I came to Virginia that I discovered the pleasures of its roe. Shad roe is only available locally for a few weeks in the early spring. So the season begins very early in Florida, moves up to Georgia, then up the coast to Virginia and Maryland, where it is known as Maryland caviar. 

John McPhee, one of my favorite authors for his journalistic style, wrote "The Founding Fish," an entire book that waxes eloquently about shad, and has provided New Yorker magazine readers with many recipes over the years for both the fish and the roe. By the way, the fish is also at its best during spawning season, when it gets fatter and more succulent. 

On the West Coast, shad don't start up the Sacramento River until late spring. They continue on up river, and group for several weeks near Corning in June and early July.

In the fish market, shad roe definitely stands out among the pale fillets - it's bright red and looks vaguely obscene. It comprises two long egg sacs called lobes, joined together by a thin membrane. Each is a meal for one. Since it is better to eat fresh, it's best to share with someone you love... who also loves shad roe, or is willing to try it.

When cooked, it turns the color of liver, with a grainy interior. But it doesn't taste like liver or caviar. It is much milder and takes on the flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with.

Here's a recipe, adapted from DC's Blue Duck Tavern chef Brian McBride, that I cooked last week. I served it with a salad of local lettuces and arugula, dressed with a little olive oil, spices, salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

Pan-Fried Shad Roe

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 slices of meaty sliced hog jowl bacon (or any lean, hickory-smoked bacon), 2 slices diced, 2 whole

1 large shallot, or 2 smaller shallots, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 medium-sized set of shad roe (two lobes)

Kosher salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup vegetable demi-glace, made with 1 teaspoon of Better Than Bullion vegetable stock and 1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar glaze

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cast-iron pan over medium heat, sauté diced bacon until the fat renders. Add shallot and garlic. When the onions are caramelized, remove the mixture from the pan and set aside. Wipe the pan and return it to medium heat.

Raw shad roe

Cut along the center membrane to separate the roe lobes. Pat the sacs dry and season them with coarse salt and black pepper. Melt butter in the pan, add the 2 whole pieces of bacon, and gently place the lobes in the pan. Let the roe brown on one side for 3 minutes, basting occasionally with the butter, then flip it, taking care not to tear its membrane. Place the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes. The roe is done when it is lightly caramelized and feels firm, like a medium-rare steak. Set the roe aside.

Drain the fat from the pan and return it to medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the vegetable demi-glace. Return the onion mixture to the pan, with the mustard and balsamic glaze. When it starts to boil, take it off the heat.

Slice the roe on the bias and serve one lobe per person over a mound of the onions with a curled bacon strip and a drizzle of sauce. Serve with a lemony salad and sliced baguette to absorb the sauce. You won't want to waste any of it.

Heavenly deviled eggs

Southern Living

One dish that always shows up at our Earth Day dinners at St. Paul's is deviled eggs, because so many people in the Charlottesville area either own laying hens or have a source of eggs from cage-free, free-ranging chickens. I don't know if the eggs are any better for us humans, but the yolks have a deeper color and a single yolk can flavor a half-dozen egg whites for an omelet or scrambled eggs.

Wikipedia notes:

The term "deviled," in reference to food, was in use in the 18th century, with the first known print reference appearing in 1786. In the 19th century, it came to be used most often with spicy or zesty food, including eggs prepared with mustard, pepper or other ingredients stuffed in the yolk cavity.
In some parts of the Southern and Midwestern United States, the terms "salad eggs" or "dressed eggs" are used, particularly when the dish is served in connection with a church function - presumably to avoid dignifying the word "deviled."

Here's my recipe. The measurements are approximate; I usually just add enough mayo to make it creamy, and the capers can certainly be to taste. My garnish of choice is smoked Hungarian paprika.

Lori K's heavenly deviled eggs
Makes 24

Ingredients
1 dozen eggs (make sure they are at least a day old)
Salt
Vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, drained
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup of Duke's mayonnaise (more or less)
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
Paprika (smoked adds a little extra zest)

Instructions
Put eggs in a large enough pan so that they fit close together but not crowded. Cover completely with cold water and add a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of vinegar (this supposedly helps keep the shells from cracking, and if they do, keeps the whites from oozing all over the place). Bring to a FULL rolling boil, then turn off the burner. If it's chilly, cover the pan. After 25 minutes, transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water. When they are cool, shell and rinse the eggs, dry, then half lengthwise. Remove the yolks and put them in a bowl. Put the whites on your serving plate; if you don't have indentions, use curly parsley to keep the eggs from rolling around on the plate.

