Mount Gay Rum Dinner at 18 Steak

L'Auberge continues its emergence onto the culinary scene of Baton Rouge in a big way.  A little over a month ago I attended Saint Arnold Beer Dinner at the Stadium Bar and Grill, and just a week ago I got to check out a Mount Gay Rum Dinner at 18 Steak.  I've been to wine, beer, bourbon, and even tequila dinners before, but never rum!

Mount Gay Rum out of Barbados creates some stellar spirits.  This is one of those rum distilleries to look out for if you want a truly exceptional rum and not cheap crap like Bacardi or Captain.  There, I said it.  Rum can actually be quite tasty as a sipping beverage, something I found out at Tales of the Cocktail a couple years ago at a seminar titled "Six rums you'll never drink again in your life."  Those were some damn good rums.

Mount Gay has some damn good rums as well, as fortunately for me, they brought several of them along to the dinner.  Michele and I joined a table with a few members of the L'Auberge staff including Sally who helped out with some of these pictures, and Aimee Abernathy from Louisiana Cookin' Magazine.  For our first course, Chef Troy Deano presented a Flying Fish Ceviche with meyer lemon, sambal, and franklin cane sugar.  The ceviche might have been the best thing I tasted all night, and I don't mean that as a slight to everything else.  It had a sweet flavor and amazing texture while not being overly acidic. I could have eaten an entire bowl and been happy.  The Mount Gay Silver accompanied the ceviche in a rum cocktail with mint, sort of like a play on a mojito.  

Hog Head Cheese, Black-eyed Pea Salad, Coconut, Heirloom Carrot Vinaigrette

Course number two served as the salad course.  That's my kind of salad!  The visually stunning plate came highlighted with hog head cheese and black eyed peas.  The combo worked extremely well together, though overall the dish may have been just slightly on the bland side.  I really felt like a little salt could have helped bring all the flavors together.  The fried okra and coconut added a nice crunch to the dish to give it some texture contrast.  We were served a play on a Manhattan with the Mount Gay Eclipse aged rum instead of bourbon.  Stiff would be an understatement, but I still drank it, because that's what I do!

Michele and Jay

Michele and I enjoyed our rum and dinner so far, but we knew that even more deliciousness awaited us at 18 Steak.  Our next plate had Crusted Mahi with a creative long-noodle macaroni and cheese, an heirloom tomato sauce, and a leaf of fried oregano.  The macaroni noodles were intriguing though delicately plated and I could have definitely gone for more!  The panko crusted mahi fulfilled its duty.  The meaty fish still contained plenty of moisture on the inside. I would have liked a little more of the tomato gazpacho to work as a sauce.  Our excellent servers brought out the Mount Gay Black Barrel rum both straight and in a cocktail that played off the negroni.  The course overall worked quite nicely.  The fish and macaroni and tomato had a very comforting feel while still being refined, and it paired with the rum and cocktail very well.

Rum, Rum, and more Rum

Three Lil Pigs

The fourth course featured a lot of swine.  Chef Troy actually brought in a whole locally raised hog from  Chappapeela Farms, butchered it, and crafted the menu based on meat from that one pig.  On the plate we had a drunken pork sausage, a pork tenderloin cooked in beer, and piece of braised pork belly along with a roasted sweet potato.  The sausage had a delightfully rich spice profile that worked well with the Caribbean notes from the Mount Gay Extra Old rum it came paired with.  Once again we got to try the rum straight and in a Dark and Stormy inspired cocktail with ginger beer, mint, and simple syrup.  The pork tenderloin may have been the highlight of the plate.  The tenderness that Chef Deano achieved showed skill and patience.  The Three Lil Pigs proved to be a hit with everyone at the table.  If you love pork, and why wouldn't you, then this dish would have been for you!

