By: Laurie Wallin
Capital Cooking Contributor
Summer brings sunshine, warm
temperatures, and beloved traditions enjoyed during this carefree, lively
season.
Wildfire Restaurant, in Tysons Corner, VA, celebrated the summer tradition of crabs and beer by hosting John Shields, author, TV show host, Chef, restaurateur, and to many known as “The Culinary Ambassador of the Chesapeake Bay” on Wednesday, July 30 for their Crab and Oskar Blues Brewery Beer Dinner, featuring three different crab dishes and one dessert, all paired with beers from Oskar Blues Brewery in North Carolina. John brought his passion and expertise of sustainable seafood and the Chesapeake Bay and led a lively evening educating guests on how to properly crack, disassemble, and eat a Chesapeake Bay Blue crab as well as informing attendees about current trends and information about the Chesapeake Bay.
Wildfire Restaurant, in Tysons Corner, VA, celebrated the summer tradition of crabs and beer by hosting John Shields, author, TV show host, Chef, restaurateur, and to many known as “The Culinary Ambassador of the Chesapeake Bay” on Wednesday, July 30 for their Crab and Oskar Blues Brewery Beer Dinner, featuring three different crab dishes and one dessert, all paired with beers from Oskar Blues Brewery in North Carolina. John brought his passion and expertise of sustainable seafood and the Chesapeake Bay and led a lively evening educating guests on how to properly crack, disassemble, and eat a Chesapeake Bay Blue crab as well as informing attendees about current trends and information about the Chesapeake Bay.
The evening began with a beach
theme, and guests started with a can of Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils
and a lesson on how to properly disassemble and crack and Chesapeake Bay Blue
Crab. These crabs were fresh, sweet, and delicious. John also taught us how to
properly identify a male crab and female crab (on the bottom, male crabs
feature the “Washington Monument” while female crabs feature “a little apron”).
John recommends seeking out male crabs when possible – they are heavier, and
for conservation, it’s best to keep the females in the water so they can
reproduce. It was a fun and messy way to start the dinner – luckily, Wildfire
was prepared and provided bibs and plenty of wet towels!
John was an excellent host,
providing guests with a lot of information about his background and the
Chesapeake Bay. He grew up in the Baltimore area and his Great Uncle ran the Tilghman
Island seafood packing company, which really fostered his love for seafood and
the Chesapeake Bay where it was abundant and local. He started cooking at Cape
Cod and then moved to California; realizing soon after that he wanted to return
to his roots, he moved back to Baltimore and opened Gertrude’s, a restaurant
named after his grandmother and located in the Baltimore Museum of Art. He’s
authored several cookbooks (the next scheduled for release in 2015) and is the
host of “Coastal Cooking with John Sheilds” that airs on PBS. In John’s
opinion, ‘Chesapeake Bay Cooking’ is the best that there is from the bay, treating
it very simply and letting the flavors shine through. Cheers to that!
Once we were through with the
Blue Crabs, it was time for the dining room to be transformed. Servers quickly whisked away the beach theme, dressing the tables
with white tablecloths and place settings and pouring the next beer – the Oskar
Blues Dale’s Pale Ale – into a glass. After settling back into our seats,
we were treated to the next course, which was the Crab Stuffed Manicotti
with ricotta, backfill crab meat, and a four-cheese blend. Being a pasta lover,
this was my favorite dish of the night. The sweet crab provided a nice balance
for the sharper cheeses and the Pale Ale provided a hoppy balance to the rich
dish.
The next course was a Grilled “Oscar
Style” Filet Mignon topped with lump crab meat, asparagus, and béarnaise sauce
paired with an Oskar Blues Gubna Imperial IPA. I’m not generally a big fan of
IPAs, but the hoppiness of this one again, balanced the richness of the steak
and crab, which was prepared beautifully.
The evening ended on a sweet
note, with a Blueberry Tart with fresh local blueberries and cream cheese
filling, paired with an Oskar Blues Old Chub Scottish Strong Ale. Although I
was stuffed, I just couldn’t stop eating this tart. The fresh, juicy
blueberries were absolutely delicious and paired nicely with the flaky tart
crust. The beer added a nice, rich balance to the sweet dessert. There’s no
doubt that Chefs Edwin Amaya and Eddie Ishaq pulled out all the stops for this
dinner!
An evening that’s informative and
delicious – what more could you ask for? For more information about John,
please visit www.johnshields.com. For
more information on Wildfire Restaurant, please visit
www.wildfirerestaurant.com
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