A Sunday Tradition

     Sunday.  A day of rest.  The end of another week and the outlook to the start of a new one.  What better of a day to relax and cook with the family.  Its a great day to make sauce!!
     There are many variations on tomato sauce or gravy as it is called by most Italians. Some like it chunky and some like puréed. Some recipes are made with meat or a host of different vegetables. A lot of different ethnic backgrounds make their own version of “tomato sauce” but I stick with my grandmother’s recipe. Growing up we always looked forward to Christmas dinner in Canarsie because grandma was making sauce with meatballs, sweet and hot Italian sausage and braciole. Gravy done right is a labor of love. It takes patience to put it all together and more patience to wait until it's done but its fairly easy to make.

The basic ingredients are:
3 10oz cans whole plum pealed tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano)
1 med chopped onion
4 cloves chopped garlic for sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 sprigs fresh basil
2lb sweet Italian sausages
2 pc braciole
Vegetable oil to coat your pot

For the Meatballs:
2lb ground beef 80/20
1lb ground veal
1lb ground pork
2 c Italian seasoned Breadcrumbs
6 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/4 c parm
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 clove chopped garlic



Method:
I prefer Italian San Marzano canned tomatoes in general, but if you make this in the summer and your plum tomatoes are in full bloom in the garden feel free to use these. For fresh tomatoes you will need to remove the skins by dipping them in boiling water for 10-20 seconds, then dipping in ice water to stop them from cooking. The skins should peel off easily and they are now ready for use in your gravy. For the meatballs I use a mixture of ground beef, veal and pork. This is mixed by hand with breadcrumbs, egg, milk, cheese, and seasonings formed into balls slightly larger than golf balls and then fried in a touch of oil in the pot you will use for your sauce. Once the meatballs are seared and resting on a large platter sear off your sausages then the braciole. To start the gravy, over a medium heat in the same pot add your chopped onions and slowly caramelize. I do not add additional sugar to my gravy. I instead rely on the sweetness from the onions, tomato paste and the sausage to flavor my sauce. Once the onions are caramelized add chopped garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes then add the tomato paste. Fry the tomato paste for 2-3 minutes stirring with a wooden spoon being careful not to burn. Frying the tomato paste will caramelize the natural sugars.
Next add your fresh pealed tomatoes or canned tomatoes to the pot. Let them cook and come to a simmer. This will take longer if using fresh tomatoes.  Take a stick or immersion blender and purée the contents of the pot. Once your gravy is puréed and simmering add all of your seared meats and some fresh basil. This should cook on a very low flame. It should bubble only every couple of seconds and should be kept covered. The grease from the meats will leach into the sauce and rise to the top so once an hour skim the sauce then give it a light stir. The gravy should cook for a minimum of 6 hours. You will know the sauce is done when your family steals meatballs and sausages out of the pot and tells you how good it is and the aroma in your home becomes intoxicating. I would normally serve this over pasta, I prefer spaghetti myself. Enjoy!

Petit Fours

This season event desserts seem to be trending toward petit fours. These tiny sweets in a variety of flavors and styles are being requested for weddings more than ever.  Ideal for a cocktail reception, they pair really well with Champagne, sparkling wine selections and cocktails.  Guests love them because they are just one-bite, easy to eat while mingling, glass in hand.  Hosts love the look of the display with so many choices to sample.  And we love them in the kitchen because it's fun to be creative with the little cakes and cookies.  We can feel free to be as generous as we like with frosting and filling, it never hurts a petit four.

 

New this year at Bridgewaters and Twenty Four Fifth, an expanded menu of petit fours is available for everything from bridal shower to wedding day.  Below we have photos showing off some of our latest beauties.  And with the latest crops of heirloom apples in tiny varieties like the pink lady, candy apples have joined the list of available petit fours.

The best seller so far this season: mini frangipane cakes, wrapped like a tiny gift in fondant, a moist, almond cake layered with orange marmalade.  They are always the first to disappear from the table.

Others include:

