Jan Norris: Food and Florida

On my way across North Carolina on a searing hot July day, I stopped off to visit my good friend and grill columnist, Debbie Moose, in Raleigh.

She asked us to lunch and we debated on either barbecue, or New Southern cooking. I wasn’t up for barbecue, so we ended up at 18 Seaboard, a red brick two-level restaurant set in a former train station.

The chef-owner is Jason Smith – an amiable man who has quite the experiences under his rather young belt: cooking for big name chefs in North Carolina and New York, running a kitchen to feed 1300 daily in Antarctica, and now, being a new father with two restaurants. (He also owns Cantina 18 in Raleigh.)

18 Seaboard’s menu is modern Southern and American fare. Each dish that we ordered – we chose several  to get a great sampling – showed finesse and control. The plates were not only eye-pleasing, but every plate had a focused flavor.

Today’s feast

I’ll share an interview with the chef in an upcoming article here, but for now, I’ll share our menu and his simple, delicious recipe for corn soup.

• Corn Soup (made from corn delivered from the farmer that day)
• Snead’s Ferry She-Crab Soup with a sherry reduction
• Iceberg wedge with big bacon crunch
• Blackeyed pea cakes with zucchini, squash, and summer vegetable vinaigrette
• Crispy Pamlico shrimp salad with Asiago dressing and focaccia croutons

We had no room for dessert!

18 Seaboard’s Corn Soup recipe

• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 2 tablespoons diced onion
• 3 ears fresh silver queen corn, shucked, kernels removed
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Heat large saute pan over medium heat; add butter when pan is hot. Swirl butter to melt; do not allow to brown. Add onion and saute 1 minute; add corn and cook 3 minutes more, stirring. Set aside. Combine cream, stock and thyme in small saucepan; cook for three minutes over medium heat with thyme. Remove thyme. Combine corn and stock mixture in blender; puree until smooth. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

Serve hot or chilled.

Makes 4 appetizer servings.