Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/35876
Sometimes the biggest challenge with rum cocktails comes from the customer; maybe they had a bad experience with poorly distilled rum, and now they don’t care for the category. I then suggest a simple rum cocktail and try to help them overcome this reaction. BA: Chef, what is a romantic island dish that you make using rum? And what is an easy go-to dish using rum? Chef Caldiero: Romantic to me is loved food, cooked from the heart. For example, my recipe for slow cooked Shinsato Farm pork shoulder, mopped over the course of a few hours with Cruzan rum, MA’O organic Meyer lemons and brown sugar. Cooked until super tender and eaten with some crusty bread and extra napkins to clean each other’s chins. To me, that’s romantic! Not the typical rum- filled flaming passion fruit on the half shell complete with moonbeams, waves and the scent of jasmine. BA: Dave, what inspires you when creating a seasonal cocktail? Dave Power: I spend most of my time researching vintage cocktail recipes. I try to recreate unavailable classic ingredients and create interesting variations of drinks. I made cinnamon syrup from leaves of a cinnamon tree that a friend brought in. It had similar tastes of the bark, less spicy-hot and more toasty vanilla notes. One server said “it tastes like sopapillas!” BA: Chef, what challenges do you face being located on an island when working and sourcing fresh produce and proteins for your menu? Is there an edge to being located on an island when sourcing local seasonal ingredients? Chef Caldiero: Things have gotten easier for sure. We have worked very hard to support local farmers/ producers over the past six years, and now that work is paying off. Chicken is a problem, no local chicken available still, but who cares—we have pork! We do have a couple of advantages. One is that seasons don’t really mean anything around here. We have three solid growing seasons, we can get tomatoes in the winter, kabocha [a Japanese squash that tastes like pumpkin] in the summer and citrus all year round! BA: Dave & Chef, give us five tips on how a chef and mixologist can best work together. Dave and Chef: 1. Get good ingredients and keep flavors simple. 2. Eat together. 3. Drink together. 4. Surf together. 5. Laugh together. BA: Dave and Chef, can you give me one sentence that sums up the message you want to send to a guest of Town? Dave and Chef: “Local first, organic whenever possible, with aloha always!” THE DISH: Rum-Cured Akule ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 2 lbs. fileted Akule (big-eye scad) 1 oz. Cruzan Age Rum 2 Tbs. salt 2 Tbs. sugar 1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper fresh cilantro For the vinaigrette ■ ½ oz. MA’O Organic Farm Meyer lemon juice ■ ½ oz. Don Q Cristal rum ■ ■ 1 tsp. minced shallot 3 oz. extra virgin olive oil ■ For the presentation Fennel Radish ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Purslane 3–4 orange segments Orange zest ■ ■ To cure the fish, slice the akule filets lengthwise, removing the bones as you go. Douse fish with rum and arrange slices on a plate in a single layer; sprinkle salt, sugar, pepper and cilantro on top of fish. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 36 hours. For the vinaigrette, combine minced shallot, rum and Meyer lemon juice in a small nonreactive bowl and set aside for for 10 minutes. Add extra virgin olive oil and whisk to combine. Using a knife or a mandolin, thinly slice the radish and fennel and pinch the purslane into bit-size pieces. Combine with orange segments and fish slices and lightly toss with just enough vinaigrette to barely coat ingredients. Arrange on the plate and finish with orange zest and a turn of fresh cracked black pepper. THE DRINK: Meyer Afternoon 1 oz. Cruzan Aged Rum ■ ■ ½ oz. MA’O Organic Farm Meyer lemon juice ■ ■ ■ ½ oz. simple syrup (1:1) 1 four- to six-inch-long fennel frond Dry Prosecco ■ Muddle fennel in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add everything except the Prosecco, shake with ice and double-strain into a champagne flute. Top with Prosecco. Garnish with a lemon twist and fennel frond. july 201 1 / the tasting panel / 113