- Mini B&W cookies

- Mini Heart-Shaped Linzer Tarts

- Mini Macarons

- Mini Candy Apples

- Mini Monogrammed Cookies

- Mini Madeleines

Roasted Tomato Soup with Brioche Grilled Ham and Cheese

September 22nd was the official first day of fall.  Maybe you have some tomatoes left over and you're not sure exactly what to do with them.  Gazpacho or a pico de gallo just doesn't fill the void.  You could opt for a tomato sauce with meatballs and sausage, just like grandma used to make -- but if your grandma is anything like mine that's an all day process.
Why not make a soup?  Roasted tomato soup is perfect this time of the year.  Paired with a brioche grilled ham and cheese, it's the perfect fall lunch or even dinner.
The tomatoes should be roasted hot and fast.  Too slow and the natural sugars will develop and caramelize, and it will taste more like tomato sauce than tomato soup.  I find getting some char on the tomato adds a level of flavor.  
I like to use chicken stock for my tomato soup, but if you're going the vegetarian or even vegan way you could substitute vegetable stock. (Although this way you may need to lose the ham and grilled cheese altogether). 
Selecting the stock is an important step.  If you have the means I highly suggest making your own.  I have a chest freezer at home and I make my own stock and keep it in plastic quart containers.  This way when I need to make a soup or a sauce I have veal, chicken and vegetable stock that I know is of good quality at my disposal.  You will find it to be a fraction of the cost of store bought stock.  You will also benefit from knowing exactly what's in your stock.  No additives or preservatives, artificial flavors or coloring.  If you must use store bought stock though I prefer using Kitchen Basics brand.  I find it to be the closest thing to home made.  You would be surprised what some store bought stocks have in them aside from being loaded with salt.
Made right, a bowl of roasted tomato soup is deep, savory, a touch fruity and smoky.  Toast your sandwich with a smear of good butter and dunk it right in.  It's a perfect complement to a crisp fall day.  

Roasted Tomato Soup with Brioche Grilled Ham and Cheese

Makes 2 quarts or 6-8 servings

 

3lb plum or beefsteak tomatoes

1 red pepper

½ small red onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic sliced

1 qt. chicken stock (homemade or reduced sodium)

2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

2ea whole bay leaves

1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into ½ in rounds

Vegetable Oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter

¼ c heavy cream

½ lb sliced sharp cheddar cheese

12-16 slices of brioche

1/3 lb Smithfield ham (any ham you prefer can be used)

For the Soup:

Preheat your oven to 450°.  Core and ¼ the tomatoes, seed the pepper and cut into 1 inch strips.  In a mixing bowl combine the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic, carrots and thyme.  Toss with a dab of Vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper.  Select a medium size sheet tray or roasting pan that is large enough to accommodate the tomato mixture.  You don’t want to pile the tomatoes in or they will steam in the oven so be sure to select a pan that is large enough for a single layer.  Preheat the pan in your oven for 10-15 minutes.  Once preheated carefully remove from the oven, coat the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil and pour the tomato mixture into the pan spreading it evenly around.  Return the pan to the oven and roast for approximately 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have some char on them.  Stir them around a bit and roast for another 5-10 minutes.  Once they are all evenly roasted and charred remove from the oven.  Transfer the roasted tomatoes mixture into a 4 qt sauce pot and add the chicken stock and bay leaves.  Simmer mixture for 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves and discard.  Puree the soup in a blender and return to the sauce pot.  Bring to a low simmer and add the heavy cream.  While stirring add the butter and continue to stir until it is dissolved.  Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.

For the grilled cheese:

Assemble the grilled cheese.  Preheat a cast Iron Pan over a medium flame and grill the sandwiches in a dab of butter on both sides until golden brown.  Serve with Roasted Tomato Soup

Chicken Apple Sausage

   I hate to say goodbye to summer but it does open the door to a whole host of other ingredients and recipes to explore. Before we say goodbye let's have one more salute to summer.  Homemade sausage.
    Don't be intimidated by it.  With a little know-how and the right equipment you could be on your way to making some of the best sausage you have ever had.  Best of all you control what goes into it.  No guessing what animal parts were ground up and used. You will know exactly what you are eating.
    First you will need a grinder.  If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer you can find a grinder attachment for relatively cheap.  If not I recommend going with a metal manual or motor operated grinder that attaches to your countertop.  This is a decent electric grinder that you can pick up for under $70.  If you are making small quantities this will be just fine.
Next you will need a sausage stuffer.  Kitchen Aid also has an attachment for the grinder that can be used to stuff sausage but I find a manual piston style stuffer to be better. More on that later.  Here is a piston style vertical sausage stuffer for under $100.  These are the only real pieces of equipment you will need to make sausage.  Now you just need your ingredients and a good recipe.  If you search the web there are tons of recipes for homemade sausage.  Most meat-based sausages are comprised of basic ingredients.  Lean meat, fat, additives such as onion, garlic, apples or fennel seeds and seasonings like salt, pepper and ground spices. You have to be sure you have enough of a fat to lean meat ratio otherwise your sausage will not slice nicely and when sliced it will crumble like stale bread.  I normally use a ratio of 20% fat to 80% lean meat.
Once you have gathered all your ingredients and measured out everything, all the meat and fat gets ground, mixed with additives and spices and stuffed into a casing.
    There are also many types of casings available to use, from real to artificial.  I find the real casing to be the better of the two, they give the raw uncooked sausage better eye appeal and cooked sausage a better snap and mouth feel when eating it.  They are also permeable to smoke so you can smoke your raw sausage.  The artificial casings are also broken down into a few different categories. Cellulose, collagen and plastic casing are all artificial types of casings. Collagen casings are derived from the collagen of beef and pigs while cellulose casings are made with cotton linters and wood pulp and plastic casings are well…made from plastic. Some of the artificial casing will allow smoke to permeate but not all. Real casings are normally sold in a hank and are salted.  They do require more prep prior to use.  You must rinse them out and soak in cold water (I soak overnight) in order to remove the salt.  The salt however does preserve them so only clean what you need for the task at hand.  The leftover casings can stay in the fridge for 1 year.
  Now that you have you sausage stuffing and your casing washed and soaked you have to stuff it. I spoke before about not liking the Kitchen Aid attachment for stuffing sausage. If you use a manual piston style you load your stuffing in and a piston cranks down and forces the stuffing out of a tube.  There is very little friction and heat created and your stuffing will come out looking the same way it went in.  The Kitchen Aid uses the grinder attachment with a tube on the end instead of the blade and die.  There is a worm that turns and mixes the stuffing before it is forced into the casing.  This produces heat and friction and can melt or emulsify your stuffing.  You will wind up having a sausage that looks pale and almost one color.  Once cooked it will not really affect the taste or texture but it doesn’t look as appealing as one that made with a traditional piston stuffer.
    Once you have your stuffer set load it up with stuffing and feed a piece of casing on to the tube.  Tie a knot in the end of your casing and slowly begin to crank.  A little air might come out at first so hold onto your casing.  Once it begins to fill slowly loosen your grip and the casing will begin flowing off the stuffing tube.  You can control how “stuffed” your casing is by controlling how fast the casing moves off the tube.  Resist the urge to overstuff your casing.  It should have give to it.  Remember if you're making links you will have to leave room to twist otherwise your casing will break.  Once stuffed take a clean pin and poke the casing every few inches.  This will allow any air pockets to be released when you start twisting.  Twist links in even length twisting on opposite directions each time.  Refrigerate, freeze or preferably EAT your creation.  Enjoy!

