As you know, Mr. Hawthorne and I are fond of going out to lunch occasionally.
We like to try different restaurants, critique them, mock them mercilessly, and never go back unless we find one we particularly like. And there are a few we enjoy - a very few.
We never go out to restaurants for dinner. Just too expensive,
plus I don't like a heavy meal at night.
Their lunch menus should be representative
of what's for dinner, but at a lower price.
Yesterday, we decided to try out
The Pearl.
The chef, Marc-Jean Berruet, was one of the chefs at the cooking classes we attended at the North Carolina Aquarium last winter. His rather unfortunate choice for demonstration was bluefish, specifically,
Beignets de Bluefish Timgad.
As I commented in my post about the cooking class, the sauce was very good, but, like some people, you can dress blue fish up, but just can't take it anywhere.
Bluefish is bluefish.
Anyways, we've been wanting to try The Pearl and finally got around to it yesterday.
It's a very nicely appointed restaurant - crisp white linens and full place settings - as in a dinner fork
and a salad fork. A rarity indeed.
There's nothing I hate more than when my waitperson comes to take my salad plate away and tells me to keep my fork for the entree, then I have to lick the dressing off my fork and place it back on the table. For crying out loud, would it kill you to bring me an extra fork?
Our waiter was very attentive, but I don't like this new trend of
not writing down the order.
Your memory skills do not impress me. Especially when you forget the glass of water we ordered, then forget to bring a refill for my tea.
Oh, and I shouldn't have to ask for a refill.
You see an empty glass, take care of it.
Now, on to the meal.
Yummy rolls were brought out with butter mixed with Herbes de Provence.
I refrained from asking the waiter if any of Sandra's "gerbils" were involved
in the making of the Herbes de Provence.
Only one complaint here: the butter was hard as a rock.
Let the butter softened so you can spread it, plus you'd get more flavor from the Herbes.
Next up, soup and salad, which we split.
As I've mentioned before, Mr. Hawthorne and I judge restaurants to a great degree by their Caesar salads.
This Caesar salad did not disappoint.
The dressing was superb, probably the best we've had outside of our own.
The Romaine leaves were perfectly coated and the chef wasn't stingy with the croutons.
The lobster bisque was divine.
Very intense lobster flavor.
I sopped up every last drop with my roll.
Mr. Hawthorne's entree was Truite Lorraine -
trout with a nice herbed cream sauce with bacon, and pasta and asparagus.
The bacon sauce was very heavy and extremely rich. Mr. Hawthorne liked it but said it would make dog sh ... no, hot dogs taste good, too.
I thought it overpowered the trout.
Now, get this.
The trout was on the daily specials menu.
And there were no prices on the specials menu.
But when I see a specials menu, I'm always thinking special prices and good deals.
When we got the bill, this trout was
$16.00.
Yes, SIXTEEN DOLLARS!
Had we known this, we never would have ordered it.
I ordered the seafood crepes, reportedly filled with shrimp, scallops, oyster, and rockfish, baked in a creamy Mornay sauce with Gruyere cheese.
Sorry, but this sucked.
I found 2 rubbery shrimp inside, 2 scallops, and 1 indeterminate piece of fishy tasting something-or-other.
We know seafood and this seafood was not fresh.
Very disappointing dish for me.
The entire mess was smothered in the sauce.
The crepe itself was indiscernible.
I think it had dissolved into the mush of the sauce.
When I eat a crepe, I want to be able to taste the crepe and I want a crisp texture on the edges.
Sorry, Frenchie, but this assemblage was a whacked-out mess of a meal.
Price: $13.00.
(I could have sworn it said $11 on the menu.
And when I checked the online menu, it said $12.
Whatever, still too damn much.)
Our bill yesterday, before tip, was a whopping $51.00.
For LUNCH!!!
This is ridiculous.
Tea alone was $2.49.
Ah, live and learn.
So guess what I'm fixing today for lunch.
If you guessed seafood crepes, you would be correct.
Last night, Good Neighbor Bob brought us a mess of crabs.
