Rooftop Gourmet

You either love them or you hate them. A great Bloody Mary will either make you barf, or prevent you from puking up last night’s bar tab. This classic drink, said to have been created at Harry’s Bar in the 1920′s, is famous for curing the dreaded hangover. The basic combination of equal parts vodka and tomato juice has been put through years of makeovers by bartenders everywhere, claiming their own “signature” Bloody Mary.

 As a Bloody Mary aficionado (I’m not always hungover I swear) I have seen everything from smoked green tomato puree to a tall Bloody garnished with a handful of Slim Jims. My two all-time favorite places to wash one down is in the parking lot of Gillette Stadium, pre-Patriots game, and at the make-your-own Bloody Mary bar at East Coast Grill in Cambridge, MA. Both are amazing in their own way. Making your own batch the night before, so thick that you can leave the straws at home, and standing in your snow boots at 9am talking football, or hovering over 40 different condiments with a pint glass full of ice, preparing for the best brunch in town.

The best thing about a Bloody Mary is that all of the ingredients, no matter what they are, are so bold in flavor that it awakes not only your tastebuds, but all of your senses too; Spicy, salty, sweet, bitter… and boozy.

Last night, I took some of the most popular Bloody Mary staples and created a fish dish to pay homage to my favorite Sunday morning beverage. I bought a thick and meaty piece of fresh Halibut to serve as the canvas for my Bloody Mary Halibut. I started off preparing my tomato sauce by toasting some sliced garlic and crushed chile flakes to give the dish some heat.

After the sauce simmered away on the stovetop for about twenty minutes, I added a few dashes of Tabasco to give it that tangy, vinegar kick to it. The sauce wasn’t meant to be a huge part of the dish, so I had a heavy hand when kicking up the heat. My goal was to make my forehead start to perspire as it does while lurched over a tall Bloody Mary at the bar. The next thing I did was wash off a few stalks of celery, which are typically served as a garnish. I thinly shaved them on a bias and tossed them in a bowl with parsley, lemon juice and a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Celery adds a bitter, freshness to the classic recipe as well as a powerful crunch. A gremolata is an Italian “condiment” that is usually sprinkled over braised dishes to liven them up, such as Veal Osso Bucco.

 It normally consists of anchovies, lemon zest, and fresh parsley that is ground in a mortar and pestle. I decided to make a gremolata with lemon zest, fresh parsley and chopped green olives because all of those flavors are tied into a Bloody Mary. Most drinks are usually garnished with a lemon wedge and a few green olives that are usually fished out of the bottom of the ice with your celery stalk.

 I peeled the nasty layer off of the fresh horseradish root and revealed its ivory, white flesh. Immediately, I could smell the pungent zip that closely resembles the flavor of wasabi. Horseradish has a specific type of heat that is totally different than the heat in the tomato sauce. Unlike the Capsaicin that comes from chilie peppers and punches you in the tastebuds and numbs your tongue, the heat from horseradish root clears your sinuses by sending a rush of sneeze-inducing fumes through your nose. Sounds painful but I am a sucker for punishment and absolutely love it.

 I grated the fresh root and crusted the top of the halibut filet with the coconut-like shavings before baking it in the oven until the flesh was opaque. The crust toasted into a delicious golden brown color and I sprinkled the fresh gremolata on top. I placed the fish on a streak of the fiery tomato sauce and plated some refreshing, shaved celery salad on the side. One of the main components in your typical Bloody Mary mix was not left out.

Worcestershire Sauce is usually added to give the mix a little more depth and character. I made a sticky, Worcestershire Sauce reduction and drizzled it in the corner of the plate. When you ran your fork through every component on the plate, the flavors of a classic Bloody Mary all came together in an elegant seafood dish. The crispy horseradish crust protected the moist, flaky fish. The heat from the tomato sauce was tamed by the cool, celery salad, and the reduction and gremolata side-swiped your palate with rich and salty flavors. I paired this deconstructed cocktail dish with an intriguing wine from Salento, Italy.

The 2008 Li Veli Primonero is a unique blend (kind of like vodka and tomato juice) of Primitivo and Negromaro grapes. The Primitivo (Italian Zinfandel) is picked in early August and produces fresh, ripe fruit flavors, while the Negromaro is picked in late September, producing dark fruit and earthy flavors. The stark difference in picking times, and styles of the grapes combine to make a very well balanced, food-friendly wine. The color is deep ruby purple, with fresh berries on the nose and a velvety mouthfeel. The wine is medium bodied and rich with a finish that Italians would say is, “full of finesse”. This is a one of a kind blend that shows that new and innovative winemaking in an Old World wine country is on the rise. After a meal like this, I am anxiously looking forward to football season or at least maybe some more 10am World Cup Soccer matches, where Bloody Mary will be in attendance.