Chicken Apple Sausage

5 lbs. Boneless Chicken Thighs (with fat, very important)
4 oz Leeks, diced
½ lb. Apples, diced
4 oz White Onion, diced
4 c Apple Cider, reduced to a syrup
6 Garlic Cloves, chopped
½ Tbsp TCM (tinted cure mix, pink salt)**
3 ½  Tbsp Salt (4 Tbsp if omitting TCM)
½ Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
2 Tbsp Fresh Sage, chopped
1 tsp Ground Ginger
2 Lemons, zested
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 hank of Natural Hog Casing (you will not use it all and the rest will stay in the fridge for up to a year)

Procedure
    Starting with a chilled grinder assembly, grind the boneless chicken thighs with fat into a bowl that is resting on top of ice.  Chill the ground chicken in the fridge until later. In a sauté pan start with the onions and sweat (cook gently) in a dab of vegetable oil.  Once the onions are translucent, add the leeks and sweat until bright green. Be sure to occasionally stir mixture with a wooden spoon to be sure nothing sticks or burns.  Next add the apples and garlic and sweat for 2-3 more minutes.  By now the leeks should be soft and the apples still have a slight bite to them.  Add in the nutmeg, ginger, thyme, pepper and cook for 20 seconds, then add the remaining ingredients.  Transfer the mixture to a cookie tray and place in the fridge to cool down. 

Once the vegetable and spice mixture is cool, mix it into your ground chicken.  It is important to keep the ground chicken cool so whenever you are working with it, keep the bowl on another bowl of ice.

**TCM or tinted cure mixture is 94 percent sodium chloride and 6 percent sodium nitrite.  Sodium Chloride is table salt.  Sodium nitrite is a preservative and inhibits the growth of bacteria and disease causing microorganisms.  It also has a pink tint to it and will give your sausage a nice pink hue.  It can be left out if you cannot find it or if you prefer not to use preservatives.

Pickled Vegetables

By now your patio garden (or if you're lucky enough to have a more spacious setting) has been blooming with all kinds of vegetables.  You could be growing tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, French beans, summer squash, green zucchini and a variety of others.  If you're like me you have way too many vegetables to go around.  You have given them to friends, relatives and neighbors and you still have more.  What do you do?  Compost them?  Trash?  That’s all just a waste of time.  Spending all spring and summer nurturing your garden just to discard the leftovers is not the way to go.  If there only was a way to preserve these great fresh veggies so you could enjoy them thought the winter.

Freezing won't do any good with most vegetables unless it's flash freezing.  Most people I know (including myself) don’t have the means to flash freeze.  There is a light on the horizon though.  PICKLING!

Pickling is a great way to preserve your vegetables.  You can pickle almost anything -- it's not just for cucumbers.

Pickled vegetables can be used in a variety of things such as a topping to a sandwich, making your own giardiniera (Italian mixed picked vegetables), salads and more. Just munching on picked carrots and other assorted picked vegetables by themselves can be very satisfying.

During the summer months I love to make a Harricots Verts and Pickled Summer Squash salad.  We serve it on the menu at Bridgewaters and Twenty Four Fifth for our outdoor summer BBQs. It’s the perfect sweet and tangy vegetable salad to accompany light fare grilled items.  Here is the recipe for the summer squash salad and a generic picking recipe that you can use to pickle just about anything you see fit.

