THE Dish: Tom Douglas' Salmon with Shiitake Relish

(CBS News) Award-winning chef Tom Douglas didn't start his career in the kitchen.

Douglas tried his hand at a number of jobs, worked as a carpenter, in wine sales and even repaired railroad cars. But, none of those jobs swayed him from his true passion -- cooking and business.

The self-taught cookbook author and entrepreneur has amassed a culinary empire of 13 restaurants in Seattle and published four cookbooks -- his latest is "The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook," which was just released this month.

He stopped by "CBS This Morning: Saturday" to prepare his ultimate dish: Pit Roasted Salmon with a Shiitake Relish.

Blog: "What's Cooking"
Special section: Food and Wine

RECIPES:

Etta's Pit Roasted Salmon with Grilled Shiitake Relish and Cornbread Pudding
Tom Douglas
From Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen
Serves 6

For Salmon Spice Rub:

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• Six 7-ounce salmon filets
• Olive oil
• Etta's Cornbread Pudding (see recipe)
• Grilled Shiitake Relish (see recipe)
• 1 lemon cut in 6 wedges
• Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Fire up the grill.

To make the Salmon Spice Rub, combine the sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, and thyme in a small bowl. Coat both sides of the salmon portions using all of the rub.

Brush the grill and fish with oil. Grill over direct heat, covered, with the vents open. When the salmon is marked by the grill, flip and finish cooking. I like our salmon medium-rare, which requires a total grilling time of about 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill. The sugar in the spice rub can easily burn, so watch it closely.

To serve, spoon the warm cornbread pudding onto 6 plates and rest a salmon fillet up against the pudding. Spoon some grilled shiitake relish over each salmon fillet and garnish with lemon wedges and fresh basil leaves.

Grilled Shittake Relish
Tom Douglas
From Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen
Serves 4 to 6 as a condiment

• 3/4 pound shiitake mushroom caps, wiped clean
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fire up the grill.

In a bowl, toss the mushroom caps with 2 tablespoons of the oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Grill mushrooms on both sides, over direct heat, until cooked through, about 5 minutes total cooking time. (Unless your mushroom caps are large, you may want to set a rack over your grill or use a grill basket so you don't have any mushrooms falling through the grates.)

Remove the mushrooms from the grill and thinly slice. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and sweat 2 to 3 minutes until soft and aromatic. Set aside to cool. In a bowl, combine the mushrooms, shallot-garlic mixture, herbs, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice. Season the relish to taste with salt and pepper and set aside at room temperature.

Tom's tasty tomato soup with brown butter croutons
Makes 6 servings

When I was a kid and my mom made tomato soup, she would cut buttered toast into squares and float them on top of each bowl. My twist on Mom's toast is to make brown butter croutons, though when I'm really feeling feisty I go all the way and make grilled cheese croutons (page 346) to float on the soup. to cut the bread for the brown butter croutons, take a 4- inch chunk of rustic bread (5 to 6 ounces) and cut off and discard the crusts using a serrated knife. Cut the bread into 4 slices, then cut the slices into 3/4-to 1-inch cubes.

Special equipment: Blender

Soup:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife and peeled
• 5 cups canned whole tomatoes in juice
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano or
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Brown butter croutons
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 slices European-style rustic bread, crusts removed, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes (30 to 36 cubes) kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, cream, salt, red pepper flakes, celery seed, oregano, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat and puree in batches in the container of a blender. Return the soup to the pot and reheat to a simmer, seasoning to taste with more salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, to make the brown butter croutons, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the butter in a small pan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the butter is golden brown and aromatic, about 3 minutes after the butter melts. Remove from the heat. Put the bread cubes in a bowl and pour the brown butter over them, tossing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Bake until the croutons are toasted and golden, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the oven.

4. Serve the soup hot, garnished with the croutons.

Etta's Cornbread Pudding
Tom Douglas
From Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen
Makes 6 servings

For cornbread:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup grated jack cheese
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted plus a little more for buttering pan

For the pudding:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter plus a little more for buttering pan
• 1cup thinly sliced onion
• 3/4 cup grated dry jack cheese (or substitute regular jack or sharp cheddar)
• 2 teaspoons chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make the cornbread, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter an 8x8-inch baking dish. Combine the flour, cornmeal, cheese, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and stir into the mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake about 15 to 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cut into one inch cubes. You should have about 8 cups of cornbread cubes, but you only need one third of the cornbread cubes (about 2 2/3 cups) for this recipe. (Note: freeze the extra cornbread for future batches of pudding.)

To make the cornbread pudding, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Put the 2 2/3 cups of cornbread cubes in a buttered 8x8-inch baking dish. Set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan on low heat and very slowly sauté the onions until soft and golden brown, at least 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Scatter the onions, cheese, and herbs over the cornbread cubes. Whisk together the cream and eggs with the salt and pepper and pour over the pan of cornbread cubes. Let sit 10 minutes so the cornbread cubes absorb some of the custard. Bake about 40 minutes or until set and golden. Serve warm.

For more recipes, go to Page 2.

Dahlia triple coconut cream pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
Serves 6 to 8

This coconut cream pie has made many lists as one of the best pies in America. We've been serving it for twenty- three years, and, hyperbole aside, this is a damn good pie. The effort you put into making this pie will be rewarded when you taste its silky, coconuty filling topped with clouds of vanilla whipped cream and showered with crunchy toasted coconut.

I've always called this our triple coconut cream pie because there's coconut in the pastry cream, coconut in the crust, and more coconut sprinkled on top. Several years ago, the bakers had the idea to make the coconut pastry cream with half milk and half coconut milk, instead of using all milk. Now that there are two kinds of coconut in the pastry cream, it would be fair to all this a quadruple coconut cream pie, but "triple coconut cream" rolls off the tongue more easily. The funny thing is how many people have told me they love this pie even though they don't like coconut!

