hi, i'm jeffrey moss, with pottery barn. as summer rolls back around, we're planning gatherings to celebrate the warm weather season. inspired by life at the seashore, we've pulled together dinnerware and linens in oceanic hues, and silvery pieces which make whimsical reference to sea life. we're also taking a dip into a hot culinary trend, and designing one course of our meal around one of the oldest seasonings for food...salt. for an unexpected and entertaining twist to our party, we're using blocks of pink himalayan salt. blocks of salt are gorgeous when they catch light and fire up in variegated hues ranging from light pink to deep red, and they can be put to work as cooking surfaces
and self-seasoning serving pieces. slabs of himalayan salt can withstand extreme temperatures without cracking meaning you can heat them for cooking. to prepare the scallops we're serving, heat a salt block to five hundred degrees in your oven. place the heated block on your stove top, coat sea scallops with olive and cracked peppercorns, then drop onto the block. when the scallops are seared to perfection on both sides, squeeze lime and lemon juice over them and garnish with shreds of citrus zest. once the preparation is done, you can use a pottery barn wood paddle pedestal to present the salt block at the table.
small round salt slabs can be used for individual servings, and provide a subtle salt flavor quite unlike using ground or flake salt. for place cards that capitalize on the salty top note of our menu, you can download these at potterybarn.com and trim, or write and stamp each guest's name, then use pottery barn's turtle salt cellars filled with finishing salt, for the final presentation. one of my favorite cocktails, especially in summertime, is a variation on the greyhound, the salty dog. traditionally, the salty dog is vodka and grapefruit juice, served on the rocks with a salted rim, but gin or tequila may also be used. for our salty dogs, i used a rim of alaea hawaiian sea salt,
mixed with a little chipotle pepper for beautiful color and extra zing, and premixed the juice and spirits, making it easy to refresh guests' cocktails. to compliment the salt flavors used for the meal, we're pouring refreshingly floral and light-bodied riesling, kept on ice throughout the party in pottery barn's woven canoe cooler. the table is beautifully set, the meal is prepped, the guest invited. in true summertime style, finish off your table with a fresh bouquet of flowers from the garden, and let the good times roll. cheers!