When pickling anything its best to wash thoroughly and cut into manageable pieces.  If picking peppers cut into strips and remove the seeds.  Cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, Kirby cucumbers and vegetables along this size can mostly be picked whole.  The thicker or denser the vegetable the longer it will take the picking juice to penetrate the entire piece.  So if using large carrots or bigger thicker cucumbers try splitting them and cutting to a 4” length.

Some recipes for pickling vegetables call for blanching the vegetables first.  This softens them up, helps the liquid penetrate the cells of the vegetable and also kills any bacteria that may be on the surface.  When boiling vegetables even just for a few minutes you lose precious nutrients so I chose not to pickle my vegetables in this manner.  I instead thoroughly wash, peel (if necessary), and cut the fresh vegetables to be pickled and place them together or separate in clean jars that have been run through the dishwasher.

I boil my pickling liquid and pour the hot liquid over the top.  Be sure to use jars that can take the heat or you will wind up with broken glass and pickling juice everywhere.  You could also use a non-reactive pot or vessel if you chose.  I prefer the jars because they mostly come with a screw on cover and can be stored easily in the fridge.

Once the hot liquid is in the jars, leave them on the counter to cool to room temp. then cover and refrigerate.  Let them marinate in the fridge for 2-3 days -- then they are ready.  They should last 4 months or so in the fridge but if you did them right they won't be around that long.  I am sure you will find all kinds of interesting ways to use your pickled vegetables and next season may not give away as much of your harvest. 

Picked Summer squash Salad                                                                                                    

  Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

Pickled Summer squash ribbons

Pickled Green Zucchini Ribbons and shallots

2 lbs haricot vets or summer beans (ends snipped)

½ c Fresh parsley, Sliced

1c champagne vinaigrette

 

Blanch the snipped haricot verts in rapidly boiling salted water for 10-20 seconds.  They should be bright green and still very crisp.  Remove beans from water and shock in an ice bath to stop the cooking.  Remove beans from ice and place in a colander to drain.  Mix beans, ¾ summer squash ribbons, ¾ green zucchini ribbons and ¾ of the sliced parsley in a bowl with enough dressing to coat everything.  Season the salad with salt and pepper and transfer into a serving dish.  Garnish the salad with the remaining squash ribbons and sliced parsley.  

Pickled Summer squash Ribbons

 

2 yellow summer squash

1 tablespoons coarse salt
2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander
1tsp yellow mustard seed, slightly crushed

1 tsp dry mustard

1tsp turmeric

Clean the squash with cold water and Cut off the tops and bottom. Cut into 4-5” sections and then ¼ those sections lengthwise.  Place the ¼ section skin side down and run a knife along it to remove the seeds.  Slice the seedless squash section lengthwise and on its side on a mandolin creating ribbons about 1mm thick.    Place ribbons into a heat proof jar or non reactive pot.  In a stainless steel pot boil cider vinegar, salt, sugar, cumin, coriander, mustard seed, dry mustard, and turmeric.  Pour hot liquid over squash ribbons in jar and let cool to room temp.  Store in fridge for 24 hours before using. 

Pickled green zucchini ribbons

2 green zucchini

1 tablespoons coarse salt
2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup sugar

½  teaspoon ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander
1tsp  yellow mustard seed, slightly crushed

1 tsp dry mustard

1ea Med shallot, sliced thin on mandolin

Clean the zucchini with cold water and Cut off the tops and bottom. Cut into 4-5” sections and then ¼ those sections lengthwise.  Place the ¼ section skin side down and run a knife along it to remove the seeds.  Slice the seedless squash section lengthwise and on its side on a mandolin creating ribbons about 1mm thick.    Place ribbons and shallots into a heat proof jar or non reactive pot.  In a stainless steel pot boil cider vinegar, salt, sugar, cumin, coriander, mustard seed and dry mustard.  Pour hot liquid over squash ribbons and shallots in jar and let cool to room temp.  Store in fridge for 24 hours before using. 

Champagne Vinaigrette

1/3c champagne vinegar

2/3c canola or vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Take a towel, twist it and make a doughnut shape.  Place it on a sturdy surface and put a mixing bowl in the center.  This will keep the bowl from moving about while you whisk.  Add the vinegar, garlic and Dijon to the bowl and whish well.  While whisking vigorously slowly drizzle the oil into the vinegar mixture.  Once all the oil is in reserve the vinaigrette I the fridge until needed. 

August in NYC can have a lot of different meanings.  To some it is the end of the hot muggy summer months, to others its the end of BBQ and outdoor activities, to a lot of chefs its TOMATO SEASON.  This year the New York area seems to have a great crop of tomatoes.  The hot climate we have had the past few months makes the tomatoes grow faster and sweeter.

