Archive for the ‘Starters’ Category
Fresh Cape Cod Steamers
Le Chef’s blog is coming to you from Cape Cod this week, where I will be cooking a few of my favorite local Cape Cod foods. For those of you who don’t know me, I grew up coming to the Cape for the summers, and a lot of my early food experiences involved catching my own food and learning how to cook it. This weekend, while on the flats at First Encounter beach in Eastham, MA, we dug a nice little bucket of steamers to have as an appetizer for our the start of Memorial Day Weekend.
Cold Avocado Soup with Lobster and Scallions
Last weekend I got together with a number of the New York Food52 members for a potluck picnic in Central Park. Elina (a.k.a. The Naked Beet) organized a wonderful get together on Sheep’s Meadow, with great turnout and amazing food. My contribution was a cold avocado soup with lobster and scallions.
Fresh Morels with Soft Shell Crab and Crispy Carapace
Today when I went to the store and saw what was available, I felt obligated to create a dish using the two freshest, most indulgent and seasonal ingredients I could find: fresh morels, and live soft shell crabs. What emerged is my springtime take on the classic crab stuffed mushroom, with a twist:
Diver Scallops, Sweet Corn Chowder Puree, Smoked Bacon
The other day I was having lunch with my friend Ned at an all-you-can-eat Indian place in Murray (a.k.a. Curry) Hill. You may remember Ned from the Pig’s Head Torchon post; he is a chef with Daniel’s catering wing. We were discussing the fine points of scallop diving over a plate of saag paneer and chicken tikka, and the conversation turned to a unique preparation for diver scallops that involved searing the whole, just shucked, still alive scallop with an iron and serving the dish using the shell as a plate. Ned’s preparation involved a cranberry beurre blanc (he was on Nantucket at the time, and fresh cranberries were in season) and the idea was incredibly intriguing. I have only been diving for scallops once, and they were the small “bay” variety, as opposed to the larger “sea” or “diver” scallops. Today I just happened to find whole diver scallops for sale at Citarella, and had to give this technique a try.
The Season Is Here: Soft Shell Crab with Sweet Corn Salad and Chipotle Aioli
Despite the recent “chill” in the air, today I stumbled across a sure sign of spring: the first batch of fresh, live, soft shell crabs at Citarella. Nothing makes me happier than a nice fried soft shell crab, and now I’ve got three months of crab season to look forward to. The fact that it coincides with my favorite season of the year has a *little* to do with it, but either way, I’m psyched:
Black Olive and Yogurt Cheese Spread
Earlier this week Tina over at Choosy Beggars put up an intriguing recipe for making your own yogurt cheese spread, which of course involves making your own yogurt cheese. Since I have never made yogurt cheese before, I had to give it a shot. It was surprisingly easy, and the results were pretty amazing. I think that technically this is more of just a concentrated yogurt rather than a “cheese”, but the end product is a tangy, creamy dip that is great with some home made pita chips.
Spinach and Walnut Bisque with Parmesan Chili Croutons
This week’s Food52 competition gave me an excuse to cook up an old favorite of mine: Spinach and Walnut Bisque. This recipe, believe it or not, came from our dining hall in college. No joke. Admittedly the food at Dartmouth was far above average, but specifically the food at Collis Hall was what I wound up living on for breakfast and lunch during my freshman year. Collis was about 50 feet from my dorm room, and while small, had an excellent selection of food. An omelet station, smoothies for the morning, a great sandwich and wrap area, an ever-changing array of soups to go along with the sandwiches, and the requisite coffee for early morning classes (“early morning” being “10 a.m.”). Back then I was still in the “fledgling chef” phase, but as soon as I tasted this soup, I knew that it was one that would be added to my quiver. The nice thing about this particular dining hall was that since it prided itself in “health” and “nutrition”, the ingredients for each soup were listed on a card in front of the soup station. Thus I was able to take quick crib notes on the ingredients of the soup, and from there I experimented to come up with the proper proportions. Along the way I added a freshly toasted crouton to the dish, and now I can make it in my sleep. I figured that there was no better way to showcase spinach as an ingredient than in this unique, creamy bisque that takes no time at all to make. Back in the day I used to cut corners and make it with canned spinach (for shame!) but now I use fresh. Because everyone would laugh at me if I posted a recipe with canned spinach, obviously.
Mussels with “Oriental Sauce”
I love mussels. I don’t remember exactly when they went from being a shell I picked up on the beach as a child to something that was good to eat for dinner, but like most shellfish it was an acquired taste in my teens. As most children do, I went through a “picky eater” phase in which all foodstuffs that were not plain pasta with butter, hot dogs, or cereal were definitely off my plate. I distinctly remember hatching a plan to numb my tastebuds with ice cubes (something I had read in an Encyclopedia Brown book…anyone remember those?) before eating my Grandmother’s meatloaf one night because I would not be allowed to leave the table until it was gone. In retrospect I think that I may have insulted my Grandmother’s cooking, but at the time it seemed like a clever plan. In any event, that “picky eater” phase passed. Seafood and meatloaf were back on the menu.
Pig’s Head Torchon: A Momofuku Cookbook Feature
Ever since I picked up the Momofuku cookbook, I have been wanting to procure a pig’s head and make the pig’s head torchon that is laid out on page 200. I have made my way through most of the “easier” and “more practical” recipes, and have found myself eying the “Mt. Everest” of the Momofuku recipes: the one that requires a whole pig’s head. This weekend I finally got everything together, called up my friend Cody, and went ahead and did it. I think it goes without saying that there will be rather graphic pictures of a pig’s head in this post, so don’t say that you weren’t forewarned. If that doesn’t scare you off, kindly join me as we journey to the outer boroughs, tackle a crux of a recipe, and convert a part of the pig that usually gets thrown away into a refined and composed dish that you won’t see everyday.
Caramelized Onion and Pear Soup with a Sage Gorgonzola Cream
Gorgonzola has been one of my go-to cooking cheeses for a long time. In college, when I was learning the ropes at the Psi U grill, one of the recipes that I inherited was a grilled gorgonzola-stuffed tomato with scallions and bacon. Simple, creamy, melty goodness. Figs stuffed with gorgonzola, wrapped with bacon, and thrown on the grill can do double duty as a sweet and salty starter or a decadent and rich dessert. Pair it with caramelized onions and throw it onto a crust and you’ve got a tasty tart. The sweet, savory, and creamy combination almost always works. Why not in a soup?
***update*** 2/25: My soup was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Food 52′s Onion Soup Contest! Thanks guys!