A good-quality heavy-bottomed saucepan works best for making pastry cream.

You can make the pastry cream up to a day ahead and keep it covered and refrigerated, but fill and top the pie only when you are ready to serve it.

Large-chip unsweetened coconut, for the topping, is available in the bulk section of some supermarkets or natural food stores, or you can buy it online. Or you can just substitute shredded sweetened coconut.

Special equipment: 9-inch pie pan, electric mixer, pastry bag fitted with a large star tip

Coconut pastry cream

• 1 cup (8 ounces/230 grams) milk
• 1 cup (8 ounces/230 grams) canned unsweetened coconut milk, stirred
• 2 cups (6 ounces/170 grams) shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 1/4 ounces/125 grams) sugar
• 3 tablespoons (7/8 ounce/26 grams) all- purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick/2 ounces/57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• One 9-inch blind- baked and cooled coconut pastry shell

Whipped cream topping

• 2 1/2 cups (20 ounces/600 grams) heavy cream, chilled
• 1/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces/63 grams) sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish

• 2 ounces (57 grams) unsweetened chip or large-shred coconut (about 11/2 cups), or sweetened shredded coconut (about 2/3 cup)
• Chunk of white chocolate (4 to 6 ounces, to make 2 ounces of curls)

1. To make the coconut pastry cream, combine the milk, coconut milk, and shredded coconut in a heavy- bottomed medium saucepan. Use a paring knife to scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the scrapings and the pod to the milk mixture. Place the saucepan over medium- high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until well combined. Temper the eggs by pouring a small amount (about 1/3 cup) of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Remove and discard the vanilla pod. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over another bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until completely cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools.

3. When the pastry cream is cold, fill the pastry shell, smoothing the surface with a rubber spatula.

4. In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla extract to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream and pipe it all over the surface of the pie.

5. For the garnish, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the coconut chips on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes, watching carefully and stirring once or twice until lightly browned, since coconut burns easily. Remove the coconut from the oven and allow to cool, then sprinkle it over the top of the pie. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape about 2 ounces of the white chocolate into curls on top of the pie. If you prefer, you can cut the pie into wedges and put the wedges on plates, then garnish each wedge individually with coconut and white chocolate curls.

Coconut pastry dough

Makes 1 singe 9-inch pie crust

This is the dough we use for the Dahlia Triple Coconut Cream Pie. When you blind- bake the pastry shell, be sure you bake it thoroughly, as directed in the instructions, or the crust may be tough.

Very cold butter makes a flakier crust. If your butter is not very cold, set the diced butter in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes before making your dough.

Like most pastry doughs, this one must be chilled for at least 30 minutes before being rolled, and the shaped pastry shell must be chilled for at least an hour before blind being- baked, so plan accordingly.

Special equipment: Food processor, bench knife or scraper, 9-inch pie pan, dried beans for pie weights

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 3/4 ounces/165 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (13/4 ounces/50 grams) shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces/113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup (25/8 ounces/75 grams) ice-cold water or more as needed

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, coconut, diced butter, sugar, and salt. Pulse to form coarse crumbs. Gradually add the water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing each time. Use only as much water as needed for the dough to hold together when pressed gently between your fingers; don't work the dough with your hands-just test to see if it is holding. (The dough will not form a ball or even clump together in the processor-it will still be quite loose.)

2. Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the coconut dough onto it. Pull the plastic wrap around the dough, forcing it into a rough flattened round with the pressure of the plastic wrap. Chill for 30 to 60 minutes before rolling.

3. To roll the dough, unwrap the round of coconut dough and put it on a lightly floured board. Flour the rolling pin and your hands. Roll the dough out into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Occasionally lift the dough with a bench knife or scraper to check that it is not sticking and add more flour if it seems like it's about to stick. Trim to a 12- to 13-inch round.

4. Transfer the rolled dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Ease the dough loosely and gently into the pan. You don't want to stretch the dough at this point because it will shrink when it is baked. Trim any excess dough to a 1- to 1 1/2-inch overhang. Turn the dough under along the rim of the pie pan and use your fingers and thumb to flute the edge. Chill the unbaked pie shell for at least an hour before baking. (This step prevents the dough from shrinking in the oven.)

5. When you are ready to bake the pie crust, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a piece of parchment in the pie shell, with sides overhanging the pan, and fill with dried beans. (This step prevents the bottom of the shell from puffing up during baking.) Bake the pie crust for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry rim is golden. Remove the pie pan from the oven. Remove the paper and beans and return the pie crust

to the oven. Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottom of the crust has golden brown patches. Remove from the oven and allow the pie shell to cool completely.

Star Anise Vodka Dragons
Tom Douglas
From Tom's Big Dinners
Makes 1 serving

Use a channel knife to pull long narrow strips of zest from your orange.

Sambal oelek, a Southeast Asian condiment of pureed red chiles, is an unusual addition to a cocktail. We like the way the tiny fragments of red chile float in the icy glass, and the small amount adds only a touch of heat.

• 1 thin strip of orange zest, about 4 inches long
• 1 star anise
• 1 small lime wedge (1/8 lime)
• 2 ounces lemon vodka
• 1/2 ounce Triple Sec
• A drop of sambal oelek (less than 1/16 teaspoon)

Chill a martini glass.

Rub the rim of the glass with the strip of orange zest, then tie the zest around the star anise, leaving a long tail. Drop the "dragon" into the glass.

Put the lime wedge in a cocktail shaker and muddle it with a bar stick. Add enough crushed ice or broken up ice cubes to fill the shaker half way. Add the vodka, Triple Sec and the sambal. Shake, then strain into the chilled martini glass and serve.