Shawn Wellersdick, executive chef and owner of Port Land Grille, earned his degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. He served his culinary internship at Rihga Royal Hotel's Halcyon Restaurant in New York before moving to North Carolina in 1993.
Shawn joined Noble's Restaurant Group as executive chef in 1994. During his tenure, Noble's won praise from National Restaurant News and Food Network. In 1998, Shawn became part-owner and executive chef of the acclaimed Under Currant in Wilmington, NC. Shawn continues his unique culinary explorations today at his Port Land Grille.
Shawn is a member of the American Culinary Association and La Chaine des Rotisseurs, and serves on the Chefs Advisory Board of the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission and the NC Seafood Commission and he has just joined the Chefs Advisory Board for the NC Pork Council. He has won a silver medal from the American Culinary Federation and was a finalist in the La Chaine des Rotisseurs National Hot Food Competition at the Culinary Institute of America.
Since Port Land Grille has been open, Shawn has been instrumental in the restaurant’s reputation and garnering both regional and national attention and recognition…the restaurant won the prestigious DiRoNA award in 2005 and continues to earn recognition for excellence in areas of both food and wine. The restaurant consistently earns recognition with the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence (2000-2006 and counting); Sante Award - for Best Fine Dining in the Southeast (2004,2005…) Wine Enthusiast Award of Unique Distinction (2004, 2005) and remains on the top of many regional “best of” lists.
Shawn and Anne participate in many local fundraisers for the community (most recently Empty Bowls 2006) as well as the “fun”draisers such as the Beaufort Wine and Food Festival (which raised lots of money for the Beaufort, NC Maritime Museum and the “tall ships” exhibition 2006).
Pecan & Benne Seed Crusted Farm Raised Black Sea Bass: Serves 8
Crust:
1 cup toasted pecan pieces, coarsely crushed
2 T black Benne (or toasted sesame) seeds
1 cup Panko Bread crumbs
1 t salt
½ t pepper
Eggwash:
4 large whole eggs, whisked thoroughly.
Seasoned Flour:
1 cup AP flour
1 t Chinese “five spice” powder (equal parts finely ground szechuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel seeds, cinnamon and cloves)
NC Farm Raised Black Sea Bass:
8 fillets of skinless and boneless black sea bass (approx 4 – 6 oz each) patted dry.
3 T blended Olive Oil
Lightly but completely dredge fillets in seasoned flour, shake off excess, dip in eggwash, then lightly coat with nut/seed crust. Place on platter and keep chilled until ready to pan fry.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Place fillets in pan - do not crowd - and pan fry for 2-3 minutes on one side, gently flip over and pan fry an additional 2-3 minutes or until golden. Cooking times will vary depending upon size & thickness of fillets. Transfer fillets to a platter and keep warm.
Watermelon & Vidalia Onion Preserves:
2 cups watermelon rind (thinly sliced) ~ reserve 1 cup small cubes of watermelon flesh for garnish
1 cup thinly sliced Vidalia onion
2 star anise seeds
1 cinnamon stick
2 T olive oil
½ cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ t ground tumeric
1 t minced fresh ginger
pinch of salt
Heat oil in large sauté pan over med high heat, saute onions with the cinnamon stick and star anise until onions are tender. Add the rest of the ingredients and lower heat, simmering for 20 minutes. Let cool before serving. Can be refrigerated and brought to room temp before serving.
Carolina Gold Sticky Rice with Shrimp:
½ cup finely diced white onions
¼ cup finely diced carrots
½ cup toasted shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
2 T butter
1½ cup uncooked Carolina Gold rice
½ cup diced dried mango
3 cups hot water (can use fish or chicken stock or any combination of the three to make 3 cups of hot liquid)
1 t salt
1 T Olive Oil
1 # pound shrimp, peeled, tails off and deveined (25-30 ct)
Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan. Sweat onions, carrots and coconut in melted butter for 5 minutes or so, until softened. Add rice and stir to thoroughly warm and coat rice kernels – about 2 minutes.
Add hot stock or water and mango, and let simmer for 20 minutes, covered. When rice is done, place on sheet pan to cool and set aside.
To cook shrimp (& reheat rice - just before service):
Place 1 T olive oil in large sauté pan over med-high heat. When hot, add shrimp and sear on both sides just until done (about 2 –3 minutes). To shrimp, add reserved sticky rice, lower heat to medium and reheat stirring frequently to prevent sticking and overcooking.
