Recently, I enjoyed a fantastic lunch at David Burke’s Primehouse in Chicago. This “modern” steakhouse celebrates all the classics with a contemporary interpretation. Unlike a typical, clubby steakhouse with its dark leather and paneled walls (which certainly has its own special place in my heart), David Burke’s Primehouse greets the guest with a cool, quiet atmosphere, illuminated by large windows and bright, modern artwork.  As part of David Burke’s contemporary cuisine, he utilizes fresh, innovative ingredients. Lots of chefs do that; it’s the hip part of today’s food culture. But what did David Burke do that stuck out in my mind, that warranted a blog post? He used gourmet salt, of course.

    His respect for our favorite ingredient was immediately apparent when the warm, light, airy popovers were presented to the table. A plate of delicious, softened butter studded with sparkly gems of Himalayan Salt invited the diner to go ahead, butter that popover. Not only was the popover mouthwatering and delectable, but the butter was perfectly salted with the Himalayan Salt. More importantly, this little addition, this tiny sprinkling of Himalayan Salt spoke to me. It said, this chef respects his ingredients. He doesn’t just respect the steak, but the popovers and the butter. If you’ve read the SaltScribe or the SaltGuide, you understand that many chefs and home cooks strive to use premium ingredients only to season them with chemical-laden, industrial manufactured salts. This little sprinkle of color and flavor on the butter signaled respect not only for the diner, but for the diner’s palate and the ingredients themselves. Once the appetizer arrived, I knew this restaurant was serious in its respect for salt. The silky Kobe beef sashimi lay draped over a block of Himalayan Pink Salt. The Himalayan Pink block infused the sashimi with the perfect amount of seasoning to highlight the amazing flavor. Later, I learned that not only does David Burke serve his sashimi on a Himalayan Salt block, but his steaks are aged in a Himalayan Pink Salt tiled room. How cool is that?

    The next morning, I recalled each tasty, salty bite of my delicious meal while sipping coffee with the Today Show quietly playing the background. Then I heard the magical word that always puts me on high alert…Salt! Standing behind a gorgeous plate of gourmet salt on the Today Show was Chef Govind Armstrong! (Check out his demonstration here) He demonstrated a lovely salt-crusted sea bass (a perfect application for Beyond the Shaker Bolivian Rose, Red Alaea or Hawaiian Black Lava!) and chatted with Ann Curry about the importance of good salt. Ann has recently tasted and loved Truffle Salt…perhaps we should send her some of ours! As the show broke for a commercial broke, I felt extremely satisfied. We at Beyond the Shaker know in our hearts and our mouths the importance of salt. To see chefs and restaurants and mainstream morning television embrace this culinary cornerstone made me smile. And made me hungry…

President Obama may have made a national faux pas when he commented on the price of arugula at Whole Foods, but you’ll find a great deal on arugula this summer at the local Farmers’ Market.  When the sun starts warming the sidewalks, and the days get slowly longer, I know it’s time for my favorite summer salad green.  In season, you can get a large bunch pulled fresh from the soil for only a couple dollars.  Arugula, or rucola or rocket as it’s known in many parts of the world, is a robust and peppery, long-leafed lettuce.  Used frequently as a salad green, arugula is also a tasty to addition to sandwiches, paninis or pizza.  Because arugula has so much peppery flavor on its own, you don’t want to overpower it with a heavy, creamy dressing.

One of my favorite restaurants in Chicago features an arugula salad with crispy prosciutto, shaved parmesan and lemon vinaigrette.  It’s heavenly.  I decided to recreate this delicious dish at home.  I started with fresh arugula and drizzled it with quality olive oil.  When making a simple salad (or any simple dish without a lot of ingredients), it is vital to use high quality products.  With only a few ingredients, each item plays a critical role in the final success of the flavors.  Take a fresh lemon and squeeze about a quarter to a half over the arugula.  To add a salty, savory component and balance out the acidity of the lemon and the peppery arugula, I like to shave a few pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano over the greens.  You must use real Parmigiano Reggiano.  Any other parmesan is not worthy to kiss the feet of Parmigiano Reggiano (really it’s like table versus Fleur de Sel).  Finally, I finish it off with a teaspoon or two of Truffle Wet Salt, toss and enjoy.  The Truffle Wet Salt adds a warm, earthy component that harmonizes beautifully with the salty Parmigiano Reggiano, tart fresh lemon and sharp, peppery arugula.  The flavors with dance around in your mouth, rounded out by the good, quality olive oil.  Mmmm…so good.  There are times I’ve eaten this everyday for a week.

But recently I’ve been craving Beyond the Shaker Hickory Maple Salt.  Something about the sweet, smoky, vanilla flavors of Hickory Maple Salt…I think about it every day.  I want to put it on everything, and I’ve been struggling with whether or not this would be good with my leftover arugula.  I needed to balance the salt and sweetness with something sharp.  Vinegar didn’t seem right; the flavor might overpower the Hickory Maple.  Lemon and Hickory Maple didn’t sound right.  Finally, I decided to give it a whirl with blue cheese.  While blue cheese doesn’t have the acidity of vinegar or lemon juice, it does have a sharpness that is a great contrast to something sweet or smoky.  I already know I like blue cheese with meat, so why not with smoky Hickory Maple?  I started with some hand torn arugula and again drizzled it with that good quality olive oil.  Hickory Maple (a generous sprinkling) came next, followed by a healthy handful of crumbled blue cheese.  Finally, I decided to add some chopped yellow tomatoes from the Farmers’ Market.  I tossed it all together really well to allow the tomatoes, olive oil and salt to form a nice juicy coating over the arugula.  Well, let me tell you, it was amazing.  The peppery arugula paired nicely with the juicy yellow tomatoes.  The blue cheese and Hickory Maple Salt were an amazing pair – salty, sweet, sharp, smoky.  This pairing is definitely a keeper.  I just hope arugula stays in season!