There are plenty of tomatoes out there to chose from but some of my favorites are heirlooms.  Heirloom tomatoes are not your ordinary variety.  They are original strains not genetically modified like the tomatoes you get in the grocery store.  They are not perfectly round, all one color and not all the same shape.  So if you are looking for unity go your local grocer and you will be satisfied.  If you are looking to break the mold of that boring red, round, plain, unsweet and flavorless tomato head to your local greenmarket and pick up some heirlooms.  They are the exact opposite of grocery store tomatoes.  They have not been ripened with green house gasses or genetically altered.  They are passed down through generations through seed saving and are delicious, juicy, sweet and bursting with flavor.  There are a lot of different types of heirlooms, all with different flavor profiles.  Some of the more common ones are Beefsteak, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Black Krim, Oxacan Jewel, Yellow Valencia , Black Russian, Brandy Wine, German Stripe Sunday, Early Girl and Big Pink.

There is a lot of debate as what constitutes an heirloom tomato.  How long do the seeds need to be passed down for it to be considered heirloom? There is no exact answer for that but one thing everyone agrees on is heirlooms must be open pollinated.  Tomatoes mostly self pollinate and rarely cross pollinate, so if you plant heirlooms and save the seeds year after year you will most likely continue to generate the exact same fruit.  As with anything there are some disadvantages to planting heirlooms.  They are not as disease resistant as genetically modified tomatoes so they are prone to cracking and they don't have much of a shelf life.  That shouldn't be a problem though because once you taste them I am sure they will not last long.

Most people don't cook with heirlooms because they have such great flavor raw.  They are used a lot in salads.  Try just slicing an heirloom and pair it with some fresh mozzarella, sprinkle of fleur de sel and a drizzle of aged balsomic.  After the first bite you will see what I mean.  I like to use heirlooms in one dish that is cooked however: tomato tarte tatin.  This is a twist on the classic dessert, apple or pear tarte tatin.  It's normally sweet but I put some savory twists on it.  Sherry vinegar and the natural sweetness of the tomatoes combine to make this is a great first course for your next gathering.  It also can be made early in the day before your guests arrive then just popped in the oven, warmed and served.  Enjoy!

Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin

Yields 6 Servings

 

4-5 Medium Sized Heirloom Tomatoes

2 tsp Fresh Thyme, Chopped

2 tsp Pitted Kalamata Olives, Chopped

3 ea. Medium Shallot, Thinly Sliced

2 ea Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1/2 c Sugar

5 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

2 Tbsp. Sherry Vinegar

1 Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry, Thawed

Salt and Pepper

 

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Depending on the size of the tomatoes you get core and ¼ them or 1/6 them.  Tomatoes as they bake will give off allot of moisture.  So when they are cut remove as much of the seeds and any other goop inside to reduce the amount of moisture you start off with.  If you leave too much you will have soup rather than a tart. 

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a 9-10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and cook slowly until caramelized.  When shallots are caramelized add minced garlic, cook for an additional 20 seconds, remove everything from skillet and reserve.  Add the remaining 4 tbsp butter and sherry vinegar to the skillet and melt.  Add the sugar to the skillet and mix with a wooden spatula, cook until liquefied, then remove from heat.  Spread sugar/butter evenly around that pan and arrange the tomato wedges, skin side down close together in skillet.  Try to fill in any voids. 

Return the skillet to medium heat and continue to cook until the sugar mixture is amber in color and reduced to syrup.  This should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes.  If your syrup is cooking to quickly reduce the heat.  About 10 minutes into the cooking add the olives and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.  When fully cooked your tomatoes should all be arranged as tight as possible with the skin side down.  The side that is down in the pan will be the top of your tart.  Remove from heat.

Trim the corners of the puff party to make a very rough 9 to 10-inch round.  Sprinkle the caramelized shallots and garlic mixture on top of the tomatoes.  Place pastry round atop tucking in the edges with a knife.  Cut a few small slits in the pastry.  Place skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.  Remove skillet from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.  Cut around the sides of the skillet to loosen pastry.  Place a large enough plate over the skillet and quickly invert.  Let the tart settle and remove the skillet.  Replace any tomatoes that stuck.  Serve slightly warmed.

 Executive Chef Michael Goldsborough

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Rosemary Stuffed Grilled Rack of Lamb....

As the month of August begins it always sets off an alarm in my head.  The grilling weekend will come to an end soon and we must all retreat back into our kitchens.  The good news is that summer isn’t over yet!  There are a few more good grilling weekend left, so don’t waste them.  One meat I love to grill is lamb, which may not be the most popular (or the cheapest) but it is great choice done right.   There are a few different lamb chops to choose from for grilling:

Lamb Shoulder Blade Chops:

Lamb shoulder blade chops are cut from the blade portion of shoulder and contain part of the blade bone and backbone.

Lamb Shoulder Arm Chops:

Lamb shoulder arm chops are cut from the arm portion of shoulder and contain cross-sections of round arm bone and rib bones.

Lamb Rib Chops:

Lamb rib chops contain backbone and, depending on the thickness, a rib bone. The chops have a meaty area consisting of rib eye muscle. The outer surface is covered by fat but with the fell (a thin, paperlike covering) removed.