Today, June 25th will be the last June 25th where Siobhan and I aren’t out celebrating our anniversary. We are getting married exactly one year from today and we both made a pact to start eating and living healthier lifestyles. It’s not like we eat bad to begin with, because most of our meals are prepared with the freshest, local ingredients we can find. We eat tons of seafood and exercise regularly (as well as beginning to train for the 2011 Boston Marathon), but it’s the snacking in between meals that kills me.

Recently Siobhan mentioned that I should start eating more fruit so I went out to the store to pick some up. While I was there, I had a great idea for dinner and my mission to load up on fruit got sidetracked.

I did happen to buy a dozen fresh peaches because they looked amazing sitting there, but I wasn’t planning on snacking on them. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a peach, so I picked one up and bit right into it. It was so ripe and juicy that we had to call for a clean up in Aisle 5. My entire forearm was dripping wet with the tart, sweet juices that ran from the bright orange flesh.

I finished my shopping while brainstorming, and headed back to the kitchen to put together this interesting idea of mine. In the past, I have grilled stone fruits and topped them with vanilla ice cream as a dessert, but I have never used them in a savory dish.

I figured that if I balanced the sweet flavors of the grilled peaches with something else, equally as bold and that had contrasting flavors,  the dish just might work. The smoky, and spicy flavors of Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce was the perfect compliment. Chipotle peppers are Jalapeno peppers that have been smoked and submerged into this creamy, brick red, Adobo sauce.

 I spooned a few of the shriveled up chilies into the blender along with three whole fresh peaches, some lime juice, salt, pepper, and a healthy squirt of honey. After tasting, re-seasoning, tasting, and re-seasoning some more, the sauce was finally perfect. From the start, you could clearly taste the fresh peach puree, quickly followed by a burst of heat and then an underlying smokiness that lingered on your palate.

 I transferred the creation into a squeeze bottle a la Bobby Flay where it waited to adorn my dish. I had been marinating a few chicken breasts in what I like to call a Margarita bath.

Tons of fresh lime juice, cilantro, jalapenos, salt, and pepper. I only use this combination for quick marinades because the acidity in the lime juice begins to “cook” the chicken and it can get kind of nasty. A few hours at most and all of those flavors get injected into the meat perfectly. Halving peaches was alot harder than I expected, especially since the fruit was extremely ripe. I didn’t have the patience to slice down the bias, and softly twist the two halves open so Siobhan took over.

 My peaches looked like silly putty, while hers came out completely symmetrical. I simply coated the inner flesh in some vegetable oil and fired up the grill.

As soon as the chicken breasts hit the grates, the fresh citrus from the lime and the heat from the jalapeno filled the air. I oiled down the left side of the grill and carefully placed my fruit down to achieve beautiful grill marks. As long as your grill is super hot, the fruit only takes a few minutes to get soft. All of the natural sugars in the fruit start to caramelize and a sticky crust starts to form. This is when you take the fruit off and cover it in tin foil or plastic wrap to finish cooking. I plated the grilled chicken and peaches together and sprinkled them with some shaved green onion and drizzled my peachy-chipotle sauce on top.

To give the dish some texture, I deep fried a can of chick peas and violently tossed the warm beans in salt and ancho chile powder. The outer skins get nice and crispy while the warm center still melts in your mouth like rich hummus. I sprinkled the fried chick peas all over the dish and it looked sporadically enticing. The sweet and spicy combination turned out to be a huge hit. Siobhan rarely eats chicken because she says that it doesn’t have much flavor but she was licking her plate clean and popping the extra fried Garbanzos like it was popcorn.

The seductive peach, especially once it was grilled, melted in your mouth and then was interrupted by a burst of smoky heat from the complex sauce. I opened a bottle of the 2006 Penner-Ash Syrah from Oregon to bounce off this unique dish. Penner-Ash is known for their high end Pinot Noir, but I felt that this bold recipe deserved something with a little more “UMPH”. The wine was loaded with flavors of blackberry jam, cherry, and plum along with undertones of white pepper and smoky cedar. It was a perfect balance of Barossa Valley Shiraz style and French Croze-Hermitage style. Massive and abrasive at times, knocking you back in your seat and double-clutching your glass but gentle and balanced at other times, allowing the food to be the star.

The structure and mouthfeel of the wine was dense and quite smooth, as was the peachy-chipotle sauce. The two played terrifically with each other. Now that all of the peaches were gone after dinner, I had no choice but to snack on a box of Cheez-Its like I normally do. Oh well… at least I got my daily serving of fruit.