Caribbean Nights with the Mount Gay 1703

18 Steak at L'Auberge capped the evening off with a delicious dessert and the rarest of the rums.  For the dessert, L'Auberge's Pastry Chef Arlety Estévez utilized coconut pudding, exotic fruit compote with pineapples and more, and mango sorbet.  The dessert as a whole impressed me.  Each layer of flavors complimented the next.  The mango sorbet wound up being my favorite aspect of it.  With very faint hints of chili, the sorbet stood out as unique, playful, and a great addition to the arrangement of fruity flavors.  As for the rum, there was no need to fix a cocktail with this nectar.  The 1703 rum is complex with flavors of vanilla, caramel, and some fruitiness.  The rums that go into the 1703 have been barrel aged between 15 and 30 years to create a refined rum that is meant to be sipped and enjoyed.  So I did.  Every last drop.  A great cap to a wonderful dinner.  Next time you see a dinner like this at L'Auberge, make your reservations!

Cornmeal Fried Catfish, Black-Eyed Pea Salad, Pickled Jalapeno Relish

Cornmeal Fried Catfish over Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Pickled Jalapeno Relish

I've been wanting to play around with some different fried catfish recipes for a while so when I was gifted a Lodge Cast Iron skillet and cookbook as part of a Virtual Potluck blog party, I knew which recipe I needed to try!  The dish titled Cornmeal Fried Catfish over Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Pickled Jalapeno Relish jumped right out at me.  Rather than being fried catfish with more fried stuff, this presented an almost-healthy alternative.  Sure, I would still bread and deep fry the catfish in peanut oil, but at least I didn't throw in sides French fries and hush puppies!  I assembled a group of friends at my buddy Bret's house to test out his remodeled kitchen.  A short while later, a memorable meal emerged!  The Lodge Cookbook provided the recipes for the black-eyed pea salad and jalapeno relish in addition to the catfish itself.  Both were very easy to create and extremely tasty.  The pickled jalapeno relish didn't overpower anything with spiciness and its sweetness made it an interesting garnish.  The black-eyed pea salad which sat underneath the catfish came out bright and full of flavor from the artichoke hearts and red bell pepper.  So the main thing I needed to master quickly became frying the fish!

The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook and My Groceries at Calandro's Supermarket (Win a Cookbook at the bottom of this post!)

After a shopping trip to Calandro's Supermarket to pick up the key ingredients, I arrived at Bret's house and got to work.  The recipe for the catfish itself is what really piqued my curiosity.  It began with sprinkling the fillets with salt and pepper followed by a hefty dash of hot sauce.

Raw Catfish Fillets with Hot Sauce

After covering both sides with salt, pepper, and hot sauce and rubbing it over the fillets, the next step was to dredge the catfish in the dry batter.  The hot sauce helped the batter adhere to the catfish and create an excellent coating for a crispy fish.  This, however, was no ordinary fried fish batter.  It started with equal parts cornmeal and masa harina.  Masa harina is basically the fine corn flour that is used to make the dough for corn tortillas and tamales.  I had never used it before as a fish fry, but I'm sold now.  In addition to the cornmeal and masa harina, I added a decent shaking of Cajun seasoning and seasoned salt.  Then the fillets were tossed in the batter and prepared for their oily bath.

Catfish Fillets in the Cornmeal and Masa Harina Batter

 In a 12 inch Lodge Cast Iron skillet my peanut oil came up to temp at around 375 degrees.  I dropped in catfish fillets two at a time and fried them until they were golden brown.

Catfish Fillets Frying in Peanut Oil in a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

To plate the dish I spooned a generous portion of the black-eyed pea salad on the middle of a plate.  I then topped the salad with a fresh catfish fillet.  On top of the fish rested a couple spoonfuls of the pickled jalapeno relish.  All in all, this dish really impressed me.  I think the catfish itself stole the show.  I might incorporate masa harina into frying batters much more often.  It delivered a light and crispy batter to the beautifully seasoned catfish.  If you're looking for masa harina, I know Calandro's Supermarket in Baton Rouge has it.  You can also find it at any Latin or Mexican specialty store.

Cornmeal Fried Catfish over Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Pickled Jalapeno Relish

GIVEAWAY:

Want your own copy of the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook?  Leave a comment on this blog post about what your favorite things to cook in cast iron.  You can go big like a jambalaya in a 30 gallon pot or you could cook cornbread in an 8" skillet.  No matter what, just tell me what you like to cook in cast iron and make sure I can get in touch with you.  One lucky comment will be selected to receive a free copy of the book!