Lamb Loin Chops:

Lamb loin chops contain part of the backbone. Muscles include the eye of the loin (separated from the tenderloin by T-shaped finger bones) and the flank. Kidney fat is on the top of the tenderloin, and the outer surface is covered with fat, but with the fell (a thin, paperlike covering) removed.

Lamb Loin Double Chops:

Lamb loin double chops contain top loin (larger muscle) and tenderloin (smaller muscle), but with the flank removed from the cut. They are called double chops since this is a cross-cut of loin containing both sides of the carcass.

Lamb Leg Sirloin Chops:

Lamb leg sirloin chops are cut from the sirloin section of the leg and contain backbone and part of the hip bone, which vary in shape. Muscles include the top sirloin, tenderloin, and flank. There is fat on the outside, but the fell (a thin, paperlike covering) is removed.

* Source: http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/customize?meatcutslamb.html

There is also ground lamb and leg of lamb.  Try ground lamb burgers, or mix lamb and beef and put a spin on your next bbq gathering.  Lamb legs works best B.R.T. (bone rolled and tied) but before you tie it up stuff it with some feta cheese, olives and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and slowly grill it.  You won't be disappointed.

I personally like a good old rack of lamb which would be lamb rib chops in the list above.  You will also have to chose from Australian, New Zealand, or domestic/American lamb.  Domestic lamb runs bigger in size due to the way they are fed and finished, and they also tend to have a milder flavor because of this.  Australian and New Zealand lamb will have more of a gamey flavor compared to domestic but will be smaller in comparison as well.

I stuff my lamb with a blend of oven dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and olives, which brings an extra layer of warm Mediterranean flavor to it.  The markets are overflowing with ripe seasonal tomatoes right now, it's the perfect time to work with them.  When you dry them in the oven they retain more moisture than sun-dried and keep the inside of the lamb juicy.  I recommend making a big batch and serving some as a side for the lamb.

Rosemary Stuffed Grilled Rack of Lamb

Yield 4 portions

For the Lamb:

2 racks of lamb, cut into 4 bone-in portions

1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil

kosher salt and ground black pepper

For the Stuffing:

4 med cloves garlic, minced

8 sprigs fresh rosemary from the garden

¼ cup Kalamata olives, chopped

--combined with, for oven-dried tomatoes--

6 whole ripe plum tomatoes from the garden

3 sprigs fresh thyme from the garden, chopped

2 springs fresh oregano from the garden, chopped

1 med clove garlic, minced

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp sugar

Procedure for Stuffing:

First prepare oven-dried tomatoes.  Halve the 6 tomatoes and remove the seeds.  Toss tomatoes in a bowl with vegetable oil.  Arrange on a baking sheet atop parchment paper cut side up and season with herbs, garlic, salt and sugar.  Place into a preheated 250° oven for approximately 2 hours or until the tomatoes appear dried, and have shrunken slightly.

Roughly chop the oven dried tomatoes and mix with garlic, rosemary and olives.  Set aside until lamb is ready to be stuffed.

Procedure for the Lamb:

Insert a paring knife into the cut side of the lamb and push it through to the other end.  Insert the handle of a wooden spoon in the cut and make a ½ in diameter hole.  Mix together the garlic, rosemary, tomatoes and olives and stuff this mixture into the lamb from both ends being sure it is evenly distributed.  Coat the lamb with oil and season generously with salt and black pepper. 

On a med-high preheated grill cook the lamb approximately 8-10 minutes each side for medium rare.  Once cooked let the lamb rest 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Radicchio Coleslaw .....

 

The summer months in NY brings a host of different fresh produce to all the farmers markets as well as farm stands. When I have off I love to go out to the East End of Long Island and explore all the farms and wineries, especially on the North Fork. The farm stands on the east end have a great variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. You can find fresh sweet corn, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and a variety of other fresh produce. I love to use these trips to come up with some new and interesting salads and side dishes. One of these that I will share with you today is a radicchio cole slaw. Try this at your next gathering and I am sure you will not be disappointed.

For those of you are a not as familiar with radicchio, radicchio is an Italian chicory. It has bitter and spicy tastes that help add great deal of depth and complexity to a coleslaw salad. You can not only use radicchio in salads but you can also grill, braise or used in soups. When you are grilling radicchio you add another dimension of flavor, the grilling actually allows for the bitterness to be less forward and allows for a layer of sweetness to be present.

Bridgewaters

radicchio coleslaw                                                                         

yeilds 6-8 servings

1ea.                  small head radicchio, shredded thin

1ea.                  small head green cabbage, cored and shredded thin

1ea.                  Medium carrot, shredded

½ ea                 small red onion, sliced thin

1pc.                  Jicama, shredded

1cup                 sugar snap peas, sliced thin lengthwise

¼ c                   sliced scallions

1 ½ tbsp            toasted sesame seeds

6 tbsp               rice wine vinegar

4 tbsp               extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp               sugar

½ tbsp              Dijon mustard

1-2 tsp             salt

1 tsp                 ground black pepper

In a small bowl mix the rice wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, salt and black pepper.  while whisking the vinegar mixture slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil.  In another bowl mix all the vegetables and 1 tbsp of the toasted sesame seeds.  When veggies are mixed add the vinaigrette and mix again.  Chill the coleslaw for 1 hour prior to serving.  Sprinkle the remaining ½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds on top when ready to serve.

