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.