A Seasonal Gulf Seafood Guide for Private Dinners

Cooking in Southwest Florida means cooking next to the Gulf of Mexico, and that shapes almost every menu I write. My seafood menus are custom-tailored to the day’s catch: I plan the dish, then let what’s best that day decide the final details. Here’s a guide to the Gulf seafood you’ll see most often on my private dinner menus in Naples and on Marco Island.

Gulf red snapper

Snapper works beautifully raw or cooked. On the Gulf Coast Tasting it opens the meal as a crudo with Key lime, Fresno chile, Marcona almond and sea salt. Cooked, I like it crispy-skinned, or salt-crusted and filleted tableside for a little theater. Peruvian menus turn it into tiradito or snapper a lo macho.

Grouper

Grouper shows up on my menus in a few ways. Seared black grouper with saffron risotto, asparagus and citrus beurre blanc is the main course of the Gulf Coast Tasting, and pan-roasted grouper in a saffron and white wine brodetto suits an Italian-leaning evening.

Golden tilefish

I like golden tilefish with crispy scales and a light, bright sauce, such as a saffron-fennel fumet or a white-miso beurre blanc with seared king trumpet mushrooms.

Cobia and other local fish

Local cobia works well as a tiradito with a yuzu-tamarind leche de tigre. Corvina and swordfish make appearances too, depending on what’s best that week.

Royal red shrimp

Royal red shrimp are a favorite on my tasting menus: as an aguachile with cucumber, Key lime and serrano, charcoal-kissed, or au poivre for a steakhouse-style evening. Classic chilled Gulf shrimp still has its place too, in the shrimp cocktail that opens Steakhouse for Two.

Gulf blue crab

Jumbo lump blue crab goes into the sweet corn and crab bisque, pairs with Florida citrus as a first course, and folds into a sage brown-butter tagliatelle.

Diver scallops

Seared scallops show up with crispy pork belly and coconut beurre blanc on Global Fusion, over cauliflower purée with golden raisins and brown butter on An Evening of Wine, and as a citrus crudo or ceviche.

Mahi-mahi

Mahi is my go-to for ceviche. On Sabor de la Florida it’s cured with Key lime, mango, red onion and cilantro and served with plantain chips.

Florida flavors that go with it

Gulf seafood shines brightest next to Florida ingredients: Key lime, Ruby Red grapefruit and Florida citrus, sweet corn, hearts of palm, mango and Plant City strawberries for dessert. A lot of my coastal cooking also borrows from Peru and Japan, where raw fish, citrus and chile are a natural language.

Planning a seafood dinner

• Tell me about shellfish allergies first. They change the plan more than anything else.
• Let the catch decide. Naming a style (crudo, seared, grilled) gives me room to pick the best fish that day.
• Balance the menu. One raw course, one warm seafood course and a non-seafood main keeps everyone happy.
• Mention the wine. The Evening of Wine menu pairs scallops with white Burgundy or Chablis, and I’m glad to build around your bottles.

Ready to plan? Browse the sample menus or start an inquiry.

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