“Johnston County” Sweet Potato Curry “Broth”:
3 T butter
1 cup diced onions
1 cup fresh julienned fennel bulb
3 cups peeled and diced raw sweet potatoes
One whole kaffir lime leaf
½ t green curry paste
one vanilla bean, split & scraped
2 cups shrimp stock
½ cup Half n’ Half
1 – 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
½ # jumbo lump crab meat (thoroughly picked and cleaned – reserved for garnish)
Melt butter in large heavy sauté pan over low heat. Sauté sweet potatoes, onions, fennel, vanilla bean (and scrapings), curry paste & kaffir lime leaf for 5 minutes. Add shrimp stock and simmer for 15 minutes over low-medium heat. Stir in Half n’ Half, coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove kaffir lime leaf & vanilla bean pods and puree remaining mixture in blender until smooth. Pass mixture through fine sieve. Keep warm. ~ Crabmeat is added as a “garnish” during final plating.
Miso Braised Collard Greens:
One head of cleaned and trimmed fresh collard greens, coarsely chopped.
¼ cup diced white or yellow onion
¼ cup diced bacon
pinch dried red chili pepper flakes
2 T miso paste
1 T Olive Oil
1 smoked ham hock
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup chicken or fish stock or water
pinch salt & pepper to taste
Heat butter in large heavy bottomed saucepot. Place bacon, onions, miso paste & chili peppers in pot and stir until well coated. Place collards in pot and stir again. Add ham hock, vinegar & stock and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until greens are tender and season with salt & pepper. Remove ham hock and drain greens thoroughly. Let cool, and set aside until needed.
“Red Neck” Shrimp Eggrolls:
Filling:
½ cup carrot, julienned
½ cup white onion, julienned
2 t sesame oil
1 cup chopped country ham (can also use ham hock meat from “mess” of collards)
1 cup cooked collard greens, well drained
1 # smoked shrimp, coarsely chopped (see recipe or use high quality purchased smoked shrimp)
1 t minced roasted garlic
1 t soy sauce
8 wonton wrappers (trimmed to 4” square)
beaten egg
Peanut or Soybean Oil for frying
Heat sesame oil over medium heat in large sauté pan. Add shrimp and ham, quickly sauté until shrimp is just cooked through (approx 2-3 minutes or until pink). Place shrimp and ham in large bowl and set aside. Add onions, carrots to sauté pan and cook about 5 minutes or until vegetables are al dente. Add vegetables, drained collards to shrimp and ham mixture and gently mix until evenly dispersed.
Stir in garlic, soy sauce. Set aside until cool.
To assemble eggrolls:
Place 2 tablespoons of filling in lower corner of wrapper (positioned as diamond in front of you) with ½ inch wrapper showing. Fold up lower corner over filling, fold over sides and neatly roll upwards, using eggwash to seal edges.
To fry:
Heat oil in deep fryer to 350* then fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown, drain on paper towels. Keep warm. When ready to serve, slice in half vertically on the diagonal
To Smoke Shrimp :
Set up a “pan smoker” using 2 -4” deep heavy aluminum baking pans. Place 1 cup hardwood chips on the bottom of one pan. Place crumpled aluminum foil “balls” in the corners to serve as a holder for a wire rack allowing for the rack to be about 2-3 inches off the bottom. Place pan, with chips, and rack readied over a gas burner over high heat until chips start to smoke. Reduce heat to medium low, place 1 # peeled, tails off, de-veined shrimp (25 – 30 ct) on rack, cover securely with second pan as a lid and smoke for 6-8 minutes. When shrimp is done, remove from heat and reserve for eggroll filling.
Daikon Radish, Cucumber Salad:
1 cup shredded Daikon radish
1 cup of “sphagetti-cut” peeled & seeded cucumber
½ cup julienned red bell pepper
1 T chiffonade of fresh mint leaves
1 T mirin
1 t minced fresh lemon grass leaves
zest of one orange
pinch of salt
Gently toss ingredients in medium sized bowl and set aside at room temperature.
To assemble final dish:
Place ½ cup hot sticky rice with shrimp in center of plate.
Ladle approximately ½ cup hot sweet potato curry broth around rice.
Top rice mound with a 1 T daikon, cucumber salad
Place one filet of Black Sea Bass on top of rice & daikon salad
Top Black Sea Bass with 1 T watermelon preserves
Place one eggroll half (cut on the diagonal) over watermelon preserves.
Garnish:
Place watermelon pieces and lump crabmeat pieces alternatively in broth, around rice mound.
Place chives over fish filet.
Sprinkle a pinch of benne seeds over sauce.
For more information on NC Farm Raised Black Sea Bass visit http://www.uncw.edu/aquaculture/index.html