While walking through Whole Foods the other day, I noticed that garlic scapes had made their annual debut. For only about two weeks of every year, farmers markets, and some grocery stores are flooded with these curly-Q link delights. Once upon a time, these scapes sat on the top of every farmer’s compost heap, but now they are making their way into the kitchens of garlic lovers everywhere.

 Garlic as we know it, starts its journey underground as a soft bulb. Once it grows and hardens, a bright green shoot pokes its head through the soil and curls into a beautiful tendril. If these pliable garlic scapes are left unattended, they will harden and stop the growth of the bulb, making it a no-brainer for farmers to start snipping away.

Now that chefs and foodies are fighting over these once a year treats, farmers are getting a two for one deal by selling them off along with their more commonly seen bulbs. In my opinion, garlic scapes are best when eaten raw. Unlike raw garlic cloves, the scapes are far less pervasive and pungent.

Their flavor is a gentle and mild, almost a cross between garlic, green onions, leeks, and asparagus. When you snap into one, you can immediately smell garlic but the flavor is tame and almost grassy. When I saw a pile of the scapes sitting in a basket at Whole Foods, I got really excited and bought them all because who knows when I’ll ever see them again. People thought I was walking out of the store with two coiled garden hoses.

 I got home and decided to make a giant batch of garlic scape pesto, which is the best way to utilize two pounds of scapes because the pesto is freezable.

I sliced them up and tossed them into the food processor along with lemon juice, Spanish Marcona Almonds, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I decided to use marcona almonds instead of pine nuts in this pesto because the strong flavors of the scapes needed something a little nuttier than pignoles. I drizzled in a thin stream of extra virgin olive oil as the motor roared away, and in no time I had a huge batch of pesto.

The color was so bright and vibrant, it looked like a giant bowl of Chlorophyll! At least I know that my fiance isn’t a vampire because she couldn’t stop dipping her bread into it.

 I tossed some Perciatelli pasta into a pot of boiling water and waited patiently for it to cook. Perciatelli is like a thick Bucatini but with a hole in the middle… kind of like a curly straw or a garlic scape!  When the pasta was just undercooked, I tossed it in a skillet with a blob of pesto, some baby sea scallops and a ladle of the pasta water. The baby sea scallops were so fresh, I was eating them raw while the pasta was cooking.

They only need about a minute and you don’t want to overcook them. Unlike the large sea scallops, the babies are mild and sweet. The lime green pasta started to come together and I plated it with a fresh garlic scape and a torn piece of chewy baguette. If you’re curious about the Japanese anime character hiding amidst the jungle of scapes, that’s just the crazy wine label from Fetish “the V Spot” Viognier from the Barossa Valley, Austrailia. This 100% Viognier is as light and vibrant, as the pesto is. It’s wonderfully aromatic, with nuances of lime zest and fresh flowers. The acidity and crsip finish make this wine perfect on its own or even better with food.

Flavors of honeydew melon and citrus didn’t overpower but rather complimented the humble garlic flavors in the dish. We sat the dinner table, twirling and slurping away until our cheeks were green and our breath was deadly. During the two week long garlic scape season, it’s acceptable to have garlic breath because the scapes are just too delicious.

Believe it or not, I made this entire dish using only four ingredients. That’s what’s great about cooking. As long as you have quality, fresh, and flavorful ingredients, you can create an elegant meal with just a little bit of  imagination.

As I’ve done in the past, I take classic dishes such as the Italian’s Veal Saltimbocca alla Romana and put my own modern twist on it. Saltimbocca translates to, “jump in the mouth”, because that’s exactly what all of the flavors do. Classically, it consists of a paper thin, veal cutlet that has a layer of prosciutto and fresh sage leaves, which is then rolled up and cooked in butter.

I decided to use a duck breast instead of the veal because I had a gorgeous bottle of Pinot Noir at home that I was excited to try. Duck and Pinot are one of my favorite combinations, right up there with Brady and Moss, and Godfather 1 and 2. Since duck breasts have a pretty decent sized layer of fat on top, I opted to leave the prosciutto at the deli counter. Besides, the only thing that I can think of that would be better than a paper thin slice of Prosciutto di Parma melting on my tongue, is a piece of crispy duck fat.

Whole Foods didn’t have prepared duck breasts, so I was forced to buy a whole duck and butcher it myself, which I don’t mind because I save the bones and miscellaneous parts for sauces. It’s been a while since I’ve deboned Daffy, but after a few minutes, I managed to produce two beautiful filets.

