BLACKSMITH BAR AND RESTAURANT

blacksmith bar and restaurant is an upscale place that’s both edgy and quaint…where the chefs clearly know how to make food great! if you’re a foodie who thinks a little extra goes a long way…this is your spot. track 1- blacksmith bar and restaurant opened 2 years ago this march. it’s an offspring of planet x, which was in rehoboth. owner and chef justine zegna says she loves being in berlin and providing a different kind of dining experience. 23:11:03- 23:11:21 we’re sort of a neighborhood restaurant. we do what we call down home eastern shore but with a global flare. we do whatever we feel like doing and what our customers want. we do vietnamese, thai, italian and whatever we want with an eastern shore influence on it track 2- chef says they believe in the farm to table concept. in fact, she says she’s been practicing that philosophy for 20 years. 23:11:40- 11:53 we do try to keep it like original eastern shore cooking. what’s around us and what we can get and try to stay seasonal but we like to spice it up as well track 3- when she said spice it up… i had no idea what was about to happen. with chef justine and chef tracey…class was about to be in session. 23:12:18 – 12:25 we got some really beautiful salmon. we’re doing it off the cuff with some mise en place. we kinda prepared stuff. we have some great figs. 23:12:30-12:32 we’ve got some cranberries that are fresh track 4- while talking about the fresh ingredients and prep work involved for our meal, chef also offered a kitchen insider tip… 23:12:35- 12:40 part of being a great chef is using your knife skills so put the food processor away, get your knives and cutting boards out. track 5- this was feeling like a wonderfully organic cooking session with a lot of technique tips. in addition to our beautiful piece of salmon, there was a nice risotto. the risotto, i’m told, is typically done ahead of time, cooled and finished in a pan. chef tracey started that finishing process with some garlic oil, roasted garlic and butternut squash. while chef tracey worked on that, chef justine started a chutney by adding some duck fat to the pan. 23:15:01- 15:07 a chutney typically is a fruit, a spice kind of savory and it’s also called a relish track 6- our quick chutney included scallions, hand chopped cranberries, fresh ginger, dried figs, dried cranberries, golden raisins for a chewy texture and a sweetness. she added fresh thyme and a yummy habanero strawberry jam and a red wine vinegar to add an astringent quality. honey was the last ingredient. 23:18:00- 18:06 you got a lot of complex flavors here. not going to cook it too long track 7- next—the salmon on the flat top… 23:18:30- 18:42 the secret is keeping that on the flat top for a couple of minutes to cook it to medium rare. with protein, put them on something hot, use a good amount of fat and leave it alone track 8- we were getting there, so chef tracey started our plating process which included some fancy garnishes 23:19:17- 19:34 we’re using micro greens grown hydroponically in salisbury, some basil, a beautiful garnish and some organic arugala pesto track 9- towards the end, chef heated some shrimp and added that –along with some veg stock– to our chutney and finished off the salmon. meanwhile… 23:23:10- 23:23 i’m going to take a little pesto, put it on the plate and smear. it gives another something to taste and savor along with your food track 10- he added a couple of dots of strawberry jam while chef justine scooped some risotto onto the center of the plate, and placed the salmon and chutney on top of that. then it was time…. 23:26:28- 26:35 it’s like an explosion in your mouth with so many flavors 23:27:43- 27:50 i just got a bit of strawberry jam and it’s so good with all the other flavors it was a great showing of how simple upscale and fresh cooking can be and not difficult. they cooked that meal in about 15 minutes. and it was so delicious. the flavors really did come together well and most of the ingredients are things i know i have in my refrigerator or pantry right now. so definitely check them out. and berlin restaurant week would be a good time to do that. they’re located on pitts road in berlin. restaurant week is coming up january 11th – 17th. and join us next week for another great round of cooking in kitchen insider. stay tuned… more news