Mr. Hawthorne and I picked the crabs, then I coarsely chopped some leftover shrimp.
My extensive mise en place.
In the foreground are my crepes I made for my
Gateaux of Crepes from Thanksgiving.
They freeze very well.
Parsley, chives, and baby bella shrooms.
The ingredients for my sauce:
butter
parmesan cheese
brie
provolone
swiss
heavy cream
lemon
orange
nutmeg
(That's my nutmeg grinder next to the salt and pepper.)
salt & pepper
cayenne
Grand Marnier
First I sliced and sauteed my mushrooms in butter.
You know I have to put in my action shot of tossing shrooms.
Next I made a roux,
butter and flour.
Added in salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg.
Then I added the juice of one lemon and one orange.
Add in cream until you have a nice sauce.
The brie goes in.
Season to taste.
Finally, a nice shot of Grand Marnier.
In another pan, I melted butter, then added the
crabmeat, shrimp, and sauteed mushrooms.
Just heat through and don't mess with the crab meat much.
You want nice chunks and messing with it splits it up.
Here, I've added just enough of my cream sauce to bind the crab and shrimp together.
You don't want it like Monsieur Berruet's crepes - all gloppy sauce and
minimal seafood.
Put a few tablespoons in your crepe.
And roll up.
I added a bit more of my cream sauce along the top of the crepes, then topped with provolone and swiss slices.
I don't want my crepes soaking in a bath of sauce.
Baked in a 350-degree oven until everything was heated through and the cheese was melted, then sprinkled some chopped parsley and chives on top.
This was simply delicious.
You could taste the crab, the shrimp, the lemon, the orange, the cheeses, the ... everything.
And the crepe was distinguishable from everything else, unlike the other crepe which dissolved into a messy mass of mushyness.
What can I say?
Just seafood goodness.
Now, remember I made puff pastry last week.
I had some leftover and wanted to do something else with that today.
I floured my countertop and started rolling out the dough.
Until about 1/8 inch thick.
Then cut out little rounds.
Brushed with butter.
Peeled, seeded, and sliced a tomato and topped the rounds, then salted and peppered.
Added some sliced black olives.
Then topped with mozzarella cheese.
Baked and topped with basil.
Besides the savory puff pastry, I decided to do sweet, too.
I had some strawberries which I sliced.
Then brushed with apricot jam.
OK, so my puff pastry didn't puff like it was supposed to.
These were still really good.
The reason my puff pastry didn't properly puff is possibly due to the fact that it was leftover, and I screwed up the layers of dough and butter and they got a bit mushed together, hence they didn't puff.
Still really good.
You might want to try these as appetizers.
You could use the storebought puff pastry.
I won't mind, really.
I cut the first batch into diamonds.
Then fried in oil.
Lookin' good.
Drained on paper towels and sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese.
Topped with minced parsley, chives, and basil.
Artfully arranged on my plate.
They puffed up very nicely.
These were quite good.
All right, if you're not gonna make your own puff pastry, you could use the frozen store-bought.
These really are tasty.
Delicious.
With another batch of pastry, I rolled it out and cut into circles.
Sliced up an apple and sprinkled with lemon juice to keep from browning.
Brushed melted butter on the puff pastry circles.
Piled up apples in the middle.
And brushed with apricot jam.
Then crimped the outside edges up and baked.
Next, my Creme Anglaise sauce.
Heat up an egg yolk with sugar.
Whisking constantly, add in the cream.
Until it thickens.
Use very low heat so the egg doesn't scramble.
Add in the vanilla.
And here you have Creme Anglaise.
Basically, unfrozen ice cream.
And here are my little apple tarts with the sauce.
Delicious.
The tartness of the apples and lemon juice is wonderfully complemented by the sweetness and richness of the Creme Anglaise.
OK. Once again, the pastry really didn't puff.
That's because I've already screwed up the integrity of the dough.
Instead of all the dough/butter/dough layers, I've balled up the leftovers, so it's like a pie dough.
Still, it's damn good.
