By Kinnon Phillips
Cuisine Editor

One of LoDa’s trendiest restaurant has officially changed hands in recent days. Longtime Café 615 owner Noell Broughton sold the restaurant to an out-of-town investor who will reportedly freshen up the look of the restaurant to reflect some of the new trends from the West Coast.

Chef Ryan Wilder is staying on, so the food quality should remain high.

The new Café 615 owner is also said to be opening a dog-friendly (yes, you can eat with your pooch) restaurant at Lafayette and Government Streets. Ground is supposed to be broken on that one soon.

We’ll keep our ears open about future developments with either of these projects.

The attic is open

Guido’s in Oakleigh found a way to expand what they’re doing – by going up. They’ve rennovated a rather sizable attic space into a very cozy and inviting bar. It’s the kind of place you can imagine kicking back while an entire day disappears.

Leftovers again

Last year I had some of the most mail ever in response to my Thanksgiving leftovers column, so I thought I would write another.

What are you doing with your Thanksgiving leftovers? I tried to put some in this mix that may not use turkey.

You still have relatives in your house, or out-of-town friends coming over – what is something you can prepare that is simple, yet will get rid of one of those dishes hanging around the overloaded fridge? Give this salmon recipe a try. This uses up the cranberry relish. An old Bon Appetit is where I located this recipe. It suggests that you complete the meal by roasting red-skinned potatoes alongside the fish, and tossing it with butter and parsley. I would quickly sauté some fresh green beans in oil, garlic and a touch of balsamic vinegar. Serve some of those pies you have for dessert.

Roasted Salmon with Cranberry-Mustard Sauce

Serves Four

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

3 tablespoons walnut oil or olive oil

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 6-ounce boneless salmon fillets with skin

1/3 cup raw cranberry relish, room temperature

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray small baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk oil and mustard in medium bowl to blend. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Place on prepared baking sheet, skin side down. Brush top of salmon with 2 tablespoons mustard-oil mixture. Roast salmon until fish is cooked through, about 13 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Whisk cranberry relish, shallots and vinegar into remaining mustard-oil mixture. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Broil salmon until top is browning in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to plates. Spoon sauce over and serve.

Using canned soup, unless it is Campbell’s cream of tomato on a cold night, is against my nature. But, if it is cold this weekend and you want something really easy, try this, another from Bon Appetit. I love the smell and taste of fresh sage. You can find it this time of year likely at Bruno’s and the Fresh Market.

For a variation, you could throw in a cup of cooked vegetables left over from Thanksgiving to add texture to this creamy chowder. Serve the soup with chowder crackers, along with a spinach and pear salad. Purchased apple turnovers would make an ideal dessert.

Turkey Sage Chowder

Serves Four

4 bacon slices (about 4 ounces), coarsely chopped

2 cups chopped onions

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 cups whole milk

1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

2/3 cup condensed cream of potato soup (from one 10 3/4-ounce can)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

2 1/2 cups diced cooked turkey

Cook bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the pan. Increase heat to medium-high, add onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in potatoes, milk, broth, cream of potato soup, and 1 tablespoon sage. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add turkey meat, bacon, and remaining 1 tablespoon sage. Simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.



Archives

Word of Mouth

Jul 01 2008 This Labor Day weekend, the Grand Hotel is offering a culinary weekend.

Jun 17 2008 Two pizza places are now open in MiMo. The Mellow Mushroom and Ashland Midtown Pub recently opened on the same weekend.

Jun 03 2008 While I am not over the Bay a great deal, recently I have had the opportunity to purchase some food from Greer’s Old Bay Market in Fairhope.

May 19 2008 I made French Toast this weekend, and have never really done so before.

May 06 2008 Moka’s Coffee will soon be opening their drive-through hut on Dauphin Street west of Sage Avenue down the parking lot from Krystal.

Apr 22 2008 You can see the sign out front of the Ashland Pub, Corte Inge’s new venture in the former Memories location and they anticipate opening for business by June.

See all 72 articles in Word of Mouth...

 

Online Survey

"Now that Mobile has cardboard cops, what other cardboard people should we have?"

Cast your vote...

Classifieds

Dozens of listings in the Mobile area...

 
 
July 01, 2008
© Something Extra Publishing, Inc.