Happy as a Clam...

See what's in my hand?







Stay tuned for more clams!

COCKTAILS!!

That's right, I said COCKTAILS!!!

If the video above does not appear, please click here to view. Trust me, it's a keeper.

And Mango Mojitos aren't the only stars of the party this season. The barstaff at blu seafood and bar are rocking the Spring season of 2010 with an all new Mojito and Margarita Bar!!! That's right, you can chose from several different options to flavor your margarita or mojito. Try out some pomegranate, peach, elderflower, and much, much more. There's word of adding coconut to the mix, so keep posted.

DOLPHINFISH

Since our menu changed in April, and our last post was posted, we have been flooded with e-mails and phone calls with concern about our new menu item: Annatto-Rubbed Dolphinfish over Cuban Black Beans with Mango Salsa. Most of the concern has arisen due to people's love for dolphins, the cute mammal from the sea, and how we could dare serve a fillet of one here in Durham.

Rest assured, no one is eating Flipper. DOLPHINFISH is the Floridian name for the fish commonly referred to as "Mahi-Mahi." In fact, Coryphaena hippurus is known by many names across the country, and across the planet as well. The Hawaiian name -- and most common along the mid-Atlantic states -- is "Mahi-Mahi," while Californians refer to the same fish as "Dorado." Other cultures have many other names for it, including rakingo, maverikos and calitos. But blu seafood and bar's cuisine is deeply aligned with not only the Floridian style of cooking, but more specifically, Key West cuisine. And in Florida and the Keys, Dolphinfish reigns supreme on seafood menus.

Our Dolphinfish is caught fresh off the coast from Virginia all the way down to Florida, with much of it coming off the shores right here in the Old North State. So while you can enjoy Mahi all up and across North Carolina, be sure to drop in to blu seafood and bar to get your fresh fillet of Dolphinfish.

Dinner starts at five.

ANNATTO -- Seed of the Gods

Four times per year -- about every season -- the menu at blu seafood and bar changes to reflect the new bounty of fresh produce and seafood. For many, these quarterly occasions are highly anticipated and marked with great expressions of joy. blu employees are especially excited, as it gives us the opportunity to work with new ingredients and preparations that keep us on our toes.

One such ingredient is ANNATTO, which could be regarded as one of the most versatile ingredients on the planet. So versatile, in fact, that it wasn't until recently that it was used for cooking.

The annatto seed is a derivative of the achiote tree, which grows in tropical regions of the Americas. The earliest recording of its use stretches back to Brazil, where it was used as a body paint. The tribes in question believed that the annatto seed held powers that, when used as a body paint during ancient ceremonies, would protect the tribes from evil spirits. Insect repellent was another popular usage. Annatto was also used by Aztecs for painting and recording manuscripts.

It is believed that the Jamaicans, around the 18th century at the earliest, are the first to use annatto in food preparation. They are noted for using the ingredient for both a food coloring and a cure-all for upset stomachs. It was later used to color cheeses, particularly cheddar and brie, giving them the darker colors to which consumers had grown accustomed. (It should be noted that less ethical cheese dealers would color lower grades of cheese with annatto so that their goods could be passed off as higher grades of cheese.)

But the annatto's versatility lends itself to much more in the kitchen. Its taste is subtle, often remarked as being earthy, peppery, and a whisper of sweetness. Its aroma is strong, also peppery and offering a hint of nutmeg. Although it's primarily used as a natural food coloring, the subtlety of its flavor often adds depth to foods with Carribbean flair.

If you are dying to discover what all the fuss is about, blu seafood and bar can give you an immediate annatto fix. As of April 7, blu is featuring on its Spring menu: Annatto-Rubbed Dolphinfish with Cuban Black Beans and Mango Salsa. Chef Tim Lyons has takes the annatto seed, forms it into a paste, then mixes it with sour oranges and garlic. This mixture is then brushed onto the fish before it is pan-roasted. The flavor is not too overpowering, but your first bite will definitely transport you to Latin America. And it's also worth it to note that, thanks to the powers of the achiote, your dolphinfish will be completely free of all evil spirits.

Dinner starts at five.

OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER

One of our nation's most popular fine dining traditions is Oysters Rockefeller. This baked oyster dish appears on many seafood menus across the nation and nearly all of them feature fresh shucked oysters, parmesan, bacon, and spinach. But what do we really know about Oysters Rockefeller? Where did it get its name? And would you be surprised to know that the dish you are ordering is perhaps not the real Oysters Rockefeller?

Oysters Rockefeller was created in 1889 in New Orleans, by Jules Alciatore. Jules' father, Antoine, is the namesake of the world renown French Quarter restaurant, Antoine's. Since 1840, Antoine had been serving Snails Bourgignon, an homage to his French homeland. However, at the turn of the century, after his son Jules had taken over the restaurant, there was a shortage of snails in the US. That, combined with a decline in the American taste for escargot, led Jules to search for a compromise. In 1899, Jules substituted fresh local Gulf oysters for the snails, and Oysters Rockefeller was born.

The recipe for Antoine's Oysters Rockefeller is a closely guarded secret. So secret, that only the family members know it and over the course of the last 100 years, no one has divulged even a hint. What is known is that Jules wanted the dish to have a green color, so as to represent greenbacks. Also, the richness of the sauce led to the name of the dish, which honored the richest man in the US at the time: John D. Rockefeller. However, the Antoine's version of the Rockefeller does not include spinach, like all imitators do. No one knows exactly how the green enters the dish, but it is commonly argued that the color is provided by the presence of scallions, parsley, watercress, or perhaps all three. A little Herbsaint (an anise-flavored liquor resembling Pernod) is added in the baking, as well as cheese and a thick butter sauce with bread crumbs. At Antoine's, they are listed on the menu as Huitres en Coquille a la Rockefeller.

What we commonly order at just about every other restaurant is actually a variation on the Italian oyster dish Ostriche alla Fiorentina, which notably uses spinach.

Here at blu seafood and bar, we proudly serve our Oysters Rockefeller with freshly shucked oysters from Appalachicola, Florida. For the topping, we reduce shallots and white wine, reduce heavy cream, add fresh spinach and parmesan cheese, then puree the mixture. That is ladled over the oyster while still in its half-shell, then topped with rendered apple-wood smoked bacon and freshly grated parmesan-reggiano cheese. A squeeze of lemon and a few minutes under the broiler are all that's left and voila: Oysters Rockefeller!

HINT: An order of Oysters Rockefeller is only $5 if you order it during our Happy Hour from 5-7 at the bar at blu. And when the menu changes for the Spring on April 7, Oysters Rockefeller will still be on the menu!

IRISH CUISINE

(Originally posted 03.02.10.ad)

Let's face it, Irish cuisine gets a bad rap. In this day and age, most of what we understand to be "Irish Cuisine" is limited to the fast food served in pubs and joints like Bennigan's and O'Charley's. What's worse, food from the Emerald Isle all too often evokes the image of the potato. Oh, Yeats and Joyce spin in their graves at such generalizations. What few people realize is that Ireland actually has a very rich, if not politically and socially challenged, culinary history.

Traditionally, Irish cuisine has been dependent on the resources native to the island. The lush, green countrysides were perfect grazing grounds for cattle and sheep, so naturally the Irish would command a taste for excellent beef, dairy, and lamb. For centuries, Irish beef was so prized in Europe that it became a major point of contention for Roman and British empires. Irish bacon comes from fine pork on the island. Fresh vegetables and grains also played a major role in Irish cuisine. Cabbage, tomatoes, oats, and barley grow exceptionally well in Ireland's temperate climate. And of course, one would be remiss to exclude the role of seafood on the island. Songs and poems have been written about the mussels, not to mention the salmon, trout, and cod that have come to typify the diets of Irishmen. For the most part, Irish diets were primarily based on butter, milk, and grain.

It wasn't until the mid-sixteenth century that the potato was introduced, and even then, it was intended as a "garden crop" to supplement the grain and dairy-based diets. One common use for the potato was to fatten pigs before the winter harvest, adding a heartier flavor to bacon and other cured meats that sustained them through the brutal Irish winters. However, social and political developments changed the landscape of the country and the diets forever.

