Yesterday on the show we had a great guest. Jim Richard, from the temporarily closed Trenasse in the Intercontinental Hotel. Trenasse is a favorite restaurant of ours and we miss it terribly. Jim is in Florida at the company’s flagship restaurant, Stinky’s Fish Camp. They also have a place close to Stinky’s in Santa Rosa Beach on 30A called Redfish Tacos.
We asked Jim to teach us some tricks with seafood. His first suggestion was so simple and obvious it’s a wonder no one has brought it up before. He recommends toasting spices in a pan before starting any cooking.
Broiled Oysters
2 doz oysters
1 stick softened butter
1 shallot chopped finely
OR 3 cloves minced garlic
½ lemon juiced
1 tsp horseradish
⅓ cup white wine
¼ cup chopped parsley
Whip in shallots or garlic into the soft butter. Add fresh lemon juice, horseradish, white wine and parsley. Brush over oysters and broil until they are just plump. Don’t overcook.
Jim’s other unique contribution to these topics is his passion for parsley, an ingredient I have underappreciated all this time. He is very protective of it, in contrast to my value assessment that it is just a way to ingest vitamins. He suggests that parsley should be added only at the last minute to your dish, because cooking it takes all the flavor and texture from it.
We can’t wait to talk with Jim Richard again on the show, but we’d rather do it at Trenasse. Hopefully before too long.
