“What’s your favorite dish to cook?” I get asked this question a lot. I would think that people would like to know what my favorite dish to eat is. But no, they want to know what I like to cook.
It’s a hard one to answer. Mostly because there are so many different dishes on the menu that get cooked in many different ways. Also, I don’t cook every dish that leaves the kitchen. I know that may sound shocking to some of you but it’s true. I have great cooks that have been with me for years (my sous chef Shawn has been here since day 1, that’s 8 years!!). They do most of the cooking these days and I do lots of prep work, supervising and expediting the dishes during service. That being said I guess I should answer the question now.
I would have to say that my favorite dish to cook is the Potato Crusted Sea Bass with Sauteed Greens and a Citrus Beurre Blanc. It’s a pretty simple dish actually. Shred some potatoes and give them a good squeeze to get the water out. Put the potatoes on a seasoned piece of bass. Put some clarified butter and olive oil in a pan and get it smoking hot. The bass goes in potato side down; give it a few minutes so the potatoes get golden brown and crispy. Flip the bass, put it in a oven for 6 minutes and then serve the bass on some sauteed spinach with a sauce of white wine and orange juice reduced and finished with a little butter.
It sounds so easy and simple and this is why I like cooking it. The simplicity actually makes it a very hard dish to cook. Don’t squeeze enough water out of the shredded potatoes and they will never, ever get golden brown and crispy, trust me. Turn the bass too soon and the potatoes won’t get crispy. Turn the bass too late and the potatoes get over cooked and burnt. Leave the fish in too long and it gets overcooked; too short and it’s undercooked. It’s a dish that you really have to pay attention to in the middle of all the chaos that goes on in a busy kitchen. In that way it’s a challenge to make sure the dish is consistently good every time.
So there you have it, the Potato Crusted Sea Bass with Sauteed Greens and Citrus Beurre Blanc is my favorite dish to cook. Next time I’ll tell you what my favorite dish to eat is.
Kevin
