need thoughts on new menu item

Hi there, The new recipe sounds awesome. Sad part is that ive never tasted conch before but according to the folks on the food channel its bodacious at best.... The other foods placed around it sounds absolutly awesomely yummy. I would really love to try it sometime if I ever get back down to Florida.
Bbqbull

Jack,

Very creative! I'm sure it's a great appetizer, but the description sounds confusing and "busy" to me. You've got Caribbean mixed with Morrocan, mixed with Mexican; mixed with orange vanilla sauce, which sound a little like dessert.

What would you call it?

I'm no chef, so my comments are more from a consumer standpoint.

thanks guys!!!!!!
the input is really helpful!!!!!
rootsman you are right so i am leaving out the reference to morrocan.
the nice part is if you look at food going from africa to the "new world" (altho us indians weren't lost) you see a pattern of seasonings.
morrocan has cumin and cinnamon
carribean has some cumin and nice things like allspice and scotch bonnets added along with a slight chinese influence
and mexican has cumin and cilantro and chocolate added to the other influences.
geopolitics at it's finest!!!
by the way the orange vanilla sauce goes great with fish. i forget where i came up with the idea but it has good reviews from all age groups. just keep it on the tart side and not sweet and people are really suprised.
again thanks bbqbull and rootsman for taking the time and thought to reply

Hi Jack,

That recipe sounds good, one thing I would think about using is a small can (I forget what they call the small can molds) to mold the couscous into a shallow cylindrical shape. That might help the presentation.

I would save the fritter and the vanilla orange sauce for another dish. Sometimes less is more, but until I tried it I really cant say anything. Rootsman is a jamaican jerk specialist and his jamaican jerk is some of the best I have tasted, so he really knows the caribbean thing.

Conch has to be carefully prepared as it can be quite rubbery if not careful in its preparation. How will you be preparing that?

Will this be offered at your business at the flea market? I'd give the recipe a whirl (Donna and I still plan on visiting you in a few weeks when it gets cooler, Donna just cant handle the heat).

Regards and hope to visit you folks soon.

Preston D

Hi Jack:

I'm not sure what you plan on calling your creation, but it may be useful in the description to make reference to the influences of the dish. I agree with Rootsman that you could go overboard with a very "busy" description that would overwelmn the customer. As a customer, I am always interested the cultural influences of a dish rather than getting too deep into the ingredients side (except, of course, key components that would tempt customers' taste buds!).

preston,
thanks for the response.
the method that i am going to employee is a modified water bath similar to what is done with a terrine as i want to moderate the heat and would prefer not to have any browning as my proteins coagulate. to acheive a decent amount of smokiness i am going to run pure orange pellets as their btu's are low for about 30 mins and then switch to a pure oak pellet for final cooking in the 275 range until i hit an internal temp of 161f. it may work and it may not but from 9am friday to 5am saturday morning i have plenty of time to experiment as i will be doing these in the sm150 while the fec is merrily cooking product for the farmers market. also as there is no fan in the sm150 excessive drying of the top of the product will not be a concern like it would be in the fec and the temperature can be regulated with much more accuracy.
molding of the couscous will utilize a nice 1 1/2" diameter piece of pvc pipe.
from past experience i know the orange vanilla sauce works great with seafood the trick being to stay just on the tart side which seems to bring out the sweetness of seafood very well.

sorry the response was so long but you asked what technic i was going to use and there just ain't no way to make it shorter.
jack

buck,
thanks for taking the time to look. menu name is my biggest bugaboo and peg and i are still trying to come up with a good name for it. i agree with everyone if i am not careful i sure am going to confuse a lot of people.
see what happens when;
a-you except free samples from salesmen in return for information
and
b- your friday workday runs from 9am to 3 pm saturday leaving you with too much time on your hands
jack

I'm thinking of just calling it "Calypso Conch Plate". A very brief description on the board. People seem to lose interest if the description gets too lengthy. Jack was thinking about setting a hot food served as cold exhibit in the window so the people can see what it will look like.
If nothing else, it will break monotony.
Peggy

Jack,

That citrus wood is great for smoking, it adds a
great delicate flavor...I love it on seafood. I
think tart would be good on that seafood with the
vanilla orange sauce.

Hope to see you soon...

Regards,
Preston

Jack,

You're the man, sounds very creative, you chef days showing up.

That recipe would be pushing the envelop an a local restaurant, let alone BBQ restaurant.

You're the first man I'll call when I build a menu, I like the originality.

Russ

smokin,
thanks but like i told preston it may work and it may not. but the one thing i do love is the sm150. if you remember i always looked kind of down my nose at it but after playing with it for a year i sure do respect it's capabilities and without it i would never attempt to even try this.
of course candy coming out with pure orange pellets didn't hurt
jack

We're listing it as a special
Calypso Conch Plate
Orange smoked conch cake on a bed of couscous with smoked corn salsa. A flavor blend of Caribbean and Morroco.

We'll see how it goes. That orange/vanilla sauce Jack makes is so delicious and simple. It tastes great with any seafood. And if you like spicy seasoning on your fish, it cools it down a bit with the yogurt. I think it would be good with jerk chicken, too.
Peggy

It sounds like something I would definitely buy if I were to see it on a menu,especially as I like to try thing that are unique.The orange sauce sounds good to me too.the hot,smokiness and a cool-tart creamy sauce...like a Dreamsicle