Mash the egg yolks gently and mix the rest of the ingredients except the paprika. It's best if you start with about half the mayo and then add just enough to make the mixture creamy. Fill the egg white cavities with a spoonful of the yolk mixture, then sprinkle with the paprika. Chill, then serve.

If by any chance you have leftovers, chop them up and use them for sandwiches the next day.

Hot and sweet mustard

I said the other day that I loved a hot dog with mustard, especially Monterey Mustard. Well, I've been asking around, and nobody had their recipe at hand. Here's one I found that had a different name, but it seems to be what I've known as Monterey Mustard. Enjoy!

Hot and Sweet Mustard
Recipe created by Art Smith
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup dry mustard powder , preferably one 2-ounce container Coleman's
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Instructions
Whisk mustard powder and vinegar together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Whisk yolks and brown sugar into mustard mixture. Transfer to the top of a double boiler and place over simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, about 8 minutes, until thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 160°. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and chill, covered, until ready to use. (Mustard may be made up to 1 month ahead.)

Hot (diggity) dog

Many thanks to our friends who have been feeding us almost nonstop since we got to California - it's wonderful to be back among the artichokes and avocados. But lest my East Coast readers think that it's all natural and healthful stuff that Californians eat, I should point out that not once, but twice, we've been treated to hot dogs.

Of course, even the simple dog gets a pedigree in CA - one came from our neighborhood market, Taylor's, which features amazing meats (and has just opened a restaurant next door to the market that I want to check out while I'm here), and the other was a Prather Ranch dog. According to the Prather Ranch website:

One of the most unique aspects of the ranch is its “Closed Herd” status as part of their standard operating procedures for their beef and pharmaceutical/bio-medical device bovine raw material side of the business. The beef is hand-cut in our state-of-the-art USDA federally inspected abattoir located on the ranch. Prather Ranch is committed to the most natural way to raise wholesome beef for customers; the ranch does not administer growth-stimulating hormones or feed antibiotics. No animal sourced proteins are fed to the cattle at the Prather Ranch to ensure a safe and pure product for our customers. Computer based detailed records are kept on each individual animal and they are individually tracked through their entire life span.

And the result? An incredible hot dog, made even better with a thick slather of Monterey Mustard. (I'll see if I can find a recipe for the mustard - a really good hot and sweet treat - and post it tomorrow.)
In the meantime, for those of you who aren't Food Network junkies and haven't seen it, here's a video of Guy Fieri visiting a West Virginia hot dog emporium.

Great local foods

Earth Day dinner at St. Paul's was a resounding success; we had more than a 100 people, and more than enough dishes to feed everyone. And the food was super! The quiches and gratins, made from local eggs, milk and butter were especially yummy, and the local beef and chicken dishes were incredibly succulent as well. 

Here was my dish; if any of the other cooks pass along their recipes, I'll include them as well.

Sirloin Tip Roast  (serves 10 -12)

Ingredients

1 3-pound roast (donated by Kelli Olson from Horse & Buggy, Harrisonburg)

Two onions, peeled and cut in half horizontally

Instructions

Season overnight with salt, rosemary and pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees; put roast in oiled pan with room on the sides, on top of the onion halves.

Check in 30 minutes to make sure it’s above 115 degrees; take out when it reaches 130 degrees and let sit for 15 minutes, then slice. Serve with following sauce:

Mustard sauce

Ingredients

1 cup beef soup-bone broth

½ cup red wine (Kluge winery)

1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary (from Jane Rotch's garden) or thyme

2 tablespoons hot mustard (locally made by Betsy Respess)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pour off fat from roasting pan. Heat remaining drippings with broth, wine, herbs. Reduce until almost syrup. Whisk in mustard and taste for salt and pepper.

Carve meat in thin slices across the grain. Pour sauce over and serve.