Roy’s Latest Cookbook: Fifi’s New Kitchen Companion

Roy Yamaguchi, of the namesake Roy’s of Newport Beach and other Roy’s restaurants worldwide, has come out with another cookbook. It seems that each time he manages to up the interest factor.

This one, “Roy’s Fish & Seafood, Recipes from the Pacific Rim,” addresses seafood and shellfish,though an occasional bit of pork or other meat for enhancement of the fish recipe creeps in,and creative side dishes to complement.

What a gorgeous work it is.

For anyone who reads cookbooks like novels, this one is interrupted every few pages with amazing full-page color close-ups of various species of fish, environmental photographs and totally inspiring dishes in all their presentation glory, all of which makes you want to read more and more.

For those who actually cook from cookbooks, you can understand the recipes because Roy meticulously has adapted each of them to the home kitchen.

You needn’t worry about the flavor characteristics of any given fish because he introduces you to each species separately and explains the best methods of cooking and even other fish that can be substituted in the recipes that follow.

The recipes in “Roy’s Fish & Seafood” reflect his unique cooking style, which is based on the freshest local ingredients, bold Asian spices, European-influenced sauces and techniques and Pan-Pacific and Hawaiian traditions. He uses flavors, cooking qualities and specific varieties of 24 types of Pacific seafood,including tuna, mahi mahi, ehu, opah, sea bass, lobster, squid, and scallops,with descriptions that inform and inspire those of us who are true seafood lovers.

I have his other cookbooks and have made recipes from them: “Hawaii Cooks, Flavors from Roy’s Pacific Rim Kitchen” and “Roy’s Foods from Hawaii.” Those two took us nicely through the realms of meat, poultry and fish, but this book is a real star attraction in other ways.

We are eating more seafood now because we know it’s healthy for us. This book takes us into realms that are statuesque in flavor compared to the simple barbecuing in the back yard with only a sprinkle of salt and pepper on the poor fish and shellfish.

Plated food looks divine and the glazes and approachable sauces he incorporates with recipes give distinctive support to the taste of the whole affair.

Patrick and I are cooking more seafood at home for ourselves these days and I always include a seafood course in meals when we have dinner guests.

The book has become my kitchen companion and stays perched and ready near the stove. I’m finding quite a level of excitement in deciding every few days which of the recipes to do next.

If you’ve had the meltingly delicious butterfish with coconut sauce in his restaurants, it’s one of the first recipes you encounter in the book. Have you been mesmerized by the blackened ahi with soy-mustard sauce on some occasion? Now, you easily can make it at home.

Or the fish simply marinated in a miso mixture that magically caramelizes on the outside while it cooks. Wait until you encounter the tastes of shrimp salad with avocado and green papaya (now a common item in many markets). There are such uplifting tastes in the sauteed pineapple-vegetable side dish and the polenta with chile sauce, a dashing starch that can go with many kinds of seafood.

If you love to cook and you enjoy seafood, have a look at “Roy’s Fish & Seafood, Recipes from the Pacific Rim,” in which Roy seemingly took all that he was raised with and extrapolated it into one absolutely beautiful tome. It’s available at Roy’s restaurants, major bookstores and online for $35, published by Ten Speed Press.

There is an opportunity for the public to savor some of the tastes from this cookbook (and it can be purchased that evening) when Roy’s of Newport Beach presents the Fish, Fun & Fusion Dinner featuring recipes from the cookbook on Aug. 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Each course will be paired with an exceptional wine selection from Mo & #235;t Hennessy USA. Leis from Hawaii will be presented. Cost is $85, plus tax and gratuity.

Here’s the dinner menu: appetizer of seared sea scallops with wok-sauteed rice noodles, shrimp and vegetables. Wine: Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. The first course is garlic and sesame-crusted soft shell crab salad with Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc. Next, Domaine Chandon Pinot Noir will match the butter-seared sea bass with sweet crab and Korean pepper sauce. On to Chinese style steamed Kona lobster and Mo & #235;t & Chandon Nectar Imperial to drink. Dessert harks of Hawaii via the wild berry shortcake made with Ms. Smith’s lilikoi pound cake and a scoop of coconut ice cream for added indulgence. With that, they are serving Domaine de Coyeaux Muscat Beaumes de Venise wine.