Lemon Garden Herb Stuffed Branzino

Entertaining is an art. Being a chef, a lot of people ask me if when I am off do I still like to cook at home. My answer is always yes.  Cooking at home for my friends and family is one of my favorite things to do.  I can cook for a group of 20 people and still have time to mingle with my guests and enjoy myself.  There are a few things you can do for your next gathering to prepare yourself so you too can enjoy the party.

  First plan a simple menu.  The larger the guest list, the simpler it should be.  There are plenty of great simplistic recipes and ideas out there, anything that requires multiple pots and pans to finish preparing should not be part of your menu.

   Second and most important is preparation.  Chose menu items that can be partially to fully prepared hours to a day ahead of time. If you are having people over for a summertime BBQ you might want to make some sort of potato salad, coleslaw or a pasta salad.  All of these can be made the day before.  You can even put in decorative bowls and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve. For the entrée portion of the meal, try a grilled branzino.  This delicate fish can be stuffed with aromatic herbs picked strait from your garden, tied up and kept cold until you are ready to grill.

  Don't overdo it.  You want to give your guests a variety but having appetizers, 6 sides, 3 entrees and 4 desserts will do nothing but give you a headache and leave you with a lot of uneaten food.

   Keep your liquor selection to a minimum.  You might want to avoid putting out any liquor all together and just make a pre-determined cocktail such as a sangria.  Chose something that you can make the base for ahead of time, then when your guests arrive, just finish it with ice or a splash of soda and serve in a glass pitcher.  No need to take out the whole liquor cabinet.  Just serve your specialty cocktail, beer and wine.

Lemon Garden Herb Stuffed Branzino

Yields 4 portions

4 small Branzino, head and tail on, skin on

1 lemon

1 sprigs Sage, from the garden

6 sprigs thyme, from the garden

4 sprigs parsley, from the garden

2 sprigs rosemary, from the garden

1 Garlic Clove, Thin Sliced

1 Small Shallot, Thin sliced

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Vegetable Oil

Lay all 4 branzino open skin side down on a tray.  Cut 4 slices of lemon and those slices into half moons.  Season the inside of the branzino with salt and pepper and lay 2 half moons of lemon in each fish.  Pick all leaves from herbs and combine in a small bowl with shallots and garlic.  Divide the herb mixture evenly over the four fish and fold over to close.  With a few pieces of butchers twine gently tie the branzino in 3 spots to keep it from opening on the grill.  Brush with oil and season with salt and pepp

 Preheat your grill to med-high heat and oil the cooking surface.  Grill the branzino for 5-7 minutes per side being careful not to rip the skin when flipping.  Remove from the grill and cover with foil for a few minutes to finish cooking before serving. 

Cedar Planked Maple Glazed Salmon

Smoking meats and fish is a great American pastime. It was done in the past in combination with curing not to impart flavor as much as it was to preserve meat and fish though the months and on long journeys. There was no selection of wood chips available, electric or gas smokers like so many of us use today.  Whatever grew natively in the land was used to smoke with.  Some of our favorite dishes, like pastrami, gravlox and smoked salmon come from these techniques. I've included two salmon recipes here, including one that smokes it on the grill, and another that cures it into a version of pastrami.  The pastrami is not cooked, but cured in a multi-day process that infuses layers of flavor into the fish and renders it succulent and ready to eat.

Today we have a variety of woods to chose from.  Smoking with fruit wood such as apple or cherry wood will impart sweet smoky flavors.  Smoking with heavier woods such as hickory and mesquite will produce a smokier and almost bitter flavor.  There are so many ways to get that oh so good smoke flavor onto your meat and fish, from brining to dry rubs and cures, using a bbq with a side smoker box or fashioning an old 50 gallon drum into a smoker.

One inexpensive and easy way to get a smoke flavor is to use cedar planks.  You won’t find too many people who use cedar chips to smoke with, because cedar is a conifer.  Woods such as pine, fur, cedar and Cyprus are very soft and contain a lot of sap.  They burn very fast and in doing so will impart bad flavors.  However if you soak a plank of cedar in water for a day it will impart sweet smoky cedar flavors on your delicate fish. 

At Bridgewaters and Twenty Four Fifth we cedar plank salmon on our outdoor grill during the summer months and serve it right on the planks to our guests.  It’s a great way to present your fish and an interactive way of cooking in front of your guests.

