Western Living Magazine
East Van Escape
Kitchen Infinity Atelier
Design Crush: A Sustainable, Stylish New HQ for Pyrrha in Vancouver
Recipe: The Perfect Blueberry Scones for Springtime
The Only Irish Coffee Recipe You’ll Ever Need
Protected: Recipe: The Ultimate Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
I Had the Best Nap of My Life in an Anti-Gravity Pod
Editors’ Picks: The Best Trips We Took in 2022
Victoria Might Just Be the Perfect Pre-New Year’s Getaway
Trending Now: The Best New Furniture and Homewares for Spring
Sleep Tight, Whatever Your Size: This Mattress Company Embraces All Body Types
The Future of Beauty: How One Medical Aesthetics Clinic is Changing the Game
Designers of the Year 2023: Meet the Architecture Judges
What It’s Like to Win a Designers of the Year Award
Submissions Now Open! Enter Western Living’s 2023 Designers of the Year Awards
We tapped seafood specialist Jenice Yu of Fresh Ideas Start Here for four special under-the-sea recipes you can serve at a luxe New Year's Eve party.
My first encounter with Jenice Yu, I found her surrounded by an excitable pack of food writers at a Vancouver restaurant event. They were peppering her with questions about her latest shipment, oohing and aahing over details she was feeding them about her hot new product, she even had video of a recent score. That score was a hot commodity—uni (sea urchin)—and these food writers were salivating over her fresh catch.Yu is a Vancouver fish purveyor, who comes from a long line of fish purveyors, and her company Fresh Ideas Start Here serves a ton of local big-name restaurants like Maenam, Bishop’s, Espana and more, even winning an award for top producer/supplier in the 2012 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.Naturally, she knows a thing or two about high-end seafood, and as a special treat for WL readers, she has put together four fancy (yet simple to make) recipes to wow guests at a luxe New Year’s Eve party: Smoked Salmon Tarts, a Caviar Station featuring Blini Bites, Lemon Coriander Marinated Tuna Squares and Smoked Uni Shooters.
Yu’s pretty and colourful gluten-free dish also features a flavourful horseradish mascarpone and the whole thing can be easily prepared ahead of time. (Recipe here.)
“This recipe was taught to me by Chef Gavin Craig years ago and I have been using it ever since. The spices and herbs that encrust the tuna will act as a tangy cure and cool the outside of the loin.” (Recipe here.)
Yu says this is one of the most luxurious treats you can present to your guests. Gluten-free Blini Bites (recipe for these here) are served along with champagne, caviar, crème fraîche and diced red onions. Note: The caviar should be served chilled (never at room temp) and serving it in a dish on ice is a great way to keep it cool.
I have to admit, for me these would take a bit of coaxing to try, but they are one of Yu’s personal favourites. She says the uni shooters, a traditional Japanese aphrodisiac, are great conversation starters that are always interesting to do with a group of friends, especially if you have first-timers. They are also quick to assemble, you just have to cook rice ahead of time. (Find the recipe here.)
Are you over 18 years of age?