Tudor rule in England all but forbade Catholicism and heavy penalties were enacted to enforce these restrictions. In Ireland, the troubles were much worse, as the British enacted Penal Laws to punish the Catholic majority of the island. These laws prevented Irish Catholics from voting, holding office, and from buying land or bequeathing their own property to their decendants. Their land would be divided up among their heirs, thereby reducing the plots of land that an Irishman was allowed to use for farming. At the time, the primarily agrarian culture had no other way to sustain their families, so this development was staggering. They no longer could use their pastures for cattle, but instead, developed a form of monoculture. The potato was the only food they were able to cultivate. Armed with all of the nutrients a person needs to survive, many Irish families knew only the potato as a source of food.

Unfortunately, the potato was very succeptible to blights and diseases. When droughts or crop failures occured during this period, the effects could be devastating. Such was the case during the misnamed "Great Irish Famine" (1845-1849), where a potato blight caused the entire crop to fail for years. This led to massive starvation and emigration for the country. More than half of the population of the island either died or relocated, many of them to America. With them, they brought culinary traditions of years long past.

This diaspora has led to many misconceptions about Irish cuisine, mostly since their traditions, diets, and ways of life had been smothered by British rule. Most of what now constitutes "Irish cuisine" is reimaginings of traditional Irish staples fused with contemporary cooking styles. One of the best examples is boxty, best described as a "potato pancake." Boxty is prepared by making a crepe-like vessel that is filled with Irish delights such as fish, fresh cheese, meats and/or vegetables. Fish and Chips is a long-standing Irish dish which pairs battered Cod and "fries" with copious amounts of salt and malt vinegar. Oyster festivals are abound on Irish seashores as they celebrate both the traditional Irish oyster (O. Edulis) as well as the newly-introduced Pacific oyster (c. gigas), usually with a pint of Guinness.

Irish cuisine is a young cuisine, but stepped with a history as old as the cliffs of Galway, and as troubled as the turbulent waters of the Irish Seas. For a little taste of the culmination of centuries of a heritage, a culture, and of a people, we asked you to join us at blu seafood and bar on March 17th -- the feast day of St. Patrick -- for a four-course meal inspired by the Irish Seas, each paired with a wine by our friends at the Hope Valley Bottle Shop.

LOWCOUNTRY CUISINE

In February 2010, the wine dinner at blu seafood and bar celebrated the rich culinary heritage of the Lowcountry.

What is Lowcountry, you may ask. Well, geographically speaking, the Lowcountry is defined as the coastal areas from around Pawley's Island (about 60 miles north of Charleston) all the way down to the Savannah River. Here among the palmettos, the Spanish moss, and the saltmarshes can be found some of America's richest remnants of culture, especially in the culinary traditions of this region, which run very deep. French Huguenots, Spanish conquistadores, English merchants, and Native-American tribes have all influenced Lowcountry cuisine, but the major contributions were made by African-American slaves. Many of the ingredients and cooking methods that are most popular in Lowcountry cooking traveled the Atlantic Ocean from West Africa, and the Gullah people -- descendants of slaves -- of South Carolina keep these traditions alive.

There are two major components to Lowcountry cooking: The sea and agriculture. While there are many staples to so-called "Southern Food" that are shared by Lowcountry cuisine, one of the major separation points between Southern and Lowcountry have to be marked by the presence of seafood. Sure, grits is an important item on any Southern plate, but when you add fresh shrimp to the dish, Lowcountry has accented the dish. Crab, fish, oysters, and shrimps are major ingredient to Lowcountry cuisine. One of the more popular dishes, Frogmore Stew, is sort of a "Lowcountry Boil" -- a one-pot stew of shrimp, corn-on-the-cob, and spicy sausage. Here, oysters are steamed in their own liquors and she-crab soup is the Soupe du Jour.

Agriculture has played a large part in the culinary tradition as well. The lush, fertile marshes proved to be best suited for rice-growing. Again, slaves played a large part in this major development, as it is believed that West Africans provided slaveowners the expertise to cultivating the grain which was more common in their homeland. Rice is often one of the more common bases to Lowcountry dishes, such as pilau (per-LOO), chicken bog, and Savannah red rice. Many other ingredients were introduced to the Americas via the slave trade, with the Lowcountry providing the same growing conditions as West Africa, such as yams/sweet potatoes, turnips, okra, sesame (benne is another major menu item in Charleston restaurants), black-eyed peas, and many more. Those of us lucky to live in this part of the nation enjoy close proximity to such wonderful, diverse food cultures.