Not your average chicken of the sea
Mary Scott Hardaway
The Stems & Skins crew wants you to forgo the pigs in a blanket and sad artichoke dip this year.
If you've stopped by Stems and Skins in Park Circle, you know that they know how to elevate seafood from a can into a light, satisfying, and unique bite. But if you thought that that kind of experience was limited to hip wine bars, you'd be wrong.
Here are a few tips from S&S co-owners Justin Croxall and Matt Tunstall for an at-home holiday happy hour spread that will have your out of town guests saying, "incroyable!"
1. Invest in high quality tinned seafood (think spicy sardine pate, yellowfin tuna belly, trout in escabeche.) Celebrity chef Jose Andres developed a brilliant line of tinned seafoods which we serve and sell at Stems & Skins.
2. Hit up your local bakery for fresh bread. We prefer thinly sliced baguette from EVO but another French loaf would also work well.
3. For brightness in both presentation and flavor, prepare a simple salad of arugula dressed in lemon vinaigrette (fresh lemon juice plus extra virgin olive oil).
4. Fill a small bowl with flaky seas salt (we use Bulls Bay Sea Salt) and another small vessel with butter. Look for a small-batch churned butter (like Banner Butter) for exceptional flavor and texture.
5. Instruct your guests to take a piece of baguette, spread butter on it, add seafood and sea salt and top with a little arugula. Wash it all down with a salty, crisp, coastal white wine.
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