Dungeness Crab Salad, Carrot and Fennel, Pomelos, Orange, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil by executive chef Samuel Geffroy of Tapenade Restaurant in La Jolla

Let The Chef Decide
When I visit a restaurant, I am constantly asking the question, "What is your signature dish?" Some chefs believe it is the entire menu. But for most, it is usually one or two special creations that are either passed down from grandma, resembles chicken but is really something I can’t pronounce, or has funny looking plant life sticking out of it that is — yes — edible. In all seriousness, if you are open to trying new things, and get pleasure from all things culinary, opting for a signature dish can be a real learning experience. Not only that, it means not having to spend countless minutes trying to pick and choose. Some La Jolla chefs make it easy for you to give their beautiful signature dishes a try without having to ask any questions.
— Maria Desiderata Montana, photography by Vincent Knakal

JULY RECIPES

Crispy Skin Nova Scotian Artic Char by culinary partner Hans-Trevor Gossman
of Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits in La Jolla

Ingredients for the curry sauce:
1/4 lb unsalted butter
2 cup scrap fennel bulb diced
1 cup fuji apples chopped
1 cup onion chopped
2 rib celery chopped
1 cup garlic crushed
1 bunch fresh basil chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped
3/4 oz fresh ginger crushed
11/2 tsp saffron powder
6 fl oz curry powder
3 cup Lobster Broth - 05/25/07
6 fl oz mango chutney
1/2 tsp serrano chili seeded and diced
6 fl oz pernod
4 cup Chablis wine
1 gal cream

Sweat vegetables and herbs in butter in a heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium heat until tender. Add saffron, curry powder, and lobster broth and mix well with a spoon. Deglaze with pernod and cook until liquid has almost evaporated. Add wine and chutney and reduce to demi sec. Add cream and bring to a scald, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until sauce coats the back of a spoon. Blend with a vertical mixer and pass through a fine chinoise. Chill to room temperature and then store in refrigerator.

Ingredients for the nicoise garnish:
8 oz yellow pear tomatoes halved
8 oz red pear tomatoes halved
6 oz caperberries stemmed
2 oz dry cured olives pitted
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 cup micro blend herbs

Halve tomatoes by cutting lengthwise on the bias. Stem caperberries, but leave whole.
Pit olives and chop roughly. Combine tomatoes, caperberries, olives, oil, and seasonning, and mix well. (This mixture will keep for 48 hours in a tightly covered container in a cool location.) Combine 4 parts tomatoe mixture with 1 part herb blend. Gently mix. Each portion is @ 1 ounce by weight.

To finish the dish:
8 oz Arctic char
11/2 fl oz curry sauce
1/2 oz unsalted butter
2 oz nicoise garnish
1 tsp fresh chives chopped

Preparation:
Trim and portion char into 8-oz portions. Score skin in "X" scores. Heat saute pan over medium-high heat. Pan sear char, skin side down, in clarified butter for 1 minute. Finish cooking in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Heat sauce and mount with butter. Spoon onto the center of a warm dinner plate. Remove char from oven, and using a spatula, flip Char over onto sauce (skin side up). Garnish plate with nicoise garnish and chopped chives.
Serve immediately.

Summer Melon Salad by executive chef Judd Canepari at The Sky Room
at La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla

Ingredients for the dressing:
1 medium shallot
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup grape seed oil
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1 pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Prepare a sheet pan for the shallots with a coat of non-stick olive oil spray. Slice the shallots very thin and place on the sheet in rows. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Roast the shallots until they are toasted and dry. Combine the sherry vinegar, Dijon Mustard and pinch of sugar in a blender for 45 seconds. Continue blending the mixture and slowly add the oil until it is an emulsion. Finally, add the shallots and blend until the desired texture is reached.

Ingredients for the salad:
2 slices watermelon cut into desired shape
2 slices yellow melon
2 medium heirloom tomatoes (use whatever heirloom is available at the local market) *must be room temperature
4 oz Humboldt Fog goat’s milk blue cheese
1 oz toasted candied almonds
1 bunch frisee
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Slice the yellow melon and watermelon into desired shape and place in stacks on the plate. The melon will serve as a base for the salad. After washing and drying the frisee, add a splash of dressing and toss to coat the greens. Place the frisee over the stacked melon. Place the sliced heirloom tomatoes on the plate, near the melon and frisee. Finally, crumble the Humboldt Fog cheese and sprinkle over the tomatoes and melon frisee stack. Drizzle the shallot dressing over the tomatoes and cheese, and dust with almond crumbles. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with any edible flower.

Serves 2