CHEF DAVID CUNNINGHAM
Native to south Louisiana, David Cunningham grew up in a family of great cooks in Baton Rouge. His passion for the outdoors fueled David’s desire to develop his culinary craft and he learned to cook game and seafood at any early age.
After graduating from Louisiana State University in 1993, Chef David attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, S.C. and then attained a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration from the University of New Orleans. While earning his third degree, David completed his formal training at the famed New Orleans Commander’s Palace under the late Chef Jamie Shannon. During his stint at Commander’s Palace, Chef David was featured in Gourmet magazine featuring the Top Five chocolate desserts, cooked at the famous James Beard House in New York and participated in the Turner South “Off the Menu” television show.
David and his wife moved to Vermont in November 2001, at which time he took the position of Chef du Cuisine at Mary’s at Baldwin Creek and later became the Executive Chef of the Perry Restaurant Group in 2002. In August of 2009, David Cunningham took the helm as Executive Chef of the newest addition to the Commander’s Family of restaurants at Commander’s Palace Destin, located in the HarborWalk Village Emerald Grande Resort. In January of 2011, David joins the team at the long anticipated Hotel Viridian where he is the current Executive Chef of their flagship restaurant, V Seagrove. He currently lives in Santa Rosa Beach with his wife, Andie, and their two children, Tobie and Owen.
Herb Roasted Red Snapper
Plain old butter can’t stand up to the nutty, fragrant flavor of browned butter. In this recipe, we take browned butter and make a lusciuos, thick sauce the consistency of hollandaise. It goes great with grilled lobster, shrimp and whatever else you normally put butter on. At Commander’s, that would be pretty much everything. Along the Gulf Coast, summertime is red snapper season. It is the prize of most of the sport fishing boats here the time of year with the season starting in June1 and running until the end of July. The commercial Snapper season runs a bit longer and they can be found fresh in any fish market along the coast.
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Brown Butter Vinaigrette:
- 8 tbsp(1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tbsp cane vinegar
- Kosher salt and white pepper to taste
To oreoare the brown butter vinaigrette:
In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium, high heat, swirling occasionally, untill the butter is brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour the butter into a bowl and let it cool to almost room temperature. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice, cane vinegar, salt, pepper and 2 tbsp. of water. Gradually whish the melted butter into the egg mixture and continue whisking until thickened and smooth. Set aside at room temperature.
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For the Snapper:
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 sprigs fresh tarragon
- 4 sprigs fresh basil
- 4 sprigs fresh cilantro
- Four 6 ounce snapper filets
- Kosher salt and freshly ground
- black pepper to taste
- ½ cup dry white wine
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
Method:
Preheat oven to 400º F. Scatter the herb sprigs on a rimmed baking dish. Season the snapper filets with salt and pepper, and arrange on top of the herbs. Pour the wine and lemon juice over the fillets and rub the tops evenly with butter. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. It should be moist, with the edges just starting to turn brown.
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