I scored the top of the skin in a criss-cross pattern, being careful not to puncture the bright purple flesh beneath. Scoring the skin side prevents the fat from curling and separating from the breast meat as it cooks.

I placed the breast, skin side down in a cold sautepan and turn the heat on just so slightly. This was somewhat tricky, because I needed to crisp up the skin without cooking the actual meat. Once the pan gets warm, the fat in the skin starts to release tons of aromatic duck fat juices and actually fries the skin it its own fat. This is the part where I get flustered because the smell of duck fat sends me into a frenzy. Duck fat ranks right above pork fat on my scale of most delicious animal fats (yes, I have a list of those).

After the skin was golden brown, I removed the breast from then pan and threw it into the fridge to stop the cooking. Once it was cool, I suffocated it underneathth a few layers of plastic wrap and pounded it into a paper thin circle.

 I seasoned the breast meat with salt and pepper and layered the freshly snipped sage leaves from my herb garden on top. These were the biggest sage leaves I have ever seen, I don’t know what Siobhan is feeding my pot of herbs but they’re multiplying like Gremlins. I tightly rolled the breasts, crispy skin, and sage up into a tube and secured them with some butchers twine.

 Two ingredients, duck and sage, were set aside and ready to fire, but first I had to make my sauce. Veal Saltimbocca alla Romana is traditionally served with Marsala wine or a lemon caper sauce but since I was using a duck breast, I needed to adjust the flavors a bit. Duck tends to be slightly gamey and of course fatty, hence the amazing layer that protects the breast, so sweeter sauces usually compliment it nicely.

 I chose to make a blueberry compote, which is incredibly simple to do. A compote is a 17th century English dessert that was transformed into a sauce by the French. It is essentially a pot of fresh fruit, sugar, and water that is slowly simmered until it reaches a jam-like consistency. This is exactly how I make homemade cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving. I just tossed some fresh blueberries into a sauce pan, covered it in water, and then dumped about a cup of sugar in to top it off.

After about 30 minutes of bubbling, the sugar and water turns into a thick simple syrup and the fresh blueberries pop and start gurgling. It thickens right before your eyes and is not only great with game birds, but vanilla ice cream and toast as well. I finished searing the Saltimbocca in a pan of butter along with the legs that I braised in their own juices for about two hours. The succulent leg meat was falling off the bone and dripping with savory duck fat.

I made sure the center of the roulade was still pink and medium rare because if you overcook duck it gets extremely tough. It seems strange applying temperatures to birds because we’re so used to chicken and salmonella poisoning, but duck can be and should be served medium rare. Not only does it taste better, it is easier to chew. I plated the roulade with a massive blob of the antioxidant-rich, sweetened blueberry compote. The combination of sweet and savory was heavenly.

I popped a bottle of the brand new Lot 20 Reserve Label Pinot Noir from my friends at 90+ Cellars. If you’re not familiar with the company, you’re missing out. Value…value…value is the key word here. 90+ Cellars cold calls distinguished wineries with prestigious reviews and asks if they have any leftover wine. Due to the current economic state, certain wineries have an extra thousand cases of a certain vintage that Restaurant X usually buys, but couldn’t afford it this season. The two parties strike a deal, 90+ Cellars slaps their label on the wine along with a specific lot number, and delivers the savings right on to the consumer. The only catch is, once a certain lot is gone…. it’s gone forever.

I have been waiting in anticipation for Lot 20 to be released, and it’s finally here! Knowing that the actual value of the juice is around $45.00 retail, this bottle for under twenty is going to sell like hot cakes. I opened the wine with my duck Saltimbocca and let me tell you… this baby lived up to the hype. The winemaker has spent the last forty years making Pinot in California so he is no rookie. The Sonoma County fruit is hand picked and aged in oak to give it some extra body and structure. On the nose, the wine gives off aromas of fresh strawberries and cranberries.

On the palate, the wine is velvety and elegant with loads of bing cherry and sexy cinnamon. The finish never ends with smooth tannins and hints of vanilla. This wine is a tease… it starts up voluptuous, sultry, and erotic, but then finishes classy and structured. I couldn’t have met a better match for my duck breast with blueberry compote. The Saltimbocca was jumping in my mouth and the wine made me want to start jumping on the table in excitement.

Grilled cheese reminds me of my childhood and I’m pretty sure that memory goes for most people as well. When I was little, I would go to friend’s houses to play and their parents would make us grilled cheese sandwiches for after school snacks and I noticed that everyone’s parents made it a little bit differently. Differently than my mother would at least. I was used to classic white bread and four slices of orange Kraft Singles, slowly toasted in a skillet with a little bit of butter. That was my childhood staple.