We’d love to hear some of your salty salad ideas; please share!

I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for fancy chocolates.  They’re just fun, compact little treats that bring a smile to my face and my stomach (assuming a stomach can ACTUALLY smile).

But it’s not just the pretty little treats you find behind the glass at your local candy shop..what I really like are the new wave of chocolate bars that are gracing the aisles of our favorite grocery stores.  I usually get my groceries at Whole Foods, and they have this amazing ability to draw me in like a moth to light with their displays of fun chocolate bars and other chocolate fare.  The labels are like sirens on the rocks, calling to me: 80% Cacao, Hazelnut, Mint—but in my latest visit, it was one siren’s song that finally drew me in: Dagoba’s organic chocolate with hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and a touch of fleur de sel sea salt.

I had to get it.  How could I not?  How could I resist something like that? No way jose!

Dagoba has so many enchanting varieties of chocolate, and this one was no different.  The perfect balance of salt to sweet—that touch of fleur de sel sea salt is not lost on you at all.  It’s definitely there, filling out the nutty, chocolaty flavors.

It’s not decadent, though—it feels entirely nutritious in the most delicious kind of way.

I took a look at their website, and sure enough, they feel the same way about this little delight: Dark chocolate with omega-rich hemp seeds, heart healthy pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and a touch of Balinese sea salt. An energetic combination of power foods for body and mind in a base of our delicious 68% dark chocolate.

We have experimented a bit with salt and chocolate here at Beyond the Shaker, and we have found that Citrus Basil is incredible when lightly sprinkled on dark or milk chocolate. The citrus notes combined with sweet basil, really highlights the rich chocolate. In our taste tests, the other Beyond Blend that really teased out interesting depth of flavor from dark chocolate was the smoky sweet Hickory Maple blend. Again, we recommend only using a a touch of salt on the chocolate as you do not want to overpower the sweetness of the dark chocolate.

Other salts in our Pure Foundation collection that seem obvious for chocolate experimentation include Murray River, Sel Gris or Cyprus Black Lava (for light salinity, grey color and crunchy texture). If you are willing to be a bit adventurous (and yes, we will be trying these options soon), the following salts from our Beyond Blends collection may make the perfect pair for chocolate – Everest Wet salt, Truffle Wet Salt (oh yes), or Hot Habanero (heat and sweet are a great combo).

Ok, time to go find some chocolates of my own…

Last night we had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the Traverse City area – Trattoria Stella, and the star appetizer (and perhaps the overall favorite of the evening), were these perfectly seared bay scallops. Prior to them being devoured by the hungry diners, I snapped a picture of them with my iPhone. Putting aside that the camera on the phone really does not do these delectable little morsels justice, hopefully the incredible seared tops of each scallop can be seen.

The trick, to the flavor and marvelous color was apparent from the first bite – salt. Specifically, my guess was the use of a mineral rich flake salt, like our Sel Gris, and then searing on one side with lots of butter. What we all enjoyed the most was the salty crust that formed on the seared top of the scallop. The trend in cooking scallops seems to be to undercook them, which most likely stems from a fear of overcooking them into rubbery little pucks.

However, the chef found absolutely the ideal sear – a delicate crispy crust of salty-buttery goodness. When we cook scallops at home, we usually flip them over halfway through the cooking process, but that is more a reflection of our amateur chef status than the ideal cook method. The scallops at Stella’s restaurant were only seared on one side, which really made for the ideal crust.

We have tried, with our Salt Chef, using the Truffle Wet Salt and the Chanterelle Vanilla on seared scallops with tremendous success. The flavor profiles of these salts matches well with the briny seafood taste. In terms of usage, we found that the the Truffle Wet can be applied prior to searing the scallops, but the Chanterelle Vanilla is better as a finishing salt added to the tops of the scallops just prior to serving. Either way, we encourage everyone to give scallops a shot in your own kitchen – since they really are not that hard to prepare, especially when you use the right salts!

You would pair the perfect wine with every course, select the appropriate fork for every serving, so why not choose the ideal salt to enhance every dish?

The Easter Sunday meal was the time to test this out. We started with the classic decorated hard boiled Easter egg and a dash of Windy City Celery salt. The next course was a fresh pea and potato soup taken to a new level after mixing in a dab of Truffle Wet salt. The aroma was heavenly. Ham slices came to life after a sprinkling of some Hickory Maple salt on top. Along side was a serving of snap peas and asparagus with vinaigrette brightened up with a pinch of the French Herb salt – a taste of Provence. And dessert? A little Citrus Wet salt mixed in with the strawberries over a luscious slice of cheese cake did the trick. Only the solid chocolate bunny escaped the salt tastings.

Have fun experimenting with your own flights and trying your own combinations!