I’ve already made my reservation. Seating is limited for this once only dinner, so call soon to reserve your space. Roy’s of Newport Beach: 453 Newport Center Drive, (949) 640-7697.

Fine Cigars, First-Class Food

This week marks the start of the series of four Summer Cigar Dinners on the Patio at Morton’s Steakhouse in South Coast Plaza Village. They all are to be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays,July 26, Aug. 16, Sept. 13 and Sept. 27.

These are popular yearly dinners with limited seating, so I am advising that you make reservations now if you appreciate fine cigars and first-class food. Each dinner begins with a cocktail and continues with a four-course dinner and premium cigars. Cost is $105 per dinner. Morton’s is at 1641 W. Sunflower, Santa Ana. For more information and reservations, call (714) 444-2851.

Fleming’s Wine Flight

We can count on Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in all their locations,ours is in Fashion Island,to stay on the leading edge of wines to fully enhance its generous menu of prime meats and chops, grilled fresh fish and poultry. After all, they were the forerunners of the 100 wines by the glass program, which has been mimicked widely.

But Fleming’s has an ongoing wine advantage in raising the bar ever higher because they’ve got Marian Jansen op de Haar as director of wine, who is a sommelier known for having an exceptional palate and admirable knowledge of international wines.

Every year, 100 wines are selected for the wine by the glass program and the new list for the year, loaded with fascinating finds, is just out.

Marian now has taken wine tasting to the next level with some new twists on its popular wine flight sampler. This is essentially a sampling of three wines served in 2 ounce pours. Fleming’s now offers several options to guests who wish to try a variety of wines in one seating.

“Flight of the Night” is available in white, red or reserve wines or guests may create their own flight from more than 100 wines by the glass that currently are offered.

It allows for literally untold combinations. And who among us wouldn’t like to taste more than one wine with any given menu item? It’s pleasant to compare how three different wines marry with the food.

To enhance the service of the wine flights, a customized “wine vine” has been designed to serve the flight. The fixture is a small, graceful caddy of curved wrought iron, with three arms spiraling upward, each holding a wine glass at a different level. A business card-size listing the names of the wines and their vintners accompanies the wine flight. Costs of the flights vary, depending on the wines selected. Wine flights are available both in the bar and dining room.

“Selections can run the gamut. Sometimes it’s grouping by the type of grape like chardonnay or cabernet or even a ‘Sideways’ showdown of pinot noir versus merlot. More advanced tasters may compare and contrast winemakers from different regions,” according to Marian.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, of course, offers the best in steakhouse dining,if you haven’t had the rib eye steak, it’s a shame,and the restaurant now offer Discovery Dinners in which six or more people can participate in special wine flights with multi-course dinners. Corporate Executive Chef Russell Skall and Marian have teamed up to create three very special four-course menus and wines to match.

Discovery Dinners, priced at $75, $100 or $150 per person are a fine way to create a truly memorable evening for your friends, family or business associates. All three menus feature wines specially chosen to complement each course. The $150 menu features bottles from the restaurant’s reserve list.

As appreciation to the party making the reservation, a pair of Fleming’s signature wine glasses is given as a gift. Discovery Dinners must be for six or more people and must be booked in advance.

Fleming’s is so comfortable with its ample use of wood and leather, open kitchen and both booth and table seating. Even eating in the bar is a delight. It’s just dressy enough, just sophisticated enough and yet friendly as can be. The service always has been top notch. But, it’s the tender, flavorful meats and the fresh fish entrees that really get to you. Just know that Fleming’s uses only beef from the top 2% of the prime corn-fed cattle for their steaks. You can’t top that.

And when you see the legendary names and the unique wines also mingling on the wine list, you’ll know why both the wine and restaurant industries have taken note and given them acclaim for the concept they represent.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: 455 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. For reservations and further details, (949) 720-9633.