Whenever I’d come inside from playing in the yard, I’d whine to my mom, “I’m hungryyyy!!!”, and this was a quick solution that she didn’t mind spending two minutes to fix. As I got older, my perception of grilled cheese evolved… and I noticed my mother’s love for grilled cheese too. I’d have a couple friends sleep over and we’d ask my mom to make us some of her by then, famous grilled cheeses. I started to notice that my mother would always burn the first one and pretend like she was upset by it, but later I realized that she had a thing for burnt grilled cheeses. Somehow, that first ”mistake” always disappeared.

When I got to college, my concept of grilled cheese changed again. When I wasn’t eating twelve of them in one sitting, I was busy stuffing them with cheese Doritos and dipping them in con queso or blue cheese dressing. Probably the reason I put on the freshman thirty, but at least I was being creative with my comfort food that reminded me of home. Now, I still appreciate the classic Kraft contraption every once in a while, but I also can’t resist getting gourmet with my grilled cheese.

The other day, my school teacher fiance called me up at lunchtime because she had a craving for grilled cheese after working lunch duty in the cafeteria of her middle school. I told her, “great idea!”, but she had no idea what I had in store for her when she got home.

I wanted to pair different cheeses with different types of bread to create three of the ultimate grilled cheese sandwiches, in three different styles. Wine wasn’t the route to go with this blog so I opted to pair each sandwich with a different craft beer. Let’s face it… beer and cheese are a match made in heaven (just ask Brad Wasik from Wasik’s Cheese Shop in Wellesley center, who offers amazing beer and cheese pairing events from time to time).

My first GCS (Grilled Cheese Sandwich) started off on the light side (ironic, I know). I crumbled up some local goat cheese and spread it in between two slices of fresh sourdough bread. Taking notes from my mother, I slowly toasted it in a skillet with some butter until both sides were golden brown and the goat cheese oozed out of the sides. This became my early favorite because the sourdough toast and the tangy goat cheese were amazing together.

I poured a tall glass of Chimay Cinq Cents Gold Label, which is a traditional Belgian Wheat Ale, and watched as the foamy head settled to the top. I was shocked at how aromatic this beer was, almost more aromatic than it was flavorful but in a good way. I stuck my nose right into the glass like it was a fine white Burgundy and noticed all of the honey, clove, and yeasty smells. The beer was a hazy golden color and was full of carbonation. It was medium bodied with a bitter, caramel finish that was actually quite pleasant.

My second GCS was created using, freshly sliced pumpernickel loaf and two amazing melting cheeses. I was going for the picture-esque, Kraft television commercial, pull apart shot where the stringy cheese stretches for miles. I layered a slice each of both aged Gruyere and Emmental cheese, which is kind of like a funky Swiss.

 It was a good thing that the pumpernickel toasted quicker than the sourdough because these cheeses broke down fast and started to drip down the sides of the bread. The Gruyere is my type of cheese… super funky! and when it gets warm, the smell gets better and better. It was a really cool combination with the nutty, roasted malt flavors in the pumpernickel.

This is the GCS that you don’t want to serve to your children if you don’t know how to perform the HeimlichManeuver! I paired this one with a bottle of Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale. This comes from an old English Brewery that has been making beer for hundreds of years. It’s much darker in color and has a significantly lower level of carbonation. The nose smelled of sweet apples and flowers but when I tasted it, it was rich and nutty. It had a cola-like mouthfeel, and almost tasted like toasted pumpernickel bread and toffee. It was like a New Castle on steroids!

My last creation was by far my favorite GCS and the richest one as well. I spread tons of creamy Gorgonzola (Italy’s blue cheese) in between two slices of dense, cinnamon-raisin bread and performed the same toasting procedure. I paired these two odd balls together because with a cheese that is so rich and full of mind boggling flavor, it would have considerably dominated a wimpy slice of Wonder. I needed a bread that had an equal amount of wallop to combat the Gorgonzola, so I chose one that was studded with plump raisins and laced with sweet cinnamon. Let me just say, that I have officially created a monster. The raisins caramelized with the toast and the blue veins just oozed out into the pan.

The love affair of sweet and savory was the most incredible GCS combination of the night. I paired this one with a bottle of Schlafly Reserve Barleywine Ale from Missouri. The beer was a burnt orange color and smelled like vanilla and sweet oak. I had never had a barleywine ale before but I really enjoyed this beer. Just like the GCS, it was a perfect balance of earthy and sweet. Tons of bourbon and maple flavors combined with a dry, creamy finish. After three giant craft beers, and three different, super rich, grilled cheese sandwiches it was time to revert back to my childhood once again and take a much needed nap.