Pastrami Salmon

Cure for 1 side salmon

One 4-5 lb side of salmon, skin on, pin bones removed

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

½ bunch parsley, chopped

2 medium shallots, chopped

2c Kosher Salt

2 Tbsp saltpeter (sodium nitrite or pink salt)

¼ c light brown sugar

¾ c turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground allspice

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

Glaze for 1 side salmon

 ¼ cup molasses
1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

3 bay leaves
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp coriander seed
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

To cure the salmon, combine all ingredients for the cure in a bowl.   Place a cut piece of cheesecloth large enough to wrap around the entire side of salmon in a disposable pan or sheet tray.  Place half of the cure mix on the cheesecloth and spread it around so it will cover the skin side of the salmon when you lay it on top.  Lay the salmon on top of the cure mix, skin side down and use the remaining cure mix to coat the flesh side of the salmon.  Once covered, wrap the cheesecloth over the salmon.  Place another pan directly on top of the wrapped salmon and use a few cans of tomatoes or anything you have laying around to weight the pay/tray down.  This will help push the moisture out of the salmon and cure evenly.  Rest your salmon in the fridge with the weight on top for 3 days.

 

When 3 days have passed, remove from the fridge and unwrap.  Scrape off the cure mix and wipe the surface of the salmon off with a damp paper towel.  Place back in the fridge until ready to be glazed. 

In a small saucepan, combine the molasses, cayenne pepper, chili powder and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Let cool to room temperature. In a small sauté pan gently toast the whole coriander seeds until they become aromatic.  Crush them in a mortar and pestle and combine with smoked paprika and fresh ground black pepper. 

Brush the molasses onto the flesh side of your cured salmon and sprinkle the spice mixture on top.  Refrigerate the salmon uncovered overnight and enjoy the next day. 

 Cedar Planked Maple Glazed Salmon

Serves 4 people

4ea. 8-10oz portions of Salmon, skin off

1ea. 8inx18in cedar plank

¼ c. Maple Glaze

Vegetable Oil

Kosher Salt

Ground Black Pepper

For the Glaze:

¼ c Pure Maple Syrup

¼ c Dark Rum

1 ½ Tbsp Dijon Mustard

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pot.  Cook over Medium heat until reduced by half and has a glaze consistency. 

For the Salmon:

    Purchase Cedar Planks for grilling or you can purchase a plank of Cedar from you local Hardware store.  Be sure if purchasing from a hardware store that the Cedar has not been treated with any chemicals. 

    Soak Cedar plank in cold water for a minimum of 2 hours.  Season your salmon portions with salt and pepper and brush on the maple glaze.  Preheat your grill on high.  Place your plank on the grill for 1 minute or so to get it hot.  Turn it over and with an oiled paper towel wipe the surface.  Place your seasoned and glazed salmon on top of the preheated plank.  Close the grill cover and let the salmon cook for 5-7 minutes.  You should see smoke and may hear a popping sound from the moisture in the wood.  If you see an excess amount of smoke you can lower the flame on your grill.  You want it to smoke but not to ignite.  Present your salmon to your guests right on the plank.   

Strip Steak with Red Bliss Potato Salad

The 4^th of July is one of my absolute favorite holidays. I love having a big barbeque, which of course always involves a great cut of meat and terrific sides.  I was a guest on Martha Stewart Radio last week discussing fresh Greenmarket potatoes and how to turn them into potato salad and casual dishes perfect for a day outdoors. I'll share those recipes here and also talk about how to grill a steak your family and friends are sure to love.

This year, at home I'm going to go with a nice strip steak with Red Bliss Potato Salad, I love the classic matchup of meat and potatoes.  You could spend a lot of money and get a prime sirloin but I personally think for a back yard bbq that is unnecessary.  I feel that going with a USDA certified angus beef grade of sirloin is well worth it.  It will be more expensive than your normal choice grade but the difference is noticeable. Certified Angus beef is normally a choice product but it is an upper 2/3 rd’s choice so you tend to get more marbling and a steak that has a lot more flavor.  If you haven’t tried it already I highly recommend doing so

Cooking a great steak takes patience and skill, but if you start out with a good cut its not necessary to marinate and tenderize.  The first step is to buy a good piece of meat whether that be certified angus beef or Prime.  Before cooking your steak take them out of the fridge and let them come up to room temperature, this will allow them to cook more evenly.  Next put a light coating of vegetable oil on both sides and generously sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Be sure to use kosher salt and not sea or ionized salt, kosher salt will yield a better crust on your steak. 

Next, preheat your grill, covered, and give it a good brushing to prepare it for your steak.  Once your grill grates are clean and hot, place your steak down and leave them.  Resist the urge to play with them, turn them, check them or anything else.  Just let them be.  They will form a nice char on the surface.  If your grill isn’t that hot you may want to cover them to get a better char but this will also bake them so if you want medium rare to medium I don’t recommend doing this.

After 4-6 minutes depending on how hot your grill is a crust should be formed and they will easily release from the grill.  You can give them a ¼ turn to get those nice cross hatch marks or just give them a flip.  Again don’t fuss with them for another 4-6 minutes.  By now you should have medium to medium rare and you can remove them from the grill onto a platter.  The final stage is to let them rest.  This allows the meat to absorb all the juices that would normally come flowing out if you cut into it right away. Let them rest for at least five minutes, then enjoy.