So that was fairly lovely, and the issues are all on me.
Shortcoming #1 is that the cocktail (which is genuinely great in terms of flavor) should have a warm yellow look, but I picked up a mead that’s made in Wilmington that was excellent and didn’t think twice about the color of it in relationship to a honey-invoking cocktail. Big aesthetic fail but great taste triumph: both of us really thought it was one of the best sparkling-wine rooted cocktails we’ve had.
Shortcoming #2 is that Carla Hall’s chow-chow is basically an African-diasporic sauerkraut or kimchi. It’s a eggplant-centered pickle. It’s really good. It’s also really strong. It’s not right for a dinner featuring fish and plantains. So after realizing that, I issued the chef commandment: do not eat this until the end. It will be a palate-cleansing finisher! Like I had that plan from the beginning. Not. Mostly I just liked the recipe and I had the stuff to make it. But because it’s basically a pickle, we’ll have it around for a while.
I really loved the pumpkin-based sauce for the fish from Edouardo Jordan’s section of the book, and it went incredibly well with the spice rub and adobo butter preparation he calls for beforehand. It’s a really subtle sauce that tastes different in some really great ways from anything else I can think of having before in my own kitchen or any restaurant.
(Unfortunately, in looking to link to his restaurants as I wrote this, here’s what I found about him. Seems like a theme this week. But it’s an issue that a platforming, community-based book like this one is going to have to deal with as things go forward.)
I also really loved the spiced plantains with the peanut-based dip: that is something I’d serve anytime to a dinner party or a reception. It’s very simple and robust—you could prep it a few hours before service and I think folks of almost all taste orientations would like it except people with strong sensitivity to peanuts or hot spice.
So it’s a book I’ll be using again—perhaps very soon, because I’ve marked off another ten to fifteen recipes that I’d like to make.
The sauce and cocktail were highlights for me, but overall a very well balanced meal, especially if you save the "sauerkraut" cleanser for last. It would also taste great on a hot dog or sausage.