August 18, 2016. Shell lecture and seafood dinner at Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery

August 18, 2016. Shell lecture and seafood dinner at Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery

I made my usual miso pho noodle soup for lunch.

Suzette planned a lovely evening at the Greenhouse Bistro this evening, so I drove to The Center in Los Luna's at 5:00.

She invited Tom Eichhorst to give a presentation on seashells during a wonderful three course seafood dinner.  Tom is the editor of theConchologist Magazine and is  one of the national shell identifiers for the Conchologist Organization of America.  He lives in Rio Rancho and is the leader of the High Desert Shell Club, of which I am a member.  Tom and Donnie arrived a little before 6:00 and set up his cooler full of shells and his power point projector.  Tom went through a thorough discussion starting with the place mollusks take in nature.  It is the second largest class of species after insects.  Vertebrates (animals with a back bone) are the third largest group.

Then he got into the different families of shells, like bivalves, and then cephalopods, and finally gastropods, all the while telling funny stories about shell collecting and showing examples of the types of shells he was describing from his extensive collection of over 7,700 species and sub-species of shells with over 100,000 individual shells.

Early in the lecture the appetizer course was served, a plate with fresh raw oysters served three ways, on the half shell with a sweet Rose' wine mignonette sauce, one in a shot glass with a cucumber and tomato coulis, and a fried oyster battered with what seemed to be a tempura batter served with a cilantro, daikon, and cucumber relish and a dab oh shiracha aioli. The three oysters were stunningly presented.  For example, the fried oyster was on a half shell.  I abandoned my monkish diet of chicken noodle soup and chicken and rice soup to enjoy the meal fully.  This dish would satisfy the most intrepid foodie and was probably the best dish served anywhere near Albuquerque this evening.

After stopping to eat his appetizer, Tom continued his presentation, going through a discussion of the history of shell collecting, which has been characterized by shells thought to be rarities turning out not to be rarities as scuba gear has made many parts of the ocean not previously accessible accessible.  The opposite is also true, in areas where man’s footprint has been heavy and altered the habitat, many previously relatively common shells have become rarer.  For example, there are few large Cervus cowries  left in Biscayne Bay at Miami, Florida.

Soon the entrée was served a bowl of polenta mixed with fresh local Mexican Squash topped with three lovely fresh sautéed sea scallops from Seattle Fish, and fresh herbs from the Center’s garden the garnish of fresh pickled julienned slices of Apple was served separately, a slight oversight in plating the entree.  The apple relish was delicious fresh and lightly fermented.  Chef Kelly is also very good at fermenting.

I enjoyed the polenta and scallops, which could not have been fresher.

The lecture resumed after the entrees were finished until it finally ended with the serving of dessert, a large scoop of vanilla ice cream sauced floating in a puddle of warm caramel sauce garnished with Himalayan rock salt and a homemade anise and lemon flavored sugar cookie. Chef Kelly’s caramel sauce is one of my favorites, dark, buttery with a creamy consistency.

The cost of this evening’s meal was $25.00, a fantastic value.  I loved every minute of the evening hand especially the food.  Fresh oysters served creatively, a wonderful combination of fresh scallops, local squash, and polenta, what could be better.  Not just seafood, but the freshest seafood.  Suzette had ordered the oysters from Ta Lin and picked them up this morning. And to top it off, the Chef’s classic caramel sauce on ice cream.

Suzette and the kitchen staff at the Bistro exceeded all expectations again.

I split a Stella Artois Apple cider with Suzette. 

 Bon Appetit